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Louis Vuitton’s newest Beijing store opened with celebrity buzz but little fanfare, underscoring how luxury brands are cautiously testing signs of a consumer recovery in China. View More

Louis Vuitton officially opened a new flagship in downtown Beijing on Jan. 13, 2026.CNBC | Evelyn Cheng This report is from this week's CNBC's The China Connection newsletter, which brings you insights and analysis on what's driving the world's second-largest economy. You can subscribe here. The big story For the last few weeks, a new row of luxury stores in downtown Beijing has started to shake up a long-muted consumer scene.The anticipation grew as Tuesday night approached. Crowds of young people screamed as they caught glimpses of celebrities climbing the stairways inside the translucent, bubble-shaped exterior of Louis Vuitton's newest store. I could see others lingering on the upper levels of the adjoining mall with their phones out.The buzz topped one of the more exciting events of late — Apple's annual iPhone releases in a nearby shopping complex. It was a reminder that celebrities can still draw aspirational crowds in China, and that luxury houses remain among the few brands able to command them.After all the shouting and long waits in freezing temperatures, the official opening of the Louis Vuitton store finally arrived. Invited guests could wander through the five main floors of the new store, ending at a café upstairs.There were no speeches. No choreographed fanfare. Few discernible foreign faces. It was a far cry from Fendi's 2007 fashion show on the Great Wall.The art of restraintWestern brands entering China, especially its high-security capital city of Beijing, have long had to straddle a fine line between local marketing ambitions and reputational risks to the brand back home.When Canada Goose opened its first China flagship in the same Beijing shopping complex in 2018, its CEO was tight-lipped throughout my 20-minute interview. The event was overshadowed by diplomatic tensions with Ottawa following the high-profile arrest of a Huawei executive in Canada. This time, LVMH declined executive interviews around the Beijing store opening altogether.Yet revenue from China remains difficult to ignore.Disney CEO Bob Iger visited Beijing last week, following the success of "Zootopia 2" in China. More Western executives typically visit around the annual China Development Forum in late March. Google Cloud is advertising its own event aimed at helping Chinese firms expand globally, with a rare building-sized poster on the facade of a hotel overlooking downtown Beijing's main thoroughfare. The political backdrop helps. A fragile U.S.-China truce remains in place. And after nearly a decade of strained bilateral ties, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney is in China this week. There are also signs that the consumer market is finally picking up after a sluggish post-pandemic recovery.In November, executives from Prada, Coach, EssilorLuxottica and Value Retail reported that demand in China was stabilizing. In October, LVMH said mainland China was seeing significant growth in fashion and leather, even as the category had yet to see a recovery in spending by Chinese tourists abroad. A recovery takes shape? Drizzie Zuo, a Shanghai-based luxury critic, said stock market gains in recent months have created a wealth effect that has helped luxury demand recover — a trend she expects to continue.Hong Kong outpaced Wall Street last year in funds raised from new stock listings. On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 18% in 2025 and extended its rally into 2026, marking its longest winning streak since the local stock market was re-launched more than 30 years ago.Flanking the new Louis Vuitton store are distinct flagships for Tiffany and Dior, bringing three LVMH brands into one shopping complex. The buildings had long been under wraps, with reports of delays amid sluggish consumer spending.Opening the stores now, Zuo said, "reinforces people's confidence in the outlook of luxury," which is critical to get Chinese consumers to open their wallets. But she warned that Western brands now face stiffer competition from domestic newcomers like Laopu Gold. According to a Rothschild forecast, Laopu's 2025 sales are estimated to have surpassed Richemont's jewelry sales in China last year, including those of Cartier.After a decade of refining their branding and storytelling skills, Zuo said, Chinese luxury players are "really ready to compete with their international peers." Top TV picks on CNBC watch nowVIDEO4:1504:15It's all about AI: Xpeng CEO on future of smart EVs and autonomous drivingThe China Connection CEO of Xpeng Motors, He Xiaopeng, discussed the automaker's shift to in-house chips this year, starting with the launch of the P7+. He also shared plans for future partnerships and further investments in AI. watch nowVIDEO5:1005:10China's economy isn't very good, but 'is good enough for Xi': China Beige Book CEO Leland MillerSquawk Box Leland Miller, China Beige Book CEO, joined "Squawk Box" to discuss the state of China's economy, 2026 outlook, China's top economic priorities and more. watch nowVIDEO4:2004:202026 could be a bigger year for China’s market performance: UBSThe China Connection UBS's Thomas Fang said China equities still offer meaningful upside after a strong 2025, supported by earnings growth, attractive valuations and policy support. Need to know China's annual trade surplus hits a record. Exports for the full year grew 5.5% while imports stayed flat, taking Beijing's trade surplus to $1.19 trillion, up 20% from 2024. That's despite shipments to the U.S. declining by 20%.Property drags on. Growth in new industries such as AI and robotics is far from enough to offset the economic impact from the real estate slump, Rhodium Group said Monday.Chinese AI IPOs. Leading AI startups Zhipu and Minimax were listed in Hong Kong late last week, with the latter doubling on its first day of trade. Alibaba-backed PixVerse released a real-time AI video tool. Quote of the week If we start to hear more opportunities around … stronger consumer stimulus packages, then we can consider to look at some of those opportunities as well. But now I think it's still a little bit too premature.— Laura Wang, Chief China Equity Strategist, Morgan Stanley In the markets Chinese and Hong Kong stocks were mixed on Wednesday.Mainland China's CSI 300 was down 0.4% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index — which includes major Chinese companies — rose 0.56%.The benchmark 10-year Chinese government bond yield is at 1.843%. Stock Chart IconStock chart iconThe performance of the Shanghai Composite over the past year. Coming up Jan. 13-17: Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney to visit China and meet with Chinese President Xi JinpingJan. 19: 2025 GDP and population figures; December retail sales, industrial production and investment dataJan. 20: People's Bank of China's monthly decision on benchmark loan prime rate

