>>Fresh Trading Week Begins
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed higher Friday to end the week. Netflix helped by reporting more subscribers than expected, even though it missed on quarterly earnings. Google-parent company Alphabet also pitched in even after announcing it would lay off 12-thousand employees.
>>Sen. Durbin: Biden Shouldn't Negotiate With GOP On Debt Ceiling
(Chicago, IL) -- A senior Democrat says President Biden should not negotiate with Republicans on the debt ceiling. Appearing on CNN's State of the Union, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin urged people to be to be wary of so-called GOP "budget balancers" when looking at the amount of debt accumulated during the Trump presidency. The U.S. reached its technical borrowing limit last week, but the Treasury says it will be able to pay the government's bills through June. Durbin said Republicans needs to "face the responsibility of paying" for the debt they accumulated. He also warned that the country risks a recession if the debt limit is not dealt with.
>>IMF Head Warns About Unemployment Caused By Rate Hikes
(London) -- More pain may come from interest rate hikes. That's according to the head of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva [[ chris-tuh-lee-nuh ghee-or-gay-vuh ]]. She said global economic conditions are "less bad" than just a few months ago, but issues could still be on the way. She cautioned interest rake hikes around the world have "yet to bite" and may result in an increase in unemployment. Most of the world's central banks began to hike interest rates last year in response to high rates of inflation. On Thursday, the U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair said the rate hike policy will remain in place for "some time" as the central bank tries to bring inflation down to two-percent.
>>"Avatar" Sequel Keeps Rolling On At Box Office
(Los Angeles, CA) -- James Cameron's latest blockbuster remains North America's top movie for the sixth week in a row. "Avatar: The Way of Water" earned another 19-and-a-half-million dollars this weekend at theaters across the U.S. and Canada. Coming in second is "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" with eleven-and-a-half-million bucks. The horror comedy "M3GAN" [[ Megan ]] is in third place with eleven-and-a-half-million dollars. Rounding out the Top Five are "Missing" and "A Man Called Otto." "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" finished in ninth place.
