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    MAGA types have a point on debanking

    What do Barron Trump, son of the president-elect; some Islamic charities in Britain; and America’s legal cannabis industry have in common? This is not a set-up for a bad joke. Rather, all have been at the sharp end of a rise in “debanking”, having lost or been refused access to the services of commercial lenders. More

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    Far from a bazooka, China’s stimulus measures are just trickling through the economy

    China’s latest efforts to kickstart growth are just trickling through the economy, data and company earnings show.
    “While it will take some time for the positive effect to fully materialize and to further [expand] to more consumption categories, we are confident that these policies will gradually provide more support for the real economy,” said Shaohui Chen, Meituan CFO and senior vice president, according to a recording of a recent earnings call.
    “Looking ahead, our sources expect that stimulus in 2025 will trickle out incrementally and in a data-dependent fashion,” Gabriel Wildau, managing director at Teneo, said in a note Monday summarizing a recent trip to China.

    A large advertisement touting China’s “trade-in” policy hangs outside a housing construction project in Nanjing, China, on Nov. 29, 2024.
    Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

    China’s latest efforts to kickstart growth haven’t had a broad impact yet, data and company earnings show, indicating the world’s second-largest economy won’t be roaring back soon.
    Growth in pockets from real estate to manufacturing has improved since Beijing began announcing stimulus measures in late September. Companies, however, have maintained a cautious tone when sharing outlooks in the last few weeks.

    When asked on an earnings call Friday about the impact of stimulus, food delivery giant Meituan only said that in October, the average hotel order value in its newer travel booking business fell less than in the prior months, on an year-on-year basis.
    “While it will take some time for the positive effect to fully materialize and to further [expand] to more consumption categories, we are confident that these policies will gradually provide more support for the real economy and incentivize consumer spending, bringing more growth opportunities for our business,” said Shaohui Chen, Meituan CFO and senior vice president, according to a recording of the earnings call.
    Executives from e-commerce company Alibaba and social media operator Tencent shared similar comments last month in their earnings calls, saying stimulus would take time to translate into growth.

    The ramp-up in stimulus measures is aimed at reaching this year’s official target of around 5%, and a similar pace next year — while preventing financial instability, Gabriel Wildau, managing director at Teneo, said in a note Monday. To him, the tone on the economy indicates that “technological self-sufficiency and national security remain the top priorities” for China.
    “Looking ahead, our sources expect that stimulus in 2025 will trickle out incrementally and in a data-dependent fashion,” Wildau said. “‘Just enough’ rather than ‘whatever it takes’ will be the guiding principle.”

    Preliminary economic indicators for November reinforce a picture of improving, but not explosive, growth.
    The Caixin purchasing managers’ index for manufacturing showed further expansion in factory activity with a print of 51.5, its highest reading since June, according to LSEG data. The official PMI came in at 50.3, the highest since April. Retail sales and industrial data for November are due Dec. 16.
    Caixin’s measure of manufacturing labor showed employment contracted for a third straight month in November. That indicates “the effect of economic stimulus is yet to be felt in the labor market and businesses’ confidence in expanding workforce needs to be strengthened,” Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group, said in a report.
    “While the economic downturn appears to be bottoming out, it needs further consolidation,” Wang said, noting the rising risk of “external uncertainties.”
    The U.S. on Monday issued yet another round of restrictions aimed at crimping Chinese chipmakers. President-elect Donald Trump last week announced plans to impose 10% tariffs on all U.S. imports of Chinese goods once he takes office in January.
    “Markets will only be salivating for more and more stimulus as the geopolitical temperature rises,” according to U.S.-based advisory firm China Beige Book’s survey of Chinese businesses released Monday.
    The firm surveyed 1,502 companies from Nov. 14 to Nov. 26, and found that retail spending improved from a year ago, along with home sales, despite “widespread” weakness in consumption of services. The report also noted that the share of the respondents borrowing more rose to the highest since May 2022, indicating a pickup in demand.
    “Beijing’s stimulus measures encouraged firms to come off the sidelines this month,” the report said. “But it’s unlikely to last without pledges of additional support.”
    China’s Ministry of Finance has said more fiscal support could come next year. Investors are also watching for details from China’s annual economic planning meeting, typically held in mid-December. More

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    JetBlue cuts more unprofitable routes, tweaks Europe flights

    JetBlue has been focused on cutting unprofitable flights to stem losses.
    The carrier also has been trimming underperforming routes to focus on core markets.
    JetBlue is ending some Miami flights and said the carrier will be overstaffed there.

