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Coronation Street’s Megan Walsh could be set for a brutal exit as actress Beth Nixon dropped a massive hint about her character and another villain’s fates on the ITV soap

One Coronation Street star may have given away which villain dies on the ITV soap this week.

Beth Nixon, who plays child groomer Megan Walsh, has teased the game is up for her character. Not only that, but she teased the same about another character who could die this week.

Five villains including Megan face the chop, with someone killed off in Friday’s episode. Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, Beth confessed the doesn’t fancy her survival chances.

She told us: “Megan and Theo are up there as the worst villains. The others can be redeemed but me and Theo are done for aren’t we…” So does this confirm an exit is on the way for Megan and Theo either way, and could one or both of them die?

READ MORE: Coronation Street star warns ‘dangerous’ Theo could kill again as ‘next victim revealed’READ MORE: Coronation Street star teases victim’s identity as Kit ‘figures out killer immediately’

Beth also told us how her character had to go as there was no way she could be redeemed at this point. She is keen for fans to get their justice, but admitted she would love a brutal demise for Megan.

She said: “I’d love it if Megan died a dramatic death. She would proper milk it as well wouldn’t she. But I think the best course of justice for her and what she’s done is to be punished.

“I love to see the viewers theories about what they want. I have seen a lot of people say she needs to go to prison and they don’t want her to be the victim as they want the prison exit.”

Beth also laughed off the moment Megan gets attacked, with her shown wandering round with a bloody nose. Beth said: “She’s like, look what they’ve done to me. I’m the victim, call the police now.

“She’s covered in blood. The way it cuts to her, I was having a giggle. Just wipe your face love!” Beth thinks fans will be shocked by the death when it airs.

She said: “I think the audience are gonna love it. I think they’ll jump up at the TV and scream. I’d love to see it on Gogglebox.” With it heavily hinted time is running out for Megan, Beth has loved playing the character because of how fearless she is.

She explained: “She doesn’t care. It’s so fun to play. Me in real life I’m like, ‘oh sorry’ and Megan’s just like, ‘get out the way.’ She’s so far from who I am it’s so much fun.

“I get to speak to people however I want. It is a very important storyline but it’s been made so easy for me in terms of having to deal with it. There’s been a lot of support from the team here. I’ve felt quite held with it.”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

It’s a massive week on Coronation Street next week according to spoilers, as the fallout to murder week could give away the killer with missed evidence, with the victim teased too

While Coronation Street fans will have to wait for the end of this week to find out who dies, new spoilers drop major hints.

Not only do they possibly give away which of the potential victims live or die, but it’s confirmed some huge evidence possibly exposes the killer. We see Betsy Swain in turmoil after finding the body, as detectives begin their investigation.

As soon as it’s revealed it is murder, suspects are lined up and evidence is gathered. But as some characters cover their tracks and get rid of some possible evidence, others could be about to slip up.

Spoilers confirm that next week, Kit begins to investigate the body found on the street, sparking interrogations with a number of residents. As characters struggle to process what happened, it’s soon confirmed to be murder.

READ MORE: Coronation Street fans ‘rumble’ who dies and who kills them after exit clueREAD MORE: Coronation Street star ‘confirms’ exit for villain Theo – but he ‘might not’ die

Todd is struggling to move past Theo’s abuse, while Debbie is waiting for news on Carl, and there’s some shocking truths revealed to the Driscolls about Megan and Maggie. Shona wants answers as the Platts’ home remains a scene of trauma and the search for answers begins.

When forensic results come back, Kit gives an update that the blood at the scene belongs to more than one person. Shona is left haunted, while David confesses how Jodie tricked him into bed.

Later, David hands some evidence into the station but Kit’s questioning leaves him worried that they think he had something to do with what happened to Jodie – while soon there’s some news. Elsewhere, Carla and Lisa do their best to comfort a traumatised Betsy, postponing their honeymoon.

Lisa begins a formal round of questioning. Inconsistencies in someone’s story start to emerge, leading to a public arrest. When some new evidence leaves Lisa and Kit convinced they are one step away from a breakthrough, we learn more than one resident has a dark secret to hide as some incriminating footage is revealed.

