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Chinese Premier Li Qiang is set to announce economic targets and policies for the year ahead on Thursday. View More

In this articleCAASMCHIASHRFXIFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldier stands guard in front of the National Museum of China in Beijing on March 3, 2025, ahead of the country's annual legislative meetings known as the "Two Sessions."Pedro Pardo | Afp | Getty Images BEIJING — China's top policymakers are due to release growth targets and stimulus plans for the year at an annual parliamentary meeting that kicks off Wednesday. The gathering, dubbed the "Two Sessions," consists of a consultative congress that will start later in the day, and a National People's Congress due to open Thursday. Chinese Premier Li Qiang is set to announce a series of economic targets at the NPC, which had largely been decided at a December meeting. During the upcoming parliamentary meeting this year, policymakers are also expected to release details of a new five-year development plan, the 15th such program in China's modern history. Investors will look for clues on how Beijing intends to achieve its domestic tech ambitions. The goals will mark the penultimate step towards China's 2035 goals with a focus on achieving technological self-sufficiency. Senior Chinese leaders including top diplomat Wang Yi and heads of economic and financial ministries typically speak to the press during the Two Sessions. The gathering usually lasts around a week and is expected to conclude on March 11 this year. Asia Society analysts noted that China's anti-corruption campaign has reduced the number of delegates participating in the Two Sessions this year.Here's what economists are expecting Premier Li to announce Thursday: GDP growth of around 4.5% to 5% Several Chinese local governments have already lowered their growth ambitions for 2026, signaling Beijing could follow suit with the national target.A growth target below 5% would be the lowest on record, according to The Asia Society, and down from "around 5%" in the past three years. China didn't set a GDP goal in 2020 due to the pandemic. "A slightly lower target would give policymakers more room to prioritise structural reform and improve data quality," economists at Economist Intelligence Unit said in a note last week, penciling in a 4.6% growth prediction. However, Morgan Stanley analysts see a "low probability" that Beijing will set a smaller growth target, adding that policymakers typically set GDP ranges — rather than single-figure targets — for periods of major economic stress. The firm also pointed out that 2026 was the first year of China's "15th five-year plan," which requires faster growth to anchor confidence. watch nowVIDEO8:4608:46A protracted Iran war raises the chance of Trump's China visit being postponedThe China Connection Inflation of around 2% Consumer inflation target is largely seen as a ceiling rather than a goal to achieve. A 2% ceiling would match last year's, which was the lowest in more than two decades and an implicit acknowledgement by Beijing of lackluster domestic demand.For all of 2025, price growth was flat, and 0.7% when excluding food and energy prices, as consumer confidence remained soft. Last month, the National Bureau of Statistics disclosed that it was giving more weight to services in its consumer price index than in the previous base period in 2020. Budget deficit of 4% Such a target would also match last year's, which had marked a rare expansion of government spending relative to GDP. The 4% deficit set in 2025 was the highest on record going back to 2010, according to data accessed via Wind Information. The prior high was 3.6% in 2020. Deeper challenges China's policy announcements will be scrutinized for details on consumer stimulus, such as expanding trade-in subsidies, and any incremental support for the struggling property market. The Two Sessions will likely shed light on Beijing's thinking about the impact of U.S. trade tensions and the developing conflict in the Middle East. div {box-sizing: border-box;} .noselect { -webkit-touch-callout: none; /* iOS Safari */ -webkit-user-select: none; /* Safari */ -khtml-user-select: none; /* Konqueror HTML */ -moz-user-select: none; /* Old versions of Firefox */ -ms-user-select: none; /* Internet Explorer/Edge */ user-select: none; /* Non-prefixed version, currently supported by Chrome, Edge, Opera and Firefox */ } #tcc-wrapper {width: 100%; max-width: 620px; min-width: 300px; cursor: pointer; display: block;} .tcc-widget-content { font-family: Proxima Nova,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; font-weight: 400; color: #000; padding: 16px 0 16px 0; width: 100%; height: auto; border-top: 1px solid #cccccc; border-bottom: 1px solid #cccccc; } .tcc-logo-col { float: left; margin-right: 20px; } .tcc-text-col { } .tcc-text a { color: #0053CF !important; text-decoration: none; font-weight: 600; } Weekly analysis and insights from Asia's largest economy in your inbox Subscribe now The world's second-largest economy faces persistent challenges at home."There is a widening gap between Beijing's targets (and data measuring economic performance) and the actual capacity of China's policymakers to support domestic demand with the tools at their disposal," Logan Wright, partner at U.S.-based research firm Rhodium Group, said in a report Tuesday.Wright added that China's financial system was lending heavily to unproductive local government and state-owned enterprises to prevent them from collapsing — and that fiscal spending was largely executed by those same institutions. "The net result is a declining payoff in terms of investment and economic activity for the same volume of lending or fiscal spending, while private sector investment remains weak," he said.

