Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant will soon speak more emotionally. The company announced new tools on Wednesday that will allow developers who build Alexa into skills to express excitement or disappointment with varying levels of intensity. The voice assistant will be able to respond with high, medium or low degrees of the two emotions. Amazon said it built the feature because “customer feedback indicates that overall satisfaction with the voice experience increased by 30% when Alexa responded by

Pro-democracy protesters march on a street as they take part in a demonstration in Causeway Bay district on November 2, 2019 in Hong Kong, China. “Hong Kong at the moment is the biggest geopolitical risk out there for markets,” Schmieding told CNBC. Anti-government protests have engulfed Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous territory that operates under Chinese rule, for several months. Trump’s bills would require an annual certification of Hong Kong’s autonomy, and bar the sale of ammunition including

Graham Stephan can afford to buy nearly anything he wants: The 29-year-old earns up to $220,000 in a single month and is on track to make a minimum of $1.6 million in 2019. Still, the YouTube star and real estate investor is careful with his cash. “I’ve always enjoyed the aspect of not spending money, even as a kid,” he tells CNBC Make It, adding, “I end up saving about 99% of my income, just because my income is so high, and I keep my expenses so low.” Stephan, whose net worth crossed $1 millio

Brands including Lego and Pepsi have taken to Twitter to mock Tesla’s Cybertruck — the ‘bulletproof’ electric pickup truck whose windows were smashed by a metal ball at its launch last week. Toy company Lego tweeted on Wednesday: “The evolution of the truck is here. The launch of Tesla’s Cybertruck attracted worldwide headlines when Musk claimed it was “bulletproof” against a 9mm handgun at a promotional event in Los Angeles last Thursday. But when Tesla’s chief designer Franz Von Holzhausen thr

Barclays has rebalanced its equity focus away from the U.S. and toward Europe and emerging markets for 2020. In its 2020 outlook, published Wednesday, the British lender said it expects European equities to deliver further gains, setting a target for the Stoxx 600 of 430 by the end of 2020, up 6% from Wednesday’s open. The rise is expected to be more moderate than in 2019, and Barclays analysts identified a late-stage business cycle, overbought technicals and normalized valuations as possible ri

Shortly before graduating from college, WW CEO Mindy Grossman changed the course of her entire life. So, as she neared the end of college in Washington, D.C., she was headed toward law school and marriage. “I woke up one morning and had an epiphany, but I’m sure it wasn’t truly that one morning. And I’ve decided — I don’t want to go to law school in the fall, and I’m leaving school right now. “I first heard that from Mindy Grossman … I love her, because she’s willing to take risks, and she’s wil

A re:Store shop in Tverskaya Street as Apple launches iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR sales in Russia. Ukraine has denounced Apple for referring to the annexed Crimean Peninsula as a Russian territory on its apps. The way global companies identify Crimea has been a highly sensitive issue for both countries since Kremlin-backed forces annexed the region from Ukraine in March 2014. For users of Apple devices in Crimea, the territory is now shown as part of Russia when it is searched on the

People watch a TV broadcast showing file footage for a news report on North Korea firing two projectiles, possibly missiles, into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan, in Seoul, South Korea, October 31, 2019. North Korea fired unidentified projectiles on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, the first such launch in nearly a month, amid a stalemate in denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington, as a year-end deadline looms to strike a deal. South Korea’s military said the

Shoppers walk past an empty commercial unit in the central market square of Boston, England, Nov. 8, 2019. The River Witham and St. Botolph’s Church, known locally as the ‘Boston Stump’, in Boston, England, Nov. 8, 2019. A Union Jack flies from an apartment block against the backdrop of the ‘Boston Stump’ in Boston, England, Nov. 8, 2019. A vacant furnishing store in Boston, England, Nov. 8, 2019. A commercial unit sits empty beside a pawn shop in Boston, England, Nov. 8, 2019.

