Trading Costco here may be worth the cost. Despite its recent sideways trading, the ETF’s chart looks “strong,” with a nearly 21% gain year to date, Gordon said. Given Costco’s strength, Gordon wanted to put on a bullish trade through the company’s Dec. 12 earnings report. “We did put on a hedge with our customers [Wednesday] in the TLT,” Gordon said. The XLP, or the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF, closed down less than 1% on Thursday.

Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro, Head of Italy’s far-right League (Lega) party, Matteo Salvini and President of Veneto Luca Zaia visit Venice during high tide in St. Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco) on November 15, 2019 in Venice, Italy. A new exceptional high tide of 160 cm was registered today at 11.20 am. Sirens wailed across Venice from the early morning hours, warning of the impending high tide, and the crypt beneath St. Mark’s Basilica was swiftly inundated. A flooded St. Mark’s square (Pia

Risk-reward in the UK offers an ‘outstanding opportunity,’ strategist saysStuart Roden, former chairman of Lansdowne Partners, says he sees opportunities in the U.K. after Brexit.

Taylor Swift accuses Scooter Braun of ‘tyrannical control’ over her musicTaylor Swift’s public feud with music industry executives Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun continued Thursday when she claimed on social media they were “exercising tyrannical control” and blocking her from performing her old music at the American Music Awards, where she will be honored with the Artist of the Decade Award on Nov. 24. CNBC’s “Squawk Box” crew discuss.

U.S. government debt prices retreated on Friday as investors grew more optimistic about a U.S.-China trade agreement. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, rose to around 1.8428%, the first day of gains since Monday. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also higher at around 2.3238%. Larry Kudlow, the White House economic adviser, said Thursday that Washington is getting close to a trade deal with Beijing. His comments have followed recent report

U.S. stock index futures were higher Friday after White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said China and the U.S. were getting close to reaching a trade deal. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 104 points, indicating a positive open of more than 106 points. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were also higher. Both the Dow and S&P 500 were poised to hit record highs at the open. The S&P 500 and Dow are up 3.4% and 2.8%, respectively, over the past month.

Professionals with expertise in data analytics, virtual assistance programming and machine learning are enjoying lucrative remote working opportunities, according to a new report highlighting the fastest-growing freelance jobs. Demand for data analytics professionals rose 58.9% last quarter, making it the most sought-after skill right now, according to freelance online marketplace Freelancer in its new Fast 50 jobs report. But then for your depth and your breadth, you’ll have a virtual workforce

China’s new home prices maintained steady growth in October but soft patches emerged in the country’s larger cities where momentum slowed, suggesting local authorities could relax some anti-speculative measures to prop up faltering demand. Average new home prices in China’s 70 major cities rose 0.5% in October from the previous month, in line with September’s growth and marking the 54th straight month of gains, Reuters calculated based on National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data on Friday. “We e

Blockchain technology could increase transparency around food and beverage products, but experts are divided on how it could affect the prices customers pay. Blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, is a public ledger of every transaction that has taken place. With blockchain, food suppliers and middlemen can submit data about the breeding, manufacturing, and transport of products into a ledger, which customers can then access. Getting ahead of food borne illnessesMeanwhi

Britain’s opposition Labour Party said it would nationalize parts of telecoms provider BT’s network if it won power in the December 12 election to provide free full-fiber broadband for all. Labour said it would nationalize Openreach – the digital network arm of the country’s biggest broadband and mobile phone provider — as well as parts of BT Technology, BT Enterprise and BT Consumer. “It’s time to make the very fastest full-fiber broadband free to everybody, in every home in every corner of the

China’s central bank extended 200 billion yuan ($28.60 billion) through its medium-term lending facility on Friday, the second time it has done so this month, while keeping the lending rate unchanged. The move to add long-term funds caught the market off guard as the central bank had already injected funds last week. In the short term, high consumer inflation was keeping policymakers from immediately cutting interest rates, he said. “But at least it has to release liquidity to support economic g