    Silhouette of passenger in front of the JetBlue Airbus A321neo aircraft spotted on the apron tarmac docked at the passenger jet bridge from the terminal of Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport AMS EHAM in the Netherlands. 
    Nicholas Economou | Nurphoto | Getty Images

    JetBlue Airways told staff Wednesday that it is axing more unprofitable flights, redeploying aircraft outfitted with its high-value business class and tweaking Europe service, the carrier’s latest moves to return to consistent profitability and cut costs.
    It will also stop using planes with Mint business class on Seattle flights in April.

    JetBlue said it will cut flights from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Jacksonville, Florida; from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Austin, Texas; Houston, Texas; Miami; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and from Westchester, N.Y. and Milwaukee. It will also end service to San Jose, California.
    JetBlue said ending service between JFK and Miami will make the carrier over-staffed in Miami and that it’s working with crew members on options, like working in other cities it serves.

    Read more CNBC airline news

    “Florida remains a strong geography for JetBlue, however post-COVID we haven’t been profitable in Miami due to the dominance of legacy carriers like American and Delta there,” wrote Dave Jehn, JetBlue’s vice president of network planning and airline partnerships, in a staff note, which was seen by CNBC.
    It will continue serving Miami from Boston.
    JetBlue will announce some new Europe service next week, the memo said. But starting in the summer 2025 travel season, it will drop its second JFK-Paris flight and its summer-only service between New York and London’s Gatwick Airport, said Jehn.

    The changes were announced after JetBlue said its revenue and bookings have come in better than expected for November and December, sending shares up more than 8% on Wednesday. CEO Joanna Geraghty and her team are focusing on reducing costs and culling unprofitable routes, such as those on the West Coast, as they grapple with a Pratt & Whitney engine grounding and post-pandemic shifts in demand.
    JetBlue said customers who are affected by the changes can select alternate flight options or receive a refund if other routes aren’t available.
    “Recently, we made some network adjustments in certain markets, removing some underperforming flying from our schedule, allowing us to redeploy resources, including our popular Mint service, toward high-demand markets and new opportunities,” JetBlue said in a statement. More

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    Shares of American Eagle plunge 13% as company issues weak holiday guidance

    American Eagle cut its full-year sales forecast and issued holiday guidance that came in below expectations.
    The apparel retailer saw strong demand during back-to-school but said consumers are pulling back between key moments.
    American Eagle’s Aerie brand saw strong growth, with comparable sales up 5%, on top of 12% in the year-ago period.

    A shopper walks by an American Eagle store on November 21, 2023 in Glendale, California.
    Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

    American Eagle shares dropped about 13% in extended trading Wednesday after the company reported third-quarter earnings in which it issued weak holiday guidance and cut its full-year forecast. The company said it’s contending with value-seeking consumers who are only willing to spend during key shopping moments. 
    The apparel retailer narrowly missed Wall Street’s expectations on the top line, but beat on the bottom line. 

    Here’s how American Eagle performed during its fiscal third quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

    Earnings per share: 48 cents adjusted vs. 46 cents expected
    Revenue: $1.29 billion vs. $1.30 billion expected

    The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended Nov. 2 was $80 million, or 41 cents per share, compared with $96.7 million, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time charges related to restructuring and impairment costs, American Eagle posted an adjusted profit of 48 cents per share. 
    Sales dropped to $1.29 billion, down about 1% from $1.3 billion a year earlier. 
    While it was narrow, Wednesday’s miss is the third quarter in a row that American Eagle has not met Wall Street’s sales targets.
    In a statement, CEO Jay Schottenstein touted a “strong” back-to-school shopping season but said demand remains inconsistent between major shopping events. 