Best Buy beat fourth-quarter earnings expectations but missed Wall Street's revenue estimates. View More

In this articleBBYFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Sign at the main entrance to a Best Buy store in Venice, Florida. Erik McGregor | Lightrocket | Getty Images Best Buy posted mixed results on Tuesday as the retailer's holiday-quarter sales declined and missed Wall Street's expectations, but its earnings topped estimates as it showed improved profitability.For the current fiscal year, the consumer electronics retailer expects revenue to range between $41.2 billion and $42.1 billion, compared with $41.69 billion in the most recent fiscal year. It expects adjusted earnings per share to range from $6.30 to $6.60, after it reported adjusted earnings per share of $6.43 for the previous fiscal year. Best Buy anticipates that comparable sales, a metric that tracks sales online and in stores open at least 14 months, will range from a decline of 1% to an increase of 1%.In a news release, CEO Corie Barry said demand for consumer electronics remained lackluster during the gift-giving season, but the company's internal data indicates that Best Buy's market share in the industry "was at least flat."Chief Financial Officer Matt Bilunas said in his own statement that the company is "excited about the momentum in our business." But he added that company leaders "expect to continue to navigate a mixed macro environment." Shares of Best Buy closed more than 7% higher on Tuesday. Here's how the retailer did for the fiscal fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:Earnings per share: $2.61 adjusted vs. $2.47 expectedRevenue: $13.81 billion vs. $13.88 billion expectedIn the three-month period ended Jan. 31, Best Buy's net income jumped to $541 million, or $2.56 per share, from $117 million, or 54 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding one-time expenses, including charges for its health business, Best Buy reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.61. Revenue decreased from $13.95 billion in the year-ago quarter. Yet on an annual basis, revenue rose to $41.69 billion from $41.53 billion in the prior fiscal year. Best Buy's annual revenue declined in the three previous fiscal years.For about four years, Best Buy has pinned its slower sales on more price-sensitive U.S. consumers, a slower housing market and less tech innovation. All of those factors have caused some shoppers to delay tech purchases, particularly big-ticket items like new refrigerators.On a call with reporters, Barry said the company is continuing to see consistent behaviors from both higher-income cohorts and lower-income groups. While she said Best Buy is seeing some softness in higher-cost item sales, the other end of the customer base is "resilient" and "deal-focused."More than half of Best Buy's customer base falls in the income group of $100,000 or higher, she added."I think it's important to know in the places where we have seen innovation, where there's a bit more newness ... people are willing to step into those higher price points across income cohorts," Barry said on the call.Higher tariffs have also added costs for Best Buy, since many consumer electronics are imported. Barry said the company's "last resort" is raising prices, and it's instead focused on diversifying its supply chain and negotiating costs with vendors.Comparable sales dropped 0.8% in the fourth quarter as the company saw softer sales of appliances and home theaters. Those declines were partially offset by sales growth in computing and mobile phones, the company said.Best Buy has leaned into more profitable businesses, including selling ads and offering more merchandise through its third-party marketplace, which launched in August. Barry said in the company's news release that Best Buy's advertising partners nearly doubled compared with the prior year and she said that the retailer has significantly increased the number of available products on the marketplace.

The big-box retailer Target posted its fiscal fourth-quarter results as it hosted an investor meeting at its Minneapolis headquarters. View More

