Corporate scandals can be costly to investors in the immediate term, but employees who blow the whistle on wrongdoing help their companies become more profitable in the long run, according to a new study. In a detailed analysis written by Kyle Welch of George Washington University and Stephen Stubben of the University of Utah, companies
It’s an offer hard to refuse: a reprieve from your student loan bill. Yet when your payments resume, they’re often higher because your debt has swelled, thanks to interest. The Associated Press, citing a 2017 Department of Education audit, reported this week that Navient, one of the country’s largest student loan servicing companies, steered tens
As volatility rocks the market, one group of stocks is sizzling — fast food. Stocks like Starbucks, Jack in the Box, Chipotle and McDonald’s are outperforming in the past month. Of that selection, Chipotle shares look best positioned, according to Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Jaffray. The firm’s analyst covering Chipotle, Nicole Miller
Things look pretty good. The economy is strong, and unemployment is low. Yet in some locales, people are finding it tougher to afford the basics, according to GOBankingRates. The personal finance site surveyed 5,000 people online in August and found that the cost of living in the U.S. has shot up by 14 percent in
Oil prices have “dropped like a rock” over the past seven weeks but are finally approaching a bottom, Wells Fargo strategist Scott Wren told CNBC on Friday. “It’s caught the falling knife,” the senior global equity strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute said in a “Squawk on the Street” interview. However, “from our perspective oil,
As “Small Business Saturday” becomes a worldwide phenomenon, lenders are becoming aware of the investment opportunities on Main Street, former Small Business Administration chief Karen Mills told CNBC on Friday. Online technology companies including Amazon, PayPal and Square are now issuing near-instant loans to small businesses so they can bulk up their inventory ahead of
Social Security is one of the most important factors in older people’s financial lives. Yet the available information on the system is often contradictory or incorrect. Even the Social Security Administration, the government agency that administers the benefit, can mislead people, experts say. “Half of the answers Social Security is giving people are wrong or
Big-box retailers such as Target and Walmart are capitalizing on the demise of Toys R Us this holiday season, and it’s paying off, according to industry leaders. The well-known toy retailer, which shuttered its U.S. stores in June, accounted for 15 to 20 percent of the country’s total toy sales in 2017, based on estimates
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Facebook – The head of George Soros’s philanthropic foundation called for oversight of Facebook by lawmakers, following revelations that it had hired an opposition research firm to scrutinize the billionaire investor. Patrick Gaspard made his feelings known in a tweet, in which he accused Facebook of
Overstock plans to sell its decades-old retail business in the next few months to make way for a full-blown bet on blockchain. The previously announced sale plans could go through as soon as February, the company’s CEO told the Wall Street Journal in a report published Friday. Overstock founder and CEO Patrick Byrne — an
The cryptocurrency market is facing an intense sell-off as investors are rattled by heightened talk of regulatory scrutiny and infighting over a schism in bitcoin’s most notable spin-off, bitcoin cash. At around 1:50 p.m. London time (8:50 a.m. ET), the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies — which is worked out by multiplying prices by
Bitcoin continued its move lower Friday, struggling to find footing after a week of pain for the world’s largest cryptocurrency. The digital asset hit a low of $4,119 Friday, according to data from CoinDesk, bringing its seven-day losses to more than 25 percent. In dollar terms, bitcoin‘s value dropped by about $1,400 over that time
There is a good chance stocks stall out next year as credit conditions tighten and earnings growth slows, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “We believe the peak in equities is likely before the end of 2019,” wrote Savita Subramanian, equity and quantitative strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in a note this
President Donald Trump is rooting for oil prices to fall even further after a stunning plunge over the last seven weeks. The U.S. oil and gas industry, a pillar of Trump’s political base, is likely less enthusiastic. This year’s oil prices rally has swiftly collapsed as fears of potential oil shortages give way to forecasts
Shoppers pulled out their phones and shopped on Thanksgiving Day to spend more than they ever have before, potentially stealing some of Black Friday’s thunder. Consumers in the U.S. had spent $1.75 billion online by 5 p.m. ET Thursday, up more than 28 percent from a year ago, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks transactions
On the biggest shopping day of the year, U.K.-based trade union GMB is organizing a protest against Amazon for what it calls “inhuman” conditions for warehouse workers. Amazon has been under a microscope recently as it gets ready to bring 25,000 jobs to two new “headquarters” locations in Long Island City, NY and Arlington, Va.
