The most important news from last week
Virgin Galactic completed first private astronaut flight
Virgin Galactic revealed that it has successfully concluded its inaugural private astronaut voyage, named "Galactic 02." The company's official statement highlighted that this mission accomplished numerous significant milestones. Following the mission, the company is set to conduct post-flight inspections and gear up for its upcoming commercial space endeavour, "Galactic 03," slated for September.
Movement of Virgin Galactic stocks in the last five years. (Source: Google Finance) *
Lyft will display ads
Lyft has announced its intention to showcase advertisements within its app, aiming to establish a steadier revenue stream, according to a recent blog post. This shift is a strategic step to diversify income sources for Lyft, a ride-sharing platform heavily reliant on ride-hailing operations. In contrast, its major competitor, Uber Technologies, boasts a more developed advertising sector in conjunction with its delivery and freight brokerage services.
UBS ended state guarantee over Credit Suisse
UBS has disclosed that it will not require the government-backed guarantee it obtained to assist struggling competitor Credit Suisse, and it has successfully repaid billions in Swiss francs stemming from emergency loans. This repayment has relieved the bank from relying on taxpayer-supported funding. Switzerland's largest bank declared that it has settled its obligations related to the 10.3 billion USD of loss protection guarantees furnished by the Swiss government.
San Francisco is now centre of robotaxi
California has significantly propelled the self-driving car sector by granting substantial privileges to the industry. In a polarizing decision by the state agency, Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., and General Motors' Cruise have been granted the authority to offer paid rides to passengers, both during the day and at night, throughout San Francisco. This decision effectively establishes the tech hub as the epicentre of the autonomous vehicle (AV) industry.
Indonesia extended EV incentive deadline
Indonesia has announced an extension of the deadline by two years for car manufacturers to fulfil the conditions for electric vehicle incentives in the largest car market in Southeast Asia. This announcement was accompanied by commitments of investment from China's Neta EV brand and Mitsubishi Motors. Under the revised regulations, car manufacturers now have until 2026 to commit to producing a minimum of 40% of the components for EVs within Indonesia to qualify for incentives.
* Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Sources: Reuters, Google Finance, Investing
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