DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ A developer is planning a commercial spaceport near Las Vegas that includes a pilot school and STEM academy
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-21 | by ( Lauren Edmonds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

At least, that's what real estate developer Rob Lauer envisions with his plans to build a spaceport near Las Vegas. Lauer, a former US Army military police officer, is the CEO of Las Vegas Spaceport. The spaceport would offer educational programs for potential flyers and a STEM programA rendering of a STEM academy by Las Vegas Spaceport. As smaller companies like Las Vegas Spaceport look to enter the industry, some travelers are already excited to take flight. Las Vegas Spaceport scored a win in May when the Clark County Commission "unanimously" approved construction permits for an airstrip, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Persons: —, Rob Lauer, Lauer, George Rose, New Shephard, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson's Virgin, it's Organizations: Service, US Army, Las, Business, Las Vegas, Billboard, Boca, FAA, Las Vegas Convention, Visitors Authority, SpaceX, Elon Musk's astronautics, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, Pew Research Center, Las Vegas Executive, Vegas, Clark Locations: Nevada, Las Vegas, Las, United States, Boca Chica, New, Clark, Nye County, Southern Nevada

☆ Richard Branson shares his 'most notable failure' and the lesson it taught him: 'People quite like the underdog'
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Richard Branson's "most notable failure" taught him an important lesson: There's value in always seeing yourself as an underdog, the billionaire entrepreneur recently told TED's "Work Life with Adam Grant" podcast. He learned from one such experiment that "backfired horribly," he told Grant: Virgin Cola, a soda that Branson's Virgin Group launched in 1994. After some success in the U.K., the company decided to expand its presence to the U.S. and challenge Coca-Cola and Pepsi, Branson told NPR in 2017. Then, Virgin Cola began disappearing from store shelves, Branson told NPR. Virgin Cola quietly shuttered years later, when Branson realized the drink was only No.

Persons: Richard Branson's, TED's, Adam Grant, Grant, Branson, We've Organizations: Virgin Cola, Virgin Group, Pepsi, NPR, Virgin Cola's, Virgin, . Virgin Group, CNBC, University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School Locations: Virgin Cola's U.S, Coke, Bangladesh

☆ Virgin is facing a brand nightmare after its cruise giveaway went horribly wrong
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Virgin Voyages faces backlash after a free cruise winner said she has to pay $8,000 in flight costs. The cruise line's Australia voyages were canceled due to tensions in the Red Sea. Brand experts say Virgin should cover flight costs or offer different prizes to maintain trust. AdvertisementVirgin Voyages is dealing with a PR nightmare after a woman who won a free cruise said she'd have to pay $8,000 in flights to claim her prize. The adults-only cruise line, owned by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, is known for giving away free prizes to promote its various international sailings across Australia, Europe, and the Caribbean.

Persons: —, Richard Branson's, Morgan Organizations: Brand, Service, Richard Branson's Virgin Group, Caribbean ., Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC, Business Locations: Australia, Red, Europe, Caribbean, Australian, Melbourne, Tasmania

☆ Richard Branson says money isn't a good way to measure success: Focus on this 1 word instead, it's 'all that really matters'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Richard Branson doesn't want to be defined by his money. Specifically, he finds it "quite insulting" when he is introduced as "the billionaire Richard Branson," rather than as the co-founder of Virgin Group, he tells CNBC Make It. "Maybe in America, 'billionaire' is a sign of success, but that rankles me," says Branson. "Your reputation is [whether] your team of people who work with you are proud of what they've created," Branson says. Financial success has often followed, but Branson is adamant that money has never been his chief motivating force.

Persons: Richard Branson doesn't, Richard Branson, Forbes —, they've, Branson, — Organizations: Virgin Group, CNBC, Branson, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Mobile Locations: America, Branson, Vietnam

☆ Richard Branson says this decision helped build his $2.5B net worth: 'I don't think I would have gone to space' otherwise
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

He's referring to selling record label Virgin Records to Thorn EMI for nearly $1 billion in 1992. Branson needed the money to focus on a newer venture, Virgin Atlantic. CNBC Make It: How did you make the decision to sell Virgin Records? What I decided was: If I sold Virgin Records, all the people's jobs would be secure. I could then use that money to build and protect Virgin Atlantic.

