TUCSON, Ariz. — More than seven months after Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her Tucson home, a former FBI agent says she believes available evidence suggests the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie is no longer alive, though investigators have not confirmed that assessment and the case remains officially classified as an active missing-person investigation.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her Catalina Foothills residence on the evening of January 31 and was reported missing the following day. Investigators have treated the case as a suspected abduction from the outset, and no suspect has been publicly named in the seven-plus months since her disappearance.

The latest assessment came from Jennifer Coffindaffer, a former FBI agent, during an interview on “The Sharpe Exchange,” a YouTube program hosted by Wyatt Sharpe. Coffindaffer said the information available to her led her to believe Nancy had likely died, while explicitly acknowledging that her view represented her own outside interpretation rather than an official investigative conclusion. “We have a lot of proof that she probably isn’t alive,” Coffindaffer said.

Coffindaffer cited several specific factors behind her assessment. She noted that Nancy reportedly required regular medication that investigators believe was never taken after her disappearance. She also pointed to blood identified as Nancy’s found on the front step of her home, along with a message she described as an “apology note” that claimed Nancy was deceased. Coffindaffer additionally referenced comments she said were attributed to Savannah Guthrie regarding her mother’s fate, though such remarks, even if accurately reported, would reflect the family’s private understanding rather than any confirmed legal or medical determination of Nancy’s status.

Despite Coffindaffer’s assessment, Nancy Guthrie remains officially classified as missing. There has been no public announcement that her body has been located, no confirmed cause of death, and no statement from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department declaring her deceased. Coffindaffer’s comments amount to an outside interpretation of reported evidence rather than a conclusion reached by the investigators actually working the case.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has repeatedly emphasized that the investigation remains active. “The Pima County Sheriff’s Department remains fully committed to the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance,” officials said in a recent statement. “This is an active and ongoing investigation, and we continue to work closely with our partners at the FBI.” The department said laboratories across the country continue assisting with DNA analysis, while tips from the public continue to be received and reviewed. “Advances in technology are aiding investigative efforts,” the statement said, adding, “At this time, we do not have any additional information to provide.”

The limited public detail released by investigators has fueled frustration and extensive online speculation in the months since Nancy’s disappearance, though the absence of public updates does not, on its own, indicate the case has gone cold. Scott Augenbaum, another former FBI agent, has previously suggested that investigators may be withholding information deliberately while building a case, noting that law enforcement agencies sometimes maintain silence on a case until an arrest is made.

The investigation has involved extensive video review and forensic testing throughout its course. Doorbell camera footage released by the FBI in February showed a masked, armed individual outside Nancy’s home around the time of her disappearance, though authorities have not publicly identified that person as a suspect. Two ransom notes connected to the case were also released by investigators in July, though their full significance remains disputed, and public claims about the notes, potential kidnappers and various online theories have circulated far more quickly than any verified evidence has emerged to support them.

Public attention intensified further in August after human remains were discovered in a desert area near West Ajo Way and South La Cholla Boulevard, located approximately 15 miles from Nancy’s home. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said at the time there was “no indication” the remains were connected to Nancy’s disappearance, adding that the remains appeared to have been at the location for an extended period predating her disappearance. No public evidence has since established any link between that discovery and the Guthrie case, though the finding did little to quiet ongoing speculation given how long Nancy had already been missing at that point.

The case has continued to draw sustained national attention in large part because of Savannah Guthrie’s profile as a longtime network television anchor, with the Guthrie family maintaining a visible public presence throughout the search even as investigators continue to ask the public for any information that could help explain what happened to Nancy after she was last seen.

For now, the central question at the heart of the case remains unresolved. Coffindaffer believes the available evidence points toward Nancy’s death, but the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has not confirmed that assessment, and until investigators are able to definitively determine what happened to her, Nancy Guthrie continues to be classified, officially, as a missing person rather than a confirmed homicide victim.

Adani group stocks rallied on Friday, led by a sharp move in Adani Total Gas, after Jefferies highlighted growth plans across key group companies including Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Ports, Adani Green Energy and Adani Power.

Adani Total Gas emerged as the top gainer in the pack, rising more than 12%. Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Ports & SEZ, Adani Green Energy, Adani Power and Adani Enterprises also gained in the range of 1-3%.

The move came as Jefferies retained a positive view on several Adani group companies covered in its latest reports. Among the names in the uploaded Jefferies notes, the brokerage has the highest implied upside on Adani Energy Solutions, with a target price of Rs 2,060, implying 53% upside from the previous close of Rs 1,350.

