Newsletter Dec 13, 2022

3 things you must know

Congress faces Friday deadline to fund federal government
Congress faces a Friday deadline to fund the federal government, as Democrats and Republicans bicker over the details of a $1.5 trillion funding bill in the final weeks that Dems control both the House and Senate. None of the appropriations bills have been passed, meaning operations ranging from air traffic control and national parks to medical research and environmental programs could be strained when existing funds expire at midnight Friday.
PARTIES WORK BEHIND THE SCENES ON OMNIBUS BILL

Stocks shake off recent losing slump ahead of Fed meeting
Stocks surged Monday, shaking off a week-long decline ahead of the Federal Reserve's monthly meeting on interest rates later this week. The central bank's two-day FOMC meeting starts Tuesday, and the Fed is expected to raise interest rates 0.5% after four straight hikes of 0.75%. Recent economic data has shown inflation is slowing, but all eyes are on today's release of the CPI.
WHY STOCKS ARE SURGING DESPITE UNCERTAINTY

CDC asks Americans to mask up as tripledemic explodes
The CDC urged the public to wear face masks indoors again as the tripledemic â€” which includes COVID-19, the flu, and RSV â€“ continues to target the U.S. this winter. A CDC report showed 13.7% of Americans now live in areas rated as "high" COVID-19 community levels, up from 4.9% last week. Additionally, 38.1% of citizens are deemed to be in "medium" and 48.2% in "low" areas.
WHICH CITIES ARE SEEING THE BIGGEST OUTBREAKS?

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Markets

DJIA	34,005.04	1.58%
S&P 500	3,990.56	1.43%
Nasdaq Composite	11,143.74	1.26%
Japan: Nikkei 225	27,938.49	0.35%
UK: FTSE 100	7,445.97	-0.41%
Crude Oil Futures	74.11	1.28%
Gold Futures	1,793.10	0.04%
Yen	137.76	0.08%
Euro	1.05	-0.03%
* As of market close

FTX founder arrested, awaits extradition

Sam Bankman-Fried, who founded and led FTX until a liquidity crunch forced the Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange to declare bank-ruptcy, was arrested on Monday in The Bahamas after being criminally charged by U.S. prosecutors. The attorney general for The Bahamas said it proceeded with the arrest after receiving confirmation of charges against Bankman-Fried, adding that it expects he will be extradited to the U.S. to face unspecified charges resulting from FTX's collapse.

SEE SBF'S RAPID RISE AND FALL IN THE WORLD OF CRYPTO

Twitter auctioning items from closing HQ

Twitter will auction off its "surplus corporate office assets" in January, putting a long list of kitchen supplies, furniture and Twitter memorabilia up for bid. Twitter plans to clean out its San Francisco headquarters next month, according to a listing on Bidspotter. Over 240 items are listed on the site, including an espresso machine, a statue of the iconic Twitter bird, smart TVs, digital whiteboards and a 6-foot "@" sculpture.

MUSK ROLLS OUT PLAN TO REMOVE LEGACY CHECK MARKS

'Avatar,' 'Top Gun' sequels up for Globes

A pair of high-profile sequels -- "Avatar: The Way of Water" and "Top Gun: Maverick" -- were nominated for best drama at the Golden Globe awards next month when the ceremony returns to TV after a year off following a diversity and ethics scandal. They will go up against bio-pic "Elvis," Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical "The Fabelmans," and "Tar," the story of a conniving conductor, for best drama honors.

THE FULL LINEUP OF NOMINEES FOR GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS

To be continued ...

A sequel has never won a Golden Globe for best drama, and only one has been nominated for the award. Name it, the year and the winner.

Monday's answer: The most expensive NFT art work ever sold was Pak's "The Merge," which went at auction for a record $91.8 million.

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