Within Friday’s pedestrian reading on first-quarter growth came some real evidence that money is being put to work and could trigger growth. GDP started the year by advancing 0.7 percent, a weak reading that was below consensus of 1.2 percent but actually better than some of the more pessimistic forecasts coming out of Wall Street in recent days. “We’re certainly seeing an improvement in business investment,” said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank. “That does suggest that so

Donald Trump attracted a reputation over the years as a ruthless and unscrupulous businessman. Marco Rubio warned that Trump was a “con artist,” and Ted Cruz labeled him “completely amoral.” From the day Trump announced his candidacy until the day he took the Oval Office, the smart take on him was that he was running on a lark, as a publicity stunt, or to lay the groundwork for some business endeavor. More from Vox:This voting reform solves 2 of America’s biggest political problemsHe can’t pass

Timing was a major factor in Expedia’s first-quarter earnings miss, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told CNBC on Friday. The online travel company reported, after the bell Thursday, first-quarter earnings of 5 cents per share, a penny shy of estimates. In addition to the Easter timing, Khosrowshahi said terrorism had a somewhat negative impact on travel. The Expedia CEO said there have been “spot disruptions” among some of its partners as a result of President Donald Trump’s travel ban, which has been put

No matter what ETF you’ve bought this year, it’s probably made you money. “Considering there are almost 2,000 in the U.S. marketplace alone, that is a lot of different styles, sectors, asset classes, that are all working. Unsurprisingly, the best- and worst-performing large-cap ETFs year to date reflect the market’s winning sectors (short positions in volatility, long positions in technology) and losers (long positions in volatility, long positions in energy names) this year. “There is some comp

Exxon Mobil stressed on Friday that it is abiding by sanctions on Russia’s energy industry, one week after the U.S. Treasury Department blocked its bid to resume operations in banned parts of the country. “As everybody clearly knows the sanctions remain in place. Exxon entered a joint venture with Russian energy giant Rosneft in 2012 to develop offshore reserves in the Arctic Kara Sea and the Black Sea, as well as onshore assets in Siberia. The following year, they advanced their strategic allia

Revenue reports across companies, for the first time in a long while, are also coming in above expectations. Much has been made of a stock market pepped up on expectations of tax cuts, deregulation and other market-friendly economic policies. There is a possibility that if these expectations aren’t met, stocks retreat. Investors won’t gain by trying to predict the fate of tax reform, or the planet. But here are three questions investors can ask themselves in order to determine whether or not it’

The pedestrian first-quarter growth pace is, however, not a true picture of the economy’s health. The labor market is near full employment and consumer confidence is near multi-year highs, suggesting that the mostly weather-induced sharp slowdown in consumer spending is probably temporary. Growth in consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, braked to a 0.3 percent rate in the first quarter. The weakness in consumer spending is blamed on a mild winter,

In a separate order issued on Friday, the same court put on hold a case challenging another set of Obama climate regulations aimed at new power plants. Todays temporary pause in the litigation does not relieve EPA of its legal obligation to limit carbon pollution from its largest source: fossil-fueled power plants,” Schneiderman said. Energy analysts and executives have questioned whether Trump’s broad moves against environmental regulations will provide a big benefit for their industries, and e

With student loan debt growing at a staggering rate — Americans owed $1.3 trillion in federal loans last year — college students push to save wherever they can. At many schools, moving out of the dorms and into an off-campus rental is a surefire way to save cash. But as Realtor.com reports, in some college towns, you could save even more by buying a house. Realtor.com found the college towns where it’s cheaper to buy than rent by comparing median rental prices to median monthly home payments, wh

But Republicans in Washington can’t seem to explain to the American people that the best way to lower health insurance and health care costs is to increase competition in both arenas. The problem is most politicians, even from the GOP, don’t really believe in the free market. Of course, this and all health care bills that focus on insurance instead of actual care are basically fruit from the poison tree. Health care and health insurance are two different things, as all those Americans who can’t

“Overall, I’m giving him a strained B-plus,” Andrew Card said on “Squawk Box,” a day before Trump’s 100th day. “He wants to be a different kind of leader in Washington, and he wants Washington to respond in a different way than they have in the past,” Card said. The former chief of staff’s comment came after Trump reflected on his 100-day milestone in an interview with Reuters. “I loved my previous life. “This is more work than in my previous life.

