The rally began last spring when UnitedHealth was one of the first to announce it would be dropping out of the health insurance exchanges created under Obamacare. In January 2017, UnitedHealth exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations, with a fourth-quarter profit of $2.11 per share, four cents over estimates. The company took a charge for losses on the health exchanges last year, but executives said they don’t expect exchange plans to affect results in 2017. “Regardless of where you are philosop

Investors around the world, including those in the U.S., are on edge about the political calendar in Europe. The U.K. starts the official Brexit process on March 29. The French presidential election, where a far-right candidate in Marine Le Pen has a small chance to win, takes place in late April. But Tim Seymour believes all this tension is a buying opportunity no matter the outcomes, just like it was for U.S. stocks before the surprise election of Donald Trump. Other topics discussed in this e

Apple’s Siri can be used for all sorts of things, but chances are you only use a small fraction of what Apple’s smart voice assistant is capable of doing. Maybe you ask it the score of a sports game, or perhaps you might ask a one-off question, like how tall the Empire State Building is. Siri can do so much more, even help you book a restaurant at your favorite restaurant. Here’s how.

I even turned off my living room lights from work. First, you can’t just call up Alexa from across the room as you might with Google Now or Siri on newer iPhones. Also, while Siri and Google provide visual cues, like graphics that show the latest sports scores or the forecast, Amazon only provides answers through your phone’s speakers. For folks who already use Siri or Google Assistant, however, Amazon’s going to need to spice this up a lot more. Maybe that’s why it’s making its debut on a phone

Apple just acquired Workflow, a small company that develops an app that allows you to automate certain actions. Using an iOS device, maybe you want to tap a single button to request an Uber at a predetermined location. Or perhaps you want to make a GIF from the last five pictures you snapped. Let’s take a closer look, because this sort of acquisition may be a key indicator of the features Apple may eventually include in a future version of iOS. It may even be a small glimpse into Apple’s plans f

McClellan: Apple’s strength points to ‘no great carnage’ in Nasdaq 100 Wednesday, 22 Mar 2017 | 11:15 AM ET | 01:48Apple is due for a correction, but investors “shouldn’t expect carnage,” technical analyst Tom McClellan told CNBC on Wednesday. “When you see a disagreement between [Apple and the Nasdaq], you should look at what Apple’s chart is saying,” he said. “If there were a lower high in Apple and a higher high in the [Nasdaq 100], that’s a big sign of trouble. Still, investors are concerned

One number stood out in internet services company Tencent’s latest earnings report, which posted overnight in China. The company, known for its messenger app WeChat, revealed that its social media platforms are growing faster than rival Facebook in terms of monthly active users numbers, or MAUs. Between WeChat and payment platform Weixin — also owned by Tencent — MAUs reached 889 million in 2016, up 28 percent from one year earlier. Photo sharing service Instagram, bought by Facebook in 2012, sa

It was the middle of the lunch rush at a bustling upscale food court in downtown San Francisco and Rivera was looking to maintain a low profile. “I’d say Techmeme is still really a very niche site,” he told me later. Hunter Walk, a former product manager at YouTube turned seed-stage venture capitalist, told me he checks the site three to five times daily. That includes journalists: Rivera’s taste in that day’s news often dictates what stories are followed and chased by newsrooms across the count

Baidu shares fell on Wednesday, after chief scientist Andrew Ng announced he is leaving the company less than three years after joining. Baidu shares were down more than 1½ percent in market hours, trading around 168.51. Ng had joined the company in 2014 to help help develop new businesses around artificial intelligence and machine learning, areas Baidu has previously identified as a major strategic focus. Baidu told the Financial Times it will not hire a direct replacement, but instead move Ng’

The number of millionaire households in America increased by 400,000 in 2016, reaching a new record of 10.8 million, according to a new study. Since the 2008 financial crisis, the number of millionaire households has grown every year, adding a total of 4 million millionaire households, according to Spectrem Group, the wealth research firm. The stats mean that more than one out of every 10 households in America is worth $1 million or more. Spectrem defines millionaire households as those househol