In this articleTGTFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch nowVIDEO4:3104:31Target CEO Michael Fiddelke on the company's new chapter and turnaround planSquawk on the Street MINNEAPOLIS — Target on Tuesday posted another quarter of falling revenue and customer traffic at its stores, though its shares rose as the retailer's earnings beat estimates and it said it is poised to end its sales slump.The big-box retailer, which is in the middle of a turnaround effort, said sales and traffic trends picked up in the last two months of the holiday quarter. Then sales turned positive year over year in February, which is the beginning of the current quarter.Speaking to CNBC on Tuesday, Target CEO Michael Fiddelke said the company is "out of the gates strong this year." While he noted that one month of growth "does not make a trend," he said the February sales increase gives him "confidence" the company is moving back to growth.For the current fiscal year, Target expects net sales to rise about 2% compared with the prior year and anticipates that metric will grow in every quarter of the year. That net sales growth for the year would reflect a small increase in comparable sales, the retailer said. The company added that its new stores and nonmerchandise sales, such as advertising and membership, would contribute more than 1 percentage point of growth. Sign at the entrance to a Target store in Venice, Florida. Erik Mcgregor | Lightrocket | Getty Images Target said it expects full-year adjusted earnings per share to range from $7.50 to $8.50. Its adjusted earnings per share for the most recent full year were $7.57.Fiddelke, who stepped into the company's top role on Feb. 1, will try to persuade Wall Street that the retailer is gaining sales momentum at an investor meeting on Tuesday morning at Target's Minneapolis headquarters. Here's what the company reported for the fiscal fourth quarter compared with Wall Street's estimates, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:Earnings per share: $2.44 adjusted vs. $2.16 expectedRevenue: $30.45 billion vs. $30.48 billion expectedTarget shares closed more than 6% higher on Tuesday.The big-box retailer missed Wall Street's revenue expectations for the fourth quarter, despite analysts already anticipating weaker sales. Its quarterly revenue dropped about 1.5% from $30.92 billion in the year-ago period.  window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); For four quarters in a row, customer traffic across the company's stores and website has fallen. Target's net income for the three-month period that ended Jan. 31 fell to $1.05 billion, or $2.30 per share, compared with $1.10 billion, or $2.41 per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, including legal settlement gains and business transformation costs, Target's adjusted earnings per share were $2.44. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); Target is trying to end several years of disappointing results driven by a mix of company missteps and economic factors. Its annual sales have been roughly flat for four years, after a significant jump in annual revenue during the Covid pandemic.Shares of the company have dropped by nearly 32% over the past three years, as of Monday's close, though they have risen nearly 16% so far this year. As it tries to turn its business around, Target cut 1,800 corporate jobs in October, marking its first major layoff in a decade.Some of Target's customers told CNBC they are shopping elsewhere after noticing changes like sloppier stores and lackluster merchandise, or objecting to the company's social stances, like its rollback of major diversity, equity, inclusion initiatives. The company acknowledged backlash to its DEI decision had hurt sales and led to market share losses to competitors.  Target's challenge with attracting shoppers has persisted. Comparable sales, an industry metric that takes out short-term factors like store openings and closures and is also called same-store sales, decreased 2.5% year over year in the fourth quarter. That reflected a 3.9% comparable sales decline at Target's stores and a 1.9% increase across Target's website and app. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); Transactions across Target's stores and website fell by 2.9% year over year. The average amount that customers spent during those transactions grew 0.4% year over year.In an interview with CNBC in the fall at Target's headquarters, Fiddelke said he would prioritize regaining the company's reputation for style and design, improving the customer experience, and using technology to boost its performance.He echoed those key goals on Tuesday, telling CNBC the company wants to prioritize "incredible product and [an] incredible experience." Last month, Target also announced it would invest more in store labor and cut about 500 roles at distribution centers and regional offices to try to address shoppers' concerns about out-of-stocks, long checkout lines and other store conditions. However, the company declined to say much more it would spend. "We know we have to equip our teams to have the resources they need to deliver an incredible store experience," he told CNBC on Tuesday. At an investor presentation Tuesday, Chief Financial Officer Jim Lee said that Target will step up its spending this year to support the company's turnaround. He said capital expenditures will total about $5 billion this fiscal year, an increase of more than $1 billion from last fiscal year. That spending will go toward Target's supply chain, technology and investment in stores. It plans to open more than 30 new stores and remodel more than 130 stores this fiscal year.Target is known for selling clothing, home goods, seasonal items and other trend-driven discretionary merchandise that customers often buy on impulse when browsing the aisles on a "Target run." Yet higher prices of food, utilities and other necessities, fueled by inflation and tariffs, has dampened U.S. consumers' willingness to buy items that aren't on the shopping list.Fiddelke told CNBC he does not see anything "remarkably different" about shopper behavior now relative to recent quarters. He also did not say how he expects President Donald Trump's new 10% global tariff to affect the company after the Supreme Court struck down broader duties last month. He told CNBC "we'll find out together what the next year holds on the tariff front." Fiddelke also did not say whether Target would take legal action to get tariff refunds, as companies like FedEx and Costco did. Target's results in recent years have been at odds with those of retail rivals like Walmart, Costco and T.J. Maxx's parent, TJX, which have posted stronger sales results, attracted shoppers across incomes, and seen growth in categories like apparel and home goods, areas where Target has struggled.Along with offering products like groceries, clothing, and home goods, Target is trying to sell more advertisements and membership subscriptions to customers. The company's nonmerchandise sales jumped more than 25% in the fourth quarter, driven by membership revenue more than doubling from a year ago, double-digit percentage gains in its ads business, Roundel, and over 30% growth in its third-party marketplace. Same-day deliveries through Target Circle 360 grew more than 30% year over year. The subscription service costs $99 per year or $10.99 on a monthly basis.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee after coming under fire for her leadership during a nationwide immigration sweep. View More

In this articleICEFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch nowVIDEO1:4201:42Sen. Thom Tillis calls DHS Sec. Kristi Noem leadership a 'disaster'News Videos Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., lashed out at Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday, calling her leadership of the agency a "disaster.""We're an exceptional nation. And one of the reasons we're exceptional is we expect exceptional leadership. And you have demonstrated anything but that," said Tillis, who has previously called on Noem to resign. He struck out at Noem for her handling of disaster response and the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, among other things."What we've seen is innocent people getting detained that turned out are American citizens," Tillis said in a roughly 10-minute diatribe that included references to passages from her autobiography in which she describes killing a poorly behaved dog. Tills, who is retiring at the end of this year, said he would place additional holds on presidential nominees if Noem does not provide information he requested on a Border Patrol operation in Charlotte, N.C. last year. Tillis has previously said he will block the nomination of Kevin Warsh for chairman of the Federal Reserve unless the Trump administration drops its investigation of current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem looks on before the start of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on March 3, 2026. Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images Noem was making her first appearance before Congress since the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents during the Minnesota immigration crackdown. It is the first of two this week, as she is due to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.She was met with hostility from Tillis, who is retiring at the end of his term, and Democrats on the panel and skepticism even from some other committee Republicans."Mistakes have been made," Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in his opening remarks. "Let's make it clear. One death is too many. But officers should never be threatened or harmed while enforcing our laws," Read more CNBC politics coverageIran war live updates: U.S. closes embassies in Saudi Arabia, KuwaitFive races to watch on the day the 2026 midterm elections kick off‘Mistakes were made,’ Grassley tells Noem about Trump’s immigration crackdown Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., questioned Noem on a $220 million taxpayer-funded ad campaign, that included a lucrative contract with a Republican consulting firm with ties to Noem and Department of Homeland Security aides. Those commercials feature Noem prominently, in one case on horseback with Mount Rushmore in the background, and warn immigrants about entering the country unlawfully. She denied any role in choosing the firm and said the ads have been "extremely effective." "Well they were effective in your name recognition," Kennedy said. "It troubles me. A fifth to a quarter of a billion dollars of taxpayer money when we're scratching over every penny and we're fighting over rescission packages. I just can't agree with."Noem's appearance also coincided with an ongoing DHS shutdown. Funding for DHS lapsed last month, and Democrats have so far refused to back an appropriations bill over frustrations with the Trump administration's immigration enforcement tactics. DHS still has billions of dollars at its disposal to keep some programs running thanks to last year's massive tax and spending bill.Some Republicans argued that in light of the recent military action in Iran, failing to fund DHS presented a security risk."Can we not understand America's under siege now, likely to be attacked because radical Islam is under siege and they're going to hit back, and we're sitting here looking at each other and not funding DHS?" said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.Democrats in Congress have been sharply critical of Noem's leadership of DHS. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., introduced articles of impeachment for Noem in January after federal officers killed Good and Pretti."Under your leadership, the Homeland Security Department has been devoid of any moral compass or respect for the rule of law," Senate Judiciary ranking member Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said at the hearing. "Without hesitation or remorse, DHS agents have wreaked havoc in our cities ... and acted with unspeakable cruelty against children, immigrant families and American citizens." Friends and family members of individuals in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention were present at the hearing. They held signs and shouted in Noem's direction as she took her seat in a Senate committee room.Two protesters interrupted testimony and were forcibly removed from the room.Durbin and others members also took issue with Noem's handling of the Pretti shooting in Minnesota. In the immediate aftermath, Noem said Pretti, a Minneapolis intensive care unit nurse, "committed an act of domestic terrorism," then walked the claim back after video of the incident emerged. "Do you retract these statements identifying these individuals as domestic terrorists?" Durbin asked."When we have these situations happen, we always offer condolences to those families, and I offer mine as well. These are tragic situations," Noem said.Given the broad use of ICE and DHS agents throughout the country, many Democrats have expressed anxiety that federal officers could be deployed to polling places for midterm elections this November, as some White House allies, like Steve Bannon, have urged.Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., asked Noem whether she would "rule out the deployment of ICE or CBP to polling places this November?""There are no plans to have ICE officers at our polling locations," Noem said. She did not explicitly rule it out.