The deal will help diversify Cerebras away from the United Arab Emirates G42, which accounted for 87% of revenue in the first half of 2024. View More

In this articleNVDAFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Andrew Feldman, co-founder and CEO of Cerebras Systems, speaks at the Raise summit in Paris on July 8, 2025. The annual conference gathers global leaders and key speakers in tech and AI.Nathan Laine | Bloomberg | Getty Images AI chipmaker Cerebras has signed a deal with OpenAI to deliver 750 megawatts of computing power through 2028, according to a blog post Wednesday by the maker of ChatGPT. The arrangement is worth over $10 billion, according to people close to the company.The deal will help diversify Cerebras away from the United Arab Emirates' G42, which accounted for 87% of revenue in the first half of 2024."The way you have three very large customers is start with one very large customer, and you keep them happy, and then you win the second one," Cerebras' co-founder and CEO Andrew Feldman told CNBC in an interview. watch nowVIDEO0:5300:53OpenAI strikes $10 billion chip deal with CerebrasClosing Bell Cerebras has built a large processor that can train and run generative artificial intelligence models. That makes it a challenger to Nvidia, which sells large quantities of its chips to cloud providers such as Amazon and Microsoft — those companies then rent the graphics cards to clients by the hour. Nvidia became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market capitalization in October, as investors sought to capitalize on further AI growth.In December, Cerebras rival Groq said Nvidia had signed a nonexclusive licensing agreement that would result in some employees moving to Nvidia. Groq's cloud service is not part of the deal, which CNBC reported is worth $20 billion in cash, making it Nvidia's largest transaction to date."Cerebras adds a dedicated low-latency inference solution to our platform," Sachin Katti, who works on compute infrastructure at OpenAI, wrote in the blog. "That means faster responses, more natural interactions, and a stronger foundation to scale real-time AI to many more people."The deal comes months after OpenAI worked with Cerebras to ensure that its gpt-oss open-weight models would work smoothly on Cerebras silicon, alongside chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.OpenAI's gpt-oss collaboration led to technical conversations with Cerebras, and the two companies signed a term sheet just before Thanksgiving, Feldman said in a Wednesday interview with CNBC.Cerebras has data centers full of its chips in the U.S. and abroad. Feldman said the company will continue to expand its footprint with the OpenAI commitment.OpenAI evaluated Cerebras' technology as early as 2017, according to emails that emerged as part of litigation between Sam Altman, OpenAI's co-founder and CEO, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who also co-founded the ChatGPT maker. In 2018, Musk tried to buy Cerebras, Feldman said."We were under the impression he was trying to buy us in the context of Tesla," Feldman said of Musk.Cerebras filed for an initial public offering in September 2024, revealing that revenue in the second quarter of that year approached $70 million, up from about $6 million in the second quarter of 2023. The company's net loss swelled to almost $51 million, from $26 million a year earlier. Investment banks that typically participate in the top technology IPOs were missing from the prospectus, and the company used an auditor other than the so-called Big Four accounting firms.Cerebras withdrew the paperwork in October, days after announcing a $1.1 billion round of funding that valued it at $8.1 billion. The company said it pulled the prospectus because details were out of date. "Given that the business has improved in meaningful ways we decided to withdraw so that we can re-file with updated financials, strategy information including our approach to the rapidly changing AI landscape," Feldman wrote in a LinkedIn post. A revised filing will provide a better explanation of the business to potential investors, he wrote. On Wednesday he declined to talk about timing for a new filing.Cerebras' customer list includes Cognition, Hugging Face and IBM, and in March 2025, the company said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States had approved Cerebras' request to sell shares to G42.The Wall Street Journal reported on the deal earlier on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump phoned Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren earlier this week. View More

