Global Markets Mostly Lower on Continued Trade Tensions; Eurozone CPI Data In Focus
Global markets were mostly lower and U.S. futures were down on continued trade tensions, and ahead of Eurozone flash CPI data Tuesday and an European Central Bank rate decision later this week.
Eurozone consumer price inflation, due at 0900 GMT, is expected to have fallen to an annual rate of 2.0% from 2.2% in April, while the ECB is widely expected to cut interest rates by 0.25 basis point to 2% on Thursday.
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Forbes
32 minutes ago
- Forbes
Norwegian Cruise Line Credit Card Review 2025: Cruise Rewards That Leave Loyalty Adrift
The Norwegian Cruise Line World Mastercard* is designed for frequent sailors, but no matter how much you love the onboard experience, you'll likely be disappointed by the credit card. This no annual fee card offers elevated earnings on cruise expenses but stops short of offering any VIP perks like stateroom upgrades, free drinks or discounted excursions. You won't pay annual fees with the Norwegian Cruise Line World Mastercard*. And even better, there are no foreign transaction fees. That makes this a good option for your tours, meals and souvenirs ashore, regardless of where your cruises take you. Although the standard earning rates on this credit card lean more toward basic than exciting, Bank of America Preferred Rewards members get a pretty sweet boost. You can earn 25% to 75% more on every purchase, depending on your average account balances with Bank of America and Merrill. Why you can trust Forbes Advisor Our credit card editors are committed to bringing you unbiased ratings and information. Advertisers do not and cannot influence our ratings. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and companies, so all are measured equally. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and the credit card methodology for the ratings below. The WorldPoints you earn from this credit card are most interesting when used toward Norwegian Cruise Line redemptions—which you might consider exactly the point. But some redemption options, like cruise discounts or onboard credit, are no better than what you'd get from a cash-back card but without the flexibility. Even if you limit your search to no annual fee credit cards, you'll find numerous options for credit cards that earn rewards at higher rates or with more bonus categories (or both). The Norwegian card is best, unsurprisingly, for Norwegian Cruise Line charges but not much else. The NCL credit card is best for transactions made directly with Norwegian Cruise Line but earns WorldPoints® Rewards on all purchases: Earn 3 points for every dollar spent on Norwegian purchases, 2 points per dollar spent on eligible air and hotel purchases and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. Bank of America Preferred Rewards members may earn 25% to 75% more points on eligible charges. These are great earning rates for transactions with Norwegian Cruise Line, such as your actual cruise fare and any onboard charges. However, the other purchase categories aren't particularly competitive. New cardholders can also earn 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days of account opening. The Norwegian Cruise Line Mastercard earns WorldPoints rewards, which are best used toward awards with NCL. Options include: When redeeming for upgrades or free cruises, the value of your redemption will vary based on the precise costs of that sailing. Full category upgrades, like going from an oceanview to a balcony, cost 30,000 points for cruises longer than five nights. Therefore, when the cost to upgrade with cash is $300 or less, you'd be better off redeeming your WorldPoints for a discount on the cruise fare and booking your preferred room directly. When the cost is higher, though, there's some room for strategic arbitrage and getting an impressive return on your points. The ability to redeem points for a free cruise is where you could potentially get an oversized return for your points—assuming you want to travel to the Bahamas, the Caribbean or Mexico. Redemptions could be worth more than 1 cent per point, especially if you're traveling on peak dates or new ships where cruise fares are typically higher. Some sailings or dates may be excluded. Forbes Advisor uses estimated spending amounts to simulate the number of points you might earn from this card in one year. Based on data from multiple government agencies, our research shows that a household earning in the 70th percentile brings in $127,200 of income and can reasonably charge $40,398 to a card annually across the following categories: Norwegian Cruise Line World Mastercard* Rewards Potential The more multipurpose Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card (rates & fees) is another no-annual-fee travel rewards card with no foreign transaction fees, making it a viable alternative for some cruisers. Its rewards are far more flexible than the Norwegian Cruise card's: You can redeem Capital One miles to reimburse yourself for any travel expenses charged on the card (including cruise expenses) or transfer them to airline or hotel partners to cover other elements of your vacation. The earnings structure on the VentureOne is quite different from the Norwegian card. Sadly, you won't earn any bonus miles on cruise charges but you might be able to make up for that with its base earnings rate of 1.25 miles per $1 spent. That extra 25% on general spending could go a long way toward your next trip. Another major advantage of the VentureOne is its low intro APR offer of 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, 19.24% to 29.24% variable APR after that; 3% balance transfer fee for the first 15 months, 4% at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer you. Ironically, you can earn a stronger rate on your cruise fare with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card than with a co-branded cruise credit card. This fan-favorite travel card earns 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2 points per dollar on all other travel purchases and 1 point per dollar on other purchases. There is one major caveat, though—to earn 5 points per dollar on your cruise fare, you'll need to book through Chase Travel (otherwise, you'll only earn 2 points per dollar spent, which is also what you'll earn for onboard charges). When redeeming points to pay for a cruise or other travel, your Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are worth 1.25 cents each when booked with Chase Travel, which is better than most Norwegian Cruise Line WorldPoints redemptions. You can also transfer your points to over a dozen airline or hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio. The Sapphire Preferred also shines for its generous included travel protections, like complimentary trip delay reimbursement, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, and primary auto rental coverage. Simplicity is the name of the game with the Citi Double Cash® Card. It earns cash back at a flat rate of 2% cash back on all purchases—1% when purchases are made and another 1% when they're paid off, and earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked with Citi Travel. If your spending habits are varied and not disproportionately focused on Norwegian cruise expenses, rewards could add up faster. This is primarily a cash-back credit card, so redemptions are easy and flexible. There's a major downside to this card to consider. Namely, the card charges a foreign transaction fee. Norwegian uses the U.S. dollar for its cruise fare and all onboard charges, so you won't need to worry about foreign transaction fees for anything you buy on the ship. However, the Double Cash would be a poor choice to use for charges you make on shore while docked at international ports of call. The Norwegian Cruise Line card offers modest value, but its lack of cruise perks means you might want to look twice before applying. If you're willing to save up your points for free cruises or if you're a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member, there could be an interesting case to get this card. Otherwise, more general travel credit cards could be more rewarding, even if you limit your search to cards with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors, including: We give greater weight to the card features we believe cardholders will use most frequently. These factors combine to generate a star rating for each card. To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, check out our guide on how Forbes Advisor rates credit cards. *The information for the following card(s) has been collected independently by Forbes Advisor: Norwegian Cruise Line World Mastercard. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
TechCrunch
44 minutes ago
- TechCrunch
North America takes the bulk of AI VC investments, despite tough political environment
Despite what some experts have characterized as an environment increasingly hostile to AI R&D, North America continues to receive the bulk of AI venture dollars, according to data from investment tracker PitchBook. Between February and May of this year, VCs poured $69.7 billion into North America-based AI and machine learning startups across 1,528 deals. That's compared with $6.4 billion that VC firms invested in European AI ventures across 742 deals across the same period. Asia-based startups have fared a bit worse than their European counterparts, according to PitchBook. Between February and May, VCs invested just $3 billion in Asia-based AI startups across 515 deals. Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. has dramatically cut funding to scientific grants related to basic AI research, made it more difficult for foreign students specializing in AI to study in the U.S., and threatened to dismantle university-housed AI labs by freezing billions of dollars in federal funds. The administration's trade policies, meanwhile, including its retaliatory tariffs, have led to a chaotic market unfavorable for risky new AI ventures. In a post on X in March, AI pioneer and Nobel Laureate Geoffrey Hinton called for billionaire Elon Musk, who until recently advised Trump's cost-cutting group, the Department of Government Efficiency, to be expelled from the British Royal Society 'because of the huge damage he is doing to scientific institutions in the U.S.' One might expect that Europe, which has pledged to become a global leader in AI, would attract more venture capital in light of Trump's controversial policies in the U.S., which have created uncertainty and confusion for founders, investors, and researchers alike. Moreover, the EU has committed hundreds of billions of euros to support the development of AI within its member countries and already has a number of successful, well-funded AI startups in its ranks (see Mistral, H, and Aleph Alpha, to name a few). But that anticipated shift in global investment hasn't come to pass. There isn't any sign of a mass VC exodus to the bloc, or of significant upticks in AI funding overseas — at least not yet. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW The same is true for China, which has spawned high-profile AI startups like DeepSeek and Butterfly Effect — the company behind the agentic platform Manus — but where VC activity in the country and the broader Asian region remains relatively austere. (Export controls impacting the ability of certain Asian countries to procure AI chips are almost certainly a factor.) In 2024, North American startups secured 75.6% of all VC AI funding — $106.24 billion. That share has only increased this year. So far in 2025, North American AI investments represent 86.2% ($79.74 billion) of all VC funding for AI globally. It paints a somewhat surprising picture. Even amid mounting political and regulatory headwinds under Trump's second term, the U.S. remains the undisputed center for AI capital, meaning investors, fatigued as they may be by the administration's unpredictability, are still counting on U.S. innovation to deliver the biggest returns, at least for now.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
There's a Degree of Tariff Fatigue: Do
The Opening Trade Julius Baer Portfolio Manager An Do says the easy money has been made in Europe and it is time to be more selective. She also says there is a degree of tariff fatigue and there is still room in a portfolio for US assets that are truly unique. She speaks to Bloomberg's Lizzie Burden and Anna Edwards on "The Opening Trade." (Source: Bloomberg)
