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

Software company SAP has topped the charts as the best technology company to work for in India right now. The German multinational took first place in Indeed’s “Top-rated workplaces 2019” — a list which named established international names alongside homegrown start-ups among India’s best tech employers. The job portal’s list of 15 names was based on companies that had received the highest employee ratings on its site. Jose Luis Pelaez IncWhile the top spots were dominated by global tech names,

Here are three predictions the veteran Wall Street trader offered for 2020:Prediction one: Despite a still strong U.S. economy, there will be no Fed rate hikes in the next year. “I think the Fed is somewhat intimidated by the market…And the market, if anything, thinks the Fed is ahead of itself on higher rates.” So how did Cashin do with his 2019 predictions? Prediction one: No Fed rate hikes in 2019 — Correct. Prediction three: Stocks will be flat in 2019 after being down in the first half of

The House impeached Trump, setting up trial in the SenateThe House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump, marking only the third time in American history that the House has impeached a president. CNBC’s Ylan Mui reports from Washington.

Wall Street set to open with modest gains2 Hours AgoU.S. stock index futures were slightly higher Thursday morning despite Wall Street falling short of extending its five-day winning streak on Wednesday. CNBC’s Rahel Solomon reports.

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday as Wall Street digested mixed economic data along with news of President Donald Trump’s impeachment. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s business conditions index fell to 0.3 in December from 10.4 in the previous month. Wall Street fell short of extending its five-day winning streak on Wednesday, as stocks reversed gains late in the trading day. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq had both climbed to reach intraday all-time highs earlier in t

In this way, Trump’s impeachment process is shaping up to reflect former President Bill Clinton’s, where stocks rallied, as opposed to former President Richard Nixon’s, where stocks fell. The S&P 500 fell 13% from the start of the formal impeachment process for Nixon through Nixon’s resignation in August of 1974. Conversely, during Clinton’s impeachment process, which went from October 1998 to February 1999, the 500-stock index rallied more than 26%. Trump’s process is looking more like Clinton’

Brendan McDermid | ReutersMany Wall Street indicators show that investors are confident about the future of the market, but some traders are bracing for the worst. The Cboe Volatility Index, commonly known as the VIX, is trading near its lowest level this year, and a Bank of America-Merrill Lynch indicator shows market stress well below normal. The VIX, often called Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” measures implied near-term volatility expectations in the S&P 500 via prices for options on the benchma

The young free spender demographic, as defined by McKinsey, covers young people who live predominantly in China’s less developed, lower-tier cities. This trend goes beyond the young free spenders, but they are clearly a big driver of this trend. More spending on health”What we do see clearly is increase in spending, particularly in categories that are focused on health and lifestyle. This trend goes beyond the young free spenders, but they are clearly a big driver of this trend,” Poh said. Those

Kelly Cui, principal analyst with consultancy Wood Mackenzie, said the exemptions on the chemical products would benefit companies such as Dow Chemical , Exxon Mobil , and Chevron Phillips Chemical , which have since 2017 been adding shale-based ethylene production facilities and targeting China as the prime export market. The tariff waivers will apply to four chemical products, such as metallocene high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and a special grade of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), a

Sweden’s central bank hiked its benchmark repo rate by a quarter point to zero as expected on Thursday, defying a slowdown in the economy and global uncertainty to draw a line under five years with negative interest rates. The hike from -0.25% means the Riksbank becomes the first central bank to inch its way back up to what was long considered the floor for interest rates. “The Riksbank assesses that conditions are good for inflation to remain close to the target going forward,” the central bank

A senior police officer speaks to students at the Town Hall during a demonstration held against India’s new citizenship law in spite of a curfew in Bangalore on December 19, 2019. Police detained several hundred protesters in some of India’s biggest cities Thursday as they defied a ban on assembly that authorities imposed to stop widespread demonstrations against a new citizenship law that opponents say threatens the country’s secular democracy. Dozens of demonstrations were planned around the c

Amazingly, Kawaii Monster Cafe has attained this celebrity status in just four years. Daniele VenturelliWhat is Kawaii Monster Cafe? Patrons are greeted by a three-tiered cake merry-go-round at the entrance of Kawaii Monster Cafe. Courtesy of Kawaii Monster CafeLocated in the bustling Harajuku district — Tokyo’s center of vibrant youth culture and fashion trends — colorful and quirky Kawaii Monster Cafe fits right in. The Mel-Tea Room, one of four dining areas at Tokyo’s Kawaii Monster Cafe.