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The U.S.-Iran deal has raised questions about how the Strait of Hormuz will be governed after the toll-free period ends. View More

watch nowVIDEO4:0304:03RBC’s Helima Croft on the state of oil marketsThe Exchange At least 20 oil tankers have crossed the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Iran began to reopen the sea lane to commercial ship traffic, according to the trade intelligence firm Kpler. Tanker transits on Thursday hit the highest level since June 2, the firm said. However, traffic is still below prewar levels when more than 100 ships, including dozens of tankers, transited Hormuz daily. In total, 25 ships transited Hormuz on Thursday including cargo, container and other vessel classes, in addition to the tankers, according to Kpler. Traffic has picked up after the U.S. Navy ended its blockade of Iran, while Tehran is allowing ships to cross Hormuz for 60 days without paying tolls. U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters Thursday that the Iranians so far "are honoring their end of the commitment.""Traffic was broadly balanced, with 13 crossings moving West to East and 12 moving East to West," said Matt Smith, Kpler's commodity research director. Three supertankers from Saudi Arabia and one from the United Arab Emirates crossed Hormuz on Thursday, according to Kpler. These huge ships, called very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, can haul up to 2 million barrels of oil. Iranian supertankers are switching on their transponders after going dark during the war, Kpler analysts told clients in a Friday note. Five Iranian supertankers loaded with oil were observed departing the region on Friday, the analysts said. "Two-way vessel flows suggest Iranian crude trade is gradually returning closer to normal operating patterns," the analysts said. Eighteen ships that crossed Thursday followed the route designated by Iran to cross Hormuz, according to Kpler. Just one vessel used the route defined by the International Maritime Organization. The routes used by six ships couldn't be confirmed, Kpler said.The U.S.-Iran deal has raised questions about how Hormuz will be governed. After the 60-day toll-free period ends, Iran will hold talks with Oman and the Gulf states on how to administer the strait, according to the deal terms. This appears to leave open the possibility that tolls could be imposed in the future. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

The sparsely populated state known for its world-class casinos and dry climate has been a hiring hot spot. View More

The Strip, The Sphere and full replica of the Eiffel Tower in daytimeStrekoza2 | Istock Editorial | Getty Images A sparsely-populated state known for its world-class casinos and dry desert climate has been a bright spot in the tepid U.S. job market.Nevada's workforce grew 1.9% from April 2025 to 2026, the highest of any state, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, that rate inched up just 0.2% over the same period.About 12% of new jobs in the U.S. were created in Nevada during those 12 months, data shows. That's an outsized gain for the Silver State, which houses only about 1% of the national population.Economic leaders in Nevada say their success is the culmination of years of work to diversify business activity beyond gambling and entertainment. Home to 3.3 million residents, Nevada has long benefited from its proximity to California and is increasingly becoming a hub for artificial intelligence infrastructure.Economically, Nevada is "a relatively small state being mentioned in the same breath as California, Texas, Florida," said David Schmidt, chief economist in the state's Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. The jobs market, in particular, is putting up "really remarkable numbers that we're seeing." 'Widespread' workforce growthIn the past year, Nevada saw the most growth in professional and business services roles, which Schmidt attributed to favorable state tax policies. Education and health services positions were also a top contributor, part of the national trend of health care driving job gains.Companies have long sought out Nevada for new or expanded mines, these days driven by bountiful supplies of lithium, a key component in batteries used to help run AI models, Schmidt said. And Nevada's 110,000-square miles offers large swaths of open land attractive for building AI-related infrastructure such as data centers, the economist said.One of the few signs of contraction in the Nevada labor economy came in government jobs, which fell over the past year, holding back what would have been an even stronger expansion. Even there, however, Schmidt said Nevada was less affected than other states by President Trump's effort to curb government hiring, due to its small number of federal workers.At first glance, Nevada's labor market strength is surprising given softness in the state's iconic gambling industry. The Las Vegas Strip's largest casinos collectively saw revenues decline nearly 4% between the fiscal 2024 and 2025 years, according to data from the Nevada Gaming Control Board released this month. Guests play slots at Resorts World on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Las Vegas. L.E. Baskow | Tribune News Service | Getty Images But the economy of the Las Vegas metro area — home to the lion's share of the state's population — has grown increasingly less reliant on gaming. An analysis of federal data found that about 60% of new jobs in the region from 2016 to 2025 