karelnoppe/iStock via Getty Images Rocket Lab ( RKLB ) successfully completed its first dedicated mission for the European Space Agency (ESA), underscoring the growing role of its Electron rocket in providing commercial launch services for government space programs. The mission, dubbed “Daughter Of The Stars,” lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand on March 28 at 10:14 p.m. NZT, deploying...
karelnoppe/iStock via Getty Images Rocket Lab ( RKLB ) successfully completed its first dedicated mission for the European Space Agency (ESA), underscoring the growing role of its Electron rocket in providing commercial launch services for government space programs. The mission, dubbed “Daughter Of The Stars,” lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand on March 28 at 10:14 p.m. NZT, deploying ESA’s “Celeste” payload to low Earth orbit at an altitude of 510 km. The flight marked Rocket Lab’s sixth launch of 2026 and its 85th overall. The company has a full pipeline ahead, with upcoming missions spanning commercial Earth observation, government and defense payloads, and hypersonic technology development. The latest launch carried the first two satellites for a navigation demonstration program aimed at enhancing Europe’s positioning capabilities. Celeste will test how a constellation in low Earth orbit can complement the Galileo constellation in medium Earth orbit, which underpins Europe’s own global navigation system. Built by two consortia led by GMV (Spain) and Thales Alenia Space (France), the pair of ESA spacecraft will test next-generation technologies for a broad variety of future uses in autonomous vehicles, maritime navigation, wireless networks, emergency services, and critical infrastructure projects across Europe. RKLB shares rose +1.3% premarket to $61.75. More on Rocket Lab USA What Will Happen To Rocket Lab After SpaceX's IPO Rocket Lab: This $1B Capital Raise Is More Bullish Than You Think Rocket Lab: Waiting Is Hard Biggest stock movers Monday: ORGN, RKLB, and more SA Asks: What's the most attractive space stock right now?
Morgan Hancock/Getty Images News The Australian government will halve the fuel excise on petrol and diesel as well as scrap the heavy vehicle road user charge for three months to help ease the impact of soaring fuel prices on consumers. The excise halving, which will start from April 1 to June 30, will reduce the cost of fuel by 26.3 Australian cents per liter. The government will also defer the n...
Morgan Hancock/Getty Images News The Australian government will halve the fuel excise on petrol and diesel as well as scrap the heavy vehicle road user charge for three months to help ease the impact of soaring fuel prices on consumers. The excise halving, which will start from April 1 to June 30, will reduce the cost of fuel by 26.3 Australian cents per liter. The government will also defer the next scheduled increase in the heavy vehicle road user charge by six months. "We're acting now to be overprepared," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. "To prepare and to shield Australians from the worst of the impacts." "The cost of what we are announcing today is A$2.55B, depending of course on the amount of demand in the system over that three-month period," said Treasurer Jim Chalmers. "And the revenue foregone by delaying the increase in the heavy vehicle road user charge is about another A$53M." Albanese also called on Australians to take public transport "to help save fuel for the areas and industries that need it." The Australian government adopted several measures to secure fuel supply, including the release of 20% of its petrol and diesel reserves, changing fuel quality standards, and introducing legislation to underwrite the purchase of fuel by the private sector. Two Australian states will offer free public transport – Victoria said free service can be availed throughout April while Tasmania is offering the perk until the end of June. More on Australia EWA: Australian Financials May Struggle With A Flattening Yield Curve IAF: AUD Bets Look Interesting, But Select Picks Better Australia’s biggest LNG plants hit with outages from cyclone EU and Australia strike free trade deal, including critical mineral access
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) is down 25% on the year as of March 26, part of a longer decline that started last July. Optimistic investors see this as an opportunity to buy the dip, assuming the crypto market will follow its usual pattern and recover from the latest downturn. That could happen, but there's also reason to believe XRP has a rough road ahead. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) is down 25% on the year as of March 26, part of a longer decline that started last July. Optimistic investors see this as an opportunity to buy the dip, assuming the crypto market will follow its usual pattern and recover from the latest downturn. That could happen, but there's also reason to believe XRP has a rough road ahead. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
It’s getting hard to keep up with Donald Trump’s threats against Iran as the war enters a dangerous new phase. The financial markets took the threat of a prolonged war seriously as US and Israeli forces pressed ahead with attacks on Iran and the Houthis joined the fray. A gauge of Asian shares fell and sovereign bonds around the world rose amid concern that higher crude oil prices will weigh on ec...
It’s getting hard to keep up with Donald Trump’s threats against Iran as the war enters a dangerous new phase. The financial markets took the threat of a prolonged war seriously as US and Israeli forces pressed ahead with attacks on Iran and the Houthis joined the fray. A gauge of Asian shares fell and sovereign bonds around the world rose amid concern that higher crude oil prices will weigh on economic growth. The US leader said in an interview with the Financial Times that he wants to “take the oil in Iran” and could seize the export hub of Kharg Island, while he told the Wall Street Journal that he’s weighing a military operation to extract uranium from Iran. All this as additional US troops arrived in the Middle East, fanning fears of a risky ground attack as the war entered its second month. Even as Trump ramps up his harsh rhetoric, he said the country had good negotiations with Iran and that the country “gave” the US most of the 15 demands it issued to end the war. Tehran rejected the US proposal and disputed Trump’s claims, insisting on war reparations in its own five-point plan. Pakistan’s offer to host talks to end the conflict was met with silence. In other markets, Brent crude extended its rally, heading for its bigger-ever monthly gain. S&P 500 futures erased earlier losses. Aluminum climbed as much as 6% after Iran attacked two production sites in the Middle East. Gold advanced. “Markets spent a month pricing a short, contained conflict,” said Hebe Chen, senior market analyst at Vantage Global Prime. “That wishful optimism has now broken with the Houthis’ entry over the weekend. The playbook is being rewritten from this week as prolonged war risk becomes increasingly credible.” What You Need to Know Today Good timing. Monday’s bond rally comes after weeks of selling driven by surging oil costs. Traders are taking heed as some of Wall Street’s biggest bond-fund managers say financial markets are underestimating the risk that the war will deepen an econo...
Woman assaulted after man was given key card to her room criticises CEO Jo Boydell over cancelled meeting A woman who was sexually assaulted by a man who was handed a key card to her room at a Travelodge has said she was shocked to learn the hotel chain’s boss cancelled a meeting with a group of MPs seeking to discuss concerns about the case. More than 20 MPs had demanded the meeting this month to...
Woman assaulted after man was given key card to her room criticises CEO Jo Boydell over cancelled meeting A woman who was sexually assaulted by a man who was handed a key card to her room at a Travelodge has said she was shocked to learn the hotel chain’s boss cancelled a meeting with a group of MPs seeking to discuss concerns about the case. More than 20 MPs had demanded the meeting this month to discuss the matter – including details of the chain’s security processes and procedures that led to it offering the victim an “insulting” £30 refund after the incident. Continue reading...