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he arrives to address House Republicans at their annual issues conference retreat, at the Kennedy Center, renamed the Trump-Kennedy Center by the Trump-appointed board of directors, in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 6, 2026. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters President Donald Trump and Republicans are down in the polls with less than 10 months until the midterm elections. Now, Trump is giving the economic populism of the left a try. Last week, Trump called for a one-year cap on credit card interest at 10%, unveiled plans to bar large private-equity funds from buying up housing and said he would bar defense companies from issuing dividends or stock buybacks. These moves check off many policy wishes of the populist progressive left and borrow from political opponents like former Vice President Kamala Harris.It comes as Trump, who strode into a second term on a pledge to lower costs, finds himself underwater on the economy. A recent CBS News poll found that only 39% of voters approved of his performance on the issue, while 61% disapproved, one of his worst polls since retaking the presidency. That's a big problem for Trump and Republicans on Capitol Hill, who could lose their slim majorities in both the House and the Senate in the November elections. Democrats are pounding the administration with an election-year message centered on affordability, arguing that the president and his allies have failed to bring down costs for everyday Americans. This line of attack on the cost of goods worked well for Democrats in gubernatorial races in late 2025.Republicans hold a razor-thin 218-213 vote majority in the House and a 53-47 seat majority in the Senate. A growing number of Republicans in the House have decided to retire at the end of this term, and Trump has warned that if Democrats take the House, "they'll find a reason to impeach me."Trump's moves appear aimed at addressing voters' concerns around affordability — in the Truth Social post where he announced the credit card interest cap, the president wrote "AFFORDABILITY!" But not all Republicans on Capitol Hill are convinced that Trump's populist shift represents a life raft as Democrats take a consistent lead in generic congressional ballot polling."Self-control, clear messaging, clear priorities would be helpful," said Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican who will retire at the end of this term, in an interview with CNBC. "He actually sounds more and more like a Democrat, if you think about it."   Read more CNBC politics coverageRussia watches as ally Iran edges closer to collapse. Here's why it matters for MoscowTrump's latest geopolitical gambits all lead back to ChinaTrump says anything less than U.S. control of Greenland is 'unacceptable' ahead of talksTrump attacks Powell again amid Fed independence fears: 'That jerk will be gone soon'Sen. Kelly sues DOD Sec. Hegseth, says he was punished for 'disfavored political speech'GOP Sen. Thom Tillis vows to block Trump's Fed nominees following Powell probe "When you talk about limiting businesses buying houses, limiting the salaries of corporate heads, I mean, that's much more like a Democrat messaging to me," Bacon said. Other Republicans were even more dismissive of the effort. One longtime House Republican, granted anonymity to discuss Trump's proposals candidly, said, "The kind of stuff we're talking about right now ... is called hiding from your record."The Trump administration is defending the president's populist shift amid the complaints from some in the GOP."President Trump was given a resounding mandate by the American people to smash Washington, D.C.'s obsession with consensus orthodoxy that has let Americans down," said White House spokesperson Kush Desai. "The Trump administration is turning the page on Joe Biden's economic disaster by implementing traditional free market policies that do work – like deregulation and tax cuts – while rectifying the America Last policies that have Americans behind."But even top House and Senate Republicans have not exactly embraced Trump's latest moves to lower costs for Americans, and appear to be coalescing around the message that Trump is an "ideas guy." Trump in the past has thrown a myriad of policy proposals at the wall to see what will stick, forcing his Republican allies to quickly adjust their priorities. "The president is the ideas guy, and what he's doggedly determined to do, and laser-focused upon doing, is the same thing that we are, and that is reducing the cost of living," House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a press conference on Tuesday when asked about the credit card interest cap proposal. "I wouldn't get too spun up about ideas that are out of the box that are proposed or suggested," Johnson added.Republicans have largely echoed banks in warning against a 10% cap on credit card interest, arguing such a cap could result in fewer people being offered credit and depress spending. Trump's credit card interest cap proposal came in a Truth Social post, hours after Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., tweeted about it. Sanders, the former presidential candidate in 2016 and 2020, has long pushed a populist economic agenda and proposed a credit card interest cap in 2019. He sponsored a bill with Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican of Missouri with a populist streak, to impose the cap. "Trump promised to cap credit card interest rates at 10% and stop Wall Street from getting away with murder," Sanders wrote. "Instead, he deregulated big banks charging up to 30% interest on credit cards … Unacceptable." Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks to the crowd at U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) campaign rally in the Bronx borough of New York City, U.S., June 22, 2024. Joy Malone | Reuters Hours later, Trump posted on Truth Social that he was "calling for a one year cap on Credit Card Interest Rates of 10%."Trump's housing proposal, too, is similar to a proposal from former Vice President Kamala Harris. In 2024, during her presidential campaign, Harris urged Congress to pass a bill that would have curtailed investors from buying large numbers of single-family rental homes. Large private equity firms currently own less than five percent of single-family rental homes. "I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it. People live in homes, not corporations," Trump said in his Truth Social post announcing the policy. It's unclear whether Trump's populist turn will end up providing any cover for Republicans, who are planning to crisscross the country selling voters on their "One Big Beautiful Bill" law that cut taxes and advanced other policy items sought by Trump.Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who has become a frequent foil of the Trump administration after leading the charge to compel the release of files related to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, said it's unclear if the ideas will even be popular. "Its populist economics is what it is," Massie said in an interview. "It may very well be popular, I mean, there are going to be some downsides to it as well. We'll see how it plays out and whether he can actually pull it off." Pollsters say Trump is looking for a "game changer" to change voters' minds on the economy. "He needs to convince people that things are going to be better economically in a short period of time and that's what all of these moves, I think, are intended to do," said Spencer Kimball, the executive director of Emerson College Polling. "It might tighten, and the bottom might come out, and the other side could run away with it."How Trump pulls it off remains to be seen. Many of the proposals would likely require congressional authorization. To that end, Trump appears to be reaching out to Democrats — including those he has repeatedly maligned. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Trump called her on Monday after she gave a speech at the National Press Club, where she laid out a case for a Democratic victory in 2026 by arguing that "when the choice is between 'make the rich richer' and 'help everybody else,' winning elections is about choosing 'everybody else.""I told him that Congress can pass legislation to cap credit card rates if he will actually fight for it," Warren said in a statement after the president's call. "I also urged him to get House Republicans to pass the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act, which passed the Senate with unanimous support and would build more housing and lower costs." Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who represents Silicon Valley and is an oft-discussed potential presidential candidate in 2028, welcomed the president in an interview with CNBC."Well, I'm glad Trump is proposing populist policies. I support the idea that we should ban private equity from buying up single-family homes; that was my bill," Khanna said. "If he wants to propose policies that are progressive or populist that are going to help Americans, I'll vote for them." That's not to say all leading Democrats are ready to help Trump lower prices and salvage the midterms for Republicans. "I don't know why we would take what he says seriously, because it's his policies that are jacking up prices," said Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif, the vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, during a press conference this week. "Unless he reverses his policies, these prices are going to keep on increasing." Then, there's the possibility that Trump is using his slew of economic proposals to drive the news cycle away from his weak points. The president has recently come under immense scrutiny for his use of the military after the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, his appearances in the Epstein files and his aggressive deportation agenda."Quite frankly, he's the master of distraction. In the middle of something, he'll make a statement or then look over to something else," said Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., who was Trump's Secretary of the Interior in his first term.