came in industries outside of hospitality, construction and government, the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance told CNBC."Looking at the data, the thing that stands out the most is how widespread the growth is," Schmidt said.Nevada is bucking what economists have described as a national "jobless boom," and a "low hire, low fire" employment market. Now, the national labor market may be thawing, however: Nonfarm payroll growth was more than double what Wall Street forecast in May. The BLS is slated to release the most recent breakdown of state-by-state employment next week.'Untapped' talent poolNevada-based job listings have ballooned about 20% compared with February 2020, while the national number has grown approximately 2%, according to Indeed, an online job site. Staffing agency ManpowerGroup found that demand for workers has held up better in Nevada than in the average state during the second quarter. The bulk of the hiring in Nevada may be coming from larger companies, according to Gusto, a payroll platform for small- and mid-sized businesses that told CNBC its net hiring rate came in lower for Nevada than the rest of the country. For all the apparent growth, however, Nevada's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is above the national average, a possible reflection of an expanding workforce that has been recovering ever since the Covid pandemic, according to Stephen Miller, an economics professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas."We had so many people that were unemployed" starting in 2020, Miller said. "We're still catching up."A burgeoning workforce is evident in Nevada's higher-than-average labor force participation rate — a measure of the working-age population employed or looking for work. That's a positive for employers looking to fill expand in the state, Schmidt said. Red Rock Canyon, Nevada. Chrisboswell | Istock | Getty Images LV Petroleum CEO Kris Roach has seen that story play out as he's brought on hundreds of workers in the past year to staff the company's restaurants and travel centers.Roach found it "very easy" to find staff, sometimes receiving more than 100 applications for a managerial opening. There's also ample white-collar workers — some previously employed at Las Vegas casinos — to hire for jobs in areas like finance and human resources at LV Petroleum's expanding corporate office."It's a great state to operate in," Roach said. "There's so much untapped talent."Beyond the StripNevada needs to actively woo business and attract workers in order to continue leading in job growth, local economic advocates said.The Sun Belt state's population has boomed in recent decades, which economists link partly to its proximity to California. Nevada's resident population soared more than 62% from 2000 to 2025, far outpacing the roughly 21% increase seen nationally, federal data shows.One new resident is Emma Keserich, who arrived in Las Vegas last summer from the Washington, D.C., area. Metropolitan Washington, including the Virginia and Maryland suburbs, has lost thousands of jobs as of a result of Trump's federal government efficiency initiatives.At first, Keserich was surprised by the number of families and nearby natural attractions in a region known for its entertainment hub. Keserich plays up short commute times and relative affordability when pitching the region to businesses as a vice president of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance. (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})(); Nevada's cost of living was lower than neighboring states including California, Idaho and Arizona in the first quarter, a Missouri-based government researcher found. Average hourly pay in Nevada climbed nearly 6% from 2024 to 2025, the fifth biggest increase of any state, according to a CNBC analysis of BLS data. "People think Las Vegas is just the Strip," Keserich said. "There's just more than what meets the eye." Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

SpaceX's IPO did not just mint the biggest debut in market history and a trillionaire, but it also triggered a historic land grab in risky leveraged ETFs. View More

In this articleSPCXFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT SpaceX Executives ring the Closing Bell at the Nasdaq on the debut of their IPO on June 12th, 2026.Adam Jeffery | CNBC SpaceX's IPO didn't just mint the biggest debut in market history — it also triggered a leveraged ETF historic land grab.Within days of SpaceX going public, competing fund firms launched 11 leveraged exchange-traded funds tied to the stock, with the trading volume that followed shattering expectations. There was over $10 billion in levered ETF trading during SpaceX's first week on the stock market, a shortened holiday trading week which encompassed four days through Thursday. It was one among the many notable market stats that stood out about the deal.Leveraged single-stock ETFs are designed to deliver a multiple of a stock's daily return which is typically two times, either long or short. Since these funds reset daily, their returns can drift meaningfully from the underlying stock. Leveraged Shares led the charge, with three days of over $1 billion in volume in its long SpaceX ETF on Tuesday through Thursday, and significant volume in its short SpaceX ETF as well. Todd Sohn, chief ETF strategist at Strategas Securities, says the pattern is familiar, even if the scale is uncommon. When a heavyweight name like Nvidia or Tesla gets a leveraged ETF built around it, demand shows up. SpaceX brought