Raphael Stevens

In this articleSPCEVSS Unity reaches the edge of space during its third spaceflight on May 22, 2021.Virgin GalacticVirgin Galactic shares jumped in premarket trading on Monday, following the company’s successful spaceflight test on Saturday.The launch represented a critical step forward for the space tourism company, as the test had been delayed more than six months after a December attempt was cut short.Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier told CNBC that the spaceflight “was flawless,” and said he looked forward to the Federal Aviation Administration reviewing the flight data – as the company needs to clear two remaining regulatory milestones before receiving a key license.Shares of Virgin Galactic jumped as much as 32% in premarket trading, before slipping to trade up about 17% from its previous close of $21.07 a share.Three spaceflight tests to goVSS Unity fires its rocket engine shortly after launching on its third spaceflight on May 22, 2021.Virgin GalacticSaturday’s spaceflight test represented the first of four remaining before it begins flying commercial customers. The next spaceflight test will carry four passengers to test the spacecraft’s cabin, while the third test is planned to fly founder Sir Richard Branson.Bernstein, which has a market perform rating on the stock, upgraded its price target to $27 a share from $18 a share.”We believe this business can have highly attractive economics if risks can be managed. We have reset our valuation model to our prior base case,” Bernstein analyst Douglas Harned wrote in a note to clients.Harned noted that the flight’s success increased the likelihood that the next three spaceflight tests “will be completed close to plan.”However, Harned emphasized that two major risks still apply to the company’s stock.”First, any serious incident could be disastrous for the business. Second, terminal value is unclear, as it is hard to assess how far the value proposition will extend,” Harned said.Virgin Galactic previously forecast commercial service would begin by mid-2020. This year the company pushed that goal back to early 2022, saying it aims to begin commercial service once the four spaceflights tests and a maintenance period are complete.Become a smarter investor with CNBC Pro.Get stock picks, analyst calls, exclusive interviews and access to CNBC TV. Sign up to start a free trial today. More

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary gestures during an AFP interview at A4E aviation summit in Brussels on March 3, 2020.KENZO TRIBOUILLARD | AFP | Getty ImagesLONDON — Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary asserted Monday that the decision by Belarusian authorities to divert a plane flying over its territory and to arrest a dissident journalist on board constituted “state-sponsored piracy.”He said he believed Belarusian KGB operatives were traveling on the scheduled flight from Athens for Vilnius, Lithuania.”It appears the intent of the authorities was to remove a journalist and his traveling companion … we believe there were some KGB agents offloaded at the airport as well,” O’Leary told Irish Newstalk radio.He said he believed the incident was likely the first of its kind for a European airline.”This was a case of state-sponsored hijacking … state-sponsored piracy,” he said.European Union leaders will discuss toughening their sanctions regime against Belarus on May 24 at their planned summit, after Minsk diverted the Ryanair passenger flight flying from Athens to Vilnius and arrested Belarusian opposition activist Roman Protasevich.Petras Malukas | AFP | Getty ImagesBelarus on Sunday ordered its military to scramble a fighter jet to force the Ryanair plane to change course and land in its capital city, citing a potential security threat on board. State media in Belarus said President Alexander Lukashenko had personally given the order.CNBC contacted the Belarusian foreign ministry for comment Monday but is yet to receive a reply.Police arrested political activist and blogger Roman Protasevich, 26, when passengers disembarked. His girlfriend Sofya Sapega, a 23-year-old Russian citizen studying at the European Humanities University in Lithuania, was also detained, according to reports.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said via Twitter on Sunday that the “outrageous and illegal behaviour of the regime in Belarus will have consequences,” adding those responsible “must be sanctioned.”A woman stands with a poster reading ‘Where is Roman (Protasevich)?!’ in the arrival area as passengers disembark from a Ryanair passenger plane from Athens, Greece, that was intercepted and diverted to Minsk on the same day by Belarus authorities, after it landed at Vilnius International Airport, its initial destination, on May 23, 2021.Petras Malukas | AFP | Getty ImagesThe European Union has also called for the immediate release of Protasevich and said it would discuss the appropriate action to take.The U.S. echoed calls for the immediate release of Protasevich and said it condemned the “forced diversion” of the flight.”Given indications the forced landing was based on false pretenses, we support the earliest possible meeting of the council of the International Civil Aviation Organization to review these events,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. More