Blackstone president Jon Gray defended the quality of loans within the firm's flagship private credit fund. View More

Jon Gray, President and COO of Blackstone, speaks during the Axios BFD event in New York City, U.S., October 12, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidBrendan Mcdermid | Reuters Blackstone president Jon Gray on Tuesday defended the quality of loans within the firm's flagship private credit fund after investors pulled nearly 8% from it in the last quarter.The alternative asset management giant said in a late Monday filing that it allowed investors to withdraw 7.9% of BCRED, which it calls the largest private credit fund in the world, with about $82 billion invested. Blackstone did so in part by allowing the firm's own investors to plow $150 million into the fund.The move sparked a sell-off in Blackstone shares, which fell as much as about 8.5% in morning trading Tuesday, as well as in other private credit peers. "When you think about credit quality, the 400-plus borrowers here, they had 10% EBITDA growth last year," Gray told CNBC's David Faber, using a term referring to a company's financial performance. "So when we look at this, we feel pretty darn good."Instead of calming markets, recent moves by alternative asset managers to allow investors to cash out of funds have only added to jitters around private credit and loans to the software industry. Last month, the storm intensified when Blue Owl said it found buyers for $1.4 billion of its loans, in part to help cash out 30% of an embattled credit fund. watch nowVIDEO3:2403:24Blackstone President Jon Gray on private credit fund redemptionsSquawk on the Street Now, with the far larger asset manager Blackstone being swept up in it, concerns around private credit seem to be broadening.A Blackstone spokesman said the firm and its employees' investment in BCRED was "about meeting 100% of requests for the quarter with certainty and timeliness."The fund delivered 9.8% annualized returns since inception for Class I shares, the spokesman said."We've had a ton of noise," Gray told CNBC. "As you guys know better than anybody in the press, this has become a story." 'Spin cycle' Concerns were first triggered last fall with the collapse of Tricolor and First Brands, firms that also received funding from banks, the Blackstone executive noted. "There's a constant spin cycle, and so when that's happening, it's not a surprise that investors can get nervous," Gray said. "Financial advisors can say, 'Hey, I want to redeem.'"Still, loans to software firms make up the single biggest exposure for BCRED, at roughly 25% of the fund, per disclosures.While Gray acknowledged that "there are software companies that will be disrupted" by AI in the coming years, he also noted that debt lenders are senior to equity holders and that many software companies will be difficult to dislodge."There's this disjointed environment now between what's happening on the ground with underlying portfolios and what's happening in the news cycle," Gray said. "Ultimately, these things will resolve themselves." watch nowVIDEO9:5609:56Why people are suddenly investing in private creditMarkets and Politics Digital Original Video

CNBC's Emma Graham flew home to the UAE on an Emirates flight that turned around just 30 minutes from Dubai because of an Iran missile threat. View More