Back to the investigation and as the week draws to a close, a couple are struggling, while a suspicious partner demands the truth behind a sudden change in behaviour. Kit and Lisa continue their interrogations, and some deleted evidence threatens to expose the truth.

Soon, a seemingly innocent photograph reveals a hidden presence at the scene of the crime that could change everything. Away from the murder drama, Hope taunts Daniel over Megan, leading to Hope accusing her teacher Daniel of assault.

It’s clear Daniel is struggling as he hits the bottle. Melanie wants son Will to live with her, but tensions lead to Will storming out. Meanwhile, someone attempts to steal something from the pub safe, only to be caught by Susie.

Danielle approaches and asks to talk to Todd about Theo, where she finally shares her own suffering. It’s another big week on the cobbles!

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Hold everything. Hollywood’s Lexington Park will not be getting a new playground after all, and that’s both good news and bad news.

To explain, let me take you back to April 15, when I tagged along with Sabine Phillips on her weekly three-hour inspection of the neighborhood’s chronic trash problem. Phillips, a housekeeper by trade, was hired by one of her clients a few years ago to help clean up their streets.

So each Wednesday, Phillips went out on her yellow Huffy cruiser and routinely logged 50 or more illegally dumped items and reported them to the city’s 311 system for pickup. And each Saturday, she filled up to four or five big bags with smaller bits and scraps of debris.

Near the end of my three hours with Phillips, who got help that day from volunteer Keith Johnson, we visited the Lexington pocket park. There were no kids there, and there never are, Phillips said. That’s because of the glass and needles in the sand, drug activity, sporadic violence, gang tags on the slide and homeless camps.

A guy from the Recreation and Parks Department showed up and said the park was in line for a possible upgrade that could cost as much as $300,000. In my April 18 column, I questioned the wisdom of investing in a playground that would remain unsafe unless there was a plan to address all the aforementioned issues.

Nick Barnes-Batista, communications director for L.A. City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, wrote to tell me his office was unaware of any playground projects planned for that park.

A spokesperson for Recreation and Parks told me that despite what was said by the employee I met in the park, there is no “immediate playground replacement project on the books.” But the department is “working closely” with the councilman’s office “to identify funding sources and to work with the community on broader park improvements and/or uses.”

OK, so it’s good news that taxpayer funds won’t be plowed into a park that could well be lost to the neighborhood almost immediately, due to all the aforementioned problems.

But it’s bad news and sad commentary that a park in the densely populated heart of the city will remain unusable for the foreseeable future.

The more important consideration, though, is the question of what’s being done to prevent the illegal dumping of furniture, mattresses and other items that sit curbside and often end up as the building blocks of new homeless encampments.

There’s a concentration of social service agencies in the neighborhood, said Stefanie Keenan, a longtime neighborhood volunteer and activist. She’s the one who hired her housekeeper to help look after the neighborhood, and she insists there is not enough enforcement of existing laws to address problems that are both a nuisance and a public safety threat, given the crime and all-too-frequent fires.

A woman pushes her walker past debris in Council District 13 in Los Angeles on Friday.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Soto-Martínez agreed to talk to me about all of this on Friday morning, when he dropped by the Bresee Foundation, a nonprofit with a range of enrichment activities for youngsters and families in the largely low-income immigrant community, as well as homelessness prevention programs. Staff and volunteers, recruited with support from the council office, were about to head into nearby streets with shovels, brooms and trash bags.

Soto-Martínez acknowledged his district’s many challenges, told the gathering that the strength of a community is its people, and thanked them for their service.

The councilman, a former labor leader who joined the growing progressive wing of the L.A. City Council in 2022 with support from the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, has three challengers in the June 2 primary (Colter Carlisle, Dylan Kendall and Rich Sarian). He told me the city has to do a better job of educating people about illegal dumping and how to report it. A related challenge, he said, “is how quickly can we get to it. And that is a budget issue because we’ve cut so many positions on trash pickup.”

