Money

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Rolex watches, which aren’t known for their affordability, are getting even more expensive this year with the soaring price of gold to blame. Prices on some of the Swiss company’s gold watches jumped as much as 14% for 2025, according to several enthusiast websites that tracks listings.

By Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN New York (CNN) — Mortgage rates are climbing again, in yet another unwelcome sign to homebuyers. The standard, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged just shy of 7% in the final week of 2024 ending on January 2, according to data from mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac. That’s the highest level in nearly

By Brian Stelter, CNN New York (CNN) — An erroneous early Fox News report about the New Orleans terror attack is warping the political dialogue in the aftermath of the deadly rampage. The false report from Fox, which was attributed to anonymous sources, confused the public – and evidently President-elect Donald Trump too. The misinformation

By Chris Isidore, CNN New York (CNN) — Tesla reported the first full-year drop in sales in its history as a public company Thursday, as increased competition and slowing demand for electric vehicles hit its results. The company reported fourth-quarter sales of 495,570 vehicles, up 2% from what it sold a year earlier. But that

By Alicia Wallace, CNN (CNN) — The corks have been popped, the calendar pages turned and a day that promised fresh starts also brought with it some pay bumps for millions of Americans. Hourly minimum wages increased in 21 states on Wednesday, as part of ongoing efforts to have pay keep up with the rising

By Juliana Liu, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — An economic downturn is supposed to drive spending on small luxuries like going out to the movies. But the world’s second-largest economy, currently mired in a slump, is challenging that long-held theory. Last year, China’s box office receipts plummeted by 23%, compared to 2023, to just 42.5

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — The nation’s debt ceiling was reinstated Thursday, giving congressional Republicans yet another divisive challenge to contend with in 2025. President-elect Donald Trump is demanding that GOP lawmakers address the limit before he takes office on January 20, but lawmakers have some time since the US is likely months away

By Kosta Gak, Alex Stambaugh and Anna Cooban, CNN Kyiv/London (CNN) — Ukraine has made good on its promise to halt the transport of Russian gas to Europe through its territory after a key deal with Moscow expired on Wednesday. Ukraine’s refusal to renew the transit deal was an expected but symbolic move after nearly

By John Towfighi, CNN New York (CNN) — Stocks had a blockbuster 2023 and 2024. Will 2025 be a three-peat? After two years of substantial gains, Wall Street expects the good times for markets to keep going this year — just not on the massive scale investors have been spoiled with lately. Wall Street forecasts

By Anna Cooban, CNN London (CNN) — A US government fund created to compensate thousands of people scammed by the late Bernie Madoff in history’s biggest Ponzi scheme is making its final batch of payments — and it has now made up nearly all of their losses. The Madoff Victim Fund has started distributing more

By Chris Isidore, CNN New York (CNN) — Boeing’s very bad year ended tragically on Sunday, as a 737 flown by Korean discount carrier Jeju Air crashed, killing 179 passengers and crew on board. It’s not yet clear what caused the jet to crash, and the investigation could take months. There’s no evidence at this

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN New York (CNN) — Historically, “Ladies’ Nights” have been great for business. The discounted drinks or meals tend to draw a large crowd of women, which in turn tends to draw more men — which then leads to packed bars and increased sales for the business. But a family-run restaurant in

By Michael Nam, CNN (CNN) — It may surprise some people unfamiliar with the comic book industry, with its multibillion-dollar movie tie-ins, that it’s been on the verge of collapse multiple times over the decades. Now AI tools are adding new fears of a death knell. From political censorship in the 1950s to a sales

By John Towfighi, CNN New York (CNN) — US markets wrapped up a blockbuster 2024 by marking an achievement so rare that it’s only ever happened a handful of times. Despite US stocks closing lower Tuesday in a disappointing December that saw the Dow drop over 2,000 points, or about 5%, and the S&P 500

By Alexandra Skores, CNN (CNN) — Moments before the crash of Jeju Air flight 2216, a passenger aboard texted a friend that the Boeing 737-800 aircraft had struck a bird. “Wait a minute… we can’t land because a bird (or birds) caught in our wing,” the passenger said at 9 am local time, on a

By Auzinea Bacon, CNN (CNN) — Budget-conscious buyers looking for luxury alternatives have flocked to Walmart’s Birkin bag look-alike, nicknamed the “Wirkin.” The leather handbag available on Walmart’s website is a more affordable alternative to French luxury goods maker Hermès’ Birkin bag. Many Wirkins appear to have sold out after buzz on social media. Luxury

By Matt Egan, CNN (CNN) — The US Treasury Department notified lawmakers on Monday that a China state-sponsored actor infiltrated Treasury workstations in what officials are describing as a “major incident.” In a letter reviewed by CNN, a Treasury official said it was informed by a third-party software service provider on December 8 that a

By Anna Cooban, CNN London (CNN) — Anxious airline flyers may well remember 2024 as the year their worst fears about the safety of air travel felt confirmed, as a series of unprecedented, and in some cases fatal, airplane incidents captured headlines. Three separate incidents last week — aboard South Korean, Canadian and Azerbaijani airliners

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN New York (CNN) — Whether it’s the first or the last day of the year, there are usually some errands to be run. This year, New Year’s Eve is on Wednesday and New Year’s Day falls on Thursday. Many retailers, grocery stores and pharmacies will be open on New Year’s Eve