CNBC

While traditional investments such as stocks and real estate are more common, some people view vintage toys as a unique, fun, and potentially profitable asset class.

President Donald Trump's return to the White House has completely shifted America's stance on support for Ukraine, prompting European nations to consider new options to bolster military support for Kyiv. Last month, the U.S. president blamed Ukraine for starting the war, called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator — even as Ukraine has been prevented from holding elections during wartime since Russia's invasion in 2022 — and began unilateral talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia, to the dismay of Ukrainian and European officials who were not included. Tensions escalated last week after a televised explosive clash in the Oval Office between Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy. The U.S. has since reportedly halted military support to Ukraine while an assessment of the situation is carried out.

BEIJING — China has more room to act on fiscal policy amid domestic and external uncertainties, Finance Minister Lan Fo'an told reporters on Thursday. He was responding to a question during China's "Two Sessions" annual parliamentary meeting about the country's plans for proactive fiscal policy this year. China on Wednesday announced it was raising its on-budget deficit to 4% of the country's gross domestic product — the highest since at least 2010.

Chinese leadership took on a hefty task by setting an ambitious growth target this year but Beijing may yet need much more forceful stimulus to achieve this goal, economists say. China on Wednesday maintained its GDP growth target at "around 5%" for 2025, a target seen harder to reach given rising trade tensions with the U.S. and persistently weak domestic consumption. While there was no direct mention of tariff tensions, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said in a speech at the opening plenary of the annual parliamentary meeting the country is facing external challenges that are "unseen in a century [and] unfolding across the world at a faster pace."

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South Korea's state-run mint is grappling with a gold bar shortage amid robust demand for the precious metal. The Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (KOMSCO), which is responsible for the production and distribution of various security products, suspended sales of gold bars last month. KOMSCO attributed the suspension to issues with procuring supply of raw materials, according to a Google translation of the notice on its website. The mint typically supplies bullion bars to Korea's commercial banks, stores and online shopping malls.

Homeowners associations say they are good for property values in a community. HOAs are accumulating more power as municipalities offload responsibility.

An expanding network of cybercrime marketplaces is making it easier than ever to become a professional fraudster, posing unprecedented cybersecurity threats worldwide, experts warn. Cybercriminals are often portrayed in popular media as rogue and highly skilled individuals, wielding coding and hacking abilities from a dimly lit room. But such stereotypes are becoming outdated. "Looking back to the 1990s and early 2000s, you needed to have a reasonable level of technical competence to pull off these types of crimes," Nicholas Court, assistant director of Interpol's Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, tells CNBC.

Japanese government bond yields surged Thursday, with the 10-year JGB yield hitting the highest since June 2009, with experts pointing to pressure from a global sell-off in bonds. The yield on the 10-year JGB rose nearly 8 basis points to cross 1.5% for the first time since 2009, while those on the 30-year bonds also climbed 13 basis points to cross the 2.5% mark for the first time since 2008.The JGB sell-off was in conjunction with upward pressure on global yields, said Masahiko Loo, senior fixed income strategist at State Street Global Advisors. U.S. 10-year treasury yield climbed 5 basis points to 4.317%.

China said it was prepared to fight "any type of war" with the U.S., as President Donald Trump ratchets up economic and political pressure on the country. "If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end," Chinese Embassy in the U.S. said in a post on X on Wednesday, signaling an increasingly aggressive stance toward the U.S. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson later in the day called the U.S. fentanyl-related explanation for imposing tariffs a "flimsy excuse."