Virgin Galactic moves one step closer to commercial space flights

Flying at Mach 3 and reaching more than 55 miles above the Earth Saturday, British billionaire Sir Richard Branson’s private spaceship company Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (SPCE.N) completed its first manned space flight from its new home port in New Mexico.
Britain’s Nationwide almost doubles profit as costs fall

Nationwide Building Society (POB_p.L) nearly doubled annual profit after improving interest income and margins as it shaved costs, it said on Friday.
Bank of England plans to ‘green’ its corporate bond holdings

The Bank of England set out plans on Friday to make its 20 billion pounds ($28.4 billion) of holdings in sterling corporate bonds better aligned with government goals to achieve net zero carbon emissions, starting later this year.
FTSE 100 drops as commodity stocks weigh, inflation doubles

London’s FTSE 100 slipped on Wednesday, dragged down by heavyweight commodity stocks, while a bigger-than-expected jump in inflation stoked fears that the central bank may tighten its monetary policy earlier than expected.
UK jobless rate falls again, hiring up as lockdown eases

Britain’s unemployment rate fell again to 4.8% between January and March, when the country was under a tight lockdown, and hiring rose further in April, according to data that showed employers gearing up for the easing of curbs. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the rate to hold at 4.9%, and the reading added to […]
BP’s lobbying for gas shows rifts over path to net-zero emissions

Oil major BP (BP.L) has lobbied for the EU to support natural gas, a move that exposes divergent views among investors and reflects a wider European dispute about the role of the fossil fuel in the transition to a lower-carbon world. The European Commission – aiming to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 – had planned […]