    “We have entered the holiday season well positioned, with our leading brands offering high-quality merchandise, great gifts and an outstanding shopping experience across channels,” Schottenstein said. “Key selling periods have seen a positive customer response, yet we remain cognizant of potential choppiness during non-peak periods.” 
    Consumers coming out for key shopping moments followed by sales sharply dropping off has been a consistent theme across the retail industry. Foot Locker cited a similar dynamic when reporting earnings earlier Wednesday, as did Dollar Tree.
    For its holiday quarter, American Eagle is expecting comparable sales to be up around 1%, with total sales down about 4%, including an $85 million impact from having one less selling week and a later start to the holiday shopping season. The outlook is below the 2.2% comparable sales growth StreetAccount was looking for and the 1% sales decline LSEG had expected. 
    As a result, American Eagle is now expecting comparable sales to grow by 3% for the full year, down from prior guidance of 4% growth and below StreetAccount’s estimate of 4.1%. It’s now expecting full-year sales to be up 1%, down from previous guidance of between 2% and 3% and below LSEG expectations of 2.5% growth. 
    Similar to other retailers, American Eagle had taken a cautious approach to the back half of the year as it contended with uncertainty around the 2024 election and the overall macroeconomic environment. But unlike its competitors, it has kept that cautious tone.
    Both Abercrombie & Fitch and Dick’s Sporting Goods, which issued cautious outlooks earlier this year, reversed their previous mood when reporting earnings earlier this month. 
    Despite the underwhelming outlook and sales miss, American Eagle is seeing strong demand for its Aerie brand. Third-quarter revenue for Aerie came in at an all-time high for the company, and comparable sales grew 5%, on top of 12% growth from the year-ago period. More

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    More employers add 401(k) plan match for workers paying student loans

    More companies are choosing to offer a 401(k) plan match to workers who are paying off their student loans.
    A recent law, Secure 2.0, allowed employers to essentially treat student loan payments like a 401(k) contribution for the purposes of offering a match, starting in 2024.
    Large companies such as Kraft, Workday, News Corp., and Comcast are early adopters.
    Most employers are not yet offering or planning to offer the benefit, though.

    Morsa Images | Digitalvision | Getty Images

    Companies can now offer their workers a “match” on their student loan payments in the form of a contribution to their 401(k) plan — and a small but growing number of employers are taking advantage of the option.
    Traditionally, companies have only paid a 401(k) match to workers based on their voluntary contributions to the workplace retirement plan. A worker choosing to save 3% of their annual pay in a 401(k) might get a 3% match from their employer, for example.

    Now, companies can treat a worker’s student loan payments like an elective 401(k) plan contribution.
    Federal law allows employers to give a match based on a worker’s payments toward student debt. Workers generally don’t have to contribute to the 401(k) plan to qualify for the funds.
    The measure, part of a package of retirement changes dubbed Secure 2.0, kicked in starting in 2024.

    Kraft, Workday among companies adding the benefit

    The policy’s goal is to help workers tackle two competing financial obligations: paying down debt and simultaneously saving for retirement.
    More than 100 companies have implemented the benefit to date, covering almost 1.5 million eligible employees, according to data from Fidelity, the nation’s largest 401(k) plan administrator.

    They include “some of the largest firms in the U.S.,” such as Kraft, Workday and News Corp., Jesse Moore, senior vice president and head of student debt at Fidelity, said in an e-mail.
    “Many more [are] showing strong interest in offering it in 2025,” Moore said.

    About 5% of employers have already added the benefit, according to forthcoming survey results from Alight, one of the largest U.S. retirement plan administrators.
    An additional 12% of employers say they are “very likely” to adopt it in 2025, while 29% are “moderately likely” to do so, according to Alight. It polled 122 employers, with a total of 11 million workers, in September.
    Interest in the benefit has grown largely due to Secure 2.0, Rob Austin, head of thought leadership at Alight, said in an e-mail.

    Financial help and worker retention

    Comcast is among the employers adding a student loan-401(k) match benefit in 2025. A Comcast spokesperson said offering the benefit will help workers “manage their long-term financial wellness” in a tax-efficient way.
    About 90,000 U.S. employees are eligible for the match, on up to 6% of their eligible annual earnings, the spokesperson said.
    More from Personal Finance:Student loan borrowers may find bankruptcy harder under TrumpCollege enrollment falls 5% for 18-year-old freshmen’Dynamic pricing’ was a top contender for word of the year
    Some companies also see the match program as a way to attract and retain college graduates in competitive fields, experts said.
    “We’ve heard from many employees that they struggle with student loans,” especially those early in their careers, the Comcast spokesperson said. “We’re trying to build a value proposition that meets [workers’] needs.”
    The student loan measure is also available to companies that sponsor other types of workplace retirement plans, such as 403(b) or governmental 457(b) plans or SIMPLE IRAs, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

    How the student loan benefit works

    Thomas Barwick

    The maximum amount of “qualified student loan payments” is generally the annual salary deferral, or contribution, limit, according to Brian Dobbis, retirement solutions lead at Lord Abbett, a money manager. That 401(k) limit is $23,000 in 2024 for workers under age 50.
    Here’s a general example: A 30-year-old participates in a 401(k) plan in 2024. The worker chooses to contribute $18,000 to the plan. If they also pay $8,000 toward their student loans that year, only $5,000 ($23,000 minus $18,000) of those repayments is eligible to be matched, Dobbis said.
    The worker’s ultimate match amount is dictated by employers’ respective match cap, commonly set around 3% to 6% of a worker’s annual salary.
    Of course, companies may structure the benefit somewhat differently from one another.

