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

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

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

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

Seven members of Britain&#39;s opposition Labour Party said on Sunday they had withdrawn support for the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, plunging the party into crisis in the wake of Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union. 
 
Corbyn sacked Hilary Benn as Labour&#39;s foreign policy chief today after he said he had lost confidence in the leadership. Gloria de Piero, Heidi Alexander, Lucy Powell and Ian Murray all announced they were withdrawing support and stepping down from Corbyn&#39;s &#39;shadow cabinet&#39;. 
 
Sky News television reported that Lilian Greenwood and Kerry Mccarthy had also resigned. 
 
Several said in statements that they doubted Corbyn&#39;s ability to lead the party to victory in the country&#39;s next parliamentary election. 
 
A vote must take place within months after Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron announced on Friday he would step down by October after Britain voted to leave the European Union. 
 
(Reuters)

Gloria de Piero, Heidi Alexander, Lucy Powell and Ian Murray announced they were withdrawing support and resigning from shadow cabinet

Seven members of Britain's opposition Labour Party said on Sunday they had withdrawn support for the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, plunging the party into crisis in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union. Corbyn sacked Hilary Benn as Labour's foreign policy chief today after he said he had lost confidence in the leadership. Gloria de Piero, Heidi Alexander, Lucy Powell and Ian Murray all announced they were withdrawing support and stepping down from Corbyn's 'shadow cabinet'. Sky News television reported that Lilian Greenwood and Kerry Mccarthy had also resigned. Several said in statements that they doubted Corbyn's ability to lead the party to victory in the country's next parliamentary election. A vote must take place within months after Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron announced on Friday he would step down by October after Britain voted to leave the European Union. (Reuters)

Seven of Labour withdraw support from Corbyn

One of the key &quot;Leave&quot;&nbsp;campaigners in Britain`s European Union (EU) membership referendum, Boris Johnson, has won the backing of Justice minister Michael Gove to replace David Cameron as prime minister, a newspaper has reported. 
 
Gove reportedly called Johnson by telephone on Saturday to say he would back him for the leadership of the ruling Conservative Party, The Sunday Times said. 
 
After voters in the referendum took the historic decision to back the &quot;Leave&quot; campaign which was led by Johnson and Gove, Cameron announced on Friday that he would step down as prime minister by October. Cameron had urged voters to stay in the bloc. 
 
The Sunday Times said interior minister Theresa May was expected to enter the leadership contest in the coming days and was likely to get support from allies of Cameron who see her as the best candidate to take on Johnson, a former London mayor. 
 
May supported the &quot;Remain&quot; campaign but took a lower profile than Cameron and finance minister George Osborne, whose hopes of becoming the party`s next leader took a big blow with the outcome of the referendum.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Theresa May was expected to enter the leadership contest and was likely to get support from allies of Cameron, reports suggest

One of the key "Leave" campaigners in Britain`s European Union (EU) membership referendum, Boris Johnson, has won the backing of Justice minister Michael Gove to replace David Cameron as prime minister, a newspaper has reported. Gove reportedly called Johnson by telephone on Saturday to say he would back him for the leadership of the ruling Conservative Party, The Sunday Times said. After voters in the referendum took the historic decision to back the "Leave" campaign which was led by Johnson and Gove, Cameron announced on Friday that he would step down as prime minister by October. Cameron had urged voters to stay in the bloc. The Sunday Times said interior minister Theresa May was expected to enter the leadership contest in the coming days and was likely to get support from allies of Cameron who see her as the best candidate to take on Johnson, a former London mayor. May supported the "Remain" campaign but took a lower profile than Cameron and finance minister George Osborne, whose hopes of becoming the party`s next leader took a big blow with the outcome of the referendum. (Reuters)

Boris Johnson wins justice minister's backing to replace Cameron as PM

Turmoil unleashed by Britain&#39;s vote to leave the EU engulfed the opposition Labour Party, while policymakers as far away as China, Japan and South Korea fretted today over the threat to global financial stability, hours before markets reopen. 
 
In the oldest parliamentary democracy, three million Britons have signed a petition calling for a re-run of Thursday&#39;s referendum that split the nation, and one opinion poll showed a strong majority of Scots now want to break with the United Kingdom rather than with the European Union. 
 
Labour&#39;s left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn sacked his foreign policy chief as the party plunged into open conflict. 
 
His health chief responded by resigning, calling for a new leader and reflecting accusations among pro-EU lawmakers that Corbyn&#39;s failure to win over traditional Labour voters had played a major role in the referendum result. 
 
Sacked foreign affairs spokesman Hilary Benn also called for Corbyn, who was elected last year largely by Left-wing party members and supporters, to go. &quot;He is a good and decent man but he is not a leader,&quot; Benn told BBC television. 
 
The 52-48 per cent referendum vote marked the biggest blow since World War II to the European project of forging greater unity across the continent. 
 
Sterling fell as much as 10 per cent against the Dollar on Friday to levels last seen in 1985, while world stocks saw more than $2 trillion wiped off their value. The weekend gave some respite from the turmoil, but with markets opening shortly in Asia, anxiety is growing. 
 
Prime Minister David Cameron resigned on Friday after Britons ignored his passionate appeals to stay in the EU, but left formally notifying Brussels of Britain&#39;s exit to his successor, who is unlikely to be in office for about three months. That signals a long period of limbo. 
 
Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said the vote &quot;will cast a shadow over the global economy&quot;. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s difficult to predict now,&quot; he said at the first annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing. &quot;The knee-jerk reaction from the market is probably a bit excessive and needs to calm down and take an objective view.&quot; 
 
Japan likewise fretted over the effect on the global currency market and contemplated official action. &quot;Speculative, violent moves have extremely negative effects,&quot; said Tomomi Inada, policy chief of the ruling LDP party. &quot;If necessary, the government should not hesitate to respond, including currency intervention,&quot; Nikkei daily quoted him as saying. 
 
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has tried to engineer a weaker Yen to encourage exports to help revive the Japanese economy. But after initial success, investors have sought safety in the Yen this year due to stock market turmoil and now the Brexit vote, pushing the currency back up. 
 
No respite 
 
South Korea&#39;s finance minister also said he feared international markets will remain volatile throughout negotiations on the British exit. 
 
The United States, which during campaigning made clear it wanted Britain to stay in the EU, also showed signs of unease. 
 
Secretary of state John Kerry will meet EU foreign policy chief Frederica Mogherini in Brussels and British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond in London on Monday. 
 
The visit is largely meant to offer symbolic reassurance at a critical juncture for Europe, but a senior US official said Kerry would also stress the importance of other members not following Britain&#39;s lead and further weakening the EU. 
 
Despite the international expressions of concern, respite from the uncertainty is unlikely for months, at the very least. 
 
Cameron has offered to stay on as a caretaker, but he has refused to invoke Article 50 of the EU&#39;s Lisbon Treaty, which allows for two years of exit negotiations. Instead he left that job to his successor, who is due to be elected by his Conservative Party sometime before its annual conference in October. 
 
Only after the new leader has invoked can work on thrashing out Britain&#39;s new relationship with the bloc begin. The man widely tipped as the next prime minister is former London mayor Boris Johnson, the most prominent member of the campaign to leave the EU. 
 
No lying down 
 
Signs are growing that not all the 16 million Britons who voted to stay in the EU are willing to take the result lying down. Many flocked to back an online petition demanding a second vote, with signatures exceeding three million today morning, more than double the figure the previous afternoon. 
 
The petition, posted on Parliament&#39;s website before the referendum, said there should be another vote if the outcome was close on a turnout of less than 75 per cent - three points above Thursday&#39;s figure. 
 
It will have to be considered for debate by lawmakers, but has no legal force and its backers compare with the 17.4 million who voted &quot;leave&quot;. 
 
The referendum has also re-energised support for Scotland, which voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, to break away from the United Kingdom instead. 
 
An opinion poll in The Sunday Post said 59 per cent of respondents backed independence, rocketing from 45 per cent of votes cast in a referendum in 2014. 
 
Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said a fresh independence referendum is possible 
 
&quot;My challenge now as first minister is to work out how I best protect Scotland&#39;s interests, how I try to prevent us being taken out of the EU against our will with all of the deeply damaging and painful consequences that that will entail,&quot; she told the BBC&#39;s Andrew Marr show.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)

The 52-48% referendum vote marked the biggest blow since World War II to the European project forging unity across the continent

Turmoil unleashed by Britain's vote to leave the EU engulfed the opposition Labour Party, while policymakers as far away as China, Japan and South Korea fretted today over the threat to global financial stability, hours before markets reopen. In the oldest parliamentary democracy, three million Britons have signed a petition calling for a re-run of Thursday's referendum that split the nation, and one opinion poll showed a strong majority of Scots now want to break with the United Kingdom rather than with the European Union. Labour's left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn sacked his foreign policy chief as the party plunged into open conflict. His health chief responded by resigning, calling for a new leader and reflecting accusations among pro-EU lawmakers that Corbyn's failure to win over traditional Labour voters had played a major role in the referendum result. Sacked foreign affairs spokesman Hilary Benn also called for Corbyn, who was elected last year largely by Left-wing party members and supporters, to go. "He is a good and decent man but he is not a leader," Benn told BBC television. The 52-48 per cent referendum vote marked the biggest blow since World War II to the European project of forging greater unity across the continent. Sterling fell as much as 10 per cent against the Dollar on Friday to levels last seen in 1985, while world stocks saw more than $2 trillion wiped off their value. The weekend gave some respite from the turmoil, but with markets opening shortly in Asia, anxiety is growing. Prime Minister David Cameron resigned on Friday after Britons ignored his passionate appeals to stay in the EU, but left formally notifying Brussels of Britain's exit to his successor, who is unlikely to be in office for about three months. That signals a long period of limbo. Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said the vote "will cast a shadow over the global economy". "It's difficult to predict now," he said at the first annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing. "The knee-jerk reaction from the market is probably a bit excessive and needs to calm down and take an objective view." Japan likewise fretted over the effect on the global currency market and contemplated official action. "Speculative, violent moves have extremely negative effects," said Tomomi Inada, policy chief of the ruling LDP party. "If necessary, the government should not hesitate to respond, including currency intervention," Nikkei daily quoted him as saying. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has tried to engineer a weaker Yen to encourage exports to help revive the Japanese economy. But after initial success, investors have sought safety in the Yen this year due to stock market turmoil and now the Brexit vote, pushing the currency back up. No respite South Korea's finance minister also said he feared international markets will remain volatile throughout negotiations on the British exit. The United States, which during campaigning made clear it wanted Britain to stay in the EU, also showed signs of unease. Secretary of state John Kerry will meet EU foreign policy chief Frederica Mogherini in Brussels and British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond in London on Monday. The visit is largely meant to offer symbolic reassurance at a critical juncture for Europe, but a senior US official said Kerry would also stress the importance of other members not following Britain's lead and further weakening the EU. Despite the international expressions of concern, respite from the uncertainty is unlikely for months, at the very least. Cameron has offered to stay on as a caretaker, but he has refused to invoke Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which allows for two years of exit negotiations. Instead he left that job to his successor, who is due to be elected by his Conservative Party sometime before its annual conference in October. Only after the new leader has invoked can work on thrashing out Britain's new relationship with the bloc begin. The man widely tipped as the next prime minister is former London mayor Boris Johnson, the most prominent member of the campaign to leave the EU. No lying down Signs are growing that not all the 16 million Britons who voted to stay in the EU are willing to take the result lying down. Many flocked to back an online petition demanding a second vote, with signatures exceeding three million today morning, more than double the figure the previous afternoon. The petition, posted on Parliament's website before the referendum, said there should be another vote if the outcome was close on a turnout of less than 75 per cent - three points above Thursday's figure. It will have to be considered for debate by lawmakers, but has no legal force and its backers compare with the 17.4 million who voted "leave". The referendum has also re-energised support for Scotland, which voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, to break away from the United Kingdom instead. An opinion poll in The Sunday Post said 59 per cent of respondents backed independence, rocketing from 45 per cent of votes cast in a referendum in 2014. Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said a fresh independence referendum is possible "My challenge now as first minister is to work out how I best protect Scotland's interests, how I try to prevent us being taken out of the EU against our will with all of the deeply damaging and painful consequences that that will entail," she told the BBC's Andrew Marr show. (Reuters)

British EU exit turmoil alarms Asia, rocks Labour opposition

Talks on Britain leaving the European Union must be carried out quickly to limit uncertainty, ECB Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau said today, adding London&#39;s financial centre was at risk of losing its prized &quot;EU passport&quot;. 
 
