British Prime Minister David Cameron, on Wednesday, told the leader of the main opposition Labour party Jeremy Corbyn, who is facing a revolt from MPs, to step down in the national interest. 
 
&quot;It might be in my party&#39;s interests for him to sit there, it&#39;s not in the national interests and I would say, for heaven&#39;s sake man, go,&quot; Cameron said to Corbyn at Prime Minister&#39;s Questions in Britain&#39;s parliament. 
 
Labour MPs voted against Corbyn in a no-confidence motion on Tuesday, by 172 to 40, after dozens of members of his frontbench team stepped down in recent days. But Corbyn has refused to go. 
 
Centrists have criticised the veteran socialist&#39;s leadership for months, but the row came to a head when he was accused of not campaigning enough in Britain&#39;s EU referendum, which delivered a shock &quot;Leave&quot; result last week. 
 
Corbyn was elected Labour leader last year on a wave of support from grassroots Labour members but has struggled to build broad support among MPs. 
 
Cameron has said he will step down in the wake of the referendum and will leave office when his successor is chosen in early September. 
 
(AFP)

Labour MPs voted against Jeremy Corbyn in a no-confidence motion by 172 to 40, but he has refused to go.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, on Wednesday, told the leader of the main opposition Labour party Jeremy Corbyn, who is facing a revolt from MPs, to step down in the national interest. "It might be in my party's interests for him to sit there, it's not in the national interests and I would say, for heaven's sake man, go," Cameron said to Corbyn at Prime Minister's Questions in Britain's parliament. Labour MPs voted against Corbyn in a no-confidence motion on Tuesday, by 172 to 40, after dozens of members of his frontbench team stepped down in recent days. But Corbyn has refused to go. Centrists have criticised the veteran socialist's leadership for months, but the row came to a head when he was accused of not campaigning enough in Britain's EU referendum, which delivered a shock "Leave" result last week. Corbyn was elected Labour leader last year on a wave of support from grassroots Labour members but has struggled to build broad support among MPs. Cameron has said he will step down in the wake of the referendum and will leave office when his successor is chosen in early September. (AFP)

'For heaven's sake man, go,' Cameron tells Corbyn

UK car dealerships saw the same number of customers over the weekend as before Britons voted for Brexit last week, Britain&#39;s car industry association said on Wednesday, noting that it would not change its forecast for record sales this year. 
 
Car sales hit an all-time high of 2.63 million last year, boosted by cheap finance and easily available credit. 
 
The CEO of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the pace of sales growth had slowed in recent months but that he was not immediately changing the forecast of about 2.7 million registrations in 2016. 
 
&quot;I wouldn&#39;t want to jump to conclusions on changing forecasts. In essence, the fundamentals of the market are still strong,&quot; Mike Hawes told reporters at a briefing in London. 
 
&quot;As I understand it, footfall in the dealerships over the weekend was pretty much where it should be despite three rugby test matches and six football matches which normally does have an impact.&quot; 
 
At the same briefing, Jaguar Land Rover&#39;s strategy director and Toyota&#39;s Europe CEO said they saw no short-term changes to their investment plans, which are often made years in advance. 
 
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which said it was committed to its British plants and a plan to build a new facility in Slovakia, said it could not envisage a harsh response such as high tariffs from EU allies on it or Britain&#39;s other high-end carmakers. 
 
&quot;I can&#39;t imagine any overly punitive measure in the premium end of the business that would cut off that market opportunity,&quot; JLR&#39;s Strategy Director, Adrian Hallmark, said. 
 
&quot;It would be cutting the European nose off to spite its face.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Jaguar Land Rover's strategy director said they saw no short-term changes to their investment plans planned in advance

UK car dealerships saw the same number of customers over the weekend as before Britons voted for Brexit last week, Britain's car industry association said on Wednesday, noting that it would not change its forecast for record sales this year. Car sales hit an all-time high of 2.63 million last year, boosted by cheap finance and easily available credit. The CEO of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the pace of sales growth had slowed in recent months but that he was not immediately changing the forecast of about 2.7 million registrations in 2016. "I wouldn't want to jump to conclusions on changing forecasts. In essence, the fundamentals of the market are still strong," Mike Hawes told reporters at a briefing in London. "As I understand it, footfall in the dealerships over the weekend was pretty much where it should be despite three rugby test matches and six football matches which normally does have an impact." At the same briefing, Jaguar Land Rover's strategy director and Toyota's Europe CEO said they saw no short-term changes to their investment plans, which are often made years in advance. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which said it was committed to its British plants and a plan to build a new facility in Slovakia, said it could not envisage a harsh response such as high tariffs from EU allies on it or Britain's other high-end carmakers. "I can't imagine any overly punitive measure in the premium end of the business that would cut off that market opportunity," JLR's Strategy Director, Adrian Hallmark, said. "It would be cutting the European nose off to spite its face." (Reuters)

UK car industry: demand not hit by Brexit vote yet, forecast unchanged

US secretary of state John Kerry said on Tuesday that Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union may never be implemented and that London is in no hurry to go. 
 
Speaking one day after talks with Prime Minister David Cameron, Kerry said the outgoing British leader feels &quot;powerless&quot; to negotiate a departure he does not want. 
 
&quot;This is a very complicated divorce,&quot; Kerry told the Aspen Ideas Festival, referring to Britain&#39;s negotiated exit from the EU after last week&#39;s &quot;Brexit&quot; referendum. 
 
Kerry, who visited Downing Street on Monday, said Cameron was loathe to invoke &quot;Article 50&quot; of the Lisbon treaty, which would trigger a two-year timetable for departure. 
 
London, Kerry explained, does not want to find itself boxed in after two years without a new association agreement and to be forced out of the EU without one. 
 
And, he added, Cameron &quot;feels powerless - and I think this is a fair conclusion - to go out and start negotiating a thing that he doesn&#39;t believe in and he has no idea how he would do it. 
 
&quot;And by the way, nor do most of the people who voted to do it,&quot; Kerry said, apparently referring to &quot;Leave&quot; campaigners such as former London mayor Boris Johnson, now the front-runner to replace Cameron as premier. 
 
Asked by the panel moderator if this meant the Brexit decision could be &quot;walked back&quot; and if so how, Kerry said: &quot;I think there are a number of ways.&quot; 
 
&quot;I don&#39;t as secretary of state want to throw them out today. I think that would be a mistake. But there are a number of ways,&quot; he said. 
 
Washington has long supported a strong role for its British ally in the European project, and was dismayed when British voters chose last week to quit the Union. 
 
Now, US officials are calling for a calm debate on Brexit leading to a deal that would allow a close association between London and Brussels to continue. 
 
Some EU leaders, however, insist that Cameron must move quickly to invoke Article 50 and begin divorce talks, to put an end to political and economic uncertainty. 
 
(AFP)

Kerry said there are a number of ways in which the Brexit decision could be walked back

US secretary of state John Kerry said on Tuesday that Britain's vote to leave the European Union may never be implemented and that London is in no hurry to go. Speaking one day after talks with Prime Minister David Cameron, Kerry said the outgoing British leader feels "powerless" to negotiate a departure he does not want. "This is a very complicated divorce," Kerry told the Aspen Ideas Festival, referring to Britain's negotiated exit from the EU after last week's "Brexit" referendum. Kerry, who visited Downing Street on Monday, said Cameron was loathe to invoke "Article 50" of the Lisbon treaty, which would trigger a two-year timetable for departure. London, Kerry explained, does not want to find itself boxed in after two years without a new association agreement and to be forced out of the EU without one. And, he added, Cameron "feels powerless - and I think this is a fair conclusion - to go out and start negotiating a thing that he doesn't believe in and he has no idea how he would do it. "And by the way, nor do most of the people who voted to do it," Kerry said, apparently referring to "Leave" campaigners such as former London mayor Boris Johnson, now the front-runner to replace Cameron as premier. Asked by the panel moderator if this meant the Brexit decision could be "walked back" and if so how, Kerry said: "I think there are a number of ways." "I don't as secretary of state want to throw them out today. I think that would be a mistake. But there are a number of ways," he said. Washington has long supported a strong role for its British ally in the European project, and was dismayed when British voters chose last week to quit the Union. Now, US officials are calling for a calm debate on Brexit leading to a deal that would allow a close association between London and Brussels to continue. Some EU leaders, however, insist that Cameron must move quickly to invoke Article 50 and begin divorce talks, to put an end to political and economic uncertainty. (AFP)

Brexit may not happen, London in no hurry to leave, says US state secretary John Kerry

Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union (EU) continued to reverberate through financial markets, with the Pound falling to its lowest level in 31 years, despite government attempts to relieve some of the confusion about the political and economic outlook.&nbsp;

UK finance minister George Osborne said early Monday that the British economy was strong enough to cope with the market volatility caused by last week&#39;s Brexit&nbsp;referendum which has resulted in the biggest blow since World War II&nbsp;to the European goal of forging greater unity.

&quot;Our economy is about as strong as it could be to confront the challenge our country now faces,&quot; Osborne told reporters.&nbsp;

&quot;It is inevitable after Thursday&#39;s vote that Britain&#39;s economy is going to have to adjust to the new situation we find ourselves in,&quot; said Osborne, who later ruled himself out of the running to succeed David Cameron as prime minister.

Boris Johnson, a leading proponent of&nbsp;Brexit&nbsp;and the frontrunner to be the next prime minister, praised Osborne for saying &quot;some reassuring things to the markets&quot;.

The former London mayor said it was now clear that &quot;people&#39;s pensions are safe, the pound is stable, markets are stable. I think that is all very good news.&quot;

But neither Osborne&#39;s nor Johnson&#39;s words failed to stop the slide in stocks on world markets which began last Friday when Britons confounded investors&#39; expectations by voting to end 43 years of EU membership.

European bank shares had their worst two-day fall on record and world stocks as measured by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) index saw their worst two-day fall since the collapse of US&nbsp;investment bank Lehman Brothers during the 2008 financial crisis. On Friday alone about $2.8 trillion was wiped off the value of world stocks, the biggest daily loss ever.&nbsp;

Sterling fell to a low around $1.3120, its lowest level since mid-1985. The Euro also remained weak, after falling to a three-month low around $1.0910 on Friday.&nbsp;

Asian stocks markets opened weaker on Tuesday, with MSCI&#39;s Asia ex-Japan index extending losses for a third day, down 0.5 per cent. Japan&#39;s Nikkei was off 0.7 per&nbsp;cent.

&quot;Markets already appear to be pricing in a full-blown recession in the UK&nbsp;and rising recession risk in the rest of Europe,&quot; said David Donabedian, chief investment officer of Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management.

Ratings agency Standard &amp; Poor&#39;s (S&amp;P) stripped Britain of its last remaining top-notch credit rating on Monday, warning that more downgrades could follow.&nbsp;

&quot;In our opinion, this (referendum) outcome is a seminal event, and will lead to a less predictable, stable, and effective policy framework in the UK,&quot; S&amp;P said in a statement.

The yield on British 10-year government bonds fell below 1.0 per cent for the first time as investors bet the&nbsp;Brexit&nbsp;vote would trigger a Bank of England interest rate cut aimed at steadying the economy.

US&nbsp;stocks ended lower for a second day also, following European markets, pulled down by banking stocks amid uncertainty over London&#39;s future as the region&#39;s financial capital. Safe-haven bond and gold prices rose.

US&nbsp;Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Monday said he sees no signs of a financial crisis arising from Britain&#39;s decision last week, although he admitted that the result does present additional &quot;headwinds&quot; for the US&nbsp;economy.

Visiting Brussels, US&nbsp;Secretary of State John Kerry said it was important that &quot;nobody loses their head&quot; as the EU and Britain deal with the fallout from the referendum.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi expressed &quot;sadness&quot; on Monday at Britain&#39;s vote to leave the EU.&nbsp;

Draghi will fly to Brussels on Tuesday, where he is expected to brief European leaders about the impact of the UK vote on the euro zone at a two-day European Council meeting.&nbsp;

POLITICAL CONFUSION IN BRITAIN

With the ruling UK&nbsp;Conservative party looking for a new leader after Cameron&#39;s resignation on Friday and lawmakers from the opposition Labour party stepping up a rebellion against their leader, Britain sank deeper into political chaos.

&quot;There&#39;s no political leadership in the UK right when markets need the reassurance of direction,&quot; said Luke Hickmore of Aberdeen Asset Management, expressing the view of many in the City of London financial centre.

British broadcaster Sky News said work and pensions minister Stephen Crabb was also considering a bid for the Conservative party leadership, with business secretary Sajid Javid seeking to become finance minister. Both were in favour of staying in the EU. The editor of the Spectator magazine tweeted that Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was also &quot;highly likely&quot; to launch a bid.&nbsp;

Cameron says he will stay on until October as a caretaker and that his successor should trigger the formal process of leaving the EU. His Conservative Party in parliament recommended choosing a successor by early September.

The prime minister sought to calm fears over the fallout of the referendum and said parliament should not try to block Britain&#39;s departure. A majority of parliamentarians, like him, had argued that Britain should stay in the EU.

&quot;I am clear, and the cabinet agreed this morning, that the decision must be accepted,&quot; Cameron told parliament, which also faces a public petition for a new referendum.&nbsp;

While the question of whether to leave the EU has split the ruling Conservative party, divisions within the opposition are also deep. A wave of Labour lawmakers resigned from leader Jeremy Corbyn&#39;s team on Monday, adding to the 11 senior figures who quit on Sunday, saying his campaign to keep Britain in the EU was half-hearted.

Corbyn, a left-winger who has strong support among ordinary party members, has said he is not stepping down.

Discontent with the political establishment in general and the Conservatives in particular was a factor behind the vote to leave, although many&nbsp;Brexit&nbsp;backers focused on immigration, complaining too many migrants had arrived from eastern Europe.

Piling on misery for beaten English &quot;remain&quot; voters, the country&#39;s soccer team on Monday crashed out of the Euro 2016 soccer competition to tiny Iceland.

&quot;We embarrassed ourselves three of four days ago in the referendum, we&#39;ve embarrassed ourselves now. It&#39;s a really, really sad time to be English,&quot; lamented English soccer fan Alex in the French city of Nice.

EUROPE WANTS QUICKER RESOLUTION

Cameron&#39;s refusal to start formal moves to pull the country out of the EU has prompted many European leaders to demand quicker action by Britain, the EU&#39;s second largest economy after Germany, to leave the 28-country bloc.

&quot;It should be implemented quickly. We cannot remain in an uncertain and indefinite situation,&quot; French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on France 2 television.

Guenther Oettinger, German member of the EU&#39;s executive European Commission, said delay would hurt Europe as well as Britain. &quot;Every day of uncertainty prevents investors from putting their funds into Britain, and also other European markets,&quot; he told Deutschlandfunk radio.

Cameron heads to Brussels on Tuesday for a grim EU summit dinner, while the other 27 leaders will meet for the first time without him on Wednesday morning to plan their next moves. They are likely to stress a willingness to negotiate, but only after London binds itself to a tight two-year exit timetable.

The leaders of France, Germany and Italy met in Berlin on Monday and said Europe needed to respond to its people&#39;s concerns by setting clear goals to improve security, the economy and prospects for young people.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has appeared to take a softer line on Britain&#39;s decision than some European leaders, said she had &quot;neither a brake nor an accelerator&quot; to control events, adding: &quot;We just don&#39;t want an impasse.&quot;

The political, economic and regulatory uncertainty is being felt across the globe at a time when economies are still slowly recovering from the 2008 economic crisis, interest rates are close to zero, and central banks have fewer tools than normal to revive demand if countries enter recession.&nbsp;

South Korea said on Tuesday it would propose a supplementary budget of around 10 trillion Won ($8.44 billion), in part to help it manage&nbsp;Brexit&nbsp;turmoil in financial markets. 
 
(Reuters)

European bank shares had their worst two-day fall on record and world stocks saw their worst two-day fall since the 2008 financial crisis

