* Biden describes debt-ceiling talks with Republican leaders as “productive”
* Debt-ceiling deal remains elusive, but leaders will meet again Friday
* Americans lack confidence in key US economic leaders, survey finds
* Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex files for bankruptcy
* New listings for US home sales fell 21% in April vs. year-ago level
* OpenAi tops CNBC’s list of top-50 firms as 2023 disrupters
* US small business sentiment slips in April to lowest level in a decade:

US dollar’s reign will continue, predicts LPL’s chief global strategist Quincy Krosby. “The dollar’s backing is exemplified by a sound foundation, a history of credibility, and transparency that cannot be negated by its detractors,” she writes in a research note this week. “King dollar still reigns and will for the foreseeable future.” The US Dollar Index has corrected lately, in part due to a new wave of predictions that the greenback’s status as the world’s reserve currency is increasingly in question. The dollar’s latest pullback leaves it at a middling level relative to recent history.