Virgin Orbit has filed for bankruptcy after a collapse in its share price following a failed rocket launch in January.
The California-based business failed to secure the long-term funding needed to help it recover from the unsuccessful mission from Cornwall earlier this year.
5 things to start your day
1) Brussels rift over border app threatens to inflict misery on holidaymakers | Disagreement over who develops software risks causing lengthy delays for passengers
2) Putin pushes Russian oil exports to record high | It comes after surprise production cuts led by Saudi Arabia risks causing pain for motorists at the pumps and stoking inflation
3) Glencore launches $22bn copper raid as battle for battery resources explodes | Proposed merger would make the combined business the world’s third largest copper producer
4) ‘Completely unsellable’: how HS2 is causing property market chaos | Repeated delays to the project’s timeline cause added uncertainty for homeowners
5) No, our inflation problem is not due to Brexit | Inflation is still set to fall sharply this year – regardless of Brexit scaremongering
What happened overnight
Shares were mixed in Asia as investors watched for the latest moves by central banks.
Meanwhile oil prices steadied after shooting higher the day before following an announcement that major exporters plan to cut production.
Benchmarks rose in Tokyo, Shanghai and Seoul but fell in Hong Kong and Sydney.
Australia’s central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at 3.6pc.
Wall Street’s main equity indexes mostly advanced on Monday, as energy stocks surged amid rising oil prices following surprise production cuts led by Saudi Arabia.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1pc to close at to 33,601.15, while the broad-based S&P 500 index closed 0.4pc higher at 4,124.51. The tech rich Nasdaq composite fell 0.3pc to 12,189.45.
Yields on US government bonds retreated following reports that manufacturing activity shrank more sharply than expected in March, suggesting lowered odds for more Federal Reserve interest rate increases.
The benchmark 10-year yield declined five basis points to 3.42pc.