Britain's vote to leave the European Union (EU) continued to reverberate through financial markets, with the Pound falling to its lowest level in 31 years, despite government attempts to relieve some of the confusion about the political and economic outlook. UK finance minister George Osborne said early Monday that the British economy was strong enough to cope with the market volatility caused by last week's Brexit referendum which has resulted in the biggest blow since World War II to the European goal of forging greater unity. "Our economy is about as strong as it could be to confront the challenge our country now faces," Osborne told reporters. "It is inevitable after Thursday's vote that Britain's economy is going to have to adjust to the new situation we find ourselves in," said Osborne, who later ruled himself out of the running to succeed David Cameron as prime minister. Boris Johnson, a leading proponent of Brexit and the frontrunner to be the next prime minister, praised Osborne for saying "some reassuring things to the markets". The former London mayor said it was now clear that "people's pensions are safe, the pound is stable, markets are stable. I think that is all very good news." But neither Osborne's nor Johnson's words failed to stop the slide in stocks on world markets which began last Friday when Britons confounded investors' expectations by voting to end 43 years of EU membership. European bank shares had their worst two-day fall on record and world stocks as measured by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) index saw their worst two-day fall since the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers during the 2008 financial crisis. On Friday alone about $2.8 trillion was wiped off the value of world stocks, the biggest daily loss ever. Sterling fell to a low around $1.3120, its lowest level since mid-1985. The Euro also remained weak, after falling to a three-month low around $1.0910 on Friday. Asian stocks markets opened weaker on Tuesday, with MSCI's Asia ex-Japan index extending losses for a third day, down 0.5 per cent. Japan's Nikkei was off 0.7 per cent. "Markets already appear to be pricing in a full-blown recession in the UK and rising recession risk in the rest of Europe," said David Donabedian, chief investment officer of Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management. Ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) stripped Britain of its last remaining top-notch credit rating on Monday, warning that more downgrades could follow. "In our opinion, this (referendum) outcome is a seminal event, and will lead to a less predictable, stable, and effective policy framework in the UK," S&P said in a statement. The yield on British 10-year government bonds fell below 1.0 per cent for the first time as investors bet the Brexit vote would trigger a Bank of England interest rate cut aimed at steadying the economy. US stocks ended lower for a second day also, following European markets, pulled down by banking stocks amid uncertainty over London's future as the region's financial capital. Safe-haven bond and gold prices rose. US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Monday said he sees no signs of a financial crisis arising from Britain's decision last week, although he admitted that the result does present additional "headwinds" for the US economy. Visiting Brussels, US Secretary of State John Kerry said it was important that "nobody loses their head" as the EU and Britain deal with the fallout from the referendum. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi expressed "sadness" on Monday at Britain's vote to leave the EU. Draghi will fly to Brussels on Tuesday, where he is expected to brief European leaders about the impact of the UK vote on the euro zone at a two-day European Council meeting. POLITICAL CONFUSION IN BRITAIN With the ruling UK Conservative party looking for a new leader after Cameron's resignation on Friday and lawmakers from the opposition Labour party stepping up a rebellion against their leader, Britain sank deeper into political chaos. "There's no political leadership in the UK right when markets need the reassurance of direction," said Luke Hickmore of Aberdeen Asset Management, expressing the view of many in the City of London financial centre. British broadcaster Sky News said work and pensions minister Stephen Crabb was also considering a bid for the Conservative party leadership, with business secretary Sajid Javid seeking to become finance minister. Both were in favour of staying in the EU. The editor of the Spectator magazine tweeted that Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was also "highly likely" to launch a bid. Cameron says he will stay on until October as a caretaker and that his successor should trigger the formal process of leaving the EU. His Conservative Party in parliament recommended choosing a successor by early September. The prime minister sought to calm fears over the fallout of the referendum and said parliament should not try to block Britain's departure. A majority of parliamentarians, like him, had argued that Britain should stay in the EU. "I am clear, and the cabinet agreed this morning, that the decision must be accepted," Cameron told parliament, which also faces a public petition for a new referendum. While the question of whether to leave the EU has split the ruling Conservative party, divisions within the opposition are also deep. A wave of Labour lawmakers resigned from leader Jeremy Corbyn's team on Monday, adding to the 11 senior figures who quit on Sunday, saying his campaign to keep Britain in the EU was half-hearted. Corbyn, a left-winger who has strong support among ordinary party members, has said he is not stepping down. Discontent with the political establishment in general and the Conservatives in particular was a factor behind the vote to leave, although many Brexit backers focused on immigration, complaining too many migrants had arrived from eastern Europe. Piling on misery for beaten English "remain" voters, the country's soccer team on Monday crashed out of the Euro 2016 soccer competition to tiny Iceland. "We embarrassed ourselves three of four days ago in the referendum, we've embarrassed ourselves now. It's a really, really sad time to be English," lamented English soccer fan Alex in the French city of Nice. EUROPE WANTS QUICKER RESOLUTION Cameron's refusal to start formal moves to pull the country out of the EU has prompted many European leaders to demand quicker action by Britain, the EU's second largest economy after Germany, to leave the 28-country bloc. "It should be implemented quickly. We cannot remain in an uncertain and indefinite situation," French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on France 2 television. Guenther Oettinger, German member of the EU's executive European Commission, said delay would hurt Europe as well as Britain. "Every day of uncertainty prevents investors from putting their funds into Britain, and also other European markets," he told Deutschlandfunk radio. Cameron heads to Brussels on Tuesday for a grim EU summit dinner, while the other 27 leaders will meet for the first time without him on Wednesday morning to plan their next moves. They are likely to stress a willingness to negotiate, but only after London binds itself to a tight two-year exit timetable. The leaders of France, Germany and Italy met in Berlin on Monday and said Europe needed to respond to its people's concerns by setting clear goals to improve security, the economy and prospects for young people. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has appeared to take a softer line on Britain's decision than some European leaders, said she had "neither a brake nor an accelerator" to control events, adding: "We just don't want an impasse." The political, economic and regulatory uncertainty is being felt across the globe at a time when economies are still slowly recovering from the 2008 economic crisis, interest rates are close to zero, and central banks have fewer tools than normal to revive demand if countries enter recession. South Korea said on Tuesday it would propose a supplementary budget of around 10 trillion Won ($8.44 billion), in part to help it manage Brexit turmoil in financial markets. (Reuters)

Post Brexit, UK political confusion keeps world markets on edge

Chancellor&nbsp;George&nbsp;Osborne&nbsp;said&nbsp;on&nbsp;Tuesday&nbsp;that&nbsp;Britain&nbsp;would&nbsp;have&nbsp;to&nbsp;raise&nbsp;taxes&nbsp;and&nbsp;cut&nbsp;spending&nbsp;to&nbsp;deal&nbsp;with&nbsp;the&nbsp;economic&nbsp;challenge&nbsp; 
posed&nbsp;after&nbsp;Britons&nbsp;voted&nbsp;to&nbsp;leave&nbsp;the&nbsp;European&nbsp;Union&nbsp;(EU). 
 
&quot;We&nbsp;are&nbsp;absolutely&nbsp;going&nbsp;to&nbsp;have&nbsp;to&nbsp;provide&nbsp;fiscal&nbsp;security&nbsp;to&nbsp;people,&nbsp;we&nbsp;are&nbsp;going&nbsp;to&nbsp;have&nbsp;to&nbsp;show&nbsp;the&nbsp;country&nbsp;and&nbsp;the world that&nbsp;the&nbsp;government&nbsp;can&nbsp;live&nbsp;within&nbsp;its&nbsp;means,&quot;&nbsp;he&nbsp;told&nbsp;BBC&nbsp;radio. 
 
Asked&nbsp;if&nbsp;that&nbsp;meant&nbsp;tax&nbsp;rises&nbsp;and&nbsp;spending&nbsp;cuts,&nbsp;he&nbsp;said:&nbsp;&quot;Yes,&nbsp;absolutely.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

'We?are?going?to?have?to?show?the?country?and?the world that?the?government?can?live?within?its?means'

Chancellor George Osborne said on Tuesday that Britain would have to raise taxes and cut spending to deal with the economic challenge posed after Britons voted to leave the European Union (EU). "We are absolutely going to have to provide fiscal security to people, we are going to have to show the country and the world that the government can live within its means," he told BBC radio. Asked if that meant tax rises and spending cuts, he said: "Yes, absolutely." (Reuters)

Britain to raise taxes in wake of EU divorce, says Osborne

Britain&#39;s opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn told more than 1,000 of his supporters to &quot;stand together&quot; on Monday, as he faces a no-confidence motion after almost all his policy team withdrew their support for him in protest after Britons voted to leave the European Union (EU).&nbsp; 
 
The noisy rally took place outside parliament where his party were meeting to discuss the no-confidence vote in Corbyn&#39;s leadership. After the meeting, Corbyn addressed his supporters, not directly mentioning the ongoing drama within his party. 
 
Corbyn has vowed to fight to retain control of Labour, resisting pressure to quit over what critics say was his lacklustre effort to keep Britain inside the European Union. 
 
Labour&#39;s Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and newly appointed Shadow Health Secretary Diane Abbott reaffirmed their support for Corbyn at the rally. 
 
The no-confidence motion is due to be voted on at a secret ballot on Tuesday, although it is not enough on its own to trigger a leadership contest -- something that requires 51 lawmakers to nominate a rival candidate. 
 
Corbyn was elected party leader last year on a surprise wave of grassroots enthusiasm for his left-wing agenda and promise of a new approach to politics. But his relationship with Labour&#39;s elected lawmakers has always been fragile, with many questioning whether the party could win an election on such a ticket. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

Almost all of his policy team has withdrawn their support for him

Britain's opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn told more than 1,000 of his supporters to "stand together" on Monday, as he faces a no-confidence motion after almost all his policy team withdrew their support for him in protest after Britons voted to leave the European Union (EU). The noisy rally took place outside parliament where his party were meeting to discuss the no-confidence vote in Corbyn's leadership. After the meeting, Corbyn addressed his supporters, not directly mentioning the ongoing drama within his party. Corbyn has vowed to fight to retain control of Labour, resisting pressure to quit over what critics say was his lacklustre effort to keep Britain inside the European Union. Labour's Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and newly appointed Shadow Health Secretary Diane Abbott reaffirmed their support for Corbyn at the rally. The no-confidence motion is due to be voted on at a secret ballot on Tuesday, although it is not enough on its own to trigger a leadership contest -- something that requires 51 lawmakers to nominate a rival candidate. Corbyn was elected party leader last year on a surprise wave of grassroots enthusiasm for his left-wing agenda and promise of a new approach to politics. But his relationship with Labour's elected lawmakers has always been fragile, with many questioning whether the party could win an election on such a ticket. (Reuters)

Corbyn faces no-confidence motion today, tells supporters to ?stand together?

Gold rose on Monday, staying close to more than two-year high hit on Friday, as uncertainty over Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union (EU) pushed investors to sell equities and seek safer assets.

Bullion finished Friday up 4.8 per cent, its biggest one-day gain since January 2009 as the British vote sparked sales of riskier assets. Gold is often perceived as a hedge against economic and financial risk.

&quot;The short-term tactical gold buying of highly speculative flows has a history of being not sustainable, but there are also longer-term investors in this rally, who worry about contagion and ramifications in other markets and parts of the world,&quot; Sharps Pixley chief Ross Norman said.

Spot gold rose as much as 1.5 per cent to a session high of $1,335.30 an ounce and was up 0.8 per&nbsp;cent&nbsp;at $1,326.26 by 3:16 p.m. EDT (1916 GMT). It rallied 8 per cent to $1,358.20 at one stage on Friday, the highest price since March 2014.&nbsp;

U.S. gold futures settled up $2.30, or 0.2 per cent, at $1,324.70 per ounce.&nbsp;

Britain&#39;s shock vote to leave the EU&nbsp;roiled global markets for a second day, hammering US&nbsp;and European banks, lifting bond prices and dragging the British Pound to a 31-year low.&nbsp;

&quot;The uncertainty around the timing of negotiations to leave the EU means that not only do investors become more defensive and buy things like gold and the dollar, but it also keeps sterling under pressure and translates into a permanent loss of economic activity at domestic level,&quot; ETF Securities analyst Martin Arnold said.

The British referendum verdict probably means the Fed&#39;s ambitions for two rate rises this year have been placed on hold, analysts and experts said.

Goldman Sachs has raised its gold price forecasts saying Brexit suggested a more sustainable impact on the trajectory of U.S. interest rates.

UBS Wealth Management Research raised its three-month price forecast for gold to $1,275-$1,425 per ounce and 12-month to $1,275, on uncertainties following the UK vote and its expectation for just one Fed rate hike this year.

&quot;Central bank readiness to provide additional monetary support if needed should support gold&#39;s short-term appeal,&quot; UBS said.

Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world&#39;s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, jumped 2 per cent on Friday to the highest since July 2013.

Spot silver rose 0.1 per cent&nbsp;at $17.67 per ounce. Platinum was down 0.2 per cent&nbsp;at $979 an ounce and palladium was up 1.7 per cent&nbsp;at $556.10. 
 
(Reuters)

With uncertainty over Britain's vote to leave EU, investors are pushed to sell equities and seek safer assets

Gold rose on Monday, staying close to more than two-year high hit on Friday, as uncertainty over Britain's vote to leave the European Union (EU) pushed investors to sell equities and seek safer assets. Bullion finished Friday up 4.8 per cent, its biggest one-day gain since January 2009 as the British vote sparked sales of riskier assets. Gold is often perceived as a hedge against economic and financial risk. "The short-term tactical gold buying of highly speculative flows has a history of being not sustainable, but there are also longer-term investors in this rally, who worry about contagion and ramifications in other markets and parts of the world," Sharps Pixley chief Ross Norman said. Spot gold rose as much as 1.5 per cent to a session high of $1,335.30 an ounce and was up 0.8 per cent at $1,326.26 by 3:16 p.m. EDT (1916 GMT). It rallied 8 per cent to $1,358.20 at one stage on Friday, the highest price since March 2014. U.S. gold futures settled up $2.30, or 0.2 per cent, at $1,324.70 per ounce. Britain's shock vote to leave the EU roiled global markets for a second day, hammering US and European banks, lifting bond prices and dragging the British Pound to a 31-year low. "The uncertainty around the timing of negotiations to leave the EU means that not only do investors become more defensive and buy things like gold and the dollar, but it also keeps sterling under pressure and translates into a permanent loss of economic activity at domestic level," ETF Securities analyst Martin Arnold said. The British referendum verdict probably means the Fed's ambitions for two rate rises this year have been placed on hold, analysts and experts said. Goldman Sachs has raised its gold price forecasts saying Brexit suggested a more sustainable impact on the trajectory of U.S. interest rates. UBS Wealth Management Research raised its three-month price forecast for gold to $1,275-$1,425 per ounce and 12-month to $1,275, on uncertainties following the UK vote and its expectation for just one Fed rate hike this year. "Central bank readiness to provide additional monetary support if needed should support gold's short-term appeal," UBS said. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, jumped 2 per cent on Friday to the highest since July 2013. Spot silver rose 0.1 per cent at $17.67 per ounce. Platinum was down 0.2 per cent at $979 an ounce and palladium was up 1.7 per cent at $556.10. (Reuters)

Gold gains as Investors seek refuge in bullion market after Brexit vote

British Labour Party lawmakers voted massively against their leader on Tuesday amid political turmoil in Britain after a vote to leave the European Union, as candidates to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron vied for power behind the scenes. 
 
Labour&#39;s Jeremy Corbyn lost a non-binding confidence motion, with 172 Labour MPs voting against him and only 40 in favour out of a total of 229 Labour lawmakers in the House of Commons lower house. But the veteran socialist insisted he would not stand down. 
 
&quot;I was democratically elected leader of our party for a new kind of politics by 60 per cent of Labour members and supporters, and I will not betray them by resigning. Todays vote by MPs has no constitutional legitimacy,&quot; he said in a statement. 
 
Five days after the shock referendum vote, the two parties that have dominated Westminster for nearly a century were in almost complete disarray. 
 
Pro-EU finance minister George Osborne, long tipped to succeed Cameron, ruled himself out on Tuesday while British media reported that Work and Pensions Minister Stephen Crabb, a virtual unknown to the British public, would put his name forward. 
 
Former London mayor and &quot;Leave&quot; figurehead Boris Johnson -- now a bogeyman for many in the &quot;Remain&quot; camp -- is tipped as one of the favourites. 
 
The other is interior minister Theresa May who is reportedly seeking support for a rival bid that British media tipped as the &quot;Stop Boris&quot; campaign. 
 
The Conservatives have set a Thursday deadline for nominations, and the party said the winner would be announced on September 9. 
 
Cameron has said he would leave it to his successor to invoke Article 50 -- the formal procedure for exiting the European Union.On the opposition side, over half of Corbyns shadow cabinet -- the leadership of his party -- have now resigned since Sunday in a coordinated series of resignations against the 67-year-old, who only became leader in September. 
 
Corbyn, a veteran socialist and eurosceptic who voted against EU membership in a 1975 referendum, has come under heavy criticism from pro-EU lawmakers for his lukewarm campaigning in favour of Britain staying in. Many experts have blamed the strong anti-EU vote in Labour heartlands in northern England on Corbyn. 
 
But Corbyn himself has blamed Conservative austerity measures for creating disenchantment in many working-class areas, and said the media had not covered Labours referendum campaign, focussing instead on rifts within the ruling Conservatives. 
 
The Conservatives are meanwhile scrambling to choose a successor to Cameron, who announced his resignation within hours of the Brexit result last Friday. 
 
A new poll Tuesday put May in the lead with 31 per cent, against 24 per cent for Johnson. 
 
Nominations for the party leadership open Wednesday, and close Thursday. 
 
If more than two candidates stand, Tory MPs will vote next week to whittle down the field to two nominees, before the new leader is chosen by a postal ballot of party members, who currently number around 150,000. 
 
The new Tory leader is expected to be announced on September 9, the party announced Tuesday. 
 
Critics have questioned whether the &quot;Leave&quot; camp -- and Johnson in particular -- has any idea how to manage the unprecedented situation left by last week&#39;s vote. 
 
&quot;He has still to offer anything like a concrete plan on how he would negotiate the post-Brexit future,&quot; wrote former BBC political editor Nick Robinson. 
 
He added: &quot;The fallout from the biggest exercise in popular democracy has already been dramatic... It has, though, only just begun.&nbsp;The old order has been smashed. It may be a very long time -- not weeks, not months but years -- before the shape of the new order and the answers to all those questions become clear.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

Actually, both major British parties are in disarray after last week's decision to leave the EU

British Labour Party lawmakers voted massively against their leader on Tuesday amid political turmoil in Britain after a vote to leave the European Union, as candidates to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron vied for power behind the scenes. Labour's Jeremy Corbyn lost a non-binding confidence motion, with 172 Labour MPs voting against him and only 40 in favour out of a total of 229 Labour lawmakers in the House of Commons lower house. But the veteran socialist insisted he would not stand down. "I was democratically elected leader of our party for a new kind of politics by 60 per cent of Labour members and supporters, and I will not betray them by resigning. Todays vote by MPs has no constitutional legitimacy," he said in a statement. Five days after the shock referendum vote, the two parties that have dominated Westminster for nearly a century were in almost complete disarray. Pro-EU finance minister George Osborne, long tipped to succeed Cameron, ruled himself out on Tuesday while British media reported that Work and Pensions Minister Stephen Crabb, a virtual unknown to the British public, would put his name forward. Former London mayor and "Leave" figurehead Boris Johnson -- now a bogeyman for many in the "Remain" camp -- is tipped as one of the favourites. The other is interior minister Theresa May who is reportedly seeking support for a rival bid that British media tipped as the "Stop Boris" campaign. The Conservatives have set a Thursday deadline for nominations, and the party said the winner would be announced on September 9. Cameron has said he would leave it to his successor to invoke Article 50 -- the formal procedure for exiting the European Union.On the opposition side, over half of Corbyns shadow cabinet -- the leadership of his party -- have now resigned since Sunday in a coordinated series of resignations against the 67-year-old, who only became leader in September. Corbyn, a veteran socialist and eurosceptic who voted against EU membership in a 1975 referendum, has come under heavy criticism from pro-EU lawmakers for his lukewarm campaigning in favour of Britain staying in. Many experts have blamed the strong anti-EU vote in Labour heartlands in northern England on Corbyn. But Corbyn himself has blamed Conservative austerity measures for creating disenchantment in many working-class areas, and said the media had not covered Labours referendum campaign, focussing instead on rifts within the ruling Conservatives. The Conservatives are meanwhile scrambling to choose a successor to Cameron, who announced his resignation within hours of the Brexit result last Friday. A new poll Tuesday put May in the lead with 31 per cent, against 24 per cent for Johnson. Nominations for the party leadership open Wednesday, and close Thursday. If more than two candidates stand, Tory MPs will vote next week to whittle down the field to two nominees, before the new leader is chosen by a postal ballot of party members, who currently number around 150,000. The new Tory leader is expected to be announced on September 9, the party announced Tuesday. Critics have questioned whether the "Leave" camp -- and Johnson in particular -- has any idea how to manage the unprecedented situation left by last week's vote. "He has still to offer anything like a concrete plan on how he would negotiate the post-Brexit future," wrote former BBC political editor Nick Robinson. He added: "The fallout from the biggest exercise in popular democracy has already been dramatic... It has, though, only just begun. The old order has been smashed. It may be a very long time -- not weeks, not months but years -- before the shape of the new order and the answers to all those questions become clear." (AFP)

Corbyn fights to maintain grip on Labour party after Brexit vote

Britain could have a new prime minister by early September, the ruling Conservative Party said on Monday, after David Cameron started laying the groundwork for his successor to trigger the country&#39;s exit from the European Union. 
 
