Four US investment banks promised British finance minister George Osborne on Thursday that they would help London keep its top spot as a global financial centre following the country&#39;s vote to leave the European Union. 
 
Since the June 23 referendum there have been fears of an exodus from the City of London if access to the EU&#39;s single market becomes significantly harder. Banks like JPMorgan have said they could move thousands of jobs. 
 
On Thursday JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, as well as Britain&#39;s Asia-focused Standard Chartered said they would try to support London&#39;s financial sector. 
 
&quot;Today we met and agreed that we would work together ... with a common aim to help London retain its position as the leading international financial centre,&quot; the banks said in a joint statement with Osborne. 
 
The statement said no other city in Europe had capital markets as deep as those of London, but the banks made no commitment about keeping jobs in Britain. 
 
The French government pledged on Wednesday to make its tax regime for expatriates the most favourable in Europe in a landgrab for London banking business. 
 
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have denied speculation they were poised to shift London-based staff and operations to Frankfurt 
 
Jamie Dimon, the head of JPMorgan Chase, said before the referendum that the bank could have to move up to 4,000 staff from the UK in the event of a Brexit vote. 
 
On Wednesday, the municipal authority for the City of London, the district in the capital that is home to many large banks, said the government needed to ensure EU exit talks preserved financial services firms&#39; &quot;passporting&quot; rights that allow them to use London as a base for EU-wide activities. 
 
Osborne, who was senior figure in the failed campaign to keep Britain in the EU, has spent years trying to expand London&#39;s role as a global hub for trade in China&#39;s renminbi and India&#39;s rupee, as well as Islamic finance. 
 
On Tuesday, he met British domestic banks, whose share prices have tumbled since the Brexit vote, and encouraged them to make more funds available for UK lending after the Bank of England eased capital rules. 
 
(Reuters)

The banks said they would work at helping London 'retain its position as the leading international financial centre'

Four US investment banks promised British finance minister George Osborne on Thursday that they would help London keep its top spot as a global financial centre following the country's vote to leave the European Union. Since the June 23 referendum there have been fears of an exodus from the City of London if access to the EU's single market becomes significantly harder. Banks like JPMorgan have said they could move thousands of jobs. On Thursday JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, as well as Britain's Asia-focused Standard Chartered said they would try to support London's financial sector. "Today we met and agreed that we would work together ... with a common aim to help London retain its position as the leading international financial centre," the banks said in a joint statement with Osborne. The statement said no other city in Europe had capital markets as deep as those of London, but the banks made no commitment about keeping jobs in Britain. The French government pledged on Wednesday to make its tax regime for expatriates the most favourable in Europe in a landgrab for London banking business. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have denied speculation they were poised to shift London-based staff and operations to Frankfurt Jamie Dimon, the head of JPMorgan Chase, said before the referendum that the bank could have to move up to 4,000 staff from the UK in the event of a Brexit vote. On Wednesday, the municipal authority for the City of London, the district in the capital that is home to many large banks, said the government needed to ensure EU exit talks preserved financial services firms' "passporting" rights that allow them to use London as a base for EU-wide activities. Osborne, who was senior figure in the failed campaign to keep Britain in the EU, has spent years trying to expand London's role as a global hub for trade in China's renminbi and India's rupee, as well as Islamic finance. On Tuesday, he met British domestic banks, whose share prices have tumbled since the Brexit vote, and encouraged them to make more funds available for UK lending after the Bank of England eased capital rules. (Reuters)

After Brexit, London gets a little help from 4 US banks

Britain&#39;s business minister Sajid Javid said the government should cut corporate and personal taxes to soften the blow from an expected slowdown after Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union (EU). 
 
Javid told the Financial Times the government needed to switch its focus from reducing the deficit to stimulating economic growth by introducing unfunded tax cuts to boost research and investment for companies. 
 
Confidence in Britain&#39;s economy has been rocked by the decision by voters to leave the world&#39;s largest trading bloc on June 23. The pound is trading at 31-year lows and the Bank of England has warned that the financial risks it highlighted ahead of the vote were starting to crystallise.&nbsp; 
 
Javid backs Osborne&#39;s approach&nbsp; 
 
Finance minister George Osborne has said he plans to cut Britain&#39;s corporation tax to below 15 per cent and has also dropped his aim of turning Britain&#39;s budget deficit into a surplus by 2020. 
 
Javid backed Osborne&#39;s softer approach to fixing the public finances. He told the FT it was hard to predict what would happen to the deficit. 
 
&quot;Does it mean 3 per cent becomes 4 per cent or 5 per cent? I don&#39;t think anyone can say at this point,&quot; he said.&nbsp; 
 
Britain&#39;s budget deficit was just under 4 per cent of gross domestic product in the financial year which ended in March. 
 
Javid said the government should double tax credits for research and development, exempt new plant and machinery from business rates and increase the annual investment allowance. He said the threshold at which people start paying income tax should also rise by 1,000 pounds. 
 
As well as the signals from the government of help for the economy from lower taxes, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has said he expects the central bank to provide more monetary stimulus over the summer. On Tuesday, the BoE lowered a requirement for banks to set aside money to cover losses. 
 
It is not clear how long Osborne and Javid will remain in their jobs. Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will resign by September and the ruling Conservative Party is in the process of choosing a new leader. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

Confidence in Britain's economy has been rocked by the decision by voters to leave the world's largest trading bloc on June 23

Britain's business minister Sajid Javid said the government should cut corporate and personal taxes to soften the blow from an expected slowdown after Britain's vote to leave the European Union (EU). Javid told the Financial Times the government needed to switch its focus from reducing the deficit to stimulating economic growth by introducing unfunded tax cuts to boost research and investment for companies. Confidence in Britain's economy has been rocked by the decision by voters to leave the world's largest trading bloc on June 23. The pound is trading at 31-year lows and the Bank of England has warned that the financial risks it highlighted ahead of the vote were starting to crystallise. Javid backs Osborne's approach Finance minister George Osborne has said he plans to cut Britain's corporation tax to below 15 per cent and has also dropped his aim of turning Britain's budget deficit into a surplus by 2020. Javid backed Osborne's softer approach to fixing the public finances. He told the FT it was hard to predict what would happen to the deficit. "Does it mean 3 per cent becomes 4 per cent or 5 per cent? I don't think anyone can say at this point," he said. Britain's budget deficit was just under 4 per cent of gross domestic product in the financial year which ended in March. Javid said the government should double tax credits for research and development, exempt new plant and machinery from business rates and increase the annual investment allowance. He said the threshold at which people start paying income tax should also rise by 1,000 pounds. As well as the signals from the government of help for the economy from lower taxes, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has said he expects the central bank to provide more monetary stimulus over the summer. On Tuesday, the BoE lowered a requirement for banks to set aside money to cover losses. It is not clear how long Osborne and Javid will remain in their jobs. Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will resign by September and the ruling Conservative Party is in the process of choosing a new leader. (Reuters)

UK business minister calls for tax cuts to soften Brexit blow

Gold rose as much as 1 per cent today, hitting the highest in more than two years, as investors piled back into safe havens such as bullion amid renewed market jitters over Britain&#39;s decision to leave the European Union (EU).&nbsp; 
 
Asian shares also tumbled as fears over instability in the EU returned with a vengeance, sending the pound to three-decade low and hammering risky assets. 
 
Spot gold touched its highest since March 2014 at $1,371.40, and was trading up 0.9 per cent at $1,367.20 an ounce by 0401 GMT. It surpassed the $1,358.20 mark hit on June 24 in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote. 
 
US gold was up 0.8 per cent at $1,369.40. 
 
&quot;No one is able to understand how much risk is yet to be unravelled (from Brexit). That is an uncertainty that no one likes. This is what is driving gold prices higher,&quot; said Helen Lau, an analyst at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong. 
 
Yellow metal is on track to log its biggest yearly gain since 2010&nbsp; 
 
The Bank of England took steps on Tuesday to ensure British banks keep lending as the financial consequences of the decision to leave the EU began to materialise. 
 
The yellow metal, often favoured as a hedge against economic and financial uncertainty, has risen about 29 per cent this year and is on track to log its biggest yearly gain since 2010. 
 
Further boosting gold, were comments from New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley, who said that the central bank can be patient on raising interest rates due to low inflation and uncertainties over US economic prospects. 
 
New orders for US factory goods fell in May on weak demand for transportation and defence capital goods, but growing order backlogs and lean inventories suggested the worst of the manufacturing downturn was probably over. 
 
Investors will be watching out for signs on the US Federal Reserve&#39;s thinking on rates from minutes of its June 14-15 meeting due later in the day. 
 
Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world&#39;s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, increased 3.02 per cent to 982.72 tonnes on Tuesday, the highest since June 2013. 
 
SPDR gold holdings have jumped more than 50 per cent this year so far, heading for biggest annual rise since 2006. 
 
Spot silver&#39;s rally hit a bump on Tuesday as the metal fell 2 per cent, its biggest one-day loss in about three weeks. It was up 1.7 per cent at $20.26. 
 
Among other precious metals, platinum, which was trading at two-month highs, edged 0.2 per cent lower to $1,070.24 an ounce. 
 
Palladium was up 0.3 per cent at $599.47. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

Asian shares also tumbled as fears over instability in the EU returned with a vengeance, sending the pound to three-decade low

Gold rose as much as 1 per cent today, hitting the highest in more than two years, as investors piled back into safe havens such as bullion amid renewed market jitters over Britain's decision to leave the European Union (EU). Asian shares also tumbled as fears over instability in the EU returned with a vengeance, sending the pound to three-decade low and hammering risky assets. Spot gold touched its highest since March 2014 at $1,371.40, and was trading up 0.9 per cent at $1,367.20 an ounce by 0401 GMT. It surpassed the $1,358.20 mark hit on June 24 in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote. US gold was up 0.8 per cent at $1,369.40. "No one is able to understand how much risk is yet to be unravelled (from Brexit). That is an uncertainty that no one likes. This is what is driving gold prices higher," said Helen Lau, an analyst at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong. Yellow metal is on track to log its biggest yearly gain since 2010 The Bank of England took steps on Tuesday to ensure British banks keep lending as the financial consequences of the decision to leave the EU began to materialise. The yellow metal, often favoured as a hedge against economic and financial uncertainty, has risen about 29 per cent this year and is on track to log its biggest yearly gain since 2010. Further boosting gold, were comments from New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley, who said that the central bank can be patient on raising interest rates due to low inflation and uncertainties over US economic prospects. New orders for US factory goods fell in May on weak demand for transportation and defence capital goods, but growing order backlogs and lean inventories suggested the worst of the manufacturing downturn was probably over. Investors will be watching out for signs on the US Federal Reserve's thinking on rates from minutes of its June 14-15 meeting due later in the day. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, increased 3.02 per cent to 982.72 tonnes on Tuesday, the highest since June 2013. SPDR gold holdings have jumped more than 50 per cent this year so far, heading for biggest annual rise since 2006. Spot silver's rally hit a bump on Tuesday as the metal fell 2 per cent, its biggest one-day loss in about three weeks. It was up 1.7 per cent at $20.26. Among other precious metals, platinum, which was trading at two-month highs, edged 0.2 per cent lower to $1,070.24 an ounce. Palladium was up 0.3 per cent at $599.47. (Reuters)

Gold at highest in over two years over renewed Brexit concerns

France and Britain were vying for fifth place on the list of the world&#39;s biggest economies on Wednesday, with France nudging ahead after a renewed slump in the Pound in the wake of the Brexit vote, Reuters calculations showed. 
 
Britain&#39;s gross domestic product stood at 1.864 trillion Pounds in 2015, according to the last available figures from the International Monetary Fund. 
 
The average exchange rate for the year in question is commonly used for comparisons between countries. But using the current exchange rate, France has pulled slightly ahead. 
 
With the Pound falling below 1.17 Euros overnight for the first time since 2013, that means the size of the British economy in 2015 is now equivalent to 2.172 trillion Euros - less than France&#39;s official GDP of 2.182 trillion Euros last year. 
 
Britain&#39;s vote in a referendum on June 23 to quit the EU has hammered financial markets, rattled businesses and punished the pound, which was trading at 1.1650 Euros as of 1440 GMT. 
 
But volatile exchange rates meant the figures were hard to pin down. Britain briefly regained fifth spot after the pound broke above 1.17 Euros for a few hours on Wednesday, only to sag again in mid-afternoon trade. 
 
Britain and France, which have similar populations, have swapped positions before in the rankings. 
 
In 2014 Britain overtook France, six years after the financial crisis caused the pound to fall and allowed France to regain a crown it had lost in 1997. 
 
(Reuters)

The size of the British economy in 2015 is now 2.172 trillion Euros - less than France's official GDP of 2.182 trillion Euros last year

France and Britain were vying for fifth place on the list of the world's biggest economies on Wednesday, with France nudging ahead after a renewed slump in the Pound in the wake of the Brexit vote, Reuters calculations showed. Britain's gross domestic product stood at 1.864 trillion Pounds in 2015, according to the last available figures from the International Monetary Fund. The average exchange rate for the year in question is commonly used for comparisons between countries. But using the current exchange rate, France has pulled slightly ahead. With the Pound falling below 1.17 Euros overnight for the first time since 2013, that means the size of the British economy in 2015 is now equivalent to 2.172 trillion Euros - less than France's official GDP of 2.182 trillion Euros last year. Britain's vote in a referendum on June 23 to quit the EU has hammered financial markets, rattled businesses and punished the pound, which was trading at 1.1650 Euros as of 1440 GMT. But volatile exchange rates meant the figures were hard to pin down. Britain briefly regained fifth spot after the pound broke above 1.17 Euros for a few hours on Wednesday, only to sag again in mid-afternoon trade. Britain and France, which have similar populations, have swapped positions before in the rankings. In 2014 Britain overtook France, six years after the financial crisis caused the pound to fall and allowed France to regain a crown it had lost in 1997. (Reuters)

After Pound drops, France overtakes Britain as world's fifth-largest economy

The pound tumbled to a new 31-year low on Wednesday, dipping below $1.28 at one point before recovering a little, as investors shunned the currency after Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union. 
 
The pound, one of the main vehicles through which financial markets can express concern over the Brexit vote, fell as low as $1.2798 in Asian trading, its lowest since June 1985, before recovering to about $1.2965. That still left it 13 per cent below its levels before the June 23 referendum, and about 0.4 per cent down on the day. 
 
Against the Euro, Sterling hit a three-year trough, trading as weakly as at 86.29 pence per Euro before climbing back to about 85.25 pence, also down 0.3 per cent on the day. 
 
Worries have grown in the past two days about financial stress, highlighted by the Bank of England on Tuesday and by the suspension of trading by three of Britain&#39;s biggest property funds, following an increased number of investor redemption since the referendum. 
 
&quot;The pound is still very volatile after the Brexit vote, and still vulnerable to the downside,&quot; said Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ currency economist Lee Hardman. 
 
&quot;Yesterday the main trigger was the reports of signs of distress in the commercial real estate market, which the Bank of England highlighted as one of the financial stability risks in the UK. That created a fairly large sell-off...and Sterling is just recovering some of those falls.&quot; 
 
The latest of the property funds to announce a suspension in customer withdrawals was M&amp;G, the fund management arm of insurer Prudential, which made the announcement after the London market close on Tuesday. 
 
