China accounts for almost 32% of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, but is excluded entirely from the Alpha Architect Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF (FRDM), which is sponsored by “freedom-weighted” portfolio provider Life + Liberty Indexes. Life + Liberty Founder Perth Tolle told CNBC that the fund still permits indirect exposure to China. They come along and steal your stuff, so all that profit you accrued gets stolen,” Stocker told CNBC. “Here’s what’s encouraging — when countries increase eco

Jaap Arriens | NurPhoto | Getty ImagesThe UAE may soon lift its ban on WhatsApp calls, the head of the country’s digital security authority told CNBC. “There might be a lift of that ban for (WhatsApp) voice calls… and this is going to happen soon, this is what we know and understand from the telecommunication authority here in the UAE.” Most voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services – including Skype, FaceTime and WhatsApp – which enable free voice and video calls via the internet, are illega

Futures indicate a flat open following a fresh record close49 Mins AgoU.S. stock index futures were little changed Wednesday morning after the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a fresh record close on Tuesday. CNBC’s Rahel Solomon reports.

Two years ago, disappointing holiday offers and merchandise dragged down U.S. same-store sales by 1%. To spread holiday cheer — and awareness about the return of the holiday menu — all baristas aprons and menu boards will be red. The only change to the holiday menu this year is the disappearance of the gingerbread latte, a longtime staple. The Canton, Massachusetts-based company started selling its holiday menu Wednesday, getting an early start on Starbucks. Its other new drinks are a Holiday Eg

Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez #4 hold up the World Series trophy after the Nationals defeat the Houston Astros in Game 7 to win the 2019 World Series at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday, October 30, 2019 in Houston, Texas. The Washington Nationals have revived baseball in the nation’s capital, and the television ratings are proof Major League Baseball is also making a comeback in the D.C. area. The ratings for Game 7 of the World Series between the Nation

Kroger will launch a mass media campaign to get its new branding in front of consumers. Kroger is getting a new look with a fresh logo and a universal slogan it plans to use across all of its brands. It says it will launch a mass media campaign, including in stores, on TV, radio, social media, podcasts and billboards, using its new branding. It also says, to celebrate the launch, it will offer shoppers free grocery pickup through Jan. 1. During the meeting, Kroger said it has benefited from maki

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Brendan McDermid | ReutersAfter pushing to record highs, stocks have moved too far, too fast and could pull back before they move much further ahead. Stocks closed mixed Tuesday, with the Dow up 0.1% at a record 27,492, but the S&P 500 down 0.1% at 3,074 in a rest from its recent break to record highs. Stocks overbought”The S&P could easily pull back to 3,045 to 3,055. Stocks bottomed on Dec. 26, 2018 in a crushing sell-off that took the S&P 500 to 2,346. According to a

Pedestrians pass in front of a CVS location in New York. CVS Health reported third-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street’s estimates as its Aetna insurance business helped juice the company’s profit by 10%. Excluding one-time items, such as a charge related to closing stores, CVS earned $1.84 per share, above the $1.77 per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. Revenue reached $64.81 billion, a sharp increase from the year earlier, before CVS acquired health insurer Aetna last Novemb

CEO departures hit a record high for the year with 1,332 U.S. based companies announcing CEO departures through October. This year is on pace to have the most departures on record. This came after Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, who built the athletic-ware company from scratch in his grandmother’s basement, said he was stepping down as CEO on January 1. Bill McDermott stepped down as CEO of SAP after more than nine years running the German software company, to replace John Donahoe as the CEO of Se

For Surya Bonaly defying expectations is something that has defined her career, with the world champion famous for being the only female figure skater in history to do a backflip, a move which had been banned from competitions since the 1970s. Bonaly said that always going the extra mile is a rule she stuck by since she first began figure skating as a young child in France. At age 12 she was a world champion in the gymnastics discipline of tumbling. But it was the desire to perfect her skills as

Riot police detain a woman as anti-government protesters gather at Sha Tin Mass Transit Railway (MTR) station to demonstrate against the railway operator, which they accuse of helping the government, in Hong Kong, China September 25, 2019. Trump goes silent on Hong KongLooming over the Hong Kong crisis is the bitter trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. The legislation reflects an increasingly hard-line sentiment among some of Trump’s fellow Republicans and many Democrats over wha

Wirecard reported a 43% gain in third-quarter core profits on Wednesday, as the German payments company awaits the verdict of an independent investigation by KPMG into allegations it has inflated reported sales and profits. The company confirmed its 2019 guidance and forecast core earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2020 of 1-1.12 billion euros ($1.11-$1.24 billion), implying growth of 34% at the mid-point. Munich-based Wirecard, a digital payments compa

European markets traded mixed on Wednesday as investors continue to monitor U.S.-China relations and corporate earnings. However, traders are largely optimistic that the preliminary agreement could be signed as early as this month. Asian shares traded mixed on Wednesday, with MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan edging slightly lower. Singapore’s Straits Times index led regional gains, adding 0.3%. Back in Europe, IHS Markit will publish composite PMI data for the euro zone at 9:00 a.m. Lon

Facebook and Carlyle are ‘great names,’ says strategistRobert Luna of Surevest Wealth Management says there is value in sectors such as health care, energy and financials. He says Carlyle has “great upside momentum” going into 2020

UAE ‘may lift’ ban on WhatsApp calls, cybersecurity chief saysMohamed Al Kuwaiti, executive director of the UAE’s National Electronic Security Authority, discusses technology regulation in the Gulf country.

U.S. government debt prices were higher Wednesday morning, as investors await economic data, Treasury auctions and a flurry of speeches from policymakers at the Federal Reserve . ET, the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, was lower at around 1.8442%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also lower at around 2.3214%. Market focus is largely attuned to global trade developments, as investors monitor any cues that might de-escalate a protracted trade disput

Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam is bullish on China, and sees opportunities as its economy shifts to a consumer-driven one — making it “less sensitive” to trade. “We have very positive expectations about China long term,” he said at the Credit Suisse China Investment Conference in Shenzhen on Wednesday. “We believe that the fundamentals that have been driving China’s growth for so many years are intact.” The world’s two biggest economies are currently trying to reach a ‘phase one’ trade deal, wh

Societe Generale has reported a net income of 854 million euros ($945 million) for the third quarter of 2019, falling short of analyst expectations. Analysts expected a net income of 863.20 million euros for the third quarter, according to Refinitiv. The French lender posted a net income of 1.05 billion euros in the second quarter of 2019. Furthermore, it had reported a net income of 1.3 billion euros a year ago. Here are some of the highlights for the third quarter of 2019:Revenues stood at 5.9

SoftBank Group Corp plunged on Wednesday to a quarterly loss that was far larger than analysts’ estimates, hit by the falling valuations of some of its biggest tech bets such as WeWork and Uber Technologies. The Japanese investment giant recorded an operating loss of 704 billion yen ($6.46 billion) in the July-September quarter. SoftBank recorded an operating profit of 706 billion yen in the same period a year earlier. The loss compared with an operating loss of 48 billion yen forecast on averag

German sportswear company Adidas said it expects a significant acceleration of sales in the fourth quarter after it reported stronger-than-expected sales and operating profit for the third quarter as it returned to growth in Europe. Sales rose a currency-adjusted 6% to 6.41 billion euros ($7.10 billion), beating average analyst forecasts for 6.32 billion euros, while operating profit was flat at 897 million euros, also above analyst consensus for 882 million euros. Nike reported sales rose a cur