The government is under pressure to fill a vacuum left when Cameron announced he would resign by October after Britain ignored his advice and voted to leave the 28-member bloc in last week&#39;s referendum. 
 
Triggering a leadership battle that could draw in some of his closest advisers, Cameron urged ministers to work together in the meantime. 
 
One of Cameron&#39;s allies, finance minister George Osborne, ruled himself out of the leadership race, but British media said other cabinet colleagues were poised to enter. 
 
Cameron also formed a separate unit, staffed by public servants, to help advise Britain on its departure and its options for a future outside the EU. 
 
&quot;Although leaving the EU was not the path I recommended, I am the first to praise our incredible strengths as a country,&quot; Cameron told parliament. 
 
&quot;As we proceed with implementing this decision and facing the challenges that it will undoubtedly bring, I believe we should hold fast to a vision of Britain that wants to be respected abroad, tolerant at home, engaged in the world.&quot; 
 
Asked about the possibility of a second EU referendum, Cameron said the result of Thursday&#39;s vote must be accepted. 
 
Graham Brady, chair of the &quot;1922 Committee&quot; of Conservative lawmakers, which sets the party&#39;s ground rules in parliament, said the group had recommended that the leadership contest should begin next week and conclude no later than Sept. 2. 
 
That recommendation will almost certainly be passed. 
 
&quot;Both the Conservatives and the country more generally really want certainty. We would like a resolution and we think it would be a good thing to conclude this process as soon as we practicably can,&quot; Brady told Sky News. 
 
He said there should be no new parliamentary election before Britain had negotiated the terms of its exit from the EU. 
 
Several Conservative lawmakers have urged leadership candidates to try to broker a deal quickly to make sure that any campaign is as painless as possible, and to avoid deepening divisions exposed during the referendum campaign. 
 
&quot;A leadership contest now is not in the interests of our country,&quot; said Justine Greening, international development minister. &quot;It will mean our party focuses inward at the very time our country most needs us to focus outward.&quot; 
 
 
Jockeying for position 
Osborne, who was once widely regarded as a front-runner to succeed Cameron, said his fierce advocacy for Britain staying part of the EU meant he was no longer a suitable candidate for the highest office. 
 
&quot;I believed in this cause and fought hard for it. So it is clear that while I completely accept the result, I am not the person to provide the unity my party needs,&quot; Osborne said in an article published by the Times newspaper. 
 
Work and pensions minister Stephen Crabb is considering a bid to succeed Cameron, Sky News reported, citing sources. He is canvassing Conservative lawmakers for support along with Business Secretary Sajid Javid, who is seeking to become finance minister, Sky said. 
 
The editor of the Spectator magazine tweeted that Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was also &quot;highly likely&quot; to launch a leadership bid. 
 
But all eyes are on former London mayor Boris Johnson, the most prominent of the &quot;Leave&quot; campaigners and now bookmakers&#39; favourite to succeed Cameron. 
 
But not all party members back him and many are pressing for &quot;Anyone But Boris&quot;, seeing his decision to back the Leave campaign as a betrayal of his former ally Cameron, according to media reports. 
 
A YouGov opinion poll on Monday showed interior minister Theresa May scored better than Johnson on who would make the best prime minister, among both the general public and Conservative voters. 
 
Cameron&#39;s spokesman said the prime minister would not endorse any candidate to succeed him. 
 
Instead, Cameron urged unity both in government and in the country and announced he had set up an advisory unit to help manage Britain&#39;s departure from the European Union and to make sure his successor has all the information necessary to decide the country&#39;s future. 
 
&quot;Clearly this will be the most complex and most important task that the British civil service has undertaken in decades. So the new unit will sit at the heart of government and be led by and staffed by the best and brightest from across our civil service,&quot; Cameron said. 
 
For now, the priority was working together on government business, which some critics say has been all but put on hold since campaigning for the referendum began in February, and reassuring the many migrants who fear their status may change. 
 
Cameron told parliament he would not put up with intolerance, after reports that migrants, particularly those from Poland, had been told by some Britons to &quot;go home&quot; since the referendum. 
 
&quot;Let&#39;s remember these people have come here and made a wonderful contribution to our country. And we will not stand for hate crime or these kinds of attacks,&quot; he said. &quot;They must be stamped out.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Cameron urged unity both in government and country as work and pensions minister and the health secretary seek to launch a leadership bid

Britain could have a new prime minister by early September, the ruling Conservative Party said on Monday, after David Cameron started laying the groundwork for his successor to trigger the country's exit from the European Union. The government is under pressure to fill a vacuum left when Cameron announced he would resign by October after Britain ignored his advice and voted to leave the 28-member bloc in last week's referendum. Triggering a leadership battle that could draw in some of his closest advisers, Cameron urged ministers to work together in the meantime. One of Cameron's allies, finance minister George Osborne, ruled himself out of the leadership race, but British media said other cabinet colleagues were poised to enter. Cameron also formed a separate unit, staffed by public servants, to help advise Britain on its departure and its options for a future outside the EU. "Although leaving the EU was not the path I recommended, I am the first to praise our incredible strengths as a country," Cameron told parliament. "As we proceed with implementing this decision and facing the challenges that it will undoubtedly bring, I believe we should hold fast to a vision of Britain that wants to be respected abroad, tolerant at home, engaged in the world." Asked about the possibility of a second EU referendum, Cameron said the result of Thursday's vote must be accepted. Graham Brady, chair of the "1922 Committee" of Conservative lawmakers, which sets the party's ground rules in parliament, said the group had recommended that the leadership contest should begin next week and conclude no later than Sept. 2. That recommendation will almost certainly be passed. "Both the Conservatives and the country more generally really want certainty. We would like a resolution and we think it would be a good thing to conclude this process as soon as we practicably can," Brady told Sky News. He said there should be no new parliamentary election before Britain had negotiated the terms of its exit from the EU. Several Conservative lawmakers have urged leadership candidates to try to broker a deal quickly to make sure that any campaign is as painless as possible, and to avoid deepening divisions exposed during the referendum campaign. "A leadership contest now is not in the interests of our country," said Justine Greening, international development minister. "It will mean our party focuses inward at the very time our country most needs us to focus outward." Jockeying for position Osborne, who was once widely regarded as a front-runner to succeed Cameron, said his fierce advocacy for Britain staying part of the EU meant he was no longer a suitable candidate for the highest office. "I believed in this cause and fought hard for it. So it is clear that while I completely accept the result, I am not the person to provide the unity my party needs," Osborne said in an article published by the Times newspaper. Work and pensions minister Stephen Crabb is considering a bid to succeed Cameron, Sky News reported, citing sources. He is canvassing Conservative lawmakers for support along with Business Secretary Sajid Javid, who is seeking to become finance minister, Sky said. The editor of the Spectator magazine tweeted that Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was also "highly likely" to launch a leadership bid. But all eyes are on former London mayor Boris Johnson, the most prominent of the "Leave" campaigners and now bookmakers' favourite to succeed Cameron. But not all party members back him and many are pressing for "Anyone But Boris", seeing his decision to back the Leave campaign as a betrayal of his former ally Cameron, according to media reports. A YouGov opinion poll on Monday showed interior minister Theresa May scored better than Johnson on who would make the best prime minister, among both the general public and Conservative voters. Cameron's spokesman said the prime minister would not endorse any candidate to succeed him. Instead, Cameron urged unity both in government and in the country and announced he had set up an advisory unit to help manage Britain's departure from the European Union and to make sure his successor has all the information necessary to decide the country's future. "Clearly this will be the most complex and most important task that the British civil service has undertaken in decades. So the new unit will sit at the heart of government and be led by and staffed by the best and brightest from across our civil service," Cameron said. For now, the priority was working together on government business, which some critics say has been all but put on hold since campaigning for the referendum began in February, and reassuring the many migrants who fear their status may change. Cameron told parliament he would not put up with intolerance, after reports that migrants, particularly those from Poland, had been told by some Britons to "go home" since the referendum. "Let's remember these people have come here and made a wonderful contribution to our country. And we will not stand for hate crime or these kinds of attacks," he said. "They must be stamped out." (Reuters)

Preparing for Brexit, Britain may see new Prime Minister by early September

Two ratings agencies downgraded Britain on Monday because of its vote to leave the European Union (EU), citing risks to its economy and political upheaval. 
 
Standard &amp; Poor&#39;s (S&amp;P) removed Britain&#39;s coveted AAA status, downgrading it by two notches with a long-term negative outlook. 
 
&quot;In our opinion, this outcome is a seminal event, and will lead to a less predictable, stable, and effective policy framework in the UK,&quot; a statement from the agency read. 
 
&quot;The Brexit result could lead to a deterioration of the UK&#39;s economic performance, including its large financial services sector, which is a major contributor to employment,&quot; it said. 
 
Fitch cut its credit rating by one notch from &#39;AA+&#39; to &#39;AA&#39;, with a negative outlook. It lowered its economic growth forecast to 0.9 percent in 2017 and 2018 from 2 percent previously. 
 
&quot;Fitch believes that uncertainty following the referendum outcome will induce an abrupt slowdown in short-term GDP growth,&quot; its analysis wrote. 
 
Both ratings agencies listed a possible second referendum on Scottish independence as a significant risk in the future. 
 
Voters in Scotland backed staying in the EU but pro-Brexit sentiment in England carried the overall &quot;Leave&quot; vote, prompting a rise in support for independence according to polls. 
 
The risks facing Britain are increased by the &quot;political upheaval&quot; that has followed the vote with the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron and a leadership crisis in the opposition Labour party. 
 
Divisions within the ruling Conservative party and a lack of clarity of Britain&#39;s future trade relationship with the EU increase the risks, according to both agencies. 
 
A lack of clarity over what trading relationship the UK might have with the EU will also damage confidence, they noted. 
 
&quot;We believe that the lack of clarity on these key issues will hurt confidence, investment, GDP growth, and public finances in the UK, and put at risk important external financing sources vital to the financing of the UK&#39;s large current account deficits,&quot; S&amp;P wrote. 
 
Britain voted by 52 per cent in favour of leaving the EU last week in a result that has hit European markets and sent the British Pound tumbling to a three-decade low against the dollar. 
 
Following the vote, fellow ratings agency Moody&#39;s cut Britain&#39;s credit rating outlook to &quot;negative&quot; but kept its overall rating at a high &quot;Aa1&quot;. 
 
(AFP)

Standard & Poor's removed Britain's coveted AAA status, downgrading it by two notches with a long-term negative outlook

Two ratings agencies downgraded Britain on Monday because of its vote to leave the European Union (EU), citing risks to its economy and political upheaval. Standard & Poor's (S&P) removed Britain's coveted AAA status, downgrading it by two notches with a long-term negative outlook. "In our opinion, this outcome is a seminal event, and will lead to a less predictable, stable, and effective policy framework in the UK," a statement from the agency read. "The Brexit result could lead to a deterioration of the UK's economic performance, including its large financial services sector, which is a major contributor to employment," it said. Fitch cut its credit rating by one notch from 'AA+' to 'AA', with a negative outlook. It lowered its economic growth forecast to 0.9 percent in 2017 and 2018 from 2 percent previously. "Fitch believes that uncertainty following the referendum outcome will induce an abrupt slowdown in short-term GDP growth," its analysis wrote. Both ratings agencies listed a possible second referendum on Scottish independence as a significant risk in the future. Voters in Scotland backed staying in the EU but pro-Brexit sentiment in England carried the overall "Leave" vote, prompting a rise in support for independence according to polls. The risks facing Britain are increased by the "political upheaval" that has followed the vote with the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron and a leadership crisis in the opposition Labour party. Divisions within the ruling Conservative party and a lack of clarity of Britain's future trade relationship with the EU increase the risks, according to both agencies. A lack of clarity over what trading relationship the UK might have with the EU will also damage confidence, they noted. "We believe that the lack of clarity on these key issues will hurt confidence, investment, GDP growth, and public finances in the UK, and put at risk important external financing sources vital to the financing of the UK's large current account deficits," S&P wrote. Britain voted by 52 per cent in favour of leaving the EU last week in a result that has hit European markets and sent the British Pound tumbling to a three-decade low against the dollar. Following the vote, fellow ratings agency Moody's cut Britain's credit rating outlook to "negative" but kept its overall rating at a high "Aa1". (AFP)

Ratings agencies downgrade UK after Brexit vote

South Korea will propose a supplementary budget of around 10 trillion Won ($8.44 billion) to parliament soon, the government said on Tuesday, as it tackles Brexit turmoil in financial markets, weak exports, and a corporate overhaul of the country&#39;s shipping and shipbuilding industries.

President Park Geun-hye called on all government ministries to have the supplementary budget ready as soon as possible.

&quot;Unrest in global financial markets has been growing from Brexit. Uncertainties over the Chinese economy and geopolitical risks from North Korea are still pressuring our economy,&quot; she said at a meeting of economy-related officials and lawmakers.

&quot;The economic situation inside and outside our country is more serious than ever. If we do not take extraordinary measures there are concerns growth and employment will contract in the second half of the year.&quot;

The supplementary budget will be spent on stimulus measures including a big retail spending drive, rebates on appliances, a tax incentive to replace older diesel cars, and additional unemployment benefits for shipbuilding workers.

The extra budget will be mostly funded from a surplus in tax revenue for the first half of the year, avoiding the need to sell more treasury bonds and run up additional government debt.

Equities cautiously inched up after the announcement as an extra budget had been widely expected, given South Korea&#39;s soft economic growth.

Shares were up 0.4 per cent while the Won rose 0.8 per cent against the dollar helped partly by offshore factors.

&quot;This looks like the finance ministry just pushed the ball over to the Bank of Korea again,&quot; said Stephen Lee, an economist at Samsung Securities.

&quot;What I&#39;m a bit concerned about is that tax revenue going forward might not be as great as it was in the first half of the year...We might face some difficulties later if the Brexit aftermath on exports and capex is worse than expected.&quot;

Lee said the Bank of Korea may face pressure to cut interest rates again after it lowered them to a record low 1.25 per cent to bolster economic growth earlier this month.

Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said last week a supplementary budget would have to be ratified before mid-July to have maximum effect. Lawmakers in both ruling and opposition parties favour the extra budget.

Reflecting more difficult conditions inside and outside the country, the finance ministry lowered its growth forecast for this year to 2.8 per cent from the 3.1 per cent projected in December last year.

Inflation for 2016 was also downgraded to 1.1 per cent from 1.5 per cent forecast previously.

The extra budget comes as the latest buffer against possible fallout from the corporate restructuring of the country&#39;s struggling shipping and shipbuilding firms. Earlier this month, the government and central bank said they would create an 11 trillion Won fund to support two state-run banks most exposed to these industries.

Lee noted global financial markets were reacting more sensitively to political events around the world. He saw a danger of volatility spiking again when Italy holds its own referendum regarding constitutional reforms in October and from the US&nbsp;presidential election on November 8.

To keep capital flows from rocking the economy, the government said it will continue with plans to ease the cap on the foreign currency forward positions local banks can hold from 40 per cent from the current 30 per cent starting July.

It will also pass an amendment in September to temporarily lower an existing levy on foreign exchange borrowings by banks, securities firms, creditors and insurance companies. The levy aims to reduce sudden volatility in markets. 
 
($1 = 1,184.9000 Won) 
 
(Reuters)

The extra budget will be mostly funded from surplus in tax revenue, avoiding the need to sell more treasury bonds and run up additional debt

South Korea will propose a supplementary budget of around 10 trillion Won ($8.44 billion) to parliament soon, the government said on Tuesday, as it tackles Brexit turmoil in financial markets, weak exports, and a corporate overhaul of the country's shipping and shipbuilding industries. President Park Geun-hye called on all government ministries to have the supplementary budget ready as soon as possible. "Unrest in global financial markets has been growing from Brexit. Uncertainties over the Chinese economy and geopolitical risks from North Korea are still pressuring our economy," she said at a meeting of economy-related officials and lawmakers. "The economic situation inside and outside our country is more serious than ever. If we do not take extraordinary measures there are concerns growth and employment will contract in the second half of the year." The supplementary budget will be spent on stimulus measures including a big retail spending drive, rebates on appliances, a tax incentive to replace older diesel cars, and additional unemployment benefits for shipbuilding workers. The extra budget will be mostly funded from a surplus in tax revenue for the first half of the year, avoiding the need to sell more treasury bonds and run up additional government debt. Equities cautiously inched up after the announcement as an extra budget had been widely expected, given South Korea's soft economic growth. Shares were up 0.4 per cent while the Won rose 0.8 per cent against the dollar helped partly by offshore factors. "This looks like the finance ministry just pushed the ball over to the Bank of Korea again," said Stephen Lee, an economist at Samsung Securities. "What I'm a bit concerned about is that tax revenue going forward might not be as great as it was in the first half of the year...We might face some difficulties later if the Brexit aftermath on exports and capex is worse than expected." Lee said the Bank of Korea may face pressure to cut interest rates again after it lowered them to a record low 1.25 per cent to bolster economic growth earlier this month. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said last week a supplementary budget would have to be ratified before mid-July to have maximum effect. Lawmakers in both ruling and opposition parties favour the extra budget. Reflecting more difficult conditions inside and outside the country, the finance ministry lowered its growth forecast for this year to 2.8 per cent from the 3.1 per cent projected in December last year. Inflation for 2016 was also downgraded to 1.1 per cent from 1.5 per cent forecast previously. The extra budget comes as the latest buffer against possible fallout from the corporate restructuring of the country's struggling shipping and shipbuilding firms. Earlier this month, the government and central bank said they would create an 11 trillion Won fund to support two state-run banks most exposed to these industries. Lee noted global financial markets were reacting more sensitively to political events around the world. He saw a danger of volatility spiking again when Italy holds its own referendum regarding constitutional reforms in October and from the US presidential election on November 8. To keep capital flows from rocking the economy, the government said it will continue with plans to ease the cap on the foreign currency forward positions local banks can hold from 40 per cent from the current 30 per cent starting July. It will also pass an amendment in September to temporarily lower an existing levy on foreign exchange borrowings by banks, securities firms, creditors and insurance companies. The levy aims to reduce sudden volatility in markets. ($1 = 1,184.9000 Won) (Reuters)

South Korea may propose $8.4 billion in extra budget to shield against Brexit, domestic risks

British finance minister George Osborne ruled himself out of the running to succeed Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday, citing his fierce advocacy of staying in the European Union. 
 