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa views 2026 as an execution year for the embattled automaker following years of sales declines in the U.S. View More

In this articleSTLAFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa speaks during an event in Turin, Italy, Nov. 25, 2025.Daniele Mascolo | Reuters DETROIT — Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa views 2026 as an execution year for the embattled maker of Jeep, Ram and Dodge vehicles in the U.S. after years of market share declines.Filosa has been undertaking a turnaround plan since he was named CEO in May. So far, his plans have included prioritizing the company's Jeep and Ram brands in the U.S. as well as undoing many decisions his predecessor Carlos Tavares made to focus on all-electric vehicles."The strategy that we have in front of us is a strong one and will lead us to growth if we execute well," he told reporters Wednesday during the Detroit Auto Show. "So, I believe it's a year of execution."Filosa, wearing a Jeep vest over a white button-down shirt, said this year is a "first step" in remaking the company, which was formed five years ago through a merger of Fiat Chrysler and French automaker PSA Groupe.He declined to discuss specifics, adding that his executive team will lay out a detailed future strategy for the automaker at a capital markets day in the first half of this year.Filosa did not rule out the possibility of regionally refocusing or shrinking the company's vast portfolio of brands that also include Italian nameplates Fiat and Alfa Romeo, which have not performed well domestically.Filosa said he does believe that the company wants "to stay together" following some Wall Street speculation in recent years that it would be better to sell off assets or brands. "We are building a culture," Filosa said.Filosa said the next step in the company's plans will come next week during a meeting with more than 200 company executives that will focus on the company's capital markets day as well as company culture and 2026 execution."We are a global company with strong regional roots," Filosa said, referring to one of three guiding cultural principles he's attempting to instill in the company. The others are being customer focused and working together.Stellantis' global sales under Tavares fell 12.3% from 6.5 million in 2021 — the year the company was formed — to 5.7 million in 2024. That included a roughly 27% collapse in the U.S. in that period to 1.3 million vehicles sold. The automaker dropped from fourth in U.S. sales to sixth, falling from an 11.6% market share to 8% during that time frame.

The new appointment comes amid Airbnb's massive app redesign, which added catering and personal training. View More

