Private Astronauts in Space: Polaris Dawn Launch and Nvidia's Q2 Earnings

Private Astronauts in Space: The Polaris Dawn Mission

Hello and welcome to the working week. One event worth keeping an eye on is the Polaris Dawn space mission set to launch on Tuesday. Billionaire Jared Isaacman and three others will embark on this mission that is privately funded and operated by SpaceX, utilizing the Falcon 9 rocket and specialized spacesuits.

The crew is planning to attempt a spacewalk during their five-day mission, which marks an ambitious milestone as they could be the first non-government astronauts to complete a spacewalk. Although largely symbolic, this event signifies the growing influence of private companies in space exploration.

Nvidia's Q2 Earnings: A Financial Powerhouse

Back on solid ground, Nvidia is set to report its second-quarter results on Wednesday. In the previous quarter, Nvidia astonished the market with a remarkable 262% increase in revenue. CEO Jensen Huang indicated that significant revenue would come from the newly unveiled Blackwell chips supporting generative AI models.

Since then, Nvidia has experienced fluctuations, becoming the most valuable company globally, witnessing a decline of about $750bn in value, and subsequently recovering. Regardless of the outcome, Nvidia's results promise to capture investor attention closely.

Additionally, watch for CrowdStrike's results, the first after a software update that affected major firms like Delta. Investors will be eager to comprehend the financial impact of the outage.

Weather and Economic Events This Week

In the UK, a pleasantly mild summer is shifting as August draws to a close with anticipated wetter conditions. The UK Met Office will announce storm names for 2024-25 on Thursday, following US National Hurricane Center naming conventions.

For a comprehensive overview of company reports and economic data this week, stay tuned.