CNBC News

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein characterized the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections as “appropriate and independent,” in an interview with The Wall Street Journal Wednesday. Rosenstein’s comments distance him from the views of President Donald Trump, who has frequently derided the investigation led by Robert Mueller as a baseless “witch hunt.” “People are entitled to be frustrated, I can accept that,” Rosenstein said in the interview. “But at the end…

There is still a healthy demand for recreational vehicles — but rate hikes and fallout from tariffs could wind up putting pressure on the sector, Winnebago CEO Michael Happe told CNBC on Wednesday. The company reported better-than-expected earnings before the bell on Wednesday, sending shares higher. After a bounce higher at the open, Winnebago gave back some of those gains and ultimately closed up 4.57 percent. The stock is down 40 percent year to date….

CNBC’s Jim Cramer has been pinpointing the most investable stocks in sectors from health care to energy, and on Wednesday, he turned to what he called “the most fraught cohort in this entire market”: the industrials. “If there’s one thing I know from running a hedge fund, it’s that the industrials become very tough to own when interest rates are rising,” the “Mad Money” host said after the Federal Reserve reaffirmed its aggressive rate hike…

CNBC’s Jim Cramer has spotted some attractive buying opportunities in FAANG — his acronym for the stocks of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google, now Alphabet — after the market’s latest sell-off. “Once again, reports of FAANG’s death proved to be premature,” the “Mad Money” host said Wednesday after Netflix’s earnings beat. “And, amazingly, I think Alphabet and Amazon have both come down enough that they can be purchased at these very levels.” Shares of…

CNBC’s Jim Cramer argued on Wednesday that “mixed” economic data, coupled with more hawkish rhetoric from the Federal Reserve, were to blame for the stock market’s volatile trading session. “Remember what’s at stake here. We are now in the midst of earnings season, where we can piece together a mosaic of what’s really going on in the economy. If the economy’s fabulous, then the Fed’s current course — one rate hike in December followed by…

President Donald Trump‘s escalating attacks on the Federal Reserve and its chairman, Jerome Powell, aren’t necessarily harmful if it is just “cheap talk,” said Frederic Mishkin, former Federal Reserve governor. The president continued his tirade against the central bank on Tuesday, calling the Fed “my biggest threat” because it is raising rates too fast. “Trump is Trump, and he likes to say quite amazing things, and it’s part of his — quote — charm,” Mishkin…

As the story of Jamaal Khashoggi unfolds, one significant person has remained silent: Jeff Bezos. Bezos owns the Washington Post, the newspaper that employed Khashoggi when the journalist entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 2. Khashoggi hasn’t been seen since, and a Turkish official has said that Saudi agents killed and dismembered him inside the consulate, according to the New York Times. The Saudi government has denied any connection to the disappearance….

Constellation Brands CEO Rob Sands will step down from his role on March 1 as he assumes the role of executive chair, the company announced Wednesday. The alcohol beverage company said Bill Newlands will become its next CEO. Newlands joined the company in 2015 and currently serves as its president and chief operating officer. He is an alcohol industry veteran, having previously served in a number of leadership roles including president of Beam Spirits, and…

The Federal Reserve has been telegraphing to the market that it intends to keep raising rates both to stave off high inflation and to prevent financial markets from getting unhinged. The market, though, seems to stop reading after the “inflation” part. As a result, a disconnect has built between the two sides. Wall Street remains more sanguine about future interest rate hikes than Fed projections indicate, and one issue seems to be the market is…

Researchers at the University of Dayton Research Institute are showing what can happen when a small drone strikes the wing of an aircraft. The team mimicked a collision between a 2.1-pound DJI Phantom 2 quadcopter and a Mooney M20 aircraft. Video shows the drone ripping through the plane’s wing in conditions that simulate a crash taking place at 238 miles per hour. “We wanted to help the aviation community and the drone industry understand the…