&quot;Clearly Asia came in and didn&#39;t like what it saw in the news flow,&quot; said UBS Wealth Management currency strategist Geoffrey Yu, adding that many international investors also have large exposures to the UK property market. 
 
The Bank of England also expressed concern on Tuesday about a fall in investor demand for British assets, which could make it harder to finance Britain&#39;s large current account deficit, piling further pressure on the pound. 
 
Rate cuts 
 
Next week the BoE will make a decision on interest rates, which are already at record lows. Investors are pricing in a 25 basis point rate cut in August, which is also helping to drive down the pound, but some reckon a cut could come next week. 
 
A Reuters poll of more than 60 foreign exchange strategists forecast the pound at $1.27 by year end from Monday&#39;s close of around $1.30. 
 
&quot;The market is still likely under-pricing BoE easing, with our economists forecasting a 25 basis point rate cut next week followed by a 25 basis point cut at the August meeting,&quot; wrote BNP Paribas strategists in a research note, adding that they also expected an asset-purchase programme to be announced at the November meeting. 
 
Yields on British 10, 20 and 30-year government bonds sank to fresh record lows, extending their slide since the day after the shock referendum result. 
 
The yield on 10-year gilts fell as low as 0.731 per cent, almost half its level on June 23, when Britons were voting in the referendum which many investors had expected to keep Britain in the EU. 
 
(Reuters)

The Pound fell as low as $1.2798 in Asian trading on Wednesday, its lowest since June 1985

The pound tumbled to a new 31-year low on Wednesday, dipping below $1.28 at one point before recovering a little, as investors shunned the currency after Britain's vote to leave the European Union. The pound, one of the main vehicles through which financial markets can express concern over the Brexit vote, fell as low as $1.2798 in Asian trading, its lowest since June 1985, before recovering to about $1.2965. That still left it 13 per cent below its levels before the June 23 referendum, and about 0.4 per cent down on the day. Against the Euro, Sterling hit a three-year trough, trading as weakly as at 86.29 pence per Euro before climbing back to about 85.25 pence, also down 0.3 per cent on the day. Worries have grown in the past two days about financial stress, highlighted by the Bank of England on Tuesday and by the suspension of trading by three of Britain's biggest property funds, following an increased number of investor redemption since the referendum. "The pound is still very volatile after the Brexit vote, and still vulnerable to the downside," said Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ currency economist Lee Hardman. "Yesterday the main trigger was the reports of signs of distress in the commercial real estate market, which the Bank of England highlighted as one of the financial stability risks in the UK. That created a fairly large sell-off...and Sterling is just recovering some of those falls." The latest of the property funds to announce a suspension in customer withdrawals was M&G, the fund management arm of insurer Prudential, which made the announcement after the London market close on Tuesday. "Clearly Asia came in and didn't like what it saw in the news flow," said UBS Wealth Management currency strategist Geoffrey Yu, adding that many international investors also have large exposures to the UK property market. The Bank of England also expressed concern on Tuesday about a fall in investor demand for British assets, which could make it harder to finance Britain's large current account deficit, piling further pressure on the pound. Rate cuts Next week the BoE will make a decision on interest rates, which are already at record lows. Investors are pricing in a 25 basis point rate cut in August, which is also helping to drive down the pound, but some reckon a cut could come next week. A Reuters poll of more than 60 foreign exchange strategists forecast the pound at $1.27 by year end from Monday's close of around $1.30. "The market is still likely under-pricing BoE easing, with our economists forecasting a 25 basis point rate cut next week followed by a 25 basis point cut at the August meeting," wrote BNP Paribas strategists in a research note, adding that they also expected an asset-purchase programme to be announced at the November meeting. Yields on British 10, 20 and 30-year government bonds sank to fresh record lows, extending their slide since the day after the shock referendum result. The yield on 10-year gilts fell as low as 0.731 per cent, almost half its level on June 23, when Britons were voting in the referendum which many investors had expected to keep Britain in the EU. (Reuters)

Pound falls to 31-year low as investors shun currency

NATO leaders will this week formally endorse its biggest military revamp since the end of the Cold War at a landmark summit in Warsaw, in the shadow of a resurgent Russia and Britain&#39;s shock EU exit vote. 
 
The centrepiece of the summit in the former heart of the Soviet-led Warsaw pact is a &quot;Readiness Action Plan&quot; to counter a more aggressive Russia after Moscow&#39;s shock 2014 annexation of Crimea and intervention in Ukraine. 
 
But also important is an EU-NATO cooperation accord, laying out how the alliance -- which includes 22 of the 28 EU member states -- can work with the EU in face of failing states across the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. 
 
Security is heavy, especially around the National Stadium venue, as Poland prepares to welcome world leaders, including US President Barack Obama for his last NATO summit.&nbsp; 
 
Jens Stoltenberg, the Norwegian secretary general of NATO, said this week that the summit &quot;comes at a defining time for our security with threats and challenges from many directions&quot;. 
 
But while Russia is still the main theme, just as at the last NATO summit in Wales in 2014, it is the vote for a so-called &quot;Brexit&quot; that will be on everyone&#39;s lips. NATO insists Brexit makes no difference, but it clearly adds to uncertainty amid fears Russia may exploit any opening as Britain negotiates its way out of the EU in difficult and complex talks. 
 
The Ukraine crisis proved a rude wake-up call for NATO and the summit is meant to convey a clear message to Moscow that it will not be caught napping again. 
 
The Readiness Action Plan, agreed at the 2014 Wales summit, included a pledge to spend two per cent of annual economic output on defence, ending years of cuts. 
 
To reassure nervous east European allies, once ruled from Moscow, NATO also tripled the size of its fast Response Force to some 40,000 troops and created a 5,000-strong &quot;Spearhead&quot; unit to deploy within days to any new crisis point. 
 
Poland, the summit host, and the three Baltic states have however pushed hard for more, to get a NATO tripwire presence on the ground to deter any Russian adventurism. 
&nbsp; 
Leaders will accordingly approve sending one multinational battalion each to Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, up to 4,000 troops in all. Russia bitterly opposes NATO&#39;s expansion into its Soviet-era satellites, which it sees as a threat to its own security requiring an appropriate response. 
 
&quot;We don&#39;t intend to give in to this militaristic frenzy, but it seems that is what they are pushing us to, to provoke a costly and pointless arms race,&quot; Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month. 
 
Moscow reserves it direst warnings however for a Ballistic Missile Defence system the United States is building and which the summit is due to declare has reached an initial operating level. 
 
Washington says the shield is designed to counter missile threats from Iran or the Middle East, but Russia says that once the system becomes fully operational in 2018, it will undercut its strategic nuclear deterrent. 
 
The NATO upgrade has largely been driven by the Ukraine crisis, but leaders are increasingly worried by threats to the south in the shape of massive flows of illegal migrants across the Mediterranean and terror groups such as Islamic State gaining ground in Libya. 
 
NATO leaders are expected to endorse plans to &quot;project stability&quot; by providing advice and assistance in the region to head off future problems. 
 
NATO diplomatic sources say that while the alliance has a role to play, it does not consider itself to be the &quot;first responder&quot; which should be the EU&#39;s role. 
 
(AFP)

The 'Readiness Action Plan' to counter a more aggressive, Crimea-annexing Russia will be the Warsaw summit's main theme

NATO leaders will this week formally endorse its biggest military revamp since the end of the Cold War at a landmark summit in Warsaw, in the shadow of a resurgent Russia and Britain's shock EU exit vote. The centrepiece of the summit in the former heart of the Soviet-led Warsaw pact is a "Readiness Action Plan" to counter a more aggressive Russia after Moscow's shock 2014 annexation of Crimea and intervention in Ukraine. But also important is an EU-NATO cooperation accord, laying out how the alliance -- which includes 22 of the 28 EU member states -- can work with the EU in face of failing states across the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. Security is heavy, especially around the National Stadium venue, as Poland prepares to welcome world leaders, including US President Barack Obama for his last NATO summit. Jens Stoltenberg, the Norwegian secretary general of NATO, said this week that the summit "comes at a defining time for our security with threats and challenges from many directions". But while Russia is still the main theme, just as at the last NATO summit in Wales in 2014, it is the vote for a so-called "Brexit" that will be on everyone's lips. NATO insists Brexit makes no difference, but it clearly adds to uncertainty amid fears Russia may exploit any opening as Britain negotiates its way out of the EU in difficult and complex talks. The Ukraine crisis proved a rude wake-up call for NATO and the summit is meant to convey a clear message to Moscow that it will not be caught napping again. The Readiness Action Plan, agreed at the 2014 Wales summit, included a pledge to spend two per cent of annual economic output on defence, ending years of cuts. To reassure nervous east European allies, once ruled from Moscow, NATO also tripled the size of its fast Response Force to some 40,000 troops and created a 5,000-strong "Spearhead" unit to deploy within days to any new crisis point. Poland, the summit host, and the three Baltic states have however pushed hard for more, to get a NATO tripwire presence on the ground to deter any Russian adventurism. Leaders will accordingly approve sending one multinational battalion each to Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, up to 4,000 troops in all. Russia bitterly opposes NATO's expansion into its Soviet-era satellites, which it sees as a threat to its own security requiring an appropriate response. "We don't intend to give in to this militaristic frenzy, but it seems that is what they are pushing us to, to provoke a costly and pointless arms race," Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month. Moscow reserves it direst warnings however for a Ballistic Missile Defence system the United States is building and which the summit is due to declare has reached an initial operating level. Washington says the shield is designed to counter missile threats from Iran or the Middle East, but Russia says that once the system becomes fully operational in 2018, it will undercut its strategic nuclear deterrent. The NATO upgrade has largely been driven by the Ukraine crisis, but leaders are increasingly worried by threats to the south in the shape of massive flows of illegal migrants across the Mediterranean and terror groups such as Islamic State gaining ground in Libya. NATO leaders are expected to endorse plans to "project stability" by providing advice and assistance in the region to head off future problems. NATO diplomatic sources say that while the alliance has a role to play, it does not consider itself to be the "first responder" which should be the EU's role. (AFP)

NATO faces up to Russia in Brexit's shadow

British Conservative lawmaker Stephen Crabb pulled out of the race to be the next prime minister on Tuesday and endorsed front-runner Theresa May as the list of candidates was reduced to three.

Crabb, 43, withdrew after he came fourth out of five in the first round of voting, securing support from just 34 out of 330 Conservative lawmakers.

Interior minister Theresa May secured 165 votes, ahead of Andrea Leadsom and Michael Gove. Liam Fox, who finished last, was eliminated from the contest earlier in the evening.

&quot;I&#39;ll be lending my wholehearted support to Theresa May,&quot; Crabb said, describing her as the only candidate who could unite the party and lead a strong and cohesive government. 
 
(Reuters)

He secured support from 34 out of 330 Conservative lawmakers. The list for UK prime ministerial candidates has now been reduced to three

British Conservative lawmaker Stephen Crabb pulled out of the race to be the next prime minister on Tuesday and endorsed front-runner Theresa May as the list of candidates was reduced to three. Crabb, 43, withdrew after he came fourth out of five in the first round of voting, securing support from just 34 out of 330 Conservative lawmakers. Interior minister Theresa May secured 165 votes, ahead of Andrea Leadsom and Michael Gove. Liam Fox, who finished last, was eliminated from the contest earlier in the evening. "I'll be lending my wholehearted support to Theresa May," Crabb said, describing her as the only candidate who could unite the party and lead a strong and cohesive government. (Reuters)

UK PM candidate Stephen Crabb withdraws from race, endorses May

Interior minister Theresa May opened up a strong lead on Tuesday in what is now a three-horse race to become Britain&#39;s next Prime Minister, but the first stage of voting was overshadowed by post-Brexit carnage for property investors and the Pound. 
 
In symptoms of market concern about the economic impact of leaving the European Union, sterling hit new 31-year lows and three funds investing in British property said they were suspending trading because too many people were rushing to withdraw their money at once. 
 
May won 165 votes in a first ballot of Conservative members of parliament and Andrea Leadsom, a junior energy minister, won 66, increasing the likelihood that Britain will get only its second woman Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher. Justice secretary Michael Gove was third on 48. 
 
Former defence minister Liam Fox won the fewest votes, 16, and was eliminated from the battle to replace David Cameron, who has said he will step down after Britons voted in a June 23 referendum to break away from the EU. 
 
Soon afterwards, work and pensions minister Stephen Crabb, who placed fourth with 34 votes, said he was pulling out and throwing his &quot;wholehearted support&quot; behind May. Fox said he would also back her.&nbsp; 
 
May, 59, said: &quot;There is a big job before us: to unite our party and the country, to negotiate the best possible deal as we leave the EU, and to make Britain work for everyone.&nbsp;I am the only candidate capable of delivering these three things as Prime Minister, and tonight it is clear that I am also the only one capable of drawing support from the whole of the Conservative Party.&quot; 
 
&#39;No coronation&#39; 
 
The drawn-out selection process will ultimately be decided by about 150,000 Conservative Party members in September, once MPs have whittled the field down to two candidates. 
 
Given strong eurosceptic sentiment among grassroots Conservatives, Leadsom, 53, and Gove, 48, remain in contention. Both were leading voices in the victorious Leave campaign, while May favoured remaining inside the 28-nation EU. 
 
Leadsom backer Stewart Jackson told Sky News: &quot;This shows she&#39;s ready to go all the way, there isn&#39;t going to be a coronation&quot; of May. 
 
In the meantime, signs are multiplying that concern about the impact of Brexit on trade, investment and business confidence is starting to hit the economy. 
 
The 4.4-billion-Pound ($5.7 billion) Property Portfolio run by M&amp;G Investments, the fund arm of insurer Prudential, was the latest to suspend business on Tuesday afternoon. Insurer Aviva&#39;s fund arm had earlier stopped trading in its 1.8-billion-Pound UK Property Trust, while Standard Life Investments suspended a 2.9-billion-Pound fund late on Monday. 
 
Shares plunged in other property-related funds, and asset managers and insurers were also hit. 
 
The Pound, which has borne the brunt of market concern about potential damage to the economy, plumbed new 31-year lows and is now down more than 12 per cent since the referendum.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;There is evidence that some risks have begun to crystallise. The current outlook for UK financial stability is challenging,&quot; the Bank of England said, announcing measures to encourage banks to keep lending. 
 
In a possible blow to London&#39;s financial centre, Germany&#39;s Deutsche Boerse signalled on Tuesday that the headquarters of a European giant to be created from its merger with the London Stock Exchange Group may now have to be outside the United Kingdom. 
 
Voters were bombarded in the run-up to the referendum with warnings from Cameron and a host of financial institutions and think tanks that Brexit would plunge Britain into a self-inflicted recession by jeopardising its access to the EU&#39;s tariff-free single market. 
 
The Leave campaign derided such arguments as &#39;Project Fear&#39;, arguing Britain would prosper by regaining &#39;independence&#39; from Brussels and freeing itself to set its own laws, clinch its own trade deals and set a cap on immigration - something it cannot do under EU rules allowing free movement throughout the bloc. 
 
&#39;Bloody difficult woman&#39; 
 
Whoever wins the Conservative leadership and the keys to 10 Downing Street will have to stabilise the economy and unify a party that was deeply split by the referendum campaign. 
 
The victor will also need to decide when to initiate divorce proceedings with the EU, and how to extricate Britain from 43 years of membership while trying to negotiate favourable terms of trade. 
 