Soto-Martínez said his office used discretionary funds to hire two crews from the L.A. Conservation Corps for trash pickup. On homelessness, he said, he has a team strategizing to address the needs, and a medical team that works the streets, and a tiny home village is in the works.

But the housing shortage is a major challenge, he said, and when it comes to entrenched homelessness, “we’re now starting to deal with much more difficult cases.” Namely severe mental illness and serious addiction, both of which generally come under county jurisdiction.

“We created another team that goes out every single day. We door-knock, email and phone-bank people who are at risk of eviction,” Soto-Martínez said, adding that homelessness has declined by 25% during his three years in office.

So what is his message to constituents who say they don’t see enough progress?

“We ask them to give us patience and grace,” he said. “There’s a lot of examples like this, where we’re not just dealing with one thing. We’re dealing with four or five things.”

All of that is true, but the patience he asks for is wearing thin among some constituents.

“We need to find common ground and work together,” Soto-Martínez said. “You know, they see trash as an issue, and they’re doing it their way and we’re doing it our way. But how can we team up and do it together? You know, we’re happy to build those networks out, and under many of the issues they describe, I’m not disagreeing. … We all have the same goal.”

L.A. City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez gives a pep talk to volunteers before they leave to clean their neighborhood streets of garbage and debris.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

When Soto-Martínez departed for another appointment, the volunteers took to the streets, filling trash bags. They worked their way up Vermont, and a Bresee employee told me he works the same streets every day, trying to clear a path for “safe passage” as students walk to and from school.

As I said in the earlier column, it’s an inspiration to see people step up for their communities, whether out of pride or frustration. And it’s also reasonable to expect more from City Hall.

I drove over to Western and Sierra Vista, met up with Keenan, and told her about my conversation with Soto-Martínez. She said lax city policies and frequent non-response to citizen pleas for help have created the unsolved problems residents deal with daily. She said city officials have to do a better job of helping homeless people off the streets and preventing further deterioration of neighborhoods.

She was encouraged by a message she got from a representative of Mayor Karen Bass’ office who wants to tour the neighborhood with her.

We walked west on Sierra Vista and came upon a dumped sofa, some cabinets, mattresses, and a man who has been living in a curbside encampment for months. He sat near his belongings, which spilled into the street.

Why hasn’t this been addressed? Keenan wondered aloud. She has decided to stop paying her housekeeper to help address the neighborhood’s needs, and she predicted things will only get worse because of it.

I drove over to the Lexington pocket park, which Soto-Martínez called a priority, among many other priorities. Friday was a holiday — Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. With schools closed, the park would have been a great little neighborhood asset.

But the entrance was closed, with a lock on the gate, and two tarped dwellings were set up against the iron fencing of the empty park.

steve.lopez@latimes.com

Lyle Lovett performed Friday evening in Stagecoach’s Palomino tent with the group of killers he calls his Large Band. After the show, I sat with the singer and actor in the front seats of what I’ll call his Large SUV. “It’s a rental,” he said.

We’re in here because you want to protect your voice?
You know, I don’t smoke marijuana.

Anymore, or period?
Period. I have no moral judgment for other people, but I don’t think it’s good for me. When I smell it, I get concerned that it’s going into my body, and so I just try to stay away from it. In the artist tent, there were plumes everywhere. In fact, at our set, two songs in, I called over our assistant tour manager and I said, “Can you put some fans blowing back out into the audience?”

To send the weed back from whence it came.
Well, I don’t want people to waste it either — they paid good money for it. Jackson Browne asked me once in the parking lot of Conway [Recording Studios] — we were doing “The Road to Ensenada,” and he said, “Is it true you’re not cool with weed?” I said, “You know, I’m not.”

Where do you live these days?
In a couple of places, but in Austin, mainly.

People from Texas have strong opinions about the hierarchy of its cities. What’s the best city in Texas?
I can’t answer that.