For Adani Energy Solutions, Jefferies said management remained upbeat on the trading business and India’s transmission outlook. The company reiterated its medium-term annual capex run-rate guidance of Rs 200-250 billion. Jefferies said smart meters and the trading business are ramping up well and will be key growth drivers.

The brokerage said Adani Energy Solutions’ trading segment has tied up power supply largely with Adani Green and Adani Power. The recent 2.5 GW round-the-clock power supply tie-up with MSEDCL is expected to increase tied-up volumes in the trading segment to 57% in FY28E from 20% at the end of Q1FY27. Jefferies expects revenue and EBITDA CAGRs of 22% and 29%, respectively, over FY26-30E for the company.

Adani Green Energy also found support from Jefferies’ bullish view. The brokerage has a target price of Rs 1,695 on the stock, implying 34% upside from the previous close of Rs 1,269.6.
Jefferies said Adani Green’s management remains confident of adding 5 GW capacity in FY27E. The company is aligning capacity additions with transmission infrastructure to reduce curtailment risk. Plans to raise battery energy storage capacity from 3.6 GWh currently to more than 10 GWh by FY27E are also on track.The brokerage expects Adani Green’s capacity to rise to 44 GW by FY30E against the company’s target of 50 GW. It also expects EBITDA to grow at a 30% CAGR over FY26-30E, helped by capacity additions. Jefferies said Khavda will remain central to the company’s growth, with the site expected to account for a larger share of capacity over time.

Adani Power gained after Jefferies maintained a Buy rating with a target price of Rs 270, implying 33% upside from the previous close of Rs 202.35.

The brokerage said Adani Power management reiterated its target of expanding capacity by 2.5 times to 45 GW by FY32. Of the upcoming 23.7 GW capacity, 56% is already locked in under long-term power purchase agreements, while the aim is to tie up the full capacity. Jefferies expects the company to deliver 22% EBITDA CAGR over FY26-30E and turn free cash flow positive by FY30E.

Jefferies also said Adani Power has one of the lowest leverage profiles among generation companies. Its net debt-to-EBITDA is expected to peak at 3.6 times in FY28E and decline to 2.3 times by FY30E.

Adani Ports & SEZ also rose after Jefferies kept a target price of Rs 2,160, implying 25% upside from the previous close of Rs 1,725.95.

The brokerage said Adani Ports remains confident of achieving its 1 billion tonne cargo target by 2030, driven by organic growth in domestic ports and a ramp-up at international ports. Jefferies expects 13% volume CAGR against management’s 16% target and sees the company potentially turning net cash positive by FY31E.

Jefferies said Adani Ports’ FY27 year-to-date volume growth of 16% was ahead of its 14% FY27 estimate. The brokerage also pointed to container cargo growth and the ramp-up at Vizhinjam as key drivers.

Disclosure: This article has been written by Podishetti Akash, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Podishetti Akash and her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclourses here.

The Federal Reserve is set to take a major step towards reshaping how it assesses the financial resilience of the biggest US banks, with Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman saying the central bank will vote on a final version of its revamped stress test in the coming weeks, Reuters reported.

The overhaul is designed to make the process more transparent and the results more predictable for lenders, addressing long-running complaints from the banking industry about how the exams are conducted.

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Bowman said the changes would “finally close the book on an opaque and unnecessarily unpredictable framework.”

The stress tests were introduced after the 2008 financial crisis and are used by the Fed to determine whether major banks can withstand severe economic conditions. Their results also help set additional capital requirements for lenders, Reuters reported.

Fed to reveal more details behind stress tests

Banks have argued for years that the stress tests are subjective and burdensome. The industry sued the Fed in 2024 over the use of the exams, after which the central bank under Bowman proposed changes in October, Reuters reported.
Under the revamped framework, the Fed plans to disclose substantially more information about the models used to identify potential weaknesses at banks. That would include equations, variables and other technical details that the central bank has traditionally kept confidential.The Fed also plans to provide greater detail about the hypothetical economic scenarios it creates for the annual examinations. Bowman said the additional information would give the public a better understanding of how the testing process works.

Another key change would alter how stress-test results affect banks’ capital requirements.

The Fed plans to average the results from a bank’s two most recent stress tests when determining its “stress capital buffer”. Bowman said the approach would reduce volatility in the amount of capital banks are required to hold from year to year.

The revised process would also allow the public to comment on the testing models.

