CNBC

Today's undergrads expect to make nearly $85,000 one year after graduation. Yet, the average starting salary for recent graduates is closer to $55,000.

BEIJING — China will start limiting exports of critical metal tungsten this weekend, just as alternatives to Chinese suppliers of the metal are reopening. It's a reversal of past decades, during which, according to analysts, Chinese businesses poured cheap tungsten into the global market to put competitors out of business — eventually controlling 80% of the supply chain, according to Argus. Tungsten is an extremely hard metal used in weapons and semiconductors. As part of new rules limiting exports of "dual use" goods — which can be used for military or civilian purposes — China's Ministry of Commerce earlier this month released a list indicating that businesses wanting to export a range of tungsten and critical mineral products would need to apply for licenses. The latest measures will take effect Dec. 1.

Warren Buffett has advice for all parents, regardless of their wealth: let your adult children read your will before you sign it.

Lebanon's foreign minister on Thursday defended Hezbollah's presence in the region, but said his country had "no say in the decision to go to war" with Israel. Speaking to CNBC's Dan Murphy, Abdallah Bou Habib vowed to uphold a U.S.-France brokered cease-fire that is already showing signs of strain, and said he will seek foreign funding to assist in the reconstruction of Lebanon. "We support Hezbollah, but we don't support the war as Lebanese, and the government had no say in the decision to go to war, we have to admit that," he said.

Chip Leighton's "teenager texts" on social media hilariously call out questions from kids to their parents, such as "Do I need to tip the eye doctor?"

This month, U.S. News and World Report published its Best Cruise Lines for the Money ranking for 2024. The report analyzed and rated the top ships from 18 of the most popular ocean cruise lines. "Like any type of travel, people [interested in cruising] are looking to find something that is affordable or matches a budget they are trying to keep in mind," Nicola Wood, Senior Travel Editor at U.S. News and World Report, tells CNBC Make It. A cruise can still a good option for travelers looking to get the best bang for their buck: "With lodging, food and entertainment all included in one price, a vacation at sea is often a better value than a land-based getaway," the report states.

Future hall-of-fame tight end Rob Gronkowski says he bought $69,000 worth of Apple stock in 2014 based on advice from a contractor working on his Foxborough, Massachusetts, home, reports Fortune. "I [had] never been involved in stocks," Gronkowski said. "I really didn't know how stocks work. So I was like, 'All right, let me do this, man.'" After selling some shares along the way, Gronk says his Apple stake is currently worth more than $600,000.

When Steve Menking started working on Wall Street in his early 20s, he thought he found a career for life. Instead, shortly after his 25th birthday, Menking jokes that he had a "quarter-life crisis" while working as an equities trader at SMB Capital. "I watched colleagues my age — or younger — excelling in their careers, but it was difficult for me to see people stay in the office until 1 a.m., and think that could be my future," Menking, 36, tells CNBC Make It. "It just wasn't the lifestyle for me."

Some CEOs say work-life balance is a myth. Others swear it's a key to their success. Glassdoor CEO Christian Sutherland-Wong is in the latter category. He worked his way up from vice president of product in 2015 to leading the jobs website in 2020. With more than 500 employees under his leadership, he says he tries to limit his work during off-hours — especially in front of his two young kids. "With [my] children, I want to lead by not having digital products all around, or being distracted by my email and text messages all the time," says Sutherland-Wong, 44. He works five days per week remotely, using that flexibility "to be there when my kids come home from school, to be able to get offline, spend quality time with them, put them to bed and then get back online."

Geopolitical tensions are brewing globally over the cutting of subsea cables — critical infrastructure powering cross-border internet connectivity — in the Baltic Sea. The severing of the cables prompted warnings of "sabotage" and potential "hybrid" warfare targeting key infrastructure in the West amid further escalations in the ongoing war in Ukraine. CNBC explains all you need to know about the undersea incident — and why it's ratcheting up global geopolitical tensions.