It’s no secret that Wharton School finance professor Jeremy Siegel tends to be a market bull. After all, he may be most famous for penning a classic of popular investment literature, “Stocks for the Long Run.” “I actually think we have a Goldilocks situation going on now,” he said Thursday on CNBC’s “Trading Nation.” We’re only in April — but it’s the first time that I have seen forward guidance maintained or increased since we turned around from the great crisis back in 2009.” The good earnings

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday urged the United Nations to take new sanctions against North Korea, again ramping up rhetoric against the isolated nation. He pushed for allies to fully implement existing sanctions, suspend or reduce diplomatic relations with North Korea and exert “maximum economic pressure.” “I urge this council to act before North Korea does. He said the act would target North Korea’s shipping industry and “those who employ North Korean slave labor abroad.” In a rece

There’s no narrator explaining how oppressed the people of North Korea are, how dire the North Korean economy is, how belligerent supreme leader Kim Jong Un is, or how many nuclear weapons he has. There are no carefully framed propaganda shots designed to convince the world of the glorious triumph of the North Korean socialist model. There’s just a calm, quiet drive through the rainy streets of a city as people go about their daily lives. But while such images do offer important insights into th

The Trump administration wants to substantially slash the number of corporate tax deductions, a senior official says. “When you have a 15 percent corporate tax rate, we don’t believe that you have to give people a lot of deductions. Though the top corporate tax rate officially is 35 percent, most companies pay less based on a thicket of deductions that shield them from paying the full amount. Politically, the official said, it may be easier to eliminate nearly all corporate deductions than to st

As Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting approaches next week, Warren Buffett shared how hiring his two investment managers was “one of the best decisions” he ever made. Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer recently spoke with Buffett, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler in an interview in Omaha. Buffett hired Combs in 2010 and Weschler in 2011 to manage some of the company’s funds. Hiring the two is “one of the best decisions that Charlie and I have ever made,” Buffett added. So there are very, very

With just hours to spare, Congress easily approved a short-term spending bill Friday that would prevent a partial federal shutdown over the weekend. But late Thursday, House leaders abandoned that effort for now after falling short of the votes they would need for passage. The struggle over both bills was embarrassing to the GOP, which has Trump in the White House and majorities in Congress. On the separate health care bill, House Republican leaders are still scrounging for votes from their own

At 100 days, President Donald Trump’s foreign policy is a work in progress. Perceptions of Trump’s foreign policy are massively politicized. However, to say that everything has been sweetness and light in the Trump foreign policy shop would be premature. Trump’s foreign policy will face tough tests: in the South China Sea, in Eastern Europe from the Baltics to the Black Sea, and in the Middle East. There has been a great deal of consistency and continuity in American foreign policy and security

Gabelli: Market has no margin of safety, but it’s okay 1 Hour Ago | 01:32The U.S. stock market has no margin of safety, but it is OK, billionaire value investor Mario Gabelli told CNBC on Friday. However, investors should be prepared for a big drop at some point, reminiscent of the 1987 “Black Monday” crash and the 2010 “flash crash” — which were both a result of market mechanics, he warned. Overall, he anticipates that over the next five to 10 years, ETFs will make 5 or 7 percent. reform, tax r

Vince has ‘substantial doubt’ in its ability to continue 4 Hours Ago | 00:44Shares of luxury fashion brand Vince tumbled nearly 40 percent Friday, after the company said it has “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern for the next 12 months. Its warning comes roughly one month after struggling department store Sears made the same statement in its annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A change in accounting regulations that went into effect during