China’s November soybean purchases from the United States surged from a year earlier, data showed on Wednesday, as cargoes booked by importers with tariff-free quotas cleared customs. China brought in 2.56 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans, up from zero a year ago and 1.147 million tonnes in October, after Beijing issued waivers to exempt importers from hefty tariffs for some American cargoes. Crushers have made more rounds of purchases of U.S. beans in recent months after Beijing issued tariff-fr

The Nikkei 225 ticked down 0.17% while the broader Topix lost 0.42% by mid-day. Shimamura tumbled 7.1% after the clothing retailer cut its profit estimates for the year to February by about 25%, citing weak sales. Sugi Holdings lost 6.7% after earnings the drugstore chain operator’s quarterly earnings fell short of strong market expectations. Japan Post Insurance dropped 2.1% and its parent Japan Post Holdings ticked down 0.3% amid media report that the CEO of Japan Post Holdings and two top exe

Riot police stand guard next to a Christmas tree inside a shopping mall during an anti-government protest on Christmas Eve at Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong, China, December 24, 2019. Hundreds of protesters, dressed in black and wearing face masks, descended on shopping malls around the Chinese-ruled city, shouting popular slogans such as “Liberate Hong Kong! Police arrested several people in a shopping mall in the Sha Tin district after pepper-spraying them. Christmas ‘ruined’Baton-wielding police

Birk Ruud of Norway competes the Men’s Freeski Big Air finals during the 2019 Air+Style Beijing FIS SnowBoard World Cup on December 14, 2019 in Beijing, China. Lintao Zhang | Getty ImagesTwo Chinese cities — namely Beijing and Zhangjiakou — witnessed a burst of activity in winter sports investment after China was named the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics. China playing host to the 2022 Winter Olympics has given winter sports a boost in the world’s second-largest economy. Investment flowing inBe

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and Britain’s Prince Charles leave the St Mary Magdalene’s church after the Royal Family’s Christmas Day service on the Sandringham estate in eastern England, Britain, December 25, 2019. Britain’s Prince Andrew avoided the limelight on Christmas Day by skipping the royal family’s traditional mid-morning walk to church and attending an earlier service with other relatives. He was filmed walking along a path with his brother Prince Charles to St Mary Magdalene church near

Lev Parnas and wife Svetlana Parnas arrive at federal court on December 2, 2019 in New York City. A lawyer for Lev Parnas, an associate of U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani who has been charged with campaign finance violations, has requested to be withdrawn as counsel because of Parnas’ inability to pay both his lawyers, according to a filing made on Christmas Eve. New York-based criminal defense attorney Joseph Bondy, Parnas’ other lawyer, will continue to represent hi

Riot police stand guard next to a Christmas tree inside a shopping mall during an anti-government protest on Christmas Eve at Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong, China, December 24, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone SiuHong Kong anti-government protesters marched through Christmas-decorated shopping centers on Wednesday, chanting pro-democracy slogans and forcing one mall to close early, as police fired tear gas to disperse crowds gathering on nearby streets. The protests have turned more confrontational over the fe

Lighthouse along the Inside Passage, Port Hardy, British Columbia. (Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images)A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck a spot off the coast of British Columbia Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. At 8:36 p.m., the earthquake hit a spot 182 kilometers (113 miles) west of Port Hardy, a town of about 4,100 people, the agency said. The Seattle Times reports four of the five quakes were recorded as striking primarily on Vancouver Island and at the northern end of

US dollar and Chinese yuan arranged for a photograph on September 7, 2017. China will improve the mechanism to deal with bond defaults, as the number of corporate delinquencies rise, the official Shanghai Securities News reported on Wednesday. China’s central bank, securities watchdog and the state planning commission will soon publish rules that will regulate the disposal of corporate bond defaults, the newspaper said. Authorities will also publish guidelines for trustee business and creditor m

China’s November soybean purchases from the United States surged from a year earlier, data showed on Wednesday, as cargoes booked by importers with tariff-free quotas cleared customs. China brought in 2.56 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans, up from zero a year ago and 1.147 million tonnes in October, after Beijing issued waivers to exempt importers from hefty tariffs for some American cargoes. Crushers have made more rounds of purchases of U.S. beans in recent months after Beijing issued tariff-fr

