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Month: August 2023

Virgin Galactic flies its first tourists to the edge of space

Virgin Galactic flies its first tourists to the edge of space

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TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M. (AP) — Virgin Galactic rocketed to the edge of space with its first tourists Thursday, including a former British Olympian who bought his ticket 18 years ago and a mother-daughter duo from the Caribbean.

The space plane glided back to a runway landing at Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert, after a brief flight that gave passengers a few minutes of weightlessness.

Cheers erupted from families and friends watching from below when the craft’s rocket motor fired after it was released from the plane that had carried it aloft. The rocket ship reached about 55 miles (88 kilometers) high.

Richard Branson’s company expects to begin offering monthly trips to customers on its winged space plane, joining Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the space tourism business. read more

From eggs to electronics to used cars, consumer inflation eased its grip on US households in July

From eggs to electronics to used cars, consumer inflation eased its grip on US households in July

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By PAUL WISEMAN (AP Economics Writer)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation in the United States edged up in July after 12 straight months of declines. But excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core inflation matched the smallest monthly rise in nearly two years, a sign that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes have continued to slow price increases.

The inflation data the government reported Thursday showed that overall consumer prices rose 3.2% from a year earlier. That was up from a 3% annual rise in June, which was the lowest rate in more than two years. The latest figure remained far below last year’s peak of 9.1%, though still above the Fed’s 2% inflation target.

The Fed, economists and investors, though, pay particular attention to core inflation figures for signs of where price pressures might be headed. From June to July, core inflation remained a tame 0.2%, thanks to easing prices for such items as used vehicles and electronics. And compared with 12 months earlier, core prices rose 4.7% in July, the smallest such increase since October 2021. read more