Bowman targets broader capital-rule changes

Bowman said the Fed also intends to use stress testing to privately alert supervisors to potential weaknesses at individual banks. She noted that banks already conduct multiple internal stress tests and said examiners and lenders should maintain an “open dialogue” about relevant findings.

“I believe there is tremendous value in comparing notes,” she said.

The completion of the stress-test overhaul forms part of Bowman’s broader push to change capital requirements for banks.

She said the Fed expects to finish work by year-end on two other major capital rules. One involves the Basel framework governing risk-based capital, while the other concerns the additional capital charge applied to globally systemic banks.

The Fed expects the changes to the systemic-bank capital requirement to reduce the amount of capital that large banks are required to hold in reserve, Reuters reported.

Taken together, the initiatives would reshape how the Fed approaches capital requirements, with greater disclosure around stress testing and changes to how banks’ capital buffers are determined.

(Disclaimer: This article is based on inputs from agencies. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

NEW YORK — Duncan Sheik, the singer-songwriter whose 1996 hit “Barely Breathing” made him a fixture of pop radio before he reinvented himself as a Tony- and Grammy Award-winning Broadway composer, has died at age 56.

Sheik died Thursday at a hospital in Manhattan, his mother, Suzanne Sheik, confirmed to The New York Times, saying the cause was organ failure. She did not provide further details about his underlying medical condition or the circumstances that led to it. His family had disclosed two days earlier, in a statement posted to his official Instagram account Wednesday, that Sheik was hospitalized and in “critical but stable condition,” adding, “Duncan is currently receiving medical care and remains in critical but stable condition. Out of respect for Duncan and our family, we will not be sharing any further medical details at this time. We kindly ask for privacy during this incredibly difficult time and will provide updates when appropriate. Thank you for the continued love and support.”

His death was announced publicly Friday through a statement posted to his Instagram account. “It is with profound sadness that we confirm the passing of Duncan Sheik,” the post read. “The world has a lost a singular talent, and deeply influential voice in music and theater. From his Grammy-nominated hit ‘Barely Breathing’ to his groundbreaking, Tony and Grammy Award-winning work on Spring Awakening, Duncan’s artistry touched many and leaves an indelible mark on the cultural landscape.” The statement continued, “Duncan was a father, husband, son, brother, and friend. He will be remembered for his sensitivity, wit, inteligence, and depth of spirit he brought to those who knew and loved him. We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of love from his fans, friends, collaborators, and the artistic community. His musical legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.” A separate message from his family described his final moments, saying, “Duncan passed away last night surrounded by love.”

Sheik, a New Jersey native, first drew wide attention as a musician in the mid-1990s. He attended Brown University, where he was a college bandmate of singer Lisa Loeb, and released his self-titled debut album in 1996. The record’s breakout single, “Barely Breathing,” earned Sheik a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, reached No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, and spent 55 weeks on the chart, an unusually long run for a single that never climbed higher than the middle of the top 20. Though “Barely Breathing” remained the song most closely associated with him for the rest of his career, and remains the top track on his Spotify page, Sheik went on to release nine studio albums in total, with his most recent arriving in 2022. Reflecting on the song’s outsized legacy in a 2020 interview with HuffPost, Sheik said he had once resented performing it because “it lived on the radio far longer than it should have.”

Sheik’s career took a significant turn in 2001 with the release of “Phantom Moon,” an album conceived as a tribute of sorts to Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon.” That record marked the beginning of his creative partnership with poet and songwriter Steven Sater, whom Sheik met while both were practicing Nichiren Buddhism. The two had first collaborated in 1999 on Sater’s play “Umbrage,” with Sheik composing music to Sater’s lyrics. Their partnership eventually produced the work for which Sheik would become best known within musical theater: “Spring Awakening,” a rock musical based on an 1891 German coming-of-age play, which the two developed together over several years.

“Spring Awakening” opened off-Broadway before transferring to Broadway in 2006, where it ran for more than 860 performances over two years. The show, which helped launch the careers of Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff and John Gallagher Jr., won Best Musical at the 2007 Tony Awards, with Sheik personally winning Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations, shared with Sater, and the production also earned a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. Speaking to The Associated Press in 2007 as the show swept that year’s Tony nominations, Sheik described the creative ambition behind the project. “With the exception of our director, we are all kind of Broadway outsiders,” he said. “We wanted to shake things up a bit. And we just set out to make this really cool piece of theater.”