The government is under pressure to fill a vacuum left when Cameron announced he would resign by October after Britain ignored his advice and voted to leave the 28-member bloc in last week&#39;s referendum. 
 
&quot;It isn&#39;t in my nature to do things by half-measure, and I fought the referendum campaign with everything I&#39;ve got. I believed in this cause and fought hard for it,&quot; Osborne wrote in the Times newspaper. 
 
&quot;So it is clear that while I completely accept the result, I am not the person to provide the unity my party needs at this time.&quot; 
 
Before the referendum campaign, Osborne had been widely regarded as a candidate to succeed Cameron one day, boosted by one of the strongest expansions among major developed economies in the last few years. 
 
Osborne on Monday said Britain&#39;s vote to leave the EU was likely to lead to further volatility in financial markets but said the world&#39;s fifth-biggest economy would cope with the challenge ahead. 
 
The Times said Osborne is weighing up whether to support former London mayor and Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson - the current front-runner - in exchange for an appointment as foreign secretary. It did not cite a source. 
 
A YouGov poll on Monday suggested interior minister Theresa May holds a lead over Johnson, among both the public and Conservative party members. 
 
British media also reported pensions minister Stephen Crabb and health secretary Jeremy Hunt were considering running for leader. 
 
(Reuters)

The finance minister was a supporter of the Stay campaign and said he is 'not the person to provide the unity my party needs at this time'

British finance minister George Osborne ruled himself out of the running to succeed Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday, citing his fierce advocacy of staying in the European Union. The government is under pressure to fill a vacuum left when Cameron announced he would resign by October after Britain ignored his advice and voted to leave the 28-member bloc in last week's referendum. "It isn't in my nature to do things by half-measure, and I fought the referendum campaign with everything I've got. I believed in this cause and fought hard for it," Osborne wrote in the Times newspaper. "So it is clear that while I completely accept the result, I am not the person to provide the unity my party needs at this time." Before the referendum campaign, Osborne had been widely regarded as a candidate to succeed Cameron one day, boosted by one of the strongest expansions among major developed economies in the last few years. Osborne on Monday said Britain's vote to leave the EU was likely to lead to further volatility in financial markets but said the world's fifth-biggest economy would cope with the challenge ahead. The Times said Osborne is weighing up whether to support former London mayor and Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson - the current front-runner - in exchange for an appointment as foreign secretary. It did not cite a source. A YouGov poll on Monday suggested interior minister Theresa May holds a lead over Johnson, among both the public and Conservative party members. British media also reported pensions minister Stephen Crabb and health secretary Jeremy Hunt were considering running for leader. (Reuters)

UK's Osborne rules himself out of race to succeed Prime Minister Cameron

US and Chinese online travel sites have reported a jump in queries about UK holidays since Britain voted to leave the European Union last week. A sign that &#39;Brexit&#39; and the resulting dramatic drop in the pound could boost tourism.&nbsp; 
 
Travel agents, hotel chains and airlines say it is too early to tell if the vote will impact bookings in the long run, but inquiries jumped as travelers hunt for cheaper breaks.&nbsp; 
 
Britain&#39;s decision to pull out of the European Union leaves the world&#39;s fifth-largest economy facing deep uncertainty. The pound has dropped to its lowest level in over three decades. 
 
But for travelers like the university official Wen Zhihong, from China`s western city Chengdu, that means lower prices. She had been planning to spend her vacation travelling with her daughter in France and Italy, but said she changed her mind after the vote. 
 
&quot;Now it seems a better idea to travel to England,&quot; Wen, said. &quot;With the depreciation of the Pound, hotels, plane tickets and shopping are all much cheaper.&quot; 
 
Ctrip.com, China&#39;s biggest online travel agency, has already sought to capitalise on the surge, arguing this week that a summer vacation in Britain could now be a third cheaper, helping UK searches on its app triple. 
 
The company put out flyers with a dancing, winking figure wearing a t-shirt depicting the UK flag. The advertisement read, in Chinese, &quot;Brexit: travel on the drop&quot;. In the background, a weeping figure in a European Union flag waves &#39;bye&#39;. 
 
In the US, online portals also reported a surge. 
 
On June 24, as the result of the Brexit vote came through, Priceline Group Inc&#39;s Kayak said it saw a 54 per cent increase in US searches exploring fares to the United Kingdom, compared with other Fridays in the month of June. 
 
Flight searches from the UK for US travel also rose by 46 per cent, according to Kayak. 
 
&quot;Americans may want to secure a great fare, while British may be worried that higher fares will soon hit the market,&quot; said Billy Sanez, vice president of marketing and communications at FareCompare.com, a company which analyses airfares. 
 
Search site Travelzoo saw a 35.3 per cent increase in travel searches from the US to the UK from June 24 to June 27. So did StudentUniverse, a travel booking site popular among young people, which saw searches for flights from the US to the UK double from a year ago. 
 
&quot;People are changing their mind and choosing to visit Britain, because with the depreciation of the Pound it&rsquo;s cheaper for them to go there to buy things,&quot; said a senior executive at Beijing Utour International Travel Service. 
 
He said the company was applying for more airline seats to accommodate tour bookings. 
 
(Reuters)

Shortly after Brexit, tour operators in the two countries are witnessing a hike in searches and bookings for UK holidays

US and Chinese online travel sites have reported a jump in queries about UK holidays since Britain voted to leave the European Union last week. A sign that 'Brexit' and the resulting dramatic drop in the pound could boost tourism. Travel agents, hotel chains and airlines say it is too early to tell if the vote will impact bookings in the long run, but inquiries jumped as travelers hunt for cheaper breaks. Britain's decision to pull out of the European Union leaves the world's fifth-largest economy facing deep uncertainty. The pound has dropped to its lowest level in over three decades. But for travelers like the university official Wen Zhihong, from China`s western city Chengdu, that means lower prices. She had been planning to spend her vacation travelling with her daughter in France and Italy, but said she changed her mind after the vote. "Now it seems a better idea to travel to England," Wen, said. "With the depreciation of the Pound, hotels, plane tickets and shopping are all much cheaper." Ctrip.com, China's biggest online travel agency, has already sought to capitalise on the surge, arguing this week that a summer vacation in Britain could now be a third cheaper, helping UK searches on its app triple. The company put out flyers with a dancing, winking figure wearing a t-shirt depicting the UK flag. The advertisement read, in Chinese, "Brexit: travel on the drop". In the background, a weeping figure in a European Union flag waves 'bye'. In the US, online portals also reported a surge. On June 24, as the result of the Brexit vote came through, Priceline Group Inc's Kayak said it saw a 54 per cent increase in US searches exploring fares to the United Kingdom, compared with other Fridays in the month of June. Flight searches from the UK for US travel also rose by 46 per cent, according to Kayak. "Americans may want to secure a great fare, while British may be worried that higher fares will soon hit the market," said Billy Sanez, vice president of marketing and communications at FareCompare.com, a company which analyses airfares. Search site Travelzoo saw a 35.3 per cent increase in travel searches from the US to the UK from June 24 to June 27. So did StudentUniverse, a travel booking site popular among young people, which saw searches for flights from the US to the UK double from a year ago. "People are changing their mind and choosing to visit Britain, because with the depreciation of the Pound it’s cheaper for them to go there to buy things," said a senior executive at Beijing Utour International Travel Service. He said the company was applying for more airline seats to accommodate tour bookings. (Reuters)

Post Brexit, plunging Pound attracts US and Chinese tourists

At a time when all of us were convinced that globalisation was firmly perched in the world economic order and that regional trade blocs such as the European Union were the only way forward, here came the divorce of the century -- Brexit. 
 
Until a few days ago, it would have not sounded plausible that the British would exit this marriage of 43 years. As a global citizen looking at this vote, it was a bit unbelievable for me too. We have grown up into the idea that we will all move forward and amalgamate into a more just and egalitarian world. 
 
It is one thing to talk about amalgamation and telling the world that we believe in equality and quite another, when it comes to accepting the ideas as part of your own reality. We have all heard the British talk about the idea of Commonwealth and how countries that were part of their global empire should continue to stick around. But when it came down to taking their relationship forward with the rest of Europe, many Britons rejected the idea. 
 
Details dug in history 
 
Bretton Woods system: It all started after the Second World War in 1944 in a small town in New Hampshire in United States where delegates of 44 nations came together to define a new international monetary system. It was at this meeting that the IMF and the World Bank came into existence and all the currencies around the world were pegged to the dollar which was in turn pegged to Bullion. 
 
After this, the trade between the countries in the western world started increasing enormously and we saw the birth of globalisation. The outlook of these western countries was more and more outward looking. Talks of working together in a cohesive manner and amalgamation were in the forefront of their scheme of things.. 
 
Thus, during 40s and thereafter, the western countries were talking the language of interconnectivity through trade, defence forces (NATO), powerplay at IMF and World Bank and the actual culmination of all this integration and globalisation was seen in the formation of European Union. 
 
In the various stages of formation of a union among countries, European Union was just one step away from the final stage where all the countries not only have same trade and monetary policies but also the same fiscal policy. This was termed as an Economic Union and was the step towards the political unification of countries. 
 
The time of the East 
 
As the time passed, in the 70s and 80s, the Eastern World also started opening up and moved towards adopting more liberalised policies. China is a manufacturing hub and trade-driven economy and none of the countries here is even close to China&#39;s share in world trade. The east Asian Tigers also reaped the benefits of opening up their economy to world trade and experienced a tremendous increase in their GDP. 
 
After the 1991 liberalisation, India has also reaped benefits of this integrated world. 
 
What the western world was experiencing in 40s and 50s, the eastern world has been experiencing since 80s and 90s, and they have just started to see that growth trajectory. The eastern countries are yet to realise the full potential of their liberalised and more integrated economies. 
 
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/Infographics_Who_is_next_to_follow-20160627110119.jpg" /> 
 
Resurrecting the walls 
 
But it seems that the western world is now in a reversal. Brexit is a clear indicator and the apparent rise of right-wing parties in other European countries represents that movement towards a more closed inward-looking policy. It has now become their territory, their national policy, their sovereignty. From &#39;our&#39; the world is moving to &#39;my&#39;. Thus, there is a clear swap in the positions of the western and eastern countries. 
 
The fall of the Berlin wall was not just a physical bringing down of the wall but it spoke more to the idea of people in Europe agreeing to share their wealth. 
 
But this backward trend is connected to the 2008 crisis, the result of which various European countries went into a second recession with their sovereign debt crisis. The debtor countries found themselves in deep trouble and were and still are forced to the terms and conditions of the surplus countries. And the entire paradigm about looking at national interests has started taking precedence. 
 
The incoming refugees from Syria and the terror attacks in Paris and Brussels added fuel to the already precarious situation, with the inward-looking mindset gaining more and more momentum. 
 
Maybe we should have listened to Keynes in 1944. 
 
At the Bretton Woods there were two proposals, one by Keynes and other by Henry White. The one that Henry White presented won. So this is probably a good time to ponder on what Keynes said. 
 
Keynes proposed a new currency called Bancor. He said that during the boom period a deficit nation takes more and more debt to fuel growth and a surplus nation also gives it. However, when this phase gets over and things start tumbling then the entire onus lies on the debtor nation and not the surplus one. So he proposed setting up of ICU: International Clearing Unit. 
 
Keynes proposed that any country racking up a large trade deficit (equating to more than half of its Bancor overdraft allowance) would be charged interest on its account. It would also be obliged to reduce the value of its currency and to prevent the export of capital. But -- and this was the key to his system -- he insisted that the nations with a trade surplus would be subject to similar pressures. 
 
Any country with a Bancor credit balance that was more than half the size of its overdraft facility would be charged interest, at a rate of 10%. It would also be obliged to increase the value of its currency and to permit the export of capital. If, by the end of the year, its credit balance exceeded the total value of its permitted overdraft, the surplus would be confiscated. The nations with a surplus would have a powerful incentive to get rid of it. In doing so, they would automatically clear other nations&#39; deficits. 
 
Doubt that world will be able to stop the reversal 
 
When Europe was in upheaval after Brexit, US Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump landed in Scotland and declared that America wants itself back too. The challenge is that globalisation has been slow in the East and it is only now that countries like India may be ready to ride the wave. But as the western economies go into a recession, they may be scrambling themselves and not in a position to even deal with the growth in the East. With a world in conflict, the eyes are going to be off the idea of amalgamation, and people will focus on protecting whatever they have, and this move by the UK is just that.

The idea of countries coming together and forming unions slowly fades as each one struggles to protect what it owns

At a time when all of us were convinced that globalisation was firmly perched in the world economic order and that regional trade blocs such as the European Union were the only way forward, here came the divorce of the century -- Brexit. Until a few days ago, it would have not sounded plausible that the British would exit this marriage of 43 years. As a global citizen looking at this vote, it was a bit unbelievable for me too. We have grown up into the idea that we will all move forward and amalgamate into a more just and egalitarian world. It is one thing to talk about amalgamation and telling the world that we believe in equality and quite another, when it comes to accepting the ideas as part of your own reality. We have all heard the British talk about the idea of Commonwealth and how countries that were part of their global empire should continue to stick around. But when it came down to taking their relationship forward with the rest of Europe, many Britons rejected the idea. Details dug in history Bretton Woods system: It all started after the Second World War in 1944 in a small town in New Hampshire in United States where delegates of 44 nations came together to define a new international monetary system. It was at this meeting that the IMF and the World Bank came into existence and all the currencies around the world were pegged to the dollar which was in turn pegged to Bullion. After this, the trade between the countries in the western world started increasing enormously and we saw the birth of globalisation. The outlook of these western countries was more and more outward looking. Talks of working together in a cohesive manner and amalgamation were in the forefront of their scheme of things.. Thus, during 40s and thereafter, the western countries were talking the language of interconnectivity through trade, defence forces (NATO), powerplay at IMF and World Bank and the actual culmination of all this integration and globalisation was seen in the formation of European Union. In the various stages of formation of a union among countries, European Union was just one step away from the final stage where all the countries not only have same trade and monetary policies but also the same fiscal policy. This was termed as an Economic Union and was the step towards the political unification of countries. The time of the East As the time passed, in the 70s and 80s, the Eastern World also started opening up and moved towards adopting more liberalised policies. China is a manufacturing hub and trade-driven economy and none of the countries here is even close to China's share in world trade. The east Asian Tigers also reaped the benefits of opening up their economy to world trade and experienced a tremendous increase in their GDP. After the 1991 liberalisation, India has also reaped benefits of this integrated world. What the western world was experiencing in 40s and 50s, the eastern world has been experiencing since 80s and 90s, and they have just started to see that growth trajectory. The eastern countries are yet to realise the full potential of their liberalised and more integrated economies. Resurrecting the walls But it seems that the western world is now in a reversal. Brexit is a clear indicator and the apparent rise of right-wing parties in other European countries represents that movement towards a more closed inward-looking policy. It has now become their territory, their national policy, their sovereignty. From 'our' the world is moving to 'my'. Thus, there is a clear swap in the positions of the western and eastern countries. The fall of the Berlin wall was not just a physical bringing down of the wall but it spoke more to the idea of people in Europe agreeing to share their wealth. But this backward trend is connected to the 2008 crisis, the result of which various European countries went into a second recession with their sovereign debt crisis. The debtor countries found themselves in deep trouble and were and still are forced to the terms and conditions of the surplus countries. And the entire paradigm about looking at national interests has started taking precedence. The incoming refugees from Syria and the terror attacks in Paris and Brussels added fuel to the already precarious situation, with the inward-looking mindset gaining more and more momentum. Maybe we should have listened to Keynes in 1944. At the Bretton Woods there were two proposals, one by Keynes and other by Henry White. The one that Henry White presented won. So this is probably a good time to ponder on what Keynes said. Keynes proposed a new currency called Bancor. He said that during the boom period a deficit nation takes more and more debt to fuel growth and a surplus nation also gives it. However, when this phase gets over and things start tumbling then the entire onus lies on the debtor nation and not the surplus one. So he proposed setting up of ICU: International Clearing Unit. Keynes proposed that any country racking up a large trade deficit (equating to more than half of its Bancor overdraft allowance) would be charged interest on its account. It would also be obliged to reduce the value of its currency and to prevent the export of capital. But -- and this was the key to his system -- he insisted that the nations with a trade surplus would be subject to similar pressures. Any country with a Bancor credit balance that was more than half the size of its overdraft facility would be charged interest, at a rate of 10%. It would also be obliged to increase the value of its currency and to permit the export of capital. If, by the end of the year, its credit balance exceeded the total value of its permitted overdraft, the surplus would be confiscated. The nations with a surplus would have a powerful incentive to get rid of it. In doing so, they would automatically clear other nations' deficits. Doubt that world will be able to stop the reversal When Europe was in upheaval after Brexit, US Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump landed in Scotland and declared that America wants itself back too. The challenge is that globalisation has been slow in the East and it is only now that countries like India may be ready to ride the wave. But as the western economies go into a recession, they may be scrambling themselves and not in a position to even deal with the growth in the East. With a world in conflict, the eyes are going to be off the idea of amalgamation, and people will focus on protecting whatever they have, and this move by the UK is just that.

McLuhan did not know that the village would be disconnected

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told parliament today that Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union can be a &quot;great opportunity&quot; for the rest of the bloc to make long-needed changes. 
 
Speaking before flying to Berlin to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, Renzi said the EU must now focus &quot;a bit more on social issues and a bit less on bureaucratic ones.&quot; 
 
The referendum outcome strengthened the arguments for reform that Italy had often put forward to its partners, and these now had a greater chance of success, Renzi said. 
 
Several top Italian officials have made clear they see the outcome of the British referendum offering opportunities for Italy, especially by allowing it to spend more without falling foul of EU budget deficit limits. 
 
Economy minister Pier Carlo Padoan warned on Saturday the referendum would probably weaken Italy&#39;s already listless economic growth and hit its public finances. Its public debt, at around 133 per cent of gross domestic product, is the highest in the euro zone after Greece&#39;s. 
 
Rome is also hoping to win EU backing as it tries to put together proposals to shore up its ailing banks, whose shares have been hit by heavy sell-offs since Thursday&#39;s referendum. 
 
&quot;More growth and more investment, less austerity and less bureaucracy, this is the line we have proposed for two years, at the beginning in isolation,&quot; Renzi told the chamber of deputies. 
 
&quot;Allow me to say that Brexit can be a great opportunity for Europe.&quot; 
 
The 41-year-old prime minister said it was important that not much time should be spent on deciding the technicalities of Britain&#39;s exit from the EU. 
 
&quot;The referendum result must be respected, otherwise the credibility of Europe will be definitively swept away,&quot; he said. 
 