The most seasoned candidates in the field are May and Gove, who stunned colleagues and commentators alike when he abruptly withdrew his support for former London mayor Boris Johnson last week, effectively forcing him from the race. Leadsom entered parliament only six years ago after a long career in financial services, and has never served in the cabinet. 
 
Gove and Leadsom have both argued forcefully that the next prime minister should come from the winning side in the referendum, which would disqualify May. 
 
&quot;I&#39;ve managed to bring people together across the Conservative Party behind a hopeful and optimistic message of change, and I hope that I&#39;ll be able to take that message to the country,&quot; Gove said. 
 
In unguarded comments earlier on Tuesday, caught on camera and broadcast by Sky News, former Conservative minister Ken Clarke made disparaging remarks about all three contenders, saying that with Gove as Prime Minister &quot;we would go to war with at least three countries at once&quot;. 
 
He described May as &quot;a bloody difficult woman&quot;, but no more difficult than Thatcher, in whose cabinet he served. He added that she was &quot;good&quot;, but lacking in foreign policy experience. 
 
Of Leadsom, Clarke said: &quot;She does have experience in the city...She is not one of the tiny band of lunatics who think we can have a sort of glorious economic future outside the (EU) single market. So long as she understands that she&#39;s not to deliver on some of the extremely stupid things she&#39;s been saying.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)

The victor will need to decide when to pull out of the EU, and how to favourably extricate Britain after 43 years of membership

Interior minister Theresa May opened up a strong lead on Tuesday in what is now a three-horse race to become Britain's next Prime Minister, but the first stage of voting was overshadowed by post-Brexit carnage for property investors and the Pound. In symptoms of market concern about the economic impact of leaving the European Union, sterling hit new 31-year lows and three funds investing in British property said they were suspending trading because too many people were rushing to withdraw their money at once. May won 165 votes in a first ballot of Conservative members of parliament and Andrea Leadsom, a junior energy minister, won 66, increasing the likelihood that Britain will get only its second woman Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher. Justice secretary Michael Gove was third on 48. Former defence minister Liam Fox won the fewest votes, 16, and was eliminated from the battle to replace David Cameron, who has said he will step down after Britons voted in a June 23 referendum to break away from the EU. Soon afterwards, work and pensions minister Stephen Crabb, who placed fourth with 34 votes, said he was pulling out and throwing his "wholehearted support" behind May. Fox said he would also back her. May, 59, said: "There is a big job before us: to unite our party and the country, to negotiate the best possible deal as we leave the EU, and to make Britain work for everyone. I am the only candidate capable of delivering these three things as Prime Minister, and tonight it is clear that I am also the only one capable of drawing support from the whole of the Conservative Party." 'No coronation' The drawn-out selection process will ultimately be decided by about 150,000 Conservative Party members in September, once MPs have whittled the field down to two candidates. Given strong eurosceptic sentiment among grassroots Conservatives, Leadsom, 53, and Gove, 48, remain in contention. Both were leading voices in the victorious Leave campaign, while May favoured remaining inside the 28-nation EU. Leadsom backer Stewart Jackson told Sky News: "This shows she's ready to go all the way, there isn't going to be a coronation" of May. In the meantime, signs are multiplying that concern about the impact of Brexit on trade, investment and business confidence is starting to hit the economy. The 4.4-billion-Pound ($5.7 billion) Property Portfolio run by M&G Investments, the fund arm of insurer Prudential, was the latest to suspend business on Tuesday afternoon. Insurer Aviva's fund arm had earlier stopped trading in its 1.8-billion-Pound UK Property Trust, while Standard Life Investments suspended a 2.9-billion-Pound fund late on Monday. Shares plunged in other property-related funds, and asset managers and insurers were also hit. The Pound, which has borne the brunt of market concern about potential damage to the economy, plumbed new 31-year lows and is now down more than 12 per cent since the referendum. "There is evidence that some risks have begun to crystallise. The current outlook for UK financial stability is challenging," the Bank of England said, announcing measures to encourage banks to keep lending. In a possible blow to London's financial centre, Germany's Deutsche Boerse signalled on Tuesday that the headquarters of a European giant to be created from its merger with the London Stock Exchange Group may now have to be outside the United Kingdom. Voters were bombarded in the run-up to the referendum with warnings from Cameron and a host of financial institutions and think tanks that Brexit would plunge Britain into a self-inflicted recession by jeopardising its access to the EU's tariff-free single market. The Leave campaign derided such arguments as 'Project Fear', arguing Britain would prosper by regaining 'independence' from Brussels and freeing itself to set its own laws, clinch its own trade deals and set a cap on immigration - something it cannot do under EU rules allowing free movement throughout the bloc. 'Bloody difficult woman' Whoever wins the Conservative leadership and the keys to 10 Downing Street will have to stabilise the economy and unify a party that was deeply split by the referendum campaign. The victor will also need to decide when to initiate divorce proceedings with the EU, and how to extricate Britain from 43 years of membership while trying to negotiate favourable terms of trade. The most seasoned candidates in the field are May and Gove, who stunned colleagues and commentators alike when he abruptly withdrew his support for former London mayor Boris Johnson last week, effectively forcing him from the race. Leadsom entered parliament only six years ago after a long career in financial services, and has never served in the cabinet. Gove and Leadsom have both argued forcefully that the next prime minister should come from the winning side in the referendum, which would disqualify May. "I've managed to bring people together across the Conservative Party behind a hopeful and optimistic message of change, and I hope that I'll be able to take that message to the country," Gove said. In unguarded comments earlier on Tuesday, caught on camera and broadcast by Sky News, former Conservative minister Ken Clarke made disparaging remarks about all three contenders, saying that with Gove as Prime Minister "we would go to war with at least three countries at once". He described May as "a bloody difficult woman", but no more difficult than Thatcher, in whose cabinet he served. He added that she was "good", but lacking in foreign policy experience. Of Leadsom, Clarke said: "She does have experience in the city...She is not one of the tiny band of lunatics who think we can have a sort of glorious economic future outside the (EU) single market. So long as she understands that she's not to deliver on some of the extremely stupid things she's been saying." (Reuters)

May leads three-horse PM race as Brexit hits Pound and property

The European Union&#39;s authority is fraying as governments and politicians in many members challenge EU policies and take aim at &#39;Brussels bureaucracy&#39; in the aftermath of Britain&#39;s vote to leave the 28-nation bloc. 
 
The Czech President and some contenders for the French presidency have called for their own referendums on continued membership of the pan-European economic and political community, although no such plebiscite is on the cards in the near future. 
 
Verbal assaults on the role of the European commission and the European parliament since the British shock almost two weeks back look more like an attempt to appease domestic public opinion than a concerted drive to strip Brussels of its main powers. 
 
But they could further undermine the legitimacy of the EU&#39;s common institutions in the eyes of citizens. 
 
France, facing a presidential election next year, has threatened to stop obeying EU rules on workers posted from one member state to another, which it says undercuts the jobs of native employees. President Francois Hollande has also demanded a rewriting of EU merger control rules and restrictions on state aid to industry to enable the creation of &quot;European champions&quot;. 
 
Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Sunday an EU regulation allowing employers to pay seconded workers less than their local counterparts must be changed soon or Paris would stop applying it. 
 
Employers are not now obliged to pay posted workers more than the minimum wage of the host country, often well below the average wage in the sector, and they pay social contributions in their home country welfare systems which are usually far lower than those in western Europe. Central and east European governments oppose moves to reduce the gap. 
 
&quot;There must be equal treatment upwards to fight social dumping,&quot; Valls said. 
 
Spooked by a surge of support for anti-EU nationalist Marine Le Pen, conservative candidate Alain Juppe called on Monday for a new balance of power between Brussels and member states and a halt to further EU enlargement, ending Turkey&#39;s membership bid. He called last week for a referendum on a &quot;new Europe&quot;. 
 
Italy is demanding a loosening of recently adopted EU regulations that make shareholders, bondholders and depositors liable for the losses of failed banks before taxpayers. 
 
&#39;A technocracy with no soul&#39; 
 
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who has fought to bend EU budget deficit rules and now seeks to pump billions of euros into his country&#39;s ailing banks if needed to shore them up, said on Monday the EU was run by &quot;a technocracy with no soul&quot;. 
 
He also opposed sanctions against fellow southern members Spain and Portugal for violating the EU&#39;s deficit limits last year, a step the commission is due to consider on Tuesday in a German-backed drive to uphold the much-abused budget rules. 
 
Italy&#39;s banks are saddled with 360 billion euros ($401.18 billion) in bad loans and their share prices plunged after last month&#39;s Brexit vote. Rome is in talks with the EU commission to devise a plan to recapitalise its lenders with public money limiting losses for bank investors. 
 
Dutch and German ministers have attacked a Commission decision that the European Parliament can approve a trade pact with Canada without referring it to national parliaments. The Dutch parliament was assured it would have a chance to weigh in on the treaty. 
 
But perhaps most worryingly for the EU, senior ministers in Germany, the bloc&#39;s reluctant hegemon, are advocating shrinking the executive commission, trimming its powers, and bypassing common European institutions to take more decisions by inter-governmental agreement. 
 
A call from veteran German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, long an advocate of closer integration, to shift more policy decision-making to governments for expediency&#39;s sake was among the most striking indicators of the mood around Europe. 
 
&quot;If the commission doesn&#39;t get involved, then we should take the matter into our own hands and solve problems between governments,&quot; Schaeuble told Welt am Sonntag newspaper, saying now was a time for pragmatism. 
 
&quot;This inter-governmental approach proved successful during the euro zone crisis,&quot; he added. 
 
Berlin insisted on setting up the euro zone&#39;s rescue fund as an intergovernmental body outside the control of the EU&#39;s common institutions, giving itself a veto on each stage of bail-outs for distressed states and the decisive say on fiscal policy conditions. 
 
Many experts say further moves towards intergovernmentalism would accentuate German dominance and increase resentment among other EU members. 
 
Among some former communist countries that joined the bloc in 2004, there is resentment at perceived meddling by Brussels, notably on issues concerning the rule of law and media freedom, as well as environmental regulation. 
 
The Polish and Czech foreign ministers called last week for European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker to resign as a scapegoat for the June 23 British vote. 
 
The Visegrad Group of four central European countries, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, demanded that the powers of the EU executive be reined in and more competences be returned to capitals. 
 
&quot;We need to change the overall functioning of the EU and I think it is needed to change the functioning of the European commission,&quot; said Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka. 
 
(Reuters)

Inter-governmentalism would accentuate German dominance and increase resentment among other EU members

The European Union's authority is fraying as governments and politicians in many members challenge EU policies and take aim at 'Brussels bureaucracy' in the aftermath of Britain's vote to leave the 28-nation bloc. The Czech President and some contenders for the French presidency have called for their own referendums on continued membership of the pan-European economic and political community, although no such plebiscite is on the cards in the near future. Verbal assaults on the role of the European commission and the European parliament since the British shock almost two weeks back look more like an attempt to appease domestic public opinion than a concerted drive to strip Brussels of its main powers. But they could further undermine the legitimacy of the EU's common institutions in the eyes of citizens. France, facing a presidential election next year, has threatened to stop obeying EU rules on workers posted from one member state to another, which it says undercuts the jobs of native employees. President Francois Hollande has also demanded a rewriting of EU merger control rules and restrictions on state aid to industry to enable the creation of "European champions". Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Sunday an EU regulation allowing employers to pay seconded workers less than their local counterparts must be changed soon or Paris would stop applying it. Employers are not now obliged to pay posted workers more than the minimum wage of the host country, often well below the average wage in the sector, and they pay social contributions in their home country welfare systems which are usually far lower than those in western Europe. Central and east European governments oppose moves to reduce the gap. "There must be equal treatment upwards to fight social dumping," Valls said. Spooked by a surge of support for anti-EU nationalist Marine Le Pen, conservative candidate Alain Juppe called on Monday for a new balance of power between Brussels and member states and a halt to further EU enlargement, ending Turkey's membership bid. He called last week for a referendum on a "new Europe". Italy is demanding a loosening of recently adopted EU regulations that make shareholders, bondholders and depositors liable for the losses of failed banks before taxpayers. 'A technocracy with no soul' Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who has fought to bend EU budget deficit rules and now seeks to pump billions of euros into his country's ailing banks if needed to shore them up, said on Monday the EU was run by "a technocracy with no soul". He also opposed sanctions against fellow southern members Spain and Portugal for violating the EU's deficit limits last year, a step the commission is due to consider on Tuesday in a German-backed drive to uphold the much-abused budget rules. Italy's banks are saddled with 360 billion euros ($401.18 billion) in bad loans and their share prices plunged after last month's Brexit vote. Rome is in talks with the EU commission to devise a plan to recapitalise its lenders with public money limiting losses for bank investors. Dutch and German ministers have attacked a Commission decision that the European Parliament can approve a trade pact with Canada without referring it to national parliaments. The Dutch parliament was assured it would have a chance to weigh in on the treaty. But perhaps most worryingly for the EU, senior ministers in Germany, the bloc's reluctant hegemon, are advocating shrinking the executive commission, trimming its powers, and bypassing common European institutions to take more decisions by inter-governmental agreement. A call from veteran German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, long an advocate of closer integration, to shift more policy decision-making to governments for expediency's sake was among the most striking indicators of the mood around Europe. "If the commission doesn't get involved, then we should take the matter into our own hands and solve problems between governments," Schaeuble told Welt am Sonntag newspaper, saying now was a time for pragmatism. "This inter-governmental approach proved successful during the euro zone crisis," he added. Berlin insisted on setting up the euro zone's rescue fund as an intergovernmental body outside the control of the EU's common institutions, giving itself a veto on each stage of bail-outs for distressed states and the decisive say on fiscal policy conditions. Many experts say further moves towards intergovernmentalism would accentuate German dominance and increase resentment among other EU members. Among some former communist countries that joined the bloc in 2004, there is resentment at perceived meddling by Brussels, notably on issues concerning the rule of law and media freedom, as well as environmental regulation. The Polish and Czech foreign ministers called last week for European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker to resign as a scapegoat for the June 23 British vote. The Visegrad Group of four central European countries, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, demanded that the powers of the EU executive be reined in and more competences be returned to capitals. "We need to change the overall functioning of the EU and I think it is needed to change the functioning of the European commission," said Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka. (Reuters)

EU authority fraying in reaction to Brexit vote

The European Union&#39;s top economic official on Tuesday criticised a British proposal to slash corporate tax to less than 15 per cent following the nation&#39;s vote to quit the bloc. 
 
Britain&#39;s finance minister George Osborne said at the weekend he would seek to reduce corporation tax to under 15 per cent over fears of a corporate exodus following the June 23 referendum to leave the EU.&nbsp; 
 
The bloc gave a frosty reception to the plan, however, saying it would raise the threat of a competitive series of corporate tax cuts as countries try to lure firms to their shores. 
 
&quot;Going to 15 per cent does not seem to me to be a good initiative,&quot; EU economic affairs commissioner Pierre Moscovici told French radio station Radio Classique. 
 
&quot;We should not enter into exacerbated fiscal competition between ourselves, or fiscal dumping,&quot; Moscovici said in the first public reaction by the EU to Osborne&#39;s proposal. 
 
The British chancellor of the exchequer revealed his plan in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday evening. The Treasury confirmed the comments to AFP. 
 