In this articleABNBFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch nowVIDEO6:4406:44Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on new CTO: We have an opportunity to do AI right for travel and e-commerceSquawk Box Airbnb has tapped Ahmad Al-Dahle, former head of generative artificial intelligence at Meta Platforms, as its new technology chief, CEO Brian Chesky announced on Wednesday. "With Ahmad, we are really, really excited because we have an opportunity to do AI right for travel, to do AI right for e-commerce," Chesky told CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin.Al-Dahle previously ran Meta's older GenAI unit and was later appointed co-head of AI products when the social media company divided the unit after developers poorly received its Llama 4 model. Meta later hired Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang as part of a $14.3 billion deal to bolster its AI strategy.Former tech chief Ari Balogh stepped down in December after more than seven years at the company. He joined Airbnb in 2018 from Google.Airbnb is in the midst of a major transformation as it attempts to push beyond its reputation as a short-term rental platform. Read more CNBC tech newsMeta's VR layoffs, studio closures underscore Zuckerberg's massive pivot to AIBig Tech is looking to energy talent to fuel its AI ambitionsPalantir is trying to 'destroy' Percepta through legal action, startup's execs say in filingMicrosoft says communities won't see energy price hikes near data centers as utility costs rise In May, the company overhauled its app, bringing services like catering and personal training to the platform. The company later added direct messaging and updated its AI chatbot. "AI is 24/7, speaks every language, can learn from millions and millions of customer actions to help you. ... And with Ahmad we're going to be able to move up funnel to travel search," Chesky told Sorkin. "And imagine one day Airbnb is this travel concierge, this companion that's with you the entire trip. That's where we're going."Chesky, who is a close friend of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has also shared aspirations to integrate ChatGPT into the platform. However, he told CNBC in October that the chatbot is "not quite robust enough." Al-Dahle fits into the company's mission to use its technology and AI to foster human connection, Chesky wrote in his post. He "shares our belief that technology should serve people — not the other way around — and that its highest purpose is to bring us closer together," he said. Al-Dahle previously spent 16 years at Apple, working across its special projects and imaging and sensing technology groups. He graduated from the University of Waterloo in Canada. "He connects big ideas with technical depth, highly values design, and believes engineering should be a true strategic partner in everything we do," Chesky wrote in a blog post.— CNBC's Jacqueline Corba contributed to this story. watch nowVIDEO6:4806:48Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on new product updates, integrating AI and state of AI tech raceSquawk Box

The Trump administration is predicting larger tax refunds for the 2026 tax season, but the millions of student loan borrowers in default may miss out. View More

Hobo_018 | E+ | Getty Images President Donald Trump said in December that this spring may be the "largest tax refund season of all time," due to changes in the "big beautiful bill." But student loan borrowers who are behind on their payments may miss out. That's because the U.S. Department of Education can seize a borrower's entire tax refund — including their child tax credit or earned income tax credit — if they're in default on their federal student debt. Around 9 million education loan holders are currently in a default status, according to a recent estimate by Protect Borrowers, an advocacy organization. The Trump administration announced in April that it would resume Education Department collections activity, after a roughly five-year pause that began during the Covid pandemic. Some borrowers reported having their refunds seized last year, but this will be the first full tax season in which collections on student loan debt are back in force, experts said. In addition to seizing tax refunds, the federal government can also garnish the wages and Social Security benefits of people who owe it money. Tax season is "a heartbreaking time of year" for many student loan holders, said Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a nonprofit. "Many borrowers in default are struggling financially in other areas and often count on their refunds to catch up on other bills such as rent or car payments," Mayotte said. "Finding out their entire refund has been taken can be a severe blow." Read more CNBC personal finance coverageMore Americans expect to miss a debt payment: What that does to your credit scoreStudent loan borrowers in default may miss Trump's 'largest tax refund season'IRS could see modest budget cut as Congress proposes funding plansAs enhanced ACA subsidies lapse, millions poised to drop health insuranceBigger tax refunds are coming for 2026 — what it could mean for the economyHere's the inflation breakdown for December 2025 — in one chartMore drivers have $1,000-plus car loan payments. What buyers can expect in 2026What the investigation of Fed chair Powell may mean for your moneyWhat Trump's 1-year, 10% credit card interest rate cap means for your moneyThis is one of the 'most important steps' before tax season opens, IRS saysHow tax-efficient investing could boost your portfolio returns in 2026 and beyondFor 2026, these new 401(k) details 'matter more than ever,' advisor saysWe're in a 'hiring recession,' economist says — how job seekers can stand outIRS will start accepting tax returns Jan. 26 for the 2026 tax seasonWhere Trump's $2,000 tariff dividend checks stand nowCNBC's Financial Advisor 100: Best financial advisors, top firms ranked As of Dec. 26, the average refund for individual returns was $3,167 during the 2025 filing season, up slightly from $3,138 in 2024, according to the latest IRS data.More than 42 million Americans hold student loans, and the outstanding debt exceeds $1.6 trillion.Defaulted borrowers still have time to take steps to protect their tax refunds this year, experts say. Here's what to know. Learn if your tax refund is at risk Borrowers worried about the fate of their tax refund should first make sure they know exactly how far behind they are, said Nancy Nierman, assistant director of the Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program in New York."You are not subject to collections unless your debt is actually in default," Nierman said. "Borrowers may think they are in default, but you have to miss at least nine months of payments before your loans are moved to this status."You can log into your account at Studentaid.gov to see how far behind you are; a pink banner on your dashboard may show up if your debt has officially reached default. "If you are delinquent but not yet in default, explore all your repayment options," Nierman said. "You may be eligible for a more affordable payment plan based on your income." Enrolling in a forbearance or deferment should also stave off collection activity for a period, she added. If you do learn that you're in default, contact the government's Treasury Offset Program's call center at 1-800-304-3107, said Kyra Taylor, a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. Borrowers in default "need to call right before they file their taxes," Taylor said. The government generates a list of people who are in debt to different agencies and may have their tax refunds garnished. You'll be asked to provide your Social Security number to learn if you are on the list, Taylor said. "If their name is not on the list, they're likely in the clear," she said. If you are on the list for garnishment, you'll want to take steps right away to get current on your loans — and ideally before you file your taxes, Taylor said. Get current on student loans before filing taxes Getting current on your student loans or taking steps to do so may stop the government from seizing your tax refund. But it can take between 30 days and 10 months to get out of default, so some borrowers may consider requesting an extension to file their tax return, Taylor said. Doing so is easy and free, and automatically extends your deadline to file federal taxes from April 15 to Oct. 15.(Borrowers who aren't sure if they'll owe taxes or receive a refund may benefit from preparing a mock return before the April 15 deadline. "Filing an extension does not extend the time to pay taxes owed," said Kathleen Boyd, a certified financial planner and founder of Student Loan Savvy. If you do have a tax obligation, you'll need to pay by the original deadline to avoid incurring interest and penalties, she said.) You are not subject to collections unless your debt is actually in default.Nancy Niermanassistant director at EDCAP Applying for a loan consolidation is typically the fastest way to get out of default, Taylor said. The process can be completed in as little as four weeks, she added. But some defaulted borrowers may be required to make several on-time payments before they can consolidate, and not all borrowers will qualify, including some who've already consolidated their loans or are facing wage garnishment. Consolidating your loans, which involves repackaging your federal student debts into a new federal student loan, can also lead you to lose progress on your forgiveness timeline under some repayment plans, Taylor said. Borrowers may also lose out on current repayment options if the consolidation wraps up after June, due to Trump's "big beautiful bill." Another way to get out of default is through a loan rehabilitation. That process involves making "nine voluntary, reasonable and affordable monthly payments," according to the U.S. Department of Education. Those nine payments can be made over "a period of 10 consecutive months," it notes on the StudentAid.gov site.If you can't finish the agreement before filing your taxes, you can try contacting your loan servicer and asking if they'll stop collection anyway, Taylor said. They may agree to do so if you start rehabilitation not long after receiving a notice of default or if you've already made five rehabilitation payments. After taking these steps, Taylor recommends calling the Treasury hotline back before submitting your taxes. If your name is no longer on the garnishment list, you can file with more peace of mind.