After months had been spent negotiating better terms for Britain to try to keep it in the EU, it would now be &quot;offensive&quot; if there were further drawn-out negotiations over the procedures for its exit, Renzi said. 
 
(Reuters)

Renzi in his address to the parliament said the EU must now focus 'a bit more on social issues and a bit less on bureaucratic ones'

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told parliament today that Britain's vote to leave the European Union can be a "great opportunity" for the rest of the bloc to make long-needed changes. Speaking before flying to Berlin to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, Renzi said the EU must now focus "a bit more on social issues and a bit less on bureaucratic ones." The referendum outcome strengthened the arguments for reform that Italy had often put forward to its partners, and these now had a greater chance of success, Renzi said. Several top Italian officials have made clear they see the outcome of the British referendum offering opportunities for Italy, especially by allowing it to spend more without falling foul of EU budget deficit limits. Economy minister Pier Carlo Padoan warned on Saturday the referendum would probably weaken Italy's already listless economic growth and hit its public finances. Its public debt, at around 133 per cent of gross domestic product, is the highest in the euro zone after Greece's. Rome is also hoping to win EU backing as it tries to put together proposals to shore up its ailing banks, whose shares have been hit by heavy sell-offs since Thursday's referendum. "More growth and more investment, less austerity and less bureaucracy, this is the line we have proposed for two years, at the beginning in isolation," Renzi told the chamber of deputies. "Allow me to say that Brexit can be a great opportunity for Europe." The 41-year-old prime minister said it was important that not much time should be spent on deciding the technicalities of Britain's exit from the EU. "The referendum result must be respected, otherwise the credibility of Europe will be definitively swept away," he said. After months had been spent negotiating better terms for Britain to try to keep it in the EU, it would now be "offensive" if there were further drawn-out negotiations over the procedures for its exit, Renzi said. (Reuters)

Italy says Brexit can be a 'great opportunity' for EU to make long-needed changes

Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union may lead to further volatility in financial markets, finance minister George Osborne said on Monday, but &#39;world&#39;s fifth-biggest economy would cope with the challenge ahead&#39;, he asserted.&nbsp; 
 
Osborne, who was speaking publicly for the first time since Britain voted to leave the bloc on Thursday, said the government had put in place robust contingency plans and there was more action that it and the Bank of England could take. 
 
&quot;Our economy is about as strong as it could be to confront the challenge our country now faces,&quot; he told a news conference at Britain&#39;s finance ministry.&nbsp; 
 
 
Osborne to clarify his political future in coming days&nbsp; 
Osborne&#39;s future as finance minister has come under question after he was on the losing side in the referendum.&nbsp;During the campaign, he said he would have to raise taxes and cut spending in the event of a vote to leave the EU. 
 
On Monday, however, he said the government should wait until the successor to Prime Minister David Cameron is in place before deciding on how to change its fiscal plans in response to the expected slowdown in the economy. 
 
Cameron said on Friday he would stand down but would stay in the job until his successor was in place in October. 
 
&quot;There will be an adjustment in our economy because of the decision that the British people have taken,&quot; Osborne said. 
 
&quot;There will have to be action to deal with the impact on the public finances, but of course it&#39;s perfectly sensible to wait until we have a new prime minister to determine what that will look like,&quot; he said. 
 
Sterling, which fell more than 8 percent against the US dollar on Friday, trimmed some of its losses on Monday as Osborne spoke. 
 
Further, Osborne, who was once the favourite to succeed Cameron, said he would clarify his political future in the coming days. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
 
 
&nbsp;

Osborne said UK government should wait until David Cameron's successor is in place before deciding on how to change its fiscal plans

Britain's vote to leave the European Union may lead to further volatility in financial markets, finance minister George Osborne said on Monday, but 'world's fifth-biggest economy would cope with the challenge ahead', he asserted. Osborne, who was speaking publicly for the first time since Britain voted to leave the bloc on Thursday, said the government had put in place robust contingency plans and there was more action that it and the Bank of England could take. "Our economy is about as strong as it could be to confront the challenge our country now faces," he told a news conference at Britain's finance ministry. Osborne to clarify his political future in coming days Osborne's future as finance minister has come under question after he was on the losing side in the referendum. During the campaign, he said he would have to raise taxes and cut spending in the event of a vote to leave the EU. On Monday, however, he said the government should wait until the successor to Prime Minister David Cameron is in place before deciding on how to change its fiscal plans in response to the expected slowdown in the economy. Cameron said on Friday he would stand down but would stay in the job until his successor was in place in October. "There will be an adjustment in our economy because of the decision that the British people have taken," Osborne said. "There will have to be action to deal with the impact on the public finances, but of course it's perfectly sensible to wait until we have a new prime minister to determine what that will look like," he said. Sterling, which fell more than 8 percent against the US dollar on Friday, trimmed some of its losses on Monday as Osborne spoke. Further, Osborne, who was once the favourite to succeed Cameron, said he would clarify his political future in the coming days. (Reuters)

Economy strong enough to face Brexit vote, Osborne calls for patient approach

Hungary&#39;s government is drawing up a list of incentives to lure companies leaving Britain after the Brexit vote, economy minister Mihaly Varga told business daily Vilaggazdasag in an interview published today. 
 
The interview did not go into details on what sort of offers would be made to persuade companies to move to Hungary, or how far the plan had progressed. 
 
Varga said Britain&#39;s exit from the EU would probably affect Hungary in the longer term, as it would hit the EU&#39;s budget, and thus the development funds flowing to eastern Europe. 
 
But Varga said this was not an immediate issue, as Britain&#39;s negotiations with the EU would last at least for two years, and there was no need to amend Hungary&#39;s budget this year or next. 
 
He said Hungary also had no plan to follow Britain&#39;s example in leaving the EU. 
 
&quot;There is no such intention, no such plan, no such scenario or idea,&quot; Varga told the paper. 
 
He said he expected market turbulence to subside this week after Friday&#39;s sharp falls. 
 
(Reuters)

Budapest has no plan to follow London's example in leaving the EU, said economy minister Mihaly Varga

Hungary's government is drawing up a list of incentives to lure companies leaving Britain after the Brexit vote, economy minister Mihaly Varga told business daily Vilaggazdasag in an interview published today. The interview did not go into details on what sort of offers would be made to persuade companies to move to Hungary, or how far the plan had progressed. Varga said Britain's exit from the EU would probably affect Hungary in the longer term, as it would hit the EU's budget, and thus the development funds flowing to eastern Europe. But Varga said this was not an immediate issue, as Britain's negotiations with the EU would last at least for two years, and there was no need to amend Hungary's budget this year or next. He said Hungary also had no plan to follow Britain's example in leaving the EU. "There is no such intention, no such plan, no such scenario or idea," Varga told the paper. He said he expected market turbulence to subside this week after Friday's sharp falls. (Reuters)

Hungary prepares incentives to lure firms leaving Britain after Brexit vote

Britain&#39;s opposition Labour leader said on Sunday he would not resign despite more than a third of his senior team withdrawing their support for him, plunging the party into crisis in the wake of Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union (EU).&nbsp; 
 
Jeremy Corbyn, elected last year with the overwhelming support from grassroots Labour members, has faced criticism from some Labour lawmakers that he had not done enough to convince millions of voters in the party&#39;s heartlands to back remaining in the EU. 
 
&quot;I regret there have been resignations today from my shadow cabinet. But I am not going to betray the trust of those who voted for me, or the millions of supporters across the country who need Labour to represent them,&quot; Corbyn said in a statement. 
 
&quot;Those who want to change Labour&#39;s leadership will have to stand in a democratic election, in which I will be a candidate.&quot; 
 
After a stinging election defeat for Labour last year, Corbyn won the leadership thanks to grassroots support but he has struggled to win the backing of Labour lawmakers, many of whom find themselves far closer to the centre ground than him. 
 
 
Cameron&#39;s resignation piles pressure on Labour party 
Britain is not due to hold a parliamentary election until 2020, but after Prime Minister David Cameron&#39;s announcement that he would resign after losing the referendum, many expect that one could now be called earlier by his successor &ndash; putting pressure on Labour to present itself as a credible alternative. 
 
&quot;I urge you, because you are a decent man, to do the decent thing and take the only action that can avert potential disaster by stepping aside,&quot; senior lawmaker Chris Bryant said in a letter to Corbyn, which he posted on Twitter. 
 
&quot;If you do so I believe future generations will praise your selflessness. If you refuse to step aside, I fear you will go down in history as the man who broke the Labour Party,&rdquo; the post on the microblogging said.&nbsp; 
 
Bryant, who said he was stepping down from his role in charge of Labour&#39;s parliamentary business, further underlined Corbyn&#39;s &quot;ambivalent attitude&quot; to the EU campaign had betrayed the Labour party and wider movement. 
 
Since the referendum, two Labour lawmakers have submitted a motion of no-confidence in Corbyn, calling for his leadership to be debated at a meeting of the party&#39;s lawmakers on Monday, followed by a secret ballot. 
 
Early on Sunday the Labour leader sacked his foreign policy chief Hilary Benn, after Benn said he had lost confidence in the ability of Corbyn, who is on the party&#39;s far left, to lead Labour. 
 
Over the course of the day, 11 others &ndash; Bryant, Gloria de Piero, Heidi Alexander, Lucy Powell, Ian Murray, Kerry McCarthy, Vernon Coaker, Charles Falconer, Lilian Greenwood, Karl Turner and Seema Malhotra &nbsp;- said they were stepping down from Corbyn&#39;s top team of 30 lawmakers, known as the &quot;shadow cabinet&quot;. 
 
Malhotra, a member of Corbyn&#39;s finance policy team who had introduced him at a speech on Saturday, said Labour needed to strengthen its influence at a time of such political and economic upheaval. 
 
&quot;We need to recognise that we do not currently look like a government in waiting,&quot; she said in a letter to Corbyn, which she also published on Twitter. 
 
Several of the others also said in statements that they doubted Corbyn&#39;s ability to lead the party to victory in the next election. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Stand in an election -- 'In which I will be a candidate' -- if you want to change Labour's leadership, says Britain's Opposition leader

Britain's opposition Labour leader said on Sunday he would not resign despite more than a third of his senior team withdrawing their support for him, plunging the party into crisis in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union (EU). Jeremy Corbyn, elected last year with the overwhelming support from grassroots Labour members, has faced criticism from some Labour lawmakers that he had not done enough to convince millions of voters in the party's heartlands to back remaining in the EU. "I regret there have been resignations today from my shadow cabinet. But I am not going to betray the trust of those who voted for me, or the millions of supporters across the country who need Labour to represent them," Corbyn said in a statement. "Those who want to change Labour's leadership will have to stand in a democratic election, in which I will be a candidate." After a stinging election defeat for Labour last year, Corbyn won the leadership thanks to grassroots support but he has struggled to win the backing of Labour lawmakers, many of whom find themselves far closer to the centre ground than him. Cameron's resignation piles pressure on Labour party Britain is not due to hold a parliamentary election until 2020, but after Prime Minister David Cameron's announcement that he would resign after losing the referendum, many expect that one could now be called earlier by his successor – putting pressure on Labour to present itself as a credible alternative. "I urge you, because you are a decent man, to do the decent thing and take the only action that can avert potential disaster by stepping aside," senior lawmaker Chris Bryant said in a letter to Corbyn, which he posted on Twitter. "If you do so I believe future generations will praise your selflessness. If you refuse to step aside, I fear you will go down in history as the man who broke the Labour Party,” the post on the microblogging said. Bryant, who said he was stepping down from his role in charge of Labour's parliamentary business, further underlined Corbyn's "ambivalent attitude" to the EU campaign had betrayed the Labour party and wider movement. Since the referendum, two Labour lawmakers have submitted a motion of no-confidence in Corbyn, calling for his leadership to be debated at a meeting of the party's lawmakers on Monday, followed by a secret ballot. Early on Sunday the Labour leader sacked his foreign policy chief Hilary Benn, after Benn said he had lost confidence in the ability of Corbyn, who is on the party's far left, to lead Labour. Over the course of the day, 11 others – Bryant, Gloria de Piero, Heidi Alexander, Lucy Powell, Ian Murray, Kerry McCarthy, Vernon Coaker, Charles Falconer, Lilian Greenwood, Karl Turner and Seema Malhotra - said they were stepping down from Corbyn's top team of 30 lawmakers, known as the "shadow cabinet". Malhotra, a member of Corbyn's finance policy team who had introduced him at a speech on Saturday, said Labour needed to strengthen its influence at a time of such political and economic upheaval. "We need to recognise that we do not currently look like a government in waiting," she said in a letter to Corbyn, which she also published on Twitter. Several of the others also said in statements that they doubted Corbyn's ability to lead the party to victory in the next election. (Reuters)

A third of his senior team withdraws support but Corbyn says he will not step down

Pope Francis said Sunday that Christians and the Roman Catholic Church should seek forgiveness from homosexuals for the way they have been treated. 
 
Speaking to reporters aboard the plane taking him back to Rome from Armenia, he also said the Church should ask forgiveness for the way it has treated women, for turning a blind eye to child labour and for &quot;blessing so many weapons&quot; in the past. 
 
In the hour-long freewheeling conversation that has become a trademark of his international travels, Francis was asked if he agreed with recent comments by a German Roman Catholic cardinal that the Church should apologise to gays. 
 
Pope recalls Church teachings&nbsp; 
Francis looked sad when the reporter asked if an apology was made more urgent by the killing of 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, Florida this month. 
 
He recalled Church teachings that homosexuals &quot;should not be discriminated against. They should be respected, accompanied pastorally.&quot; 
 
&quot;I think that the Church not only should apologise ... to a gay person whom it offended but it must also apologise to the poor as well, to the women who have been exploited, to children who have been exploited by (being forced to) work. It must apologise for having blessed so many weapons.&quot; 
 
The Church teaches that homosexual tendencies are not sinful but homosexual acts are, and that homosexuals should try to be chaste. 
 
Francis repeated a slightly modified version of the now-famous &quot;Who am I to judge?&quot; comment he made about gays on his first foreign trip after his election in 2013. 
 
&quot;The questions is: if a person who has that condition, who has good will, and who looks for God, who are we to judge?&quot; 
 
&#39;Forgiveness, not apology&#39; &nbsp; 
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said that the pope, by saying &quot;has that condition&quot;, did not imply a medical condition but &quot;a person in that situation&quot;. In Italian, the word &quot;condition&quot; can also mean &quot;situation&quot;. 
 
&quot;We Christians have to apologise for so many things, not just for this (treatment of gays), but we must ask for forgiveness, not just apologise! Forgiveness! Lord, it is a word we forget so often!&quot; he said. 
 
Francis has been hailed by many in the gay community for being the most merciful pope towards them in recent history and conservative Catholics have criticised him for making comments they say are ambiguous about sexual morality. 
 
He told reporters on the plane &quot;there are traditions in some countries, some cultures, that have a different mentality about this question (homosexuals)&quot; and there are &quot;some (gay) demonstrations that are too offensive for some&quot;. 
 
But he suggested that those were not grounds for discrimination or marginalisation of gays. 
 
Pope insists on &#39;re-creating&#39; while talking about Brexit 
The pope did not elaborate on what he meant by seeking forgiveness for the Church &quot;having blessed so many weapons&quot;, but it appeared to be a reference to some Churchmen who actively backed wars in the past. 
 
In other parts of the conversation, Francis said he hoped the European Union &nbsp;(EU) would be able to give itself another form after the United Kingdom&#39;s decision to leave. 
 
&quot;There is something that is not working in that bulky union, but let&rsquo;s not throw the baby out with the bath water, let&rsquo;s try to jump-start things, to re-create,&quot; he said. 
 
He also denied reports that former Pope Benedict, who resigned in 2013, was still exercising influence inside the Vatican. 
 
&quot;There is only one pope,&quot; he said. He praised Benedict, 89, for &quot;protecting me, having my back, with his prayers&quot;. 
 
Francis said he had heard that when some Church officials had gone to Benedict to complain that Francis was too liberal, Benedict &quot;sent them packing&quot;. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

Also says Church should ask forgiveness for how it has treated women, child labour and for 'blessing so many weapons in the past'

Pope Francis said Sunday that Christians and the Roman Catholic Church should seek forgiveness from homosexuals for the way they have been treated. Speaking to reporters aboard the plane taking him back to Rome from Armenia, he also said the Church should ask forgiveness for the way it has treated women, for turning a blind eye to child labour and for "blessing so many weapons" in the past. In the hour-long freewheeling conversation that has become a trademark of his international travels, Francis was asked if he agreed with recent comments by a German Roman Catholic cardinal that the Church should apologise to gays. Pope recalls Church teachings Francis looked sad when the reporter asked if an apology was made more urgent by the killing of 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, Florida this month. He recalled Church teachings that homosexuals "should not be discriminated against. They should be respected, accompanied pastorally." "I think that the Church not only should apologise ... to a gay person whom it offended but it must also apologise to the poor as well, to the women who have been exploited, to children who have been exploited by (being forced to) work. It must apologise for having blessed so many weapons." The Church teaches that homosexual tendencies are not sinful but homosexual acts are, and that homosexuals should try to be chaste. Francis repeated a slightly modified version of the now-famous "Who am I to judge?" comment he made about gays on his first foreign trip after his election in 2013. "The questions is: if a person who has that condition, who has good will, and who looks for God, who are we to judge?" 'Forgiveness, not apology' Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said that the pope, by saying "has that condition", did not imply a medical condition but "a person in that situation". In Italian, the word "condition" can also mean "situation". "We Christians have to apologise for so many things, not just for this (treatment of gays), but we must ask for forgiveness, not just apologise! Forgiveness! Lord, it is a word we forget so often!" he said. Francis has been hailed by many in the gay community for being the most merciful pope towards them in recent history and conservative Catholics have criticised him for making comments they say are ambiguous about sexual morality. He told reporters on the plane "there are traditions in some countries, some cultures, that have a different mentality about this question (homosexuals)" and there are "some (gay) demonstrations that are too offensive for some". But he suggested that those were not grounds for discrimination or marginalisation of gays. Pope insists on 're-creating' while talking about Brexit The pope did not elaborate on what he meant by seeking forgiveness for the Church "having blessed so many weapons", but it appeared to be a reference to some Churchmen who actively backed wars in the past. In other parts of the conversation, Francis said he hoped the European Union (EU) would be able to give itself another form after the United Kingdom's decision to leave. "There is something that is not working in that bulky union, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water, let’s try to jump-start things, to re-create," he said. He also denied reports that former Pope Benedict, who resigned in 2013, was still exercising influence inside the Vatican. "There is only one pope," he said. He praised Benedict, 89, for "protecting me, having my back, with his prayers". Francis said he had heard that when some Church officials had gone to Benedict to complain that Francis was too liberal, Benedict "sent them packing". (Reuters)

Be a good Christian, ask homosexuals for forgiveness: Pope

The pound was sitting at three-decade lows Monday morning as currency markets were left reeling from Britain`s shock decision to leave the European Union. 
 
