SpaceX to make second attempt at launching world's largest rocket
SpaceX will try again to launch the world's biggest and most powerful rocket today which could eventually take people to Mars.
The nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship is poised to blast off from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border.
It comes after engineers have been working nonstop since Monday after the first shot at a test flight was halted by technical issues with a booster valve.
SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk had given 50-50 odds of the spacecraft reaching orbit on its debut.
He tweeted this morning that: "All systems currently green for launch."
The launch is scheduled to take place within a 62-minute window, starting at 9.28am eastern time - which is 2.28pm UK time.
Instagram to cut or relocate London staff
Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Reality Labs — which houses the firm's virtual reality efforts and Quest hardware — will be affected by job cuts as part of chief executive Mark Zuckerberg's efficiency campaign, according to a memo Meta sent on Tuesday.
The company announced in March plans to cut 10,000 staff - and it appears Instagram's London presence will be removed as part of the reorganisation of the business.
The app's staff will either be cut or relocated from the office, according to Bloomberg.
A further round of job cuts is expected to follow in May.
Good morning
Meta-owned Instagram is expected to cut or relocate its London staff as the Facebook owner executes its programme of 10,000 job losses across the business.
The decision comes amid a wave of layoffs in the tech sector after an over expansion during the pandemic amid the working from home boom.
5 things to start your day
1) Tesla profits slip for first time since 2019 after Musk cuts prices | The electric carmaker expects to squeeze rivals with lower manufacturing costs
2) Russian hacking is surging as Putin targets Britain, warn spy chiefs | Hackers attempting to 'disrupt or destroy' crucial infrastructure, says GCHQ
3) Supermarkets accused of failing to rein in soaring food prices | Grocers yet to pass on drop in global costs
4) CBI risks being frozen out by senior politicians until end of the year | Top business group faces protracted investigation as dismissed boss claims he was made the ‘fall guy’
5) Murdoch’s bill for settling Fox defamation lawsuits likely to exceed £1bn | Billionaire's media empire faces more legal woes from Smartmatic's $2.7bn lawsuit
What happened overnight
Asian stocks inched lower on Thursday, while the dollar clung to overnight gains in cautious trading as US Federal Reserve policymakers reiterated their commitment to reining in inflation despite signs of mounting economic headwinds.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.2pc lower, set for third straight day of losses.
Japan's Nikkei was up 0.3pc, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index was 0.1pc higher.
Wall Street stocks closed mostly flat on Wednesday following another day of mixed company results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2pc at 33,897.34, while the broad-based S&P 500 was almost unchanged at 4,154.54.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was also relatively flat at 12,157.23.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was up 3 basis points to 3.61pc after reaching 3.639pc - its highest since March 22.
Treasury two-year yields, which are more sensitive to imminent monetary policy decisions, rose for a fifth straight session and topped 4.2pc.