    Companies had the benefit prior to Secure 2.0

    Employers had begun offering a 401(k)-linked student loan benefit even before Secure 2.0.
    Abbott, a health-care technology company, has provided a similar benefit since 2018, through its “Freedom 2 Save” program, which was thought to be the first of its kind. The company secured a private letter ruling from the IRS to be able to do so.
    More companies have followed since.
    In 2022, for example, about 1% of all 401(k) plans were offering or planned to offer a match based on student loan payments, according to an annual survey by the Plan Sponsor Council of America, a trade group. By 2023, that share had increased to about 2%, according to the group’s latest poll, of 709 employers, set to be published this month.

    “Pharmaceutical companies are among the earliest adopters, most likely because Abbott pioneered this idea, and competitors followed,” said Austin of Alight.
    The share jumped most — to almost 5% in 2023 from 2% in 2022 — among the largest firms, or those with more than 5,000 employees, PSCA found.
    It seems there has been “increased interest” among firms with a big cohort of college-educated workers, said Hattie Greenan, PSCA’s research director.
    “We will continue to see this number slowly increase as those companies look for ways to differentiate their benefits packages to compete for top talent, and as some of the administrative complexities are worked out,” Greenan said.

    Why many firms aren’t adding a student loan match

    Morsa Images | Digitalvision | Getty Images

    However, most companies are still sitting on the sidelines.
    For example, 55% of employers say they are “not at all likely” to add the provision in 2025, according to Alight’s survey.
    There are a few reasons businesses may not want to implement the measure, said Ellen Lander, founder of Renaissance Benefit Advisors Group, based in Pearl River, New York.

    For one, employers may already offer a different education benefit to their workforce. Further, companies, especially those with many higher earners, may not feel they need the benefit if there isn’t evidence of lagging 401(k) participation even among those with student debt, she said.
    Some employers may already make a non-elective contribution to workers each year, such as a profit-sharing contribution, even to workers who don’t participate in the company 401(k), Lander said.
    Lander said one of her clients viewed the student loan policy as “unfair,” since it applied to only a certain subset of workers, i.e., those with student debt.
    She said none of her clients have yet chosen to adopt it.
    “I would hope every client is discussing it with their consultant,” Lander said. “To me, it’s something you should definitely consider. And then you need to get into the weeds: Do you need it?”
    Disclosure: Comcast owns CNBC parent company NBCUniversal. More

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    Powell says he’s not worried about the Fed losing its independence under Trump

    Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday he isn’t worried that President-elect Donald Trump will try to politicize the central bank once he takes office in January.
    There are safeguards in the congressional legislation that created the central bank that will help preserve it from political influences, he said during an appearance in New York.
    Powell provided no clues as to which way he’s leaning on the near-term path for interest rates, though he did note that the Fed can afford to be cautious because of the strength of the U.S. economy.

    Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, right, speaks during the New York Times DealBook Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. 
    Yuki Iwamura | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    NEW YORK — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday he isn’t worried President-elect Donald Trump will try to politicize the central bank once he takes office in January.
    The question of Fed independence has come up over the past several months, amid reports that Trump may try to pull strings on monetary policy both by legislation and possibly by installing a “shadow chair” who could undermine Powell’s authority.

    However, Powell said there are safeguards in the congressional legislation that created the Fed that will help preserve it from political influences.
    “What does independent mean? It means we can make our decisions without them being reversed,” he told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin during an on-stage interview at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit.
    “That gives us the ability to make these decisions for the benefit of all Americans at all times, not for any particular political party or political outcome,” he added. “We’re supposed to achieve maximum employment and price stability for the benefit of all Americans and keep it out of the politics completely.”
    Powell provided no clues as to which way he’s leaning on the near-term path for interest rates, though he did note that the Fed can afford to be cautious. As he has said before, Powell said the U.S. economy is “the envy of other large economies around the world,” which affords the Fed the ability to be patient as it contemplates future rate moves.
    The Fed’s next rate decision comes in two weeks. Markets are placing about a 75% probability that the Federal Open Market Committee will cut its key borrowing rate by a quarter percentage point. The expectation is that the Fed then skips the January meeting before cutting a few more times in 2025.

