Johnson & Johnson “checks a lot of boxes heading into 2020,” according to Barclays. The firm upgraded shares of the pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods company to overweight from equal weight and hiked its 12-month price target to $173 per share from $140 per share. Johnson & Johnson closed at $143.19 per share on Wednesday. “We expect JNJ’s PE to expand closer to its peers and the market as investors return to focusing on fundamentals and reconsider its defensive merits,” said Barclays a

The Google search application is seen running on an iPhone on September 5, 2018. Investors don’t realize that Google is an e-commerce giant that can compete with Amazon, according to analysts at Baird. The firm said in a note Thursday that Google already facilitates about one-third of e-commerce sales and is poised to grow that in the coming years. “We believe Google is becoming a quasi-marketplace for brands/sellers that seeks to balance their exposure to Amazon and other marketplaces with havi

If you’re hoping to snag the best-available terms on a loan, standard guidance about credit card usage could end up interfering with your plans. The common advice is to keep revolving debt below 30% of your available credit so your so-called utilization rate doesn’t hurt your credit score. Yet experts say your FICO score — which many lenders use in their decision-making — starts taking a hit well below that threshold. “Anything above 5% will start lowering FICO scores,” said Al Bingham, a credit

The entertainment technology company announced Thursday its highest-grossing year ever at the global box office with more than $1.035 billion in ticket sales worldwide. This comes as the industry as a whole suffered another month of weak movie ticket sales in November, adding to a 2019 box office performance that has been struggling to outpace 2018. Internationally the company saw record box office growth in 22 countries and territories including China, India, Japan, France, Germany and more. Di

The last 10 years have seen the rise of internet-connected security cameras, smart speakers, doorbells, light bulbs, thermostats, vacuums and baby monitors from tech giants including Amazon, Google, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft. A 2018 study from NPR and Edison Research found 64% of participants purchased a smart speaker specifically to control other smart home devices. In 2019, users learned that people working for Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft and Apple were listening to their conversa

That has had a lasting and in some cases detrimental impact on America’s shopping malls. Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty ImagesThe trouble, however, is at the so-called C- and D-rated shopping malls, which bring in lower sales per square foot. It is also taking over Euclid Square Mall in Euclid, Ohio. Apparel retailers used to make up as much as 60% of leaseable square footage at a traditional shopping mall. A shopper walks through a near-empty shopping mall.

Exterior of a redesigned Chipotle restaurant Source: Chipotle Mexican GrillChipotle Mexican Grill announced Thursday that it is testing a different design for its restaurants as its digital business keeps growing. Interior of a redesigned Chipotle restaurant Source: Chipotle Mexican GrillNew features will include walk-up windows and different seating arrangements. To decide which design will roll out nationally, Chipotle will assess each location based on transactions, consumer feedback and its

You might be surprised to learn your iPhone tracks where you go. Apple’s latest iPhone software, iOS 13, helps protect you more than ever before, and lets you know which apps are tracking your location and when. For example, there’s a System Services page in iOS that shows 20 different ways your iPhone tracks your location. Apple tracks your location for “Location-Based Apple Ads,” for example. Here’s how to see how your iPhone is tracking your location and how to manage what it tracks.

Barclays called Johnson & Johnson a defensive pick for investors. “We think JNJ checks a lot of boxes heading into 2020, leaving risk/reward skewed to the upside. We think the Consensus outlook is achievable (p.s. there’s an extra week so it helps the top-line growth rates, bottom-line less so). The market has been in an extended upswing and investors looking for defensive names can find value here.”

Europe’s top court just delivered Airbnb a major victory as the company readies for its public debut next year. Airbnb cannot be treated as a real estate agency by European regulators, the European Court of Justice ruled Thursday morning. The ruling is a welcome boon for Airbnb as the company prepares for its anticipated public debut in 2020 and seeks to attract public investors weary of government regulation. The court concluded that Airbnb is ultimately “a tool to facilitate the conclusion of

Although the sector has broken above a key area of resistance, Stockton still needs more confirmation of the move to start trusting it. “We have seen some stabilization, in relative terms, for certain [energy] stocks or segments, but I think it’s a little bit too early to suggest that we’re seeing a meaningful long-term turnaround,” she said. “So, that would obviously have an impact and could make the energy sector at least less of a laggard in Q1.” John Petrides, a portfolio manager in Tocquevi

Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin speaks in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 11, 2019. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the new North American Free Trade Agreement will give the U.S economy a boost. “I think we are going to get an excess 50 basis points of additional growth in GDP as a result of this agreement. People who say this is just the NAFTA 2.0 just don’t understand the technicalities of this agreement,” Mnuchin said on CNBC’s Squawk on

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that he has no qualms that U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators will ink their “phase one” trade deal in early January. Asked by CNBC’s David Faber how certain he is the trade deal will be signed on schedule, the secretary said he was “very confident.” China and the U.S. announced on Friday they had reached a phase one deal including tariff relief, increased agricultural purchases and certain structural changes to intellectual property and technology

A single family home is shown for sale and in escrow in San Marcos, California, July 31, 2019. Home-buying slumped in November, with many Americans priced out of the market by rising prices and a shortage of sales listings. The National Association of Realtors says sales of existing homes fell 1.7% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million. The median home sales price has climbed 5.4% from a year ago to $257,400, outpacing wage growth. Over the past 12 months, the decline i

And as online sales continue to grow, the amount of items that people are returning during the holidays only continues to grow with them. The retail industry loses $50 billion each year because of inefficiencies with handling returns, Optoro said. Companies are finding other pain points, especially when returned merchandise sits untouched, without being processed and turned around to be resold. Nordstrom is opening up pint-sized shops known as Nordstrom Local that don’t actually house any invent

“Basketball is a vehicle to help those conversations to start and to continue and hopefully make progress,” he added. “Guys in the league are championing so many issues, not only domestically but across the world,” Curry told CNBC’s Nancy Hungerford. National Basketball Association star Stephen Curry said basketball remains an important vehicle for sparking conversation and driving progress, even as the league continues to suffer the consequences of political fallout with China . Golden State Wa

Why SpaceX and Amazon plan to drastically increase the number of satellites orbiting EarthSince the start of the space age, more than 8,800 objects have been launched into orbit, according to estimates from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. But in a few years, that number could increase significantly. Private companies plan to launch thousands of satellites to beam internet to customers on Earth. SpaceX alone has announced plans to launch 42,000 satellites. If this happens, Spac

Network, network, networkGetty ImagesNetworking — reaching out to friends, colleagues, professors or their connections — is still the best way to land a job. Use social media …A big part of networking is using social media sites such as LinkedIn, where recruiters go to look for job candidates. Always write a cover letterSend a cover letter along with your resume when applying for a job. That means researching the company and using what you gleaned in the cover letter — and during the interview,

Rep. Mark Meadows( R-NC) holds up a paper as Michael Cohen testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on February 27, 2019. One of President Donald Trump’s staunchest congressional allies won’t run for re-election in 2020 and might soon take on a role assisting the president. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said in a Thursday statement: “After prayerful consideration and discussion with family, today I’m announcing that my time serving Western North Ca

Democratic presidential hopeful former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the fifth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season co-hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia on November 20, 2019. Former Vice President Joe Biden is holding his ground as the 2020 Democratic presidential front-runner with six weeks before the first nominating contest. But the new NBC/WSJ poll shows Biden holding 50% of the African American vote whil