Virgin

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Mind Taking the Middle Seat? Will a Big Prize Convince You?
Airline Gets Creative in Getting
Travelers to Take Middle Seat
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Oct 29, 2022 12:50 PM CDT

Airline Gets Creative in Getting Travelers to Take Middle Seat

Virgin Australia launches $147K lottery, with prizes each week for those who sit in least desirable spots

(Newser) - Is there ever anyone who actually wants the middle seat during a flight? If there is, we haven't met them, but that may soon change thanks to some coaxing on the matter by Virgin Australia. Per a recent social media poll offered by the airline, a paltry 0.6%...

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit Rocket Launch Ends Poorly

It's not yet clear what went wrong, but mission was terminated

(Newser) - Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit failed Monday in its first test launch of a new rocket carried aloft by a Boeing 747 and released over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California, the AP reports. The inaugural launch had appeared to be going well until moments after the...

The Sex Pistols' New Venture Is ... Not So Rebellious

Band will be featured on credit cards

(Newser) - From punk rock icons to ... credit card hawkers? Yes, indeed, the Sex Pistols will be helping a UK bank sell its credit cards, the Guardian reports. The band's name and album artwork will appear on a series of cards for Virgin Money, the bank founded by Sir Richard Branson,...

Father-of-14 Sperm Donor: I'm a 36-Year-Old Virgin

Trent Arsenault tells Anderson Cooper he's a 'donorsexual'

(Newser) - A 36-year-old California man who boasts he's an "organic" sperm donor and has fathered 14 children through his free donations, has never had sex, he has revealed. Silicon Valley computer security specialist Trent Arsenault tells Anderson Cooper today that he's a "donorsexual" who has committed "...

Branson to Pilot Sub to Deepest Spots on Earth

Mogul plans journeys to bottom of earth in Virgin Oceanic Expeditions

(Newser) - Billionaire adventurer Richard Branson has turned his attention to the least known part of our planet: the ocean. Branson unveiled plans yesterday to send a deep-sea submarine to five of the deepest points on Earth, reports the Los Angeles Times. Fellow adventurer Chris Welsh will pilot the craft to the...

Toddler Stashed in Overhead Bin on Virgin Flight

Axed flight attendant claims he was playing hide and seek

(Newser) - A mom is still sputtering in fury after a Virgin Blue airlines steward stashed her baby boy in an overhead bin during a flight from Sydney to Fiji. Natalie Williamson says the flight attendant placed her 17-month-old son, Riley, in the bin and closed the latch, leaving him in there...

Virgin's Stores Go Way of Dodo
 Virgin's Stores Go Way of Dodo 
Mar 4, 2009 9:57 AM CST

Virgin's Stores Go Way of Dodo

In US

(Newser) - America's last six Virgin Megastores will close their doors by this summer, the AP reports, even though they’ve managed to remain profitable amidst the economic storm. The real estate firms that bought the chain in 2007 determined they could collect more rent from new tenants. “I’ve been...

Virgin Megastore to Close
 Virgin Megastore to Close 
Jan 14, 2009 9:37 AM CST

Virgin Megastore to Close

Iconic record store to become Forever 21

(Newser) - New York City’s iconic Virgin Megastore will close in April, Billboard reports. The Times Square fixture is the US’s highest volume music store, but the real estate company that acquired Virgin in 2007 is booting it for a higher-rent tenant. An exec told Reuters last year that Virgin...

Virgin May Try '3 Strikes' for File Sharers

Copyright holders pressure British ISPs to unplug users

(Newser) - Virgin Media may become the second ISP to unplug users who share files illegally, the Register reports. The company is in talks with a UK record industry association over a  "three strikes" system, which would disconnect users who share copyright-infringing files after two warnings. "We are taking this...

Move to Nationalize UK Bank Sparks Fury

Shareholders expected to battle public ownership

(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,...

Brits Hatch Secret Plan to Bail Out Northern Rock

No good options for struggling bank

(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,...

Google Founder's Wedding Date Suppressed

Published, retracted without explanation

(Newser) - Valleywag reports that somebody leaked Google founder Larry Page's wedding date to a Fortune editor, but the info was later scrubbed from the story in which it had appeared. And the old version of the article doesn't show up in the Google cache of the page. Yahoo cached the original...

Branson's Virgin Group Bids for Northern Rock

Beleaguered British mortgage lender's stock jumps 7% on news

(Newser) - Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is officially making a bid for Britain’s Northern Rock, the Times of London reports. Branson hopes to merge the bank with Virgin Money and then rebrand it, keeping the company independent. “If we are successful we'll be able to create an exciting new...

Virgin Mobile USA IPO Disappoints
Virgin Mobile USA IPO Disappoints
Oct 12, 2007 11:15 AM CDT

Virgin Mobile USA IPO Disappoints

Shares trade just 5% above IPO price.

(Newser) - Virgin Mobile USA debuted on the stock market yesterday with disappointing results, according to the Wall Street Journal. Its closing price of $15.75, up 5% from the IPO, was at the low end of the $15-17 range predicted by deal manager Lehman Bros. Founding owners Virgin Group and Sprint...

Kanye Prevails in Battle of the Hip-Hop Stars

It's still early, but Graduation is outselling 50 Cent's Curtis

(Newser) - In the much-hyped battled between two music titans, early sales indicate hip-hop fans are going West. Kanye West’s latest album, Graduation, has been outselling rival 50 Cent’s Curtis—by 2 to 1 at one Hollywood store, the LA Times reports—since the two went on sale yesterday. Fitty,...

Carlyle Bids on Faltering Virgin Media

Debt-riddled UK cable provider, 35 ($ a share), seeks rich buyout firm

(Newser) - The friendly corporate raiders at the Carlyle Group have floated an offer to buy out Virgin Media, the British cable provider, with total equity in the range of $8B and $10B, the Journal reports. The besieged media company has been losing customers to rivals in the UK, and has stacked...

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