Birk Ruud of Norway competes the Men’s Freeski Big Air finals during the 2019 Air+Style Beijing FIS SnowBoard World Cup on December 14, 2019 in Beijing, China. Lintao Zhang | Getty ImagesTwo Chinese cities — namely Beijing and Zhangjiakou — witnessed a burst of activity in winter sports investment after China was named the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics. China playing host to the 2022 Winter Olympics has given winter sports a boost in the world’s second-largest economy. Investment flowing inBe

The Nikkei 225 ticked down 0.17% while the broader Topix lost 0.42% by mid-day. Shimamura tumbled 7.1% after the clothing retailer cut its profit estimates for the year to February by about 25%, citing weak sales. Sugi Holdings lost 6.7% after earnings the drugstore chain operator’s quarterly earnings fell short of strong market expectations. Japan Post Insurance dropped 2.1% and its parent Japan Post Holdings ticked down 0.3% amid media report that the CEO of Japan Post Holdings and two top exe

But there’s another bellwether that’s worthy of your attention, too: Housing data, including home sales and homebuilding. Here’s what economists look at when it comes to housing data and what they expect next year could bring for the housing market. Why housing is important to the economyThe economy is based on the principle of supply and demand, and one thing that everyone needs is housing. But when it comes to what the housing industry is telling us for 2020, the signals are somewhat mixed. Th

But if you plan ahead and anticipate your needs, you can save money on everyday household items by ordering them from Amazon instead. “They’re often overpriced due to marketing gimmicks that you don’t really need and won’t make a difference in performance.” A 6-foot AmazonBasics USB iPhone charger is $6, while a 6-foot, Apple USB phone charger at Walmart is $14. They’re often overpriced due to marketing gimmicks that you don’t really need and won’t make a difference in performance. On Amazon, a

Holiday decor is an obvious after-Christmas bargain, with stores like Home Depot offering significant discounts on artificial trees and lights. But there are other great year-end sales to look out for, too. Many of them actually start in the days before Christmas, says Julie Ramhold, consumer analyst with DealNews.com. Box set giftsBox set gifts are prepackaged items stores sell as ready-to-gift presents, like a makeup kit or a collection of skin care items. “These items usually get discounted f

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is a versatile card that tops our lists for the best grocery rewards credit cards. CNBC Select calculated how many rewards the average American can earn if they optimize the way they use their Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express. Additional benefitsThe Blue Cash Preferred Card® from American Express offers a variety of benefits that can save you money on merchandise, shipping and travel. FeesThe Blue Cash Preferred® Card from Americ

What’s the difference between a credit card balance and statement balance? No, perhaps one of the biggest credit card myths is that it’s good to carry a balance on a credit card. If you’re already carrying a balance on a credit card, consider transferring it to a balance transfer credit card, such as the Discover it® Balance Transfer. When you receive your bill, there will be two balances listed: credit card balance and statement balance. A credit card balance is the total amount of money you cu

It can be difficult to stay on top of paying off multiple student loans, but it isn’t impossible. Here’s how to get organized and tackle your student loan debt this year. Often, student loan borrowers will have multiple loans, and even multiple loan servicers with different repayment plans for each. You should also keep track of log-in information for your student loan servicer so that you don’t get locked out of your account. Video by Ian Wolsten Using the “set it and forget it” approach to stu

Watch: Why the US votes on TuesdaysU.S. voter turnout rates rank low among peer nations. One major difference is the day people go to the polls. In the U.S., most elections are held on Tuesdays. In most of those other countries, it’s either a weekend or holiday. Could simply moving Election Day boost turnout?

The three top stocks in the S&P 500 are all chipmakers. Nancy Tengler, chief investment officer at Laffer Tengler Investments, says a few companies in the group still look good. Texas Instruments has outperformed the S&P 500, but Broadcom and Intel have lagged. All offer a dividend yield above the S&P 500 — Broadcom has the highest at 4.1%. Disclosure: Laffer Tengler Investments and Tengler have positions in Texas Instruments, Broadcom and Intel.