You wouldn’t deign to.
It’s your thought, not my thought. The cities in Texas are distinct — wildly different from one another. Houston is one of the most international cities in the world. Austin is the most liberal city in Texas but it’s also being transformed by tech money. What’s going on there is analogous to what the oil business did in Houston and Dallas. San Antonio is the gateway to South Texas — it’s like 85% Hispanic. You feel the difference in culture there, and that’s wonderful. That’s my answer.

Did you ever have a move-to-L.A. moment?
I leased houses three different times. The first album I made in Los Angeles was “Joshua Judges Ruth,” in 1991, and the house belonged to a college professor who took a job at New Mexico State. It was on a street called Multiview, one switchback down from Mulholland — between Laurel and Nichols Canyon on the Valley side. I had a beautiful view of Universal City and the 101 as it came in. I remember this professor, when he was showing me the house, he called it “the river of lights.” So I lived there and then later rented the same house two different times, years apart, on a street called Torreyson, right below the Lautner [Chemosphere].

You’re set to get a star this year on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
I don’t know if that’s true. I think I’m eligible.

It’s true — I checked.
We’ll see.

Let’s say it happens, which it will. How’s that strike you?
I think it’s always an honor to be recognized by any official organization. But that sort of stuff seems completely separate from the work I’m concerned with. What’s important is the work and how you get to do it.

Which of your albums would you say is your best?
It’s impossible to say. I’m proud of the Nashville records — the budgets were smaller and I had to record those records more quickly. But when I went to Los Angeles and spent too much money recording “Joshua Judges Ruth,” that was one of the most expansive creative experiences I ever had.

Define “too much,” right?
It was too much. Instead of recording three or four songs a day, we recorded two songs. Two weeks later, you didn’t love the take, let’s record it again. There was time to search for ideas, not just document ideas — that was the biggest difference for me. The natural way of doing things — just knocking it out — is absolutely valid. But from my point of view, I was more comfortable spending more money [laughs].

Where’d you like to eat when you were working in L.A.?
When we worked at Conway, we’d have lunch every day at Lucy’s El Adobe to the point that I gave them a credit on the albums.

CORONATION Street legend Tracy Shaw has revealed she’s been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The actress, who is best known for playing Maxine Peacock in the soap, took to Instagram tonight to share the news and told fans she is due to start five months of chemotherapy before potentially having surgery.

Tracy, 52, wrote alongside a video: “My diagnosis of breast cancer.
So the journey begins …..

“Love to everyone who is also going through this journey, looking forward to hearing from you all, especially you amazing survivors.”

The actress explained she was due to have surgery in two weeks but doctors at the Royal Berkshire Hospital told her she needs to undergo chemo after tests revealed she has HER2 in her cells.

HER2 is a protein that promotes cancer cell growth and is found in more aggressive types of the disease.

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Coronation Street Maxine Peacock actress Tracy Shaw looks unrecognisable

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She said after the course of chemo she hopes to have surgery to remove lumps and lymph glands so more tests can be done, which could lead to further surgery before radiotherapy.

Samia Longchambon commented: “Sending love to you Tracy.”

Sally Ann Matthews wrote: “Love you baby girl x.”

A fan said: “What a brave and brilliant post. Sending positive vibes and love to you.”

Tracy said she is currently in a daily 12 step programme and told fans she’s recovered from “many addictions” including anorexia, bulimia, alcoholism and drugs.

She thanked her friends in fellowships around the world for supporting.

The star said she has struggled with losing some of her hair as a result of the cancer but added: “I am truly grateful that I have this opportunity to hopefulyl be free from cancer as well.”

She also thanked fans for sending messages asking if she was OK after taking time away from social media for Lent to be more present.

Tracy’s soap character Maxine arrived on the cobbles in 1995 as a friend of Fiona Middleton (Angela Griffin).

However, she betrayed her pal by having a one-night stand with Fiona’s boyfriend – Steve MacDonald.

A year after making her Weatherfield debut, she was awarded the Rear of the Year title.

In the soap, Maxine married butcher Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold) and they welcomed a son named Joshua.

She also ended up having a baby with the local doctor – despite being married to Ashley.

Her run came to an end when she was brutally murdered by Richard Hillman.

The character was struck with a crowbar after she returned home from the pub.

