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U.S. Journalist Abducted in Baghdad Amid Rising Security Fears

                                   FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of Baghdad An American journalist was kidnapped in central Baghdad, according to Iraqi police officials who reported the incident early Tuesday. The abduction occurred near a busy commercial district where foreign media workers often travel, underscoring ongoing concerns about the safety of international personnel operating in the region. Witnesses told authorities that armed men intercepted the journalist’s vehicle and forced them into another car before speeding away. Police have launched an investigation and are coordinating with federal security forces to track the kidnappers and determine the journalist’s whereabouts. No group has yet claimed responsibility, but officials say the method of the abduction resembles tactics used by organized militias and criminal networks active in the capital. U.S. diplomatic represe...
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US stocks rebound from inflation shock as investors eye Fed comments, earnings



US stock futures rose on Wednesday, looking to recover from a sharp selloff triggered by hotter-than-expected inflation data that dashed hopes for interest-rate cuts before the summer.

Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI) futures added 0.2%, signaling a bounce back for the blue-chip index from a 500-point drop and its worst day since March 2022. Futures on the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC) put on roughly 0.4%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 ( ^NDX) jumped 0.5% — also on the heels of steep declines.

Investors were gripped by the wild fallout from a typo in Lyft’s ( LYFT) financial update late Tuesday. Shares in the ride-hailing company initially rocketed 67%, but the rally lost steam after Lyft corrected an error in its statement that boosted its profit outlook. The stock remained up a more modest 20% in premarket trading.

A new wave of earnings reports also could deliver some impetus, with Cisco ( CSCO ), Kraft Heinz ( KHC ), and Warren Buffett-linked Occidental ( OXY) among the big hitters on the list.

Comments by Fed officials Austan Goolsbee and Michael Barr in their appearances later in the day could provide more grist for the ever-present debate on rate timing.

Investors are coming to grips with the prospect of the Federal Reserve holding fire on rate cuts until later in the year — and a potential “no landing” scenario for the US economy.

The latest inflation reading showed consumer prices rose more than expected in January, increasing the odds of a “no landing” outcome, which would be a failed attempt of the Fed to quell inflation but, ultimately, would not result in a recession.

Bets on a March interest rate cut are now all but gone. Pricing on the CME FedWatch Tool now places a 39% chance the Fed cuts in May, down from a 67% chance just a week ago.

“In our view, a March cut is now firmly off the table and the chances of a May cut have significantly reduced. But we remain comfortable with our call for rate cuts to begin in June,” Bank of America US economist Stephen Juneau wrote in a research note on Tuesday.

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