Business

The BBC reports: British billionaire Sir Richard Branson’s rocket company Virgin Orbit has filed for bankruptcy in the US after failing to secure new investment. The satellite launch company halted operations weeks ago but it hopes to find a buyer for the business. The company, based in California, announced last week that it would cut 85% of its 750-strong workforce. …

Tech Crunch reports: Today Twitter users are noticing that an image of a dog has been added to a place of prominence. You can see it for yourself on Twitter.com, where you will be greeted with a pup. The particular dog image — a Shiba Inu — corresponds with the logo of the dogecoin blockchain and cryptocurrency. Normally the swapping …

Deadline reports: Calling moves by Gov. Ron DeSantis “anti-business and anti-Florida,” Bob Iger showed today that he isn’t afraid of a street brawl with the likely GOP presidential hopeful. “We love the state of Florida,” the Disney CEO said today at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, his first since returning to the top job in November. “We respect and appreciate …

From the editorial board of the Orlando Sentinel: From now on, Gov. DeSantis, save your tantrums for your taxpayer-funded mansion and endless trips to court donors and rally support in other states.  Whenever you happen to be in Florida, focus on your actual job: Running a massive state government where people are dying every day of drug overdoses and mass …

Mediaite reports: Elon Musk has made his first big blue check takedown, and his target is one of the most esteemed newspapers in the world. Twitter previously announced that on Saturday, it would begin “winding down” its “legacy verified program” by removing badges they deemed “legacy verified checkmarks.” The New York Times, which has 54.9 million followers on the social …

The New York Times reports: If the merger is not completed in the next six months, Digital World — established as a special purpose acquisition corporation — will have to return the $300 million it raised from investors in 2021 through an initial public offering. But it is not clear that the investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is vowing to take legal action against the former board members of the former Reedy Creek Improvement District over their move to cement the Walt Disney Company’s control over the district, but Senate and House leaders are unsure there’s a legislative solution to the issue. “I think we’re going to take a look …

Bloomberg News reports: In the weeks after Elon Musk acquired Twitter Inc., hundreds of advertisers paused spending on the platform, wary of the changes the mercurial billionaire might bring to the social media platform. Months later, many still haven’t returned, despite efforts by Twitter’s sales team to woo them back with steep discounts and new safety tools. From September to …

CNN Business reports: Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg producer in the United States, reported revenue doubled and profit surged 718% last quarter because of sharply higher egg prices. The company, which controls about 20% of the US egg market according to Reuters, said its average selling price for a dozen eggs in the quarter ending February 25 was $3.30, more …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis’ handpicked board overseeing Disney World’s government services is gearing up for a potential legal battle over a 30-year development agreement they say effectively renders them powerless to manage the entertainment giant’s future growth in Central Florida. Ahead of an expected state takeover, the Walt Disney Co. quietly pushed through the pact and restrictive …

Reuters reports: A coalition of international companies, including Google and Microsoft, on Wednesday denounced anti-LGBTQ legislation passed by Uganda’s parliament last week, warning it would damage the East Africa country’s economy. The Open for Business coalition said the legislation, which criminalises identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, would curb investment flows and deter tourists. The bill imposes the …

Mashable reports: Researcher Travis Brown, who has been tracking Twitter Blue subscriptions since January, recently revealed around half of all users subscribed to Twitter Blue have less than 1,000 followers. That’s approximately 220,132 paying subscribers. Furthermore, 78,059 paying Twitter Blue subscribers have less than 100 users following their account. That’s 17.6 percent of all Twitter Blue subscribers. There are 2,270 …

Reuters reports: U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday unveiled a new indictment against Sam Bankman-Fried, accusing the founder of now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange of conspiring to pay a $40 million bribe to Chinese government officials. The new bribery conspiracy charge adds the pressure on the 31-year-old former billionaire, who now faces a 13-count indictment over the November collapse of FTX. Prosecutors had …

NPR reports: This palm reader will not be able to tell your fortune, but it will figure out if you are part of Panera’s loyalty program. Over the next few months, the bakery-café chain will roll out scanners that can access customers’ credit card and loyalty account using their palm. The biometric-gathering technology, developed by Amazon and called Amazon One, …

The Insider reports: Twitter is secretly boosting the accounts of 35 VIP users over others, per a new report from Platformer. Managing Editor Zoë Schiffer cited internal documents from Twitter which listed 35 VIP users, who all have their posts monitored and promoted for greater visibility. Schiffer published 14 out of the 35 names on the list, which included NBA …

Reuters reports: Some parts of Twitter Inc’s source code have been leaked and the social media platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk is seeking information on the person responsible, a legal filing showed. According to the filing, “various excerpts” of Twitter’s source code, which is used to run the company online, were posted on Github, a Microsoft-owned platform for sharing …

NPR reports: North Carolina-based First Citizens will buy Silicon Valley Bank, the tech industry-focused financial institution that collapsed earlier this month, rattling the banking industry and sending shockwaves around the world. The sale involves the sale of all deposits and loans of SVB to First-Citizens Bank and Trust Co., the FDIC said in a statement late Sunday. Customers of SVB …

The Wrap reports: Elon Musk told employees on March 25 that the company is now valued at $20 billion valuation, according to a senior reporter at The Verge. That’s less than half of the $44 billion he paid for the social networking platform in October 2022. With the Musk-mandated return of several formerly banned users, a rise in antisemitic and …

Ars Technica reports: Four and a half months after the chaotic rollout of paid checkmarks, Elon Musk’s Twitter is following through on a plan to remove verification from individual accounts that don’t pay $8 per month for a Twitter Blue subscription. “Starting April 1, we’ll be winding down our legacy Verification program and accounts that were verified under the previous …

Gothamist reports: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is proposing steep fines for stores selling weed without a license. The move comes as pressure builds to crack down on unlicensed cannabis shops – something other city and state officials have struggled to do effectively. The governor introduced legislation in Albany Wednesday that would clarify and expand the authority of the state …