Sterling collapsed to its lowest level since 1985 on Friday ahead of official referendum results as early numbers suggested that the vote would surprise markets, which had widely expected voters to opt for the status quo. 
 
On Monday morning in Tokyo, the pound was at $1.3379, off $1.3670 in New York but still above $1.3229, its lowest point earlier Friday. 
 
&quot;People are finding it difficult to comprehend what Brexit implies for the future -- we don`t know yet what the magnitude of the shock will be,&quot; Steven Barrow, head of Group-of-10 strategy at Standard Bank Group in London, told Bloomberg News. 
 
The euro bought 82.07 pence against 81.31 pence, while the dollar ticked up to 102.34 Yen, from 102.21 yen on Friday. 
 
Japan`s currency surged Friday as traders scooped up the safe-haven unit, seen as a safe bet in times of turmoil. 
 
But the rally in the Yen, which had already been on the upswing before the vote, poses a threat to profits at major Japanese exporters. 
 
And Britain`s vote to leave the EU could have significant consequences for more than 1,000 Japanese firms that operate in Britain -- many of which see it as a staging point for dealing in Europe. 
 
&quot;It was very regrettable,&quot; Sadayuki Sakakibara, chairman of Keidanren, Japan`s biggest business lobby, said of the result on Friday. 
 
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held an emergency meeting with top officials Monday morning to discuss Brexit and how to deal with the market fallout. 
 
Ahead of the meeting, Abe pointed to unspecified measures to smooth out any impact on the world`s number three economy.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;We will make thorough efforts so that (Brexit) will not negatively affect Japan`s economy and the business of small to medium-sized firms,&quot; he said, without elaborating. 
 
On Friday, Finance Minister Taro Aso pledged that Tokyo was ready to adopt strong measures to address wild volatility on financial markets. 
 
His remarks hinted at a possible market intervention to cool the surging yen. 
 
Recently, Japanese officials, including Aso, have been warning over the Yen&#39;s rise and said an intervention was possible. However, such a move could put Japan on a collision course with its G20 counterparts, who have agreed to hold off stepping into forex markets to manipulate their currencies. 
 
Officials from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) were at the meeting on Monday. The BoJ has said it was ready to lean on a currency swap agreement it has with other major central banks to supply liquidity for markets in an effort to counter the wild volatility. 
 
(AFP)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held an emergency meeting with top officials Monday morning to review Brexit and the market fallout

The pound was sitting at three-decade lows Monday morning as currency markets were left reeling from Britain`s shock decision to leave the European Union. Sterling collapsed to its lowest level since 1985 on Friday ahead of official referendum results as early numbers suggested that the vote would surprise markets, which had widely expected voters to opt for the status quo. On Monday morning in Tokyo, the pound was at $1.3379, off $1.3670 in New York but still above $1.3229, its lowest point earlier Friday. "People are finding it difficult to comprehend what Brexit implies for the future -- we don`t know yet what the magnitude of the shock will be," Steven Barrow, head of Group-of-10 strategy at Standard Bank Group in London, told Bloomberg News. The euro bought 82.07 pence against 81.31 pence, while the dollar ticked up to 102.34 Yen, from 102.21 yen on Friday. Japan`s currency surged Friday as traders scooped up the safe-haven unit, seen as a safe bet in times of turmoil. But the rally in the Yen, which had already been on the upswing before the vote, poses a threat to profits at major Japanese exporters. And Britain`s vote to leave the EU could have significant consequences for more than 1,000 Japanese firms that operate in Britain -- many of which see it as a staging point for dealing in Europe. "It was very regrettable," Sadayuki Sakakibara, chairman of Keidanren, Japan`s biggest business lobby, said of the result on Friday. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held an emergency meeting with top officials Monday morning to discuss Brexit and how to deal with the market fallout. Ahead of the meeting, Abe pointed to unspecified measures to smooth out any impact on the world`s number three economy. "We will make thorough efforts so that (Brexit) will not negatively affect Japan`s economy and the business of small to medium-sized firms," he said, without elaborating. On Friday, Finance Minister Taro Aso pledged that Tokyo was ready to adopt strong measures to address wild volatility on financial markets. His remarks hinted at a possible market intervention to cool the surging yen. Recently, Japanese officials, including Aso, have been warning over the Yen's rise and said an intervention was possible. However, such a move could put Japan on a collision course with its G20 counterparts, who have agreed to hold off stepping into forex markets to manipulate their currencies. Officials from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) were at the meeting on Monday. The BoJ has said it was ready to lean on a currency swap agreement it has with other major central banks to supply liquidity for markets in an effort to counter the wild volatility. (AFP)

Pound weak on post-Brexit fallout

The petition calling for a second referendum on Britain`s exit from the European Union (EU) which has gained more than three million signatures is under investigation by parliamentary authorities for possible manipulations. 
 
The House of Commons petitions committee has confirmed that 77,000 signatures were added fraudulently and have been removed and the committee is now continually monitoring the petition for any suspicious activity. 
 
The request for another referendum on the Parliament&#39;s official petitions website should have been signed only by British and UK residents, but data showed signatories from other countries as well, including Iceland, the Cayman Islands and Tunisia. 
 
According to the officials, in some cases there are more signatures than total population like in the Vatican City that has a total population of just 800, but over 39,000 residents of the city appeared to have signed the petition. 
 
Helen Jones, the chair of the petitions committee, said that those signatures discovered to be fake would be &quot;removed&quot; and said such fraud &quot;undermines the process of parliamentary democracy&quot;, reports The Guardian. 
 
She said, &quot;The Government Digital Service are taking action to investigate and, where necessary, remove fraudulent signatures.&nbsp; 
It is clear that this petition is very important to a substantial number of people.&nbsp; 
 
The petitions committee will be considering the petition at its meeting next week, and will decide whether or not to schedule a debate on it. 
 
&quot;The website`s only identity `test` is a simple checkbox asking to confirm you are either a British citizen or that you are a resident of the UK.&nbsp; 
 
While postcodes are required, street addresses are not, and no proof of ID is needed. 
 
The petition was started by leave activist William Oliver Healey in May, when polls suggested remain would win. Parliament must consider all petitions that reach a threshold of 100,000 votes for a debate.&nbsp; 
 
(ANI)

The House of Commons petitions committee has confirmed that 77,000 signatures were added fraudulently and have been removed

The petition calling for a second referendum on Britain`s exit from the European Union (EU) which has gained more than three million signatures is under investigation by parliamentary authorities for possible manipulations. The House of Commons petitions committee has confirmed that 77,000 signatures were added fraudulently and have been removed and the committee is now continually monitoring the petition for any suspicious activity. The request for another referendum on the Parliament's official petitions website should have been signed only by British and UK residents, but data showed signatories from other countries as well, including Iceland, the Cayman Islands and Tunisia. According to the officials, in some cases there are more signatures than total population like in the Vatican City that has a total population of just 800, but over 39,000 residents of the city appeared to have signed the petition. Helen Jones, the chair of the petitions committee, said that those signatures discovered to be fake would be "removed" and said such fraud "undermines the process of parliamentary democracy", reports The Guardian. She said, "The Government Digital Service are taking action to investigate and, where necessary, remove fraudulent signatures. It is clear that this petition is very important to a substantial number of people. The petitions committee will be considering the petition at its meeting next week, and will decide whether or not to schedule a debate on it. "The website`s only identity `test` is a simple checkbox asking to confirm you are either a British citizen or that you are a resident of the UK. While postcodes are required, street addresses are not, and no proof of ID is needed. The petition was started by leave activist William Oliver Healey in May, when polls suggested remain would win. Parliament must consider all petitions that reach a threshold of 100,000 votes for a debate. (ANI)

Brexit: Petition for second EU referendum under scrutiny for fraudulent signatures

Heidi Alexander, who resigned as health policy chief for Britain&#39;s opposition Labour Party today, said she expected several of her colleagues in party leader Jeremy Corbyn&#39;s top team to do the same. 
 
The party is in open conflict following Britain`s vote to leave the European Union on Thursday. Labour&#39;s widely respected foreign policy chief Hilary Benn was sacked earlier after saying he had lost confidence in Corbyn. 
 
&quot;I think that there are a fair number,&quot; Alexander told ITV television in response to a question about how many of her colleagues she expected to resign. 
 
&quot;I know from the conversations that I&#39;ve had with colleagues that this is a very difficult time for all of us. It&#39;s not a decision that we want to take but some of the time you do have to take tough decisions in politics and so I know a lot of my colleagues will be asking themselves similar questions to the one I&#39;ve asked myself this morning.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Labour's widely respected foreign policy chief Hilary Benn was sacked earlier after saying he had lost confidence in party leader Corbyn

Heidi Alexander, who resigned as health policy chief for Britain's opposition Labour Party today, said she expected several of her colleagues in party leader Jeremy Corbyn's top team to do the same. The party is in open conflict following Britain`s vote to leave the European Union on Thursday. Labour's widely respected foreign policy chief Hilary Benn was sacked earlier after saying he had lost confidence in Corbyn. "I think that there are a fair number," Alexander told ITV television in response to a question about how many of her colleagues she expected to resign. "I know from the conversations that I've had with colleagues that this is a very difficult time for all of us. It's not a decision that we want to take but some of the time you do have to take tough decisions in politics and so I know a lot of my colleagues will be asking themselves similar questions to the one I've asked myself this morning." (Reuters)

'Fair number' of UK Labour policy chiefs to resign: Heidi Alexander

The European parliament&#39;s chief called today for British Prime Minister David Cameron to begin formal proceedings to leave the EU at a summit this week. 
 
Martin Schulz told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag that a period of limbo over Brexit would &quot;lead to even more insecurity and thus endanger jobs&quot;. 
 
&quot;Hesitating simply to accommodate the party tactics of the British conservatives hurts everyone,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;That is why we expect the British government to now deliver. The summit on Tuesday is the right time.&quot; 
 
The four biggest groups in the European parliament have also drawn up a draft resolution calling for Cameron to set the Brexit ball rolling on Tuesday, Germany&#39;s Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported. 
 
This was crucial, the groups wrote, &quot;to avoid damaging uncertainty for all and to preserve the integrity of the union&quot;. 
 
They added that &quot;no new relationship of whatever kind between the United Kingdom and the EU can be agreed before (Britain&#39;s) exit accord has been completed&quot;. 
 
Cameron said on Friday in the wake of the shock referendum outcome favouring Britain leaving the EU that he would resign his office by October and leave negotiations on the so-called &quot;Brexit&quot; to his successor. 
 
To begin the withdrawal process, Britain must invoke Article 50 of the EU&#39;s Lisbon treaty, which has never been used before. 
 
The first step is to inform the European Council of member states which sets the clock ticking on a two-year timetable of negotiations. 
 
The EU will hold a summit on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the fallout from the British vote and the European parliament will also hold a special session. 
 
Foreign ministers from the EU&#39;s six founding states meeting in Berlin on Saturday urged Britain to begin the exit process &quot;as soon as possible&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)

Martin Schulz says a period of limbo over Brexit would 'lead to even more insecurity and thus endanger jobs'

The European parliament's chief called today for British Prime Minister David Cameron to begin formal proceedings to leave the EU at a summit this week. Martin Schulz told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag that a period of limbo over Brexit would "lead to even more insecurity and thus endanger jobs". "Hesitating simply to accommodate the party tactics of the British conservatives hurts everyone," he said. "That is why we expect the British government to now deliver. The summit on Tuesday is the right time." The four biggest groups in the European parliament have also drawn up a draft resolution calling for Cameron to set the Brexit ball rolling on Tuesday, Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported. This was crucial, the groups wrote, "to avoid damaging uncertainty for all and to preserve the integrity of the union". They added that "no new relationship of whatever kind between the United Kingdom and the EU can be agreed before (Britain's) exit accord has been completed". Cameron said on Friday in the wake of the shock referendum outcome favouring Britain leaving the EU that he would resign his office by October and leave negotiations on the so-called "Brexit" to his successor. To begin the withdrawal process, Britain must invoke Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon treaty, which has never been used before. The first step is to inform the European Council of member states which sets the clock ticking on a two-year timetable of negotiations. The EU will hold a summit on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the fallout from the British vote and the European parliament will also hold a special session. Foreign ministers from the EU's six founding states meeting in Berlin on Saturday urged Britain to begin the exit process "as soon as possible". (AFP)

Leave, EU Parliament chief tells Britain, starting Tuesday

Just days after a shock Brexit, Spaniards started voting in repeat elections Sunday to decide if they too want a radical change as promised by a far-left coalition led by Podemos. 
 
The polls, which opened at 0700 GMT under a generally blue sky nationwide, are pitting voters hungry for change in a country with sky-high unemployment against those who fear this change would worsen the situation for Spain, which was on the brink of collapse just a few years ago. 
 
Britain&#39;s surprise vote to leave the European Union has further exacerbated this cleavage, with the outgoing conservative Popular Party (PP) insisting on the need for &quot;stability&quot; in the face of &quot;radicalism&quot; and &quot;populism&quot;, in a thinly-veiled dig at the Unidos Podemos coalition. 
 
&quot;If you want a united country and not a radical Spain, think about it, go for what is safe... vote for the Popular Party,&quot; acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy said in one of his last tweets before the obligatory day of campaign silence. 
 
Voters have the choice between four major political groupings after the emergence of Podemos and centre-right upstart Ciudadanos last year uprooted the country`s two-party dominance.&nbsp;This upheaval meant that the last general elections in December resulted in a hung parliament, after which parties failed to agree on a coalition, prompting Sunday`s repeat vote. 
 
Opinion polls suggest fractured mandate&nbsp; 
Opinion polls suggest the results Sunday will also be fractured, with the PP coming first without a majority, tailed by Unidos Podemos, which could replace the 137-year-old Socialist party as Spain`s main left-wing force. 
 
Political leaders will have to go back to the negotiating table, under more pressure this time to form a coalition.Throughout the latest campaign -- and again on Friday after Brexit -- the PP has hammered away at the need for stability in reference to the rise of Unidos Podemos, which like Greece`s ruling Syriza party rejects EU-backed austerity and pledges to fight for the least well-off. 
 
Electorate on lookout for stable party &nbsp; 
The coalition, led by charismatic, pony-tailed Pablo Iglesias, has responded with a message of calm aimed at defusing this criticism. 
 
Unidos Podemos, the &quot;o&quot; of Unidos shaped as a heart, has made &quot;smile of a country&quot; its slogan for an emotional campaign. 
 
Rajoy argues that since the PP came to power in 2011, it has brought Spain back to growth and overseen a drop in unemployment -- though at 21 percent it is still the second highest rate in the European Union after Greece. 
 
But his rivals retort that inequalities have risen, the jobs created are mainly unstable, and they point to the repeated corruption scandals to have hit the PP. 
 
Ileana Vellon Garcia, a 51-year-old cleaner in Madrid, will vote for Unidos Podemos.&nbsp;&quot;They represent change. I was for the Socialists for a long time, but they have really disappointed me,&quot; she says. 
 
Whether Brexit will have any influence on Spain`s election is as yet uncertain. 
 
But for Vicente Serrano, a 74-year-old retiree in the southeastern port city of Alicante, uncertainty is not a good thing. &quot;At a time of such sudden changes in the world, look at the United Kingdom, I&#39;m opting for the right because it tends to be less fickle,&quot; he says.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
 
 
 
 
 
&nbsp;

Last elections were held six months ago, failed to throw up a stable government

Just days after a shock Brexit, Spaniards started voting in repeat elections Sunday to decide if they too want a radical change as promised by a far-left coalition led by Podemos. The polls, which opened at 0700 GMT under a generally blue sky nationwide, are pitting voters hungry for change in a country with sky-high unemployment against those who fear this change would worsen the situation for Spain, which was on the brink of collapse just a few years ago. Britain's surprise vote to leave the European Union has further exacerbated this cleavage, with the outgoing conservative Popular Party (PP) insisting on the need for "stability" in the face of "radicalism" and "populism", in a thinly-veiled dig at the Unidos Podemos coalition. "If you want a united country and not a radical Spain, think about it, go for what is safe... vote for the Popular Party," acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy said in one of his last tweets before the obligatory day of campaign silence. Voters have the choice between four major political groupings after the emergence of Podemos and centre-right upstart Ciudadanos last year uprooted the country`s two-party dominance. This upheaval meant that the last general elections in December resulted in a hung parliament, after which parties failed to agree on a coalition, prompting Sunday`s repeat vote. Opinion polls suggest fractured mandate Opinion polls suggest the results Sunday will also be fractured, with the PP coming first without a majority, tailed by Unidos Podemos, which could replace the 137-year-old Socialist party as Spain`s main left-wing force. Political leaders will have to go back to the negotiating table, under more pressure this time to form a coalition.Throughout the latest campaign -- and again on Friday after Brexit -- the PP has hammered away at the need for stability in reference to the rise of Unidos Podemos, which like Greece`s ruling Syriza party rejects EU-backed austerity and pledges to fight for the least well-off. Electorate on lookout for stable party The coalition, led by charismatic, pony-tailed Pablo Iglesias, has responded with a message of calm aimed at defusing this criticism. Unidos Podemos, the "o" of Unidos shaped as a heart, has made "smile of a country" its slogan for an emotional campaign. Rajoy argues that since the PP came to power in 2011, it has brought Spain back to growth and overseen a drop in unemployment -- though at 21 percent it is still the second highest rate in the European Union after Greece. But his rivals retort that inequalities have risen, the jobs created are mainly unstable, and they point to the repeated corruption scandals to have hit the PP. Ileana Vellon Garcia, a 51-year-old cleaner in Madrid, will vote for Unidos Podemos. "They represent change. I was for the Socialists for a long time, but they have really disappointed me," she says. Whether Brexit will have any influence on Spain`s election is as yet uncertain. But for Vicente Serrano, a 74-year-old retiree in the southeastern port city of Alicante, uncertainty is not a good thing. "At a time of such sudden changes in the world, look at the United Kingdom, I'm opting for the right because it tends to be less fickle," he says. (AFP)

Spain goes to the polls

Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union (EU) could open a period of turbulence for the country&#39;s airline industry, which has soared under the EU&#39;s Single European Sky system over the last two decades. 
 
Among the mass of agreements that Britain will have to renegotiate with Brussels are those governing flights between Britain and the rest of the EU. 
 
&quot;They are not long, the days of wine and roses,&quot; whether for airlines, airports or British air travellers, points out Peter Morris, chief economist at Ascend Flightglobal Consultancy. 
 