Banks based in London rely on a so-called EU passport to operate across the bloc&#39;s capital market unhindered. Some banks have said they would shift operations to the euro zone if Britain left the EU. 
 
The City of London will not be able to keep that passport if Britain leaves the EU&#39;s single market of trade in goods and services, Villeroy told France Inter radio. 
 
&quot;There is a precedent, it is the Norwegian model of European Economic Area, that would allow Britain to keep access to the single market but by committing to implement all EU rules,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;It would be a bit paradoxical to leave the EU and apply all EU rules, but that is one solution if Britain wants to keep access to the single market.&quot; 
 
Central banks are efficiently dealing with the fallout of Thursday&#39;s UK vote to leave the EU, said Villeroy, who is also governor of the French central bank, adding: &quot;The euro is a solid currency.&quot; 
 
&quot;What happened on Thursday is bad news, first of all for Britain,&quot; he said. &quot;Of course there will be negative consequences for the European economy but there will be much more limited than the negative consequences all experts forecast for the UK economy.&quot; 
 
Brexit does not put the French economy at any risk of contracting in the next quarters, he said, confirming past growth forecasts of at least 1.4 per cent for 2016. 
 
(Reuters)

Some London-based banks have said they would shift operations to the euro zone if Britain left the EU

Talks on Britain leaving the European Union must be carried out quickly to limit uncertainty, ECB Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau said today, adding London's financial centre was at risk of losing its prized "EU passport". Banks based in London rely on a so-called EU passport to operate across the bloc's capital market unhindered. Some banks have said they would shift operations to the euro zone if Britain left the EU. The City of London will not be able to keep that passport if Britain leaves the EU's single market of trade in goods and services, Villeroy told France Inter radio. "There is a precedent, it is the Norwegian model of European Economic Area, that would allow Britain to keep access to the single market but by committing to implement all EU rules," he said. "It would be a bit paradoxical to leave the EU and apply all EU rules, but that is one solution if Britain wants to keep access to the single market." Central banks are efficiently dealing with the fallout of Thursday's UK vote to leave the EU, said Villeroy, who is also governor of the French central bank, adding: "The euro is a solid currency." "What happened on Thursday is bad news, first of all for Britain," he said. "Of course there will be negative consequences for the European economy but there will be much more limited than the negative consequences all experts forecast for the UK economy." Brexit does not put the French economy at any risk of contracting in the next quarters, he said, confirming past growth forecasts of at least 1.4 per cent for 2016. (Reuters)

ECB's Villeroy: Brexit talks must be quick, City of London at risk of losing 'EU passport'

The European Union needs a new roadmap that should be devised in consultation with voters and then put to a referendum, France&#39;s Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said today in comments that may further stir tensions with the ruling Socialist Party. 
 
Macron&#39;s talk of a European-wide referendum goes beyond comments made by President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who both said the EU needed to reinvent itself after Britons voted to leave the bloc but made no reference to a popular vote.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;We would first build this new project with European peoples and then submit this new roadmap, this new project, to a referendum,&quot; he said ahead of a debate on the fallout from the British referendum. 
 
Macron said voters should be consulted through a series of debates that he called &quot;democratic conventions&quot;. 
 
&quot;It must be done in the right framework,&quot; the minister added. 
 
Macron, a former investment banker, is one of the embattled Socialist government`s most popular ministers among the public. But his launch last month of his own &quot;En Marche&quot; party a year ahead of a presidential election has fueled speculation that he could be eying the Elysee palace as the ratings of Hollande stay rock-bottom. He has said he would not run in the election. 
 
Macron said a knee-jerk referendum must be avoided. 
 
&quot;The idea would not be to have 27 separate referendums,&quot; Macron said during the debate. &quot;We&#39;ve never had the courage to organise a true European referendum in its real sense. This next project must give it that strength.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
In 2005, a proposed EU constitution was blocked by a referendum in France, due mostly to public opposition to an enlarged, free-marketeering Europe. Dutch voters also rejected the constitution in a separate referendum. 
 
(Reuters)

France's Economy Minister said voters should be consulted through a series of debates that he called 'democratic convention'

The European Union needs a new roadmap that should be devised in consultation with voters and then put to a referendum, France's Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said today in comments that may further stir tensions with the ruling Socialist Party. Macron's talk of a European-wide referendum goes beyond comments made by President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who both said the EU needed to reinvent itself after Britons voted to leave the bloc but made no reference to a popular vote. "We would first build this new project with European peoples and then submit this new roadmap, this new project, to a referendum," he said ahead of a debate on the fallout from the British referendum. Macron said voters should be consulted through a series of debates that he called "democratic conventions". "It must be done in the right framework," the minister added. Macron, a former investment banker, is one of the embattled Socialist government`s most popular ministers among the public. But his launch last month of his own "En Marche" party a year ahead of a presidential election has fueled speculation that he could be eying the Elysee palace as the ratings of Hollande stay rock-bottom. He has said he would not run in the election. Macron said a knee-jerk referendum must be avoided. "The idea would not be to have 27 separate referendums," Macron said during the debate. "We've never had the courage to organise a true European referendum in its real sense. This next project must give it that strength." In 2005, a proposed EU constitution was blocked by a referendum in France, due mostly to public opposition to an enlarged, free-marketeering Europe. Dutch voters also rejected the constitution in a separate referendum. (Reuters)

France's Macron wants new European project, and EU-wide referendum

Executives at&nbsp;Asian&nbsp;automakers with factories in Britain, largely set up to export to the European Union, say they could slow investments in Britain or pause them for now, after the country voted to leave the 28-nation bloc.

Automakers, including Toyota &nbsp;and Nissan, had been among the manufacturers that have warned that a period of uncertainty would follow a Brexit vote, as trade and labour deals with Europe are renegotiated. Most on Friday estimated it could take around two years.

Toyota and Nissan had said in the run-up to the vote that continued membership of the European Union was preferable for their operations: a vote to leave would create new challenges for an industry that employs some 800,000 people in Britain.

&quot;We don&#39;t have any choice but to be more cautious with our investment decisions, including moves like whether to produce a new or significantly redesigned vehicle model in the UK,&quot; said one official at a global automaker with manufacturing capacity in Britain, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Tata Motors&#39; Jaguar Land Rover is Britain&#39;s largest carmaker, followed by Nissan, which has been in Britain for three decades and makes 475,000 cars a year in the country, most of them for export inside the European Union and beyond.

Sunderland in northern England, where Nissan has its operations, was among the constituencies that surprised pundits by voting to leave. 
 
&quot;Big question for automakers, is what kind of trade deals with the EU would be negotiated. That is the big unknown,&quot; a second executive at a global automaker said.

&nbsp;

TARIFF-FREE EXPORTS

Exports from Britain to the European Union are free of tariffs and duties. Toyota has said duties under new trading deals could be as much as 10 per cent, hitting either prices or margins, and denting sales.

Toyota produced about 190,000 cars in Britain last year. Of that, 75 per cent went to the European Union. Only 10 per cent was shipped and sold within Britain.

South Korea&#39;s auto association said it was worried a departure could revive a 10-per cent tariff on exports of passenger vehicles to UK -- unless a separate deal is negotiated.

&nbsp;&quot;This could inevitably undermine the price competitiveness of South Korean automakers in UK, as opposed to Japanese and German rivals which have production bases there,&quot; said Kim Tae-nyen, vice president at the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA).

Aside from Toyota, Tata and Nissan, others manufacturing in Britain include BMW, GM and Honda.

Honda produces around 140,000 vehicles per year, including the CR-V crossover SUV and Civic sedan at its plant in Swindon. Half of its production is exported to the EU.

Some industry officials have said the exit even raises the prospects of those automakers moving Britain-based manufacturing capacity elsewhere in the EU bloc.

For now, officials said efforts would turn to lobbying hard for better trade deals.

&quot;Obviously, trading deals to be worked out subsequently could be a worse situation than we have now, or better, or all the same. We don&rsquo;t know, and that&rsquo;s the problem,&quot; said the second executive.

(Reuters)

According to Toyota and Nissan, Britain's exit will create new challenges for the industry that employs 800,000 people in Britain

Executives at Asian automakers with factories in Britain, largely set up to export to the European Union, say they could slow investments in Britain or pause them for now, after the country voted to leave the 28-nation bloc. Automakers, including Toyota and Nissan, had been among the manufacturers that have warned that a period of uncertainty would follow a Brexit vote, as trade and labour deals with Europe are renegotiated. Most on Friday estimated it could take around two years. Toyota and Nissan had said in the run-up to the vote that continued membership of the European Union was preferable for their operations: a vote to leave would create new challenges for an industry that employs some 800,000 people in Britain. "We don't have any choice but to be more cautious with our investment decisions, including moves like whether to produce a new or significantly redesigned vehicle model in the UK," said one official at a global automaker with manufacturing capacity in Britain, speaking on condition of anonymity. Tata Motors' Jaguar Land Rover is Britain's largest carmaker, followed by Nissan, which has been in Britain for three decades and makes 475,000 cars a year in the country, most of them for export inside the European Union and beyond. Sunderland in northern England, where Nissan has its operations, was among the constituencies that surprised pundits by voting to leave. "Big question for automakers, is what kind of trade deals with the EU would be negotiated. That is the big unknown," a second executive at a global automaker said. TARIFF-FREE EXPORTS Exports from Britain to the European Union are free of tariffs and duties. Toyota has said duties under new trading deals could be as much as 10 per cent, hitting either prices or margins, and denting sales. Toyota produced about 190,000 cars in Britain last year. Of that, 75 per cent went to the European Union. Only 10 per cent was shipped and sold within Britain. South Korea's auto association said it was worried a departure could revive a 10-per cent tariff on exports of passenger vehicles to UK -- unless a separate deal is negotiated. "This could inevitably undermine the price competitiveness of South Korean automakers in UK, as opposed to Japanese and German rivals which have production bases there," said Kim Tae-nyen, vice president at the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA). Aside from Toyota, Tata and Nissan, others manufacturing in Britain include BMW, GM and Honda. Honda produces around 140,000 vehicles per year, including the CR-V crossover SUV and Civic sedan at its plant in Swindon. Half of its production is exported to the EU. Some industry officials have said the exit even raises the prospects of those automakers moving Britain-based manufacturing capacity elsewhere in the EU bloc. For now, officials said efforts would turn to lobbying hard for better trade deals. "Obviously, trading deals to be worked out subsequently could be a worse situation than we have now, or better, or all the same. We don’t know, and that’s the problem," said the second executive. (Reuters)

Asian car makers fret over uncertainty ahead after Brexit vote

Bank of England governor Mark Carney said on Friday the central bank was ready to provide 250 billion Pounds ($345.93 billion) of additional funds to support financial markets after Britain voted to leave the European Union. 
 