In the real world, Tracy’s pop career launched in 1998 and saw the release of two singles.

These were Ridin’ High and a cover of Lonnie Gordon’s Happenin’ All Over Again.

Since leaving the soap, she played minor roles in ITV dramas but the majority of her work has been in the theatre.

The star appeared opposite Jason Connery in stage play The Blue Room in 2003.

The role saw her bare all on stage – as well as playing 15 different women in the production.

As Coronation Street’s power couple Swarla tie the knot, British LGBT Awards founder Sarah Garrett says the soap highlights huge progression in the representation of same-sex couples on TV

Lisa Swain and Carla Connor have finally said ‘I do’ on Coronation Street, leaving Swarla fans rejoicing.

The couple got together in 2024, growing closer before realising their feelings for one another. After almost two decades on Corrie, this is Carla’s first same-sex relationship, while it’s certainly not her first wedding.

That said, Carla has finally found her soulmate in Lisa, something agreed on by cast members Alison King and Vicky Myers who play the pair. But it’s not just about the characters and what it means to them.

There’s been a huge shift with how women-loving-women (WLW) romances are presented, and perceived, onscreen in recent decades. When you think back to the first pre-watershed lesbian kiss on UK TV, that aired on former soap Brookside in 1994, it sparked both backlash and praise, while it was historic in that it was something that had never been aired before 9PM until then.

READ MORE: Coronation Street fans ‘rumble who kills Megan’ as grim scene ‘seals’ deathREAD MORE: Coronation Street fans ‘rumble’ who had Jodie kidnapped after haulage advert clue

Fast-forward 30 years and we now have Lisa and Carla’s wedding, and the soap’s first WLW wedding that sees both characters actually make it down the aisle. Viewers have backed the couple from the very start, with many fans inspired by their love story.

With the wedding airing during Lesbian Visibility Week, a deliberate choice by the soap, it has to be noted that many viewers feel represented by the characters and their union.

Yes, Swarla have had many obstacles in their time together, and more than most. They’ve had evil wives returning from the dead, killer brothers and a few hiccups along the way, not forgetting the disastrous proposals.

But they’ve made it, and Swarla are here to stay. It’s clear from the love the viewers have for Lisa and Carla that not only are they offering a powerful representation onscreen of a lesbian relationship, but it also shows how far television has come where the visibility of same-sex romance is concerned.

Addressing this progression and what Coronation Street has got right with Carla and Lisa, Sarah Garrett, Founder of the British LGBT Awards, shared her thoughts with The Mirror. She shared how much of an impact Swarla have had, and why it matters.

Sarah also shared what it was about Swarla, and what Corrie have done with the characters, that is so important – and why other TV shows and screenwriters should take note. Sarah told us: “In the 32 years since Brookside first aired a pre-watershed lesbian kiss on British television, same-sex relationships have been portrayed in many ways – the good, the bad and the ugly.

“What makes the portrayal of Carla and Lisa’s relationship so compelling is that it has never been framed as a coming-out story; instead, it is simply a story about falling in love. Their journey centres on two women who know exactly who they are, finding each other and building a relationship marked by compassion, conflict and vulnerability.

“It’s a powerful example of authentic storytelling and one from which screenwriters around the world could take note when depicting healthy, nuanced same-sex relationships.

“Going forward, the industry has the opportunity to build on this by continuing to normalise diverse relationships without sensationalism, investing in layered character development and allowing LGBTQ+ stories the same depth, longevity and ordinariness as any other on screen.”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

We analysed dozens of recent local news reports as part of our ongoing investigation into criminal activity on UK High Streets. From Bideford in Devon, to Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, to Belfast in Northern Ireland – we found that drugs, including crystal meth and heroin, had been found in more than 70 shops and linked premises.

The town was also recognised as one of the “Happiest Places to Live in 2025”

In an age where numerous British high streets have fallen victim to a “clone town” plague of betting shops and vacant premises, one Tudor-framed town in the West Midlands is mounting a spectacular, independent fightback. Shrewsbury, the birthplace of Charles Darwin, was crowned ‘Britain’s best high street’ for two years running – and with an impressive tally of roughly 515 independent shops, it’s easy to understand why.