Prior to the Brexit vote, British tax rates on corporate profits were already set to be cut from 20 to 19 per cent next year and to 17 per cent in 2020.&nbsp; 
 
But the new target, which has no timetable, would give Britain the lowest rates of any major economy, and put it closer to the 12.5 per cent rate in EU member Ireland.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;We must focus on the horizon and the journey ahead and make the most of the hand we&#39;ve been dealt,&quot; Osborne told the Financial Times. 
 
But Moscovici said that Osborne&#39;s initiative &quot;also means an absolutely considerable loss for the British treasury in a situation in which deficits in Britain are already much too high&quot;. 
 
Those deficits would now &quot;attract more attention from markets and rating agencies&quot; because Britain would no longer be operating in the EU framework, he said. 
 
However, Moscovici also said there was no reason to be &quot;excessively worried&quot;, suggesting that Osborne may not be around to implement 
his tax cut plan. 
 
&quot;I will wait for the Conservative party to have a real leader, and it will not be (Osborne) who prepares Britain&#39;s next budget,&quot; Moscovici said. 
 
The commissioner also issued a warning to those calling for a referendum on EU membership in France. 
 
&quot;I also say to all those who may be tempted by a referendum in France that a referendum hurts, it burns, it divides and it does not yield solutions,&quot; Moscovici said. 
 
(AFP)

It could lead to a series of competitive tax cuts as countries try to lure firms to their shores, it said

The European Union's top economic official on Tuesday criticised a British proposal to slash corporate tax to less than 15 per cent following the nation's vote to quit the bloc. Britain's finance minister George Osborne said at the weekend he would seek to reduce corporation tax to under 15 per cent over fears of a corporate exodus following the June 23 referendum to leave the EU. The bloc gave a frosty reception to the plan, however, saying it would raise the threat of a competitive series of corporate tax cuts as countries try to lure firms to their shores. "Going to 15 per cent does not seem to me to be a good initiative," EU economic affairs commissioner Pierre Moscovici told French radio station Radio Classique. "We should not enter into exacerbated fiscal competition between ourselves, or fiscal dumping," Moscovici said in the first public reaction by the EU to Osborne's proposal. The British chancellor of the exchequer revealed his plan in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday evening. The Treasury confirmed the comments to AFP. Prior to the Brexit vote, British tax rates on corporate profits were already set to be cut from 20 to 19 per cent next year and to 17 per cent in 2020. But the new target, which has no timetable, would give Britain the lowest rates of any major economy, and put it closer to the 12.5 per cent rate in EU member Ireland. "We must focus on the horizon and the journey ahead and make the most of the hand we've been dealt," Osborne told the Financial Times. But Moscovici said that Osborne's initiative "also means an absolutely considerable loss for the British treasury in a situation in which deficits in Britain are already much too high". Those deficits would now "attract more attention from markets and rating agencies" because Britain would no longer be operating in the EU framework, he said. However, Moscovici also said there was no reason to be "excessively worried", suggesting that Osborne may not be around to implement his tax cut plan. "I will wait for the Conservative party to have a real leader, and it will not be (Osborne) who prepares Britain's next budget," Moscovici said. The commissioner also issued a warning to those calling for a referendum on EU membership in France. "I also say to all those who may be tempted by a referendum in France that a referendum hurts, it burns, it divides and it does not yield solutions," Moscovici said. (AFP)

EU does not approve of British proposal to slash corporate tax to under 15%

Former London mayor Boris Johnson, who shocked Britain last week when he decided not to stand to replace Prime Minister David Cameron, criticised the government on Monday for not having a positive plan to make a British exit from the EU work. 
 
Johnson, who led the campaign to take Britain out of the European Union, said &quot;hysteria&quot; had gripped those who had supported staying in the bloc, and the government needed to explain the truth about the impact of Brexit. 
 
&quot;There is, among a section of the population, a kind of hysteria, a contagious mourning of the kind that I remember in 1997 after the death of (Diana) the Princess of Wales,&quot; Johnson wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper. 
 
&quot;It was wrong of the government to offer the public a binary choice on the EU without being willing, in the event that people voted Leave, to explain how this can be made to work in the interests of the UK and Europe. We cannot wait until mid-September, and a new PM.&quot; 
 
The flamboyant and popular Johnson, one of the most prominent Brexit campaigners, had been expected to join the contest to be the new Conservative leader after Cameron announced he would quit following the referendum vote to leave the EU. 
 
However, he pulled out when his ally, justice secretary Michael Gove, decided to run for the job himself, calling Johnson&#39;s abilities into question, which Johnson&#39;s supporters described as an act of Machiavellian treachery. 
 
A new leader is expected to be in place by early September. 
 
Johnson said fears about the impact of leaving the EU had been wildly overdone, saying the stock market had not collapsed and the emergency budget with spending cuts and tax rises had not materialised as finance minister and Remain supporter George Osborne had warned. 
 
Conservative lawmaker Ben Wallace, who was running Johnson&#39;s campaign, said he thought Gove himself was unfit to be the leader himself, calling him a gossip. 
 
&quot;Michael seems to have an emotional need to gossip, particularly when drink is taken, as it all too often seemed to be,&quot; Wallace wrote in the Telegraph. 
 
(Reuters)

'There is, among a section of the population, a contagious mourning of the kind that I remember in 1997 after the death of Princess Diana'

Former London mayor Boris Johnson, who shocked Britain last week when he decided not to stand to replace Prime Minister David Cameron, criticised the government on Monday for not having a positive plan to make a British exit from the EU work. Johnson, who led the campaign to take Britain out of the European Union, said "hysteria" had gripped those who had supported staying in the bloc, and the government needed to explain the truth about the impact of Brexit. "There is, among a section of the population, a kind of hysteria, a contagious mourning of the kind that I remember in 1997 after the death of (Diana) the Princess of Wales," Johnson wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper. "It was wrong of the government to offer the public a binary choice on the EU without being willing, in the event that people voted Leave, to explain how this can be made to work in the interests of the UK and Europe. We cannot wait until mid-September, and a new PM." The flamboyant and popular Johnson, one of the most prominent Brexit campaigners, had been expected to join the contest to be the new Conservative leader after Cameron announced he would quit following the referendum vote to leave the EU. However, he pulled out when his ally, justice secretary Michael Gove, decided to run for the job himself, calling Johnson's abilities into question, which Johnson's supporters described as an act of Machiavellian treachery. A new leader is expected to be in place by early September. Johnson said fears about the impact of leaving the EU had been wildly overdone, saying the stock market had not collapsed and the emergency budget with spending cuts and tax rises had not materialised as finance minister and Remain supporter George Osborne had warned. Conservative lawmaker Ben Wallace, who was running Johnson's campaign, said he thought Gove himself was unfit to be the leader himself, calling him a gossip. "Michael seems to have an emotional need to gossip, particularly when drink is taken, as it all too often seemed to be," Wallace wrote in the Telegraph. (Reuters)

Ex-London mayor Boris Johnson says UK government needs to spell out Brexit benefits

The leader of Britain&#39;s anti-European Union UK Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage said on Monday he would stand down after having realised his ambition of winning last month&#39;s referendum in favour of Brexit. 
 
&quot;I have never been, and I have never wanted to be, a career politician. My aim in being in politics was to get Britain out of the European Union,&quot; he told reporters. 
 
&quot;So I feel it&#39;s right that I should now stand aside as leader of UKIP.&quot; 
 
&quot;During the referendum campaign, I said &#39;I want my country back&#39;. What I&#39;m saying today, is, &#39;I want my life back&#39;, and it begins right now.&quot; 
 
It is not the first time Farage has quit as leader of the party. He stood down in May 2015 after failing to win a parliamentary seat in last year&#39;s general election, only to withdraw his resignation three days later. 
 
He said he would continue to support the party, and continue to watch Brussels &quot;like a hawk&quot; during the negotiations around Britain&#39;s exit from the EU. 
 
He reiterated his view that Britain&#39;s new prime minister needed to be from the &quot;Leave&quot; campaign but declined to back a specific candidate out of Andrea Leadsom, Michael Gove or Liam Fox. Current frontrunner Theresa May backed &quot;Remain&quot;. 
 
Farage, 52, has been a member of UKIP since its 1993 birth and was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999. 
 
(Reuters)

A key campaigner of the 'Leave' camp, he will continue to keep a keen watch on the developments

The leader of Britain's anti-European Union UK Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage said on Monday he would stand down after having realised his ambition of winning last month's referendum in favour of Brexit. "I have never been, and I have never wanted to be, a career politician. My aim in being in politics was to get Britain out of the European Union," he told reporters. "So I feel it's right that I should now stand aside as leader of UKIP." "During the referendum campaign, I said 'I want my country back'. What I'm saying today, is, 'I want my life back', and it begins right now." It is not the first time Farage has quit as leader of the party. He stood down in May 2015 after failing to win a parliamentary seat in last year's general election, only to withdraw his resignation three days later. He said he would continue to support the party, and continue to watch Brussels "like a hawk" during the negotiations around Britain's exit from the EU. He reiterated his view that Britain's new prime minister needed to be from the "Leave" campaign but declined to back a specific candidate out of Andrea Leadsom, Michael Gove or Liam Fox. Current frontrunner Theresa May backed "Remain". Farage, 52, has been a member of UKIP since its 1993 birth and was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999. (Reuters)

UKIP leader Nigel Farage says he will step down after Brexit victory

Asian stocks pushed higher again on Monday, building on last week&#39;s rally as central banks around the world promised support to financial markets after Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union (EU) fuelled fears of another rout. 
 
The optimism that characterised last week continued as investors tracked another surge in New York and Europe, helped by upbeat US and Eurozone data. 
 
However, analysts warned there was still a plenty of headwinds as Britain and EU leaders must agree a breakaway deal, while the global economy remained fragile. 
 
Tokyo rose 0.4 per cent by the break, Hong Kong climbed 1.3 per cent, Shanghai added 0.8 per cent and Seoul 0.3 per cent. 
 
South Korea&#39;s promise of $17 billion in stimulus last week came as dealers speculate that Japan will bolster its own multi-billion-dollar programme, while the chances of the US raising interest rates this year have all but evaporated. 
 
On Thursday, Bank of England boss Mark Carney became the latest to provide assurances, indicating policymakers could embark on fresh monetary easing -- raising the possibility of a cut in rates. 
 
Richard Jerram, chief economist at Bank of Singapore, said, &quot;Overall the impact of Brexit on the global economy seems likely to be limited, with the pain concentrated on the UK and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the EU.&quot; 
 
But Nicholas Teo, a trading strategist at KGI Fraser Securities in Singapore, told Bloomberg News, &quot;While the potential for increased liquidity from central banks has helped calm stock markets, there&rsquo;s still a lot of uncertainty out there. 
 
&quot;The strengthening US dollar isn&rsquo;t good for emerging markets. With China still on a slowdown, US recovery tentative and the messy UK-EU divorce, volatility will remain heightened,&quot; he added.&nbsp; 
 
The Pound edged up against the dollar after taking a hammering from the referendum outcome. In early trade it bought $1.3307 against $1.3267 Friday in New York and is well up from the 31-year low $1.3121 touched at the start of last week. 
 
(AFP)

The optimism that characterised last week continued as investors tracked another surge helped by upbeat US and Eurozone data

Asian stocks pushed higher again on Monday, building on last week's rally as central banks around the world promised support to financial markets after Britain's vote to leave the European Union (EU) fuelled fears of another rout. The optimism that characterised last week continued as investors tracked another surge in New York and Europe, helped by upbeat US and Eurozone data. However, analysts warned there was still a plenty of headwinds as Britain and EU leaders must agree a breakaway deal, while the global economy remained fragile. Tokyo rose 0.4 per cent by the break, Hong Kong climbed 1.3 per cent, Shanghai added 0.8 per cent and Seoul 0.3 per cent. South Korea's promise of $17 billion in stimulus last week came as dealers speculate that Japan will bolster its own multi-billion-dollar programme, while the chances of the US raising interest rates this year have all but evaporated. On Thursday, Bank of England boss Mark Carney became the latest to provide assurances, indicating policymakers could embark on fresh monetary easing -- raising the possibility of a cut in rates. Richard Jerram, chief economist at Bank of Singapore, said, "Overall the impact of Brexit on the global economy seems likely to be limited, with the pain concentrated on the UK and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the EU." But Nicholas Teo, a trading strategist at KGI Fraser Securities in Singapore, told Bloomberg News, "While the potential for increased liquidity from central banks has helped calm stock markets, there’s still a lot of uncertainty out there. "The strengthening US dollar isn’t good for emerging markets. With China still on a slowdown, US recovery tentative and the messy UK-EU divorce, volatility will remain heightened," he added. The Pound edged up against the dollar after taking a hammering from the referendum outcome. In early trade it bought $1.3307 against $1.3267 Friday in New York and is well up from the 31-year low $1.3121 touched at the start of last week. (AFP)

Asian markets extend rally on central bank hopes

The aftershocks of Britain&#39;s decision to leave the European Union (EU) have hit the property sector over the past week, with a foreign bank freezing loans for buyers and some investors pulling out of commercial deals. 
 
Some foreigners, however, are already making the most of the drop in the Pound post-Brexit to snap up what they see as residential bargains. 
 
London property has long been a magnet for foreign investors, be it extravagant homes or iconic commercial real estate, and prices in the capital have sky-rocketed. 
 
Key to overseas investors will be whether the fall in the value of Sterling is attractive enough to offset the political vacuum, expected economic slowdown and questions over market access that have resulted from Britain&#39;s vote to leave the EU. 
 
Singapore&#39;s United Overseas Bank temporarily halted mortgage loans for London properties. Other Asian banks also flagged potential investment risks. 
 
For British investors, the uncertainty may be prohibitive, even though property is widely considered more profitable than other safe assets, given supply shortages. 
 
&quot;A number of deals I know have gone down or certainly been delayed,&quot; Paul Firth, head of real estate at law firm Irwin Mitchell LLP said. &quot;Everyone is taking a pause at the moment just to wait until a new normal is established.&quot; 
 
In one case, the purchase of a regional shopping centre by a US&nbsp;private equity fund worth more than 30 million Pounds ($40 million) was delayed after Brexit for at least a couple of months pending the market settling down. 
 
Another deal his firm was working on involved a French vendor of high-end luxury goods who put on hold its new flagship London store after Britain&#39;s decision to leave the EU, he said. 
 
He said a number of their &quot;significant investment deals&quot;, worth above 30 million Pounds each, had stalled. The deals involved mainly UK investors but also some foreigners. One deal the firm was working on worth more than 40 million Pounds had gone through since Brexit. 
 
Britain&#39;s June 23 vote to leave the EU has already caused the government to collapse and deeply divided the country. 
 
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Thursday the economy would probably need more stimulus over the summer given that the outlook had deteriorated. He also said commercial real estate transactions had halved since last year&#39;s peak and that activity in residential real estate had slowed sharply. 
 
British commercial real estate investment volumes reached 10.7 billion Pounds in the first three months of 2016, a 28 per cent fall versus the same period a year ago and its lowest quarter since the second quarter of 2013, according to June research from real estate services firm Cushman &amp; Wakefield. 
 
Investors&#39;&nbsp;gain, home-buyers&#39; pain 
 
There were also signs that the fallout from Brexit was benefiting professional investors such as private funds at the expense of homebuyers, who may struggle along with the economy. 
 