Persons: Richard Branson, He's, —, Branson, Richard, Virgin, We'd, Janet Jackson Organizations: CNBC, Virgin Records, Thorn EMI, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Virgin Group, Forbes, Virgin Locations: London, Branson

☆ A Harvard professor is risking his reputation to search for aliens. Tech tycoons are bankrolling his quest.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

The Harvard professor's research is bankrolled by tech tycoons "pissed off" at academia's dogma. But this boundary-pushing is exactly why he's backed Loeb's research. AdvertisementDesch, the astrophysicist from Arizona University, posted a critique of Loeb's work on arXiv alleging "multiple fatal flaws with the manuscript's arguments." Asked whether he no longer believes in a possible technological origin for the meteor, Loeb said they need to investigate further. As he plans more extravagant expeditions to prove the origin of the interstellar meteor, Loeb likens his critics to crows pecking at the neck of an eagle.

Persons: Avi Loeb, Loeb, —, Steven Desch, they're, Loeb's, they've, Charles Hoskinson, that's, Anibal Martel, Mark Zuckerberg, Stephen Hawking, Lucas Jackson, Oumuamua, Desch, It's, Meech, Hoskinson, Rather, Lane Turner, James Webb, Bill Diamond, Stenzel, AARO, UAPs, Loeb hasn't, Joe Rogan's, Eugene Jhong, Galileo, ", Frank Laukien, Laukien, Charles Alcock, Seth Shostak, Stephen Wolfram, Richard Branson's, Vera, Rubin, Avi Loeb Loeb, what's, Rob McCallum, Mariana Trench, James Cameron, Avi Loeb Hoskinson, spherules, Harvard's Stein Jacobsen, Loeb didn't, Monica Grady, Patricio Gallardo, it's, Diamond, That's Avi, Adam Glanzman Organizations: Harvard, Service, Arizona State University, Netflix, Galileo, Anadolu Agency, Reuters, University of Hawaii, Boston Globe, James Webb Telescope, NASA, SETI Institute, Pew Research Center, Department of Defense, UAP Department of Defense, Jhong, Bruker Corporation, Smithsonian's, for Astrophysics, MIT, Wolfram Research, Harvard University, Survey, US Space Command, Hoskinson, UK's Open University, University of Chicago, Arizona University, U.S . Government, The Washington, Getty, Loeb, Astronomy, Astrophysics Locations: Lexington , Massachusetts, United States, Getty, Loeb's, New York, Cambridge, Massachussetts, UAPs, Colorado, Chile, Papua New Guinea, 2401.09882, IM1

☆ Virgin Voyages is pitching a monthlong cruise to remote workers starting at $10K for two people
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Brittany Chang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Richard Branson's Virgin Voyages says it's launching a monthlong summertime cruise pass. Passholders would get to sail on four consecutive weeklong Mediterranean itineraries. AdvertisementRichard Brandon's Virgin Voyages wants you to "WFH" this summer. The adult-only cruise line says it's launching monthlong summertime passes, aptly known as the "Scarlet Summer Season Pass," starting at $9,990 for two people in one cabin. With this pass, travelers would sail on four consecutive weeklong Mediterranean cruises.

Persons: Richard Branson's, Passholders, —, Richard Brandon's Virgin Organizations: Service Locations: Ibiza, Spain, Cannes, France, Rome, Italy

☆ Every Sky Miles member on a Delta flight got a free Virgin Voyages cruise, courtesy of Richard Branson himself
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Joey Hadden | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Delta passengers received a free Virgin Voyages cruise from San Juan on a recent flight. The free Caribbean voyage was offered to all adult Sky Miles members aboard the flight. Branson and Virgin staff members surprise passengers at the gate. A Virgin Voyages cruise is worth the priceGetting a free Virgin Voyages sailing is truly like winning a golden ticket. A snapshot from the author's Virgin Voyages cruise.

Persons: Richard Branson, Sky Miles, —, they'd, Cruise, Willy Wonka, Branson, CHRIS, San Juan —, Joey Hadden Organizations: Sky, Service, Virgin, Delta, Jackson Atlanta International Airport, DELTA AIRLINES, Sky Miles, Virgin Staff, Virgin Voyages, BI Locations: San Juan, Atlanta, Caribbean, Hartsfield

☆ You can stay on Richard Branson's private island this holiday season—rates start at $5,400 a night
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Have you ever wanted to walk in Sir Richard Branson's shoes? The business mogul is inviting people to visit Necker Island, his famous private island in the Caribbean. Sir Branson typically has friends and family stay during the holiday season or rents out the entire island for over $100,000. But this year, Sir Branson and his team at Necker Island are expanding their offerings. For stays from November 18-25 and December 11-20, rates start at $5,400 a night per room, while stays from December 20-26 start at $5,850.

