Economy

Consumer confidence surges as election nears, while job openings move lower

  Consumers grew more optimistic about the U.S. economy heading into the contentious presidential election even as job openings hit multi-year lows, according to separate reports released Tuesday. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for October rose more than 11% to a reading of 138, its biggest one-month acceleration since...

Economy

German finance minister warns of retaliation if U.S. kicks off trade war

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Friday warned that if the U.S. kicked off a trade war with the European Union, there could be retaliation. "Trade controversy sees never winners, only losers," Lindner told CNBC's Karen Tso on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund's annual meeting in Washington, D.C....