Sheik continued working in musical theater in the years that followed, composing scores for stage adaptations of “American Psycho” and “Alice in Wonderland.” At the time of his death, he had a new musical, “Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen,” an adaptation of Moyoco Anno’s manga graphic novel, scheduled to begin performances off-Broadway later this month, with a first preview set for September 25 and an official opening planned for October 15. An off-Broadway revival of “Spring Awakening” had also been in the works separately from Sheik’s newer project.

In the weeks before his death, Sheik had shared periodic updates from his hospital room on social media, including a post on September 6 in which he wrote that he was “still bored in hospital,” suggesting he had been receiving inpatient care for at least several weeks before his condition became critical.

Sheik is survived by his wife and children, according to the tribute posted by his family, which described him as “a father, husband, son, brother, and friend.” Tributes continued to circulate across the music and theater industries following the announcement of his death, with collaborators and fans reflecting on both his enduring pop hit from the 1990s and the influential body of theatrical work he built in the decades that followed, a career that spanned two distinct creative eras and left a lasting mark on both popular music and the American musical theater stage.

Bitcoin surged 6.03% to $80,947.85 by mid-afternoon Friday in London, adding $4,602.23, extending a sharp rally that began overnight and carried the world’s largest cryptocurrency well above the $80,000 mark for the first time in weeks, as investors reacted to a less aggressive interest rate outlook from the Federal Reserve.

The rally built steadily through Friday’s session. Bitcoin had recovered from an overnight low near $75,972 to trade just below $78,000 by mid-morning, marking a third consecutive day of gains, before the advance accelerated sharply at the U.S. market open, pushing the cryptocurrency’s price above $80,000 and continuing higher from there.

The catalyst traced back to the Federal Reserve’s policy decision Thursday, when the central bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points as widely expected. While the rate increase itself initially weighed on markets, the accompanying economic projections released alongside the decision implied only one additional rate hike for the remainder of the year, a signal traders interpreted as considerably less hawkish than some had feared heading into the meeting. That relief helped spark a rally across risk assets broadly, with Bitcoin among the primary beneficiaries as investors concluded the pace of monetary tightening was unlikely to accelerate further in the near term.

The rally extended beyond Bitcoin itself into the broader cryptocurrency market. Layer-2 and decentralized finance tokens led a wide-ranging advance as what analysts described as lingering nerves from the Fed’s rate hike faded, with tokens including Starknet and Arbitrum each gaining more than 17% during the rally. Ninety-eight of the 100 constituent tokens in the CoinDesk 100 index advanced during the session, reflecting how broadly the improved sentiment spread across the digital asset market rather than remaining confined to Bitcoin alone.

The initial surge in prices also triggered a wave of forced selling among traders who had bet against the market. More than $260 million in short positions were liquidated across cryptocurrency markets as prices moved higher, according to data cited by market trackers, a dynamic that tends to amplify upward price moves as exchanges automatically close out leveraged bets that can no longer be sustained once prices move against them.

Friday’s gains came against a backdrop of shifting global monetary policy more broadly. The Bank of Japan also raised interest rates overnight, though that move failed to halt a continued slide in the Japanese yen, according to market commentary. Meanwhile, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note slipped back below 5%, easing some of the pressure that elevated borrowing costs had placed on riskier assets, including cryptocurrencies, in recent sessions.

Despite Friday’s sharp advance, Bitcoin’s trajectory through September as a whole has remained more muted than the day’s headline percentage gain might suggest. Heading into Friday’s rally, Bitcoin was down just 1.5% for the month, a notably resilient performance given that September has historically been the cryptocurrency’s weakest month of the year on average. Even accounting for pressure from rising interest rates, a stronger U.S. dollar and surging oil prices tied to instability in the Middle East, Bitcoin had remained on track to post its first positive quarterly performance in a year before Friday’s rally added further momentum to that trend.

Bitcoin’s price action has continued to show an unusually close relationship with broader financial markets in recent weeks. The cryptocurrency’s 24-hour correlation with the S&P 500 has remained elevated at roughly 71%, according to market analysis, suggesting Bitcoin has increasingly traded in tandem with broader risk sentiment across equity markets rather than moving independently based on cryptocurrency-specific developments alone.

Technical analysts had flagged the $76,700 level as a key pivot point heading into Friday’s session, describing it as resistance-turned-support that would need to hold for the cryptocurrency’s recent recovery to remain intact. A sustained move above that level was seen as opening a path toward the $78,000 to $78,572 range, a target Bitcoin surpassed comfortably as Friday’s rally gathered pace and pushed well beyond that zone toward $81,000.