Stocks in Asia were set to trade higher at the open on Thursday as markets await investor reaction to bills backing protesters in Hong Kong which were signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday. Futures pointed to a higher open for Japanese stocks, with the Nikkei futures contract in Chicago at 23,485 and its counterpart in Osaka at 23,590. Meanwhile, shares in Australia rose in early trade, with the S&P/ASX 200 about 0.3% higher. Trump has signed into law two bills backing prot

“The credit bureaus don’t have a so-called ‘married credit report’ or anything like that,” John Ulzheimer, formerly of FICO and Equifax, tells CNBC Select. “When someone changes their last name, it is automatically added to their credit report after they notify their creditors of the new name. Expect to still see your old last name on your credit report (in addition to your new last name), which is normal. “Because credit reports are stored and maintained at the individual consumer level, your s

If you’re looking for ways to end up with more money at the end of each month, you may want to start with examining what you’re spending at home. However, you can use simple, painless strategies to cut back on your household expenses — and end up ahead. That translates to almost $200 per year in energy costs if you’re drying at home, or more than $1,000 annually if you frequent the laundromat, according to the Spruce. While air drying does take a little longer, you can expect to save on more tha

If you’re anything like me, by the Saturday after Thanksgiving you can’t stomach the thought of another turkey sandwich. One of Brooke Frizzell’s Thanksgiving leftover creations, Thanksgiving fritters. Tacos and enchiladasI grew up in Texas, and post-Thanksgiving turkey tacos were an annual tradition in my family. I always have taco seasoning on hand from my favorite local spice shop, but any taco seasoning you like will transform bland turkey into delicious tacos in almost no time at all. Any t

If you’re hoping to come up with extra cash to put toward a big goal, there’s no need to go cold turkey on spending. Take inspiration from a health trend and try an intermittent fast — for your finances. You might be surprised at what you’re spending your money on and how small purchases add up. Once you know what you’re spending a lot of your money on, you can decide what to cut out for your fast. But doing so temporarily can help you figure out how much of those expenses are true wants versus

One common credit card question: Does your salary and income impact your credit score? “Income isn’t even on your credit reports so it cannot be considered in credit scores because credit scores only consider what’s on your credit reports,” Ulzheimer explains. Income doesn’t affect your credit score, but it’s still important to know the five main factors of a FICO credit score, which is the most common credit score used by lenders. While income doesn’t have a direct impact on your credit score,

If a Christmas tree is on your holiday shopping list, expect higher prices and bigger crowds at the tree lot this year. “Remember: A Christmas tree outdoors will look much smaller than it will inside your living room.” For example, Bell’s Christmas Tree Farm in Accord, New York, has about a dozen types of trees for sale this year. Courtesy of Bell’s Christmas Tree FarmDepending on your answers, one variety might be a better value for your needs than another. “If you’re not particular on the type

Black Friday is “bigger than it ever was,” although consumers are shifting when, where and how they shop, former Toys R Us CEO Gerald Storch told CNBC on Wednesday, dismissing those who say the frenzy is dying down. “All that’s happened is the event is bigger than it ever was, just more of the sales are taking place on Thursday, which used to have zero sales,” the Storch Advisors CEO said. “Friday is not quite as big as it was, Saturday’s not as big as it was, but in total it’s a huge event. Sto

Boeing’s 737 Max jet will probably not be ready to fly by early March, an aviation safety expert told CNBC on Wednesday. It is the third time in two weeks that the FAA has said publicly it will take all the time it needs to deem the 737 Max safe. Diehl, a former air safety investigator at the NTSB, said he believes FAA certification is hardly imminent. The 737 Max has been grounded worldwide since March after two of them crashed — one in October 2018 and the other in March — killing 346 people i

Older adults are being targeted by cybercrimes because they have more money in their accountsCybercrimes targeting older adults are on the rise. CNBC’s Kate Fazzini joins ‘The Exchange’ to discuss.

Anti-government protesters burned down an Iranian consulate building in southern Iraq on Wednesday, while six protesters were killed by security forces who fired live rounds amid ongoing violence in the country, Iraqi officials said Wednesday. Protesters are occupying three key bridges in central Baghdad – Jumhuriya, Ahrar and Sinar – in a standoff with security forces. On Wednesday, they also burned tires on Ahrar Bridge to block security forces from accessing the area. The burning of the Irani