Sir Richard Branson is honored with star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 16, 2018. As the new year takes hold, many people will be setting themselves a New Year’s Resolution — including billionaire magnate Richard Branson. In a blog post on Wednesday, Branson revealed that his own New Year’s Resolution was to put his health first. “My tip for sticking to resolutions and goals is quite simple — write it down,” he advised. “Many people don’t make resolutions because they feel like they’ve

Fighters with Afghanistan’s Taliban militia stand with their weapons in Ahmad Aba district on the outskirts of Gardez, the capital of Paktia province, on July 18, 2017. U.K. security giant G4S and South African telecoms provider MTN are among six multinational corporations named in a U.S. lawsuit over alleged “protection payments” to terrorists in Afghanistan. The plaintiffs span more than 100 service members killed and wounded during the period. All of these entities were part of an Al-Qaeda le

Carlos Ghosn, former chairman of Nissan Motor Co., sits in a vehicle as he leaves his lawyer’s office in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. Lebanon received an Interpol arrest warrant on Thursday for fugitive former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, while Turkey launched an investigation into his daring escape from Japan. The Interpol red notice, which calls on authorities to arrest a wanted person, was received by Lebanon’s internal security forces and has yet to be referred to the judiciary, a

Workers extracting oil from oil wells in the Permian Basin in Midland, Texas on May 1, 2018. The first two factors were identified as oil demand growth and the current deal between OPEC and its allied partners. The group, often referred to as OPEC+, agreed to cut oil production by an additional 500,000 barrels per day (b/d) from Jan. 1, further deepening their previous cut of 1.2 million b/d. “This is a huge question,” Weafer said. The International Energy Agency projected last month that total

President Donald Trump’s campaign announced Thursday that it raised $46 million in the final quarter of 2019, as the Republican cashed in while he was being impeached by the Democratic-led House of Representatives. Trump’s total in the final three months of 2019 is far bigger than any quarterly total announced so far by any Democratic candidate. It also marks the best fundraising quarter for Trump’s reelection bid, according to a press release. In the third quarter, Trump’s campaign and the Repu

Julian Castro, former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary and San Antonio Mayor, announces his candidacy for president in 2020 at Plaza Guadalupe on January 12, 2019 in San Antonio, Texas. “So today it’s with a heavy heart and with profound gratitude that I will suspend my campaign for president.” Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro dropped out of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary on Thursday, ending a progressive and pugnacious bid th

Trade optimism is supporting the Chinese yuan: Standard CharteredIf the U.S.-China phase one deal is signed and the greenback breaks some key technical supports, the dollar-yuan could drop below 6.90, says Manpreet Gill of Standard Chartered Private Bank. He also explains why he is bullish on the British pound.

British pound is going to go huge, strategist predictsMichael Harris, founder of Cribstone Strategic Macro, discusses Brexit, U.K. politics and his outlook for pound sterling.

Money starting to come back into the UK, strategist saysAlan Custis, head of U.K. equities at Lazard Asset Management, discusses his outlook for the U.K. economy.

China’s Ant Financial, an affiliate of ecommerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings, has joined the race for a digital banking licence in Singapore, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has said it will issue five such licenses, as it embarks on the biggest liberalisation of its banking sector in two decades. “In line with our commitment to promoting financial inclusion globally, we have submitted an application to the Monetary Authority of Singapore f

Abu-Dhabi based healthcare firm NMC Health is embroiled in a bitter battle with U.S. short seller Muddy Waters, after the latter produced a report questioning the company’s accounting practices and sending its stock tumbling. In its report, Muddy Waters raised concerns about overpayment in NMC’s $107.4 million investment in the redevelopment of NMC Royal Women’s Hospital and purchase of Premier Care Home Medical and Health Care LLC. It also highlighted “red flags” in the company’s reported cash

The British pound could soar to $1.65 in 2020 and the currency will be one of the biggest trades in the world, a currency strategist told CNBC Thursday. Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe,” Michael Harris, founder of Cribstone Strategic Macro, predicted the currency could see a surge as investors revaluated the U.K.’s long-term potential. “It’ll be one of the biggest trades in the world.” The pound rallied to $1.35 — a jump of more than 2% — following pro-Brexit Boris Johnson’s election victo

Rescuers work beside the wreckage of an Ethiopian Airlines’ aircraft at the crash site, some 50 km east of Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, on March 10, 2019. The number of people killed in commercial airplane crashes more than halved in 2019 from the previous year, according to one study by aviation consultants. In 2019, there were 86 recorded accidents around the world, eight of which were fatal. To70 said it factored a 4.2% growth in air traffic for 2019 over 2018 to then calculate that, acr

Why Ghosn’s escape from Japan puts the French government in an awkward positionFormer Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn met Lebanon’s president after fleeing from Japan, where he was smuggled out of house arrest by a private security company, two sources close to Ghosn said on Wednesday. CNBC’s Phil LeBeau reports.

The anti-government protests in Hong Kong thrust China’s influence into the spotlight and gave incumbent Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen a boost. Her popularity climbed further after widespread protests in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, which were spurred by fears of China’s growing influence and control. Today’s Hong Kong, tomorrow’s TaiwanThe “one country, two systems” framework would be a hard sell in Taiwan, where there have been several demonstrations in support of th

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will lead a group of U.S. officials who will attend the World Economic Forum later this month in Davos, Switzerland, the White House said Wednesday. Reuters reported on Dec. 17 that President Donald Trump planned to attend the annual Davos economic forum, citing asource familiar with the plan. In 2019, Trump had to cancel his plan to attend the annual gathering of global economic and world leaders due to agovernment shutdown. He attended the Davos forum in

President Donald Trump arrives on stage for a Keep America Great Rally at Kellogg Arena December 18, 2019, in Battle Creek, Michigan. So, I think that turbulence is going to carry on and intensify,” he told CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated on January 1 after President Trump threatened Tehran following an attack on the U.S. embassy in Iraq on Tuesday. On a geopolitical front, voters will be closely-watching the viability of a phase one trade deal between Chin

Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., speaks about the new iPhone 11. Apple will start working again with British chip designer Imagination Technologies, years after dissolving its relationship with the firm. In a short statement Thursday, Imagination Technologies announced a “new multi-year license agreement under which Apple has access to a wider range of Imagination’s intellectual property in exchange for license fees.” That news sent the once-listed firm’s shares tumbling as much

Don Larsen, the journeyman pitcher who reached the heights of baseball glory in 1956 for the New York Yankees when he threw a perfect game and the only no-hitter in World Series history, died Wednesday night. On the night before his perfect game, he had been out on the town, believing he was not in Stengel’s plans for the next day. He won Game 2 of the 1957 series against Hank Aaron and the Milwaukee Braves, but lost the decisive Game 7. Pitching against the Yankees on Oct. 8, the sixth annivers

President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani says he’d be willing to testify at his client’s Senate trial, but he would “love” to represent Trump in the proceedings. “I would testify, I would do demonstrations, I’d give lectures, I’d give summations, or I’d do what I do best, I’d try the case. I’d love to try the case,” Giuliani told reporters as he made his way into a New Year’s Eve celebration at the president’s Florida resort on Tuesday night. In that same interview, Giuliani said h