Friday☕️

Time Is Money

Jun 7, 2024 • 4 min read

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SpaceX Launches
ECB Interest Rate Cuts

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SpaceX Launches:

Yesterday, SpaceX's Starship successfully conducted its fourth flight test, aiming to gather crucial data and demonstrate the capabilities of the Starship and Super Heavy systems for future reuse. The test began with a successful launch from Starbase in Texas at 7:50 a.m. CT, where the Super Heavy booster completed its full-duration ascent burn. During the flight, Starship executed a hot-stage separation, where the Super Heavy’s Raptor engines powered down and six second-stage Raptor engines ignited.
Following the separation, the Super Heavy booster performed a flip maneuver, a boostback burn, and jettisoned the hot-stage adapter, concluding with a soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, Starship's second-stage engines powered it into space, following the planned trajectory. Starship successfully reentered the atmosphere, managing peak heating and aerodynamic pressure. The vehicle used its flaps for controlled descent at hypersonic speeds, demonstrating its ability to navigate reentry.
Real-time telemetry and high-definition video were provided throughout the flight by Starlink. The test concluded with Starship performing a flip maneuver and landing burn, resulting in a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean one hour and six minutes after launch. This fourth flight test is a significant step towards developing a fully reusable transportation system for missions to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
The data gathered will drive further improvements in the Starship program. Additionally, on June 4, 2024, at 7:16 p.m. ET, SpaceX's Falcon 9 launched 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, into low-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission marked the 20th flight for the first-stage booster, which had previously launched missions such as CRS-22, Crew-3, Crew-4, and several Starlink missions.

ECB Interest Rate Cuts:

The European Central Bank (ECB) has lowered its key interest rate from a record high, reducing the key deposit rate by a quarter-point to 3.75% on Thursday. This decision, led by ECB President Christine Lagarde, follows nine months of maintaining the rate at 4%. The ECB made this move because the outlook for inflation has improved.
However, President Lagarde made it clear that this does not necessarily mean more rate cuts will follow soon. She stated that future decisions will depend on economic data, and the ECB will evaluate the situation at each meeting rather than committing to a specific plan. The rate cut was agreed upon by almost all members of the Governing Council, with only one governor opposing. This reduction is the ECB's first step in reversing a series of interest rate hikes that were put in place to tackle the euro zone's severe inflation problem.
This move places the ECB ahead of the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England in easing monetary policy. The goal is to help revive the 20-nation economy, which has been struggling with stagnation and a mild recession over the past two years. While Lagarde previously stated that inflation was under control, recent data shows ongoing price pressures. As a result, investors and economists now expect only two or three additional rate cuts in 2024.

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