Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo tops the 2023 Forbes rankings of the world's highest-paid athletes. The striker's move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr has meant a boost in salary and marketing opportunities, leading to earnings of $136 million in the last twelve months. Also in the show, we get the latest on the debt ceiling standoff between Republicans and Democrats in the US. Plus, shares in regional US banks continue to slide, even after the rescue of First Republic Bank.

Hollywood is at a loss for words, as thousands of film and television writers go on strike for the first time in 15 years. Members of the Writers' Guild of America voted to walk out after failing to reach a pay deal – they say they're paying the price for the switch to streaming content. Also in the show: inflation in the eurozone ticks higher, complicating the European Central Bank's next decision on interest rates.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has written to congressional leaders warning that the federal government could run out of cash as early as June 1, unless they agree on raising the debt limit or suspending it. President Joe Biden has invited Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy for talks on May 9. Failure to reach an agreement could cause "severe hardship", Yellen warns. Also on the show, we look at a crucial week ahead for investors after the failure of First Republic Bank. Plus, British energy giant BP posts higher-than-expected profits.

Amazon posted higher-than-expected revenues and profits for Q1 2023, but slowing growth in its profit-generating AWS cloud services sector sent shares tumbling after hours. Also in this edition: US economic growth slows sharply in the first quarter, and Paraguay's upcoming election on Sunday could have big geopolitical consequences for Taiwan.

US House Republicans have voted in favour of a bill that would raise the federal government's debt ceiling, in exchange for spending cuts and a rollback of some of President Joe Biden's signature policies. The bill won't be able to pass in the Democrat-controlled Senate, but is meant to kickstart talks with the president and avoid a potential government default. Also in this edition, Argentina says it will start paying for Chinese imports by using the Yuan.

Disney has filed a lawsuit against Florida Governor – and presumptive presidential candidate – Ron DeSantis. The company accuses him of "weaponizing government power" and violating its constitutional rights. It's the latest escalation in a battle over the state's "Don't Say Gay" law, and one that could have implications on the campaign trail. Also in the show: UK regulators block the Microsoft - Activision Blizzard merger, and the EU agrees on targets to decarbonise the aviation industry.

British American Tobacco (BAT) has been fined $635 million for breaching sanctions on North Korea. The British multinational, a leader in the sale of tobacco products, will pay the record sum to US authorities. BAT's Singapore subsidiary admitted to selling cigarettes to North Korea over a decade between 2007 and 2017, in violation of US sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear missile activities. But first, we take a look at the resilient earnings reports of Alphabet and Microsoft and at the rising concerns over the future of First Republic Bank.

The US streaming platform Netflix says it's doubling the amount of money invested to create new Korean films and TV shows over the next four years, hoping to capitalise on the success of series like "Squid Game". The announcement came after Netflix's CEO met with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in Washington. But first, First Republic Bank reveals it saw more than $100 billion in withdrawals this year amid turmoil in the banking sector.

Leaders from nine nations surrounding the North Sea have pledged to ramp up clean energy production by using offshore wind turbines. Seven EU members plus Norway and the UK hope the project will allow them to meet climate targets, but also reduce their energy dependence on Russia. The collective goal is to reach 120 gigawatts by 2030 and at least 300 gigawatts by 2050. The EU says it will cost €800 billion to reach the 2050 capacity target.

As South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol heads to Washington for a visit, the Financial Times is reporting that the White House has asked Seoul to urge its chipmakers (Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix) not to fill the China shortfalls of US rival Micron in the event of a ban by Beijing. Such a move would be the latest in an escalating tech rivalry between the United States and China. Also in this edition, we take a closer look at Chile's decision to nationalise its lithium supply.