A very empty Dubai Airport immigrationEmma Graham, CNBC I flew from Mumbai to Dubai on an Emirates repatriation flight, one of several running over the last 24 hours and one of the first flights back into the country since the U.S. and Israel struck Iran over the weekend.Most flights to and from the UAE have been grounded, resulting in hundreds of cancellations, thousands stranded both in and outside the Middle East, and global travel disruption as the strikes in Iran escalated into a wider regional conflict.On Monday, Emirates and Etihad announced a small number of flights to and from Dubai: repatriation flights for Emirati nationals and residents, and others to evacuate tourists stranded in the country.With around just 30 minutes left of the 3.5-hour journey from Mumbai to Dubai, the captain of the Emirates flight — an Airbus A380, which was only about half full — informed passengers we would have to turn around due to missiles fired by Iran on the UAE. Read more U.S.-Iran war newsU.S.-Iran war: Follow CNBC's live coverageWhat's next for global markets as oil surges and stocks plunge on Middle East conflictWhat's really got the U.S. stock market worried about this latest geopolitical conflictI was on an Emirates flight to Dubai that turned around because of Iranian missilesGoogle employees call for military limits on AI amid Iran strikes, Anthropic falloutNatural gas prices soar as Middle East war raises global supply fearsOil surges for second day, Brent tops $83 after Iran orders Strait of Hormuz closureOil supertanker rates hit record as insurers drop war risk protection in the Middle EastThe Strait of Hormuz is facing a blockade. These countries will be most impactedEurope — told of Iran strikes just 'minutes' before they started — struggles to be heard Immigration at Dubai Airport on March 3Emma Graham, CNBC About 15 minutes later, the captain told passengers that the airspace had reopened, and we had clearance to land in Dubai, where we arrived at an almost empty airport.The arrivals board was blank, but a small number of passengers appeared to be departing on repatriation flights back to the U.K. Arrivals board, Dubai Airport When the war began, I was on holiday in Goa, India with my partner and due to fly back on Sunday, but our direct flight home to the UAE was cancelled. My bosses suggested I go to CNBC's bureau in Singapore to wait out the conflict and work from there. We headed to the airport in Goa on Monday night to catch our flight via Mumbai to Singapore.When we reached Mumbai's airport, we checked the departures board for our Singapore leg and saw an Emirates flight departing for Dubai at 2:20 am. I had been in touch with Emirates, Etihad and Dubai Airports all weekend for my reporting, but was shocked to see a flight. We went to the Emirates desk to find out more. Mumbai Airport arrivals boardEmma Graham, CNBC To my surprise, they told us we could book flights if we were UAE residents or nationals. They asked us to book on the spot, via the airline's app, and show our Emirates ID, a national ID card for residents across the country.We stood at the desk, contemplating whether to fly back into an active war. I consulted CNBC's security team and together, we decided it would be best to go home. My team had been on the ground for days reporting and working from the UAE, and I couldn't refuse the chance to go back. My partner and I agreed that we may not get the chance again anytime soon.We boarded the very quiet flight and spoke with other passengers, a mix of Emiratis and expats residing in Dubai. Many of them had tried in recent days to board flights to Saudi Arabia or Oman, hoping to cross back into the UAE from there.I was told taxi drivers in Muscat were charging passengers wanting to cross the border over 3,000 dirhams, which is just over $800, for the four-and-a-half-hour drive. Most people on board said they were excited to get home, but the mood on the flight was tense.The flight took off and we fell asleep. It was the middle of the night and I'd been working for the last three days on breaking news. Thirty minutes from landing, the captain woke us all up to say that UAE airspace had closed and that the plane had to turn back to Mumbai. We were so close. Our journey home on EK 501 BOM-DXBEmma Graham, CNBC There was a mix of silence and shock. I was next to a British woman who said her two young children were in Dubai. She looked at me with despair at the news that she wouldn't see her family. Through the flight's Wifi, I learned from my team, who was tracking my flight, that a barrage of missiles had been fired towards the UAE. They reported hearing multiple loud explosions, which the UAE government has confirmed were the country's air defenses intercepting missiles from Iran. I was stunned, and started to make plans to revert to my original plan: Singapore. Flight EK501 from Mumbai to Dubai flight path on March 3rd, 2026. The flight had to circle back twice due to Iranian missiles entering UAE airspace.Courtesy: FlightRadar24 About 15 minutes later, the captain's voice returned. He said, to our great surprise, that we had clearance to land in Dubai and that we are just around an hour away. The entire flight clapped and cheered. I looked at my partner. We both thought: Are we really flying back into the range of ballistic missiles?As we approached Dubai, I saw the familiar sight of the Persian Gulf out my window, tankers dotted around the UAE coast like small stars full of petroleum. Dubai Airport's Terminal 3 taxi rankEmma Graham, CNBC The crew told me that we were being escorted back into UAE airspace by two fighter jets. I could not see any out of my window from my view in the middle seat and, after we landed, Emirates would not confirm it to me on record, saying only the flight was "rerouted in line with air traffic control instructions" and "landed safely in Dubai with a one-hour delay."When we landed, it was just after 6 a.m. on Tuesday. The emptiness was an eerie reminder of how the country felt during Covid-19. I flew a lot then and remember being in and out of a very empty Dubai Airport. The arrivals board was blank, the baggage claims were still, and the taxi ranks were empty. It felt good to be home, even though it felt like sheer luck and I'd expected to be unable to return for weeks. For me, for now, the UAE feels safe.

Results from Tuesday's races in three states could be telling for how the rest of the midterm season will unfold. View More