Before the referendum, officials said the economy could tip into recession and house prices could fall 10 to 18 per cent if Britain voted to leave the EU. Economists polled by Reuters before the vote said they expected house prices to be flat next year and then pick up again if Britain chose to leave. 
 
David Galman, sales director at Galliard Homes, said professional investors had already contacted him offering to buy any units end-users may seek to sell in the Skyline residential development it launched in June just outside London. 
 
Galliard Homes, London&#39;s second largest house-builder, had offered buyers get out clauses for the 89 off-plan units ranging from 200,000 to 250,000 Pounds in their development in Slough, west of London. The buyers had the option to withdraw their offers if they were unhappy with the outcome of the EU vote. 
 
Galman said just one client, &quot;an owner occupier&quot; had thus far invoked a Brexit clause but that flat had already been sold at the same price to a professional investor. 
 
&quot;I anticipate that we may get a small number of deals at Slough falling out of bed due to Brexit &ndash; all domestic end-users spooked by the Brexit drama,&quot; he said. 
 
Another development that offered Brexit opt out options was Two Fifty One, a 41-storey luxury apartment tower going up in south London&#39;s gentrifying Elephant and Castle district. 
 
At a May launch of some floors in the development, buyers were offered a &quot;money back Brexit guarantee pledge&quot;. 
 
&quot;A few purchasers have decided not to proceed given the uncertainty of the market,&quot; David Humbles, managing director of Oakmayne, the developer who runs the project said. &quot;However, the majority are continuing with their purchase.&quot; 
 
Tim Wright, director of residential development, at global commercial real estate firm JLL said including the Two Fifty One development, 2 out of around 20 developments in the portfolio that he runs in London had offered opt-out options for buyers on a limited number of units. 
 
&quot;We&#39;ve lost about 25 per cent of those types of deals,&quot; Wright said. &quot;But there are still a lot of people who bought on those terms who are continuing to purchase.&quot; 
 
London appeal 
 
Sterling&#39;s steep fall post-Brexit could offset some of the effects from tax increases introduced in April, which made buying properties especially in central London, an area favoured by foreign buyers, more expensive. There were signs that this was already happening in the top-end of the residential market. 
 
&quot;We have made a number of sales,&quot; David Adams, a managing director at luxury real estate agent John Taylor said, anticipating more Middle Eastern interest at the end of Ramadan in properties worth between 2 and 6 million Pounds. 
 
He said they had also had some interest and an offer on apartment blocks from 23 million to 45 million Pounds. 
 
&quot;We have an immediate uplift (in sales to the) Middle East, United States and Asia, but we have a decrease in English domestic buyers, because of political instability.&quot; 
 
Ed Mead, executive director at estate agent Douglas and Gordon had also seen an increase in foreign interest, but said the broader prime central London market would continue to struggle with the kind of uncertainty seen before the vote. 
 
&quot;We had four separate buyers who put in offers (the day after the vote), which were quite cheeky but clearly based on the fact they were getting an extraordinarily abnormal deal,&quot; he said. 
 
The offers, which were in the over one million pound range and came from US&nbsp;and European investors, had &quot;clearly been brought about because of the fall in sterling&quot;. 
 
&quot;The potential fallout from getting it wrong politically is strong and people simply want ongoing stability, both political and (in the) currency.&quot; 
 
($1 = 0.7533 pounds) 
 
(Reuters)

Singapore's UOB temporarily halted mortgage loans for London properties and other Asian banks also flagged potential investment risks

The aftershocks of Britain's decision to leave the European Union (EU) have hit the property sector over the past week, with a foreign bank freezing loans for buyers and some investors pulling out of commercial deals. Some foreigners, however, are already making the most of the drop in the Pound post-Brexit to snap up what they see as residential bargains. London property has long been a magnet for foreign investors, be it extravagant homes or iconic commercial real estate, and prices in the capital have sky-rocketed. Key to overseas investors will be whether the fall in the value of Sterling is attractive enough to offset the political vacuum, expected economic slowdown and questions over market access that have resulted from Britain's vote to leave the EU. Singapore's United Overseas Bank temporarily halted mortgage loans for London properties. Other Asian banks also flagged potential investment risks. For British investors, the uncertainty may be prohibitive, even though property is widely considered more profitable than other safe assets, given supply shortages. "A number of deals I know have gone down or certainly been delayed," Paul Firth, head of real estate at law firm Irwin Mitchell LLP said. "Everyone is taking a pause at the moment just to wait until a new normal is established." In one case, the purchase of a regional shopping centre by a US private equity fund worth more than 30 million Pounds ($40 million) was delayed after Brexit for at least a couple of months pending the market settling down. Another deal his firm was working on involved a French vendor of high-end luxury goods who put on hold its new flagship London store after Britain's decision to leave the EU, he said. He said a number of their "significant investment deals", worth above 30 million Pounds each, had stalled. The deals involved mainly UK investors but also some foreigners. One deal the firm was working on worth more than 40 million Pounds had gone through since Brexit. Britain's June 23 vote to leave the EU has already caused the government to collapse and deeply divided the country. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Thursday the economy would probably need more stimulus over the summer given that the outlook had deteriorated. He also said commercial real estate transactions had halved since last year's peak and that activity in residential real estate had slowed sharply. British commercial real estate investment volumes reached 10.7 billion Pounds in the first three months of 2016, a 28 per cent fall versus the same period a year ago and its lowest quarter since the second quarter of 2013, according to June research from real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. Investors' gain, home-buyers' pain There were also signs that the fallout from Brexit was benefiting professional investors such as private funds at the expense of homebuyers, who may struggle along with the economy. Before the referendum, officials said the economy could tip into recession and house prices could fall 10 to 18 per cent if Britain voted to leave the EU. Economists polled by Reuters before the vote said they expected house prices to be flat next year and then pick up again if Britain chose to leave. David Galman, sales director at Galliard Homes, said professional investors had already contacted him offering to buy any units end-users may seek to sell in the Skyline residential development it launched in June just outside London. Galliard Homes, London's second largest house-builder, had offered buyers get out clauses for the 89 off-plan units ranging from 200,000 to 250,000 Pounds in their development in Slough, west of London. The buyers had the option to withdraw their offers if they were unhappy with the outcome of the EU vote. Galman said just one client, "an owner occupier" had thus far invoked a Brexit clause but that flat had already been sold at the same price to a professional investor. "I anticipate that we may get a small number of deals at Slough falling out of bed due to Brexit – all domestic end-users spooked by the Brexit drama," he said. Another development that offered Brexit opt out options was Two Fifty One, a 41-storey luxury apartment tower going up in south London's gentrifying Elephant and Castle district. At a May launch of some floors in the development, buyers were offered a "money back Brexit guarantee pledge". "A few purchasers have decided not to proceed given the uncertainty of the market," David Humbles, managing director of Oakmayne, the developer who runs the project said. "However, the majority are continuing with their purchase." Tim Wright, director of residential development, at global commercial real estate firm JLL said including the Two Fifty One development, 2 out of around 20 developments in the portfolio that he runs in London had offered opt-out options for buyers on a limited number of units. "We've lost about 25 per cent of those types of deals," Wright said. "But there are still a lot of people who bought on those terms who are continuing to purchase." London appeal Sterling's steep fall post-Brexit could offset some of the effects from tax increases introduced in April, which made buying properties especially in central London, an area favoured by foreign buyers, more expensive. There were signs that this was already happening in the top-end of the residential market. "We have made a number of sales," David Adams, a managing director at luxury real estate agent John Taylor said, anticipating more Middle Eastern interest at the end of Ramadan in properties worth between 2 and 6 million Pounds. He said they had also had some interest and an offer on apartment blocks from 23 million to 45 million Pounds. "We have an immediate uplift (in sales to the) Middle East, United States and Asia, but we have a decrease in English domestic buyers, because of political instability." Ed Mead, executive director at estate agent Douglas and Gordon had also seen an increase in foreign interest, but said the broader prime central London market would continue to struggle with the kind of uncertainty seen before the vote. "We had four separate buyers who put in offers (the day after the vote), which were quite cheeky but clearly based on the fact they were getting an extraordinarily abnormal deal," he said. The offers, which were in the over one million pound range and came from US and European investors, had "clearly been brought about because of the fall in sterling". "The potential fallout from getting it wrong politically is strong and people simply want ongoing stability, both political and (in the) currency." ($1 = 0.7533 pounds) (Reuters)

Brexit hits London property market

The British government faces a legal challenge to stop it beginning the process of leaving the European Union without an act of Parliament, a law firm announced on Sunday. 
 
Lawyers at Mishcon de Reya argue that the British government cannot trigger Article 50, the legal process for leaving the EU, without a parliamentary debate and vote authorising it to do so. 
 
&quot;The result of the referendum is not in doubt, but we need a process that follows UK law to enact it,&quot; said Kasra Nouroozi, a partner at Mishcon de Reya in a statement. 
 
&quot;The outcome of the referendum itself is not legally binding and for the current or future prime minister to invoke Article 50 without the approval of parliament is unlawful.&quot; 
 
As a majority of British lawmakers support remaining in the 28-member bloc, the legal challenge has the potential to complicate the process. 
 
Mishcon de Reya said a &quot;group of clients&quot; was behind the legal action, without naming them, though The Lawyer magazine reported the clients were &quot;a group of businesses&quot;. 
 
Once Article 50 is triggered, Britain has two years to negotiate the terms of its exit. 
 
The British government said that the details were still to be worked out. 
 
&quot;We have now got to look at all the detailed arrangements,&quot; a spokeswoman for the cabinet office said. 
 
&quot;Parliament will clearly have a role in making sure that we find the best way forward.&quot; 
 
Mishcon de Reya said it had been in correspondence with government lawyers since June 27, four days after the referendum in which Britain opted to leave the EU in a vote that crashed financial markets and sent shock waves through the continent. 
 
One of the lawyers working on the case is Tom Hickman, co-author of an article that argued the British prime minister alone cannot begin Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. 
 
Without an act of Parliament, &quot;the declaration would be legally ineffective as a matter of domestic law and it would also fail to comply with the requirements of Article 50 itself&quot; it argued. 
 
(AFP)

Lawyers at Mishcon de Reya argued that Article 50 cannot be triggered without a parliamentary debate and vote authorising it to do so

The British government faces a legal challenge to stop it beginning the process of leaving the European Union without an act of Parliament, a law firm announced on Sunday. Lawyers at Mishcon de Reya argue that the British government cannot trigger Article 50, the legal process for leaving the EU, without a parliamentary debate and vote authorising it to do so. "The result of the referendum is not in doubt, but we need a process that follows UK law to enact it," said Kasra Nouroozi, a partner at Mishcon de Reya in a statement. "The outcome of the referendum itself is not legally binding and for the current or future prime minister to invoke Article 50 without the approval of parliament is unlawful." As a majority of British lawmakers support remaining in the 28-member bloc, the legal challenge has the potential to complicate the process. Mishcon de Reya said a "group of clients" was behind the legal action, without naming them, though The Lawyer magazine reported the clients were "a group of businesses". Once Article 50 is triggered, Britain has two years to negotiate the terms of its exit. The British government said that the details were still to be worked out. "We have now got to look at all the detailed arrangements," a spokeswoman for the cabinet office said. "Parliament will clearly have a role in making sure that we find the best way forward." Mishcon de Reya said it had been in correspondence with government lawyers since June 27, four days after the referendum in which Britain opted to leave the EU in a vote that crashed financial markets and sent shock waves through the continent. One of the lawyers working on the case is Tom Hickman, co-author of an article that argued the British prime minister alone cannot begin Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Without an act of Parliament, "the declaration would be legally ineffective as a matter of domestic law and it would also fail to comply with the requirements of Article 50 itself" it argued. (AFP)

Legal challenge to Britain's EU exit

The favourite to become Britain&#39;s next prime minister, Theresa May vowed to push for an EU trade deal that limits immigration on Sunday, as a law firm warned Brexit needed Parliament&#39;s backing to begin. 
 
The shock June 23 vote caused upheaval in British politics and financial markets, leaving lawmakers at odds over what negotiating position to take and when to begin the official exit procedure from the European Union. 
 
Although she campaigned for the &quot;Remain&quot; side, interior minister and Conservative leadership frontrunner Theresa May has said she will honour the result of the referendum and has ruled out holding a general election before 2020. 
 
&quot;The Brexit vote gave us a very clear message that we couldn&#39;t allow free movement (of people) to continue as it had,&quot; May told ITV, adding that she would seek a guarantee for the status of EU nationals already in Britain. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s also about ensuring that we get the best deal possible on the trade of goods and services,&quot; she added. 
 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has insisted a British trade deal would have to include freedom of movement. 
 
The five rival contenders to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron, who resigned when Britain voted to leave the EU last month, have disagreed on how quickly the country should trigger its exit process. 
 
May, who polls indicate is the most popular candidate and who has strong backing from Conservative Party MPs, has insisted there should be &quot;no timescale&quot; for the exit. 
 
But rival challenger Andrea Leadsom has pushed for the process to begin quickly. 
 
Once Britain triggers Article 50, the legal procedure for exiting, it will have two years to negotiate terms. 
 
It faces a legal challenge from law firm Mishcon de Reya, which on Sunday said it would argue the government needs the backing of parliament in a vote to act. 
 
&quot;The outcome of the referendum itself is not legally binding,&quot; said partner Kasra Nouroozi. 
 
&quot;For the current or future prime minister to invoke Article 50 without the approval of parliament is unlawful.&quot; 
 
&#39;Kind of hysteria&#39; 
 
Both of Britain&#39;s main parties were thrown into disarray by the vote. 
 
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour party, held tenaciously to his position on Sunday after a mass rebellion against him by lawmakers who passed a no confidence vote in him by 172 to 40 last week. 
 
Corbyn, who has crucial union backing and was elected last year in a landslide by ordinary Labour party members, urged his colleagues to respect the party grassroots. 
 
&quot;I am ready to reach out to Labour MPs who didn&#39;t accept my election and oppose my leadership,&quot; he wrote in the Sunday Mirror. 
 
Conservative MPs are due to begin voting this week to whittle their five candidates down to two. The contest has proved turbulent so far. 
 
Last week former education secretary Michael Gove dramatically pulled support at the last minute from his close ally, former London mayor Boris Johnson, in order to launch his own bid. 
 
&quot;I love my country, I could not recommend that Boris be prime minister,&quot; Gove told the BBC on Sunday, when faced with accusations that he had knifed his friend in the back. 
 
The incident was not mentioned in Johnson&#39;s first column in the Daily Telegraph since the defection, in which he criticised an outpouring of support for the EU that followed the vote. 
 
&quot;There is, among a section of the population, a kind of hysteria,&quot; Johnson wrote, describing protesters who marched over the weekend against Brexit as being in &quot;a state of some confusion about the EU&quot;. 
 
Johnson insisted that it would be possible to both limit immigration and secure a free-trade deal with the EU without tariffs or quotas. 
 
&quot;The future is very bright indeed,&quot; Johnson concluded. 
 