    During his first stint in office, Trump hurled sharp criticism at the Fed and Powell, whom he nominated. In the months leading up to this year’s election, Trump advocated for allowing the president a say when the the central bank is making decisions on interest rates.
    Though many presidents have tried to exert influence over the Fed, Trump was the most public about it. Still, Powell said he believes there’s strong support in Congress to keep the Fed’s decision-making apart from the political swirl in Washington.
    “I think there is very, very broad support for that set of ideas in Congress in both political parties on both sides of the Hill, and that’s what really matters,” he said. “It’s the law of the land, and I’m not concerned that there’s some risk that we would lose our statutory independence.”
    The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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    Trump nominates Jared Isaacman, private astronaut and Shift4 CEO, for NASA chief

    President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated Jared Isaacman, a private astronaut and the billionaire CEO of Shift4, to be the next NASA administrator.
    Isaacman has led two private spaceflights through SpaceX, including the company’s first spacewalk in September.
    “It is the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role and to work alongside NASA’s extraordinary team to realize our shared dreams of exploration and discovery,” Isaacman wrote in a statement.

    Inspiration4 mission commander Jared Isaacman, founder and chief executive officer of Shift4 Payments, stands for a portrait in front of the recovered first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket at Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) on February 2, 2021 in Hawthorne, California. 
    Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images

    President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated Jared Isaacman, the billionaire CEO of Shift4 who has led two private spaceflights, to be the next head of NASA.
    “Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,” Trump wrote in a post on social media.

    Isaacman accepted Trump’s nomination to be NASA administrator in a statement: “Having been fortunate to see our amazing planet from space, I am passionate about America leading the most incredible adventure in human history.”
    “It is the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role and to work alongside NASA’s extraordinary team to realize our shared dreams of exploration and discovery,” Isaacman said.
    Isaacman said he plans to leave Shift4 once he’s confirmed as NASA administrator. In a letter to Shift4 employees, Isaacman wrote he intends “to remain CEO until my confirmation” and “retain the majority of my equity interest,” but will reduce his shareholder voting power.

    Jared Isaacman, Mission Commander, steps out of the manned Polaris Dawn mission’s “Dragon” capsule after it splashed down off the coast of Dry Tortugas, Florida, after completing the first human spaceflight mission by non-government astronauts of the Polaris Program.
    – | Afp | Getty Images

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is currently led by Administrator Bill Nelson, nominated in 2021 by President Joe Biden. Nelson did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
    Nelson, a former U.S. Senator, currently oversees NASA’s nearly $25 billion budget. During his tenure, the space agency launched the first uncrewed mission under its top priority, the multi-billion dollar Artemis moon program. But subsequent planned crewed missions, ultimately aiming to return U.S. astronauts to the lunar surface, have been heavily delayed and over budget.

    Read more CNBC space news

    Isaacman has led two private spaceflights through SpaceX, in 2021 and 2024, commanding a pair of crews on multiday trips around the Earth.
    His spaceflight ambitions have fostered an increasingly close relationship with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who has become an influential figure in Trump’s administration planning.
    Isaacman has previously criticized NASA’s Artemis architecture, particularly the program’s heavy spending on its expendable SLS rockets and the agency’s decision to award a second crewed lunar lander contract to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.
    “Spend billions on lunar lander redundancy that you don’t have with SLS at the expense of dozens of scientific programs. I don’t like it,” Isaacman wrote in a post earlier this year.

    Polaris Dawn commander Jared Isaacman emerges from SpaceX’s Dragon capsule during a spacewalk on Sept. 12, 2024.

    In addition to running payments company Shift4, Isaacman has been leading an effort called the Polaris Program — a trio of missions with increasingly ambitious goals.
    The first mission in that program, Polaris Dawn, launched earlier this year and saw Isaacman conduct a brief spacewalk from SpaceX’s Dragon capsule — the company’s first such extravehicular activity, or EVA, in space.
    “Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world,” Isaacman said during the spacewalk after emerging from the capsule. More