&quot;We are well prepared for this. Her Majesty&#39;s Treasury and the Bank of England have engaged in extensive contingency planning and the Chancellor and I have remained in close contact, including through the night and this morning,&quot; he said. 
 
Carney also said the central bank will consider whether to take additional policy responses in the coming weeks. 
 
&quot;In the future we will not hesitate to take any additional measures required to meet our responsibilities as the United Kingdom moves forward,&quot; he said. 
 
Global financial markets plunged as results from Thursday&#39;s referendum showed a near 52-48 per cent split for leaving. 
 
(Reuters)

Her Majesty's Treasury and the central bank have been planning a contingency scheme, says Mark Carney

Bank of England governor Mark Carney said on Friday the central bank was ready to provide 250 billion Pounds ($345.93 billion) of additional funds to support financial markets after Britain voted to leave the European Union. "We are well prepared for this. Her Majesty's Treasury and the Bank of England have engaged in extensive contingency planning and the Chancellor and I have remained in close contact, including through the night and this morning," he said. Carney also said the central bank will consider whether to take additional policy responses in the coming weeks. "In the future we will not hesitate to take any additional measures required to meet our responsibilities as the United Kingdom moves forward," he said. Global financial markets plunged as results from Thursday's referendum showed a near 52-48 per cent split for leaving. (Reuters)

Bank of England to supply 250 billion Pounds to help markets after Brexit vote

&nbsp; 
David Cameron said he would resign as the Prime Minister of the UK by October after Britons voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. The UK should aim to have a new PM in place by October, he added. 
 
&quot;I do not think it would be right for me to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination,&quot; he said outside his Downing Street office. 
 
He voiced concerns about the future of ties with the Eurppean Union. &ldquo;Now that the decision has been taken to leave, we need to find the best way,&rdquo; he said, adding that the UK must prepare for full negotiations with the EU on matters of business, finance and travel ties. 
 
(With inputs from Reuters)

The people have spoken and their will needs to be respected, he says while highlighting the need to open negotiations with the EU

David Cameron said he would resign as the Prime Minister of the UK by October after Britons voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. The UK should aim to have a new PM in place by October, he added. "I do not think it would be right for me to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination," he said outside his Downing Street office. He voiced concerns about the future of ties with the Eurppean Union. “Now that the decision has been taken to leave, we need to find the best way,” he said, adding that the UK must prepare for full negotiations with the EU on matters of business, finance and travel ties. (With inputs from Reuters)

The Brexit effect: UK PM David Cameron to step down by October

As Brexit wins the Britain votes to leave the European Union (EU), Ireland is seemingly anticipating a damaging economic and political fallout. 
 
Britain&rsquo;s nearest neighbour and largest trade partner, Ireland has the EU&rsquo;s fastest-growing economy but also more to lose than any other member state from a `Brexit` with far-reaching implications for its trade, economy, security of energy supplies and peace in British-ruled Northern Ireland.&nbsp; 
 
Downside is definite: Sinn Fein&nbsp; 
Within minutes of the outcome becoming apparent, Northern Ireland`s largest Irish nationalist party, Sinn Fein said the result intensified the case for a vote on whether Northern Ireland should leave the United Kingdom.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The downside is definite and the upside is speculative,&quot; Noonan told parliament as the United Kingdom voted on Thursday, referring to the potential upside that some companies keen to stay in the EU might move from Britain to Ireland. 
 
Ireland`s central bank had warned that a withdrawal would hurt economic growth and jobs and significantly impact the financial sector, while a government-commissioned report found it could cut trade with Britain by at least 20 percent. 
 
Noonan said earlier this week that an estimated cumulative Brexit-related hit on the Irish economy of as much as 1.6 percent of GDP would be &quot;containable&quot;. 
 
 
Farmers, major UK suppliers more vulnerable 
Irish exporters will be the first to suffer, as the pound weakened significantly against the euro, making their euro-priced goods more expensive. Ireland will have to consider taking steps to assist firms exporting into Britain, Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan told Reuters on Wednesday.&nbsp; 
 
Farmers and food producers, major UK suppliers, are especially vulnerable. The British Irish Chamber of Commerce said business needed a comprehensive and quickly concluded trade agreement between the EU and the UK that recognised the unique relationship between Ireland and the UK. 
 
&quot;As the voice of businesses with significant employment in the UK and Ireland, the Chamber is concerned about any adverse impact the UK`s decision could have on trade between these Islands,&quot; said John McGrane, Director General of the Chamber. 
 
Reintroduction of a hard border would be considered: Flanagan&nbsp; 
Of most concern to Dublin is the impact on Northern Ireland, which has the only land frontier between the United Kingdom and the rest of the EU. It was marked by military checkpoints until a 1998 peace deal ended three decades of sectarian violence. 
 
Flanagan said the reintroduction of a hard border would have to be considered in any negotiation and that the return of controls, for customs or security, could pose a difficult challenge for the peace process. 
 
The dismantling of military border posts was a key aspect of a 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of violence between Catholic nationalists seeking a united Ireland and Protestant unionists who wanted to keep Northern Ireland British. Over 3,600 died in the conflict. 
 
British finance minister George Osborne has said border controls would be inevitable, while former prime ministers Tony Blair and John Major, who also campaigned for a vote to remain, said a Brexit could undermine peace in the six-county province.Pro-Brexit campaigners, including Britain`s minister for Northern Ireland, described those warnings as &quot;scaremongering&quot; and said a Brexit would not endanger a common travel area that predates both countries` entry into the EU in 1973. 
 
 
&lsquo;This outcome dramatically changes political landscape&rsquo;&nbsp; 
While the United Kingdom as a whole voted by 52 percent to 48 percent in favour of leaving the EU, 56 percent of those in Northern Ireland favoured staying.&nbsp; 
 
Northern Ireland`s nationalist Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said ahead of the vote that Britain should immediately commit to holding a vote to unite Ireland if its citizens chose to leave the EU. 
 
Under the 1998 agreement that brought about peace, Britain`s Secretary of State for Northern Ireland may call such a vote at any time. It also specifies that the Secretary &quot;shall&quot; order a referendum if it appears likely that a majority of those voting would seek to form part of a united Ireland. 
 
Nigel Dodds, a senior member of the province`s largest party, the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party, told Sky News on Thursday that Sinn Fein were on very weak ground calling for a unity vote. 
 
But Sinn Fein chairman Declan Kearney said in a statement:&nbsp; 
 
&quot;This outcome tonight dramatically changes the political landscape here in the north of Ireland and we will be intensifying our case for the calling of a border poll,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; 
 
He further added saying, &quot;The British government as a direct result have forfeited any mandate to represent the interests of people here in the north of Ireland in circumstances where the north is dragged out of Europe as a result of a vote to leave.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Ireland has the EU`s fastest-growing economy but also more to lose than any other member in view of British exit?

As Brexit wins the Britain votes to leave the European Union (EU), Ireland is seemingly anticipating a damaging economic and political fallout. Britain’s nearest neighbour and largest trade partner, Ireland has the EU’s fastest-growing economy but also more to lose than any other member state from a `Brexit` with far-reaching implications for its trade, economy, security of energy supplies and peace in British-ruled Northern Ireland. Downside is definite: Sinn Fein Within minutes of the outcome becoming apparent, Northern Ireland`s largest Irish nationalist party, Sinn Fein said the result intensified the case for a vote on whether Northern Ireland should leave the United Kingdom. "The downside is definite and the upside is speculative," Noonan told parliament as the United Kingdom voted on Thursday, referring to the potential upside that some companies keen to stay in the EU might move from Britain to Ireland. Ireland`s central bank had warned that a withdrawal would hurt economic growth and jobs and significantly impact the financial sector, while a government-commissioned report found it could cut trade with Britain by at least 20 percent. Noonan said earlier this week that an estimated cumulative Brexit-related hit on the Irish economy of as much as 1.6 percent of GDP would be "containable". Farmers, major UK suppliers more vulnerable Irish exporters will be the first to suffer, as the pound weakened significantly against the euro, making their euro-priced goods more expensive. Ireland will have to consider taking steps to assist firms exporting into Britain, Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan told Reuters on Wednesday. Farmers and food producers, major UK suppliers, are especially vulnerable. The British Irish Chamber of Commerce said business needed a comprehensive and quickly concluded trade agreement between the EU and the UK that recognised the unique relationship between Ireland and the UK. "As the voice of businesses with significant employment in the UK and Ireland, the Chamber is concerned about any adverse impact the UK`s decision could have on trade between these Islands," said John McGrane, Director General of the Chamber. Reintroduction of a hard border would be considered: Flanagan Of most concern to Dublin is the impact on Northern Ireland, which has the only land frontier between the United Kingdom and the rest of the EU. It was marked by military checkpoints until a 1998 peace deal ended three decades of sectarian violence. Flanagan said the reintroduction of a hard border would have to be considered in any negotiation and that the return of controls, for customs or security, could pose a difficult challenge for the peace process. The dismantling of military border posts was a key aspect of a 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of violence between Catholic nationalists seeking a united Ireland and Protestant unionists who wanted to keep Northern Ireland British. Over 3,600 died in the conflict. British finance minister George Osborne has said border controls would be inevitable, while former prime ministers Tony Blair and John Major, who also campaigned for a vote to remain, said a Brexit could undermine peace in the six-county province.Pro-Brexit campaigners, including Britain`s minister for Northern Ireland, described those warnings as "scaremongering" and said a Brexit would not endanger a common travel area that predates both countries` entry into the EU in 1973. ‘This outcome dramatically changes political landscape’ While the United Kingdom as a whole voted by 52 percent to 48 percent in favour of leaving the EU, 56 percent of those in Northern Ireland favoured staying. Northern Ireland`s nationalist Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said ahead of the vote that Britain should immediately commit to holding a vote to unite Ireland if its citizens chose to leave the EU. Under the 1998 agreement that brought about peace, Britain`s Secretary of State for Northern Ireland may call such a vote at any time. It also specifies that the Secretary "shall" order a referendum if it appears likely that a majority of those voting would seek to form part of a united Ireland. Nigel Dodds, a senior member of the province`s largest party, the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party, told Sky News on Thursday that Sinn Fein were on very weak ground calling for a unity vote. But Sinn Fein chairman Declan Kearney said in a statement: "This outcome tonight dramatically changes the political landscape here in the north of Ireland and we will be intensifying our case for the calling of a border poll,” he said. He further added saying, "The British government as a direct result have forfeited any mandate to represent the interests of people here in the north of Ireland in circumstances where the north is dragged out of Europe as a result of a vote to leave." (Reuters)

Ireland anticipates damaging economic, political fallout after Brexit

Britain&rsquo;s 2.2 million financial industry workers face years of uncertainty and the risk of thousands of job cuts after the country voted to quit the European Union, leaving question marks over London&#39;s status as Europe&#39;s premier financial centre. 
 