to the market not just the largest IPO in market history but Elon Musk's name attached to it.Tuesday's trading volume of $4.2 billion in levered SpaceX ETFs was the peak day for the week. SpaceX Levered ETFs, first week trading volumeLeverage Shares 2X Long SPCX Daily ETF (SPCH): $4 billionLeverage Shares 2X Short SPCX Daily ETF (SSPC): $2.56 billionGraniteShares 2x Short SpaceX Daily ETF (SNK): $765 millionProShares Ultra SpaceX (SPCF): $607 millionDefiance Daily Target 2X Long SpaceX ETF (SPCU): $557 million GraniteShares 2x Long SpaceX Daily ETF (SPAL): $516 millionDirexion Daily SpaceX Bull 2X ETF (LOFF): $378 millionDefiance Daily Target 2X Short SpaceX ETF (SPCQ): $345 millionTradr 2X Short SpaceX Daily ETF (SPCG): $339 millionT-REX 2X LONG SPCX DAILY TARGET ETF (SPAX): $332 millionTradr 2X Long SpaceX Daily ETF (SPCM): $251 millionSource: Strategas Securities, BloombergThe SpaceX IPO attracted a high level of interest from retail investors, but many were limited in their access to shares. Major issuers of the ETFs caution that these portfolios are designed for sophisticated self-directed traders, hedge funds, and proprietary trading desks. The products are not built for buy-and-hold retail investors.Leverage Shares' chief revenue officer Paul Marino said a stock moving in one direction "compounds and does really well," but that flips quickly once the stock turns more volatile, and that will be the real test for investors with these products. SpaceX began the week with two straight days of gains, contributing to Tuesday's peak volume, but turned negative over the second half of the week.After the two-day slide in shares, many investors who bought SpaceX shares post-IPO were on the verge of being under water. Stock Chart IconStock chart iconSpaceX performance in first week of trading. Even though the levered ETFs are not core long-term stock or bond market holdings where lowest cost often wins, fees can still be a differentiator in a crowded marketplace.Leverage Shares expense ratio of 0.75% came in below most of its peers, which could be a factor in its early volume lead."If you're getting a similar product, I don't care if it's daily traded or if it's for long term investing. Fees matter," Marino said.But GraniteShares CEO Will Rhind, whose SpaceX ETFs have an expense ratio of 1.50%, pushed back on that logic, saying that for traders holding a position for a few days, the fee difference is irrelevant. "If you're holding it for a few days, it's practically free as an investor," Rhind told CNBC.Defiance is leaning on timing. Its fund was the only leveraged product actually trading on IPO day. "Defiance will always be interested in being a market leader in terms of the new single stocks," said Sylvia Jablonski, Defiance ETFs co-founder and CIO. She said the SpaceX ETF is a natural extension of a lineup of leveraged single-stock funds tied to names like Strategy and Rocket Labs.It is still an open question as to whether investors will stick with these trades once the record IPO momentum fades. Leverage Shares is betting on what it calls "a durable base of users" regardless of potential volatility in the stock day to day. Meanwhile, Anthropic and OpenAI are expected to IPO later this year, which could create more competition in the single-stock ETF universe. ETF executives said their firms will be interested in levering up the risk in these stocks for traders once they hit the market.Sign up for our weekly newsletter that goes beyond the livestream, offering a closer look at the trends and figures shaping the ETF market. Disclaimer watch nowVIDEO19:1919:19ETF Edge: Bitcoin kicks off the week with gains as ‘crypto winter’ looks to thawETF Edge Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Michelle Yeung wasn't happy in tech, despite earning $250,000 a year. Before opening Matcha House, she spent months learning the business. View More

Despite earning roughly $250,000 a year as a software engineer, Michelle Yeung felt increasingly disconnected from the work. "I wanted to transition into something where I was making someone's day better or making someone happier in some way," she tells CNBC Make It. Rather than quitting right away, she spent months exploring what might come next.In the summer of 2024, Yeung started thinking seriously about opening a matcha cafe in Manhattan after noticing a lack of high-quality options in the city, asking herself "Why is my own matcha better?" But Yeung wasn't going to leave her high-paying job without a plan. Michelle Yeung inside Matcha House.Mickey Todiwala Before leaving software engineering, she worked 5 a.m. Starbucks shifts to learn cafe operations, traveled to Japan to research matcha and accumulated savings she would later use to help launch the business. Today, she runs Matcha House on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The business is on track to be profitable in its first year and is gradually recouping its startup costs. "I'm so much happier now than I was before," she says. Working 'undercover' at Starbucks: 'I was on my own little mission' Once Yeung decided a matcha cafe might be the right next step, she set out to learn everything she could before leaving software engineering.She traveled to Japan to study how matcha, a drink made from finely ground green tea powder, was sourced, prepared and served. She took notes on harvesting techniques and whisking methods and tested different powder-to-water ratios to achieve consistent results.Back in New York, she recruited friends to taste-test different matchas and continued