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NEWS ABOUT: Richard Branson

Richard Branson stories: 34 news summaries

1 - 20 of 34 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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EARNINGS REPORTS

 Virgin Soars 
 as BA Posts 
 Record Loss 

Branson's airline doubles profits year-on-year

May 26, 09 5:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - Virgin Atlantic announced today that its annual profits had nearly doubled to $109 million, while its rival British Airways posted a record annual loss of $638 million. According to the Times of London, Richard Branson's airline increased its market share and drew substantial revenue from its premium services. Virgin, which... More »

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Richard Branson • airline industry • profits • British Airways • Virgin Atlantic

 Branson's 
 Next Launch: 
 Virgin Internet Bank 

Exploiting the public's discontent with banks, Virgin could bid for Northern Rock

May 18, 09 7:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - Capitalizing on public disgust with Britain’s big banks, Richard Branson plans to launch an Internet bank through subsidiary Virgin Money that will take deposits and offer mortgages, the Guardian reports. Branson is talking to investors and some US banks about financial backing and could set in motion more ambitious... More »

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Richard Branson • United Kingdom • bank • Britain • Virgin Group • Northern Rock Bank • financial crisis

 UK Billionaires' 
 Ranks Halved 
 in Downturn 

Wealthiest lose collective $228B

Apr 26, 09 12:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - The number of UK billionaires has been almost cut in half by economic woes, from 75 to 43, with the country’s wealthiest having lost a collective $228 billion, the Times of London reports. The hardest-hit was steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who remains Britain’s richest man despite having lost... More »

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Richard Branson • Paul McCartney • Elton John • wealth • Roman Abramovich • recession • billionaire • rich • losses • Lakshmi Mittal • downturn • personal wealth • Tom Jones • economic crisis

'Sexist' Airline Ad Riles Up UK TV Viewers

Virgin Atlantic defends spot; standards board says it's 'humorous'

Feb 11, 09 8:56 AM CST
(Newser) - A Virgin Atlantic TV ad featuring female flight attendants strutting through Heathrow Airport while harried male passengers ogle them is not sexist, Britain’s advertising watchdog has ruled. The ad, celebrating Virgin’s 25th anniversary, drew 29 complaints, reports the Telegraph. Critics cried stereotyping; the independent Advertising Standards Authority said... More »

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Richard Branson • airline industry • sexism • Virgin Atlantic • gender stereotypes • advertising campaign

Hiker Brings 'Closure' for Fossett Widow

Calif. man fields thanks from Branson before fleeing spotlight

Oct 3, 08 3:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - The widow of adventurer Steve Fossett, whose wrecked plane was found this week in the Sierra Nevada mountains, reached out personally yesterday to the hiker who played the key role in the discovery, the LA Times reports. Peggy Fossett thanked outdoorsman and sporting-goods salesman Preston Morrow for the chance to... More »

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Richard Branson • California • plane crash • NTSB • Steve Fossett • Sierra Nevada • Peggy Fossett • Preston Morrow

OPINION

 Top 50-Something Studs 

The WowOWow ladies list their picks

Sep 27, 08 8:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Older men can be sexier than callow youths, such as Leonardo and Brad—or so the ladies of WowOWow report, in their list of the top 50 sexiest men over 50. The elite:
  • Rocker Bruce Springsteen
  • Author James Patterson
  • TV host Charlie Rose
More »

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Richard Branson • Sidney Poitier • Arnold Schwarzenegger • Richard Gere • Michael Bloomberg • Barry Diller • Charlie Rose • David Bowie

 Branson's Aircraft:
 Beyond Space Tourism

Applications include satelites, drones and studying climate change

Aug 3, 08 11:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Though space tourism is an exciting feat in itself, it’s just the beginning of the possibilities for Virgin Galactic’s White Knight Two, the Economist notes. The carbon-composite plane doubles as a spaceship’s first stage, and is capable of launching satellites, transporting replacement engines, and facilitating... More »

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climate change • Richard Branson • space tourism • Virgin Galactic • space travel • Burt Rutan • adventure travel

 Branson Rolls Out 
 Space Plane 

Craft could make first commercial flight—at $200K per ticket—by decade's end

Jul 28, 08 5:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - At a remote airfield in the Mojave Desert today, Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson unveiled the flagship of his new venture, an aircraft that will carry the first passenger space rocket to its launch height of 48,000 feet, the Los Angeles Times reports. Tickets are going for $200,000-plus,... More »

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Richard Branson • space tourism • Virgin Galactic • press conference • space travel • Burt Rutan • adventure travel

Did Air Ace Fossett
Fake His Death?

Questions surround disappearance

Jul 28, 08 3:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - Air adventurer Steve Fossett may have faked his own death, reports the tabloid News of the World. No wreckage was ever found after Fossett disappeared last year in a light plane over the Nevada desert. Fossett didn't bother to wear his GPS watch—and he may have had strong motives... More »

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Richard Branson • aviation • pilot • Steve Fossett • Nevada Civil Air Patrol • Virgin Group • California Highway Patrol • Lloyds of London • Bellanca Citabria Super Decathlon

 Space Tourism Gets 
 New 2-Seater 

Calif. company is second aiming to take passengers to new heights

Mar 27, 08 11:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - California's XCor Aerospace is jumping aboard the space-tourism bandwagon with a new rocket plane, the Los Angeles Times reports. For $100,000, one passenger at a time will be able to ride the Lynx to 200,000 feet and feel about 90 seconds of weightlessness. With flight tests beginning in... More »