watch nowVIDEO4:1204:12What the primaries mean for the 2026 midtermsPolitics Tuesday is the first moment of truth for the 2026 midterm elections. It's the day the first polls will close to kick off a seven-month stretch of primaries that will help shape who will win the House and Senate on Election Day, Nov. 3.While Democrats are favored to win the House and Republicans seem likely to keep the Senate, much will depend on the results of the primaries leading up to the big day. Here are five early races taking place Tuesday that will indicate how the rest of the election could go: 1. Texas Senate Republican Primary Sen. John Cornyn, Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general, and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas.Getty Images Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican, is attempting to keep his seat in a heated primary against two challengers: State Attorney General Ken Paxton and Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt, who represents a Houston-area district.Despite Senate Republicans and establishment donors pouring tens of millions into the race for Cornyn, most polls show Paxton as the frontrunner. His track record opposing President Joe Biden and backing President Donald Trump has made him a favorite of the MAGA crowd, with an endorsement from Turning Point USA, the influential group founded by Charlie Kirk. Yet a Paxton victory in the primary means Republicans would likely need to sink additional millions into the state to win in November. Paxton is scandal plagued. He's in the middle of an acrimonious divorce, was impeached by the Texas House over corruption allegations and was charged with securities fraud. Trump hasn't endorsed in the race. He had complimentary words for both Cornyn and Paxton when he visited Corpus Christi, Texas on Friday, saying they're "both great people." He also mentioned Hunt.The more money Republicans need to spend defending Texas in the general, the less there will be for other battleground states.Hunt is also painting himself as a more conservative choice than Cornyn. While Hunt is not expected to win, he could cause the primary to head into a May 26 runoff if no candidate gets a majority of the vote. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); 2. Texas Senate Democratic Primary State Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat from Texas and U.S. Senate candidate, left, and Representative Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas and U.S. Senate candidate, shake hands during a debate at the 2026 Texas AFL-CIO COPE Convention in Georgetown, Texas, US, on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026.Bob Daemmrich | Bloomberg | Getty Images Democrats are hoping this will be the year they win a statewide race in Texas — but their odds of doing so could depend on who emerges victorious in the primary. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico are in an increasingly nasty campaign. The two have similar stances on the issues, but vastly different styles.Crockett, a civil rights lawyer, is known as a firebrand, with combative comebacks and fierce messaging. She is popular with Democratic voters who want their party to show more fight against the Trump administration, and she has appealed to both Black and progressive voters. Recent polling has shown each of them in the lead. Talarico, a former school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, takes a far more measured approach, appealing to independents and moderate Republicans with a message of unity. His speeches sound like sermons and he mixes progressives values with Bible verses. The winner of the primary could signal which campaign strategy will be adopted by the Democrats in 2028. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); 3. Texas 2nd Congressional District Republican Primary State Rep. Steve Toth (L) and Incumbent Rep. Dan Crenshaw.Getty Images Incumbent Rep. Dan Crenshaw is fending off a challenge from state Rep. Steve Toth in a race that will test how well a sitting congressman with solid conservative credentials can fend off a challenger from the MAGA wing of the party. Crenshaw is the only Republican House incumbent in the March 3rd primaries who doesn't have Trump's endorsement. While Crenshaw voted with Trump on all major issues, he split with Trump on things including backing aid for Ukraine and speaking out against the false claims that Trump won the 2020 election. Toth has picked up endorsements from the House Freedom Caucus as well as Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. But Crenshaw has outraised and outspent Toth and has the backing of the official House GOP campaign arm. 4. North Carolina 4th Congressional District Democratic Primary Nida Allam (L) and Rep. Valerie FousheeReuters | Getty Images In North Carolina's 4th congressional district, incumbent Rep. Valerie Foushee is facing a primary challenge from Nida Allam, a county commissioner. Allam has criticized Foushee for not doing enough to push back against Trump's agenda and for taking money in previous elections from the pro-Israel AIPAC.Allam lost to Foushee in 2022, but the district has since been redrawn.Foushee has support from major Democratic politicians and groups, including Gov. Roy Cooper, the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Progressive Caucus. Allam is endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, as well as Leaders We Deserve, a group backed by progressive activist David Hogg supporting challengers to incumbent Democrats. She has also gotten donations from American Priorities, a counterweight to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).The race will also be an early test for the pro-AI regulation group Public Action First, which counts Anthropic among its donors. The group's Democratic arm donated to Foushee. 5. Texas 23rd Congressional District Republican Primary Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Conference, participates in the group's press conference in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. Bill Clark | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales is enmeshed in a scandal after The San Antonio Express-News, Gonzales' hometown newspaper, reported on a text message from an aide who said she had an extramarital affair with him and subsequently died by suicide.The texts showed Gonzales pressured his staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, for a "sexy pic." Gonzales faces several challengers, including Brandon Herrera, a Youtube personality who came close to beating him in 2024.The results of the primary could lead to Gonzales deciding to resign from Congress — something he has so far resisted. Republicans can only lose one vote in the House if they want to pass legislation on a party-line vote. That means a departure from Gonzales would make it even more difficult for Speaker Mike Johnson to hold his fragile majority together.

Employees at Alphabet and OpenAI are pushing for stricter limits on the military's use of AI, as tensions rise following the blacklisting of Anthropic's models. View More

In this articleGOOGLAMZNMSFTFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT U.S. Department of War and Anthropic logos are seen in this illustration taken March 1, 2026.Dado Ruvic | Reuters Tech workers at Google, OpenAI and some of their peers are circulating an array of letters calling for clearer limits on how their employers work with the military after the U.S. carried out strikes on Iran over the weekend and the Pentagon blacklisted AI models from Anthropic.One open letter, titled "We Will Not Be Divided," grew from a couple hundred names on Friday to almost 900 by Monday, with nearly 100 signatories from OpenAI and close to 800 from Google. The letter took aim at the Department of Defense's actions against Anthropic, which refused to allow its technology to be used for mass surveillance or fully autonomous weapons."They're trying to divide each company with fear that the other will give in," the letter reads. "That strategy only works if none of us know where the others stand. This letter serves to create shared understanding and solidarity in the face of this pressure from the Department of War."Combat operations began in Iran hours after the Trump administration's decision on Friday to block Anthropic and designate the company a "supply chain risk." While the U.S. government claimed the attack on Iran was necessary to neutralize "imminent threats" from the country's nuclear and missile programs, the actions appear to have pushed more tech workers to sign their names to various petitions. Tensions in tech have been escalating for months, largely due to the increased aggressiveness of federal immigration agents, including the killings of two American citizens in Minnesota early this year. Workers in the industry have demanded greater transparency regarding the work their employers do with the government, particularly when it comes to cloud and artificial intelligence contracts. For Google, the latest backlash comes as the company is reportedly in talks with the Pentagon over bringing its AI model Gemini onto a classified system, reviving a years-old internal fight over military AI. watch nowVIDEO1:4601:46Activists' chalk appeals to OpenAI employees in wake of Pentagon dealTech On Friday, No Tech For Apartheid, a group that's long been critical of cloud deals between the U.S. government and tech giants, posted a joint statement titled, "Amazon, Google, Microsoft Must Reject the Pentagon's Demands." The coalition said the three leaders in cloud infrastructure should refuse Defense Department terms that would enable mass surveillance or other abusive uses of AI, and called for greater clarity around contracts involving the military and agencies including Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.The group pointed to Google directly, citing the potential of a Pentagon deal that could mirror an agreement that allows the Defense Department to deploy Grok, from Elon Musk's xAI, "in classified environments — as far as we know, without any guardrails.""Our own companies are also on the brink of accepting similar contract terms," the statement said. "Google is in negotiations with the Pentagon to deploy Gemini, its own frontier model, for classified uses."While Anthropic and OpenAI have made numerous public statements regarding their negotiations with the DOD and the current status of their contracts, Google parent Alphabet has been silent. The company hasn't responded to multiple requests for comment. 'Supply chain risk' In another effort backing Anthropic, hundreds of tech workers signed an open letter urging the Department of Defense to withdraw its designation of the company as a "supply chain risk." The list includes dozens of employees from OpenAI, along with workers affiliated with companies including Salesforce, Databricks, IBM and CursorThe letter calls on Congress to "examine whether the use of these extraordinary authorities against an American technology company is appropriate," and says Anthropic, and other private companies, should not face retaliation for refusing to accede to the government's demands. Similar concerns were floated internally at Google last week, when more than 100 employees who work on AI technology reportedly signed a letter to management, expressing fears about the company's work with the DOD. They asked the search giant to draw the same red lines as Anthropic, according to The New York Times.Jeff Dean, Google's chief scientist, received the memo and appeared to sympathize with at least some of the concerns. He wrote in a thread on X that "mass surveillance violates the Fourth Amendment and has a chilling effect on freedom of expression." He added that surveillance systems are "prone to misuse for political or discriminatory purposes."Dean has experienced related issues at Google in the recent past. Jeff Dean, head of artificial intelligence at Google LLC, speaks during a Google AI event in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020.David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images In 2018, the company faced an internal revolt over Project Maven, a Pentagon program that used AI to analyze drone footage. After thousands of employees protested, Google let the contract lapse. The company later established its "AI Principles," laying out how its technology could be used.It's continued to be a source of consternation. In 2024, Google fired more than 50 employees after protests over Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion joint contract with Amazon for work with the Israeli government. Executives repeatedly said the contract didn't violate any of the company's AI Principles. However, documents and reports show the company's agreement allowed for giving Israel AI tools that included image categorization, object tracking and provisions for state-owned weapons manufacturers.In December of that year, a New York Times report found that four months before the Nimbus agreement, officials at the company worried that signing the deal would harm its reputation and that "Google Cloud services could be used for, or linked to, the facilitation of human rights violations."Early last year, Google reportedly revised its AI Principles and removed language that had explicitly prohibited "building weapons" or "surveillance technology."WATCH: Anthropic, Pentagon and software sell-off are not separate stories watch nowVIDEO2:4002:40Anthropic, Pentagon and software sell-off are not separate stories: Plexo's ToneyClosing Bell

Jim Cramer explained the Investing Club's approach to navigating the market response to the Iran war. View More

