At 900am today the oil price has risen again to almost $105. The oil market is in a “yo-yo” phase right now because traders are reacting hour by hour to conflicting news about war risks, supply shortages, peace negotiations and the wider economy.
The UK housing shortage is driven by a combination of long‑term structural failures rather than any single cause. Across multiple authoritative sources, the evidence points to chronic undersupply, rising demand, high construction costs, loss of social housing, and planning bottlenecks as the core drivers.
Based on the latest published data, both the Scottish Government and the UK Government are currently nowhere near the build‑rates required to meet their own housing targets. The gap between targets and actual new starts is now so large that without major policy, planning, and funding changes those promises are indeed “pie in the sky”.
Caithness cannot “fix” its housing crisis with the same tools used in the Central Belt. The county needs a rural‑specific, infrastructure first, builder capacity‑led recovery plan not more targets, consultations, or glossy PDFs.
The financial pressures facing both the Scottish Government and councils could create major risks for ambitious long-term capital programmes such as The Highland Council’s Highland Investment Plan (HIP), including the proposed £100 million redevelopment of Thurso High School into a major community campus. However, the picture is complicated because projects like Thurso are also politically and economically important for the region.
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence, data centres and advanced computing demand is beginning to affect the wider technology market far beyond gaming consoles. Governments, councils, banks, universities, hospitals and large companies are all facing rising costs for servers, networking equipment, storage systems and high-performance computer chips.
There is growing evidence that UK employers are becoming more reluctant to hire younger workers, particularly in entry-level sectors such as retail, hospitality and leisure, as employment costs rise sharply. The evidence comes from official data, business surveys, economists, recruitment firms and parliamentary hearings.
The next Scottish government is likely to face some of the toughest financial decisions since devolution. Economists, the Fraser of Allander Institute, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Scottish Fiscal Commission have all warned that Scotland is heading towards a funding gap approaching £5 billion by the end of the parliamentary term unless spending is cut, taxes rise, or economic growth improves sharply.
One of the emerging realities of the global economy is that access to reliable water is becoming almost as important as access to electricity. Shale gas extraction and AI data centres are major examples, but a growing list of industries now require enormous quantities of water for cooling, cleaning, chemical processing, hydrogen production, or power generation.
The Regional Returning Officer for Highlands and Islands, Derek Brown has declared the results for the Scottish Parliament Highlands and Islands Regional list. Maree Todd who lost out to the libdem candidate David Green gets back in on the list.
The standoff in the Strait of Hormuz has already made fuel and energy noticeably more expensive. But energy prices are only part of the story.
With 14,666 votes for David Green, the Scottish Lib Dems have taken the seat from the SNP's Maree Todd. The Constituency and Regional Returning Officer for Highlands and Islands, Derek Brown has declared the results for the Scottish Parliament constituency of Skye, Lochaber, and Badenoch.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (May 6th) sold 471 Prime Sheep. New Season Lambs (6) averaged 398.0p per kg and sold to 398.0p per kg and £203 gross.
For more than a century, armies recruited the same way: find the strongest, the toughest, the most physically resilient. But the rise of drone warfare from Ukraine’s FPV units to long‑range strike teams has flipped that logic on its head.
For once, Caithness is not on the periphery of a national project — we’re right at the landfall. The 1 GW Ayre Offshore Wind Farm, a floating ScotWind development by Qair, will bring its cables ashore at Keiss and feed into the new Banniskirk Hub.
The U.S. is in a bizarre situation in 2026: It’s facing a looming energy shortage, yet the Trump administration is making deals to pay offshore wind developers nearly US$2 billion in taxpayer money to walk away from energy projects.
Drones have rapidly moved from niche military tools to one of the defining technologies of modern warfare. The war in Ukraine, tensions around Taiwan, and the wider global military build up have all demonstrated the same reality.
Oil prices hovering around or above $100 per barrel are about far more than expensive petrol. High oil prices ripple through the entire global economy, influencing inflation, interest rates, government borrowing, mortgage costs, and household finances.
When Modella Capital bought WH Smith’s high‑street estate last year, the promise was bold: a fresh start, a new name, and a renewed role as the “hub of the high street”. Less than twelve months later, that vision has collapsed into a stark warning — up to 150 stores may close, hundreds of jobs may go, and another familiar name may fade from Britain’s town centres.
A snapshot of Caithness in 2026 over the past few days. Big announcements, bigger frustrations, and the quiet competence of local people keeping the place going.