researching whether a shop could succeed financially.Because she had no experience working in food service, she says she spent "a couple of months" working "undercover" at Starbucks from roughly 5 a.m. until 10 a.m. before logging on for software engineering meetings later in the morning. Michelle Yeung prepares matcha.Mickey Todiwala "I was on my own little mission," Yeung says.The preparation extended to the search for a storefront. Yeung spent months touring locations and meeting with landlords, many of whom were reluctant to rent to a first-time business owner.Eventually, she found a small space on a side street in Manhattan's Lower East Side. She later described it as "pretty perfect" — small, well-located and relatively affordable for the neighborhood.By March 2025, Yeung had accumulated more than $200,000 in savings and felt ready to leave software engineering.  Opening day brought a few surprises Despite all the preparation, starting the business came with unexpected challenges.Yeung says contractors often failed to finish work they had promised, leading to delays and a series of last-minute setbacks. The night before the soft opening for friends and family, the cafe flooded."Behind the curtains there was just flooding going on and we just had to mop over it," Yeung says.She says she couldn't have opened the business without help from friends, who assembled furniture, hung curtains and prepared the space in the final days before launch.When the Matcha House first opened in July 2025, Yeung often worked 12-hour days and personally whisked every drink herself. "The first two months, I only trusted myself to whisk every drink," she says. Michelle Yeung in her cafe.Mickey Todiwala Over time, she learned to hand off more of those responsibilities. Matcha House now employs about 10 part-time workers, and Yeung no longer needs to be behind the counter every day. Looking back, Yeung said her time at Starbucks provided a crash course in the industry "within a short period of time" before she opened Matcha House.The cafe is on track to be profitable in its first year, and Yeung says she is gradually recouping the money she invested to get it off the ground.She expects to pay herself about $33,000 in 2026, while reinvesting much of the business's earnings back into the company. She keeps her personal expenses low, spending less than $2,500 in a typical month. "My life is less about how much money I'm making right now and more about what I'm doing every day," Yeung says. "A year into the business, I'm just grateful that we've survived a year and we can survive another year."Want to get ahead at work? Then you need to learn how to make effective small talk. In CNBC's new online course, How To Talk To People At Work, expert instructors share practical strategies to help you use everyday conversations to gain visibility, build meaningful relationships and accelerate your career growth. Sign up today! Take control of your money with CNBC Select CNBC Select is editorially independent and may earn a commission from affiliate partners on links.Chase launches limited-time business card offers: Earn up to 200,000 bonus pointsMortgage rates will likely stay high amid the Iran war, experts say. Here’s how to get the best deal anywayIPO investing: What are IPO stocks and the best brokers for IPO access?Reverse mortgage scams: How to spot them, avoid them and lenders you can trust VIDEO9:3609:36I quit my $250K/year tech job–now I make $33K/year selling matchaMillennial Money

While high home values mean homeowners are sitting on an estimated $11 trillion in equity, it should not be viewed as free money, experts say. View More

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images Even as home price growth has slowed, the housing boom during the first half of the 2020s means many owners are sitting on substantial equity — and they appear willing to use it.Homeowners tapped an estimated $47 billion in equity — the difference between their mortgage balance and the property's market value — during the first three months of 2026, according to a new report from Intercontinental Exchange, a financial markets technology and data company. While down from $49 billion in the final quarter of 2025, the figure marks the highest first-quarter withdrawal figure since 2021.Home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs, and home equity loans accounted for 54% of withdrawals in the quarter, and the remainder came from cash-out mortgage refinancing, the report shows. Nearly two-thirds of those second-lien borrowers have mortgages that were originated between 2020 and 2022, when average rates were in the 3% to 4% range. Read more CNBC personal finance coverageCollege sticker prices top $100,000 at 16 schools — but many students pay lessHow to get SpaceX stock — without buying the IPOSocial Security trust funds may last longer than expected: Wharton analysisWomen have better retirement savings habits but lower 401(k) balances than menCNBC's Financial Advisor 100: Best financial advisors, top firms ranked "The housing market continues to be defined by the lock-in effect," said Andy Walden, head of mortgage and housing market research at ICE, in the report."Millions of homeowners are sitting on first mortgages with rates well below current market levels, making second liens and HELOCs an attractive way to access equity without giving up those loans," Walden said. Homeowners are sitting on $11 trillion in equity Rates on a standard 30-year fixed-rate mortgage currently are trending above 6.5%, according to Mortgage