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Richard Branson • space tourism • Virgin Galactic • Scaled Composites • Burt Rutan • Xcor • Jeff Greason

Virgin Tests First Biofuel Plane

Jet flies on coconuts and babassu nuts

Feb 24, 08 12:35 PM CST
(Newser) - A Virgin Atlantic jet powered partially by a coconut- and Brazilian babassu nut-based biofuel made it from London to Amsterdam today in the first commercial flight to do so, the BBC reports. Virgin topdog Richard Branson hailed the flight as "pioneering" in the development of "fuels of the... More »

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Richard Branson • London • biofuel • Virgin Atlantic • Amsterdam • jet • Boeing 747 • coconuts • babassu nuts

Move to Nationalize
UK Bank Sparks Fury

Shareholders expected to battle public ownership

Feb 18, 08 3:48 AM CST
(Newser) - Furious shareholders concerned about the risk to their investments are blasting the British government's decision to nationalize ailing Northern Rock bank. The British Treasury is expected to face lengthy legal action from investors once the government formally announces details of the takeover today. Trading in bank shares is being suspended,... More »

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Richard Branson • investors • shareholders • nationalization • Virgin • Alistair Darling • Northern Rock Bank • Chancellor of the Exchequer • bailout • Lloyd's of London • Branson consortium • British Bankers Association • Association of British Insurers • Northern Rock Small Shareholders%u2019 Association

UK Nationalizes Northern Rock

Bank takeover marks desperate move for British ministers

Feb 17, 08 12:52 PM CST
(Newser) - British ministers plan to nationalize Northern Rock as part of a bold, desperate move to rescue the struggling bank, the BBC reports. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said two private bids to take over Northern Rock failed to offer “sufficient value for money to the taxpayer,” adding... More »

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Richard Branson • United Kingdom • nationalization • Northern Rock • Bank of England • Alistair Darling • Virgin Group • taxpayers

RIP, Steve Fossett

Daredevil declared dead five months after disappearance

Feb 16, 08 5:44 AM CST
(Newser) - He vanished on a routine flight five months ago, and now daredevil Steve Fossett has been declared dead at the age of 63, the AP reports. The famous world record breaker was last seen flying a small plane over western Nevada where 15-20 private planes have disappeared since 1950. The... More »

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Richard Branson • obituary • world record • aviation • pilot • hot air balloon • Steve Fossett

Nationalization May Loom for Northern Rock

Branson's Virgin bid for troubled bank needs improvement, UK gov't says

Feb 13, 08 12:00 PM CST
(Newser) - Troubled British mortgage lender Northern Rock’s share price plummeted 8% today as rumors of government nationalization grew after the Treasury panned rescue plans offered by Richard Branson's Virgin Group and a competing version from the bank’s management team, the BBC reports. Though shareholders reportedly prefer management's bid, the... More »

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Richard Branson • nationalization • Northern Rock • Virgin Group

Branson Unveils SpaceShipTwo

Double-hulled plane will carry rocket to high altitude

Jan 23, 08 5:31 PM CST
(Newser) - Richard Branson has unveiled the ship that will carry paying passengers to space. Slightly different from its original prototype, SpaceShipTwo will be carried to high altitude by a double-hulled plane called White Knight, where the rocket will then separate and launch. Branson's Virgin Galactic startup hopes to start test flights... More »

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Richard Branson • space exploration • Virgin Galactic • SpaceShipTwo • Burt Rutan

Northern Rock Bailout Plan a Money Shuffle

Deal pays back government loans, but public still on the hook

Jan 21, 08 2:21 PM CST
(Newser) - The British government today unveiled its last-gasp plan to hand off the Northern Rock hot potato and prevent nationalization, the London Times reports. Under the plan, the bank would immediately pay back the £25 billion it owes the government by selling the debt to private investors as bonds. But... More »

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Richard Branson • United Kingdom • Gordon Brown • subprime mortgages • shareholders • Northern Rock • Alistair Darling • Virgin Group • private investors • financial crisis

Space Tours to Northern Lights

Virgin Galactic to offer flights into heart of aurora borealis

Dec 29, 07 11:41 AM CST
(Newser) - Virgin Galactic plans to launch sightseeing tours into the heart of the northern lights—a first for humans—within three years. If all goes to plan, passengers willing to pay $200,000 a ticket will board spacecraft from north of the Arctic Circle to head for the edge of space,... More »

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Richard Branson • space tourism • northern lights • spacecraft • aurora borealis

Brits Hatch Secret Plan
to Bail Out Northern Rock

No good options for struggling bank

Dec 18, 07 2:05 PM CST
(Newser) - Worried that the state might be stuck nationalizing Northern Rock, Britain has worked up a contingency plan behind closed doors to divide the troubled bank among the country’s commercial banks. A private buyout is still preferable, the Guardian reports, but some now fear the main bidders will back out,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Richard Branson • Gordon Brown • subprime mortgages • Virgin • credit crisis • Britain • Northern Rock • Alistair Darling

Northern Rock Boss Quits as Fall Continues

$570M writedown posted; sale of troubled bank months away

Dec 13, 07 7:54 AM CST
(Newser) - The CEO of collapsing British bank Northern Rock quit this morning without comment, reports the Financial Times. Adam Applegarth resigned last month but had pledged to stay on as CEO until the end of January to guide the struggling company through its upcoming sale. But investors are troubled by the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Richard Branson • United Kingdom • Gordon Brown • credit crisis • Northern Rock • Virgin Group • Adam Applegarth

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