The sharp fall has surprised many people because only days ago traders were worried that conflict in the Middle East would keep oil above $100 a barrel. Instead, Brent crude has fallen to around $87 a barrel, its lowest level in nearly two months.
As of Friday 12 June 2026, Elon Musk has become the world's first publicly recognised trillionaire. The milestone was reached after the hugely successful initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX.
For centuries, the world's richest individuals have symbolised the economic power of their age. During the Industrial Revolution it was the railway and steel magnates.
For decades, the world’s great sporting spectacles could rely on one thing above all else. A full house.
As Britain faces growing international tensions and pressure to increase defence spending, politicians have increasingly framed the debate as a choice between funding the armed forces or maintaining the welfare system. It is a simple message, but is it an accurate one? The Resolution Foundation has challenged this popular narrative, arguing that the comparison is both misleading and incomplete.
Consumer advocate and environmental activist Erin Brockovich joins MS NOW to discuss the rapid growth of AI data centers, concerns over transparency, community impact, water and energy use and why communities are pushing back against projects in their neighborhoods. Huge projects like this are landing in many parts of the world.
The Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) is warning that Scotland faces slower tax revenue growth, rising spending pressures, and a widening long‑term fiscal gap. We should pay attention, because the SFC is Scotland’s official, independent fiscal watchdog, and its forecasts shape the Scottish Government’s budget decisions.
National Insurance (NI) behaves like a “stealth” tax in practice. It raises revenue from earnings, is visible as a payroll deduction, and increasingly functions like a second income tax rather than a narrowly hypothecated social‑insurance contribution.
Maternal and child health expert Professor Christine McCourt is to lead a review into improving maternity services across Scotland. Health Secretary Angela Constance announced the appointment in an update to Parliament.
For weeks the world's financial markets have been dominated by one issue – conflict in the Middle East. The fighting involving the United States and Iran, together with fears over the Strait of Hormuz, pushed oil prices sharply higher, increased inflation concerns and sent investors rushing into traditional safe-haven assets such as gold.
The Office for National Statistics reports that real GDP grew by 0.7% in the three months to April 2026 compared with the three months to January 2026, marking the fifth consecutive quarter‑on‑quarter rise and continuing a modest recovery trend. Despite that three‑month gain, the ONS records a monthly contraction of 0.1% in April 2026, the first monthly fall since August 2025.
The Office for National Statistics reports that total construction output in Great Britain rose by 1.6% in the three months to April 2026, marking a second consecutive quarterly increase. The monthly picture for April was much flatter.
The World Cup is an opportunity to showcase what Scotland has to offer as a place to live, work, study, do business and visit, First Minister John Swinney has said. The First Minister will be in Boston to undertake a series of engagements with business leaders and investors, before joining celebrations to mark Scotland’s men's national football team's return to the World Cup, ahead of the match on Saturday.
If you are 16 to 19 years old, at school or college, and come from a low-income household you may be able to get financial help from an Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA). EMA is a weekly allowance of £30 per week, paid during term time.
the technology exists and China has already built commercial underwater data centres that use seawater cooling and offshore wind. But Scotland faces distinct geographic, regulatory and economic hurdles that make the idea promising in theory but challenging in practice.
Thousands of young people in Scotland are to be offered free vaccination against meningococcal B disease (MenB) ahead of the 2026-27 academic year. Meningococcal disease, which can include meningitis and/or septicaemia, is life-threatening and can result in life-changing disabilities including amputations, hearing loss, and brain damage.
Uncle Sam, that venerable cartoon uncle with the stern hat and the taxpayer’s wallet, has taken to pacing the global stage with the same confident gait as the Grand Old Duke of York. He gathers his battalions of policy, rhetoric and procurement, marches them up the hill of strategic purpose, and then, with equal ceremony, marches them down again leaving behind a trail of invoices, supply‑chain tangles and a public ledger that looks suspiciously like a marching band’s expense report.
People keep asking me whether the UK is heading for a house price crash. The honest answer is that nobody knows for certain.
Fiscal drag is a “stealth” tax rise. By freezing tax thresholds while wages rise, more of your pay is pushed into higher bands so you pay more tax even though rates haven’t changed.
The Office for National Statistics reports that total goods and services trade deficit widened by £7.7 billion to £39.9 billion in the three months to April 2026, compared with the three months to January 2026. On the monthly headline, goods exports and goods imports each rose by £0.8 billion in April 2026, equivalent to a 2.6 percent increase in exports and a 1.5 percent increase in imports versus March.