Slow news day. UK PM Rishi Sunak will crack down on ‘go slow’ oil protests that disrupt commuters. The World Bank has warned of the risk of a recession as global growth slows. And finally, Virgin Orbit’s rocket LauncherOne experienced an anomaly and so traveled too slowly to reach orbit, likely burning up its expensive payload as it fell back to earth — Virgin Orbit’s share price then followed a similar path.

The lowdown

• 🚀 Virgin Orbit rocket experiences an ‘anomaly’ that prevented it from reaching orbit.

• 🚨 Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg sentenced to 5 months jail as part of tax fraud case.

• 🍏 Apple to begin using new in-house screens from 2024 to reduce reliance on suppliers.

Featured Stories

Virgin Orbit — Space Finance Part I

We’ve established that Virgin Orbit’s rocket failed to reach orbit. What may be more interesting to finance readers is how the company raised the finance necessary to fund the attempt and whether funds will allow the company a second go. 

Virgin Orbit became a publicly traded company in December 2021 through a SPAC merger. The company raised $228 million in fresh capital through the merger, though it had planned to raise much more: $483 million to be exact. The issue, commonplace among SPAC deals, is that while unitholders voted in favor of the merger, most redeemed their $10 units prior to the merger taking effect. The lower proceeds from the SPAC and the fact that Virgin Orbit has been spending heavily likely means the company will need fresh capital soon ($).

Any raise will be done at a much lower valuation. Like most SPACs, the share price has fallen far below the $10 yardstick. It last traded at $1.66, after doing its best impression of LauncherOne and falling 14% yesterday.

Join Noom, the psychology-based program for lasting healthy outcomes.

It’s time to ditch the detox teas, meal replacement shakes, and total elimination of food groups. The way to lose weight and actually keep it off is to change your mindset.

Noom is a digital health platform that allows you to better understand yourself, your brain, and the science of choice. Noomers lose an average of 15 pounds in 16 weeks, and also even celebrate non-scale victories, like preventing chronic diseases and gaining confidence – join them and change your life today.

Learn more about Noom today. (Sponsored)

The content we're consuming today

• FT: $100 a barrel oil looms again, analysts say ($).

• Exchanges at Goldman Sachs podcast: M&A in 2023: A complex but optimistic outlook for deal-making.

Off-balance sheet items

• The most violent awards in film and television (The Golden Globes) were held yesterday and The Banshees of Inisherin took out the top spot for Best Picture – Musical/Comedy. To be honest, I haven’t seen it yet but the trailer is great.

The bottom line