Virgin Galactic is set to fly tourists to the stars – but can space tourism become more than a hobby for the super rich? August 7, 2023 Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is set to launch its first tourists to space on Thursday this week. The Galactic 02 mission, which follows the successful launch of the companies’ first commercial flight in June, will carry three paying customers – an 80-year old Olympian and a Caribbean mother-daughter duo. Launching from Spaceport America in New [...]
Musk says fight with Zuckerberg will be live-streamed on X August 6, 2023 Elon Musk said in a social media post that his proposed cage fight with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg would be live-streamed on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The social media moguls have been egging each other into a mixed martial arts cage match in Las Vegas since June. “Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on [...]
Musk’s X to pay legal bills of people ‘unfairly treated’ for posting on platform August 6, 2023 Elon Musk has said his X social media platform will pay the legal bills and sue on the behalf of people who have been treated unfairly by employers because of posting or liking something on the site formerly known as Twitter. “If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this [...]
City regulator responds to Hunt’s de-banking letter and will report back by September August 4, 2023 The City regulator will outline the scale of the so-called ‘de-banking’ scandal next month, in response to a letter from the Chancellor last night. Writing to Jeremy Hunt, the Financial Conduct Authority acknowledged his “request of areas to cover” in an investigation into the row, and that it was “in line with our plans”. The [...]
Sadiq Khan expands London ULEZ scrappage scheme in wake of Uxbridge by-election loss August 4, 2023 The Mayor of London has announced a major expansion of financial support designed to ease the impact of the capital’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez) on people’s pockets. Sadiq Khan said every Londoner with a polluting car facing charges under Ulez will now be able to receive a grant of up to £2,000 to support [...]
London nannies’ pay rises to £43,000 as parents fail to secure nursery places August 3, 2023 London parents are having to pay more for nannies because of a lack of nursery places, according to Nannytax, with salaries on average now at £43,000. The government has been urged by the firm to amend its “nonsensical” approach to childcare payments set out in the spring budget, with demand for nannies skyrocketing as early [...]
Monzo staff comms reveal anti-Tory messages as de-banking scandal grows August 3, 2023 Monzo staff made multiple disparaging remarks about the Conservative party, according to reported internal company messages, as a growing row about lenders closing individuals bank accounts engulfs the banking sector. The internal communications, reported by The Telegraph, show staff describing Tories as “evil”, and called for Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg to “do the human race [...]
The Notebook: Victoria Scholar on Muskisms, Barbie and why there’s light at the end of the rate-rising tunnel August 3, 2023 Where the City’s movers and shakers get a few things off their chest. Today, it’s Victoria Scholar of Interactive Investor Little relief from interest rates yet, but there is light at the end of the tunnel The Bank of England is forecast to raise interest rates for the 14th time in a row today, lifting [...]
The X-Phile: What does the Twitter transformation say about Elon Musk? August 2, 2023 Where to even begin? Over the last week Elon Musk changed the name of his $44bn toy from Twitter to, simply, “X”. In doing so he unleashed yet another torrent of confusion and indignation, something the eccentric billionaire must surely be somehow feeding upon, vampire-like, such is the frequency with which he invites it. But [...]
Donald Trump: Fresh charges brought against the ex president for bid to overturn the election August 2, 2023 Former US president Donald Trump has been charged by the US Justice Department for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The indictment focuses on schemes by Trump and his allies to subvert the transfer of power and keep him in office despite his loss to Joe Biden. It is the [...]