Jefferies argued that a 10% reduction in average passenger weight could translate into roughly 2% total aircraft weight savings. View More

Celsopupo | Istock | Getty Images Wall Street is finding an unexpected beneficiary of America's weight loss boom: airlines.With the first GLP-1 weight loss drug now available in pill form, analysts at Jefferies say broad adoption across society could quietly lower fuel bills — airlines' single largest cost — and lift earnings for the carriers. "A slimmer society = lower fuel consumption. Airlines have a history of being vigilant around aircraft weight savings, from olives (pitless, of course) to paper stock," the Wall Street firm said in a note to clients.Jefferies contended that a 10% reduction in average passenger weight could translate into roughly 2% total aircraft weight savings, up to 1.5% lower fuel costs and as much as a 4% boost to earnings per share.Patients are already getting their hands on the first GLP-1 pill for obesity from Novo Nordisk, and a similar product from Eli Lilly isn't far behind, with U.S. approval expected within months. By eliminating the need for self-injection, pills are widely expected to attract first-time patients to obesity treatments. Earnings GainsJefferies estimates the implications could be material for the largest U.S. carriers, led by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines.Collectively, the four carriers are expected to burn about 16 billion gallons of fuel in 2026 at an average fuel price of $2.41 a gallon, according to Jefferies. That puts their combined fuel bill at nearly $39 billion, accounting for nearly 19% of total operating expenses.Assuming a 1% reduction in aircraft weight improves fuel efficiency by 0.75%, the investment bank estimates a 2% decline in average passenger weight could translate into roughly 4% upside to earnings per share across the group. That equals potential EPS gains of about 2.8% for Delta, 3.5% for United, 4.2% for Southwest and as much as 11.7% for American, which has more operating leverage to fuel costs.Weight is one of the most important drivers of fuel efficiency, a point aircraft manufacturers including Boeing routinely emphasize. When Boeing delivers an aircraft, there is a fixed "operating empty weight," with the remaining allowance up to the maximum takeoff weight split among fuel, passengers, baggage and cargo, Jefferies noted.Jefferies used a 737 Max 8 as an example. The aircraft has an operating empty weight of about 99,000 pounds, with capacity for roughly 46,000 pounds of fuel and 36,000 pounds of payload. Assuming a two-class configuration with 178 passengers at an average weight of 180 pounds, passengers account for around 32,000 pounds.If average passenger weight declined by 10%, total passenger weight would fall by about 3,200 pounds or roughly 2% of maximum takeoff weight, delivering meaningful fuel savings over thousands of flights per year, Jefferies said. The industry's fixation on weight is well documented. In 2018, United Airlines switched its Hemisphere magazine to lighter paper, trimming about an ounce per copy, a move expected to save 170,000 gallons of fuel annually, worth roughly $290,000 at the time, Jefferies noted.— CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting.