Cradled within a bend of the River Severn, this Shropshire treasure has achieved what many deemed impossible: building a retail landscape where local enterprises don’t just survive but significantly outnumber the national chains.

The town was also recognised as one of its ‘Happiest Places to Live in 2025’ and the leading town in the Midlands by The Guardian. It boasts dozens of historic pubs, including The Bull Inn and The Nags Head, which stretches back to the 16th century and appeared in A Christmas Carol (1984).

When the Daily Express dropped by the town, Seb Slater, executive director at Shrewsbury BID, explained that the combined efforts of businesses, the Business Improvement District (BID), and the local councils to deliver effective campaigns and schemes ensure that Shrewsbury “enjoys strong footfall and vacancy rates that remain well below the national average, with a continuous stream of new businesses keen to open here,” reports the Express.

He added: “Shrewsbury serves a wide customer catchment area extending across Shropshire and mid Wales alongside a growing visitor economy that strengthens our reputation as a leading regional destination.”

A shining example of this independent spirit is Shrewsbury’s Market Hall, which has been voted Britain’s favourite market across multiple years and claimed the title of best community market in 2026.

Commercial, markets and events manager at the town council, Ian Thorpe, told the Express it is a “treasured asset” that will celebrate its 60th anniversary this September, adding that the “fantastic traders provide an eclectic shopping experience for both residents and tourists.”

Yet perhaps the true jewel in Shrewsbury’s crown is Wyle Cop, widely regarded as the longest unbroken stretch of independent businesses in the UK.

This historic thoroughfare is a masterclass in boutique retail and a stunning showcase of the town’s architectural heritage.

Lining the street are numerous 17th-century timber-framed buildings, and the Cop is home to 39 of Shrewsbury’s almost 800 listed buildings, according to the town’s official website.

Beyond its thriving retail scene, Shrewsbury has much more to offer. The town’s 29-acre Quarry Park and Gardens provide a vast swathe of green space, ideal for leisurely winter walks or cycling trips.

Rich in history and flanked by listed buildings, you could easily while away the hours exploring the town’s captivating architecture, from the iconic

Shrewsbury Abbey and the striking red sandstone castle, to the Old Market Hall and Shrewsbury Prison, known as The Dana, which dates back to 1793.

Beyond that, there’s the Museum & Art Gallery and Theatre Severn to discover, as well as neighbouring green spaces such as Hawkstone Park Follies and National Trust Attingham Park.

The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its global growth forecast for 2026 from 3.3 to 3.1 percent, citing the impact of the United States-Israeli war on Iran and the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz on the world economy.

The war has damaged energy infrastructure across the Gulf, while critical exports like oil, gas, chemicals and fertiliser remain largely stranded by Iran’s shutdown of the strait and the subsequent US naval blockade of Iranian ports.

In the worst-case scenario of a prolonged war, the IMF said global growth could fall to 2.5 percent in 2026, with low-income and developing economies hit the hardest by soaring commodity and energy prices. The global shipping and logistics industry is facing a separate crisis.

But every economic crisis also has beneficiaries: despite the dire macroeconomic outlook, some corners of the global economy are thriving on the uncertainty.

Here’s a look at five industries that are doing well either despite – or because of – the darkening economic outlook.

Wall Street investment banks

Global investors have been on a rollercoaster since the start of US President Donald Trump’s second term last year. The president’s erratic decision-making, where he often issues an ultimatum one day and then changes it the next, has led traders to coin the term “TACO trade”, where TACO stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out”.

The recent volatility has made some investors anxious, but it’s been a boon to investment banks, which make millions in commissions and revenue from the surging volume of trade, according to Sean Dunlap, a director of equity research at Morningstar Research Services.

“Clients want to reposition, so they trade frequently,” he told Al Jazeera. “Spreads tend to increase, which increases the profitability for trade intermediaries like banks.”

