“Treasury yields are falling again thanks to U.S./Iran geopolitical concerns,” said Matthew Graham, chief operating officer of Mortgage News Daily. “Modest gains in MBS will add up to another slight improvement in mortgage rates and thus the 3rd day in a row we can claim the lowest rates in about a month.” While mortgage rates are determined by mortgage-backed securites (MBS), they tend to loosely follow the yield of the U.S. 10-year Treasury note. Mortgage rates had been falling over the past f

A U.K. employment tribunal has ruled that ethical veganism is a “philosophical belief” that should be legally protected in the same way as a religion. The ruling, confirmed to CNBC Friday by lawyers acting on the case, means ethical vegans in the U.K. will be protected from discrimination by law. While all vegans eat a plant-based diet, ethical vegans avoid all forms of animal exploitation, such as products made from wool or those tested on animals. Meanwhile, Casamitjana said in a statement tha

A woman holds different colored models of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 at the launch event of the Galaxy Note 10 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, August 7, 2019. Samsung sold 6.7 million 5G smartphones worldwide in 2019, the company announced Friday. The South Korean consumer electronics giant said it took up about 54% of global market share for 5G phones as of November 2019, citing data from industry research firm Counterpoint. Samsung released its latest 5G flagship, the Note 10+ 5G

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks at the Elysee Palace on May 06, 2019 in Paris, France. French President Emmanuel Macron is under growing pressure from trade unions as he seeks to reform the country’s pension system. The latest dispute doesn’t seem to have an end in sight, with trade unions criticizing Macron for “living in his own bubble.” During his new years’ address, President Macron asked for a “rapid compromise” between his government and workers. President Emmanuel Macron vowed ahe

RBC Capital raised its price target on the stock and said it sees higher customer interest and satisfaction with current iPhones as well as increasing interest in Wearables. “We raise our near-term estimates, as our social media webscraping analysis, through RBC Elements, indicates higher customer interest and satisfaction with the current-year iPhone lineup, as well as sustained and increasing interest in Wearables (AirPods). In addition, we believe better customer reception and our outlook for

Democratic presidential candidatte Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) speaks during the Democratic presidential primary debate at Loyola Marymount University on December 19, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Sen. Amy Klobuchar raised $11.4 million, her campaign announced Friday, more than doubling the $4.8 million raised in the third quarter. This was the Democratic presidential candidate’s strongest fundraising quarter so far, her campaign said. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who leads the money race, raised a who

That’s thanks to the California Consumer Privacy Act, which went into effect on Wednesday, January 1, and deals with how large companies are allowed to collect and use data of California residents. It gives California consumers the ability to request personal data be deleted from a given company, among other protections. The law will make it harder for companies to collect and manage the kind of data about consumers that has powered digital advertising for years. Though the law went into effect

Normally savvy investors forked over nearly $8 million in hopes of gaining access to what they thought was Gignac’s untold wealth. Or a fascination with royalty,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Saima Mohsin said in an interview with CNBC’s “American Greed.” It’s not the truth,” she told “American Greed.” “Most of us can be conned at some point as long as that person is giving us something we want.” To spot the fakers, Wentz urges people to be on the lookout for some of the telltale communication styles

The Food and Drug Administration would consider restricting the sale of menthol-flavored vaping products if teens start using them as the agency moves to ban most other flavors, an FDA official said Friday. Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that if kids start to “migrate” to menthol-flavored pods, then the federal agency will “revisit” its rules. The FDA announced Thursday it is banning most fruit- and mint-flavored nicotine vaping products

The Apple logo is seen on the window at an Apple Store on January 7, 2019 in Beijing, China. Two major analysts hiked their price targets on Apple to near the highest on Wall Street on Friday, a day after the tech giant surpassed $300 a share for the first time. “In short, 11/11 Pro interest has been higher and higher-for-longer, which we expect to support Dec-qtr sales results,” Muller said in the note. Bank of America, which previously had a target price of $290 per share, projected strong per

Allianz’s El-Erian: Short-term effects of Soleimani killing are not the issueStocks moved pre-market Friday on the news that the U.S. killed Iran’s top general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad. Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz, and Mike Santoli, CNBC’s senior markets commentator, join “Squawk Box” to discuss the market impact.

