Just the Good News from now on…….

EU single market membership 'boosts UK's GDP'.

Maintaining the UK's membership of the EU's single market could add an extra 4% to its economy, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The think tank weighed up the benefits of staying in the single market compared with membership of the World Trade Organization alone. Paul Johnson, IFS director, said there was a big difference between access and membership of the single market. "We've heard a lot of people saying of course we'll have access if we leave the single market union. Broadly speaking, yes, we will, as every other country in the world does. You can export into the EU wherever you are from, but there are different sorts of barriers to doing so." The IFS report said access to the single market was "virtually meaningless as a concept" because "any country in the World Trade Organization - from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe - had 'access' to the EU as an export destination".

Royal Mint sees surge in demand for gold bars and coins.

It seems the quest for gold is not currently limited to the venues of Rio de Janeiro. The Royal Mint has said that it saw a "surge" in demand for the precious metal following the Bank of England's cut in base rates to 0.25% on 4 August. During that week the Mint saw a 25% increase in transactions on its bullion website. It also experienced a 50% increase in sales of gold bars and coins, compared with the previous week. It is thought investors are turning to gold as cash and bonds offer diminishing returns, exacerbated by lower interest rates. So far this year, the price of gold has risen by 45% in sterling terms, and 25% in dollar terms.

Brexit: Government guarantee for post-EU funds.

EU funding for farmers, scientists and other projects will be replaced by the Treasury after Brexit, Chancellor Philip Hammond has said. In a move which could cost up to £4.5bn a year, the Treasury will guarantee to back EU-funded projects signed before this year's Autumn Statement. Agricultural funding now provided by the EU will also continue until 2020. The UK has not yet triggered the negotiation process for leaving the EU, following the referendum vote in June. Voters backed leaving the EU in the 23 June referendum but Prime Minister Theresa May has indicated the UK government will not trigger Article 50, which would begin a two-year process to leave, during 2016. Mr Hammond said that EU structural and investment fund projects that are signed before the Autumn Statement later this year, and Horizon research funding granted before leaving the EU, will be guaranteed by the Treasury after the UK leaves.

Brexit: Government under pressure over Article 50 delay claim.

Downing Street is coming under pressure to clarify when the UK will formally trigger its departure from the EU. Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will not invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty this year. It was widely thought it would be triggered at the start of next year. But Downing Street declined to confirm this at a briefing for Westminster journalists earlier, amid claims it would not be triggered until after 2017. No 10 said the "full weight of the machinery of government" was behind Brexit. Following the UK's vote to leave the EU, some Leave campaigners have been calling for Article 50 - which starts a two-year Brexit process - to be triggered immediately. Mrs May, who is currently on holiday in Switzerland, has said this will not happen this year, and Brexit Secretary David Davis has predicted the trigger to take place "before or by the start of next year".

Employers 'more cautious' on hiring post Brexit, survey says.

UK employers have become more cautious about hiring new staff following the vote to leave the EU, a report claims. The proportion of employers expecting to increase staff over the next three months dropped from 40% ahead of the vote to 36% after it, according to a survey by HR body the CIPD and Adecco. It said the fall was "significantly sharper" among private sector firms. "There has been a clear deterioration in hiring intentions... as a result of the Brexit vote," the report said. The CIPD said the survey's results suggested post-Brexit economic forecasts of a marked downturn in the labour market next year would be proved right. "While many businesses are treating the immediate post-Brexit period as 'business as usual', and hiring intentions overall still remain positive, there are signs that some organisations, particularly in the private sector, are preparing to batten down the hatches," said CIPD acting chief economist Ian Brinkley.

Fuel prices push up UK inflation rate to 0.6%.

Rising fuel prices helped to push the UK's inflation rate higher last month, according to official figures. The annual inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose to 0.6% in July from 0.5% in June, the Office for National Statistics said. More expensive alcoholic drinks and hotel rooms also helped to increase the CPI rate, the ONS said. The Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation rose to 1.9% in July from 1.6% in June. July's RPI inflation rate sets the cap for how much regulated rail fares in England, Scotland and Wales can rise by next year. Separate figures from the ONS suggested that the fall in the value of the pound since the UK's referendum vote to leave the EU had increased the cost of imports for manufacturers. Input prices faced by manufacturers rose 4.3% in the year to July, compared with a fall of 0.5% in the year to June. The most dramatic rises came in the cost of imported food materials, which rose 10.2%, and the price of imported metals, which rose 12.4%.

In addition, the prices of finished goods leaving the factory gate were 0.3% higher than a year earlier, the first annual increase since June 2014. "There is no obvious impact on today's consumer prices figures following the EU referendum result, though the Producer Prices Index (PPI) suggests the fall in the exchange rate is beginning to push up import price faced by manufacturers," said Mike Prestwood, head of prices at the ONS. However, Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the fall in sterling was "entirely responsible" for the rise in CPI inflation to the highest rate since November 2014. Against the dollar, the pound is some 13% below its level in the run-up to the referendum and 10% lower against the euro. "Sterling's depreciation ensured that pump prices rose by 0.7% month-to-month even though dollar oil prices declined," he said.

[I suppose that the only consistent result from the Brexit vote so far – apart from the level of acrimony that’s still simmering under the surface – is the fact that the Pound still hasn’t recovered back to its pre-Brexit levels. That, to me, if very indicative of what will happen when Article 50 is enacted early next year. I think the technical term is ‘Free Fall’. If any of my UK readers are planning on a US holiday next year I’d definitely recommend buying your Dollars now.]

All details above from BBC News website.