British airlines may not be able to introduce any route without prior authorisation&nbsp; 
The single sky system lifted trade restrictions on airlines controlled by EU member states or their nationals, and whose headquarters are located within the EU.&nbsp;Unless British negotiators manage to secure preferential conditions, British airlines will lose this status. 
 
This will mean they no longer enjoy rights including being able to freely set airfares, and to launch any route in Europe without getting authorisation in advance. 
 
In concrete terms, passengers leaving or arriving in the United Kingdom will face new taxes, while British airlines will be slower to develop new routes. 
 
Airlines in Britain might want to remain in Single European Sky&nbsp; 
The shares of two main key players in the sector, EasyJet and the International Airlines Group (IAG), plummeted Friday following the news of the shock Brexit vote, losing 14.35 percent and 22.54 respectively on the London market. 
 
Low-cost airline Ryanair, however, which campaigned vocally for Britain to remain in the EU, is a little less exposed because it is based in Ireland, even if it has a large presence in Britain. 
 
As soon as the referendum result became clear, EasyJet wrote to British and EU authorities pressing them to ensure that Britain remains in the Single European Sky. 
 
&quot;Britain being in Europe is the best thing for Britain,&quot; EasyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall told AFP a few months before Thursday&#39;s referendum. 
 
&quot;That is based on the fact that deregulation of aviation has been a fantastic benefit to consumers,&quot; she said, noting that it had reduced fares by 40 percent and increased routes by 170 percent. 
 
On Friday the airline insisted that Brexit will not have a major impact on its strategy, but also said it was working on alternative options to allow it to maintain its current network and operations. 
 
According to Morris, EasyJet, currently based at Luton airport north of London, &quot;will doubtless already have plans under way for a head office within the EU, perhaps under a different brand&quot;. 
 
He said he also expects that IAG, which includes British Airways and which is headquartered in London, will try to widen its network using its non-British subsidiary airlines, at the expense of British Airways. 
 
IAG also owns Spanish carriers Iberia and Vueling as well as Ireland&#39;s Aer Lingus, which it could use to strengthen its operations around hubs in Dublin and Madrid. 
 
That could harm London&#39;s role as an international hub with five airports. 
 
Fall in demand for flights to Europe also likely&nbsp; 
The Brexit vote may have a few more consequences for the aviation sector in the country.&nbsp; 
 
On the downside for the British capital, tides of US and Asian passengers who transit via its airports could be attracted by offers from hubs which remain in the EU. 
 
Further, the long-debated construction of a new runway at Heathrow or Gatwick, Britain&#39;s two main airports, could be delayed further if &quot;Leave&quot; campaign figurehead Boris Johnson becomes prime minister. 
 
The former London mayor, tipped as a frontrunner to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron after the Brexit vote, has long campaigned for an alternative plan to build a new airport in the Thames estuary east of the capital. 
 
&quot;For Heathrow and its third runway the game&#39;s up,&quot; said John Strickland of JLS Consulting.&nbsp;He highlighted another more immediate consequence of the Brexit vote: the collapse of sterling on exchange markets. 
 
This will lead to higher fuel and lease costs, and a likely fall in demand for flights to Europe by British travellers whose pounds aren&#39;t worth as much on the continent since Thursday&#39;s shock vote. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
 
 
 
 
&nbsp;

In concrete terms, passengers leaving or arriving in United Kingdom may face new taxes, while British airlines will be slower to develop

Britain's vote to leave the European Union (EU) could open a period of turbulence for the country's airline industry, which has soared under the EU's Single European Sky system over the last two decades. Among the mass of agreements that Britain will have to renegotiate with Brussels are those governing flights between Britain and the rest of the EU. "They are not long, the days of wine and roses," whether for airlines, airports or British air travellers, points out Peter Morris, chief economist at Ascend Flightglobal Consultancy. British airlines may not be able to introduce any route without prior authorisation The single sky system lifted trade restrictions on airlines controlled by EU member states or their nationals, and whose headquarters are located within the EU. Unless British negotiators manage to secure preferential conditions, British airlines will lose this status. This will mean they no longer enjoy rights including being able to freely set airfares, and to launch any route in Europe without getting authorisation in advance. In concrete terms, passengers leaving or arriving in the United Kingdom will face new taxes, while British airlines will be slower to develop new routes. Airlines in Britain might want to remain in Single European Sky The shares of two main key players in the sector, EasyJet and the International Airlines Group (IAG), plummeted Friday following the news of the shock Brexit vote, losing 14.35 percent and 22.54 respectively on the London market. Low-cost airline Ryanair, however, which campaigned vocally for Britain to remain in the EU, is a little less exposed because it is based in Ireland, even if it has a large presence in Britain. As soon as the referendum result became clear, EasyJet wrote to British and EU authorities pressing them to ensure that Britain remains in the Single European Sky. "Britain being in Europe is the best thing for Britain," EasyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall told AFP a few months before Thursday's referendum. "That is based on the fact that deregulation of aviation has been a fantastic benefit to consumers," she said, noting that it had reduced fares by 40 percent and increased routes by 170 percent. On Friday the airline insisted that Brexit will not have a major impact on its strategy, but also said it was working on alternative options to allow it to maintain its current network and operations. According to Morris, EasyJet, currently based at Luton airport north of London, "will doubtless already have plans under way for a head office within the EU, perhaps under a different brand". He said he also expects that IAG, which includes British Airways and which is headquartered in London, will try to widen its network using its non-British subsidiary airlines, at the expense of British Airways. IAG also owns Spanish carriers Iberia and Vueling as well as Ireland's Aer Lingus, which it could use to strengthen its operations around hubs in Dublin and Madrid. That could harm London's role as an international hub with five airports. Fall in demand for flights to Europe also likely The Brexit vote may have a few more consequences for the aviation sector in the country. On the downside for the British capital, tides of US and Asian passengers who transit via its airports could be attracted by offers from hubs which remain in the EU. Further, the long-debated construction of a new runway at Heathrow or Gatwick, Britain's two main airports, could be delayed further if "Leave" campaign figurehead Boris Johnson becomes prime minister. The former London mayor, tipped as a frontrunner to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron after the Brexit vote, has long campaigned for an alternative plan to build a new airport in the Thames estuary east of the capital. "For Heathrow and its third runway the game's up," said John Strickland of JLS Consulting. He highlighted another more immediate consequence of the Brexit vote: the collapse of sterling on exchange markets. This will lead to higher fuel and lease costs, and a likely fall in demand for flights to Europe by British travellers whose pounds aren't worth as much on the continent since Thursday's shock vote. (AFP)

Brexit effect: Turbulent road ahead or sky full of opportunities for British airlines?

Brexit has apparently pushed the anxiety button in London as the British capital fears investors and bankers could flee the city after the nationwide vote arguably threatened its coveted reputation as a global financial hub. 
 
Some 60 percent of Londoners voted to stay in the EU in Thursday&#39;s historic referendum but the rest of the country cast their ballots overwhelmingly to leave.&nbsp; 
 
&#39;A fifth of all global banking activity takes place in London&#39;&nbsp; 
The capital&#39;s 8.6 million residents, whose GDP is about the same as that of oil-rich Norway, are anxious about the impact on the city&#39;s economy. The fear is that London will no longer be able to claim to serve as the gateway for US and Asian businesses into Europe&#39;s vast single market. 
 
&quot;Some firms that saw&nbsp;London&nbsp;as a platform for serving the integrated EU market will relocate at least part of their headquarters&#39; functions to other cities within the EU,&quot; said Greg Clark of the Brookings Institution. 
 
A first bank, US giant JP Morgan which employs around 16,000 staff in the United Kingdom, said Friday that it &quot;may need to make changes to our European legal entity structure and the location of some roles&quot;. 
 
It gave no figures, but chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon previously said that up to 4,000 jobs could move out of the UK. 
 
According to ratings agency Standard and Poor&#39;s, a fifth of all global banking activity takes place in London.&nbsp;Speculations are rife that a haemorrhaging of bankers would hit the city. 
 
It may be also be underlined that the financial sector provides one in three jobs, or some 1.25 million. &nbsp;Services overall represent 85 percent of jobs, having completely supplanted manufacturing which historically was the driving force of the capital. 
 
&quot;Although we will be outside the EU, it is crucial that we remain part of the single market,&quot; pro-EU&nbsp;London&nbsp;Mayor Sadiq Khan said Friday. 
 
&quot;It is crucial that&nbsp;London&nbsp;has a voice at the table during those renegotiations,&quot; added the Labour mayor, who took over in May from Conservative Boris Johnson, who went on to spearhead the &quot;Leave&quot; camp. 
 
A petition for&nbsp;London&nbsp;to have independence from the United Kingdom and make an application to join the EU started partly as a stunt. 
 
But it highlighted deep concerns and had by Saturday evening garnered more than 150,000 signatures for a so-called &quot;Lexit&rdquo;.&nbsp; 
 
&#39;Net job losses may not be high&#39;&nbsp; 
Despite these&nbsp;fears, Clark of the Brookings Institution said that in the end &quot;the total number of net job losses in&nbsp;London&nbsp;may not be high, as corporations will re-organise rather than leave&quot;. 
 
&quot;London&nbsp;will remain a good location to service global markets,&quot; he added. 
 
The city, whose GDP grew by 3.3 percent last year against 2.3 percent for the whole country, remains well-placed: it speaks English, the international language of business, as well as being cosmopolitan and culturally rich. 
 
London&#39;s successful hosting of the 2012 Olympics, which saw huge investment notably in transport infrastructure, burnished its reputation as a global capital. 
 
Real estate on frontline 
If well-paid bankers and other expatriates flee London for Frankfurt, Paris or Dublin, a whole swathe of the economy which depends on higher spending power will suffer, from luxury real estate agencies to select private schools. 
 
The first sector to pay the price might be bricks and mortar. 
 
&quot;In our view the decision to leave the EU will be most keenly felt in the&nbsp;Londonhousing market which is fully valued and already facing headwinds,&quot; said real estate specialists Hometrack. 
 
&quot;History shows that external shocks have led to falls in turnover by as much as 20 percent,&quot; it added. 
 
That kind of slump could put downward pressure on prices, actually good news finally for many prospective buyers and renters in a city where homes have become increasingly unaffordable, and where prices have been rising by 13 percent a year. 
 
Seeking silver linings, Clark also points out another potential advantage. 
 
&quot;London&nbsp;will also present a diversification opportunity for investors who want to hedge against the EU,&quot; for example if another euro currency crisis hits, &quot;but be part of Europe&#39;s growth story&quot;, he said. 
 
&quot;London&nbsp;may even garner a &#39;first (EU) leaver&#39; advantage. The British pound has always served as a currency hedge for the euro, and this function may even strengthen it,&quot; he said.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

The fear is that?London?will no longer be able to claim to serve as the gateway for US and Asian businesses into Europe's vast single market

Brexit has apparently pushed the anxiety button in London as the British capital fears investors and bankers could flee the city after the nationwide vote arguably threatened its coveted reputation as a global financial hub. Some 60 percent of Londoners voted to stay in the EU in Thursday's historic referendum but the rest of the country cast their ballots overwhelmingly to leave. 'A fifth of all global banking activity takes place in London' The capital's 8.6 million residents, whose GDP is about the same as that of oil-rich Norway, are anxious about the impact on the city's economy. The fear is that London will no longer be able to claim to serve as the gateway for US and Asian businesses into Europe's vast single market. "Some firms that saw London as a platform for serving the integrated EU market will relocate at least part of their headquarters' functions to other cities within the EU," said Greg Clark of the Brookings Institution. A first bank, US giant JP Morgan which employs around 16,000 staff in the United Kingdom, said Friday that it "may need to make changes to our European legal entity structure and the location of some roles". It gave no figures, but chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon previously said that up to 4,000 jobs could move out of the UK. According to ratings agency Standard and Poor's, a fifth of all global banking activity takes place in London. Speculations are rife that a haemorrhaging of bankers would hit the city. It may be also be underlined that the financial sector provides one in three jobs, or some 1.25 million. Services overall represent 85 percent of jobs, having completely supplanted manufacturing which historically was the driving force of the capital. "Although we will be outside the EU, it is crucial that we remain part of the single market," pro-EU London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Friday. "It is crucial that London has a voice at the table during those renegotiations," added the Labour mayor, who took over in May from Conservative Boris Johnson, who went on to spearhead the "Leave" camp. A petition for London to have independence from the United Kingdom and make an application to join the EU started partly as a stunt. But it highlighted deep concerns and had by Saturday evening garnered more than 150,000 signatures for a so-called "Lexit”. 'Net job losses may not be high' Despite these fears, Clark of the Brookings Institution said that in the end "the total number of net job losses in London may not be high, as corporations will re-organise rather than leave". "London will remain a good location to service global markets," he added. The city, whose GDP grew by 3.3 percent last year against 2.3 percent for the whole country, remains well-placed: it speaks English, the international language of business, as well as being cosmopolitan and culturally rich. London's successful hosting of the 2012 Olympics, which saw huge investment notably in transport infrastructure, burnished its reputation as a global capital. Real estate on frontline If well-paid bankers and other expatriates flee London for Frankfurt, Paris or Dublin, a whole swathe of the economy which depends on higher spending power will suffer, from luxury real estate agencies to select private schools. The first sector to pay the price might be bricks and mortar. "In our view the decision to leave the EU will be most keenly felt in the Londonhousing market which is fully valued and already facing headwinds," said real estate specialists Hometrack. "History shows that external shocks have led to falls in turnover by as much as 20 percent," it added. That kind of slump could put downward pressure on prices, actually good news finally for many prospective buyers and renters in a city where homes have become increasingly unaffordable, and where prices have been rising by 13 percent a year. Seeking silver linings, Clark also points out another potential advantage. "London will also present a diversification opportunity for investors who want to hedge against the EU," for example if another euro currency crisis hits, "but be part of Europe's growth story", he said. "London may even garner a 'first (EU) leaver' advantage. The British pound has always served as a currency hedge for the euro, and this function may even strengthen it," he said. (AFP)

Brexit effect: Possible hemorrhaging of bankers may hit London's long-booming economy?

Top US diplomat John Kerry will fly to Brussels and London on Monday for talks with Washington&#39;s key allies in the aftermath of Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union. 
 
US officials travelling to Rome with the secretary of state told reporters on the flight that two stops had been added to his European itinerary at the last moment. 
 
&quot;Tomorrow we&#39;ll go to Brussels and then on to London,&quot; one official said. 
 
Washington was dismayed last week when British voters chose to leave the European Union, a decision that triggered global economic uncertainty and fears other EU members will follow suit. 
 
President Barack Obama had made clear his concern about the Brexit referendum, and now US officials are scrambling to try to stop the political crisis harming Western unity. 
 
Kerry arrived in Rome today on a planned visit to have lunch with Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni and a working dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 
 
But officials on his flight said that on Monday he would fly on to the EU headquarters in Brussels for crisis talks with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. 
 
Mogherini had been expected to meet Kerry in Rome today, but she was busy dealing with the fallout of the dramatic vote, which stunned European and world leaders. 
 
From Brussels Kerry will continue to London to see Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and other officials from outgoing British Prime Minister David Cameron`s government. 
 
The two senior diplomats are expected to hold a joint news conference before Kerry leaves to return to Washington. 
 
Obama and Kerry have been at pains to insist the vaunted &quot;special relationship&quot; between Washington and London will survive what US officials view as the Brexit debacle.But Washington foreign policy experts are all but unanimous in assessing that the White House will increasingly turn to core EU allies to defend its interests on the continent. 
 
Obama himself, on a visit to London last month, warned British voters that their nation would go &quot;to the back of the queue&quot; for a US trade deal if they voted &quot;out.&quot; 
 
US officials are also keen to help London`s divorce from Brussels go through smoothly without further inflicting further damage on skittish world financial markets. 
 
But they, like many EU capitals, are also concerned not to allow Brexit to serve as an inspiration for eurosceptic forces in other members such as Italy or The Netherlands. 
 
The London visit will be the first by a senior US official since Thursday`s dramatic referendum, when voters demanded Britain leave the world`s richest trading bloc.&nbsp; 
 
Kerry&#39;s trip had originally been planned as an opportunity to meet Netanyahu and discuss regional security and the stalled Israel-Palestinian peace process. 
 
But US officials played down the chance of any concrete progress, insisting that the pair meet regularly and that no new initiative would be on the table.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)

London visit will be the first by John Kerry after the referendum when voters demanded Britain leave the world's richest trading bloc

Top US diplomat John Kerry will fly to Brussels and London on Monday for talks with Washington's key allies in the aftermath of Britain's vote to leave the European Union. US officials travelling to Rome with the secretary of state told reporters on the flight that two stops had been added to his European itinerary at the last moment. "Tomorrow we'll go to Brussels and then on to London," one official said. Washington was dismayed last week when British voters chose to leave the European Union, a decision that triggered global economic uncertainty and fears other EU members will follow suit. President Barack Obama had made clear his concern about the Brexit referendum, and now US officials are scrambling to try to stop the political crisis harming Western unity. Kerry arrived in Rome today on a planned visit to have lunch with Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni and a working dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But officials on his flight said that on Monday he would fly on to the EU headquarters in Brussels for crisis talks with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. Mogherini had been expected to meet Kerry in Rome today, but she was busy dealing with the fallout of the dramatic vote, which stunned European and world leaders. From Brussels Kerry will continue to London to see Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and other officials from outgoing British Prime Minister David Cameron`s government. The two senior diplomats are expected to hold a joint news conference before Kerry leaves to return to Washington. Obama and Kerry have been at pains to insist the vaunted "special relationship" between Washington and London will survive what US officials view as the Brexit debacle.But Washington foreign policy experts are all but unanimous in assessing that the White House will increasingly turn to core EU allies to defend its interests on the continent. Obama himself, on a visit to London last month, warned British voters that their nation would go "to the back of the queue" for a US trade deal if they voted "out." US officials are also keen to help London`s divorce from Brussels go through smoothly without further inflicting further damage on skittish world financial markets. But they, like many EU capitals, are also concerned not to allow Brexit to serve as an inspiration for eurosceptic forces in other members such as Italy or The Netherlands. The London visit will be the first by a senior US official since Thursday`s dramatic referendum, when voters demanded Britain leave the world`s richest trading bloc. Kerry's trip had originally been planned as an opportunity to meet Netanyahu and discuss regional security and the stalled Israel-Palestinian peace process. But US officials played down the chance of any concrete progress, insisting that the pair meet regularly and that no new initiative would be on the table. (AFP)

Top US envoy Kerry heads to Britain amid Brexit crisis

China&#39;s policymakers and leading economists today voiced concerns about Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union, with the finance minister saying it has heightened market uncertainty, though some expect a limited impact on the Chinese economy. 
 
