>>Fewer Unemployment Claims Than Forecast
(Washington, DC) -- About 230-thousand people filed first-time jobless claims last week, fewer than analysts predicted. Figures out today from the Labor Department show that's a decrease of 16-thousand claims from the week before and below a forecast 249-thousand.
>>House Approves GOP Debt Limit Bill
(Washington, DC) -- The House is approving Speaker McCarthy's bill to raise the nation's debt ceiling. The bill includes pairing a package of spending cuts with a one-point-five-trillion dollar increase. It also limits growth of federal spending to one-percent annually and claws back billions of dollars of unspent COVID relief funds. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says the bill, however, will be dead on arrival in the Senate and President Biden has threatened to veto the bill. Democrats are calling on Republicans to raise the debt ceiling without conditions to avoid default and have separate budget negotiations. Congress needs to raise the limit in the coming months.
>>Disney Sues Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
(Orlando, FL) -- Walt Disney World is suing Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. The news came shortly after the newly-appointed governing board for Disney's district voted to void a set of last-minute agreements the company made earlier this year. Disney filed the lawsuit Wednesday calling the board's decision anti-business and unconstitutional. The company went on to say that the governor has used "a relentless campaign to weaponize government power" to go after its operation. The ongoing feud between the state of Florida and Disney started last year after Disney spoke out against a law limiting discussions of sexual orientation in public schools.
>>Meta Platform Shares Soar After Earnings Crush Expectations
(Menlo Park, CA) -- Stock in Meta Platforms shot up after Facebook and Instagram's parent company reported first-quarter earnings that crushed expectations Wednesday. Meta shares were up as much as eleven-percent in after-hours trading, to their highest level since January of last year. The social media giant reported first-quarter revenue of 28-point-65 billion dollars, beating analysts' estimate of 27-point-67 billion. Earnings came in at two dollars and 20 cents a share, versus Wall Street estimates of two-01.
>>Norfolk Southern Spending At Least $387M After Derailment
(East Palestine, OH) -- Norfolk Southern Railway says it's spending an initial 387-million-dollars related to the February chemical train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The costs, reported Wednesday, include environmental cleanup, anticipated legal fees and money to reimburse the government for EPA oversight. The derailment led to an evacuation and a dangerous chemical leak.
>>Boeing Reports First-Quarter Losses
(Everett, WA) -- Boeing's losses continue to mount. In its first quarter earnings report, the company on Wednesday reported a loss of a dollar-27 per share. However, Boeing says it still expects to deliver roughly 400 airplanes in 2023, with plans to boost production over three dozen 737 Max jets a month later this year.
