Don’t listen to the scaremongering……

Pound slips back as rally fizzles.

Sterling has slipped back to near 31-year lows after a wider market recovery earlier helped it make modest gains. The pound fell 0.13% against the dollar to $1.2914 after having earlier risen above $1.30. The gains for sterling - which is still 0.3% higher against the euro - had come in tandem with widespread increases on European stock markets. London's FTSE 100 share index rose more than 1% on Thursday to 6,534, although trading on Wall Street has been choppy. The FTSE 250 of mid-cap UK firms finished 1.5% higher, while stocks in Paris, Frankfurt and Madrid made modest gains. In the US, trading was muted. The Dow Jones index dipped 0.1% to 17,895.88 but the Nasdaq edged 0.4% higher to close at 4,876.81.

Mortgage rates fall to record lows, ahead of rate cut.

Mortgage rates are continuing to creep downwards, as the City bets on a cut in interest rates next week. A 10-year fixed rate to be launched by the Coventry Building Society on Friday is thought to be the cheapest such deal on record. Barclays, HSBC, Metro Bank, the Leeds and the West Bromwich Building Society are among other lenders who have cut rates since the EU referendum. Economists think there is a 78% chance of a cut in base rates next Thursday. "These are the kind of rates that borrowers couldn't have dreamt of getting even two years ago," said Ray Boulger of John Charcol. The 10-year fix from the Coventry will cost borrowers 2.39%, but to get that rate, homeowners will only be able to borrow half the value of the property. In other words, the deal has a 50% loan-to-value ratio. Many of the rate reductions have been very small. The average five-year fixed rate, for example, has come down from 3.14% before the EU vote to 3.13% currently. The average rate for 10-year fixes has actually risen, because of new products being offered and different loan-to-value ratios.

L&G adds to pain for UK property fund investors.

Confidence in the UK property sector took a further pounding on Thursday after Legal & General made a deeper cut in the value of its property fund. Meanwhile, Aberdeen Asset Management extended a suspension of its fund. The latest moves add to a flurry of suspensions this week as fund managers seek to prevent a stampede to the exit following the vote to leave the EU. Investors are worried that a move to leave the European Union will send commercial property prices tumbling. L&G has cut its £2.3bn ($2.99bn) UK property fund by a further 10%, following a previous 5% valuation cut. Including Aberdeen, at least seven property funds have suspended trading following the UK's vote to leave the European Union. Aberdeen Asset Management extended a suspension of its fund to 11 July on Thursday after announcing a 17% cut to its value. It initially said on Wednesday it would pause the fund for 24 hours.

US banks commit to London post Brexit.

Four of the biggest US banks have committed to helping maintain London's position as a global financial hub after the UK leaves the European Union. Since the referendum vote there have been concerns that banks would reduce their staff and offices in the country. In a statement the banks and Chancellor George Osborne said they would work to ensure London "retains its position". However, they did not say whether this meant that they would keep the same number of jobs and offices in the UK. Ahead of the UK's referendum on the EU, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JP Morgan, said the bank could move 4,000 jobs out of the UK if the country voted to leave the EU. The banks signing the statement included JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, as well as the UK's Standard Chartered, which makes most of its profit in Asia.

UK industrial and manufacturing output dips during May.

UK industrial output fell by 0.5% in May compared with April, raising concerns about its prospects following the EU referendum. Three of the four major industrial sectors declined, with the biggest contraction in manufacturing, according to the Office for National Statistics. Analysts warned the outlook for UK industry remained "cloudy". Chris Williamson of Markit said manufacturers were increasingly worried about Brexit-related uncertainty. He said the decline in May was less painful than had been expected, but there were now "serious doubts" it could be sustained. On an annual basis industrial output was up by 1.4% on May 2015. And in the three months to May, output grew by 1.9% at its quickest pace in six years.

John Lewis warns over sterling slump.

The boss of John Lewis has warned that the fall in the value of the pound could become a "big issue". Managing director Andy Street said the weak pound could start driving costs higher next year. He also said it was too early to say if the UK's vote to leave the European Union had affected consumer spending. His comments came as a survey pointed to the sharpest drop in consumer confidence in 21 years after the UK vote to leave the EU. Market research firm GfK surveyed 2,000 people after the referendum. Its confidence index fell by eight points to minus nine, a drop not since seen December 1994. Consumer confidence and spending are measures watched by the Bank of England when deciding its next move on interest rates. Governor Mark Carney has already warned the UK's economic outlook is "challenging" following the decision to leave the EU. The GfK survey, which was conducted online, suggested that 60% of consumers expect the general economic situation to worsen over the next year, compared with 46% in June. Just 20% expect it to improve, down from 27% last month.

[I guess that things will start declining again once the markets get over the temporary euphoria of Teresa May’s victory. Now comes the steady decline towards Article 50 followed by the fall off the cliff once it’s enacted. See you on the other side…. Good Luck!]

All details above from BBC News website.