Amazon and Ford earnings, U.S. GDP: What to Watch

Reuters
Friedrich Merz, the veteran politician tipped to be Germany's next chancellor
Ten weeks away from elections and with a double-digit lead over his closest rival's party, conservative leader Friedrich Merz is getting used to being feted as Germany's next Chancellor. The 68-year-old, whose trip to Kyiv this week highlighted his growing stature, faces an ill-tempered country mired in its worst economic crisis in decades and must balance satisfying traditional conservative supporters with taking his party rightwards to wrestle back votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Standing alongside Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Merz on Monday tore into Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his refusal to send Ukraine more powerful missiles and forcing it to "fight with one hand behind its back".
Associated Press
The Latest: UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect contests his extradition back to New York
Luigi Nicholas Mangione, suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEOBrian Thompson, contested his extradition back to New York at a court hearing Tuesday, though it isn’t expected to delay legal proceedings significantly. Little new information has come out about a possible motive, though writings found in Mangione’s possession hinted at a hatred of corporate greed.
Yahoo Finance
Ro partners with Eli Lilly to expand access to Zepbound vials
Ro launches access to Eli Lilly's single-dose vials of GLP-1 Zepbound.
CBS News
MoneyWatch price tracker shows how much food, utility, housing costs are rising
These charts track the prices consumers are paying for groceries and other goods now compared to the cost five years ago, as inflation lingers.
CBS News
Inflation remains sticky, with CPI rising 2.7% from a year ago
Inflation has cooled from its most recent peak, but progress in getting it to a 2% annual rate has been slow.
Yahoo Finance
A cautious Fed on track for one last 2024 cut followed by a 'slowing down' in 2025
A fresh inflation reading that met Wall Street expectations is likely to keep the Federal Reserve on track to cut interest rates again next week, but some central bank watchers believe the Fed will signal a more cautious approach to 2025.
AFP
Stocks rise as US inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
US and European stock markets rose on Wednesday after inflation data cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve will trim interest rates next month.Paris and Frankfurt stocks rose ahead of the European Central Bank's own interest rate announcement on Thursday, with analysts expecting another cut as it seeks to boost eurozone growth.
Associated Press
Macron seeks political deal to name a new prime minister and restore France's stability
French president Emmanuel Macron is seeking a political deal that would allow him to both name a new prime minister and “guarantee the stability of the country,” following the resignation of ousted Prime Minister Michel Barnier, a spokesperson for the outgoing government said Wednesday. Maud Bregeon, the spokesperson, said Macron insisted there was at the moment no “broader” political alliance than the current one between his centrist allies and conservatives from The Republicans party, which does not have a majority at parliament. Last week, the French president vowed to stay in office until the end of his term, due in 2027.
Associated Press
North Macedonia court delays language law ruling amid ethnic tensions
The 2019 law made Albanian a second official language in areas with a significant population of ethnic Albanians. Ethnic Albanians make up roughly a quarter of North Macedonia’s 2 million population, in a country slightly larger than the U.S. state of Vermont.
Associated Press
US warns Russia may be ready to use new lethal missile against Ukraine again in 'coming days'
A U.S. intelligence assessment has concluded that Russia may use its lethal new intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine again in “coming days,” a U.S. official said Wednesday. The experimental Oreshnik missile is seen by U.S. officials more as an attempt at intimidation than a game-changer on the battlefield in Ukraine, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive information. The official said Russia has only a handful of the missiles and that they carry a smaller warhead than other missiles that Russia has regularly launched at Ukraine.
Yahoo Finance
Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq climb as CPI inflation meets the mark
The CPI report sets the stage for the Federal Reserve's final interest rate decision of the year.
Associated Press
How to catch the Geminids, one of the strongest meteor showers of the year
The Geminids — among the few major meteor showers to come from asteroids — peak on Friday. It's one of the year's last chances to see fireballs in the sky. The shower often produces meteors with a distinctly more yellow glow, likely due to the unusual origin material, said Sally Brummel, planetarium manager at the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum.
Time
These Are the Key Players Shaping Post-Assad Syria
The Assad regime suddenly and dramatically fell Sunday after 13 years of brutal war. Here's a brief background.
Associated Press
Poland to guard major TV stations against hostile purchase attempts by Russia
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Wednesday that his government will protect major television stations in the country, like the U.S.-owned TVN, against hostile purchases, in a move aimed at protecting from any such attempts by Russia. Tusk stressed that the directive to be adopted next week is to safeguard against Russia’s attempts to influence Europe’s democracy and political processes. The election was a “negative event" that “confirmed Russia's incessant readiness to attack with the use of increasingly more sophisticated methods and tools,” Tusk said.
AFP
US consumer inflation rises for second straight month in November
US consumer inflation ticked up for a second consecutive month in November, driven by housing and food prices among other sectors, according to government data published Wednesday, complicating the Federal Reserve's rate cut deliberations.The consumer price index (CPI) rose to 2.7 percent last month from a year ago, up slightly from 2.6 percent in October, the Labor Department said in a statement.
Reuters
Brazil's Lula well and in good spirits after surgery, doctor says
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is well and in good spirits after having emergency surgery to drain a bleed on his brain, Lula's doctor Roberto Kalil Filho told reporters on Wednesday. Lula "spent the night well" following the surgery, Kalil said, adding that an official medical note would be released later in the day by Sirio-Libanes Hospital, where Lula is hospitalized. Lula is expected to return to the capital Brasilia by Tuesday or Wednesday next week, Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, the government leader in the Congress, said in an interview with CNN Brasil.
CNN
Kennedy tenure at HHS would jeopardize public health, Nobel laureates say in letter to Senate
Dozens of Nobel Prize winners are urging the US Senate to oppose Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services in a letter dated Monday. It was first reported in the New York Times.
CNN
Fingerprints match between Luigi Mangione and prints found at scene of UnitedHealthcare CEO killing, sources say
Fingerprint comparisons made between those collected at the scene of the assassination of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO and prints taken in the arrest of suspect Luigi Mangione show a positive match, two enforcement officials briefed on the matter confirmed to CNN Wednesday, as authorities investigate the motive behind the killing.
AFP
Afghan refugees minister killed by suicide blast
The Afghan minister for refugees was killed on Wednesday in a suicide bombing at the ministry's offices in the capital Kabul, government sources said, blaming the Islamic State group for the attack which has not been claimed. The explosion, which was the first attack targeting a minister since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, "happened at the Ministry for Refugees and minister Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani has been martyred along with some of his colleagues," a government source told AFP, reque
Yahoo Finance
November CPI inflation data meets forecasts, cementing Fed rate cut bets
The outlook for inflation is uncertain as economists warn of potential pressures from Trump policies.