The &lsquo;Vote Leave&rsquo; campaign fronted by a slew of Conservative lawmakers and financial industry veterans claimed victory over its &lsquo;Britain Stronger in Europe&rsquo; rival, after 374 of a total 382 counting areas declared majority support for their plan to leave the 28-nation club by 0507 GMT. 
 
The final official result is expected around 0600 GMT.&nbsp; 
 
Bankers&rsquo; early confidence that Britain would remain within the European Union quickly evaporated after early vote counts suggested the &quot;leave&quot; camp had the upper hand, sending Sterling plummeting to a thirty-year low and heart-rates racing on trading floors from London to Hong Kong. 
 
A leave vote means the future of Britain&#39;s financial services industry is now hanging in the balance.&nbsp; 
 
All depends on the divorce between Europe and Britain, the latter&#39;s ability to retain access to the European free market, and cope with the volatility that has seen Sterling nosedive against major global currencies. 
 
Mood in the restaurants and coffee shops in the high-rise banking hub of Canary Wharf, home to JPMorgan, Citi, HSBC and Barclays, was sober and contemplative, with job security fears rising to levels unseen since the 2008 financial crisis. 
 
Major investment banks have already warned they could move thousands of jobs elsewhere if Britain opts out of the EU, while the European Central Bank has signalled it could force euro trading out of London, the world&#39;s largest foreign exchange market.&nbsp; 
Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley could move around 1,000 of its roughly 6,000 employees currently in Britain on to the Continent if the country votes to leave the EU, a person familiar with the matter has told Reuters.&nbsp; 
 
Jamie Dimon, CEO of rival JPMorgan told staffers his bank &quot;may have no choice&quot; but to overhaul its UK business model, casting a pall over its 16,000 strong workforce. 
 
But for now, sources at banks said memos emailed internally to rattled employees advised them to think about clients first. 
 
&quot;I&rsquo;ve convened a big team meeting at 0800 GMT as the juniors are freaking out. I will tell them to focus on their job and wait for the volatility to pass but the reality is much, much starker, we&#39;ll have a crash and big layoffs,&quot; a senior investment banker at a U.S. bank told Reuters.&nbsp; 
&quot;It&#39;s an act of national self-harm,&quot; he added. 
 
CARNAGE ON MARKETS 
Months of bitter campaigning has left the industry - which earned the nation 190 billion pounds in 2014 - deeply divided, with investment banks and insurers pitted against many fund managers and brokers who wanted a Brexit. 
 
&quot;This is the biggest vote in my lifetime. Black Wednesday and the impact of Lehman Brothers collapsing - these other big events don&#39;t even compare in magnitude to this,&quot; said Mark Boleat, Chairman of the City of London&rsquo;s Policy and Resources Committee. 
 
&quot;We are just beginning to think through what will have to happen legally and it is massive, absolutely massive,&quot; he told Reuters. 
 
Reflecting the uncertainty that will hit the financial services sector, Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC and Standard Chartered fell more than 10 per cent, while other UK banks are expected to post sharp declines when they start trading in London. 
 
All the major international and British banks in London had traders either working through the night or on call. Bankers in New York were also burning the midnight oil with special numbers laid out for clients to call, foreign exchange desks fully staffed and senior management keeping a fretful eye on screens. 
 
&quot;Leave&rsquo;s victory has delivered one of the biggest market shocks of all time ... Panic may not be too strong a word,&quot; Joe Rundle, Head of Trading at ETX Capital said. 
 
Many financial firms rely on the EU&rsquo;s &lsquo;passporting&rsquo; regime to sell their services across all of the bloc while basing the majority of their staff and operations in London.&nbsp; 
 
European government officials said UK-based firms could lose these privileges in the event of a Brexit, a move that would force them to shift some of their operations to the likes of Frankfurt, Paris or Dublin if they wanted to serve EU clients. 
 
WHAT NEXT? 
The Financial Conduct Authority said it would not comment about any immediate action it might take until after the referendum result has been formally announced. The Bank of England&#39;s Prudential Regulation Authority said it had no comment for the time being.&nbsp; 
 
For investment bankers, a Brexit vote is more than just about volatile prices on a screen but also about where they may end up working and living. 
 
&quot;I will be ok because I&#39;ve had a long career and I have savings and assets,&quot; the senior banker said. 
 
&quot;People just starting out, people in much more precarious situations, will lose out from Brexit.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
But some commentators said the volatility would be temporary and would soon subside when international investors drawn by a fall in sterling began to scour financial markets for bargains. 
 
&quot;Certainly, some international investors could find the UK less attractive but history shows us others are positively attracted to economies that get a devaluation boost,&quot; said Colin McLean, Managing Director at SVM Asset Management. 
 
&quot;There may even be more takeover activity from overseas firms looking for bargains on the London stock market,&quot; he said. 
 
Disappointed supporters of the EU project on mainland Europe said Britain would struggle to keep the same market freedoms that have attracted more than 250 foreign lenders to its shores and turned financial services into Britain&#39;s biggest export. 
 
&quot;If Britain guarantees to implement all the rules, then Europe will unlikely punish London,&quot; said European Parliament member Sven Giegold, a member of the German Green Party. 
 
&quot;But the will of the citizens was exactly to get rid of that dependence. That is the irony because you can&#39;t do both. If you want to keep your market open, you have to accept all the rules. Without that, Europe would be foolish to extend privileges to the UK and the City of London,&quot; he said. 
 
(Reuters) 
 
 
 
 
&nbsp;

Its 2.2 million financial industry workers face years of uncertainty and the risk of thousands of job cuts

Britain’s 2.2 million financial industry workers face years of uncertainty and the risk of thousands of job cuts after the country voted to quit the European Union, leaving question marks over London's status as Europe's premier financial centre. The ‘Vote Leave’ campaign fronted by a slew of Conservative lawmakers and financial industry veterans claimed victory over its ‘Britain Stronger in Europe’ rival, after 374 of a total 382 counting areas declared majority support for their plan to leave the 28-nation club by 0507 GMT. The final official result is expected around 0600 GMT. Bankers’ early confidence that Britain would remain within the European Union quickly evaporated after early vote counts suggested the "leave" camp had the upper hand, sending Sterling plummeting to a thirty-year low and heart-rates racing on trading floors from London to Hong Kong. A leave vote means the future of Britain's financial services industry is now hanging in the balance. All depends on the divorce between Europe and Britain, the latter's ability to retain access to the European free market, and cope with the volatility that has seen Sterling nosedive against major global currencies. Mood in the restaurants and coffee shops in the high-rise banking hub of Canary Wharf, home to JPMorgan, Citi, HSBC and Barclays, was sober and contemplative, with job security fears rising to levels unseen since the 2008 financial crisis. Major investment banks have already warned they could move thousands of jobs elsewhere if Britain opts out of the EU, while the European Central Bank has signalled it could force euro trading out of London, the world's largest foreign exchange market. Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley could move around 1,000 of its roughly 6,000 employees currently in Britain on to the Continent if the country votes to leave the EU, a person familiar with the matter has told Reuters. Jamie Dimon, CEO of rival JPMorgan told staffers his bank "may have no choice" but to overhaul its UK business model, casting a pall over its 16,000 strong workforce. But for now, sources at banks said memos emailed internally to rattled employees advised them to think about clients first. "I’ve convened a big team meeting at 0800 GMT as the juniors are freaking out. I will tell them to focus on their job and wait for the volatility to pass but the reality is much, much starker, we'll have a crash and big layoffs," a senior investment banker at a U.S. bank told Reuters. "It's an act of national self-harm," he added. CARNAGE ON MARKETS Months of bitter campaigning has left the industry - which earned the nation 190 billion pounds in 2014 - deeply divided, with investment banks and insurers pitted against many fund managers and brokers who wanted a Brexit. "This is the biggest vote in my lifetime. Black Wednesday and the impact of Lehman Brothers collapsing - these other big events don't even compare in magnitude to this," said Mark Boleat, Chairman of the City of London’s Policy and Resources Committee. "We are just beginning to think through what will have to happen legally and it is massive, absolutely massive," he told Reuters. Reflecting the uncertainty that will hit the financial services sector, Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC and Standard Chartered fell more than 10 per cent, while other UK banks are expected to post sharp declines when they start trading in London. All the major international and British banks in London had traders either working through the night or on call. Bankers in New York were also burning the midnight oil with special numbers laid out for clients to call, foreign exchange desks fully staffed and senior management keeping a fretful eye on screens. "Leave’s victory has delivered one of the biggest market shocks of all time ... Panic may not be too strong a word," Joe Rundle, Head of Trading at ETX Capital said. Many financial firms rely on the EU’s ‘passporting’ regime to sell their services across all of the bloc while basing the majority of their staff and operations in London. European government officials said UK-based firms could lose these privileges in the event of a Brexit, a move that would force them to shift some of their operations to the likes of Frankfurt, Paris or Dublin if they wanted to serve EU clients. WHAT NEXT? The Financial Conduct Authority said it would not comment about any immediate action it might take until after the referendum result has been formally announced. The Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority said it had no comment for the time being. For investment bankers, a Brexit vote is more than just about volatile prices on a screen but also about where they may end up working and living. "I will be ok because I've had a long career and I have savings and assets," the senior banker said. "People just starting out, people in much more precarious situations, will lose out from Brexit." But some commentators said the volatility would be temporary and would soon subside when international investors drawn by a fall in sterling began to scour financial markets for bargains. "Certainly, some international investors could find the UK less attractive but history shows us others are positively attracted to economies that get a devaluation boost," said Colin McLean, Managing Director at SVM Asset Management. "There may even be more takeover activity from overseas firms looking for bargains on the London stock market," he said. Disappointed supporters of the EU project on mainland Europe said Britain would struggle to keep the same market freedoms that have attracted more than 250 foreign lenders to its shores and turned financial services into Britain's biggest export. "If Britain guarantees to implement all the rules, then Europe will unlikely punish London," said European Parliament member Sven Giegold, a member of the German Green Party. "But the will of the citizens was exactly to get rid of that dependence. That is the irony because you can't do both. If you want to keep your market open, you have to accept all the rules. Without that, Europe would be foolish to extend privileges to the UK and the City of London," he said. (Reuters)

Britain's financial sector reels after the bombshell

Close on the heels of the murder of British MP Jo Cox, United Kingdom is polling on Thursday to decide if the country will &lsquo;leave&rsquo; or &lsquo;remain&rsquo; in the European Union (EU). 
 