This is what could spark a deep sell-off Tuesday, 21 Mar 2017 | 2:54 PM ET | 01:42Tuesday’s stock market sell-off may be a lot more than just a blip. Citi Private Bank’s David Bailin believes a bigger pullback could be on the way — one hinging on the notion that President Donald Trump is losing political clout. “If we were to go back just about 45 days ago, … oil would be trading between $50 and $60. This could bleed into the stock market in the form of downward pressure. Despite the risks in

On CNBC’s “Futures Now” on Tuesday, Stephen Suttmeier revealed that based on past bull markets, the S&P 500 could reach 3,000 by 2019. “We are of the belief that this is a secular bull market akin to the one we saw in the 1950s,” he said. “And if you overlay the one from the 1980s as well, suggests that 3,000 is a possibility on the S&P sometime by 2019.” While the prediction is two years down the line, it would amount to a 27 percent rally in the S&P from Wednesday’s levels. The S&P and the Nas

Blackstone’s Byron Wien shared his thoughts on President Donald Trump’s administration and the recent market decline in an interview Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” On the market: “My view is that the market was due for a correction. It’s correcting because maybe Trump won’t be as successful in implementing legislation as he promised,” Wien said. On whether the narrative he predicted for Trump in his surprises list is happening: “I would say it’s not happening, but it will happen. He

Samsung will unveil its latest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, a week from Wednesday on March 29. First, just to make things clear, we’re expecting two different models of the Galaxy S8, including a standard-size model with a 5.7-inch display and a larger Galaxy S8+ with a 6.2-inch screen. Snapdragon 835 and Exynos processorsQualcomm will provide its Snapdragon 835 processor for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones. That chip is likely to be in Galaxy S8 units sold within

You can use Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant for a lot more than playing music or asking the weather. If you have an Amazon Echo, all you need to say is “Hey Alexa, what’s the news?” You can also use other terms like “Hey Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?” or Hey Alexa, what’s new?” There are a variety of news sources that will be pulled into your daily briefing.

The US and UK governments have imposed new bans against bringing certain electronic devices aboard flights to and from specific countries in the Middle East. In the United States, it affects planes coming from airports in Cairo; Istanbul; Kuwait City; Doha, Qatar; Casablanca, Morocco; Amman, Jordan; Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates. If affected travelers try to bring these devices aboard, they’ll be forced to check them. Those measurements, which t

Amazon Prime Now customers can now get two-hour home delivery through Alexa, the company said Tuesday. The digital assistant which powers Amazon Echo has offered voice shopping for a while, but delivery options have until now been limited. The service will initially offer “the full Prime Now catalog with Alexa, including tens of thousands of items,” said Assaf Ronen, Amazon’s vice president of Voice Shopping. By bringing the service to Alexa voice shopping, the company is trying to further carve

Investors want more consistency in Apple: Pro Tuesday, 21 Mar 2017 | 9:21 AM ET | 00:36The upcoming version of the iPhone is expected to have augmented reality technology for things like facial recognition, and UBS Managing Director Steve Milunovich said the technology will “give the iPhone new life.” With Apple’s stock at a record high, Milunovich told “Squawk on the Street” that he’s still bullish on the stock. “Most of us suspect a pretty strong cycle with the iPhone 8, we’re looking for abou

Apple on Tuesday announced a new version of its 9.7-inch iPad, and a special edition of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The new red aluminum iPhone is part of Apple’s decade-long (RED) campaign, which contributes to the Global Fund to fight AIDS. The new phone starts at $749 and will hit stores Friday. Apple said it’s the world’s largest corporate donor to the Global Fund, contributing more than $130 million.

The euro hit its highest level since early February vs. the U.S. dollar Tuesday, bringing its gain against the greenback to more than 2 percent in March. If the losses for the dollar continue, it should kick-start the S&P 500 and gold, which have stalled this month, history shows. An emerging markets ETF should continue its monster March breakout, past trading patterns indicate. Using hedge fund analytics tool Kensho, CNBC PRO analyzed which ETFs thrived when the dollar declined 5 percent or mor