Protesters build a wall to block a road at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, in Hong Kong on November 14, 2019. A statement by the Hong Kong government said Cheng suffered “serious bodily harm” but gave no details. Protesters used barriers and other debris to block the Cross-Harbour Tunnel that links Hong Kong island to Kowloon district, leading to severe traffic congestion. Xi said in Brazil on Thursday stopping violence was the most urgent task for Hong Kong. Many in Hong Kong are angry at

Frequent travelers now have a whole new way to view loyalty points — thanks to a growing trend in loyalty program: hard-to-replicate, bucket-list experiences. From red carpet access and backstage passes to cooking classes with Michelin-starred chefs, there’s an entire realm of VIP travel opportunities designed around the new “experience economy.” Michael Tran | FilmMagic | Getty ImagesPoints can be redeemed for VIP tickets to Manchester United matches with stadium lounge access (40,000 points) a

U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper pressed South Korea on Friday to pay more for the cost of stationing U.S. troops in the country and to maintain an intelligence-sharing pact with its other Asian ally Japan that Seoul is about to let lapse. South Korea “is a wealthy country and could and should pay more” for the deployment of U.S. military in the South, Esper told a briefing in Seoul after meeting Jeong. The United States and South Korea are scrambling to clinch an agreement in the coming wee

Alibaba announced pricing of shares for its upcoming secondary listing in Hong Kong in which it could raise up to $13.8 billion. The company said those retail shares will be priced at no more than 188 Hong Kong dollars (about $24.01). Alibaba’s Hong Kong shares are expected to begin trading on Nov. 26. But since then, the Hong Kong stock exchange has reformed its rules to allow dual class share structures. Alibaba’s Hong Kong listing would make it the biggest fundraising of the year, ahead of Ub

Airbus will stop building its A380 superjumbo in 2021 — but that won’t stop the firm continuing to market it as a secondhand option. In 2018, Hi Fly, a Portuguese aircraft leasing company that also supplies crew, maintenance and insurance became the first operator of a secondhand Airbus A380. At the time, Airbus’ A380 business development leader, Catherine Bras, said helping to build a secondhand market was an opportunity to show what the aircraft can do. Hi Fly President and CEO Paulo Mirpuri t

A Chinese mobile phone user in Shanghai, China. U.S. and Chinese tech firms are pumping a lot of money into developing AI, and both countries have launched their own national strategies around it. “On AI, China is implementing the technology very fast in facial recognition, speed recognition, self-driving vehicles, smart cities and medical diagnoses,” Rebecca Fannin, author of “Tech Titans of China,” told CNBC. But Chinese fintech has often moved faster than the regulators. “It’s clear China wan

China Ocean Shipping Company, known as COSCO (COSCO Group), is the company in charge of transportation services in the biggest Port of Piraeus in Greece. China is looking to transform Greece’s Piraeus port into the biggest harbor in Europe — making it the most crucial transit hub for trade between Asia and Europe. In 2016, China’s shipping firm Cosco purchased a majority stake in Piraeus port. “The objective is to transform it into the biggest transit hub between Europe and Asia and, potentially

Global oil demand in the third quarter of 2019 grew by 1.1 million barrels a day, more than double the 435,000 barrels a day in the previous quarter, according to the latest report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). China was the largest contributor, with demand increasing by 640,000 barrels a day year-on-year, and the energy agency’s closely-watched report projected a year-on-year acceleration in global growth of 1.9 million barrels per day for the final quarter of 2019. Supply grew by

Global debt hit a record high of over $250 trillion in the first half of this year, led by a surge in borrowings in the U.S. and China, according to a new report. The report, released by the International Institute of Finance (IIF) on Thursday, showed that global debt surged by $7.5 trillion in the first six months of 2019. The IIF said the overall number hit $250.9 trillion at the end of this period, and will exceed $255 trillion by the end of 2019. Similarly, EM debt also hit a new record of $