Author: James Carter

Trading in shares of Elon Musk’s SpaceX began on the Nasdaq on Friday in the largest initial public offering in history, instantly valuing the rocket and satellite company at $1.77 trillion and putting Musk on the brink of becoming the world’s first trillionaire. SpaceX priced 555.6 million shares at $135 each late on Thursday, raising approximately $75 billion and surpassing Saudi Aramco’s $29 billion debut in 2019 by more than $45 billion to claim the record for the largest IPO ever completed, according to RedState. The valuation makes SpaceX the seventh most valuable public company in the United States, ahead…

The third generation of Audi’s flagship seven-seater, the Q7, has arrived with a striking decision at its core: rather than offering the multi-powertrain lineup buyers might expect, Audi has opted for a single 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine — one that can also run on vegetable oil. The move sets the new Q7 apart from luxury rivals such as the Mercedes GL and BMW X7, both of which offer a wider range of engines and are pushing towards plug-in hybrid options. It also stands in stark contrast to cheaper Chinese “luxe” alternatives, which typically arrive as plug-in hybrids offering EV-only ranges…

The UK economy contracted by 0.1 per cent in April as soaring fuel prices linked to the Iran war squeezed household budgets and weighed on spending, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Friday. The contraction marks a sharp reversal from the strong start to the year. The economy had grown by 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, with March alone delivering 0.3 per cent growth — far outpacing expectations. Economists had been bracing for the slowdown, with most forecasters pencilling in a 0.1 per cent decline for April as the energy shock…

SpaceX is set to list on Nasdaq today in what is expected to be the largest IPO in history, with a valuation of £1.75 trillion — but analysts are warning retail investors piling into the offering that the numbers behind the hype tell a far less reassuring story. The deal is reportedly more than twice oversubscribed, with demand running at double the $75 billion fresh capital raise, and up to 30 per cent of the offer earmarked for retail investors. Ed Croft, founder and chief executive of investment research platform Stockopedia, has run the numbers from the prospectus and concluded…

Donald Trump is pushing Congress to formally void both of his first-term impeachments, with the White House dismissing the historic proceedings as “phony attacks by deranged Democrats” as momentum builds among Republican lawmakers for a symbolic resolution to erase them from the record. Trump told the Wall Street Journal that Congress should act to correct what he described as politically motivated attacks on his presidency. “It should be done because I did nothing wrong. It was a rigged deal — it was a whole rigged situation,” he said. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the Daily Mail: “Trump-deranged Democrats have…

Birmingham City Council has admitted that staff witnessed attempts at illegal family voting during May’s local elections and were subjected to “aggressive abuse” from voters when they intervened to stop the practice — a disclosure that has reignited debate over electoral integrity in parts of Britain. The admission came in response to a Freedom of Information request, with the council confirming that officials were forced to step in and separate groups of voters attempting to enter polling booths together. In a statement to the Daily Mail, the council said: “A number reported that families tried to go into the booths…

Robert F. Kennedy Jr has launched a forceful attack on the New York Times, accusing the paper of running a “hit piece” against him built on testimony from “disgruntled” former employees, several of whom he says he fired or who quit to avoid being fired. The Health and Human Services Secretary’s broadside on X came in response to a New York Times article published earlier this week, written by correspondent Sheryl Gay Stolberg and headlined “Kennedy Shows Minimal Engagement With Vast Health Portfolio.” The piece questioned Kennedy’s management of the department, focusing in particular on his handling of the ongoing…

Global stock markets staged a sharp rally on Thursday after US President Donald Trump said he had called off planned strikes against Iran for that night and suggested a peace deal with Tehran could be signed within days, marking a dramatic reversal of the tensions that had been driving markets lower in recent sessions. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 closed nearly 1.8 per cent higher on Thursday, its biggest single-day gain since April and an end to a three-day losing streak. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.5 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 900 points,…

Sir Keir Starmer has defended Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Treasury after John Healey’s unexpected resignation as Defence Secretary, with the Prime Minister insisting the government’s defence funding plan would deliver “the resources our military needs to keep us safe” amid a fierce row over whether enough money has been committed to protect Britain. Healey quit the frontbench on Tuesday afternoon, hours ahead of the publication of the Defence Investment Plan, in a resignation letter that took direct aim at the Treasury. He wrote that “the excellent and extensive cross-government work that completed in January — overseen by you, me…

Labour’s deputy leader has complained that Britain’s leadership is being decided by a contest between “three men” — and suggested it will fall to a woman to “clear up the mess” they leave behind, in remarks that have fuelled speculation about her own ambitions amid the party’s escalating leadership crisis. Lucy Powell, the Manchester Central MP, vented her frustration to Politico that party attention had become consumed by “the moves of three men — or maybe it’s two men now” rather than substantive debate about “big ideas.” The comments come as Sir Keir Starmer fights to remain in Downing Street…