>>Watching Wall Street
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after Wall Street closed Thursday with stocks mixed ahead of today's monthly jobs report. Most analysts expect January saw a drop off in new job creation, adding roughly 175-thousand, compared to the prior month's 256-thousand. As trading wrapped up and the closing bell rang yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 125 points to 44-747. The S&P 500 rose by 22 points to 60-83 - marking three straight days of closing higher. The Nasdaq gained 99 points to 19-791.
>>Judge Blocks Federal Employee Buyout Program
(Boston, MA) -- A federal judge is pausing the Trump administration's so-called "deferred resignation" offer to federal employees. The judge ordered the deadline for workers to make their decision until at least Monday. The original deadline was set for the end of the day Thursday. The pause allows for arguments over the offer at a hearing set for next week. According to reports, tens of thousands of workers have already accepted the offer that will allow them to resign and pay them through September.
>>Google Ends DEI Hiring
(Mountain View, CA) -- Google will no longer pursue diversity hiring goals. A spokesperson confirmed the move this week saying that as a federal contractor, the search giant is evaluating additional changes required following recent court decisions and executive orders. Google joins other big tech companies like Meta and Amazon that have also rolled back DEI hiring efforts.
>>NOLA Businesses Look Forward To Super Bowl Impact
(New Orleans, LA) -- New Orleans businesses are looking forward to the windfall of having the Super Bowl in town this Sunday. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority says last year's game had a billion-dollar impact on the local economy. It's been 12 years since New Orleans last hosted the big game, and this will be the city's 11th time overall. The Superdome and the French Quarter are within walking distance of 30-thousand downtown hotel rooms, and that sort of convenience is good for business.
>>Average 30-Year Mortgage Rate Down For Third Straight Week
(Washington, DC) -- The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is down for the third straight week in a row. It's now at six-point-eight-nine-percent, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. A year ago, it averaged six-point-six-four-percent. Freddie Mac's Chief Economist noted that the past two weeks have seen a small uptick in purchase applications compared to the same period last year.
>>Nvidia's AI Framework Teaches Humanoid Robots to Move More Like Humans
(Santa Clara, CA) -- Nvidia's AI framework is teaching humanoid robots how to move more like humans. The chipmaker's researchers are partnering with scientists at Carnegie Mellon to introduce "ASAP" which lets humanoid robots learn complex movements like those of professional athletes. In one simulation, robots demonstrated moves similar to those of LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo.
>>Chicago Teachers Union May Be On Track To Strike
(Chicago, IL) -- One of the largest school districts in the country could soon see a strike. The Chicago Teachers Union is inching closer to a possible strike after rejecting an independent arbitrator's report on settling contract negotiations with Chicago Public Schools. CTU President Stacy Davis Gates says the report doesn't address enough of the issues at hand. CPS CEO Pedro Martinez says there is nothing to justify a strike, adding that he believes the report shows the district is bargaining in good faith. With the release of the report Wednesday, the CTU and district have entered a month-long cooling-off period, after which the union can issue a ten-day strike notice.
>>AMC Theatres Increasing A-list Subscription Price
(Undated) -- AMC Theatres is increasing the monthly subscription price of Stubs A-list. Starting May 7th, the membership prices for users in New York and California will increase from 24-95 to 27-99 per month. For everyone else, depending on where they live they'll have to pay between 19-99 and 25-99. The service previously allowed members to see three movies per week free of charge, but with the price increase customers will now be able to see four movies a week. The theater chain is also launching AMC Stubs A-List Classic, which offers one free movie a week at the lower price of 14-95 per month.
