China’s new home prices maintained steady growth in October but soft patches emerged in the country’s larger cities where momentum slowed, suggesting local authorities could relax some anti-speculative measures to prop up faltering demand. Average new home prices in China’s 70 major cities rose 0.5% in October from the previous month, in line with September’s growth and marking the 54th straight month of gains, Reuters calculated based on National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data on Friday. “We e

Blockchain technology could increase transparency around food and beverage products, but experts are divided on how it could affect the prices customers pay. Blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, is a public ledger of every transaction that has taken place. With blockchain, food suppliers and middlemen can submit data about the breeding, manufacturing, and transport of products into a ledger, which customers can then access. Getting ahead of food borne illnessesMeanwhi

Britain’s opposition Labour Party said it would nationalize parts of telecoms provider BT’s network if it won power in the December 12 election to provide free full-fiber broadband for all. Labour said it would nationalize Openreach – the digital network arm of the country’s biggest broadband and mobile phone provider — as well as parts of BT Technology, BT Enterprise and BT Consumer. “It’s time to make the very fastest full-fiber broadband free to everybody, in every home in every corner of the

China’s central bank extended 200 billion yuan ($28.60 billion) through its medium-term lending facility on Friday, the second time it has done so this month, while keeping the lending rate unchanged. The move to add long-term funds caught the market off guard as the central bank had already injected funds last week. In the short term, high consumer inflation was keeping policymakers from immediately cutting interest rates, he said. “But at least it has to release liquidity to support economic g

Protesters build a wall to block a road at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, in Hong Kong on November 14, 2019. A statement by the Hong Kong government said Cheng suffered “serious bodily harm” but gave no details. Protesters used barriers and other debris to block the Cross-Harbour Tunnel that links Hong Kong island to Kowloon district, leading to severe traffic congestion. Xi said in Brazil on Thursday stopping violence was the most urgent task for Hong Kong. Many in Hong Kong are angry at

Frequent travelers now have a whole new way to view loyalty points — thanks to a growing trend in loyalty program: hard-to-replicate, bucket-list experiences. From red carpet access and backstage passes to cooking classes with Michelin-starred chefs, there’s an entire realm of VIP travel opportunities designed around the new “experience economy.” Michael Tran | FilmMagic | Getty ImagesPoints can be redeemed for VIP tickets to Manchester United matches with stadium lounge access (40,000 points) a

U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper pressed South Korea on Friday to pay more for the cost of stationing U.S. troops in the country and to maintain an intelligence-sharing pact with its other Asian ally Japan that Seoul is about to let lapse. South Korea “is a wealthy country and could and should pay more” for the deployment of U.S. military in the South, Esper told a briefing in Seoul after meeting Jeong. The United States and South Korea are scrambling to clinch an agreement in the coming wee

Alibaba announced pricing of shares for its upcoming secondary listing in Hong Kong in which it could raise up to $13.8 billion. The company said those retail shares will be priced at no more than 188 Hong Kong dollars (about $24.01). Alibaba’s Hong Kong shares are expected to begin trading on Nov. 26. But since then, the Hong Kong stock exchange has reformed its rules to allow dual class share structures. Alibaba’s Hong Kong listing would make it the biggest fundraising of the year, ahead of Ub

Airbus will stop building its A380 superjumbo in 2021 — but that won’t stop the firm continuing to market it as a secondhand option. In 2018, Hi Fly, a Portuguese aircraft leasing company that also supplies crew, maintenance and insurance became the first operator of a secondhand Airbus A380. At the time, Airbus’ A380 business development leader, Catherine Bras, said helping to build a secondhand market was an opportunity to show what the aircraft can do. Hi Fly President and CEO Paulo Mirpuri t

A Chinese mobile phone user in Shanghai, China. U.S. and Chinese tech firms are pumping a lot of money into developing AI, and both countries have launched their own national strategies around it. “On AI, China is implementing the technology very fast in facial recognition, speed recognition, self-driving vehicles, smart cities and medical diagnoses,” Rebecca Fannin, author of “Tech Titans of China,” told CNBC. But Chinese fintech has often moved faster than the regulators. “It’s clear China wan