Apart from Asian markets wobbling and oil prices rising, reactions are pouring in from all quarters of the world, both favouring and defying the idea of the British exit from EU.&nbsp; 
 
United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage, who favours Brexit, reportedly pulled out of a television debate right ahead of the EU referendum. While polling started this morning, he had already been actively urging the social media users on Twitter to &lsquo;vote&rsquo; and &lsquo;get our country back&rsquo;.&nbsp; 
 
Brexit would raise eyebrows in Ireland&nbsp; 
 
Expressing concern, however, Ireland foreign minister Charlie Flanagan Wednesday said that Ireland would have to consider taking steps to assist firms exporting into Britain, if its nearest neighbour and largest trade partner votes to leave the European Union.&nbsp; 
 
According to observers, Irish exporters would be the first to suffer if Brexit significantly weakened the Pound against the Euro and Flanagan said concerns were raised in meetings with trade bodies during the campaign. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s too early for me to speculate as to the nature of any actions that we may take, but we are fully sensitive to the challenge that lies ahead and the need to respond accordingly,&quot; Flanagan said and added, &ldquo;In the event of there being a vote to leave, we would be primarily focused on strategic national Irish interests across a range of issues, primarily economic and trade, so we have prepared a plan across a range of departments.&quot; 
 
About Euro 1.2 billion ($1.35 billion) worth of goods and services are traded between United Kingdom and Ireland each week with Irish farmers and food producers, major UK suppliers, particularly vulnerable. 
 
Why some leaders do not want Britain to &#39;leave&#39; 
 
Businessman George Soros had earlier this week observed that Britain&rsquo;s exit could lead to the depriciation of the Pound.&nbsp; 
 
Many world leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnball, are not in favour of UK&rsquo;s exit from the EU.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;It would be a very big shock, there is no doubt about that, if Britain votes to leave the European Union. There will be obviously great efforts to ensure that the consequences of that shock are minimised,&rdquo; he said ahead of polls. &quot;Clearly, Britain is not voting to leave NATO, for example, so the strategic implications are not as severe as they could be, if that were the case. But it will be a big shock and it is a reminder as Margaret Thatcher once said &#39;to expect the unexpected&#39;. There are a lot of headwinds in the global economy, there are a lot of challenges, there are a lot of things that are beyond our control that effect global markets, that effect us.&quot; 
 
(WION and Agencies)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Apart from Asian markets wobbling and oil prices rising, reactions are pouring in from all quarters of the world

Close on the heels of the murder of British MP Jo Cox, United Kingdom is polling on Thursday to decide if the country will ‘leave’ or ‘remain’ in the European Union (EU). Apart from Asian markets wobbling and oil prices rising, reactions are pouring in from all quarters of the world, both favouring and defying the idea of the British exit from EU. United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage, who favours Brexit, reportedly pulled out of a television debate right ahead of the EU referendum. While polling started this morning, he had already been actively urging the social media users on Twitter to ‘vote’ and ‘get our country back’. Brexit would raise eyebrows in Ireland Expressing concern, however, Ireland foreign minister Charlie Flanagan Wednesday said that Ireland would have to consider taking steps to assist firms exporting into Britain, if its nearest neighbour and largest trade partner votes to leave the European Union. According to observers, Irish exporters would be the first to suffer if Brexit significantly weakened the Pound against the Euro and Flanagan said concerns were raised in meetings with trade bodies during the campaign. "It's too early for me to speculate as to the nature of any actions that we may take, but we are fully sensitive to the challenge that lies ahead and the need to respond accordingly," Flanagan said and added, “In the event of there being a vote to leave, we would be primarily focused on strategic national Irish interests across a range of issues, primarily economic and trade, so we have prepared a plan across a range of departments." About Euro 1.2 billion ($1.35 billion) worth of goods and services are traded between United Kingdom and Ireland each week with Irish farmers and food producers, major UK suppliers, particularly vulnerable. Why some leaders do not want Britain to 'leave' Businessman George Soros had earlier this week observed that Britain’s exit could lead to the depriciation of the Pound. Many world leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnball, are not in favour of UK’s exit from the EU. "It would be a very big shock, there is no doubt about that, if Britain votes to leave the European Union. There will be obviously great efforts to ensure that the consequences of that shock are minimised,” he said ahead of polls. "Clearly, Britain is not voting to leave NATO, for example, so the strategic implications are not as severe as they could be, if that were the case. But it will be a big shock and it is a reminder as Margaret Thatcher once said 'to expect the unexpected'. There are a lot of headwinds in the global economy, there are a lot of challenges, there are a lot of things that are beyond our control that effect global markets, that effect us." (WION and Agencies)

'Leave' or 'Remain'? World reacts over possibility of Brexit

China is paying attention to Britain&#39;s referendum on membership of the European Union, and while it respects the people&#39;s choice, Beijing hopes to see a strong and stable EU, the Chinese government said on Thursday as Britons headed to the polls. 
 
China has not directly stated its opinion on the Brexit referendum, seeing the vote as an internal matter.But diplomatic sources say China has given coded support for the &quot;remain&quot; camp by calling for a strong, united Europe - something President Xi Jinping told British Prime Minister David Cameron in October and Foreign Minister Wang Yi repeated last month. 
 
&quot;We are paying attention to Britain`s referendum on its relationship with the EU. We respect the choice of the British people,&quot; Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing. 
 
&quot;We have also consistently supported the European integration process and would like to see a unified, strong and stable EU play an important role in international affairs,&quot; she added. 
 
Although China and Britain have a history of disputes over human rights and the future of the former British colony of Hong Kong, diplomats say export-reliant China values Britain as a strong advocate for free trade within the EU and the bloc as an important counterweight to the United States. 
 
Relations between Britain and China have been warming over the past few years and economic links have multiplied in tandem in what both countries refer to as a &quot;golden age&quot; in ties. 
 
&quot;China pays great attention to its relations with Britain and is willing to continue having mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas,&quot; Hua said. 
 
One of China&#39;s most influential and widely read newspapers, the Global Times, went further in its view on the referendum, saying that if Britain votes to leave the EU, then the country will lose its influence globally. 
 
The paper, published by the ruling Communist Party&#39;s official People&#39;s Daily, said the EU vote and 2014 Scottish independence referendum had made Britain appear one of the largest sources of uncertainty in Europe. 
 
&quot;The UK looks like it has been led astray, and this concerns Europe and the world,&quot; it said in joint editorials in its Chinese and English-language editions. 
 
&quot;Staying in the EU has clear and critical interests for the UK, such as market guarantees and stable employment. Leaving will politically cost the UK chances to exert its influence,&quot; the newspaper added. 
 
&quot;If the UK votes to leave, it will become an Atlantic orphan and lose its special relationship with the EU. In this circumstance, its special relationship with the US will become more notable, but it may mean less to the US.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

China has not taken an official stand, but diplomatic sources say that by calling for a united EU it has sided with the "Remain" campaign

China is paying attention to Britain's referendum on membership of the European Union, and while it respects the people's choice, Beijing hopes to see a strong and stable EU, the Chinese government said on Thursday as Britons headed to the polls. China has not directly stated its opinion on the Brexit referendum, seeing the vote as an internal matter.But diplomatic sources say China has given coded support for the "remain" camp by calling for a strong, united Europe - something President Xi Jinping told British Prime Minister David Cameron in October and Foreign Minister Wang Yi repeated last month. "We are paying attention to Britain`s referendum on its relationship with the EU. We respect the choice of the British people," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing. "We have also consistently supported the European integration process and would like to see a unified, strong and stable EU play an important role in international affairs," she added. Although China and Britain have a history of disputes over human rights and the future of the former British colony of Hong Kong, diplomats say export-reliant China values Britain as a strong advocate for free trade within the EU and the bloc as an important counterweight to the United States. Relations between Britain and China have been warming over the past few years and economic links have multiplied in tandem in what both countries refer to as a "golden age" in ties. "China pays great attention to its relations with Britain and is willing to continue having mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas," Hua said. One of China's most influential and widely read newspapers, the Global Times, went further in its view on the referendum, saying that if Britain votes to leave the EU, then the country will lose its influence globally. The paper, published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, said the EU vote and 2014 Scottish independence referendum had made Britain appear one of the largest sources of uncertainty in Europe. "The UK looks like it has been led astray, and this concerns Europe and the world," it said in joint editorials in its Chinese and English-language editions. "Staying in the EU has clear and critical interests for the UK, such as market guarantees and stable employment. Leaving will politically cost the UK chances to exert its influence," the newspaper added. "If the UK votes to leave, it will become an Atlantic orphan and lose its special relationship with the EU. In this circumstance, its special relationship with the US will become more notable, but it may mean less to the US." (Reuters)

As Britain votes, China wants to see strong, stable EU

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested Turkey could hold a referendum over whether to continue its long-stalled accession process to join the European Union. 
 
Angrily lashing out at the bloc`s treatment of Ankara, Erdogan said Turkey could hold a referendum along the lines of that in Britain, where voters are deciding Thursday whether to stay in the European Union or leave. 
 
&quot;We can stand up and ask the people just like the British are doing,&quot; Erdogan said in a speech late Wednesday after breaking the Ramadan fast, quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency. 
 
&quot;We would ask `Do we continue the negotiations with the European Union or do we end it?` If the people say `continue`, then we would carry on,&quot; Erdogan said. 
 
He accused the EU of not wanting to accept Turkey as a member as it is a &quot;Muslim-majority country&quot;. 
Erdogan said Turkey had been promised membership in 1963 but 53 years later nothing had happened.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Why are you stalling?&quot; he asked. 
 
It was in 1963 that Ankara and Brussels for the first time inked an association agreement stating that Turkey would aim to be a member of the bloc. 
 
After applying in 1987, Turkey began EU accession talks in 2005 but its membership bid has been held up by an array of problems. 
 
With the question of Turkey`s possible membership being raised in the British referendum, Ankara has been angered by comments from London suggesting that it has no realistic chance of joining the bloc in the medium term. 
 
During the campaign, Prime Minister David Cameron said Turkish membership was not &quot;remotely on the cards&quot; and may not happen until the year 3,000. 
 
(AFP)

The Turkish President accused the EU of not wanting to accept Turkey as a member as it is a 'Muslim-majority country'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested Turkey could hold a referendum over whether to continue its long-stalled accession process to join the European Union. Angrily lashing out at the bloc`s treatment of Ankara, Erdogan said Turkey could hold a referendum along the lines of that in Britain, where voters are deciding Thursday whether to stay in the European Union or leave. "We can stand up and ask the people just like the British are doing," Erdogan said in a speech late Wednesday after breaking the Ramadan fast, quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency. "We would ask `Do we continue the negotiations with the European Union or do we end it?` If the people say `continue`, then we would carry on," Erdogan said. He accused the EU of not wanting to accept Turkey as a member as it is a "Muslim-majority country". Erdogan said Turkey had been promised membership in 1963 but 53 years later nothing had happened. "Why are you stalling?" he asked. It was in 1963 that Ankara and Brussels for the first time inked an association agreement stating that Turkey would aim to be a member of the bloc. After applying in 1987, Turkey began EU accession talks in 2005 but its membership bid has been held up by an array of problems. With the question of Turkey`s possible membership being raised in the British referendum, Ankara has been angered by comments from London suggesting that it has no realistic chance of joining the bloc in the medium term. During the campaign, Prime Minister David Cameron said Turkish membership was not "remotely on the cards" and may not happen until the year 3,000. (AFP)

Turkey could hold UK-style referendum on stalled EU bid: Erdogan

Britain votes on Thursday in a referendum on whether it should stay in or leave the European Union. 
 