Persons: Sir Richard Branson's, Sir Branson, they've, James Basson, Necker Island's Organizations: CNBC Locations: Necker, Caribbean

☆ Is the UK space industry about to take off?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The failure of Virgin Orbit's maiden commercial satellite launch from British soil, and the company's subsequent filing for bankruptcy protection, may have seemed like a fatal blow for the U.K.'s nascent space sector. But a range of companies hope to play a key role in the business of building, launching and operating satellites, a $281 billion industry which has been growing rapidly over the past decade. Billionaire-backed companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX, Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin and Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit have been revolutionizing the space industry over the last decade, which has seen advances in re-usable rockets, the deployment of thousands of small communication satellites and new launch sites opened. To find out how smaller U.K.-based firms are looking to compete, CNBC visited a spaceport being built in the far north of the Shetland Islands, an established satellite-builder and a startup aiming to see one of its re-usable satellites finally make it into space.

Persons: Virgin, Jeff Bezos's, Richard Branson's Virgin Organizations: Elon, SpaceX, CNBC Locations: Shetland

☆ Billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic lays off 185 employees as it doubles down on efforts to build new spaceships
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Virgin Galactic has laid off 185 employees, which represented about 18% of its workforce. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe ships are designed to carry six passengers on weekly spaceflights, Virgin Galactic has previously said . Virgin Galactic completed its first commercial space flight in June and carried out a total of five commercial flights this year, Space News reported. Earlier this year, Virgin Galactic was selling tickets for its commercial flights at $450,000 each, per a brochure previously listed on its website. Virgin Galactic didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside of normal working hours.

Persons: —, Michael Colglazier, Colglazier, Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic didn't Organizations: Virgin Galactic, Service, Galactic, CNBC, Delta, New Mexico's, Space News Locations: Phoenix , Arizona, Phoenix, New, America

The only other U.S. high-speed line is Amtrak's Acela service between Boston and Washington, D.C., which began in 2000. Brightline began planning in 2012. A 2018 partnership with Richard Branson's Virgin Group to rebrand Brightline as Virgin Trains USA quickly soured. According to the lawsuit, Brightline says Virgin “ceased to constitute a brand of international high repute, largely because of matters related to the pandemic." He said Brightline’s accommodations “compare really well to some of the best trains” he’s taken in Europe, where high-speed rail between cities is common.

Persons: Florida's Brightline, It's, Mike Reininger, John Renne, Brightline, ” Renne, Richard Branson's, Virgin “, hasn’t, Eric Flowers, ”, ” Brightline, Reininger, ” Reininger, Robert Barr, You’ve, Barr Organizations: MIAMI, Fortress Investment, West Palm Beach, D.C, Amtrak, Florida Atlantic University's Center for Urban, Environmental Solutions, Miami -, Richard Branson's Virgin Group, Virgin Trains USA, Virgin, Orlando Locations: United States, Miami, Orlando, West Palm, Southern California, Las Vegas, Boston, Washington, Florida, Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami - Orlando, London, U.S, West, County, We’re, Vero, Brightline’s Miami, South, Florida’s, Europe

☆ Virgin Voyages raises $550 mln in Ares Management-led fundraise
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady cruise liner sits docked at Dover Port in Dover, Britain, February 21, 2020. REUTERS/Simon Dawson Acquire Licensing RightsSept 8 (Reuters) - Virgin Voyages, the cruise brand from Richard Branson's Virgin Group, said on Friday it has raised $550 million in fresh capital to expand into new international markets. The funding was led by Ares Management (ARES.N) with participation from existing investors, including British conglomerate Virgin Group and venture capital firm Bain Capital. Launched at the end of 2021, Virgin Voyages operates three ships servicing the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. It plans to operate in Australia and New Zealand by the end of the year.

