“Chinese companies will take many such ‘crowns’ in the next few years. But while Diageo’s revenue actually contracted last year by 3% in the mature global spirits market, Moutai’s figure was up a strong 19%. “In the end, it is about growth potential, and both Tencent and Moutai still have a lot, even if it’s domestic only. Tencent and Moutai posted their milestones as Chinese companies are claiming a growing place on the list of the world’s 100 most valuable companies. The Chinese companies’ ric

Women’s clothing retailer Bebe is closing all of its stores, according to a Friday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The chain had previously said it was committed to closing 21 locations, which represented roughly 12 percent of its total outlets. California-based Bebe had 180 stores at the end of 2016, according to its website. That list includes Payless ShoeSource, which announced earlier this month it will close some 400 stores in an attempt to reorganize. Bloomberg reported

Lore, who joined Wal-Mart in August from e-commerce startup Jet.com, received a payout of $243.9 million, including restricted stock units given when Wal-Mart acquired Jet. Excluding that, Lore earned $7.6 million. Excluding the impact of currency Wal-Mart said sales rose 3.1 percent to $496 billion. The retailer’s core U.S. operations have shown improvement, with sales at existing stores rising 1.3 percent in the last fiscal year, excluding fuel. Greg Foran, head of the U.S. business, received

Schlumberger said on Friday a ramp up in drilling activity in North America boosted pricing for its oilfield services, but the cost of reactivating equipment idled during the slump in crude oil prices gutted margins. Schlumberger said production constraints imposed on its project in Ecuador also impacted the results. Net profit attributable to Schlumberger fell to $279 million, or 20 cents per share, in the first quarter, from $501 million, or 40 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items,

Harbour sold its homes through an arrangement similar to an installment payment plan, with a high-interest, long-term loan called a contract for deed, or land contract. Even after being warned by Cincinnati and charged with violations, Harbour went forward with sales of the properties that had incurred violations. Harbour was not alone in buying cheap homes in need of major repairs and selling them through contracts for deed. Another national player, Vision Property Management, which is based in

“You may think you have a free ride from this college, when in reality you have a ridiculous amount of loans.” “You may think you have a free ride from this college, when in reality you have a ridiculous amount of loans,” he said. Some colleges use those to offset loans, while others will first use them to offset grant aid from the college. “Look at [college cost] from a four-year perspective rather than a one-year perspective,” Fudge said. 4) Ask for more helpIf your financial situation has cha

Honeywell International reported better-than-expected first-quarter profit Friday, which was boosted by stronger sales in its aerospace and energy businesses, sending its stock up. The economic bellwether said sales in its aerospace business, Honeywell’s largest segment, fell 4.3 percent to $3.55 billion during the quarter. “Our diversified portfolio, coupled with the investments we’ve made over the past several years, drove our excellent performance in the first quarter,” Honeywell’s CEO, Dariu

Gaming websites could be spawning a new breed of cybercriminals, according to new research which claims that young people are being indoctrinated into hacking crimes via free and easily-accessible internet pages. Readily-available step-by-step tutorials for Remote Access Trojan (RAT) malware programs and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are also making the skills barrier into cybercrime lower than it has ever been, the NCA suggests. However, this also presents an opportunity to diver

Trump campaigned for president on the promise of building the wall and sticking Mexico with the tab. Mulvaney said the White House delivered an offer to negotiators Wednesday night, with funding for the border wall a top demand. In spite of Trump’s promise, the cost of a border wall, expected to exceed $20 billion, would likely be borne by taxpayers. Democrats have taken a hard line against any money for the border wall and insist that the measure include the “Obamacare” payments to insurance co

In this deal, Silver Oak will take over Ovid’s 70 sought-after acres of vineyard land in California. “There have been a few waves in the M&A space,” Duncan told CNBC in an interview. Since the 2008 Great Recession, the value of vineyard land has climbed significantly, making it particularly lucrative for owners to begin to ‘sell out,'” Eric Schmidt of Beverage Marketing Corporation told CNBC in an interview. “Millennials are more [about] discovery, looking for new things,” Schmidt told CNBC. Win