Here is some key information about the vote, from the question on the ballot paper to when the results are likely to start coming in. 
 
Voters will be presented with one question: &quot;Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?&quot; 
 
They will have two possible answers: &quot;Remain a member of the European Union&quot; or &quot;Leave the European Union&quot;. 
 
In Wales, the ballot paper will be in English and Welsh. 
 
British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens over the age of 18 who live in Britain, as well as citizens of Gibraltar, are all eligible to vote provided they have registered. 
 
That means that Cypriots and Maltese living in Britain can vote since their countries are members of the Commonwealth, as well as the European Union. 
 
British nationals who have lived abroad for less than 15 years can also vote. A legal challenge to give a vote to expatriates who have been away longer failed last month. 
 
There are a total of 46,499,537 registered voters, according to the latest figures from the Electoral Commission. This is more than in last year&#39;s general election when 46,354,197 people were registered. 
 
Polls are open from 6 am to 9 pm (GMT) and counting begins as soon as the last votes are cast, with the result expected early on Friday morning. 
 
There are no official exit polls because polling experts say the lack of recent comparable votes in Britain could make the results less reliable. 
 
Results from polling will, however, be released after the ballots close. 
 
Some hedge funds and banks have also reportedly commissioned private exit polls that would allow them to make trades based on their forecasts even while voting is still going on. 
 
There are 382 local counting areas, including Gibraltar, which will all declare their results independently throughout the night. 
 
The first two, Sunderland in northeast England and Wandsworth in London, are expected to declare at about 11:30 pm GMT. 
 
The first big wave of results is expected after 1 am GMT on Friday and another wave a couple of hours afterwards. 
 
Turnout is likely to be announced earlier, which may give an indication of the result to come, with a high turnout expected to favour the &quot;Remain&quot; camp. 
 
The formal result will not be confirmed by the chief counting officer until all local areas, collated into 12 regional tallies, are declared. 
 
The final national result will be announced in Manchester Town Hall in northern England. 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

46,499,537 registered voters in 382 local counting areas, all for 1 big referendum

Britain votes on Thursday in a referendum on whether it should stay in or leave the European Union. Here is some key information about the vote, from the question on the ballot paper to when the results are likely to start coming in. Voters will be presented with one question: "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" They will have two possible answers: "Remain a member of the European Union" or "Leave the European Union". In Wales, the ballot paper will be in English and Welsh. British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens over the age of 18 who live in Britain, as well as citizens of Gibraltar, are all eligible to vote provided they have registered. That means that Cypriots and Maltese living in Britain can vote since their countries are members of the Commonwealth, as well as the European Union. British nationals who have lived abroad for less than 15 years can also vote. A legal challenge to give a vote to expatriates who have been away longer failed last month. There are a total of 46,499,537 registered voters, according to the latest figures from the Electoral Commission. This is more than in last year's general election when 46,354,197 people were registered. Polls are open from 6 am to 9 pm (GMT) and counting begins as soon as the last votes are cast, with the result expected early on Friday morning. There are no official exit polls because polling experts say the lack of recent comparable votes in Britain could make the results less reliable. Results from polling will, however, be released after the ballots close. Some hedge funds and banks have also reportedly commissioned private exit polls that would allow them to make trades based on their forecasts even while voting is still going on. There are 382 local counting areas, including Gibraltar, which will all declare their results independently throughout the night. The first two, Sunderland in northeast England and Wandsworth in London, are expected to declare at about 11:30 pm GMT. The first big wave of results is expected after 1 am GMT on Friday and another wave a couple of hours afterwards. Turnout is likely to be announced earlier, which may give an indication of the result to come, with a high turnout expected to favour the "Remain" camp. The formal result will not be confirmed by the chief counting officer until all local areas, collated into 12 regional tallies, are declared. The final national result will be announced in Manchester Town Hall in northern England. (AFP)

Brexit: Key facts on polling day

Asian shares edged up and Sterling stood close to its peak for the year on Thursday, as investors were cautiously optimistic that British voters would opt to remain in the European Union at a referendum later in the session.&nbsp; 
 
Two opinion polls published late on Wednesday, a few hours before voters were due to begin to cast their votes, showed the &quot;Remain&quot; camp gaining momentum in the closely divided campaign. 
 
MSCI&#39;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.2 per cent in early trading, shrugging off modest overnight losses on Wall Street. 
 
Japan&#39;s Nikkei share average rose 0.3 per cent. 
 
&quot;Markets seem to have almost entirely priced in a &#39;Remain&#39; vote win, meaning that the market moves and volatility around the vote may be far less than many had been expected,&quot; wrote Angus Nicholson, market analyst at IG in Melbourne. 
 
&quot;Nonetheless, markets are still incredibly nervous and some sharp market moves are likely over the next 24 hours,&quot; he said. 
 
Sterling rose to $1.4847, its highest against the dollar in 2016, and was last up 0.6 per cent at $1.4798. 
 
The perceived safe-haven Yen also slipped on receding fears of the market turmoil that would likely follow if Britain were to pull out of the EU. 
 
The dollar added 0.2 per cent to 104.69 Yen , while the euro gained 0.5 percent to 118.54 yen . 
 
The euro rose 0.2 per cent to $1.1322 , while the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six rival currencies, slipped 0.1 per cent to 93.582. 
 
On the US data front, home resales rose to a more than nine-year high last month against a backdrop of historically low mortgage rates, adding to recent upbeat second quarter data. 
 
Crude oil prices rose after settling down more than 1 per cent on Wednesday after the U.S. government reported a smaller-than-expected inventory drawdown. 
 
Brent added 0.7 per cent to $50.23 a barrel after shedding 1.5 per cent on Wednesday, while U.S. crude was up 0.8 per cent at $49.53 after giving up 1.4 per cent in the previous session. 
 
Spot gold plumbed a two-week low of $1,260.36 an ounce and was last down 0.4 per cent at $1,261.24. 
 
(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

Sterling rose to its highest against Dollar in 2016 and Yen slipped on diminishing fears of a market turmoil that would follow if Britain were to pull out of EU

Asian shares edged up and Sterling stood close to its peak for the year on Thursday, as investors were cautiously optimistic that British voters would opt to remain in the European Union at a referendum later in the session. Two opinion polls published late on Wednesday, a few hours before voters were due to begin to cast their votes, showed the "Remain" camp gaining momentum in the closely divided campaign. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.2 per cent in early trading, shrugging off modest overnight losses on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei share average rose 0.3 per cent. "Markets seem to have almost entirely priced in a 'Remain' vote win, meaning that the market moves and volatility around the vote may be far less than many had been expected," wrote Angus Nicholson, market analyst at IG in Melbourne. "Nonetheless, markets are still incredibly nervous and some sharp market moves are likely over the next 24 hours," he said. Sterling rose to $1.4847, its highest against the dollar in 2016, and was last up 0.6 per cent at $1.4798. The perceived safe-haven Yen also slipped on receding fears of the market turmoil that would likely follow if Britain were to pull out of the EU. The dollar added 0.2 per cent to 104.69 Yen , while the euro gained 0.5 percent to 118.54 yen . The euro rose 0.2 per cent to $1.1322 , while the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six rival currencies, slipped 0.1 per cent to 93.582. On the US data front, home resales rose to a more than nine-year high last month against a backdrop of historically low mortgage rates, adding to recent upbeat second quarter data. Crude oil prices rose after settling down more than 1 per cent on Wednesday after the U.S. government reported a smaller-than-expected inventory drawdown. Brent added 0.7 per cent to $50.23 a barrel after shedding 1.5 per cent on Wednesday, while U.S. crude was up 0.8 per cent at $49.53 after giving up 1.4 per cent in the previous session. Spot gold plumbed a two-week low of $1,260.36 an ounce and was last down 0.4 per cent at $1,261.24. (Reuters)

Asia stocks, Sterling rise as Brexit anxiety abates

The European Union ambassador to Myanmar, Roland Kobia, urged the new government to take &#39;meaningful actions&#39; regarding the contentious Rohingya issue in a news conference in Yangon today. 
 
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has told the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights that the government will avoid using the term &quot;Rohingya&quot; to describe a persecuted Muslim minority in the country&#39;s northwest, an official said on Monday. 
 
Kobia said the EU welcomes the new government &#39;assuring commitment&#39; to address the sensitive issue, insisting the government to &#39;listen&#39; more to the community in Rakhine and to &#39;act accordingly&#39;. 
 
&quot;Terminology issues are important, we know because they refer to wider and deeper principles but we believe that the situation in Rakhine also deserves urgent and meaningful action on the ground,&quot; Kobia said. 
 
Members of the 1.1 million group, who identify themselves by the term &quot;Rohingya&quot; and live in apartheid-like conditions, are seen by many Myanmar Buddhists as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. 
 
The term is a divisive issue. 
 
The EU also announced to donate a total of Euros 688 million ($776.61 million) to Myanmar in development aid, focusing on various areas including education, rural development and good governance. 
 
(Reuters)

The European Union has also announced that it will donate Euros 688 million to Myanmar in development aid

The European Union ambassador to Myanmar, Roland Kobia, urged the new government to take 'meaningful actions' regarding the contentious Rohingya issue in a news conference in Yangon today. Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has told the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights that the government will avoid using the term "Rohingya" to describe a persecuted Muslim minority in the country's northwest, an official said on Monday. Kobia said the EU welcomes the new government 'assuring commitment' to address the sensitive issue, insisting the government to 'listen' more to the community in Rakhine and to 'act accordingly'. "Terminology issues are important, we know because they refer to wider and deeper principles but we believe that the situation in Rakhine also deserves urgent and meaningful action on the ground," Kobia said. Members of the 1.1 million group, who identify themselves by the term "Rohingya" and live in apartheid-like conditions, are seen by many Myanmar Buddhists as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The term is a divisive issue. The EU also announced to donate a total of Euros 688 million ($776.61 million) to Myanmar in development aid, focusing on various areas including education, rural development and good governance. (Reuters)

EU urges Myanmar to take meaningful action on Rohingya issue

<div lang="EN-US" paraeid="{fc0c6d87-184c-45ce-bacb-2741137430da}{15}" paraid="2055424481" >Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday named electricity minister Imad Khamis as the new prime minister of the war-ravaged country.&nbsp; 
 
Assad tasked Khamis with forming a new government, the official news agency SANA reported.&nbsp; 
He is to submit his proposal for new ministerial appointments in the coming days.&nbsp; 
 
The fifty-four-year-old engineer replaces Wael al-Halqi who had held the post since August 2012.&nbsp; 
 
The changes come two months after Assad&#39;s Baath party and its allies won a majority of seats in parliamentary elections dismissed internationally as a sham.&nbsp; 
 
Khamis had served as Syria&#39;s minister of electricity since 2011 and is an electrical engineer by trade.&nbsp; 
 
Since March 2012, he has been sanctioned by the European Union, which accuses him of sharing &quot;responsibility for the regime&#39;s violent repression against the civilian population.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Syria&#39;s conflict began in 2011 with widespread protests demanding reform but has since escalated into a bloody civil war that has left 280,000 dead.&nbsp; 
 
According to the government, production of electricity has more than halved since the beginning of the crisis.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
(AFP)&nbsp;</div>

Electricity minister Imad Khamis has been sanctioned by EU since March 2012 for sharing responsibility for violent repression of civilians

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday named electricity minister Imad Khamis as the new prime minister of the war-ravaged country. Assad tasked Khamis with forming a new government, the official news agency SANA reported. He is to submit his proposal for new ministerial appointments in the coming days. The fifty-four-year-old engineer replaces Wael al-Halqi who had held the post since August 2012. The changes come two months after Assad's Baath party and its allies won a majority of seats in parliamentary elections dismissed internationally as a sham. Khamis had served as Syria's minister of electricity since 2011 and is an electrical engineer by trade. Since March 2012, he has been sanctioned by the European Union, which accuses him of sharing "responsibility for the regime's violent repression against the civilian population." Syria's conflict began in 2011 with widespread protests demanding reform but has since escalated into a bloody civil war that has left 280,000 dead. According to the government, production of electricity has more than halved since the beginning of the crisis. (AFP)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad names new PM for Syria

Former England soccer captain David Beckham on Tuesday backed the &quot;In&quot; campaign in Britain`s European Union membership referendum this week, to the delight of Prime Minister David Cameron and those who want Britons to stay in the bloc. 
 