First-quarter results for 2026 – released this week – showed that Morgan Stanley reported a profit of $5.57bn, up 29 percent year on year, while Goldman Sachs reported a profit of $5.63bn, up 19 percent year on year.

JP Morgan Chase also reported major gains, with first-quarter earnings of $16.49bn, up 13 percent year on year. The banks all cited high levels of trading, deal-making, and “robust client engagement” as the reasons behind surging profits.

The boomtime for banks could reverse course, however, if volatility persists for too long, Dunlap warned, because investors may become increasingly cautious and less willing to borrow money to make trades.

Prediction markets

As mainstream Wall Street banks reap profits, the crypto-based prediction platform Polymarket has been earning upwards of $1m a day since the start of the month by letting users make peer-to-peer bets on everything from sports tournaments to elections.

Polymarket has been doing well since the start of the war, but it revised its fee structure on March 30 to cash in even more on its popularity.

Rival platforms like Kalshi, Novig and Robinhood also follow the same business model, but Polymarket has been the standout winner of 2026 because it controversially allows users to bet on the outcome of conflicts like the Iran war.

Polymarket revised its fee structure on March 30 to cash in on its popularity. The change has already netted the platform more than $21m in fees since April 1, up from $11.6m for all of March and $6.23m for all of February, according to DefiLlama, a website that provides data analysis for decentralised finance platforms.

If the current trend continues, Polymarket could make $342m in fees this year alone, according to DefiLlama’s analysis.

Anonymous users have also made millions correctly predicting the dates of major events like the US-Iran ceasefire, but the outcomes for rank-and-file users are typically less impressive.

Researchers found that the top 1 percent of Polymarket users captured 84 percent of all trading gains, according to a new report released this month analysing 70 million trades from 2022 to 2025. The returns are so high that US federal regulators have pledged to crack down on insider trading in prediction markets following suspiciously well-timed bets on Iran war outcomes.

Aerospace and defence

Unsurprisingly, the aerospace and defence industries are booming this year due to major conflicts in Ukraine, Iran, Sudan, Gaza and Lebanon and a surge in global defence spending.

About half of the world’s countries have increased their military budgets over the past five years, according to an April report from the IMF, which means they are also buying everything from drones to missiles — more than ever before. Demand is growing particularly fast in Europe, where NATO countries have committed to raising defence spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035.

The defence industry has, in turn, seen major gains on the stock market. The MSCI World Aerospace and Defence Index – which tracks aerospace and defence stocks across 23 global markets – reported net returns of 32 percent year on year at the end of March.

The defence index outpaced the MSCI World Index, which tracks 1,300 large and mid-cap companies across the same 23 markets. The index, which gives a broader overview of global stock markets, reported net returns of 18.9 percent over the same period.

Artificial intelligence

Last year, the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) office predicted that the AI industry would grow from $189bn in 2023 to $4.8 trillion by 2033, and the Iran war does not seem to have dented the outlook.

“Despite the shocks from the Iran war, we’re still seeing resilience in a lot of sectors like artificial intelligence and renewable energy,” said Nick Marro, lead analyst for global trade at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

One metric for the AI boom has been the high volume of semiconductor chips still being exported out of East Asia, he said. At the top of the chart is chipmaking powerhouse Taiwan, which reported record-breaking merchandise exports of $80.2bn in March, up 61.8 percent year on year, according to EIU analysis.

The surge was led by exports to the US, which grew by 124 percent year on year, the EIU said.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s top chipmaker better known by its acronym “TSMC,” on Thursday posted a net income of 572.8 billion New Taiwan Dollars (NTD) ($18.1bn) for the first three months of 2026 – up 58 percent year on year in NTD.

Another metric, initial public offerings or “IPOs,” also shows that the industry is confident for the moment, with industry leaders Anthropic and OpenAI both planning to go public this year.

Renewable energy

The Iran war has highlighted the need to transition from fossil fuels not only for environmental reasons, but also for reasons of energy security. The war marks the third major energy shock this decade, following the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Iran war has “boosted” renewable energy “given the urgency to switch away from fossil fuels and diversify towards renewable sources,” Marro of the EIU said.