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:Apple – Bank of America raised its price target on the stock to $330 per share from $290, pointing to continued strength in revenue growth. At the same time, RBC Capital raised its price target for Apple to $330 from $295, saying it sees higher customer interest and satisfaction with current iPhones as well as positive reception for AirPods. Anixter had agreed Thursday to a sweetened takeover deal from private equity firm Clayton Dubilier

Safe-haven assets rallied Friday after the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general sparked fears of a broader conflict that could disrupt energy production and drag down the global economy. Gold rose more than 1% to $1,547.19 per ounce, inches away from hitting a six-year high reached in September. The U.S. dollar index popped 0.2%, while the Japanese yen hit a two-month high of 107.92 against the greenback. Investors flocked to safe assets after the U.S. airstrike ordered by President Donald Trum

Samsung on Friday announced two new budget-friendly phones, the Galaxy Note 10 Lite, which includes Samsung’s popular S Pen stylus, and the Galaxy S10 Lite. Samsung did not announce pricing or release dates for either phone, but they are expected to be cheaper than the flagship versions. The phones were announced ahead of CES 2020 and, importantly, ahead of Apple’s rumored iPhone SE 2 phone that’s expected sometime in the first quarter of this year, according to TF securities analyst Ming-Chi Ku

The first monthly Social Security check was issued to a 65-year-old legal secretary named Ida May Fuller in 1940. Today, Social Security represents about 33% of all income for older Americans. Remember: Social Security was not envisioned as your sole source of money for retirement, and the totals are always changing. So how much should you expect from Social Security if you make $40,000 a year? Watch this video for a breakdown of how much you will get and how your monthly benefit will be calcula

TradingAnalysis.com founder Todd Gordon said Thursday the charts are pointing to an even bigger rally for AMD. On a daily chart of AMD, Gordon emphasized that a “well-established uptrend” suggests there’s more room to run for the stock. Su’s tenure as CEO has actually strengthened the stock’s fundamentals, Sanchez said. “They had solid Q3 2019 numbers with 9 percent growth and they are expected to continue to take market share away from Intel.” Shares trade at 42 times forward earnings, more tha

Manufacturing activity in the U.S. contracted to its lowest level in more than a decade last month even as China and the U.S. showed progress on the trade front. The Institute for Supply Management said Friday its manufacturing index fell in December to 47.2. That’s its lowest level since June 2009, whet it hit 46.3. December also marked the fifth straight month of contraction for the U.S. manufacturing sector. Still, ISM said new orders in the manufacturing sector dropped 0.4 percentage points

DETROIT – General Motors’ U.S. vehicle sales declined 2.3% last year compared with 2018, including a 6.3% year-over-year drop in the fourth-quarter. GM on Friday said it sold nearly 2.9 million vehicles in 2019, including more than 1 million crossovers for the second year in a row, an increase of 12.7% for the utility vehicles compared with 2018. Sales for the company’s Buick, Cadillac and GMC brands were flat or slightly up, while the company’s largest brand, Chevrolet, declined 3.8%. Most nota

They appear to have more to hash out before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sends the House-passed articles of impeachment to the Senate. McConnell, who has called the articles of impeachment “weak,” has not made any assurances about witnesses and suggested the Senate will move quickly to acquit Trump. The latest developments in the Middle East will likely draw some of the Senate’s attention away from impeachment this month. “It underscores the need for the Senate to subpoena the witnesses

Southwest Airlines flight 1117 from St. Louis lands at Boston Logan International Airport on March 13, 2019. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)A U.S. airstrike that killed Iran’s top military leader drove up oil prices more than 3% on Friday and sent shares in airline stocks tumbling. American Airlines shares were down 4.8% in morning trading, while United and Delta were off more than 3%, and Southwest lost 2.4%. Sustained higher crude prices could hurt airline balance sh