In this articlePFE22UA-DEAZN-GBPEAKA healthcare worker holds syringes with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination centre, in El Paso, Texas, May 6, 2021.Jose Luis Gonzalez | ReutersA new study has found that two doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca-University of Oxford vaccine give effective protection against the Covid variant first discovered in India, however it underscored the need for two doses, as both vaccines were significantly less effective after only one shot.The study, led by Public Health England also found that two doses of the vaccine were similarly as effective at protecting against the variant that first emerged in the U.K. and has since become a dominant strain in the West.Dr Jenny Harries, CEO of the U.K. Health Security Agency, told the BBC that the study provided the “first real-world evidence of vaccine effectiveness” against the variant first identified in India.Conducted between April and May, the research found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 88% effective against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 Covid variant — a sub-type of a variant that emerged in India last fall which has since spread to Europe — two weeks after the second dose. The vaccine was 93% effective two weeks after the second dose against the B.1.1.7 variant which was first discovered in the U.K. last fall.Meanwhile, two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were found to be 60% effective against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 variant from India, compared to 66% effective against the variant from the U.K.”Vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 variant is similar after 2 doses compared to the B.1.1.7 (Kent) variant dominant in the U.K., and we expect to see even higher levels of effectiveness against hospitalisation and death,” the study authors wrote. The results were published Saturday as a pre-print and the study has not yet been peer reviewed.PHE said the difference in effectiveness between the vaccines after two doses “may be explained by the fact that rollout of second doses of AstraZeneca was later than for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and other data on antibody profiles show it takes longer to reach maximum effectiveness with the AstraZeneca vaccine.”However, both vaccines were only 33% effective against symptomatic disease from B.1.617.2 three weeks after the first dose. In the same time frame, they were found to be 50% effective against the B.1.1.7 variant.Variant of concernThe variant first discovered in India has been blamed for causing a dramatic third wave of infections in the country, overwhelming hospitals and causing thousands of deaths this spring. There were concerns that Covid vaccines could be rendered less effective by the variant so the latest data should help allay those concerns.The India variant has been detected in numerous other countries now, according to the World Health Organization, which dubbed it a “variant of concern” in early May.The PHE study analyzed data from 1,054 people, of all age groups and several ethnicities, confirmed as having the B.1.617.2 variant through genomic sequencing. The data was collected from April 5 and hence covers the period since the B.1.617.2 variant (one of three variant sub-types found in India) emerged in parts of the U.K.”As with other variants, even higher levels of effectiveness are expected against hospitalisation and death. There are currently insufficient cases and follow-up periods to estimate vaccine effectiveness against severe outcomes from the B.1.617.2 variant. PHE will continue to evaluate this over the coming weeks,” the study’s authors added.Responding to the study, the U.K.’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock described the findings as “groundbreaking – and proves just how valuable our Covid-19 vaccination programme is in protecting the people we love.”The U.K. has given over 22 million people two doses of a Covid vaccine, while 72% of the population (or almost 40 million people) have had one shot, government data shows.Hancock said the latest data emphasized “how important the second dose is to secure the strongest possible protection” against Covid-19 and its variants.Separate PHE analysis indicated that the country’s Covid-19 vaccination program has so far prevented 13,000 deaths and around 39,100 hospitalizations in older people in England, up to May 9. More