Persons: Simon Dawson, Richard Branson's, Tom McAlpin, Nirmal Saverimuttu, Manya Saini, Arun Koyyur Organizations: REUTERS, Richard Branson's Virgin Group, Ares Management, Virgin Group, Bain Capital, Virgin Voyages, Caribbean, Thomson Locations: Dover Port, Dover, Britain, British, Australia, New Zealand, Bengaluru

AdvertisementAdvertisementI love cruises as a vacation option with an affordable fixed price, and my Virgin Voyages cruise was great. Vacations often come with surprise expenses — cruises are a great value and make it easy to know exactly how much you'll spend in advance, and my Virgin Voyages cruise was a great value. While the cruise ship itself offered plenty to see and do, I thought the four included stops were some of the best I have ever visited on a cruise. Finally, we loved the inclusiveness the Virgin Voyages brand builds into their cruise product, which helped make the cruise more carefree and fun. Now all I have to do is start planning how we'll spend days in port on our next Virgin Voyages cruise in February.

Persons: Richard Branson's, Jeff Bezos, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Usher, That's, Burger, we'll Organizations: Service, HBO, Virgin, Voyages, Virgin Voyages Locations: Wall, Silicon, Athens, Greece, Dubrovnik, Split, Croatia, Kotor, Montenegro, Corfu, Old, Montenegro Kotor, Town, San Juan , Puerto Rico, St, Croix , Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Bahamas

☆ Focus: US space startups' latest struggles marked by layoffs, shake-ups
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Mike Blake/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - U.S. space startups have slashed workforces and restructured operations to survive amid an investment drought that has grounded once-lofty aspirations. Those struggles follow the April bankruptcy filing by satellite launch firm Virgin Orbit, which was owned by billionaire Richard Branson. "The focus for investors in this space is very different than what it was a couple years ago. The financial headwinds faced by rocket startups have triggered pain elsewhere as well. It shifted much of its focus to government defense programs as its commercial customers face tight capital markets, CEO Laurienti said.

Persons: Mike Blake, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Joe Laurienti, Caleb Henry, Chris Kemp, Will Marshall, Quilty's Henry, Laurienti, Joey Roulette, Ben Klayman, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Elon, SpaceX, Astra, Labs, Ursa, Reuters, Planet Labs, Thomson Locations: Long Beach , California, U.S, Denver, Washington

☆ Virgin Galactic's first space tourism flight took off this week. Here are the players taking civilians to space.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Virgin Galactic launched its first space tourism flight for paying customers on August 10. It marks a new era in space tourism for the company, with monthly flights expected to follow. Seats on a Virgin Galactic flight cost $450,000 each. This week, Virgin Galactic's first space tourism flight successfully launched from New Mexico, taking three passengers who weren't traditional astronauts, to the edge of space and back. Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's commercial space venture, was established in 2004 and completed its first commercial spaceflight in June.

Persons: Virgin Galactic's, Keisha Schahaff, Anastatia, Jon Goodwin, Richard Branson's, Goodwin, Jeff Bezos, Shepard, There's, Jared Issacman Organizations: Virgin Galactic, Virgin, Caribbean, Galactic, Italian Air Force, National Research Council, Origin, Amazon, SpaceX, Elon Musk's, SpaceX's, Space, International Locations: New Mexico

☆ How to watch Virgin Galactic's first space tourist launch 300,000 feet above the ground
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Virgin Galactic plans to launch its first space tourist flight. Watch it here:Who are Virgin Galactic's first space tourists? These are the first commercial passengers to fly aboard Virgin Galactic's first private commercial spaceflight, due to take off Thursday. "The whole team just swarmed into my house saying 'You're the winner, you're going to space,'" Schahaff told the BBC. This is Virgin Galactic's second commercial flight and the first to carry paying customers.

Persons: Richard Branson's Virgin, Sir Richard, Jon Goodwin, Keisha Schahaff, Virgin Galactic's, Virgin Galactic Goodwin, Goodwin, Schahaff, Anastatia Mayers, Beth Moses, Richard Branson, Elon Musk, OceanGate Organizations: Virgin, Service, VSS Unity, Virgin Galactic, Sky News, BBC, University of Aberdeen, Italian Air Force, National Research Council of Italy, Galactic's, Galactic Locations: Wall, Silicon, Munich, nought, Antigua, London, Caribbean, Scotland, New Mexico

☆ Space tourists will probably have sex up there, but they shouldn't get pregnant, researchers warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

