Raphael Stevens

Parents can add a child as an authorized user to their credit card account to help build a kid’s credit history and credit score.
The strategy is generally best for kids in their later teenage years, maybe around 16 years old, or those in their early 20s, experts said.
Parents may want to set certain parameters like spending restrictions and an end date, experts said.

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Parents who want to help jumpstart their kid’s credit score and credit history can take one fairly easy step, money experts say: Add your child as an authorized user to your credit card account.
The goal is to have a child build credit from a relatively early age by piggybacking off their parent’s — i.e., the primary account holder’s — good credit.

The strategy is generally best for kids in their later teenage years, maybe around 16 years old, or even those in their early 20s, said Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com.

Parents can think of it as a “stepping stone” to building credit, he said.
“It’s gotten harder to establish credit in your own name, and this is one of the tools to get around that,” said Rossman. “It can really help a lot.”
Allowing kids to use a credit card — and showing them how to pay off the debt responsibly — can also “help them learn healthy credit card management skills early on,” said Andrea Woroch, a consumer finance expert.

Why building credit is important

Things to consider

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Parents should only try this authorized user strategy if they themselves have good credit, experts said.
“As long as you pay your bill on time and don’t carry a hefty balance each month, your child will benefit from your positive credit history and credit score, helping them to establish and build credit,” Woroch said.
They should also ideally have an end date in mind.
Perhaps for one to three years, depending on the circumstances, Rossman explained.
Importantly, this would not be a joint account. Legally, the primary accountholder is responsible for all the authorized user’s transactions — meaning a parent is on the hook if their kid misuses a credit card, perhaps by overspending or failing to pay their bill on time and in full each month, he said.

Parents can set spending limits for authorized users, depending on their card provider, experts said.
That means setting a relatively low credit allowance, maybe just enough for the teen to fill up their car’s gasoline tank or go to the movies a few times each month, they said.
Parents don’t even have to give the card to their kids at all.
“The credit benefits actually translate whether they use the card or not,” Rossman said.
Ultimately, parents should make sure they “set clear rules and boundaries as to if and how they can use the card,” Woroch said. More

Who is Huohuade Lutenike? The Chinese rendering of Howard Lutnick, the billionaire nominee to lead America’s commerce department, is not well known in China. But he may end up shaping America’s trade policies. Since Donald Trump announced his pick, Chinese investors and policy-watchers have scrambled for information. More than anything they want to know if Mr Lutenike will slap Mr Trump’s proposed 60% tariffs on all Chinese imports. The urgency of such efforts has only increased since the president-elect fired an opening salvo on November 25th, announcing he would start with an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods on his first day in office—a figure with potential to grow. More

AT FIRST GLANCE, it did not look that different from other sanctions. On November 21st America’s Treasury Department imposed new restrictions on more than four dozen Russian banks, including Gazprombank, the financial arm of the giant state gas firm. The bank, the largest in Russia not already subject to American sanctions, had been excluded from previous packages in order to allow some central and eastern European countries, including Austria, Hungary and Slovakia, to continue paying for imports of Russian gas. After December 20th, when the measures take full effect, European buyers of Russian gas will be forced to find workarounds involving either third-party banks or currencies other than the dollar, which will take time. More

Small caps just had their first historic week in three years, and one exchange-traded fund expert predicts the group’s record highs will help drive investors back into the group.
“Small caps are going to become more in favor in 2025,” VettaFi’s Todd Rosenbluth said on CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week. “They started to perk up since the election and heading into the election as interest rates have been coming down.”

Rosenbluth, the firm’s head of research, expects ETF funds specializing in small caps to reap the benefits of investors looking to broaden out their market exposure.
The Russell 2000, which tracks small-cap stocks, hit its first record high since November 2021 this week and just saw its best monthly performance since last December. The index is up almost 11% in November and 35% over the past 52 weeks as of Friday’s close.
Rosenbluth suggests some profit taking in the “Magnificent Seven” stocks, which include Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Tesla, will benefit small caps. He also expects investors to rotate out of money market accounts due to the effects of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate easing policy.
“We expect some more dispersion in the winners,” Rosenbluth said.
Rosenbluth cited the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF and the VictoryShares Small Cap Free Cash Flow ETF as potential ways to play strength in small caps. The Core S&P Small-Cap ETF is up 11% in November while the VictoryShares’ fund is up almost 8%.

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Consumers are “wired” to think more about the short term instead of long-term financial goals, according to a behavioral finance expert.
Americans expect to spend an average $1,014 on holiday gifts this year, according to a Gallup poll.
There are ways to check your spending during the holiday season, experts said.

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The holiday season is a time to give thanks, reflect on the past year, and spend time with family and friends. However, if you’re not careful, it can also be a time you overspend on holiday purchases.
About 83% of Americans plan to buy gifts for friends and family this holiday season, according to a NerdWallet poll.