A computer generated aerial view of Greater Springfield near Brisbane, Australia.Springfield City GroupTravel up the sunny shores of Australia’s Gold Coast, 25 kilometers outside of Brisbane, and you’ll find Greater Springfield, a city that’s different by design.You may never have heard of it. Unsurprising; the city is not yet 30 years old. But that isn’t holding it back. In a few years, it could be the next Silicon Valley, says developer Springfield City Group (SCG).”The world has learned a lot from Silicon Valley,” founder Maha Sinnathamby told CNBC. “We said: that’s 85 years old. Let’s design the latest version.”Sinnathamby is the brains behind Greater Springfield, Australia’s only privately built city and its first masterplanned city since the capital Canberra was created more than a century ago. The octogenarian property tycoon — who spent a 50-year career creating residential and commercial developments across Australia — said his latest project, like its inspiration Silicon Valley, is about creating a modern business hub designed around technology, education and health care.We’re trying to attract the Microsofts and Googles of the world.Maha Sinnathambyfounder and chairman, Springfield City GroupAnd now, he’s looking for big name companies to help him realize the next stage of his estimated $68 billion vision.”We’re trying to attract the Microsofts and Googles of the world,” said Sinnathamby, noting that the group is currently in discussions with one multinational tech company.An innovation hub for Asia PacificDeveloped on a 7,000 acre plot of land purchased for $6.1 million, Greater Springfield — the world’s tenth largest masterplanned community — is already a living, breathing city much changed from the disused forestry operation Sinnathamby acquired in 1992.Home today to 46,000 residents, 16,500 homes, 11 schools, a national university campus, a hospital and a railway line connecting it to neighboring Brisbane, Sinnathamby said the city is so far 25% complete after receiving $15 billion in private and state funding.But more businesses are needed to make it into a true innovation hub within Asia-Pacific, and hit its targets to triple the population and create 52,000 new jobs by 2030. To date, 20,000 jobs have been directly and indirectly created under the project, SCG said.”We want to turbocharge it with highly respectable companies, who are highly talented and who want to make a lot of profit,” said Sinnathamby. “We can’t do this massive job on our own.”Greater Springfield is the first privately built city in Australia and the world’s tenth largest master planned community.Springfield City GroupThe bait, as Sinnathamby puts it, is the city’s greenfield location, which, like Silicon Valley, offers companies a space to get experimental. That includes offering purpose-built facilities in which large companies and smaller start-ups can innovate. Meantime, its “living lab” provides room to test new technologies related to smart work, living, learning and play.Engie SA is one business currently testing the waters. In 2018, the French utility company signed a 50-year strategic alliance to make Greater Springfield Australia’s first net-zero energy city as it aims to showcase its green credentials.By 2038, Engie plans for the city to generate more energy than it consumes by focusing on five key pillars: urban planning, mobility, buildings, energy and technology. Increasing electric vehicle infrastructure, prioritizing public transport, constructing environmentally friendly buildings, introducing solar panels to all available rooftops, and retaining 30% of the region’s landholding for open green space are among the various methods it will use to achieve this.Elsewhere, earlier this month Sydney start-up Lavo chose Greater Springfield as the manufacturing hub for its “world first” 30-year hydrogen battery set said to be able to power a home for two days with a single charge.Developing a knowledge workforceThe new business operations will sit within Greater Springfield’s so-called Knowledge Precinct, the city’s primary employment hub designed to attract knowledge workers with skills related to its core pillars: technology, education and health care.Health City, a 128 acre health precinct developed with Harvard Medical International, will provide top health care as well as thousands of medical jobs, said Sinnathamby. Meanwhile, the city’s expanding education network, including two new universities and a focus on indigenous communities, will nurture the new generation of professionals, he said.I want partners to come who are committed to this vision.Maha Sinnathambyfounder and chairman, Springfield City Group”We’re very closely committed to try and make sure this knowledge precinct is a gift to not only Australia but perhaps to the world,” said Sinnathamby.Still, the timing of the project cannot be ignored. The pandemic has led many people to rethink the appeal of major business hubs, with some estimates suggesting as many as 53% of U.S. tech and media workers have already left or plan to leave behind big cities’ rising living costs.Sinnathamby, however, is confident his vision for Australia’s future city will hold out — and perhaps even provide a blueprint for others. With its focus on emerging industries, Greater Springfield does appear to have weathered the pandemic better than some other places, recording an unemployment rate of 3.9% compared to Queensland’s statewide level of 5.9%.”I’m committed to this as a nation building project,” said Sinnathamby. “Now, I want partners to come who are committed to this vision.” More

Economic forecasts predicting the potential impact of climate change have grossly underestimated the reality and delayed global recovery efforts by decades, according to a leading professor.Mainstream economists “deliberately and completely” ignored scientific data and instead “made up their own numbers” to suit their market models, Steve Keen, a fellow at University College London’s Institute for Strategy, Resilience and Security, told CNBC on Friday.Now, a “war-level footing” is required to have any hope of repairing the damage, he said.”Fundamentally, the economists have totally misrepresented the science and ignored it where it contradicts their bias that climate change is not a big deal because, in their opinion, capitalism can handle anything,” Keen told “Street Signs Asia.”We are toying with forces far in excess of ones we can actually address.Steve Keenfellow, University College LondonKeen said the repercussions of climate change were foretold in the 1972 publication “The Limits to Growth” — a divisive report on the destructive consequences of global expansion — but economists then and since failed to heed its warnings, preferring instead to rely on market mechanisms.”If their warnings had been taken seriously and we’d done as they’d suggested, changing our trajectory from 1975 on, we could have done it gradually using things like carbon tax and so on,” he said. “Because economists have delayed it by another half century, we are, as a species, putting three to four times the pressure on the biosphere.”Icebergs near Ilulissat, Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland with glaciers and the Greenland ice cap retreating.NurPhoto | Getty ImagesAs a result, he said, “the only way we can (reverse) this is effectively a war level footing of motive mobilisation to reverse the amount of carbon we’ve put into the atmosphere to drastically reduce our consumption.”Referring specifically to a report produced by economists at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was instrumental in outlining global climate targets including those presented at the Paris Agreement COP21, Keen said even their most severe estimates were a “trivial underestimate of the damage we expect.”That is because they “completely and deliberately ignore the possibility of tipping points,” a point at which climate change can cause irreversible shifts in the environment.”I think we should throw the economists completely out of this discussion and sit the politicians down with the scientists and say these are the potential outcomes of that much of a change to the biosphere; we are toying with forces far in excess of ones we can actually address,” he said.Keen’s comments come as world leaders wrapped up their final day of meetings at the Arctic Council — an intergovernmental forum covering wide-ranging geopolitical issues from climate to trade. More