In a statement issued by &#39;Britain Stronger in Europe&#39; campaign ahead of Thursday&#39;s vote, the popular and influential Beckham explained he came to his decision by recalling how colleagues from across Europe had helped him triumph while he was in Manchester United. 
 
He said the core of the team that won English and European titles had been made up of British players &quot;but we were a better and more successful team because of a Danish goalkeeper, Peter Schmeichel, the leadership of an Irishman Roy Keane and the skill of a Frenchman in Eric Cantona.&quot; 
 
Beckham also said he had been privileged to play and live in Madrid, Milan and Paris during his career. 
 
&quot;We live in a vibrant and connected world where together as a people we are strong. For our children and their children we should be facing the problems of the world together and not alone,&quot; Beckham said in the statement issued on Tuesday. 
 
&quot;For these reasons I am voting to Remain.&quot; 
 
On Monday, the head of the Premier League said the top soccer clubs of England and Wales backed a &quot;Remain&quot; vote because leaving the EU will run counter to their global approach to business. 
 
&quot;I&#39;m delighted to see David Beckham is supporting Stronger IN and will vote Remain,&quot; Cameron said on Twitter. &quot;David Beckham is clear: we should be facing the problems of the world together and not alone.&quot; 
 
?(Reuters)

Beckham said he voted to 'Remain' because it was with the help of his colleagues from across Europe that he triumphed in Manchester United

Former England soccer captain David Beckham on Tuesday backed the "In" campaign in Britain`s European Union membership referendum this week, to the delight of Prime Minister David Cameron and those who want Britons to stay in the bloc. In a statement issued by 'Britain Stronger in Europe' campaign ahead of Thursday's vote, the popular and influential Beckham explained he came to his decision by recalling how colleagues from across Europe had helped him triumph while he was in Manchester United. He said the core of the team that won English and European titles had been made up of British players "but we were a better and more successful team because of a Danish goalkeeper, Peter Schmeichel, the leadership of an Irishman Roy Keane and the skill of a Frenchman in Eric Cantona." Beckham also said he had been privileged to play and live in Madrid, Milan and Paris during his career. "We live in a vibrant and connected world where together as a people we are strong. For our children and their children we should be facing the problems of the world together and not alone," Beckham said in the statement issued on Tuesday. "For these reasons I am voting to Remain." On Monday, the head of the Premier League said the top soccer clubs of England and Wales backed a "Remain" vote because leaving the EU will run counter to their global approach to business. "I'm delighted to see David Beckham is supporting Stronger IN and will vote Remain," Cameron said on Twitter. "David Beckham is clear: we should be facing the problems of the world together and not alone." ?(Reuters)

David Beckham backs 'Remain' campaign in EU referendum

Oil rallied on Monday, lifted by a wave of investor confidence and a weaker dollar after polls showed a diminishing chance that Britain may vote to leave the European Union later this week. 
 
August Brent crude futures were up 90 cents at $50.07 a barrel by 0843 GMT, set for a gain of 6 per cent in two trading days. New York Mercantile Exchange crude for July delivery, which expires on Tuesday, was up 80 cents at $48.78 a barrel. 
 
Campaigning for Britain&#39;s vote on EU membership resumed on Sunday after a three-day hiatus prompted by the killing of a pro-EU lawmaker. 
 
Three opinion polls ahead of Thursday&#39;s vote showed the &#39;Remain&#39; camp recovering some momentum, although the overall picture remained one of an evenly split electorate. 
 
Perceived safe havens such as gold, the US dollar, German bonds and the Swiss franc came under pressure, while oil looked set for its largest two-day rise in a month and the likes of copper and equities rallied. 
 
&quot;For oil as a risky asset, what we&#39;ve seen are intraday gyrations that are coming from the spillover effects of &#39;risk-on/risk-off&#39; moves that follow the poll numbers,&quot; BNP Paribas global head of commodity strategy Harry Tchilinguirian said. 
 
The pound climbed 1.6 per cent to $1.4589, extending a recovery from last Thursday&#39;s more than two-month trough of $1.4013. 
 
&quot;With Brexit dominating the market headlines, there might be moves in the US dollar that drive the oil market at least until we get that out of the way,&quot; said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s likely to be a nervous and skittish week&#39;s trading.&quot; 
 
Oil prices continued to recover despite data showing US energy firms adding oil rigs for a third week in a row, suggesting higher production to come. 
 
Oil services firm Baker Hughes reported nine rig additions in the week to June 17. 
 
Aside from Brexit concerns, the market is likely to be caught in a range as any gains would likely be limited by the return of more shale drillers in the United States, McCarthy said. 
 
&quot;Capping market gains at the moment is the potential for those very agile US producers to jump back into production should we see any further substantial rises,&quot; he said.

August Brent crude futures were up 90 cents at $50.07 a barrel

Oil rallied on Monday, lifted by a wave of investor confidence and a weaker dollar after polls showed a diminishing chance that Britain may vote to leave the European Union later this week. August Brent crude futures were up 90 cents at $50.07 a barrel by 0843 GMT, set for a gain of 6 per cent in two trading days. New York Mercantile Exchange crude for July delivery, which expires on Tuesday, was up 80 cents at $48.78 a barrel. Campaigning for Britain's vote on EU membership resumed on Sunday after a three-day hiatus prompted by the killing of a pro-EU lawmaker. Three opinion polls ahead of Thursday's vote showed the 'Remain' camp recovering some momentum, although the overall picture remained one of an evenly split electorate. Perceived safe havens such as gold, the US dollar, German bonds and the Swiss franc came under pressure, while oil looked set for its largest two-day rise in a month and the likes of copper and equities rallied. "For oil as a risky asset, what we've seen are intraday gyrations that are coming from the spillover effects of 'risk-on/risk-off' moves that follow the poll numbers," BNP Paribas global head of commodity strategy Harry Tchilinguirian said. The pound climbed 1.6 per cent to $1.4589, extending a recovery from last Thursday's more than two-month trough of $1.4013. "With Brexit dominating the market headlines, there might be moves in the US dollar that drive the oil market at least until we get that out of the way," said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. "It's likely to be a nervous and skittish week's trading." Oil prices continued to recover despite data showing US energy firms adding oil rigs for a third week in a row, suggesting higher production to come. Oil services firm Baker Hughes reported nine rig additions in the week to June 17. Aside from Brexit concerns, the market is likely to be caught in a range as any gains would likely be limited by the return of more shale drillers in the United States, McCarthy said. "Capping market gains at the moment is the potential for those very agile US producers to jump back into production should we see any further substantial rises," he said.

Oil rallies as polls show diminished chance that Britain will vote to leave the EU

Asia stocks were largely up today, building on gains at the end of last week as polls suggest Britain&#39;s upcoming referendum vote will result in the country staying in the European Union. 
 
Markets across the region plunged last week amid concern about a possible &quot;Brexit&quot; -- or British decision to leave the EU -- but showed some improvement on Friday as the &#39;Remain&#39; camp gained ground. 
 
The average of the last six British EU referendum polls put the &#39;Remain&#39; and &#39;Leave&#39; camps level at 50-50, excluding undecided voters, according to the What UK Thinks website. 
 
The &#39;Leave&#39; camp had been a few percentage points ahead in recent polling, but fresh surveys brought the average back to neck-and-neck, after campaigning was suspended for three days following the murder of pro-EU British lawmaker Jo Cox on Thursday. 
 
A Survation poll conducted on Friday and Saturday put &#39;Remain&#39; at 45 per cent and &#39;Leave&#39; at 42 per cent -- the reverse of its previous findings on Thursday. 
 
Tokyo was up 2.2 per cent by the break today, adding to gains of 1.07 per cent at the end of last week, and Hong Kong rose 0.73 per cent in early morning trade. Singapore and Seoul were both up more than one per cent. 
 
But in China, the Shanghai Composite Index eased 0.46 per cent while the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on the country&#39;s second exchange, fell 0.30 per cent. 
 
Gold was down 1.12 per cent today, having hit a near two-year peak on Friday as investors sought the safe haven commodity on fears of the impact of a &#39;leave&#39; vote on the world economy. 
&#39;Risk-on move&#39; - 
The Yen eased slightly to 104.71 to the Dollar in early morning trade in Tokyo, from 104.19 Yen in New York late Friday. 
 
The Japanese currency, often seen as a safe haven, had also strengthened as concerns grew that the &quot;Leave&quot; camp was headed to victory. 
 
&quot;We are seeing a risk-on move after the latest Brexit poll,&quot; Niv Dagan, executive director at Peak Asset Management LLC in Melbourne, told Bloomberg. 
 
&quot;It may be short-lived and volatility is likely to remain high until Thursday&#39;s vote. This really could still go either way.&quot; 
 
Aside from the EU vote, eyes were on the Bombay stock exchange ahead of opening, after the popular Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan announced on Friday that he would step down when his term ends in September. 
 
Oil prices extended gains on a weaker Dollar, driving up demand for the commodity. 
 
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 45 cents, or 0.94 per cent, trading at $48.43 a barrel while North Sea Brent was up 35 cents, or 0.71 per cent, trading at $49.52 a barrel. 
 