Americans expect to spend an average of $1,014 on Christmas or other holiday gifts in 2024 — “substantially more” than the $923 reported last year, according to a Gallup poll published Oct. 25.
Roughly 10% of consumers expect to draw from their emergency fund to buy gifts, and 9% will prioritize gifts over household bills such as utilities and debt payments, according to the NerdWallet survey, published Oct 8.

Almost half of shoppers will fund this year’s spending with loans or credit cards, according to a recent survey by professional services firm EY. Meanwhile, 28% of people are still paying off credit card debt from the 2023 holiday season, NerdWallet found.
People have an innate impulse to overspend, experts said. They are “wired” to be consumers, said Brad Klontz, a psychologist, certified financial planner and behavioral finance expert.
“For 99% of our time on Earth, thinking about the long-term future hasn’t served us very well,” said Klontz, who is a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council and the CNBC Global Financial Wellness Advisory Board. “Meeting our immediate needs was what it was all about.”

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The short-term gratification of giving gifts to loved ones can eclipse the long-term focus that’s needed to be good with money, Klontz said. That’s where many people fall short, he said.
“We can overspend because our long-term goals are much more abstract, and it actually requires us to do extra levels of cognitive processing to delay instant gratification,” he said.
Additionally, consumers may feel the social pressure to spend more than they might like because they don’t want to appear “cheap,” said Andrea Woroch, a consumer finance expert.
Many companies also promote deals — on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, for example — that can create a “buying frenzy,” she said.

How to avoid overspending during the holidays

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There are various ways for consumers to keep their holiday tabs within a reasonable range, experts said.
Here are some of their tips.

Develop a spending plan now around how much to allocate to the holiday season, Klontz said. It’s not too late, even over Black Friday weekend. Consumers can use a gift list tracking app such as Santa’s Bag to track purchases and actual spend, Woroch said.

Think beyond gifts, Woroch said. There are many other potential seasonal expenses, including groceries to feed out-of-town guests or for holiday feasts, holiday party attire, family photos, greeting cards and postage, seasonal outings, dinners with friends, fundraising events at your kids’ school and donation drives. You may need to cut back on certain costs or spend less on gifts to accommodate these, she said.

Set gift expectations with family and friends now, Woroch said. This may mean focusing on kids only or setting up a “Secret Santa” exchange so you’re only responsible for one gift rather than many, she said. Instead of a physical gift, perhaps find an activity to do together instead. Or, set a gift budget, suggesting a lower amount this year, Woroch said.

Tap into free rewards to offset gift costs, Woroch said. For example, she recommends signing up for free retail loyalty programs to earn money back to use toward other gift purchases; shopping through cash-back portals such as CouponCabin.com or Rakuten for online purchases; and downloading a browser extension such as Fetch to earn rewards or free gift cards.

Take time to reflect on your long-term goals that “really matter to you,” Klontz said. This can help rein in the impulse to make short-term purchases. More

Lombard Odier — one of Switzerland’s oldest private banks — has been indicted by Swiss prosecutors on charges of aggravated money laundering.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said Friday that it filed an indictment against Lombard Odier and a former employee of the bank at Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court on Tuesday.
The accused allegedly helped conceal the proceeds of a criminal organization set up by Gulnara Karimova — the daughter of Islam Karimov, the authoritarian president of Uzbekistan who died in 2016.

A pedestrian walks by the entrance to Lombard Odier in Geneva, Switzerland.
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Lombard Odier — one of Switzerland’s oldest private banks — was indicted by Swiss prosecutors on charges of aggravated money laundering.
In a release on Friday, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, or OAG, said it filed an indictment against Lombard Odier and a former employee of the bank at Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court on Tuesday.

The OAG said the accused helped conceal the proceeds of a criminal organization set up by Gulnara Karimova — the daughter of Islam Karimov, the authoritarian president of Uzbekistan who died of a stroke in 2016. Karimova was indicted by the attorney general in 2023 on accusations of laundering money that was a result of criminal activities in Switzerland between 2005 and 2012.
“Investigations have led the OAG to believe that part of the money laundered in Switzerland may have been transferred in bank accounts at … Lombard Odier in Geneva. The bank and one of its former relationship managers are alleged to have played a decisive role in concealing the proceeds of the criminal activities of ‘The Office,'” the OAG said in its statement.
They have been under investigation since 2016, the prosecutors added.
Lombard Odier, whose origins date back as far as 1796, denies the allegations.
“We have taken note of the decision of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland to bring charges against the Bank for insufficient controls,” the bank said in a statement on Friday.

“This step follows the opening of a formal investigation against the bank initiated and made public in 2016. For the bank, the allegations are unfounded and without merit. The bank plans to defend itself vigorously.”
The bank said the case was initiated by Lombard Odier’s “proactive reporting of suspicions to the Swiss authorities.”
CNBC has reached out to Gregoire Mangeat, who has represented Karimova throughout her legal battles with Swiss authorities. Karimova is currently serving a jail sentence in Uzbekistan. More