If someone gets pregnant in space, the radiation could harm them or their embryo, scientists say. Space companies could end up with lawsuits and bad press if they don't talk to tourists about this. SpaceXIt may not even be possible to get pregnant in space, but it's probably not worth taking the chance. That's partly because space research has long been dominated by government agencies. Their findings may not be applicable to humans at all, but they offer hints that reproductive functions could be affected by space radiation and microgravity.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Origin's, Yusaku Maezawa, Dennis Tito, Sharon, Marc Hagle, Kris Lehnhardt, Lehnhardt, it's, hasn't, Sally Ride, Walter Villadei, Elon Musk, Ludovic Marin, We're, David Cullen, Cullen, Gonzalo Fuentes Organizations: Service, Shepard, Virgin, SpaceX, NASA, Engineers, Virgin Galactic, Chateau, Cranfield University, Reuters Locations: Wall, Silicon, Boca Chica , Texas, Versailles, Paris

☆ Virgin Galactic's first space tourism flight is set to take off this week. Here are the players taking civilians to space.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Virgin Galactic is set to launch its first space tourism flight on August 10. It marks a new era in space tourism for the company, which will have have monthly flights. Seats on a Virgin Galactic flight cost $450,000 each. This week, Virgin Galactic's first space tourism flight is set to take off from New Mexico — and three of the passengers on board aren't traditional astronauts. Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's commercial space venture, was established in 2004 and completed its first commercial spaceflight in June.

Persons: Virgin Galactic's, Keisha Schahaff, Anastatia, Jon Goodwin, Richard Branson's, Goodwin, Jeff Bezos, Shepard, There's, Jared Issacman Organizations: Virgin Galactic, Virgin, New Mexico —, Caribbean, Galactic, Italian Air Force, National Research Council, Origin, Amazon, SpaceX, Elon Musk's, SpaceX's, Space, International Locations: New Mexico

☆ A mother-daughter duo will join an 80-year-old Olympian on Virgin Galactic's first space tourism flight on Thursday. Here's how to watch live.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Virgin Galactic plans to launch its first space tourist flight on Thursday. These are the first commercial passengers to fly aboard Virgin Galactic's first private commercial spaceflight, due to take off Thursday. Keisha Schahaff won her tickets through a raffle while on a Virgin flight from Antigua to London in 2021. "The whole team just swarmed into my house saying 'You're the winner, you're going to space,'" Schahaff told the BBC. This is Virgin Galactic's second commercial flight and the first to carry paying customers.

Persons: Richard Branson's Virgin, Sir Richard, Jon Goodwin, Keisha Schahaff, Virgin Galactic's, Virgin Galactic Goodwin, Goodwin, Schahaff, Anastatia Mayers, Beth Moses, Richard Branson, Elon Musk, OceanGate Organizations: Virgin, Service, New Mexico's, Sky News, Virgin Galactic, BBC, University of Aberdeen, Italian Air Force, National Research Council of Italy, VSS Unity, Galactic's, Galactic Locations: Wall, Silicon, New, America, Munich, nought, Antigua, London, Caribbean, Scotland, New Mexico

☆ Branson, Virgin Group reputations at centre of $250 mln London court clash
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - British billionaire Richard Branson severely damaged Virgin Group's reputation by residing in a tax haven while UK-based airline Virgin Atlantic sought a government bailout during the pandemic, according to internal Virgin emails cited in a $250 million London lawsuit on Monday. The emails were cited by lawyers for U.S. train operator Brightline, which is being sued by the Virgin Group after cancelling a deal to use the Virgin brand in 2020, just over 18 months after it was signed. Under the deal Brightline operated a rail line in Florida using the name Virgin Trains USA. Brightline's lawyers cited internal Virgin Group emails describing group founder Branson being based in the British Virgin Islands for tax purposes as "a reputation killer", while one email from an external public relations adviser said: "Richard needs to show he's not a ruthless, tax-evading billionaire." In an April 2020 email, Virgin Group CEO Josh Bayliss referred to Branson's tax residency in relation to the request for a bailout, saying: "Richard cannot escape the criticism.

Persons: Richard Branson, Brightline, Branson, Richard, Josh Bayliss, Daniel Toledano, Virgin Atlantic's, Brightline's, Nigel Tozzi, Sam Tobin, Susan Fenton Organizations: Virgin Atlantic, U.S, Virgin Group, Virgin, Virgin Trains, British Virgin Islands, Real Madrid, Thomson Locations: Florida, British Virgin, Britain, United States, Barcelona, Bay

☆ Stocks making the biggest premarket moves: Joby, Micron, Wells Fargo, Freyr Battery and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Check out the companies making the biggest moves in premarket trading. Joby Aviation — Joby shares gained another 17% premarket. The aviation company announced a $100 million equity investment from South Korea's SK Telecom, expanding an existing partnership. Wells Fargo , JPMorgan Chase , Bank of America — The banks moved higher after passing the Federal Reserve's annual stress test Wednesday. Wells Fargo and Bank of America gained nearly 2%, while JPMorgan rose 1.6%.

