For much of the decade following the global financial crisis, interest rates sat at historically low levels. Borrowing was cheap, mortgages were affordable, and savers often struggled to earn any meaningful return on their deposits.
The Bank of England has suggested we're facing mega economic uncertainty right now. Stock markets are at record highs.
The decision by the United Arab Emirates to leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the wider OPEC+ marks one of the most significant shifts in global energy politics in decades. After nearly sixty years of membership, the UAE’s departure reflects both long-standing structural tensions within the organization and immediate geopolitical pressures, particularly those linked to instability in the Strait of Hormuz.
Bond yields are rising across the world — from the UK and US to Japan, where interest rates are hitting levels not seen in decades. But why is this happening now, and why does it matter?.
Training tackles harmful assumptions about disability and ensures staff make practical, meaningful adjustments for the people they serve. Thousands of DWP healthcare professionals completed Oliver McGowan training to better support autistic people and those with learning disabilities as they navigate the benefits system.
Britain’s NEET crisis is being driven by a quartet of causes of rising ill-health, weak vocational education, a hands-off benefits system, and a weak labour market. Action on all four fronts is needed to get young people’s futures back on track, according to the Resolution Foundation on Tuesday 28 April 2026.
In a landmark speech, the Technology Secretary said there must be a “decisive move” towards backing more British tech companies as AI reshapes global power, security and prosperity. In a keynote speech Liz Kendall set out why AI is key to this country’s economic prosperity and national security.
Garage rents in Caithness are set to increase by 10% for garage rent 2026/27 and 15% for garage sites, as agreed at the recent Caithness Area Committee (Monday 27 April). There are currently 492 garages and garage sites across Caithness, 126 of which are currently void.
Parents of teenagers starting qualifying further education or training courses must extend their Child Benefit claim by 31 August. About 1.5 million parents of 16-19 year-olds are to receive reminder letters in coming weeks.
Brent has already broken above $117 today. It’s risen 15% in about a week.
There’s a growing sense that something isn’t quite stable about the global energy system and that we might be “propping things up” with temporary fixes like oil stock drawdowns. That instinct isn’t entirely wrong.
Update - as oil price passes $111 a barrel at 8:00am on 28 April 2026. With little progress on the Strait of Hormuz prices are looking to keep rising.
This is a busy week for central banks: the Federal Reserve meets on 28–29 April, the Bank of Japan meets around 27–28 April, and both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank have policy decisions at the end of the month (30 April). Markets will be watching all four closely because energy‑price shocks from the Middle East are raising inflation uncertainty.
RWE, one of the world’s leading renewables companies, can announce the successful completion and commissioning of its Camster II Onshore Wind Farm in Caithness, Scotland. The 36 megawatts (MW) project was first consented in July 2021 and construction started in 2023.
Around 170 candidates were assessed in April 2026 through the new secure, web-based platform. The first seafarers to take new digital assessments that are being rolled out by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) have been congratulated as they opened their results this week.
The latest analysis from the Health Foundation delivers a stark warning. The UK is no longer just struggling with poor health outcomes it is moving backwards.
Energy prices rise again amid a void of hope on Iran talks. Brent crude trades above $111 a barrel amid the uncertainty.
It is tempting to view wars in distant regions—whether in Ukraine or the escalating tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran as remote geopolitical events with little bearing on everyday life in northern Scotland. Yet for Caithness and the wider Scottish Highlands, these global disruptions are anything but distant.
The UK economy in 2026 sits in a familiar but uncomfortable position. Highly globalised, deeply interconnected, and therefore unusually exposed to shocks it does not control.
Early indications suggest that the introduction of a Short Term Let Control Area (STLCA) for Badenoch and Strathspey has slowed the growth of secondary short-term lets across the area. The STLCA for Ward 20, which covers Aviemore, Carrbridge, Boat of Garten, Dalwhinnie Grantown-on-Spey, Kingussie, and Newtonmore, has been in place for two years and was one of the first to be designated in Scotland.