China Ocean Shipping Company, known as COSCO (COSCO Group), is the company in charge of transportation services in the biggest Port of Piraeus in Greece. China is looking to transform Greece’s Piraeus port into the biggest harbor in Europe — making it the most crucial transit hub for trade between Asia and Europe. In 2016, China’s shipping firm Cosco purchased a majority stake in Piraeus port. “The objective is to transform it into the biggest transit hub between Europe and Asia and, potentially

Global oil demand in the third quarter of 2019 grew by 1.1 million barrels a day, more than double the 435,000 barrels a day in the previous quarter, according to the latest report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). China was the largest contributor, with demand increasing by 640,000 barrels a day year-on-year, and the energy agency’s closely-watched report projected a year-on-year acceleration in global growth of 1.9 million barrels per day for the final quarter of 2019. Supply grew by

Global debt hit a record high of over $250 trillion in the first half of this year, led by a surge in borrowings in the U.S. and China, according to a new report. The report, released by the International Institute of Finance (IIF) on Thursday, showed that global debt surged by $7.5 trillion in the first six months of 2019. The IIF said the overall number hit $250.9 trillion at the end of this period, and will exceed $255 trillion by the end of 2019. Similarly, EM debt also hit a new record of $

European stocks traded mixed Friday despite optimistic sounds out of the White House on a prospective trade deal between the U.S. and China. The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.15% below the flatline by late morning, dragged down by a 0.6% decline for Britain’s FTSE 100. Stocks in Asia Pacific mostly advanced on Friday as investors reacted to the developments, with South Korean and Australian indexes leading gains. Euro zone inflation slowed to 0.7% on the year in October from 0.8% in September

Quarterback Mason Rudolph #2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers fights with defensive end Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns during the second half at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 14, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. A violent incident marred the end of the National Football League game between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, when Browns’ defensive end Myles Garrett ripped the helmet off Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph and used it to strike Rudolph in the head. Garrett w

A Rohingya family stands by their makeshift tent at a new IDP camp in Tankhali, Bangladesh. The International Criminal Court said on Thursday it had approved a prosecution request to investigate crimes against humanity against Myanmar’s Rohingya minority who were systematically driven across the border to Bangladesh. Judges at the ICC, the world’s only permanent war crimes court, said that although Myanmar is not a member of the court, it has jurisdiction to examine alleged crimes that partially

More Americans are tapping into retirement savings to cover short-term and emergency expenses than had to a decade ago, with young people especially finding themselves in this bind. More young people draw from retirement savings Increasing numbers of people aged 18-to-34 are taking money out of their 401(k) accounts, which financial advisors warn against. Gerri Walsh President, FINRA Investor Education FoundationA retirement loan is a bit different. While you are loaning money to yourself, your

There are hundreds of cards available, all offering a wide range of perks, which can make it hard to find the best card for streaming services. To help you find the right card, we narrowed down 111 popular rewards cards to those that offer bonus rewards for streaming subscriptions. Here are CNBC Select’s picks for the top credit cards for streaming service rewards, ranked from highest to lowest rewards rate on eligible streaming services. That’s fairly reasonable, though there are other cards on

Rather than slowing down, nomadic retirees quit work to travel the world. When it comes to the planning, big events like this year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan are anchored in first, Gail explained. The rules to retiring earlySo you’re probably wondering: As relatively ordinary salaried people, how were they able to retire so young and afford this lifestyle of extensive travel? “If you want to retire early,” Neil joked, “don’t have kids and don’t get divorced!” To retire early, don’t fall into the

Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun have now said that I’m not allowed to perform my old songs on television because they claim that would be re-recording my music before I’m allowed to next year.” Swift said the music executives were not allowing her to perform her old songs. Big Machine Label Group did not address the use of her old songs specifically in its statement. The fight, which led to the #Istandwithtaylor hashtag trending on Twitter, began when Braun’s company, Ithaca Holdings, announce