(AFP)

Theresa May said there was no specific time-scale for the exit to begin, while her rival Andrea Leadsom pushed for a quick exit

The favourite to become Britain's next prime minister, Theresa May vowed to push for an EU trade deal that limits immigration on Sunday, as a law firm warned Brexit needed Parliament's backing to begin. The shock June 23 vote caused upheaval in British politics and financial markets, leaving lawmakers at odds over what negotiating position to take and when to begin the official exit procedure from the European Union. Although she campaigned for the "Remain" side, interior minister and Conservative leadership frontrunner Theresa May has said she will honour the result of the referendum and has ruled out holding a general election before 2020. "The Brexit vote gave us a very clear message that we couldn't allow free movement (of people) to continue as it had," May told ITV, adding that she would seek a guarantee for the status of EU nationals already in Britain. "It's also about ensuring that we get the best deal possible on the trade of goods and services," she added. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has insisted a British trade deal would have to include freedom of movement. The five rival contenders to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron, who resigned when Britain voted to leave the EU last month, have disagreed on how quickly the country should trigger its exit process. May, who polls indicate is the most popular candidate and who has strong backing from Conservative Party MPs, has insisted there should be "no timescale" for the exit. But rival challenger Andrea Leadsom has pushed for the process to begin quickly. Once Britain triggers Article 50, the legal procedure for exiting, it will have two years to negotiate terms. It faces a legal challenge from law firm Mishcon de Reya, which on Sunday said it would argue the government needs the backing of parliament in a vote to act. "The outcome of the referendum itself is not legally binding," said partner Kasra Nouroozi. "For the current or future prime minister to invoke Article 50 without the approval of parliament is unlawful." 'Kind of hysteria' Both of Britain's main parties were thrown into disarray by the vote. Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour party, held tenaciously to his position on Sunday after a mass rebellion against him by lawmakers who passed a no confidence vote in him by 172 to 40 last week. Corbyn, who has crucial union backing and was elected last year in a landslide by ordinary Labour party members, urged his colleagues to respect the party grassroots. "I am ready to reach out to Labour MPs who didn't accept my election and oppose my leadership," he wrote in the Sunday Mirror. Conservative MPs are due to begin voting this week to whittle their five candidates down to two. The contest has proved turbulent so far. Last week former education secretary Michael Gove dramatically pulled support at the last minute from his close ally, former London mayor Boris Johnson, in order to launch his own bid. "I love my country, I could not recommend that Boris be prime minister," Gove told the BBC on Sunday, when faced with accusations that he had knifed his friend in the back. The incident was not mentioned in Johnson's first column in the Daily Telegraph since the defection, in which he criticised an outpouring of support for the EU that followed the vote. "There is, among a section of the population, a kind of hysteria," Johnson wrote, describing protesters who marched over the weekend against Brexit as being in "a state of some confusion about the EU". Johnson insisted that it would be possible to both limit immigration and secure a free-trade deal with the EU without tariffs or quotas. "The future is very bright indeed," Johnson concluded. (AFP)

British PM front-runner says she will push EU trade deal to limit immigration

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in central London on Saturday to march in protest against last week&#39;s vote to leave the European Union (EU), a result that has plunged Britain into political chaos and which most people in the capital rejected. 
 
Most protesters were young adults, and many were draped in EU flags while others waved banners proclaiming slogans like &quot;I`m with EU&quot; or simply &quot;Wrexit&quot;. 
 
&#39;I feel uncertain about my future&#39;&nbsp; 
The protesters chanted &quot;what do we want to do? Stay in the EU,&quot; as they set off for the Westminster political district. 
 
&quot;I was genuinely stunned on the morning after the vote,&quot; said one marcher, Nathaniel Samson, 25, from Hertfordshire north of London. 
 
&quot;I feel deeply uncertain about my future,&quot; he added, &quot;I&#39;m on the march to voice my discontentment. I am accepting the result, but it`s to show that we won`t accept it quietly.&quot; 
 
&#39;Let&#39;s take our fingers off the self-destruct button&#39;&nbsp; 
London voted 60 per cent in favour of remaining in the EU in last Thursday&#39;s referendum, with younger voters widely in favour of staying in the bloc, but 52 per cent of Britons overall cast ballots in favour of leaving. 
 
Rally organiser, King&#39;s College graduate Kieran MacDermott, said, &quot;We can prevent Brexit by refusing to accept the referendum as the final say and take our finger off the self-destruct button&quot;. 
 
Parliament should have the final say on whether Britain should leave, he told the BBC. 
 
The vote to leave has prompted a battle within the ruling Conservative party to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron who said he would resign after the result.&nbsp; 
 
The main opposition Labour Party has also turned on itself, with most of its lawmakers in parliament having voted to withdraw support for party leader Jeremy Corbyn after what they saw as his lacklustre contribution to the referendum campaign.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

'What do we want to do? Stay in the EU,' they shouted

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in central London on Saturday to march in protest against last week's vote to leave the European Union (EU), a result that has plunged Britain into political chaos and which most people in the capital rejected. Most protesters were young adults, and many were draped in EU flags while others waved banners proclaiming slogans like "I`m with EU" or simply "Wrexit". 'I feel uncertain about my future' The protesters chanted "what do we want to do? Stay in the EU," as they set off for the Westminster political district. "I was genuinely stunned on the morning after the vote," said one marcher, Nathaniel Samson, 25, from Hertfordshire north of London. "I feel deeply uncertain about my future," he added, "I'm on the march to voice my discontentment. I am accepting the result, but it`s to show that we won`t accept it quietly." 'Let's take our fingers off the self-destruct button' London voted 60 per cent in favour of remaining in the EU in last Thursday's referendum, with younger voters widely in favour of staying in the bloc, but 52 per cent of Britons overall cast ballots in favour of leaving. Rally organiser, King's College graduate Kieran MacDermott, said, "We can prevent Brexit by refusing to accept the referendum as the final say and take our finger off the self-destruct button". Parliament should have the final say on whether Britain should leave, he told the BBC. The vote to leave has prompted a battle within the ruling Conservative party to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron who said he would resign after the result. The main opposition Labour Party has also turned on itself, with most of its lawmakers in parliament having voted to withdraw support for party leader Jeremy Corbyn after what they saw as his lacklustre contribution to the referendum campaign. (Reuters)

Thousands of Londoners gather, protest agains Brexit

Britain&#39;s Home Secretary Theresa May, a candidate in the contest to be the UK&#39;s next prime minister and leader of the Conservative party, said today that if she became the next premier she would not trigger article 50 this year to ensure a clear negotiating stance on a post-Brexit deal with the European Union. 
 
May is a front-runner in the contest to be the country&#39;s next prime minister but said that there should still be an election within the party rather than a &quot;coronation&quot; of the most popular candidate. 
 
&quot;I think there should be a contest. I think it&#39;s important that members have their opportunity to have their say. And I think that what people want to hear is what the arguments are and people putting those arguments together and this isn&#39;t a new position that I&#39;ve taken,&quot; she told journalist Robert Peston. 
 
Prime Minister David Cameron resigned after Britons voted to leave the EU on June 23. He had led the campaign for &quot;Remain&quot; alongside May. 
 
May said that the vote was a &quot;very clear message&quot; that the British public wanted control over immigration. 
 
&quot;What I know is that there&#39;s no single silver bullet that actually solves the problems and concerns people have on immigration,&quot; she told Peston on Sunday. &quot;The Brexit vote gave us a very clear message from people that we couldn&#39;t allow free movement to continue as it had done hitherto, we need to bring control into movement of people coming into the UK from the EU.&quot; 
 
Cameron has said his successor would have to decide when to trigger article 50, the formal step that will begin the process of negotiating the terms of Britain&#39;s exit. 
 
May said it was not possible to set an &quot;absolute deadline&quot; and if she were to be the next prime minister she would not invoke article 50 before the end of the year. 
 
&quot;We need to establish our own negotiating position. Of course, once we hit Article 50, once we invoke that the process at the EU level starts, they say that could take up to two years. What&#39;s important for us though is that we get the right deal. And that&#39;s a deal which is about controlling free movement but it&#39;s also about ensuring that we&#39;ve got the best deal possible in trading goods and services,&quot; she said. 
 
Work and Pensions Secretary, Stephen Crabb, was the first Conservative minister to put himself forward to succeed Cameron and also backed Remain during the referendum campaign. 
 
But he said that his party must unite despite a majority of his colleagues supporting Leave. 
 
&quot;Every day that goes by, the longer that we as colleagues use labels like Remain or Leave to describe each other, the deeper the division that will be in the party,&quot; he told ITV. &quot;And I tell you, if we allow this leadership contest to be seen just through the prism of whether you were leave or remain, we risk splitting the party, mark my words.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Prime Minister David Cameron said his successor would have to decide when to trigger the formal step that begins the UK's EU exit

Britain's Home Secretary Theresa May, a candidate in the contest to be the UK's next prime minister and leader of the Conservative party, said today that if she became the next premier she would not trigger article 50 this year to ensure a clear negotiating stance on a post-Brexit deal with the European Union. May is a front-runner in the contest to be the country's next prime minister but said that there should still be an election within the party rather than a "coronation" of the most popular candidate. "I think there should be a contest. I think it's important that members have their opportunity to have their say. And I think that what people want to hear is what the arguments are and people putting those arguments together and this isn't a new position that I've taken," she told journalist Robert Peston. Prime Minister David Cameron resigned after Britons voted to leave the EU on June 23. He had led the campaign for "Remain" alongside May. May said that the vote was a "very clear message" that the British public wanted control over immigration. "What I know is that there's no single silver bullet that actually solves the problems and concerns people have on immigration," she told Peston on Sunday. "The Brexit vote gave us a very clear message from people that we couldn't allow free movement to continue as it had done hitherto, we need to bring control into movement of people coming into the UK from the EU." Cameron has said his successor would have to decide when to trigger article 50, the formal step that will begin the process of negotiating the terms of Britain's exit. May said it was not possible to set an "absolute deadline" and if she were to be the next prime minister she would not invoke article 50 before the end of the year. "We need to establish our own negotiating position. Of course, once we hit Article 50, once we invoke that the process at the EU level starts, they say that could take up to two years. What's important for us though is that we get the right deal. And that's a deal which is about controlling free movement but it's also about ensuring that we've got the best deal possible in trading goods and services," she said. Work and Pensions Secretary, Stephen Crabb, was the first Conservative minister to put himself forward to succeed Cameron and also backed Remain during the referendum campaign. But he said that his party must unite despite a majority of his colleagues supporting Leave. "Every day that goes by, the longer that we as colleagues use labels like Remain or Leave to describe each other, the deeper the division that will be in the party," he told ITV. "And I tell you, if we allow this leadership contest to be seen just through the prism of whether you were leave or remain, we risk splitting the party, mark my words." (Reuters)

Theresa May: Britain needs clear negotiating stance before article 50

A week after Britons voted themselves out of the European Union, many London-based&nbsp;bankers&nbsp;and their employers&nbsp;face&nbsp;two options if they are to secure their futures: lobby&nbsp;or&nbsp;leave.

Some investment banks, anxious not to stir speculation of an exodus from the historic city of&nbsp;London&nbsp;and its modern counterpart at Canary Wharf, have given out &quot;business as usual&quot; messages since last week&#39;s shock referendum result.

But beyond the soothing words the wider industry is hastily organising a&nbsp;lobbying effort in the hope&nbsp;London&nbsp;can keep selling financial services across Europe, a right to which it has become accustomed but may lapse when Britain finally exits the 28-nation bloc.

The alternative for banks and&nbsp;bankers, growing increasingly insecure in an information vacuum that has developed since the June 23 vote, is to get out. Headhunters report a level of anxious calls they haven&#39;t seen since the 2008 global crisis, with&nbsp;bankers&nbsp;asking about prospects in rival financial centres that remain in the EU, or those in Asia and the United States.

Banks and other financial firms have rallied together, forming a group to devise a strategy for protecting the turf of an industry that is Britain&#39;s biggest exporter, and accounts for more than 10 per cent of its tax revenues.

Even Britain&#39;s biggest lenders are relying on the group - led by Shriti Vadera, chairwoman of the UK arm of Spain&#39;s Banco Santander who is also a former business minister - for guidance in such uncertain times.

&quot;We are looking to them to have an intelligent response,&quot; Barclays chairman John McFarlane told an industry event on Thursday. &quot;We neither know the shape or direction of things to come. It&#39;s far from certain what we might be able to secure from discussions with the EU.&quot;

With the British government in disarray, European politicians are threatening to clip the wings of the&nbsp;London&nbsp;financial centre that is home to more than 250 foreign banks, and more than three-quarters of the EU&#39;s capital markets activity.

French President Francois Hollande has backed calls for&nbsp;London, the world&#39;s biggest currency trading centre, to lose its right to clear deals denominated in Euros. Likewise, the right of banks based in Britain to operate across the EU under the bloc&#39;s financial &quot;passporting&quot; arrangement could also go if it loses access to the single European market. 
 
Distant September

Britain has yet even to say when it will formally inform the EU of its intention to&nbsp;leave, a move that will start two years of divorce negotiations. Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will resign, but left the formal exit notification to his successor who is unlikely to be installed until September.

Leading &quot;Leave&quot; campaigners have also yet to say precisely what they want, beyond stating their desire to control the right of EU citizens to work in Britain - something Brussels says is impossible if the country wants to stay in the single market.

So while the financial sector is poised to&nbsp;lobby, it has little idea of whom it must present its case to on the British side.

&quot;We are ready to talk, but we don&#39;t know who we should be talking to,&quot; said a senior banking industry source involved in the discussions. &quot;No-one has defined &#39;leave&#39;, so we don&#39;t know what it is that we&#39;re dealing with ... September feels a very long way off.&quot;

Bankers&nbsp;said their message to European officials is that keeping Britain in the single market would be better for economic growth and jobs across the bloc. Fights over where banks do their business and forcing them into major overhauls of their operations would damage the broader financial system, they argue.

Some dislike being told what to do, such as HSBC Chairman Douglas Flint, whose bank decided only earlier this year against moving its headquarters from&nbsp;London. &quot;Politicians can&#39;t dictate where things are done,&quot; he told Thursday&#39;s TheCityUK annual conference.

Sometimes the relationships needed for&nbsp;lobbying are only now being established. The benefits of passporting have meant that US&nbsp;investment banks in particular have rarely discussed broad market access issues with European officials, meaning they are starting their charm offensive from scratch.

Where to go next?

Rumours are swirling that banks and other financial firms, which together employ more than two&nbsp;million people across Britain, will move staff to the likes of Frankfurt, Paris or Dublin.

Investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have moved quickly to quell speculation they are about to do so.

But some&nbsp;bankers, especially those involved in mergers and acquisitions, fear a repeat of the heavy job cuts, tumbling salaries and sky-high stress levels during the 2008-09 crisis.

&quot;People in UK M&amp;A know they aren&#39;t getting paid bonuses this year ... But that&#39;s just one of their troubles,&quot; said THS Partners Portfolio Manager Xavier Van Hove. &quot;They know banks are going to have to fire people so they are very conscious of that. And the Europeans among them are wondering where they go next.&quot;

Stephane Rambosson, managing partner for the UK and head of financial services at headhunter DHR International, said he had taken more than a dozen calls from senior&nbsp;London-based investment, M&amp;A and equity capital markets&nbsp;bankers&nbsp;in the past week.

The questions they asked were all the same: how safe is my job? Where will I need to move my family?