Persons: Wells, Charles Schwab —, Morgan Stanley, Adam Jonas, Berkshire Hathaway, Overstock, Richard, —, Macheel, Jesse Pound, Sarah Min, Michael Bloom, Brian Evans Organizations: Aviation, New York Stock Exchange, Joby, South Korea's SK Telecom, Micron Technology, Micron, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Federal, JPMorgan, Citizens, Providence, Occidental Petroleum —, Petroleum, Berkshire, Warren Buffett, Virgin Galactic —, Virgin Galactic Locations: New York, South, Wells Fargo, Providence , Rhode Island, Wednesday's, Virgin

The flight, dubbed Galactic 01, comes two years after Branson himself rode along with five other Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (SPCE.N) personnel for the company's first fully crewed test spaceflight of its rocket plane, VSS Unity. Back then, Virgin Galactic officials said they expected to begin regular commercial operations in 2022 following additional test flights. Virgin Galactic had projected booking its first 1,000 paying customers, charging about $250,000 per seat, by the time commercial service opened. An earlier prototype of Virgin Galactic's rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another. Billionaire rival Jeff Bezos, whose astro-tourist venture Blue Origin has already flown several commercial passenger flights, has disparaged Virgin Galactic as falling short of a true spaceflight experience.

Persons: Richard Branson, Joe Skipper, Branson, Walter Villadei, Angelo Landolfi, Pantaleone, Colin Bennett, Michael Masucci, Nicola Pecile, Branson's, Jeff Bezos, Virgin, Shepard rocketship, Jose Luis Gonzalez, Steve Gorman, Will Dunham Organizations: Virgin, Unity, REUTERS, Virgin Galactic, National Research Council, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc, VSS, Galactic, SpaceX, Origin, Italian Air Force, International Space, Air Force, . Air Force, America, Corporate, NASA, U.S . Air Force, Thomson Locations: New Mexico, U.S, Italy, Mexico, Italian, Branson, Bezos, Los Angeles

☆ From Titanic tours to space exploration: extreme tourism is on the rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Kukenan (L) and Roraima mounts are seen from the Tec Camp, near Venezuela's border with Brazil January 14, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File PhotoJune 21 (Reuters) - The $250,000-a-head expedition that vanished this week en route to the deep-sea wreck of the Titanic ocean liner is just one example of extreme tourism that is becoming more commonplace for those who can afford it. Branson's Virgin Galactic Holdings said last week its first commercial spaceflight, called "Galactic 01", would launch between June 27 and June 30. Before he set his sights on space, Branson was one of an elite group of extreme hot-air balloon travelers, becoming the first to traverse the Pacific Ocean in a balloon in 1991. Reporting by Julia Harte; editing by Donna Bryson and Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Branson, Arthur Conan Doyle's, Julia Harte, Donna Bryson, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Tec, REUTERS, SPACE, Virgin Galactic Holdings, SpaceX, Heli, Thomson Locations: Roraima, Venezuela's, Brazil, Indian Kashmir, India, Pakistan, New Delhi, Mount Roraima, Venezuela

☆ Housing market inventory keeps declining and that's bad news for homebuyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

We're revisiting housing inventory today because it's one of the key sticking points that's keeping home prices elevated and buyers wary. Get this: The housing market today has 39% fewer homes for sale than before the pandemic. Mortgage rates are currently about double what they were in 2021, when ultra-low rates fueled a home-buying boom. That could help influence mortgage rates to go even higher this year. People who are sitting on the sidelines, waiting for mortgage rates to decline, should know that's unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future."

Persons: I'm Phil Rosen, Jerome Powell, Joe Raedle, There's, Powell, Redfin's Chen Zhao, Edward Seiler, Tweet, JIM WATSON, Morgan Stanley, Steve Eisman, Larry Summers, Richard Branson's, Phil Rosen, Max Adams, Hallam Bullock Organizations: realtors, Mortgage Bankers Association, US, Getty, Fed, FedEx, Nvidia, Bloomberg, Treasury, Virgin Galactic Locations: homebuilding, New York, London

Search resuls for: "Branson's"

25 mentions found