News Daily. After the low rates offered from 2020 through most of 2022, rates brushed 8% in October 2023 before trending downward.The median price of an existing home in the U.S. was $429,300 in May, up 1.3% from $423,700 a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. However, that figure is about 50.8% above the May 2020 median price of $284,600. The upshot is that there's an estimated $11 trillion in home equity available to borrowers, according to ICE. And, experts say, accessing it for extra cash can be tempting. watch nowVIDEO0:3100:31Can you afford to buy a home?Personal Finance However, "home equity is not free money," said certified financial planner Joon Um, a tax advisor with Secure Tax & Accounting in Beverly Hills, California."With borrowing costs still relatively high, homeowners should make sure the purpose of the loan is strong enough to justify the cost," Um said.In other words, the reason for tapping the equity should make sense from a financial standpoint, experts said. With borrowing costs still relatively high, homeowners should make sure the purpose of the loan is strong enough to justify the cost.Joon UmTax advisor with Secure Tax & Accounting For example, if the funds are used for repairs or upgrades, "then the money is being spent on capital improvements for your home, which might make sense," said CFP George Gagliardi, founder and financial advisor with Coromandel Wealth Strategies in Lexington, Massachusetts."If it is for vacations or other discretionary expenses, ask yourself if you are now living beyond your means in terms of your income," Gagliardi said. "You might end up paying many years of interest on that summer vacation." Refinancing or getting a second loan If you do consider tapping your equity, it's worth knowing the differences in the options available. A cash-out refinance generally involves refinancing your mortgage and taking out some equity as cash as part of the new loan. This route involves going through the entire mortgage approval process, as well as paying closing costs — which include things like fees, taxes and title insurance — and typically run 2% to 5% of the new loan, according to Zillow. Lenders may let you roll those costs into the new mortgage, which would mean spreading them out over the life of the loan and paying interest. However, "a cash-out refinance may be difficult to justify if it means giving up an existing mortgage with a much lower rate," Um said.In the first quarter, nearly half of cash-out refis came from borrowers refinancing mortgages originated in 2023 or later, according to the ICE report. Another quarter came from borrowers giving up the low rates they secured between 2020 and 2022 in order to withdraw equity.Meanwhile, some homeowners choose to keep their first mortgage and instead get a home equity loan, which generally comes with a fixed interest rate and fixed payment amount. The average rate on a five-year home equity loan is 8.12% as of June 3, according to Bankrate. For a 15-year loan, the average is 8.2%. Generally, the longer the loan, the higher the interest rate.These loans also come with closing costs, although they may be lower than those associated with a first mortgage, according to Bankrate. What to be aware of with HELOCs Meanwhile, HELOCs let you tap a line of credit over time as you need the money instead of getting it all at once, as you would with a home equity loan.While HELOCs may have fewer upfront costs than a home equity loan, they generally come with an interest rate that is variable, so it will move up and down based on a benchmark like the prime rate, which banks use as a basis to set rates on a variety of loans. And, while the Federal Reserve doesn't control that rate, it is influenced by changes the Fed makes to the so-called federal funds rate.The average interest rate for a $30,000 HELOC is 7.43% as of June 3, according to Bankrate.Many HELOCs also have a "draw" period when you can take money out, which often lasts five or 10 years. During that time, you typically are only required to pay the interest on any funds you've withdrawn. After that, however, you'll enter a repayment period of, say, 10 or 20 years, when you're required to pay both interest and principal. Because of that, your payments will jump if you've only been paying interest."Make sure the payments fit comfortably in your budget, and remember that your home is the collateral," Um said. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Shanghai Disneyland hit 100 million cumulative visitors in 2025, according to the company. It's a relatively new but important foothold in Disney's history. View More

In this articleDISFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch nowVIDEO1:4401:44Shanghai Disneyland celebrates 10th anniversary, hits 100 million visitors in 2025Digital Original Spend a day at Shanghai Disneyland and you wouldn't know Chinese consumers are struggling.Wang Jiandong and his girlfriend Yan Xu said they have been skipping meals out and scrimping on day-to-day necessities so they could afford to enjoy the park."We save in our daily lives so we can spend more on trips," Wang explained while taking photos with Yan in front of Disney's iconic castle. "This is a romantic place."Shanghai Disneyland celebrated its 10th anniversary this week, with former Disney CEO Bob Iger flying in for the festivities."I'm feeling filled with pride really," Iger told CNBC during an interview at the park. "I've been involved in this project from the very beginning in the late '90s." Iger said the occasion carried