&quot;The last time it happened was during the crisis, when people were equally concerned about job prospects and the direction of their careers,&quot; Rambosson said. &quot;People know this is something they have to plan for but there&#39;s little for them to go on right now.&quot;

Escape routes

Some in the industry are contemplating leaving Europe altogether.

&quot;We are getting more resumes every day from&nbsp;London,&quot; said Matthew Hoyle, who runs a financial services headhunting firm in Hong Kong. &quot;I don&#39;t think many people in&nbsp;London&nbsp;are very keen to move to Paris, Frankfurt ... English is a problem there and it&#39;s really very different fromLondon.&quot;

Uday Singh, a New York-based partner with consulting firm AT&nbsp;Kearney, said he believes London-based financial executives will give serious thought to moving to the United States.

&quot;The US&nbsp;actually has a pretty permissive immigration regime where qualified company executives are concerned. It&#39;s a matter of a couple of months of visa processing and the job can certainly be done from here,&quot; he said.

Leaders of British banking remain hopeful that the next government will negotiate continued access to the single market. For that reason, they say they are not yet ready to spend billions beefing up or launching subsidiaries in the EU.

&quot;We are all working on multiple scenarios. For many firms, it would be premature to activate all that pre-referendum planning,&quot; said Clare Woodman, global chief operating officer for institutional securities at Morgan Stanley.

But others worry whether the industry - still tainted by the bank failures of 2008-09, &quot;fat cat&quot;&nbsp;bonuses and a magnet for public scorn - can secure the backing it needs.

&quot;We won&#39;t gain much from trying to remind the electorate how important we are to them, we need to get other advocates for our industry,&quot; David Sproul, Chief Executive of Deloitte told the The City UK conference.

Meanwhile,&nbsp;London&#39;s rivals are moving aggressively to capitalise on its limbo by wooing bankers.

&quot;Finance ministries are getting in touch. I won&#39;t say who we&#39;re talking to but, well, French-speaking, German-speaking, Spanish-speaking, Dutch-speaking, English-speaking countries are all interested,&quot; the senior banking source said.

&quot;It&#39;s very much on the lines of &#39;we are sorry you got divorced, would you like to go on a date?&#39;&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

&nbsp;

Some?bankers fear a repeat of the heavy job cuts, tumbling salaries and sky-high stress levels of the 2008-09 financial crisis

A week after Britons voted themselves out of the European Union, many London-based bankers and their employers face two options if they are to secure their futures: lobby or leave. Some investment banks, anxious not to stir speculation of an exodus from the historic city of London and its modern counterpart at Canary Wharf, have given out "business as usual" messages since last week's shock referendum result. But beyond the soothing words the wider industry is hastily organising a lobbying effort in the hope London can keep selling financial services across Europe, a right to which it has become accustomed but may lapse when Britain finally exits the 28-nation bloc. The alternative for banks and bankers, growing increasingly insecure in an information vacuum that has developed since the June 23 vote, is to get out. Headhunters report a level of anxious calls they haven't seen since the 2008 global crisis, with bankers asking about prospects in rival financial centres that remain in the EU, or those in Asia and the United States. Banks and other financial firms have rallied together, forming a group to devise a strategy for protecting the turf of an industry that is Britain's biggest exporter, and accounts for more than 10 per cent of its tax revenues. Even Britain's biggest lenders are relying on the group - led by Shriti Vadera, chairwoman of the UK arm of Spain's Banco Santander who is also a former business minister - for guidance in such uncertain times. "We are looking to them to have an intelligent response," Barclays chairman John McFarlane told an industry event on Thursday. "We neither know the shape or direction of things to come. It's far from certain what we might be able to secure from discussions with the EU." With the British government in disarray, European politicians are threatening to clip the wings of the London financial centre that is home to more than 250 foreign banks, and more than three-quarters of the EU's capital markets activity. French President Francois Hollande has backed calls for London, the world's biggest currency trading centre, to lose its right to clear deals denominated in Euros. Likewise, the right of banks based in Britain to operate across the EU under the bloc's financial "passporting" arrangement could also go if it loses access to the single European market. Distant September Britain has yet even to say when it will formally inform the EU of its intention to leave, a move that will start two years of divorce negotiations. Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will resign, but left the formal exit notification to his successor who is unlikely to be installed until September. Leading "Leave" campaigners have also yet to say precisely what they want, beyond stating their desire to control the right of EU citizens to work in Britain - something Brussels says is impossible if the country wants to stay in the single market. So while the financial sector is poised to lobby, it has little idea of whom it must present its case to on the British side. "We are ready to talk, but we don't know who we should be talking to," said a senior banking industry source involved in the discussions. "No-one has defined 'leave', so we don't know what it is that we're dealing with ... September feels a very long way off." Bankers said their message to European officials is that keeping Britain in the single market would be better for economic growth and jobs across the bloc. Fights over where banks do their business and forcing them into major overhauls of their operations would damage the broader financial system, they argue. Some dislike being told what to do, such as HSBC Chairman Douglas Flint, whose bank decided only earlier this year against moving its headquarters from London. "Politicians can't dictate where things are done," he told Thursday's TheCityUK annual conference. Sometimes the relationships needed for lobbying are only now being established. The benefits of passporting have meant that US investment banks in particular have rarely discussed broad market access issues with European officials, meaning they are starting their charm offensive from scratch. Where to go next? Rumours are swirling that banks and other financial firms, which together employ more than two million people across Britain, will move staff to the likes of Frankfurt, Paris or Dublin. Investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have moved quickly to quell speculation they are about to do so. But some bankers, especially those involved in mergers and acquisitions, fear a repeat of the heavy job cuts, tumbling salaries and sky-high stress levels during the 2008-09 crisis. "People in UK M&A know they aren't getting paid bonuses this year ... But that's just one of their troubles," said THS Partners Portfolio Manager Xavier Van Hove. "They know banks are going to have to fire people so they are very conscious of that. And the Europeans among them are wondering where they go next." Stephane Rambosson, managing partner for the UK and head of financial services at headhunter DHR International, said he had taken more than a dozen calls from senior London-based investment, M&A and equity capital markets bankers in the past week. The questions they asked were all the same: how safe is my job? Where will I need to move my family? "The last time it happened was during the crisis, when people were equally concerned about job prospects and the direction of their careers," Rambosson said. "People know this is something they have to plan for but there's little for them to go on right now." Escape routes Some in the industry are contemplating leaving Europe altogether. "We are getting more resumes every day from London," said Matthew Hoyle, who runs a financial services headhunting firm in Hong Kong. "I don't think many people in London are very keen to move to Paris, Frankfurt ... English is a problem there and it's really very different fromLondon." Uday Singh, a New York-based partner with consulting firm AT Kearney, said he believes London-based financial executives will give serious thought to moving to the United States. "The US actually has a pretty permissive immigration regime where qualified company executives are concerned. It's a matter of a couple of months of visa processing and the job can certainly be done from here," he said. Leaders of British banking remain hopeful that the next government will negotiate continued access to the single market. For that reason, they say they are not yet ready to spend billions beefing up or launching subsidiaries in the EU. "We are all working on multiple scenarios. For many firms, it would be premature to activate all that pre-referendum planning," said Clare Woodman, global chief operating officer for institutional securities at Morgan Stanley. But others worry whether the industry - still tainted by the bank failures of 2008-09, "fat cat" bonuses and a magnet for public scorn - can secure the backing it needs. "We won't gain much from trying to remind the electorate how important we are to them, we need to get other advocates for our industry," David Sproul, Chief Executive of Deloitte told the The City UK conference. Meanwhile, London's rivals are moving aggressively to capitalise on its limbo by wooing bankers. "Finance ministries are getting in touch. I won't say who we're talking to but, well, French-speaking, German-speaking, Spanish-speaking, Dutch-speaking, English-speaking countries are all interested," the senior banking source said. "It's very much on the lines of 'we are sorry you got divorced, would you like to go on a date?'" (Reuters)

Lobby or Leave: London bankers face tough Brexit choice

Around 20 startup banks and financial firms have reaffirmed plans to invest a total of up to 500 million pounds ($664.95 million) to open in Britain, consulting firm PwC said today. 
 
These investment plans will be a boost for Britain&#39;s financial services sector, beset by rumors of job cuts and firms moving overseas in the aftermath of Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union and potentially surrender some of its access to EU markets. 
 
The banks are a mixture of UK, European, and non-EU businesses and have already committed 200 million pounds, PwC said, with total funding of up to half a billion pounds featured in their business plans. 
 
Stephen Morse, financial services partner at PwC, said the around 20 clients investing in Britain were not only mainstream banks, mortgage lenders and asset managers. 
 
&quot;There are a range of new technology-enabled banks, fintech businesses, commercial banks and even niche investment banks who have identified gaps in the market in part caused by big global banks having pulled out of some businesses over the past few years,&quot; he said. 
 
Since the Brexit vote last week, banks, including Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N), have denied rumors they are already moving thousands of jobs out of Britain as a result of the referendum. 
 
(Reuters)

The banks, which are a mixture of UK, European and non-EU businesses, have already committed 200 million Pounds

Around 20 startup banks and financial firms have reaffirmed plans to invest a total of up to 500 million pounds ($664.95 million) to open in Britain, consulting firm PwC said today. These investment plans will be a boost for Britain's financial services sector, beset by rumors of job cuts and firms moving overseas in the aftermath of Britain's vote to leave the European Union and potentially surrender some of its access to EU markets. The banks are a mixture of UK, European, and non-EU businesses and have already committed 200 million pounds, PwC said, with total funding of up to half a billion pounds featured in their business plans. Stephen Morse, financial services partner at PwC, said the around 20 clients investing in Britain were not only mainstream banks, mortgage lenders and asset managers. "There are a range of new technology-enabled banks, fintech businesses, commercial banks and even niche investment banks who have identified gaps in the market in part caused by big global banks having pulled out of some businesses over the past few years," he said. Since the Brexit vote last week, banks, including Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N), have denied rumors they are already moving thousands of jobs out of Britain as a result of the referendum. (Reuters)

20 startup banks may invest up to 500 million Pounds to open in Britain

Asian stocks rose today as risk appetite continued to recover from last week&#39;s Brexit shock, but the pound came under renewed pressure after the Bank of England&#39;s governor hinted at an interest rate cut ahead.&nbsp; 
 
MSCI&#39;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4 per cent. 
 
The index has recovered nearly all the losses suffered last Friday when global markets plunged in response to Britain&#39;s decision to leave the European Union. 
 
It has gained close to 3.5 per cent since Friday&#39;s close on a combination of short-covering and relief that Brexit did not spark contagion in the global financial system like that which engulfed markets during the 2008-09 crisis. 
 
Japan&#39;s Nikkei rose 0.6 per cent after the yen surrendered more of the territory gained during the flight to quality seen earlier in the week. It is on track for a 4.8 per cent gain for the week.&nbsp; 
 
South Korea&#39;s Kospi extended gains to 0.8 per cent, set to end the week 3.2 per cent higher.&nbsp; 
 
China&#39;s CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes advanced 0.4 per cent, and looked set for weekly gains of 2.9 per cent and 3 per cent respectively, after data showed growth in China&#39;s services sector accelerated in June, while the manufacturing sector stalled.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Share markets rebounded over the past week as worries about Brexit leading to global financial and economic chaos faded somewhat,&quot; Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital in Sydney, wrote in a note. 
 
&quot;The week ahead will no doubt see bouts of Brexit-related nervousness but it may continue to settle down in the absence of any new developments in Europe.&quot; 
 
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 1.3 per cent on Thursday, posting its third straight day of gains and erasing a bulk of its losses after Brexit. 
 
Some of the overnight gains on Wall Street were attributed to hopes for more monetary easing after BOE governor Mark Carney said on Thursday the central bank would probably need to pump more stimulus into Britain`s economy over the summer in wake of the Brexit shock. 
 
A number of Asian central banks, including those in Japan and China, are also expected to ease policy further later this year, while a number of Asian governments have ramped up fiscal stimulus. 
 
Carney&#39;s comments forced the pound to head south on Thursday and cut short the currency&#39;s recovery from a 31-year low on Monday. 
 
Sterling last traded at $1.3346 after nearly touching $1.35 on Thursday. The pound, which lost almost 8 per cent soon after the Brexit vote, has declined a further 2.6 per cent since. It sank to $1.3122 on Monday, its lowest since 1985. 
 
&quot;Carney has always been nervous about how Brexit would impact the UK economy and now that it is a reality, he is preparing for the worst, agrees with the doom and gloom scenario and wants to assure the market that the BoE will be proactive,&quot; wrote Kathy Lien, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management. 
 
Sterling&#39;s slide added mild pressure on the euro, which was steady at $1.1104 after slipping overnight from $1.1155, its highest in six days. It&#39;s poised to end the week flat. 
 
The dollar pulled back slightly against the safe-haven yen, but retained most of this week&#39;s gains. The greenback, which fell to 99.00 yen in the initial phases of the Brexit shock, was last trading at 102.88 yen, on track for a gain of 0.7 per cent for the week. 
 
In commodities, crude oil advanced on expectations of rate cuts and better demand-supply balance. 
 
US crude was up 0.4 per cent at $48.54 a barrel after shedding more than 3 per cent on Thursday, but remains poised for a 1.9 per cent loss for the week. 
 
Brent crude rose 0.5 per cent to $49.98, heading for a weekly gain of 3.2 per cent.&nbsp; 
 
But in a sign that risk appetite remains tentative, the safe-haven gold climbed 0.4 per cent to $1,327.31 an ounce, set to end the week 0.9 per cent higher, its fifth consecutive weekly gain.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)

In preparation to counter Brexit's negative impact, Bank of England's governor hinted at an interest rate cut

Asian stocks rose today as risk appetite continued to recover from last week's Brexit shock, but the pound came under renewed pressure after the Bank of England's governor hinted at an interest rate cut ahead. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4 per cent. The index has recovered nearly all the losses suffered last Friday when global markets plunged in response to Britain's decision to leave the European Union. It has gained close to 3.5 per cent since Friday's close on a combination of short-covering and relief that Brexit did not spark contagion in the global financial system like that which engulfed markets during the 2008-09 crisis. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.6 per cent after the yen surrendered more of the territory gained during the flight to quality seen earlier in the week. It is on track for a 4.8 per cent gain for the week. South Korea's Kospi extended gains to 0.8 per cent, set to end the week 3.2 per cent higher. China's CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes advanced 0.4 per cent, and looked set for weekly gains of 2.9 per cent and 3 per cent respectively, after data showed growth in China's services sector accelerated in June, while the manufacturing sector stalled. "Share markets rebounded over the past week as worries about Brexit leading to global financial and economic chaos faded somewhat," Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital in Sydney, wrote in a note. "The week ahead will no doubt see bouts of Brexit-related nervousness but it may continue to settle down in the absence of any new developments in Europe." The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 1.3 per cent on Thursday, posting its third straight day of gains and erasing a bulk of its losses after Brexit. Some of the overnight gains on Wall Street were attributed to hopes for more monetary easing after BOE governor Mark Carney said on Thursday the central bank would probably need to pump more stimulus into Britain`s economy over the summer in wake of the Brexit shock. A number of Asian central banks, including those in Japan and China, are also expected to ease policy further later this year, while a number of Asian governments have ramped up fiscal stimulus. Carney's comments forced the pound to head south on Thursday and cut short the currency's recovery from a 31-year low on Monday. Sterling last traded at $1.3346 after nearly touching $1.35 on Thursday. The pound, which lost almost 8 per cent soon after the Brexit vote, has declined a further 2.6 per cent since. It sank to $1.3122 on Monday, its lowest since 1985. "Carney has always been nervous about how Brexit would impact the UK economy and now that it is a reality, he is preparing for the worst, agrees with the doom and gloom scenario and wants to assure the market that the BoE will be proactive," wrote Kathy Lien, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management. Sterling's slide added mild pressure on the euro, which was steady at $1.1104 after slipping overnight from $1.1155, its highest in six days. It's poised to end the week flat. The dollar pulled back slightly against the safe-haven yen, but retained most of this week's gains. The greenback, which fell to 99.00 yen in the initial phases of the Brexit shock, was last trading at 102.88 yen, on track for a gain of 0.7 per cent for the week. In commodities, crude oil advanced on expectations of rate cuts and better demand-supply balance. US crude was up 0.4 per cent at $48.54 a barrel after shedding more than 3 per cent on Thursday, but remains poised for a 1.9 per cent loss for the week. Brent crude rose 0.5 per cent to $49.98, heading for a weekly gain of 3.2 per cent. But in a sign that risk appetite remains tentative, the safe-haven gold climbed 0.4 per cent to $1,327.31 an ounce, set to end the week 0.9 per cent higher, its fifth consecutive weekly gain. (Reuters)

Asia stocks rise as risk appetite recovers, pound under fresh pressure

The favourites to succeed Prime Minister David&nbsp;Cameron&nbsp;pushed Friday for a delay in initiating Britain&#39;s talks to leave the EU as French President Francois Hollande insisted &quot;Brexit&quot; cannot be cancelled or delayed.