It's unclear if the stock trading ban bill will be able to pass the full House, where Republicans hold a razor-thin and at times fractious majority. View More

watch nowVIDEO2:5202:52Congressional stock trading ban bill to get its first vote Wednesday: Here's what you need to knowSquawk on the Street A Republican-backed bill to ban members of Congress from buying new stocks survived an initial procedural hurdle Wednesday, despite Democrats' complaints that the legislation doesn't go far enough. The bill was approved along party lines in the House Administration Committee, with seven of the panel's GOP members voting for it and all four of its Democrats opposing it."Your member of Congress should not be day trading stocks," said Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., who chairs the committee and introduced the bill, in an interview with CNBC before the vote."You want to day trade? There's a place for that, and it's called Wall Street," Steil said.House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., previously told CNBC that he would bring the bill to a floor vote if it was approved in the committee.It's unclear if the bill will be able to pass the full House, where Republicans hold a razor-thin and at times fractious majority. Democratic members have said Steil's bill doesn't do enough to prevent insider trading among lawmakers.All of their amendments to the legislation were shot down in the committee. Read more CNBC politics coverageRussia watches as ally Iran edges closer to collapse. Here's why it matters for MoscowTrump's latest geopolitical gambits all lead back to ChinaTrump says anything less than U.S. control of Greenland is 'unacceptable' ahead of talksTrump attacks Powell again amid Fed independence fears: 'That jerk will be gone soon'Sen. Kelly sues DOD Sec. Hegseth, says he was punished for 'disfavored political speech'GOP Sen. Thom Tillis vows to block Trump's Fed nominees following Powell probe Steil's bill is, effectively, a watered-down version of previous efforts to ban insider trading among lawmakers.The measure would allow members to keep the stocks they owned when they were elected. Members could sell stocks, as long as they gave public notice seven days before the sale. Lawmakers would be able to buy and sell commodities, futures, and diversified funds, and could use dividends of stocks to purchase more shares of stocks they own.  Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Steil's bill would also increase fees for violations, ratcheting up fines to $2,000, or 10% of the value of transaction, whatever is greater, or the net gain from the transaction. Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., the Administration Committee's ranking member, called the bill a "quarter measure.""This is a way to get people to believe that we've resolved the issue," he told CNBC during an interview in the Capitol. "There's too many ways to get around this. It essentially says, if you have great wealth, and you come to Congress, you can continue to have great wealth. And that's not what we want."Steil brushed off concerns that the legislation didn't go as far as others, saying that killing any bill that was deemed "not quite good enough" would prevent progress on the issue."It's what I call the Goldilocks argument. The porridge is too cold. The porridge is too hot," he said. "This is an opportunity to say yay or nay. Do you believe your member of Congress should be trading stocks while they're in elected office?"Democrats are coming up with their own plans. Morelle said he intends to file a discharge petition to force a vote on a bill from himself and Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., that would not only prevent members of Congress from trading stocks, but the president and vice president as well.— CNBC's Kevin Breuninger and Caleigh Keating contributed to this report.

The high-stakes meeting comes shortly after Greenland and Denmark's leaders portrayed a united front against Trump's takeover threats. View More