The &quot;Brexit&quot; decision &quot;will cast a shadow over the global economy ... The repercussions and fallout will emerge in the next five to 10 years,&quot; said Lou Jiwei, China&#39;s minister of finance, at the first annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s difficult to predict now,&quot; he said. &quot;The knee-jerk reaction from the market is probably a bit excessive and needs to calm down and take an objective view.&quot; 
 
Stock markets around the world plunged in the wake of the referendum. Sterling&#39;s value also plummeted. 
 
Lou&#39;s views were echoed by the head of China&#39;s top economic planning authority and other economists at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the northern city of Tianjin. 
 
&quot;For Chinese firms that are going to invest or carry out mergers, entrepreneurs are smarter than me, and they will definitely wait and see,&quot; Xu Shaoshi, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at WEF today. 
 
&quot;The Brexit incident wil affect China&#39;s economy via investment, trade and capital,&quot; he said. &quot;But I believe the impact will not be big and relevant government departments have made contingency plans.&quot; 
 
Huang Yiping, a professor at Peking University and a member of the central bank&#39;s monetary policy committee, said it is hard to judge the direct impact of the British referendum on China&#39;s economy. 
 
&quot;If (Brexit) is an important landmark in terms of a reversal of globalisation, I think that&#39;s very bad for the world, it&#39;s very bad for China,&quot; Huang said. 
 
Li Daokui, a professor at Tsinghua University and a former adviser to China&#39;s central bank, was more optimistic on the referendum&#39;s effects on the world&#39;s second-largest economy. 
 
&quot;China is perhaps one of the least impacted economies in the world by the event of Brexit,&quot; he told an audience at WEF. 
 
&quot;The only short-term impact I can think about is the exchange rate of the Renminbi ... But I do think within a few trading sessions that situation will very quickly be subdued,&quot; Li said. 
 
Also speaking at WEF was economist Nouriel Roubini, famed for predicting the global financial crisis, who said the decision to leave the European Union &quot;creates a whole bunch of financial, economic, political and geopolitical uncertainties.&quot; 
 
It could be the &quot;beginning of the disintegration&quot; of the bloc of countries, the euro zone or the United Kingdom, said Roubini. 
 
&quot;I don&#39;t expect a global recession or another global financial crisis,&quot; he added. &quot;I think the impact of Brexit is significant but not of the same size and magnitude of the one we had 2007 to 2009.&quot; 
 
Michael Falcon, CEO of Global Investment Management Asia Pacific at JP Morgan, said he expects more market volatility but doubts the vote will derail a global recovery. 
 
&quot;It is a shock, not a crisis, and so far markets seem to be handling this pretty well,&quot; Falcon said at the WEF conference. 
 
(Reuters)

The repercussions and fallout will emerge in the next five to 10 years, said Lou Jiwei, China's finance minister

China's policymakers and leading economists today voiced concerns about Britain's vote to leave the European Union, with the finance minister saying it has heightened market uncertainty, though some expect a limited impact on the Chinese economy. The "Brexit" decision "will cast a shadow over the global economy ... The repercussions and fallout will emerge in the next five to 10 years," said Lou Jiwei, China's minister of finance, at the first annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing. "It's difficult to predict now," he said. "The knee-jerk reaction from the market is probably a bit excessive and needs to calm down and take an objective view." Stock markets around the world plunged in the wake of the referendum. Sterling's value also plummeted. Lou's views were echoed by the head of China's top economic planning authority and other economists at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the northern city of Tianjin. "For Chinese firms that are going to invest or carry out mergers, entrepreneurs are smarter than me, and they will definitely wait and see," Xu Shaoshi, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at WEF today. "The Brexit incident wil affect China's economy via investment, trade and capital," he said. "But I believe the impact will not be big and relevant government departments have made contingency plans." Huang Yiping, a professor at Peking University and a member of the central bank's monetary policy committee, said it is hard to judge the direct impact of the British referendum on China's economy. "If (Brexit) is an important landmark in terms of a reversal of globalisation, I think that's very bad for the world, it's very bad for China," Huang said. Li Daokui, a professor at Tsinghua University and a former adviser to China's central bank, was more optimistic on the referendum's effects on the world's second-largest economy. "China is perhaps one of the least impacted economies in the world by the event of Brexit," he told an audience at WEF. "The only short-term impact I can think about is the exchange rate of the Renminbi ... But I do think within a few trading sessions that situation will very quickly be subdued," Li said. Also speaking at WEF was economist Nouriel Roubini, famed for predicting the global financial crisis, who said the decision to leave the European Union "creates a whole bunch of financial, economic, political and geopolitical uncertainties." It could be the "beginning of the disintegration" of the bloc of countries, the euro zone or the United Kingdom, said Roubini. "I don't expect a global recession or another global financial crisis," he added. "I think the impact of Brexit is significant but not of the same size and magnitude of the one we had 2007 to 2009." Michael Falcon, CEO of Global Investment Management Asia Pacific at JP Morgan, said he expects more market volatility but doubts the vote will derail a global recovery. "It is a shock, not a crisis, and so far markets seem to be handling this pretty well," Falcon said at the WEF conference. (Reuters)

China's finance minister sees 'Brexit' heightening uncertainty for markets

Nearly 60 per cent of Scots now support Scottish independence after Britain voted to leave the European Union this week, according to an opinion poll reported by a newspaper on Saturday. 
 
The Sunday Post said 59 per cent of respondents in the poll backed independence from the United Kingdom. That was sharply higher than the 45 per cent of votes cast in favour of independence at a referendum in 2014 which resulted in the country staying in the UK. 
 
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said earlier on Saturday that a fresh independence referendum was possible. Many Scots voted in favour of remaining in the UK in 2014 because of concerns that breaking away might leave them outside the bloc. 
 
Scots voted by 62-38 per cent to remain in the EU in Thursday&#39;s EU membership referendum but British voters as a whole voted by 52-48 per cent to leave. 
 
The Sunday Post reported the poll finding on its front page which was pictured and posted on Twitter by editorial staff. The newspaper declined to provide further details of the poll. 
 
(Reuters)

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said a fresh independence referendum is possible

Nearly 60 per cent of Scots now support Scottish independence after Britain voted to leave the European Union this week, according to an opinion poll reported by a newspaper on Saturday. The Sunday Post said 59 per cent of respondents in the poll backed independence from the United Kingdom. That was sharply higher than the 45 per cent of votes cast in favour of independence at a referendum in 2014 which resulted in the country staying in the UK. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said earlier on Saturday that a fresh independence referendum was possible. Many Scots voted in favour of remaining in the UK in 2014 because of concerns that breaking away might leave them outside the bloc. Scots voted by 62-38 per cent to remain in the EU in Thursday's EU membership referendum but British voters as a whole voted by 52-48 per cent to leave. The Sunday Post reported the poll finding on its front page which was pictured and posted on Twitter by editorial staff. The newspaper declined to provide further details of the poll. (Reuters)

60% Scots want independence: Poll

Just days after voting to leave the European Union, more than 2.5 million Britons and UK residents have signed a petition calling for a second vote, forcing lawmakers to at least consider a debate on the issue. 
 
Parliament has to consider a debate on any petition posted on its website that attracts more than 100,000 signatures. 
 
The proposal, posted before the June 23 referendum, said the government should hold another plebiscite on EU membership if the support for Leave or Remain in a referendum was less than 60 per cent in a turnout of under 75 per cent of eligible voters. 
 
The result on Thursday saw 52 per cent of voters, 17,410,742 people, back a British exit, on a turnout of 72 per cent. 
 
According to an opinion poll conducted on Friday, half of voters said the result should stand, even if the EU offered more reforms to Britain&#39;s EU membership, while 39 per cent said a second referendum should be held under the new terms offered. 
 
Some 48 per cent of British adults said they were happy with the result against 43 per cent who were unhappy, according to the poll by ComRes for the Sunday Mirror. 
 
The online petition -- which only British citizens or UK residents have the right to sign -- was proving so popular that by 2136 GMT on Saturday, 2,503,065 people had signed it. 
 
Most of those who signed were based in areas where support for staying in the EU was strongest, most especially London, the website indicated. 
 
Prime Minister David Cameron, who said on Friday he would resign after leading the failed campaign to keep Britain in the EU, had said there would be no second referendum. 
 
The ComRes poll also asked a representative sample of 1,069 adults when the next general election should be. 
 
One third said there should be a vote as soon as the next prime minister was in place in the autumn, while 23 per cent said an election should be held early next year. 
 
Some 27 per cent said the next election should be in 2020 as currently planned, according to the online poll. 
 
(Reuters)

Britain's parliament has to consider a debate on any petition posted on its website that attracts more than a 100,000 signatures

Just days after voting to leave the European Union, more than 2.5 million Britons and UK residents have signed a petition calling for a second vote, forcing lawmakers to at least consider a debate on the issue. Parliament has to consider a debate on any petition posted on its website that attracts more than 100,000 signatures. The proposal, posted before the June 23 referendum, said the government should hold another plebiscite on EU membership if the support for Leave or Remain in a referendum was less than 60 per cent in a turnout of under 75 per cent of eligible voters. The result on Thursday saw 52 per cent of voters, 17,410,742 people, back a British exit, on a turnout of 72 per cent. According to an opinion poll conducted on Friday, half of voters said the result should stand, even if the EU offered more reforms to Britain's EU membership, while 39 per cent said a second referendum should be held under the new terms offered. Some 48 per cent of British adults said they were happy with the result against 43 per cent who were unhappy, according to the poll by ComRes for the Sunday Mirror. The online petition -- which only British citizens or UK residents have the right to sign -- was proving so popular that by 2136 GMT on Saturday, 2,503,065 people had signed it. Most of those who signed were based in areas where support for staying in the EU was strongest, most especially London, the website indicated. Prime Minister David Cameron, who said on Friday he would resign after leading the failed campaign to keep Britain in the EU, had said there would be no second referendum. The ComRes poll also asked a representative sample of 1,069 adults when the next general election should be. One third said there should be a vote as soon as the next prime minister was in place in the autumn, while 23 per cent said an election should be held early next year. Some 27 per cent said the next election should be in 2020 as currently planned, according to the online poll. (Reuters)

Over 2.5 million sign petition asking for second EU referendum

Britain&#39;s opposition Labour party plunged into turmoil today and the prospect of Scottish independence drew closer, ahead of a showdown with EU leaders over the country&#39;s seismic vote to leave the bloc. 
 
Two days after Prime Minister David Cameron resigned over his failure to keep Britain in the European Union, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn faced a revolt by his lawmakers who called for him, too, to quit. 
 
US secretary of state John Kerry will also fly first to Brussels and then on to London on Monday, amid dismay in Washington over Britain&#39;s decision. 
 
European leaders have called for a swift divorce amid fears of a domino-effect of exit votes in eurosceptic member states that could imperil the integrity of the 28-country alliance. 
 
Britain&#39;s political world is in disarray, while two new polls today showed a surge in support for independence in Scotland, where voters defied the national mood and chose to stay in the EU. 
 
European leaders meet on Monday to discuss the result, which wiped $2.1 trillion from global equity markets Friday amid fears of a new threat to the global economy. 
 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host French President Francois Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and EU President Donald Tusk for talks in Berlin. 
 
Cameron is then due to attend a summit of EU leaders on Tuesday to explain Britain&#39;s decision. 
 
Britons cast aside warnings of isolation and economic disaster to vote 52 percent to 48 percent in favour of quitting the EU in Thursday&#39;s referendum. 
 
The historic vote, fought on the battlefronts of the economy and immigration, exposed deep divisions in the country that politicians are scrambling to respond to. 
 
Cameron has said he will stay on until a successor is found from within his governing Conservative party, which could take until October, at which point the new prime minister will launch the EU exit negotiations. 
 
But EU foreign ministers on Saturday urged Britain not to delay, with France&#39;s Jean-Marc Ayrault directly calling on Cameron to go quickly. 
 
&quot;A new prime minister must be designated, that will take a few days but there is a certain urgency,&quot; he told AFP. 
 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Britain&#39;s exit talks should not &quot;drag on forever&quot; but said that until they were completed, Britain would remain a fully-fledged EU member. 
 
&quot;There is no reason to be nasty in the negotiations. We have to follow the rules of the game,&quot; she said. 
 
Labour revolt 
 
Likely candidates to succeed Cameron, including Brexit campaigner and former London mayor Boris Johnson, began sounding out support over the weekend. 
 
The referendum decision has also lit a fuse under disgruntled members of the Labour party, many of whom have been unhappy with Corbyn&#39;s leadership since he took office last September. 
 
Support for leaving the European Union was strong across northern England, the Midlands and Wales, including many areas that traditional vote Labour. 
 
The party leadership had campaigned to stay in the EU, but critics accuse Corbyn of failing to reach out to working-class voters drawn in by the &quot;Leave&quot; camp&#39;s anti-establishment rhetoric. 
 
After a symbolic vote of no confidence on Friday against Corbyn, he sacked foreign affairs spokesman Hilary Benn late Saturday for challenging his leadership. 
 
Hours later, health spokeswoman Heidi Alexander quit, and media reports suggested several other colleagues were poised to join her.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I do not believe you have the capacity to shape the answers our country is demanding,&quot; Alexander wrote in her resignation letter. 
 
But allies of the veteran socialist said he had no plans to step down. &quot;He&#39;s not going anywhere,&quot; finance spokesman John McDonnell told BBC television. 
 
The motion of no confidence is expected to be discussed at a meeting of the parliamentary Labour party on Monday. 
 
Any challenger would need the support of 20 percent of the party&#39;s 229 MPs and it would then be put to party members. 
 
Boost for Scottish independence&nbsp; 
 
As Westminster politicians bickered, Scotland appeared to be moving closer towards independence, just two years after they voted by 55 per cent to stay in the UK. 
 
&quot;The UK that Scotland voted to stay in in 2014 does not exist any more,&quot; First Minister and Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon told BBC television Sunday. 
 
Scots had defied the national trend and voted to remain in the European Union, and the prospect of being taken out against their will has boosted the nationalist cause. 
 
Two polls today support for independence at 59 percent and 52 percent respectively. 
 
Sturgeon has said a second independence referendum was now &quot;highly likely&quot;, and a meeting of her cabinet on Saturday agreed to start drawing up the necessary legislation. 
 
&quot;This is not going to be a re-run of the 2014 referendum. The context and the circumstances have changed dramatically,&quot; she told the BBC. 
 
Across Britain, more than three million Britons signed up to a rapidly-growing petition on an official government website pleading for a new vote. 
 
The number of signatories far surpassed the 100,000 required for a proposal to be discussed in the House of Commons. A committee will consider the motion on Tuesday.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)

Scots defied the national mood and voted to stay on in EU. The 'leave' sentiment was strong in northern England, Midlands and Wales

Britain's opposition Labour party plunged into turmoil today and the prospect of Scottish independence drew closer, ahead of a showdown with EU leaders over the country's seismic vote to leave the bloc. Two days after Prime Minister David Cameron resigned over his failure to keep Britain in the European Union, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn faced a revolt by his lawmakers who called for him, too, to quit. US secretary of state John Kerry will also fly first to Brussels and then on to London on Monday, amid dismay in Washington over Britain's decision. European leaders have called for a swift divorce amid fears of a domino-effect of exit votes in eurosceptic member states that could imperil the integrity of the 28-country alliance. Britain's political world is in disarray, while two new polls today showed a surge in support for independence in Scotland, where voters defied the national mood and chose to stay in the EU. European leaders meet on Monday to discuss the result, which wiped $2.1 trillion from global equity markets Friday amid fears of a new threat to the global economy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host French President Francois Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and EU President Donald Tusk for talks in Berlin. Cameron is then due to attend a summit of EU leaders on Tuesday to explain Britain's decision. Britons cast aside warnings of isolation and economic disaster to vote 52 percent to 48 percent in favour of quitting the EU in Thursday's referendum. The historic vote, fought on the battlefronts of the economy and immigration, exposed deep divisions in the country that politicians are scrambling to respond to. Cameron has said he will stay on until a successor is found from within his governing Conservative party, which could take until October, at which point the new prime minister will launch the EU exit negotiations. But EU foreign ministers on Saturday urged Britain not to delay, with France's Jean-Marc Ayrault directly calling on Cameron to go quickly. "A new prime minister must be designated, that will take a few days but there is a certain urgency," he told AFP. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Britain's exit talks should not "drag on forever" but said that until they were completed, Britain would remain a fully-fledged EU member. "There is no reason to be nasty in the negotiations. We have to follow the rules of the game," she said. Labour revolt Likely candidates to succeed Cameron, including Brexit campaigner and former London mayor Boris Johnson, began sounding out support over the weekend. The referendum decision has also lit a fuse under disgruntled members of the Labour party, many of whom have been unhappy with Corbyn's leadership since he took office last September. Support for leaving the European Union was strong across northern England, the Midlands and Wales, including many areas that traditional vote Labour. The party leadership had campaigned to stay in the EU, but critics accuse Corbyn of failing to reach out to working-class voters drawn in by the "Leave" camp's anti-establishment rhetoric. After a symbolic vote of no confidence on Friday against Corbyn, he sacked foreign affairs spokesman Hilary Benn late Saturday for challenging his leadership. Hours later, health spokeswoman Heidi Alexander quit, and media reports suggested several other colleagues were poised to join her. "I do not believe you have the capacity to shape the answers our country is demanding," Alexander wrote in her resignation letter. But allies of the veteran socialist said he had no plans to step down. "He's not going anywhere," finance spokesman John McDonnell told BBC television. The motion of no confidence is expected to be discussed at a meeting of the parliamentary Labour party on Monday. Any challenger would need the support of 20 percent of the party's 229 MPs and it would then be put to party members. Boost for Scottish independence As Westminster politicians bickered, Scotland appeared to be moving closer towards independence, just two years after they voted by 55 per cent to stay in the UK. "The UK that Scotland voted to stay in in 2014 does not exist any more," First Minister and Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon told BBC television Sunday. Scots had defied the national trend and voted to remain in the European Union, and the prospect of being taken out against their will has boosted the nationalist cause. Two polls today support for independence at 59 percent and 52 percent respectively. Sturgeon has said a second independence referendum was now "highly likely", and a meeting of her cabinet on Saturday agreed to start drawing up the necessary legislation. "This is not going to be a re-run of the 2014 referendum. The context and the circumstances have changed dramatically," she told the BBC. Across Britain, more than three million Britons signed up to a rapidly-growing petition on an official government website pleading for a new vote. The number of signatories far surpassed the 100,000 required for a proposal to be discussed in the House of Commons. A committee will consider the motion on Tuesday. (AFP)

UK's split with EU boosts Scottish nationalists

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