In further signs of economic fallout from last week&#39;s shock vote, the government also warned that Britain will likely abandon a key promise to achieve a budget surplus by 2020, while no-frills airline EasyJet announced contingency plans to ensure its European operations after Brexit.

Britain has been plunged into extraordinary political turmoil since Britons voted by 52 percent in favour of leaving the European Union, with the ruling Conservatives and opposition Labour party in disarray and the country deeply polarised.

As he outlined his bid for&nbsp;Cameron&#39;s job on Friday, top Brexit campaigner Michael Gove said he had &quot;no expectation&quot; that Article 50 -- the formal procedure for leaving the EU -- would be invoked this year.

Justice minister Gove, who torpedoed fellow anti-EU campaigner Boris Johnson&#39;s leadership hopes on Thursday, also said he would pull Britain out of the single market, end free movement of people and impose a new immigration system favouring skilled workers.

Gove&#39;s rival and the current favourite in the race, Theresa May, had said on Thursday that Article 50 &quot;should not be invoked before the end of the year&quot;. 
 
&#39;Face the consequences&#39;

EU leaders have called for a swift divorce however, fearful of the impact of Britain&#39;s uncertain future on economic growth and a potential domino effect in eurosceptic member states.

&quot;The decision has been taken, it cannot be delayed and it cannot be cancelled, now they have to face the consequences,&quot; Hollande said on the sidelines of Battle of the Somme centenary ceremonies in France.

He said a speedy Brexit &quot;would avert all the uncertainties and instability, especially in the economic and financial domains. The faster it goes, the better it will be for them&quot;.

Highlighting the uncertainty the &quot;Leave&quot; vote has created for business, easyJet said it was trying to acquire a certificate to operate in a European country &quot;to enable EasyJet to fly across Europe as we do today&quot;.

The outcome of the June 23 vote unleashed the worst chaos in British politics in living memory, with opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn&#39;s leadership also under threat and Scotland&#39;s government fighting for independence to keep its EU membership. 
 
&#39;Brexit means Brexit&#39;

Interior minister May supported the &quot;Remain&quot; campaign but has assured &quot;Leave&quot; supporters she will respect the result, saying: &quot;Brexit means Brexit&quot;.

Dozens of MPs have signed up to her campaign.

The winner of the vote to replace&nbsp;Cameron&nbsp;as Conservative leader and therefore prime minister -- a switch that requires no new general election under the British system -- will be named on September 9.

In the coming days, Conservative MPs will whittle down the candidates to two in a series of votes and the rivals will then tour the country to appeal to some 150,000 party members for their vote.

Gove cast doubt on May&#39;s leadership bid, saying he did not think someone who had campaigned for a &quot;Remain&quot; vote could lead the country out of the EU.

&quot;This country voted for change and I am going to deliver it... The best person to lead Britain out of the European Union is someone who argued to get Britain out of the European Union,&quot; he said.

&quot;I will end free movement (of EU nationals), introduce an Australian-style points-based system for immigration, and bring numbers down,&quot; he added.

Cameron, who called the referendum in what was seen as an effort to see off a challenge from the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP), had said he will leave it to his successor to start formal exit talks.

The narrow victory for the &quot;Leave&quot; camp triggered anger among those who wanted to remain in the EU and more than four million people have signed a petition calling for a second referendum.

But asked if May could row back from the Brexit vote, Simon Usherwood, senior fellow at the UK in a Changing Europe think tank, said &quot;Realistically, no.

Bill Durodie from the University of Bath also said: &quot;She cannot and will not ignore the voice of 17.5 million people covering the entire length and breadth of the country&quot;.

The bitterly divisive campaign also exposed rifts within Labour, where Corbyn has been heavily criticised for his lukewarm advocacy of the campaign to stay in the EU.

A large majority of Labour MPs have supported a vote of no confidence in Corbyn, a veteran socialist with wide grassroots support who only became leader last year.

But he has defied his centre-left critics to insist he will hang on, challenging them to mount a full leadership contest. 
 
(AFP)

Top Brexit campaigner Michael Gove said he did not expect Britian to trigger article 50, the mechanism for leaving the EU, this year

The favourites to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron pushed Friday for a delay in initiating Britain's talks to leave the EU as French President Francois Hollande insisted "Brexit" cannot be cancelled or delayed. In further signs of economic fallout from last week's shock vote, the government also warned that Britain will likely abandon a key promise to achieve a budget surplus by 2020, while no-frills airline EasyJet announced contingency plans to ensure its European operations after Brexit. Britain has been plunged into extraordinary political turmoil since Britons voted by 52 percent in favour of leaving the European Union, with the ruling Conservatives and opposition Labour party in disarray and the country deeply polarised. As he outlined his bid for Cameron's job on Friday, top Brexit campaigner Michael Gove said he had "no expectation" that Article 50 -- the formal procedure for leaving the EU -- would be invoked this year. Justice minister Gove, who torpedoed fellow anti-EU campaigner Boris Johnson's leadership hopes on Thursday, also said he would pull Britain out of the single market, end free movement of people and impose a new immigration system favouring skilled workers. Gove's rival and the current favourite in the race, Theresa May, had said on Thursday that Article 50 "should not be invoked before the end of the year". 'Face the consequences' EU leaders have called for a swift divorce however, fearful of the impact of Britain's uncertain future on economic growth and a potential domino effect in eurosceptic member states. "The decision has been taken, it cannot be delayed and it cannot be cancelled, now they have to face the consequences," Hollande said on the sidelines of Battle of the Somme centenary ceremonies in France. He said a speedy Brexit "would avert all the uncertainties and instability, especially in the economic and financial domains. The faster it goes, the better it will be for them". Highlighting the uncertainty the "Leave" vote has created for business, easyJet said it was trying to acquire a certificate to operate in a European country "to enable EasyJet to fly across Europe as we do today". The outcome of the June 23 vote unleashed the worst chaos in British politics in living memory, with opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's leadership also under threat and Scotland's government fighting for independence to keep its EU membership. 'Brexit means Brexit' Interior minister May supported the "Remain" campaign but has assured "Leave" supporters she will respect the result, saying: "Brexit means Brexit". Dozens of MPs have signed up to her campaign. The winner of the vote to replace Cameron as Conservative leader and therefore prime minister -- a switch that requires no new general election under the British system -- will be named on September 9. In the coming days, Conservative MPs will whittle down the candidates to two in a series of votes and the rivals will then tour the country to appeal to some 150,000 party members for their vote. Gove cast doubt on May's leadership bid, saying he did not think someone who had campaigned for a "Remain" vote could lead the country out of the EU. "This country voted for change and I am going to deliver it... The best person to lead Britain out of the European Union is someone who argued to get Britain out of the European Union," he said. "I will end free movement (of EU nationals), introduce an Australian-style points-based system for immigration, and bring numbers down," he added. Cameron, who called the referendum in what was seen as an effort to see off a challenge from the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP), had said he will leave it to his successor to start formal exit talks. The narrow victory for the "Leave" camp triggered anger among those who wanted to remain in the EU and more than four million people have signed a petition calling for a second referendum. But asked if May could row back from the Brexit vote, Simon Usherwood, senior fellow at the UK in a Changing Europe think tank, said "Realistically, no. Bill Durodie from the University of Bath also said: "She cannot and will not ignore the voice of 17.5 million people covering the entire length and breadth of the country". The bitterly divisive campaign also exposed rifts within Labour, where Corbyn has been heavily criticised for his lukewarm advocacy of the campaign to stay in the EU. A large majority of Labour MPs have supported a vote of no confidence in Corbyn, a veteran socialist with wide grassroots support who only became leader last year. But he has defied his centre-left critics to insist he will hang on, challenging them to mount a full leadership contest. (AFP)

Cameron's potential successors push for Brexit delay

The number of hate crimes reported to British police online, including some assaults, has increased by more than 500 per cent in the week after the country voted to leave the European Union (EU), a senior police chief said on Thursday. 
 
The number of hate crimes reported to police through its online portal - one of several ways incidents can be reported - was 331 since the vote, compared with a weekly average of 63, said Sara Thornton, chair of the National Police Chiefs&#39; Council. 
 
The increase supports anecdotal evidence of abuse towards Muslims and Eastern Europeans following the referendum, in which concern about immigration drove many people to vote to leave the 28-country EU. 
 
&quot;I have been shocked and disgusted at some of the cases of racial or anti-immigrant abuse that have been reported this week,&quot; Thornton said in a statement posted online. 
 
&quot;Migrants are reporting verbal abuse, negative social media commentary including xenophobic language, anti-migrant leafleting and, in very limited numbers, physical assaults,&rdquo; the statement added.&nbsp; 
 
Critics accuse some in the &quot;Leave&quot; campaign of stoking xenophobia and racism, as part of a message that leaving the EU would allow Britain to stop uncontrolled immigration, which many Britons blame for putting pressure on jobs and public services. 
 
Thornton said all British police forces would now be asked to provide weekly data on such crimes to build a clear picture of the scale of the problem. 
 
On Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron promised to clamp down on hate crime after a number of lawmakers expressed concern about reported incidents in their regions. The issue was also raised at a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels. 
 
The government has promised extra funding to tackle hate crime, to improve reporting of offences and to provide security at potentially vulnerable institutions. 
 
A week before the vote, opposition Labour lawmaker Jo Cox, a strong supporter of remaining in the EU, was shot and stabbed to death in her constituency in northern England. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

'Migrants are reporting verbal abuse, xenophobic language, anti-migrant leafleting,' says England's National Police Chiefs' Council chair

The number of hate crimes reported to British police online, including some assaults, has increased by more than 500 per cent in the week after the country voted to leave the European Union (EU), a senior police chief said on Thursday. The number of hate crimes reported to police through its online portal - one of several ways incidents can be reported - was 331 since the vote, compared with a weekly average of 63, said Sara Thornton, chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council. The increase supports anecdotal evidence of abuse towards Muslims and Eastern Europeans following the referendum, in which concern about immigration drove many people to vote to leave the 28-country EU. "I have been shocked and disgusted at some of the cases of racial or anti-immigrant abuse that have been reported this week," Thornton said in a statement posted online. "Migrants are reporting verbal abuse, negative social media commentary including xenophobic language, anti-migrant leafleting and, in very limited numbers, physical assaults,” the statement added. Critics accuse some in the "Leave" campaign of stoking xenophobia and racism, as part of a message that leaving the EU would allow Britain to stop uncontrolled immigration, which many Britons blame for putting pressure on jobs and public services. Thornton said all British police forces would now be asked to provide weekly data on such crimes to build a clear picture of the scale of the problem. On Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron promised to clamp down on hate crime after a number of lawmakers expressed concern about reported incidents in their regions. The issue was also raised at a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels. The government has promised extra funding to tackle hate crime, to improve reporting of offences and to provide security at potentially vulnerable institutions. A week before the vote, opposition Labour lawmaker Jo Cox, a strong supporter of remaining in the EU, was shot and stabbed to death in her constituency in northern England. (Reuters)

After Brexit, hate crimes reported to police online up by over 500%

Former London mayor&nbsp;Boris&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;abruptly pulled out of the race to become Britain&#39;s next prime minister on Thursday, in a shock move that upturned a political order shaken by last week&#39;s vote to leave the European Union. 
 
Johnson, whose support for the campaign to leave the EU was widely considered one of the decisive factors in the campaign, had been bookmakers&#39; runaway favourite to succeed David Cameron, who quit last week after failing to persuade British voters to stay in the bloc. 
 
Johnson&#39;s unexpected departure from the race, announced just minutes before the party unveiled the list of candidates, shows the speed with which the political landscape is being reshaped. 
 
&quot;I must tell you, my friends, you who have waited faithfully for the punchline of this speech, that having consulted colleagues and in view of the circumstances in parliament, I have concluded that person cannot be me,&quot;&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;said at a news conference to audible gasps. 
 
Cameron&#39;s replacement will face tough talks with the EU to mend a broken relationship, balancing a desire to reduce immigration to Britain, while trying to secure the economy by maintaining access to European markets. 
 
Johnson&#39;s departure from the race followed swiftly after another leading ally in the pro-Brexit campaign, justice secretary Michael Gove, put himself forward as a candidate, saying he had withdrawn support for&nbsp;Johnson. 
 
Gove will face off against Theresa May, the interior minister, who campaigned to remain in the EU, as well as other candidates for the ruling party&#39;s leadership. 
 
(Reuters)

Johnson withdrew just minutes before the Tory party unveiled its list of candidates

Former London mayor Boris Johnson abruptly pulled out of the race to become Britain's next prime minister on Thursday, in a shock move that upturned a political order shaken by last week's vote to leave the European Union. Johnson, whose support for the campaign to leave the EU was widely considered one of the decisive factors in the campaign, had been bookmakers' runaway favourite to succeed David Cameron, who quit last week after failing to persuade British voters to stay in the bloc. Johnson's unexpected departure from the race, announced just minutes before the party unveiled the list of candidates, shows the speed with which the political landscape is being reshaped. "I must tell you, my friends, you who have waited faithfully for the punchline of this speech, that having consulted colleagues and in view of the circumstances in parliament, I have concluded that person cannot be me," Johnson said at a news conference to audible gasps. Cameron's replacement will face tough talks with the EU to mend a broken relationship, balancing a desire to reduce immigration to Britain, while trying to secure the economy by maintaining access to European markets. Johnson's departure from the race followed swiftly after another leading ally in the pro-Brexit campaign, justice secretary Michael Gove, put himself forward as a candidate, saying he had withdrawn support for Johnson. Gove will face off against Theresa May, the interior minister, who campaigned to remain in the EU, as well as other candidates for the ruling party's leadership. (Reuters)

Boris Johnson pulls out of the race for Britain's next Prime Minister

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