Macy’s CEO says the department store chain is prepared should additional tariffs on Chinese goods go into effect next year. “The first two tranches of tariffs have had very limited effects so far on the products we’re offering…” Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette told CNBC from inside the retailer’s flagship Herald Square location on Black Friday.
Apple is planning to help its wireless carrier partners subsidize the costs of cutting the iPhone XR price in Japan, The Wall Street Journal said on Thursday. It’s the latest signal the iPhone XR isn’t selling as well as expected. Earlier this month, Nikkei reported that Apple had asked suppliers to cancel plans to boost
For Mackenzi Farquer, Small Business Saturday is a big deal. The owner of Queens, New York-based Lockwood gift shop, which sells kitchenware, clothing and paper goods, says often there’s barely room to stand in her locations on the retail holiday, sandwiched in between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. “It’s our busiest day of the year,”
Shoppers weren’t afraid to pull out their smartphones to shop on Thanksgiving, to the tune of $1 billion. Sales online Thanksgiving Day totaled $3.7 billion, up 28 percent from a year ago, Adobe Analytics said in a report. That makes Thursday the fastest-growing day for e-commerce sales in history, added the firm, which tracks transactions
Autodesk this week agreed to buy construction software company PlanGrid for $875 million. The San Francisco-based start-up previously raised $69 million in funding from investors including YCombinator, Sequoia Capital and Tenaya Capital. PlanGrid enables real-time construction tracking for contractors and and architects. Autodesk “makes software for people who make things.” Beijing-based robotics company Geek+ completed
Lowe’s on Friday told shoppers its website was “down for maintenance” on one of the biggest holidays of the year. Tweet The retailer told shoppers on Twitter the website would be available soon. Some frustrated shoppers said they were were going to rivals like Sears or Home Depot. Tweet Tweet Lowe’s was not the only
The inside of Sears at the Galleria White Plains mall on Black Friday looked mostly the same as it has for the past few years. Yellow tags highlighted doorbuster sales. Rows of washers and dryers stood gleaming. Sparkling Christmas ornaments were on display. But the glaring omission at 7:00 a.m., an hour after opening, were
European stocks are set to open slightly higher Friday morning, as investors cautiously managed hopes for progress in Brexit negotiations. The FTSE 100 is seen little changed from the previous session at 6,963, the CAC is expected to open up around 4 points at 4,942 while the DAX is poised to start 18 points higher
Expect a photo opportunity, a “mock deal,” and temporary market relief from the much-touted meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G-20 meeting, an economist said on Friday. “We don’t think this deal will be engineering a long-term truce between the two countries,” Bo Zhuang, chief economist and
“It’s hard to find fault with the climate in the Algarve,” said Tricia Pimental, Portugal correspondent for International Living. “You can count on sun most of the time.” During the “rainy season” of October through April, it’s still sunny around two-thirds of the time. “December is the wettest month, during which you can expect about
Shoppers, beware: Scammers want in on your holiday spending budget. Consumers are expected to spend about 4.3 percent to 4.8 percent more this holiday season than last year, up to $720.89 billion total, according to the National Retail Federation. That’s an attractive target for thieves. “People need to be more aware this time of year,”
When its Thanksgiving Day Parade ends, the real work begins for Macy’s. The department store chain has much to prove during the holidays if it wants to keep the momentum, generated by its latest turnaround plans, going strong. Macy’s shares had rallied more than 80 percent over a 12-month period heading into its third-quarter earnings
An Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund is suing Goldman Sachs over an alleged conspiracy involving Malaysia’s 1MDB fund. International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) and its subsidiary Aabar Investments filed a lawsuit against the investment bank at New York state court on Wednesday. The court summons states that the firms are seeking “damages and other appropriate
On a stage in front of a few hundred people, nervous entrepreneurs prepare to pitch their business ideas to a panel of five “sharks” — seasoned investors and veterans of Middle East business — in hopes of getting funding. “I’m looking for something disruptive in the marketplace,” Ganesh Iyer, one of the sharks and a