Even before the Iran war began, the International Energy Agency reported that global governments were already taking active measures to invest in renewable energy for geopolitical reasons.

According to an IEA report released this month, “150 countries have active policies to advance renewable and nuclear deployment, 130 have energy efficiency and electrification policies, and 32 have policies to incentivise supply chain resilience and diversification across critical minerals and clean energy technologies.”

The Iran war has triggered another flurry of policymaking in Asia, which typically buys 80 to 90 percent of the oil and gas that transits through the Strait of Hormuz. Since the shutdown, the region has been struggling to find alternative sources of energy, forcing governments to deploy emergency measures like fuel rationing and price caps.

South Korea, Thailand, India, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines have all announced a variety of measures from tax breaks for at-home solar panels to commissioning new renewable energy projects – and even restarting nuclear reactors.

The surge in policymaking has been good for the renewable industry. The S&P Global Clean Energy Transition Index, which tracks 100 companies that produce solar, wind, hydro, biomass and other renewable energy across emerging and developed markets, is up 70.92 percent year on year.

Coronation Street viewers were left in tears as the “most distressing scenes ever” aired on Wednesday night as a long-running abuse plot finally began to unravel

Coronation Street fans were left in tears as the “most distressing scenes ever” aired on Wednesday night. The world’s longest-running TV soap has been exploring another abuse storyline for several months now, which has seen Todd Grimshaw become the victim of coercive control at the hands of Theo Silverton.

What started as cutting Todd off from his friends turned into bizarre forms of abuse, like making him eat his dinner cold and then coercing him into getting married. Theo caused the death of Todd’s friend Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) in the programme’s crossover with Emmerdale, leaving him to die in an explosion following a multi-car pileup.

Things came to a horrifying head earlier in the week when Theo, who had been making plans to move himself and Todd away to Ireland, attacked Todd so badly that he stumbled over to his best friend Sarah Platt’s (Tina O’Brien) flat, where, with a bloodied face and barely able to walk, she knew immediately what had happened.

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As the events unfolded in a special mid-week episode of the programme, Todd was at the police station for an interview, where he promptly broke down in tears and spoke of everything he had been put through. Back on the street, Gary caught Theo (James Cartwright) trying to make an escape, but had taken his keys out of his van to stop him, and made sure that he had no option but to go to the police station.

Sarah set about taking Todd (Gareth Pierce) to the hospital once his police interview had finished, but he collapsed in the car park. She later confirmed to George Shuttleworth, who has become a father figure to Todd, that he had suffered a lacerated spleen and internal bleeding as he and the other residents of Weatherfield wondered how they could ever let it get this far.

Through tears, Todd’s daughter Summer said: “I hate him. How could he do this to Todd? I’ll kill him. I swear I will!” Police then confirmed that Theo’s devices would be searched, and he was ordered into a cell.

To wrap up the episode, DS Lisa Swain, who has wrongly arrested most of the street during her time in Weatherfield and once failed to realise her wife had faked her own death, was given the honour of delivering a powerful monologue to tackle the issue head-on.

Viewers immediately took to social media to share their reactions, with one writing: “Oh my Days I think I’ve just used a full box of tissues. One of the most distressing, moving and amazing acting I’ve ever seen on Corrie! Well done for bring Domestic violence to the forefront.”

Another said: “Spoilers, but tonight’s episode is so powerful. It’s heartbreaking but so important. I hope this helps people to reach out for help. The last few minutes were so moving, it really got to me. I don’t think Theo will be killed, it’s too obvious, I hope he goes to prison.”

A third wrote: “Excellent episode tonight. It reminded me so much of how I felt 20 years ago. How I was scared to stay, but scared to leave. And I’m glad they mentioned honour abuse because that badly needed saying. WELL DONE.”

A fourth said: “Absolutely Heartbreaking & a hard watch[heartbroken emoji] but today’s episode was brilliant. Gareth pierce, the actor you are truly a fantastic performance throughout this storyline he has been outstanding and Lisa’s monologue at the end, was powerful what a scene!”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X.

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