Wall Street set to open in the red1 Hour AgoDow futures were lower Wednesday morning as investors keep track of the U.S.-China trade talks, the protests in Hong Kong and the impeachment hearings in Washington. CNBC’s Rahel Solomon reports.

Urinating on the floor, stealing plants and abusing catering staff is not the kind of behavior you’d expect from people working for London’s financial watchdog. But the chief operating office at London’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has upbraided workers in an open letter on the organization’s intranet for their bad behavior, according to British media reports. Philippou reportedly hesitated before writing to staff but said keeping silent had not prompted a change in the “distasteful and sh

British inflation fell to its lowest level in nearly three years in October, official data showed, giving households a bit of a spending boost before next month’s election. Consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 1.5% compared with 1.7% in September as a regulator’s tariff cap pushed down electricity and gas prices for 15 million homes, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. “A fall in utility prices due to a lowering of the energy price cap helped ease inflation in October,” an

Africa-focused Tullow Oil on Wednesday cut its 2019 oil production and free cash flow forecast for the year because of ongoing problems at its Ghana fields, sending its shares 20% lower. Tullow has been struggling with its operations in Ghana due to mechanical issues at its Jubilee field and a delay in completing a well at TEN offshore field. The London-listed company now expects annual oil output to be 87,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), down from an earlier forecast of 89-93,000 bopd. (Full

Last month, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell announced a rate cut for the third time this year. However, he also signaled that there could be a pause in any further monetary policy easing. The Fed’s “communication has been somewhat erratic over the last three or four meetings,” Charles Plosser, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia told CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche Wednesday. In September, Powell had said there would not be any more rate cuts in 2019 nor in 2020. However, the Fed w

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo isn’t worried about booming U.S. shale production pushing the oil price down despite a difficult year for the 14-member crude producing organization, which has struggled to keep prices from falling in a low demand environment. Asked about the disruptive impact of U.S. shale on the energy market, and whether the abundant commodity could torpedo OPEC’s efforts to boost prices into the new year, Barkindo cited an impending s

Investment and trade growth at the moment are reliant on a deal between the U.S. and China, the secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) told CNBC Wednesday. In September, the OECD cut its global growth forecasts, predicting that the global economy will see its weakest growth in 2019, predicting growth of 2.9%, since the financial crisis in 2008-2009. The forecasts were down from its May outlook when it predicted the global economy would grow 3.2% thi

Switzerland’s largest bank has warned that a global economic recovery will take much longer, and occur at a much slower pace, than many investors expect. It comes at a time when market focus is largely attuned to global trade developments, amid conflicting signals over the extent of progress in trade talks between the world’s two largest economies. “We are running at very, very low global growth levels,” Arend Kapteyn, global head of economics and strategy research at UBS, told CNBC’s Joumanna B

Europe is concerned that some U.S. tech companies may not be taking the proper steps needed to protect the personal information of its citizens, a Dutch politician said on Wednesday. But that does not mean Europe and the United States are headed for a “digital war” over the ownership of consumer data, Raymond Knops, minister of the interior and kingdom relations in the Netherlands, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “What you can see is that Europe is self-confident about how we deal with our data and th

Alibaba got the greenlight from Hong Kong regulators on Tuesday to go ahead with the share sale, the source said. Alibaba is planning a secondary listing in Hong Kong which is likely to take place in the last week of November and raise approximately $13 billion, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told CNBC. A spokesperson for the Hong Kong stock exchange was not immediately available for comment. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, Alibaba acknow

Google will offer checking accounts next year, according to a source familiar with the company’s plans, representing big tech’s boldest move yet into the consumer banking business as most have focused on credit cards and payment platforms. The accounts for the project will be run by Citigroup and the Stanford Federal Credit Union. As part of a project code-named Cache, the company will become the latest Silicon Valley leader to try its hand at the banking space. Google does not intend to sell cu

President Donald Trump looks on as his nominee for the chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell takes to the podium during a press event in the Rose Garden at the White House, November 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. Former Indian central bank chief Raghuram Rajan warned that the biggest threat to the U.S. economy will come from President Donald Trump’s trade policies. He further highlighted that Trump’s administration “doubled down” on its trade war with China just after the Fed embarked on its

U.S. government debt prices were lower Wednesday morning, as investors awaited a fresh batch of economic data. ET, the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, was higher at around 1.9173%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also higher at around 2.3955%. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will testify on the economic outlook before the Joint Economic Committee at around 11:00 a.m. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Philadelp

ET, Dow futures fell 61 points, indicating a negative open of more than 52 points. Investors also reacted to a speech from President Donald Trump, when he said he wanted to reach a trade deal with China but offered no detail about how talks have evolved. Market players are therefore weighing the prospects of a trade deal between China and the U.S. Furthermore, investors are also waiting to hear from Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, who will address the Joint Economic Committee at 11:00 a

Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu arrives during a press conference in Taipei on May 1, 2018. China said on Wednesday Taiwan was scaremongering with talk of a possible Chinese attack, after Taiwan’s foreign minister said Beijing could resort to military conflict to divert domestic pressure if an economic slowdown bites. And President Xi Jinping said in January that China reserves the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control but will strive to achieve peaceful “reunification.” “Under

There are plenty of obscure interview questions out there — from Facebook’s time test to Elon Musk’s geography riddle. After all, the question is just a small piece of the puzzle: It’s really about getting to the answer behind your answer, according to Ryan. “I usually ask three whys on whatever question I ask,” Ryan, who is president and CEO of leadership development body, the Centre for Creative Leadership, told CNBC Make It. It’s a technique inspired by nuclear science, said Ryan, and it’s on

Protesters set up barricades outside the MTR train station at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong on November 12, 2019. Hong Kong prepared for more clashes on Wednesday as anti-government protesters paralysed parts of the Asian financial hub for a third day, with some transport links, schools and many businesses closing after an escalation of violence. Thousands of commuters were queuing at metro stations across the city early on Wednesday after some railway services were suspended

A tourist walks near the Rialto bridge after the passage of the exceptional high tide that reached 187cm on November 12, 2019 in Venice, Italy. Venice was hit by the second highest tide recorded in the lagoon city on Tuesday, which flooded its historic basilica and left many of its squares and alleyways deep underwater. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said he would declare a state of disaster and warned of severe damage. City officials said the tide peaked at 187 cm (6.14 ft) at 10.50 p.m. local time, just

Democratic presidential hopeful Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren speaks during the fourth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season co-hosted by The New York Times and CNN at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio on October 15, 2019. U.S. presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren’s proposed wealth tax may not come to pass even if she’s elected, says prominent investor Mark Mobius who added that the markets would still fall anyway. Warren, a front-runner for the Dem

Chinese start-up Xpeng Motors raised $400 million from investors as it looks to boost the production of its new models and gain a larger slice of China’s fast-growing electric vehicle market. Chinese smartphone-maker Xiaomi is one of the investors. CNBC reported earlier this year that Xpeng was looking for fresh funding for growth. The company plans to launch the P7 sedan in Spring 2020 and will start delivery in the second quarter next year. “Xiaomi’s experience and insight in consumer behavior