CNBC Europe (referred to on air simply as CNBC) is a business and financial news television channel which airs across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The station is based in London, where it shares the Adrian Smith-designed10 Fleet Place building with Dow Jones & Company. Along with CNBC Asia, the channel is operated by the Singapore-headquartered CNBC subsidiary company CNBC International, which is in turn wholly owned by NBCUniversal.

As the most viewed pan-European financial TV channel according to the 2010 EMS survey, the broadcaster reaches over 100 million households across the continent. CNBC Europe produces or co-produces 7 hours of live programming each weekday, along with reports and content for its global sister stations and the outlets of NBC News.

CNBC Europe began broadcasts in March 1996, as a wholly owned subsidiary of NBC. On 9 December 1997, the channel announced that it would merge with the Dow Jones news channel in Europe, European Business News. The merger took place in February 1998, upon which the channel then became known officially as "CNBC Europe - A Service of NBC and Dow Jones".

Coordinates: 40°53′55″N 73°56′21″W / 40.89861°N 73.93917°W / 40.89861; -73.93917

CNBC (officially the Consumer News and Business Channel until 1991) is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers around the world. In 2007, the network was ranked as the 19th most valuable cable channel in the U.S., worth roughly $4 billion. It is headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

The CNBC channel had its beginnings around 1980 as the Satellite Program Network (SPN), showing a low-budget mix of old movies, instructional and entertainment programs. The channel later changed its name to Tempo Television. After initially signing a letter of intent to acquire Tempo,NBC eventually opted for a deal to lease the channel's transponder in June 1988. On this platform, and under the guidance of Tom Rogers, the channel was relaunched on April 17, 1989 as the Consumer News and Business Channel. NBC and Cablevision initially operated CNBC as a 50-50 joint venture, choosing to headquarter the channel in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Frederik "Frits" Bolkestein ( Frits Bolkestein (help·info)) (born 4 April 1933) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He served as a Member of the House of Representatives from 16 January 1978, until 5 November 1982, when he became State Secretary for Economic Affairs from 5 November 1982, until 14 July 1986, in the Cabinet Lubbers I. And again a Member of the House of Representatives from 3 June 1986, until 24 September 1988, when he became Minister of Defence from 24 September 1988, until 7 November 1989, in the Cabinet Lubbers II. He again returned to the House of Representatives on 14 September 1989, and nine months later on 1 May 1990, he became the Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy party leader. He served in this position for eight years until 30 July 1998.

From 15 September 1999, until 22 November 2004, he was the European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services. In the European Commission, Bolkestein was responsible for Internal Market, Taxation and Customs Union issues. Some of the more politically sensitive items in his portfolio were the draft Community Patent regulation and the draft Directives on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions and services in the internal market, the so-called "Bolkestein Directive", which has become the focus of heated debate.

Warren Edward Buffett (/ˈbʌfɨt/; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely considered the most successful investor of the 20th century. He is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people. He was ranked as the world's wealthiest person in 2008 and is the third wealthiest person in the world as of 2011. In 2012, American magazine Time named Buffett one of the most influential people in the world.

Buffett is called the "Wizard of Omaha", "Oracle of Omaha", or the "Sage of Omaha" and is noted for his adherence to the value investing philosophy and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth. Buffett is also a notable philanthropist, having pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Gates Foundation. On April 11, 2012, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Buffett was born in 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska, the second of three children and only son of U.S. Representative Howard Buffett, a fierce critic of the interventionist New Deal domestic and foreign policy, and his wife Leila (née Stahl). Buffett began his education at Rose Hill Elementary School in Omaha. In 1942, his father was elected to the first of four terms in the United States Congress, and after moving with his family to Washington, D.C., Warren finished elementary school, attended Alice Deal Junior High School, and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947, where his senior yearbook picture reads: "likes math; a future stock broker."

Ross Westgate is an English financial journalist for CNBC Europe in London, where he is a co-anchor of the global business news programme, Worldwide Exchange (Monday-Friday, 4am ET, 9am GMT or 10pm CET, along with CNBC Asia's Christine Tan in Singapore and CNBC US' Nicole Lapin in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Additionally, Westgate was the sole anchor of Strictly Money at CNBC Europe.

Ross Westgate is one of CNBC Europe's most experienced anchors, with over 11 years experience. He anchored Morning Exchange (which was cancelled on 2005-12-16 and replaced by Worldwide Exchange on 2005-12-19) and Power Lunch Europe. He also was a regular anchor and contributor on Squawk Box Europe. He also has daily appearances on MSNBC's Morning Joe, hosted by former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough, where he reports on business news in different European countries, and many others.

In addition to his anchoring duties, Westgate also attends many high-profile business events for the network, including the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Mobile World Congress and the International Advertising Festival in Cannes. Before studying for a postgraduate degree in Broadcast Journalism, he worked for 6 years in the City of London, where he was trained as a stockbroker, working with private clients.