Amazon and Ford earnings, U.S. GDP: What to Watch

Video Transcript

Latest Stories

Friedrich Merz, the veteran politician tipped to be Germany's next chancellor

The Latest: UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect contests his extradition back to New York

Ro partners with Eli Lilly to expand access to Zepbound vials

MoneyWatch price tracker shows how much food, utility, housing costs are rising

Inflation remains sticky, with CPI rising 2.7% from a year ago

A cautious Fed on track for one last 2024 cut followed by a 'slowing down' in 2025

Stocks rise as US inflation data boosts rate cut hopes

Macron seeks political deal to name a new prime minister and restore France's stability

North Macedonia court delays language law ruling amid ethnic tensions

US warns Russia may be ready to use new lethal missile against Ukraine again in 'coming days'

Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq climb as CPI inflation meets the mark

How to catch the Geminids, one of the strongest meteor showers of the year

These Are the Key Players Shaping Post-Assad Syria

Poland to guard major TV stations against hostile purchase attempts by Russia

US consumer inflation rises for second straight month in November

Brazil's Lula well and in good spirits after surgery, doctor says

Kennedy tenure at HHS would jeopardize public health, Nobel laureates say in letter to Senate

Fingerprints match between Luigi Mangione and prints found at scene of UnitedHealthcare CEO killing, sources say

Afghan refugees minister killed by suicide blast

November CPI inflation data meets forecasts, cementing Fed rate cut bets