U.S. Vice President JD Vance (L) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio join President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron in the Oval Office at the White House on February 24, 2025 in Washington, DC.Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images The Trump administration is poised for crunch talks with Greenlandic and Danish officials on Wednesday, amid the U.S. president's ongoing push to take control of Greenland.Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt and her Danish counterpart, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, are expected to convene at the White House for talks with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.U.S. President Donald Trump doubled down on his aggressive rhetoric shortly before the high-stakes meeting. In a social media post on Wednesday, the U.S. president said anything less than Greenland becoming a part of the United States would be "unacceptable." "The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security. It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building. NATO should be leading the way for us to get it," Trump said on Truth Social."NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES. Anything less than that is unacceptable," he added. In a subsequent social media post, Trump said only the U.S. could counter an alleged threat from Russia and China to the island.His comments come just one day after Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen portrayed a united front against Trump's takeover threats.Speaking at a joint news conference in Copenhagen on Tuesday, Greenland's Nielsen said that if the self-governing Danish territory must choose between the U.S. and Denmark, "we choose Denmark."Frederiksen also said it had not been easy to stand up to what she described as "completely unacceptable pressure" from our closest ally. "But there is much to suggest that the hardest part is still ahead of us." Read moreGreenland's PM has a blunt message for Trump: 'We choose Denmark' over the U.S.Why most Greenlanders favor a future without Trump — or DenmarkTech investors sound out how U.S. takeover of Greenland would impact minerals mining Trump, who has long coveted making Greenland a part of the United States, renewed his interest in the vast and mineral-rich Arctic island following an audacious U.S. military operation in Venezuela on Jan. 3. Trump's comments have raised alarm in Denmark, which is responsible for the defense of Greenland, with Frederiksen cautioning that a U.S. attack would mark the end of NATO. Defense and resources Ian Lesser, distinguished fellow at GMF, a Washington-based think tank, said the stakes were "very high" for the talks, warning that failure to resolve the diplomatic crisis "does not just threaten NATO cohesion, it threatens the future existence of the Alliance as we know it." The meeting will likely seek to clarify the prospects for and potential contours of a negotiated settlement of the crisis, Lesser said. Greenland's Head of Government (Naalakkersuisut) Jens-Frederik Nielsen (L) and Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen give a statement on the current situation at a press conference in the Mirror Hall at the Prime Minister's Office in Copenhagen, Denmark, on January 13, 2026.Liselotte Sabroe | Afp | Getty Images "There could be new European commitments to strengthening the defence of Greenland, and more important, the surrounding maritime space. There might also be parallel talks around new and preferential US access to Greenland's resources," Lesser told CNBC by email."Or, the meeting could end in acrimony," he added. The prospect of a public fallout between U.S. and European officials at the White House brings to mind a highly contentious meeting between Trump, Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February last year.Trump and Vance accused Zelenskyy of a lack of respect as the meeting veered sharply off track, devolving into an extraordinary shouting match live on camera. 'A profound crisis' Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, said he does not expect the U.S., Greenland and Denmark to be able to find a diplomatic solution on Wednesday, describing the situation as "a profound crisis." "I think there was a significant change, I think it was yesterday, when it was announced in Washington that JD Vance, the vice president, was going to take over the meeting," Bildt told CNBC's "Europe Early Edition" on Wednesday. "It was scheduled to be with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has indicated a slightly milder approach, but JD Vance has, of course, been directly insulting towards Denmark and demanding very strange things," Bildt said. watch nowVIDEO4:5504:55Former Swedish PM expects a 'fairly hard' White House meeting over GreenlandEurope Early Edition "I expect a fairly hard meeting. I don't expect any resolution. At best, I expect that they will initiate the process of talks of some sort," he added.Bildt, who serves as co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, referred to Vance's remarks at the Munich Security Conference in February last year, saying his "rather extraordinary" analysis of Europe was more in line with the "extreme right" of the region. "This is not the trans-Atlantic alliance we used to have," he added. What would a good outcome look like? Otto Svendsen, associate fellow with the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, said tensions between Greenland and Denmark have been set aside to present a united front against U.S. threats.The White House meeting, Svendsen said, will provide further clues as to how committed the entire Trump administration is to acquiring Greenland — and how deterred the administration is to threats of a complete breakdown in bilateral relations. Read moreGreenland's PM has a blunt message for Trump: 'We choose Denmark' over the U.S.Why most Greenlanders favor a future without Trump — or DenmarkTech investors sound out how U.S. takeover of Greenland would impact minerals mining "A good outcome for the Danes and Greenlanders would be a statement that affirms Greenland's sovereignty and position within the Kingdom. Anything short of that leaves the door open to continued threats and coercion," Svendsen told CNBC by email."In return, the Danish and Greenlandic delegation will likely offer plans to revisit economic and security arrangements among the three countries, such as more favorable access for U.S. companies to the Greenlandic mining sector and additional Danish investments in Arctic security," he added.Several European leaders rallied in support of Greenland last week, saying security in the Arctic must be achieved collectively."Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland," the leaders said. The letter was signed by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as the leaders of Italy, Spain and Poland.

Republicans on Capitol Hill have lightly thrown cold water on capping credit card interest at 10%. View More

watch nowVIDEO11:1911:19Sen. Warren on Trump phone call, credit card rate cap and tackling affordabilitySquawk Box President Donald Trump called Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., on Monday to work together on capping interest rates on credit cards."He said he wanted to work on that, I said, 'Great, let's get something done,'"  Warren, the Senate Banking Committee ranking member, said on Wednesday in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box." Trump called Warren after she gave a speech at the National Press Club, where she laid out a strategy for Democrats to win back majorities in the House and Senate in the 2026 midterms. Warren has been a frequent target of Trump's ire over the years."My point was ... he had not lifted a finger to try to get something through on credit card interest rate caps," Warren said. Read more CNBC politics coverageRussia watches as ally Iran edges closer to collapse. Here's why it matters for MoscowTrump's latest geopolitical gambits all lead back to ChinaTrump says anything less than U.S. control of Greenland is 'unacceptable' ahead of talksTrump attacks Powell again amid Fed independence fears: 'That jerk will be gone soon'Sen. Kelly sues DOD Sec. Hegseth, says he was punished for 'disfavored political speech'GOP Sen. Thom Tillis vows to block Trump's Fed nominees following Powell probe Trump last week proposed capping credit card interest at 10% in a Truth Social post. Republicans on Capitol Hill so far have distanced themselves from Trump's credit card interest cap proposal, warning that it could limit credit availability for Americans. "You gotta be very careful if you go forward in that, in our zeal to bring down costs, you don't want to have negative secondary effects of that," House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Tuesday during a press conference. "The problem is, if you do that, then the credit card companies ... they would just stop lending money and maybe they cap what people are able to borrow at a very low amount."It's something that we've got to be very deliberate about," Johnson said.