Jim Cramer on Tuesday morning explained why the Investing Club is trying to strike a delicate balance with its moves during the stock market fallout from the Iran war. "Those who flee in moments like this can never get back in," Jim stressed during the Morning Meeting, as Wall Street sold off sharply on the Middle East conflict after a surprisingly tame day for stocks Monday. Oil prices were spiking Tuesday on supply disruption fears, rippling through the equity markets. Despite how Tuesday is shaping up, if there eventually are reports of "fewer drones" in the sky, the market would likely rip higher in response, Jim said. We don't want to miss a relief rally like that. "Remember, we're optimists," Jim said. At the same time, Jim said we're also not being too aggressive in putting money to work because Iran is a fluid situation and the market is nowhere close to being oversold, as measured by the S & P Short Range Oscillator on Monday night. That's been Jim's go-to momentum indicator for decades, and when it flashes oversold, we become more eager buyers. We're not there yet. Instead, our approach to the market is tactical, looking for opportunities to make purchases when we see them and identifying places to trim. The goal is to keep our cash position relatively constant, offsetting purchases with sales. "We're not putting new money in. That's going to come when we're really oversold. We're kind of just at the fringes," Jim said. Cardinal in, BlackRock out Our actions on Monday — initiating a position in Cardinal Health and later trimming our BlackRock stake in half — demonstrate how we've shied away from sapping our cash pile. We essentially hit the repeat button Tuesday afternoon, buying more Cardinal Health with money used from exiting BlackRock entirely. CAH .SPX YTD mountain Cardinal Health's year-to-date stock performance versus the S & P 500. Why we scale in Also Tuesday morning, we bought additional shares of Google parent Alphabet , scaling deeper into the position that we initiated in late December when the stock traded around $313. With Alphabet stock below $300 at the time of our trade alert, we took advantage of the opportunity to lower our cost basis. It's the fourth time this year that we've bought Alphabet. We've been intentionally keeping the purchases on the smaller side for moments like Tuesday. That's our tried-and-true approach to building positions because the market is unpredictable in the short run. With our thesis on Alphabet's AI leadership still intact, we can view the stock declines opportunistically. Jim said that back in his hedge-fund days, he would've been aggressive about buying a lot of a new stock from the get-go, and then "just kick it out of it doesn't work." He stressed, "That's not what we try to do [with the Club]. What we try to do is build solid positions at great prices, and it has worked over and over and over again." Upgrade a winner Another move we made over the past two sessions was to upgrade Nvidia back to our buy-equivalent 1 rating . The stock has basically been in consolidation mode since the late summer, despite growing evidence that AI spending is going way higher, which should boost Nvidia earnings. It sure has so far, as evidenced last week , with the company reporting a booming quarter and even better forward guidance. We also wanted to upgrade ahead of Nvidia's annual GTC conference later this month, when the AI chipmaker is expected to announce a flurry of product advancements and partnerships. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long NVDA, CAH and GOOGL. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told CNBC on Tuesday that Netflix's previous Warner Bros. Discovery offer "raised a lot of competition concerns." View More

In this articleWBDPSKYNFLXFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch nowVIDEO0:4700:47FCC Chair: Paramount deal for WBD is a lot 'cleaner'Squawk Box Europe Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has told CNBC that Paramount's bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery is "cleaner" than Netflix's, adding he expected it to be approved "pretty quickly.""There's a lot of concerns when Netflix was the potential buyer there," Carr said on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Tuesday. "That particular combination raised a lot of competition concerns." Paramount Skydance put in a revised offer to buy the entirety of WBD last week at $31 per share, up from $30 per share, which the WBD board deemed superior to an existing Netflix proposal.Netflix had been set to buy the media giant's studio and streaming businesses for $27.75 per share, but said this was "no longer financially attractive" in light of Paramount's offer.Carr spoke with CNBC's Arjun Kharpal in a wide-ranging discussion about the WBD-Paramount merger, which requires regulators' sign-off.Carr told CNBC that Netflix "would have a very difficult path" getting regulatory approval, adding that Paramount's was "a lot cleaner, does not raise at all the same types of concerns." "I think there's some real consumer benefits that can emerge from it," he added. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr testifies during the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing titled "Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission," in Rayburn building on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Both deals raised antitrust questions around the U.S. theatrical industry, prompting concerns over potential job losses or smaller film slates in Hollywood. Netflix's proposed combination also spurred questions around streaming dominance, as it would have brought together two of the most popular streaming services in Netflix and WBD's HBO Max.On Monday, Paramount said it planned to release at least 30 films annually, or 15 per studio. Executives also said it would combine its streaming service Paramount+ with HBO Max into one service once the transaction was complete. It's unclear what the regulatory process for Paramount and WBD will entail. The FCC typically reviews deals that include one of the nation's broadcasts, including Paramount's CBS, and backed Paramount's merger with Skydance last year."If there's any FCC role at all, it'll be a pretty minimal role. And I think this is a good deal, and I think it should get through pretty quickly," Carr added. Unlike Netflix's proposed deal, Paramount's bid encompasses WBD's pay TV networks, such as CNN, TBS and TNT. Paramount has offered a $7 billion breakup fee if the deal doesn't gain regulatory clearance. It also already paid the $2.8 billion breakup fee that WBD owed to Netflix because that deal was canceled. 'Meaningfully easier' Some of the concerns around a Netflix-WBD deal included higher consumer prices and reduced competition. U.S. President Donald Trump said in December that the potential deal "could be a problem" because of the increased market share it would give Netflix. He walked back those comments a month later, saying the deal would be solely reviewed by the Department of Justice.In a statement, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts called the Paramount and WBD merger "an antitrust disaster threatening higher prices and fewer choices for American families."Analysts from investment bank Raymond James said last week that a Paramount-WBD deal was "meaningfully easier" than the Netflix deal."There are new challenges with this deal around news, cable networks, international linear networks, etc., but we still feel the WBD/PSKY deal is more palatable all-in," the analysts wrote."And, particularly following the reaction to the WBD/NFLX agreement, we believe PSKY's political standing with the current U.S. administration is much stronger than Netflix's."However, Paren Knadjian, a partner at advisory firm EisnerAmper, said last week that the Paramount-WBD deal isn't necessarily a done deal, with the path forward looking more nuanced. The Netflix-WBD deal focused primarily on library content, but Paramount's deal is a "horizontal consolidation" between cable TV, sports, streaming and news, he said."I think the biggest thing we're going to focus on is the concentration of intellectual property under one roof," Knadjian told CNBC. "What power does that give this new entity in terms of the ability to charge more?""The regulatory pressure, the political pressure, those are the things that will certainly delay the deal and will make it more complicated, and I think there's going to have to be significant concessions for it to go through," Knadjian added.There's also the outstanding question of whether the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States would find issue with the structure of the deal. Paramount's offer included roughly $24 billion from Gulf state sovereign wealth funds.— CNBC's Lillian Rizzo and Alex Sherman contributed to this report.