Virgin Orbit Holdings closed indefinitely due to cash-crunch concerns that have crippled many other tech businesses. Due to its inability to get funding, the company announced it was reducing 85% of its personnel as well. The stock (VORB) fell 42% as a result, down 98% from its peak of $10.

Thursday saw an almost 1% increase in European stock indices on hopes that central banks will soon halt their tightening cycle. Global risk sentiment improved as worries about the recent banking turmoil subsided. The STOXX 600 jumped to 455 while DAX 40 surged to 15,500.

The announcement of Alibaba’s plan to divide itself into six distinct businesses boosted the stock by 13%. This reorganization may result in many IPOs down the road. The segments would be cloud, e-commerce, global e-commerce, digital mapping, logistics, and a media arm.

The European stock market was brought down by the banking sector. DAX fell 2% due to ongoing fears that another bank will crash. Deutsche Bank is down 15%, while UBS along with Credit Suisse both lost around 6%. Other notable industry players like BNP Paribas and Commerzbank suffered losses as well.

Hermes International (RMS) jumped to a new all-time high of over 1,806 per stock. The company is up 24% so far in 2023 and up 49.5% in the last 12 months. Hermes is currently valued at 188 billion euros.

After a banking bloodbath for the past few weeks, First Republic Bank (FRC) gained 30%. The stock jumped from $12 to $16, but is still down from $120 three weeks ago.

Virgin Orbit Holdings closed indefinitely due to cash-crunch concerns that have crippled many other tech businesses. Due to its inability to get funding, the company announced it was reducing 85% of its personnel as well. The stock (VORB) fell 42% as a result, down 98% from its peak of $10.

Boerse Stuttgart, one of the largest German stock exchanges, entered the crypto world. It has received a license as a crypto custodian from Germany’s financial regulator (BaFin). This license allows the exchange of custody and trading of digital assets for its clients.

The annual inflation rate in Euro Area fell from 8.5% in February to 6.9% in March. Netherlands’s inflation tumbled from 8% to 4.4%. French inflation eased from 6.3% to 5.6%. Poland’s inflation dropped from 18.4% to 16.2%. Austria’s inflation fell from 10.9% to 9.1%.

Crypto company Ledger has raised $109 million in the Series C round. This funding round put the company’s valuation at $1.4 billion. Some of the investors in the round included Cathay Innovation, True Global Ventures, Digital Finance Group and VaynerFund.

UBS CEO, Ralph Hamers. is stepping down on April 5th after the company acquired financially troubled Credit Suisse. Sergio Ermotti is about to succeed Hamers, who was UBS’ CEO from 2011 to 2020. 

The result of the annual inflation rate in Spain surprised, dropping from 6% in February to 3.3% in March. This is very close to the central bank’s goal. Germany’s inflation also fell, from 8.7% to 7.4%, a little above the estimated 7.3%. Belgium’s inflation held steady at 6.6%.