extra significance "knowing not only how successful it's been, but really how important it is in many respects, not just to the Walt Disney Co. but to the people of China." Former CEO of Walt Disney Company Bob Iger (2L) and his wife Willow Bay attend a celebratory event marking the 10th anniversary of Shanghai Disney Resort in Shanghai on June 15, 2026. Jade Gao | AFP | Getty Images Shanghai Disneyland hit 100 million cumulative visitors in 2025, according to the company. It's a relatively new but important foothold in Disney's more than 100-year history. Disney's experiences division, which includes its theme parks, resorts, cruises and merchandise, reported nearly $9.5 billion in revenue during the company's most recent quarter, ended in March, a 7% increase year over year. The division is the second largest at Disney's, accounting for almost 40% of the company's overall revenue and nearly 60% of its operating income. While Disney executives have noted recent softness in international visitors to the company's U.S. parks, its outposts in other countries are faring better. According to the Themed Entertainment Association, which tracks global theme park data, the Shanghai park attracted 14.7 million visitors in 2024 — a 5% year-on-year increase — making it the fifth most-visited theme park in the world behind Disney parks in Orlando, Florida; Anaheim, California; and Tokyo as well as Universal Studios Japan.Under newly appointed CEO Josh D'Amaro, Disney is eyeing further global expansion, with a new cruise ship berthed in Singapore and a forthcoming park and resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The company announced a 10-year, $60 billion investment into its parks in 2023. watch nowVIDEO7:2807:28Former Disney CEO Bob Iger on what China has meant for the companyDigital Original "Because of the available property and because of the properties, the intellectual property that Disney has, the opportunities to expand are limitless," Iger told CNBC this week. "As long as the business is successful, which it has been, there is no reason why it won't continue to expand over time."Iger, who stepped down from his second stint as CEO in March and is still a member of its board of directors, declined to comment on reports that Disney is considering another theme park for China.  A cautious Chinese consumer Shanghai Disneyland is bucking a bigger trend in China: consumption broadly is poor. Retail sales dropped in May for the first time in three years. Car sales are down by double digits. People are downgrading their consumption, but they haven't cut back altogether."Young people in China today are not refusing to consume. Rather, they care more about 'value for money,'" Lin Huanjie, president of the Institute for Theme Park Studies in China, said in written comments to CNBC. This photo taken on June 16, 2026 shows a view of Shanghai Disneyland in its 10th anniversary themed decorations in east China's Shanghai.Liu Ying | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images "If a Disney trip delivers strong memories, compelling social content, and high emotional value, they are still willing to pay," Lin said. "If it is just an ordinary visit, they will tighten their budgets. The popularity of characters like LinaBell in China also shows that young consumers, even under economic pressure, are still willing to pay for emotionally comforting consumption."University student Smile Wei is one such parkgoer. Wei traveled with a friend for a vacation to Shanghai and told CNBC their budget was 5,000 yuan ($735) for the five-day trip. They already spent a fifth of that at the park, Wei said."My friend and I planned to book a hotel room with two beds," Wei said. "But we downsized to a single to buy more souvenirs here."Shanghai resident Wang Lu told CNBC she specifically wanted to be at the park on June 16."It's both my birthday and the park's 10th anniversary," she said. "There is nowhere else I would rather spend this special day." Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

CNBC's Arjun Kharpal sits down with the chip company chief on The Tech Download podcast. View More

In this articleGOOGLSPCXQCOMINTCNVDASOXXAAPLFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Imagine this: you're wearing a pair of glasses with a built-in camera and a visual display. You're walking down the road and you remember you need to make a reservation at a restaurant. Instead of using your smartphone to research recommended spots, you talk to your digital assistant who manages to get it done, across various apps, and sends you a booking confirmation.This is the new world of AI agents across new types of gadgets envisioned by Cristiano Amon, the CEO of Qualcomm, a chip company that lives at the heart of many consumer devices. The example I provided involves the use of several apps like a restaurant booking app, payment service and email for the confirmation. An agent will be to coordinate across all of these, Amon told me on The Tech Download podcast.Apps are "not dead," he said — "but apps are going to change.""Those agents are going to be the new app," he added. Cristiano Amon, president and CEO of Qualcomm, speaks before a Siemens keynote at CES 2026, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Jan. 6, 2026. Steve Marcus | Reuters I've spoken to Amon over the years about the changing nature of our smartphones which have become more advanced, as they can now fold and feature very powerful cameras. While many companies have attempted to create digital assistants — from Apple with Siri to Samsung with Bixby — they've yet to fully live up to their promise. With ever advancing AI models, these digital assistants are now getting more capable.That also means the devices that power our digital lives can change.  "The phone is around the agent. The new classes of devices ... are going to be around the agent as well," Amon told me.These shifts could also spark a new wave of devices. Amon said Qualcomm is working on over 40 different designs of AI gadgets. These include jewelry, earbuds with cameras, pins and watches."The principle is something that you wear, something [that] is with you all the time, something that can see the world around you, so you have context and have the ability for you to access an agent and talk to the agent," Amon said.But for now, he's most bullish on smart glasses and expects they could eventually be as big as the smartphone. For context, there were more than 1.2 billion smartphones shipped last year. I'm excited to see how the agentic experience on consumer devices evolves. The potential use cases are vast, but the success might depend on striking the right balance between privacy and functionality. As agents become more pervasive, privacy concerns will be key. I'm also curious about what this will mean for the broader device landscape and whether the dominance of Apple and Samsung gets challenged or whether these companies will lead the wave of new AI gadgets. Latest updates CEOs of Anthropic and Google DeepMind called for a U.S.-led coalition to shape rules and standards around artificial intelligence at a G7 meeting with tech leaders and heads of state, including President Donald Trump, sources told CNBC.Intel's stock surged after U.S. President Donald Trump said the company will partner with Apple on U.S. chip design.Nvidia is aiming to raise at least $20 billion in debt, according to sources with knowledge of the matter, in the chipmaker's first bond sale since the start of the AI boom.Waymo is recalling almost 3,900 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues after some cars drove into freeway construction zones, according to notices filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.Yann LeCun, founder of AMI Labs, told CNBC that Elon Musk's xAI is a "failure" that will be unable to compete on the frontier of artificial intelligence, as he laid out his view on what could cause a "big bubble explosion" in the industry. Quote of the week SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell celebrates with family and other SpaceX employees at the Nasdaq Marketsite in in New York after the SpaceX initial public offering on June 12, 2026.Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images The quote: "While Elon's setting the vision, she's the one making sure it gets delivered," Nathan Silvernail, who spent seven years at SpaceX as an engineer on projects like life support systems from 2014 to 2021, told CNBC.The big picture: Silvernail was referring to SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell, who joined the company as one of Musk's first hires and now leads the 22,000-person organisation on a day-to-day basis. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Andy Burnham won the Makerfield by-election, defeating Reform UK by more than 9,000 votes with nearly 55% of the vote. View More

In this articleUK10YFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hosts the first roundtable of regional English mayors with Andy Burnham (R) Mayor of Greater Manchester, at Downing Street on July 9, 2024 in London, England.Ian Vogler | WPA Pool | Getty Images Andy Burnham has won a special election to the British parliament, clearing a path for him to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the party leadership.Burnham, Labour's former Greater Manchester mayor, defeated the Reform U.K. party by more than 9,000 votes, taking nearly 55% of the vote, in the election in Makerfield, in north-west England.Burnham could now trigger a leadership challenge to Starmer as soon as next week, once he is formally sworn in as a Member of Parliament. He will require the support of at least 81 Labour lawmakers.A prominent figure on the party's left often dubbed Labour's "King in the North," Burnham said in his victory speech that Makerfield was "not a stepping stone" but a "touchstone," promising to put neglected communities at the center of his politics.In his victory acceptance speech, Burnham appeared to lay the groundwork for a leadership bid. watch nowVIDEO2:2802:28Burnham wins by-election, setting the stage for Starmer showdownSquawk Box Europe He said the win provides the "chance to build a new politics, based on unity and hope", and an opportunity to turn "away from the path that takes us to a divided, dark politics of the kind we see in the United States," adding "we must put the country back on the right path." U.K. fiscal discipline in the spotlight While Burnham's victory had largely been expected, the win raises several immediate questions for markets, said Kallum Pickering, chief economist at Peel Hunt.Crucially, markets will be watching whether a Burnham government would stick to Labour's existing fiscal rules and if his policy agenda risks adding to inflationary pressures. It comes as official data shows an unexpected rise in U.K. public borrowing. The Office for Budget Responsibility revealed on Friday that the U.K.'s budget deficit was £23.3 billion ($30.8 billion) in May, the highest level for that month in six years and far above the £18.9 billion forecast by economists.Burnham last month moved to placate investors, rowing back on previous comments in which he suggested the U.K. was "in hock to the bond markets."Pickering said he did not expect Burnham to signal a break with the current framework on borrowing and debt — but he warned that investors may still demand extra compensation for inflation risk in U.K. government bonds."I'm expecting to see some inflation premium," Pickering told CNBC's "Europe Early Edition" on Friday, pointing to potential pressure across both short- and long-dated government bonds, known as Gilts.The yield on 10-year Gilts, the benchmark for U.K. government borrowing, jumped more than 8 basis points on Friday to 4.8394%. Yields on 2-year and 30-year Gilts also moved higher.Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at Ebury, said markets are underestimating the risk of Burnham testing the U.K.'s fiscal rules on government spending, income tax rates and borrowing."There's very little fiscal headroom, there's very little wiggle room for the government at the moment," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe", noting that the Autumn Budget will be the next big test for the Labour government. "We do see some more downside on U.K. assets." Stock Chart IconStock chart iconU.K. government bond yields trade at a premium to developed market peers. This partially reflects political instability in recent years. Pickering added: "It's right that the market will pay attention to the relationship between bond yields and sterling. We've had this unfortunately all-too-familiar situation in the U.K. where bad policies push up interest rates and push down sterling. That's the thing to watch."The timeline of any leadership challenge could also prove critical. An orderly transition could limit market disruption if senior Labour figures conclude Starmer no longer commands support. But Pickering said a drawn-out contest between Starmer and Burnham may leave investors waiting for greater clarity on tax, spending and borrowing measures.Pickering said a bigger question centers around who would serve as finance minister in a Burnham cabinet and how that would ultimately shape economic policy."The uncertainty for me is not over what happens next in Number 10, it's what happens next door in Number 11," Pickering said, referring to the traditional residence of Britain's chancellor of the exchequer.  Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

India's largest wireless operator and digital service provider, Jio Platforms files for IPO View More

In this articleBHARTIARTL-INRELIANCE-INFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT A man talks on his phone walks past a Jio store in Mumbai, India, 22 March, 2023. Reliance Jio rolls Out 5G Services in 41 More Cities, Network Now Live in 406 Cities in India according to an Indian media report. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms, India's largest wireless operator and digital service provider, filed draft papers for an initial public offering on Friday.The IPO will see the company issue up to 270 million shares, as per an exchange filing. Jio Platforms said in its draft prospectus that funds raised will be used to pare the debt of the company's subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm, which is India's largest wireless operator."The proposed listing of Jio will demonstrate to the world that India can build technology companies of global scale, global capability, and global value," said Mukesh Ambani at the annual shareholder meeting of Reliance Industries on Friday.Jio Platforms, in which Ambani's flagship company, Reliance Industries, owns a more than 66% stake. Google International owns 7.7%, and Meta Platforms owns nearly 10%, per LSEG data. Jio Platforms owns Reliance Jio Infocomm, which has over 526.94 million subscribers in India. This amounts to nearly a 50% share of the wired and wireless internet market in the country, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Bharti Airtel, the second-largest telecom service provider with nearly 35% market share, is also the country's third most valuable company with a market cap of over $120 billion, according to LSEG data. It trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of over 42 times.In the annual shareholder meeting last year, Ambani had announced that the business would be listed before the middle of this year. However, the start of the Iran war has delayed many large IPOs in the country as investment sentiment soured.The Indian stock market is underperforming global peers so far in 2026, falling over 9%. It lost its position as the fifth-largest market to Taiwan, and later fell below South Korea. India is seen as an anti-artificial intelligence trade, with no major plays in the sector which has captured the attention of global investors. The economic challenges from the Middle East conflict further eroded investor interest from India.But as war moves to peace in the Middle East, there are signs of a revival. On Thursday, India's largest stock exchange, the National Stock Exchange, filed its IPO papers. Both Jio Platforms and NSE are expected to be among the biggest IPOs ever to hit the Indian market. Hyundai Motor India's $3.3 billion IPO in 2024 holds the record for the country's largest so far. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Anubhav Plast IPO, priced between ?77 and ?80 per share, runs from 19 to 23 June. The company aims to raise ?24 crore to fund expansion. The share allotment is set for 24 June, and the stock will debut on the BSE SME platform on 29 June. View More