Good Evening! On Friday, the US stock market experienced a slowdown following a recent surge. This development raised expectations that the Federal Reserve may soon conclude its campaign of increasing interest rates.
All three indices ended today in the red with the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq Composite falling by 0.37%, 0.32%, and 0.68%, respectively.
TIME TO GO TO SPACE!
Virgin Galactic (SPCE), a company specializing in space tourism, declared its intention to officially start its first commercial spaceflights by the end of this month. The SPCE stock experienced a significant surge of 16.5% after to a premarket boost of 44% in response to recent news.
Who wants to go on a trip? Well, a lot of people do because… There has been a notable interest in Virgin Galactic’s spaceflight offerings, as evidenced by the company’s customer deposits exceeding $100 million during the initial quarter of 2023. Nonetheless, Virgin Galactic was not prepared to begin commercial flights until now, which has generated enthusiasm in the market.
So when does the first launch happen? According to the management, the first commercial flight called the Galactic 01, has been scheduled to take place from June 27 to June 30. The individuals on board will consist of Italian scientists and military personnel who are researching microgravity. The Galactic 02 flight, intended for private astronauts such as Branson who seek to partake in the experience, is slated for early August. Going Foward, Virgin Galactic anticipates conducting spaceflights every month.
FULL TRANSPARENCY
During a roundtable meeting with President Biden, executives coming from Live Nation, SeatGeek, and other companies made an agreement to improve transparency regarding hidden fees.
For example… Ticketmaster has announced that it will implement upfront all-in pricing for over 200 venues starting in September. This measure aims to prevent customers from experiencing unexpected increases in ticket prices of up to 27% during the checkout process.
What caused the change? The Department of Justice is currently conducting an investigation into possible antitrust transgressions by Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster. Well… An analysis conducted by the American Economic Liberties Project on PollStar data reveals that among the top 100 amphitheaters in the United States, 64% are under the operation of Live Nation while 77% exclusively rely on Ticketmaster as their ticket provider.
Overall, this represents a minor victory for President Biden, who previously highlighted the issue of “junk fees” during his State of the Union address in February and has since put forth legislative measures aimed at addressing them.