Partys big defeat in recent state polls. Plus, its a virtual Winter Wonderland in the northeastern u. S. Major storm dumping up to two feet of snow in some areas causing a travel nightmare for drivers and airlines. Announcer youre watching cnbc world news, bringing you Business News from around the globe. A warm welcome to worldwide exchange. Its january 3rd. Advancers outpacing decliners. Trending around the flat line, just above it as you can see. The ftse 100 today is flat, just down three points. Nationwide saying weve seen the biggest monthly jump in over four years last month, a 1. 4 surge in house prices in december means the average price of a home was 8. 2 higher in 2013 than in 2012. The xetra dax is up 0. 11 . The cac 40 up 0. 25 and the ftse mib up 0. 5 . Next, up 9 on the stock today. Sales up 11. 9 from the november to december period, significantly ahead of the guidance that the retailer gave in december. The firm upped its forecast range to 684 to 700 million pounds. Te