Reporters found that Trump’s companies are sitting on at least $250 million of individual properties in the USA alone. Trump has never disclosed a complete, unit-by-unit inventory of his companies’ real estate holdings or sales, nor is he required to do so by federal law. Since Election Day, records show Trump companies have sold at least 14 luxury condos and home-building lots for about $23 million. Buyers and renters of Trump properties include companies or individuals tracing to addresses in

When Chris Reining became disillusioned with the 9-to-5 grind, he realized he had another option. “I took a step back and noticed I was working, getting money, and spending money,” he writes on his blog. “But what if instead, I was working to save, and saving to invest, so I could stop working?” Reining, who is based in Madison, Wisc., decided to buckle down and set the goal of building a $1 million portfolio by age 35. The now 38-year-old did just that, thanks to smart saving and investing habi

For 35 years, Gregory D. Wasson worked at Walgreens, eventually presiding over some of the drugstore chain’s biggest deals as its chief executive. Mr. Wasson’s family investment office and a team of entrepreneurs have a new project, Innventure, which aims to develop businesses around new technologies lent by big corporations. Mr. Wasson will serve as chairman and Mr. Otworth as chief executive. It is the latest career turn for Mr. Wasson, who left Walgreens in 2014 after the company finished its

Mattel’s CEO Margo Georgiadis said during an earnings conference call Thursday that the overhang is largely behind the company. The toy company posted a loss of 32 cents per share, excluding items. That was worse than the expected loss of 17 cents per share, according to a consensus of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Mattel reported net revenue of $736 million for the quarter, below estimates for $801 million. A year ago, Mattel had a loss of 13 cents a share and revenue of $869.4 million.

Headphone maker Bose says it will fight a lawsuit claiming its app collects user data and shares it with third parties without their permission. In a statement, Bose calls the allegations “inflammatory” and “misleading,” denying the companion Connect app collects and shares information on users’ music and audio choices. “We don’t wiretap your communications, we don’t sell your information, and we don’t use anything we collect to identify you – or anyone else – by name,” read an excerpt of Bose’s

But these days, this dot on a map in southwestern Oregon is generating big-city buzz for an unlikely reason: Almost the entire town is for sale. Tiller Elementary School, a six-classroom building that closed in 2014, is for sale separately for $350,000. Then the Tiller Elementary School closed and was up for sale, as well as a small market, and the man’s estate bought those too — and the potential became clear. Some have a sense of humor: A small, weathered sign affixed to the defunct market rea

Republicans will move on to tax reform in the event of another health bill failure, health-care analyst Kim Monk said Friday. “I would say even if repeal and replace crashes and burns, they will be able to pivot to tax reform at some point,” Monk, an analyst at Capital Alpha Partners, said on “Squawk Box.” Monk told CNBC the GOP’s attempt at reforming health care is “possible,” but not “probable.” “More immediately on health care, they’ll have to deal with the Obamacare subsidies, CSRs. On Thurs

The need for autonomy grows beyond the first 90 days on the job. Because workplace autonomy is a big job requirement for millennial workers, their relationship to their supervisors — what they want from their boss and how often — can be a little complex. “A boss just often wants a job to be done, not a person to mold.” At the top of the millennial wish list when it comes to what they value most in their manager is a boss who is “trustworthy.” Alex Hanse has experience as both a millennial busine

And presidents aren’t the only ones who are expected to make a noteworthy impact during their first one hundred days. Clearly, President Trump didn’t take the time when he was President-elect to bone up on his understanding of America’s health-care system. When you start a job, you’re afforded a grace period too. Look for early winsTrump has had few early wins, besides appointing Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Early wins will drive you towards the break-even point.

Short raised her price target for Costco to $185 from $170, representing 9 percent upside from Thursday’s close. The analyst cited how food and groceries represent 57 percent of Costco’s sales. The firm surveyed 600 consumers and found more than 80 percent of the retailer’s customers “specifically” shop at Costco for its food and grocery offerings. Short also predicts the retailer’s sales results will improve going forward due to easier comparisons, better profits from its 2016 Visa credit card