Even with Friday’s strong gains, Bitcoin remains well below both its 2026 high of roughly $94,820, reached in mid-January, and its all-time high of approximately $126,198, set on October 6 of last year. That gap has left some market participants divided over whether the current rally represents the start of a more durable recovery or another temporary bounce within a longer period of consolidation that has characterized much of Bitcoin’s trading throughout 2026.

With the Bank of Japan’s rate decision now delivered and the Federal Reserve’s next moves likely to depend heavily on incoming inflation and employment data over the coming months, investors are likely to watch closely whether Friday’s rally can be sustained into next week, or whether Bitcoin’s historically volatile September trading pattern reasserts itself as the month draws to a close.

LONDON — Prince Harry made his first public appearance and gave his first interview since unexpectedly relocating back to the United Kingdom, describing the two weeks since his return in a single word: “eventful.”

The Duke of Sussex attended the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards at the Old Royal Naval College in London on September 17, arriving solo in black tie and wearing medals from his time as a working member of the royal family. His wife, Meghan Markle, was believed to be at home with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, at the family’s private, non-royal residence outside London, where they have been living since relocating from California in late August.

Speaking to Hello! magazine, which conducted the first interview with Harry since his return, the prince reflected on the whirlwind period since the family’s move. “It’s great to be back on British soil,” he said. When asked what had stood out most since settling back into life in the U.K., Harry responded with characteristic humor. “My highlight so far? Oh, I don’t know. Would I dare share it with you?” he said, before turning more direct. “It’s been eventful,” he added. “But, you know, we’re getting stuck into the work. Kids are in school. We’re happy. And, as I said, it’s great to be back on British soil, and looking forward to Birmingham next year for the Invictus Games that’s coming up,” referring to the next edition of the Games scheduled for July 2027.

Harry expanded further on his feelings about the evening itself, describing the emotional weight of reconnecting with the community tied to the Invictus Games, the multi-sport competition he founded in 2014 for wounded, injured and sick military service members. “It’s great,” he said. “It’s wonderful to be back on British soil and really nice to see so many old faces and friends that came to this, and new faces as well, and new donors. And most of all, I guess, my Invictus family. It’s been a very special journey over the last 12 years. So, yeah, all families.”

According to Hello!, Harry was “clearly in his element” throughout the evening, stopping repeatedly to talk with attendees and take selfies with anyone who asked. The outlet reported that Harry, speaking with them later in the evening, admitted he was “a little hot and sweaty” and had gotten makeup on his tuxedo from hugging so many guests, a detail the publication characterized as evidence of the warm welcome he received at the event.

The Invictus Spirit Awards, described as an event held to honor the bravest and most resilient former servicemen and women, drew a number of high-profile attendees and supporters. Harry’s friend James Corden was on hand at the event, while celebrities including Michael Bublé, Elton John, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Ed Sheeran donated items for the evening’s charity auction. Hello! reported the event raised more than $2.2 million, with roughly 350 guests in attendance dining on Cornish lamb.

Harry, a 10-year veteran of the British Army, was seen wiping away a tear at one point during the evening, underscoring the emotional resonance the event carried for him personally. In his own remarks to the room, Harry spoke about what resilience and recovery can look like for the service members the Invictus Games was created to support. “Sometimes victory is getting out of bed or asking for help,” he said. “It is finding work, reconnecting with your family, or putting a uniform away and discovering that your service — and your purpose — did not end with it.”

Harry’s appearance came in the same week that excerpts from his uncle Charles Spencer’s forthcoming memoir about Princess Diana, titled “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,” began circulating in the British press. According to multiple reports, neither Harry nor his brother, Prince William, were made aware of the book’s contents before the excerpts were released. At one point during the evening, a reporter called out to Harry asking how he was feeling about his uncle’s book. According to the Daily Mail, Harry ignored the question and “looked serious” in response, declining to address the memoir publicly.

Harry’s solo appearance at the awards event marked a notable early public moment following the family’s abrupt relocation, which came ahead of Archie and Lilibet starting the new school term in England. The couple’s return has continued to generate substantial media attention in the weeks since, with ongoing coverage focused on the family’s living arrangements, their children’s schooling, and the broader state of Harry’s relationship with the rest of the royal family, including his father, King Charles, and his brother, William.

With the next Invictus Games still roughly ten months away in Birmingham, and further fallout from his uncle’s memoir likely to continue unfolding in the British press in the days ahead, Harry’s first public remarks since returning to the U.K. offered a brief but candid glimpse into how he has been navigating the transition back to life in his home country after several years based in the United States.