&nbsp;Key figures around 0230 GMT - 
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.2 per cent at 15,943.76 (break) 
 
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.46 per cent at 2871.84 
 
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.73 per cent at 20,316.31 
 
Euro/Dollar: UP at $1.1360 from $1.1280 late Friday 
 
Pound/Dollar: UP at $1.4585 from $1.4348 
 
Dollar/Yen: UP at 104.71 Yen from 104.19 yen 
 
New York - DOW: DOWN 0.33 per cent at 17,675.16 (close) 
 
London - FTSE 100: UP 1.19 per cent at 6,021.09 (close) 
(AFP)

Markets across the region had plunged last week amid concerns that the UK might leave the European Union

Asia stocks were largely up today, building on gains at the end of last week as polls suggest Britain's upcoming referendum vote will result in the country staying in the European Union. Markets across the region plunged last week amid concern about a possible "Brexit" -- or British decision to leave the EU -- but showed some improvement on Friday as the 'Remain' camp gained ground. The average of the last six British EU referendum polls put the 'Remain' and 'Leave' camps level at 50-50, excluding undecided voters, according to the What UK Thinks website. The 'Leave' camp had been a few percentage points ahead in recent polling, but fresh surveys brought the average back to neck-and-neck, after campaigning was suspended for three days following the murder of pro-EU British lawmaker Jo Cox on Thursday. A Survation poll conducted on Friday and Saturday put 'Remain' at 45 per cent and 'Leave' at 42 per cent -- the reverse of its previous findings on Thursday. Tokyo was up 2.2 per cent by the break today, adding to gains of 1.07 per cent at the end of last week, and Hong Kong rose 0.73 per cent in early morning trade. Singapore and Seoul were both up more than one per cent. But in China, the Shanghai Composite Index eased 0.46 per cent while the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on the country's second exchange, fell 0.30 per cent. Gold was down 1.12 per cent today, having hit a near two-year peak on Friday as investors sought the safe haven commodity on fears of the impact of a 'leave' vote on the world economy. 'Risk-on move' - The Yen eased slightly to 104.71 to the Dollar in early morning trade in Tokyo, from 104.19 Yen in New York late Friday. The Japanese currency, often seen as a safe haven, had also strengthened as concerns grew that the "Leave" camp was headed to victory. "We are seeing a risk-on move after the latest Brexit poll," Niv Dagan, executive director at Peak Asset Management LLC in Melbourne, told Bloomberg. "It may be short-lived and volatility is likely to remain high until Thursday's vote. This really could still go either way." Aside from the EU vote, eyes were on the Bombay stock exchange ahead of opening, after the popular Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan announced on Friday that he would step down when his term ends in September. Oil prices extended gains on a weaker Dollar, driving up demand for the commodity. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 45 cents, or 0.94 per cent, trading at $48.43 a barrel while North Sea Brent was up 35 cents, or 0.71 per cent, trading at $49.52 a barrel. Key figures around 0230 GMT - Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.2 per cent at 15,943.76 (break) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.46 per cent at 2871.84 Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.73 per cent at 20,316.31 Euro/Dollar: UP at $1.1360 from $1.1280 late Friday Pound/Dollar: UP at $1.4585 from $1.4348 Dollar/Yen: UP at 104.71 Yen from 104.19 yen New York - DOW: DOWN 0.33 per cent at 17,675.16 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 1.19 per cent at 6,021.09 (close) (AFP)

Asian stocks up, opinion polls show Britain may remain in EU

Britain has been left deeply shocked after&nbsp;Labour&nbsp;member of&nbsp;Parliament&nbsp;Jo Cox was murdered on the streets of her constituency. She died after she was shot at least two times and stabbed in West Yorkshire.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
The 41-year-old politician was kicked and left lying bleeding on the pavement in&nbsp;Birstall, near Leeds,&nbsp;an eyewitness said.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
A second witness reported three shots&nbsp;including one &quot;round the head area&quot;.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
She was married with two young daughters aged three and five. Her husband, Brendan Cox, said in a statement that his wife &quot;believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life&quot;.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
He also urged people to &quot;fight against the hatred that killed her&quot;. &quot;Hate doesn&#39;t have a creed, race or religion, it is poisonous.&quot;&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
A fifty-two-year-old man has been arrested over the attack. He has been named locally as Tommy&nbsp;Mair. He was described by&nbsp;neighbours&nbsp;as&nbsp;a loner who never had a full-time job and had suffered mental illness in the past.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Police say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the shooting.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
British Prime Minister&nbsp;David Cameron paid tribute to the&nbsp;Labour&nbsp;politician saying, &nbsp;&quot;We&#39;ve lost a great star. She had a big heart and people are going to be very, very sad at what has happened.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q0wbnxAVRDw" width="560"></iframe> 
&nbsp; 
Labour&nbsp;leader&nbsp;Jeremy&nbsp;Corbyn&nbsp;said the country will be &quot;in shock at the horrific murder&quot; and said that&nbsp;Ms&nbsp;Cox was a &quot;much loved colleague&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
The EU referendum Remain and Leave campaigns suspended their activities for Thursday and Friday as a result of the attack&nbsp;and David Cameron cancelled a pro-EU rally in Gibraltar.&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Incredibly sad to hear shocking news about Jo Cox. All my thoughts with Brendan and their children
&mdash; George Osborne (@George_Osborne) <a href="https://twitter.com/George_Osborne/status/743478309338636288">June 16, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Extremely sad news of the murder of Jo Cox MP, killed whilst serving her constituents, thinking of all who knew her
&mdash; Chloe Smith (@NorwichChloe) <a href="https://twitter.com/NorwichChloe/status/743487945802399745">June 16, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Hoping, praying and thinking of Jo, Brendan and the children. GB
&mdash; Gordon &amp; Sarah Brown (@OfficeGSBrown) <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficeGSBrown/status/743441830713384960">June 16, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Absolutely devastated at Jo Cox death, a beautiful person, a wonderful caring and decent person, R.I.P. friend <a href="https://t.co/LdKMlYOM0c">pic.twitter.com/LdKMlYOM0c</a>
&mdash; Angela Rayner MP (@AngelaRayner) <a href="https://twitter.com/AngelaRayner/status/743485648854728704">June 16, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Absolutely devastating news that the wonderful, beautiful &amp; brilliant <a href="https://twitter.com/Jo_Cox1">@Jo_Cox1</a> has died. All my thoughts are with Brendan &amp; her children
&mdash; Lucy Powell MP (@LucyMPowell) <a href="https://twitter.com/LucyMPowell/status/743477884531138560">June 16, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Please pray for our friend Jo Cox and her lovely staff and wonderful family x
&mdash; Wes Streeting MP (@wesstreeting) <a href="https://twitter.com/wesstreeting/status/743437508743172096">June 16, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>

She was shot, stabbed, kicked, and left lying bleeding on a pavement

Britain has been left deeply shocked after Labour member of Parliament Jo Cox was murdered on the streets of her constituency. She died after she was shot at least two times and stabbed in West Yorkshire. The 41-year-old politician was kicked and left lying bleeding on the pavement in Birstall, near Leeds, an eyewitness said. A second witness reported three shots including one "round the head area". She was married with two young daughters aged three and five. Her husband, Brendan Cox, said in a statement that his wife "believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life". He also urged people to "fight against the hatred that killed her". "Hate doesn't have a creed, race or religion, it is poisonous." A fifty-two-year-old man has been arrested over the attack. He has been named locally as Tommy Mair. He was described by neighbours as a loner who never had a full-time job and had suffered mental illness in the past. Police say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the shooting. British Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to the Labour politician saying, "We've lost a great star. She had a big heart and people are going to be very, very sad at what has happened." Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the country will be "in shock at the horrific murder" and said that Ms Cox was a "much loved colleague". The EU referendum Remain and Leave campaigns suspended their activities for Thursday and Friday as a result of the attack and David Cameron cancelled a pro-EU rally in Gibraltar. Incredibly sad to hear shocking news about Jo Cox. All my thoughts with Brendan and their children — George Osborne (@George_Osborne) June 16, 2016 Extremely sad news of the murder of Jo Cox MP, killed whilst serving her constituents, thinking of all who knew her — Chloe Smith (@NorwichChloe) June 16, 2016 Hoping, praying and thinking of Jo, Brendan and the children. GB — Gordon & Sarah Brown (@OfficeGSBrown) June 16, 2016 Absolutely devastated at Jo Cox death, a beautiful person, a wonderful caring and decent person, R.I.P. friend pic.twitter.com/LdKMlYOM0c — Angela Rayner MP (@AngelaRayner) June 16, 2016 Absolutely devastating news that the wonderful, beautiful & brilliant @Jo_Cox1 has died. All my thoughts are with Brendan & her children — Lucy Powell MP (@LucyMPowell) June 16, 2016 Please pray for our friend Jo Cox and her lovely staff and wonderful family x — Wes Streeting MP (@wesstreeting) June 16, 2016

Kingdom united in grief after death of anti-Brexit MP Jo Cox

Crude oil prices rose today for the first time in seven days as markets took a breather from concerns about the impact of Britain&#39;s possible exit from the European Union. 
 
Brent crude futures were up 59 cents, or 1.3 per cent, at $47.78 a barrel around 0650 GMT after slumping 3.6 per cent in the previous session. The contract is on track to fall nearly 5.5 per cent next week. 
 
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 37 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $46.58. The contract fell 3.8 per cent in the previous session and prices are down around 5 per cent so far this week. 
 
The British pound rose from a two-month low after campaigning for next week&#39;s so-called Brexit vote next week was suspended following the murder on Thursday of UK member of parliament Jo Cox, who was a vocal advocate for Britain to stay in the European Union. 
 
Commodities across the board also posted gains, while equity benchmarks including Japan&#39;s Nikkei stock average rose. 
 
&quot;We need to brace ourselves for further volatility,&quot; said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at OptionsXpress in Sydney. 
 
&quot;We are seeing a bit of a recovery now with maybe some short positions being unwound. It is certainly going to be a wild ride for investors and traders going into the June 23 decision,&quot; he said. 
 
Still, global oil majors Chevron Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are putting small refineries on the auction block as they look to trim lower-margin assets in the face of headwinds from rising crude oil prices. 
 
Chevron, the second largest US oil company, is soliciting interest in its Burnaby, British Columbia, refinery and gasoline stations, the company told Reuters. 
 
Shell is looking for buyers for its Martinez, California, refinery, two people familiar with the situation told Reuters. Shell declined to comment. 
(Reuters)

Market takes breather from concerns about the impact of Britain's possible exit from the EU

Crude oil prices rose today for the first time in seven days as markets took a breather from concerns about the impact of Britain's possible exit from the European Union. Brent crude futures were up 59 cents, or 1.3 per cent, at $47.78 a barrel around 0650 GMT after slumping 3.6 per cent in the previous session. The contract is on track to fall nearly 5.5 per cent next week. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 37 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $46.58. The contract fell 3.8 per cent in the previous session and prices are down around 5 per cent so far this week. The British pound rose from a two-month low after campaigning for next week's so-called Brexit vote next week was suspended following the murder on Thursday of UK member of parliament Jo Cox, who was a vocal advocate for Britain to stay in the European Union. Commodities across the board also posted gains, while equity benchmarks including Japan's Nikkei stock average rose. "We need to brace ourselves for further volatility," said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at OptionsXpress in Sydney. "We are seeing a bit of a recovery now with maybe some short positions being unwound. It is certainly going to be a wild ride for investors and traders going into the June 23 decision," he said. Still, global oil majors Chevron Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are putting small refineries on the auction block as they look to trim lower-margin assets in the face of headwinds from rising crude oil prices. Chevron, the second largest US oil company, is soliciting interest in its Burnaby, British Columbia, refinery and gasoline stations, the company told Reuters. Shell is looking for buyers for its Martinez, California, refinery, two people familiar with the situation told Reuters. Shell declined to comment. (Reuters)

Crude oil price rises for first time in 7 days

A British member of parliament was shot dead in the street on Thursday, causing deep shock across Britain and the suspension of campaigning for next week&#39;s referendum on the country&#39;s EU membership. 
 
Jo Cox, 41, a lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party and a vocal advocate for Britain remaining in the European Union, was attacked while preparing to meet constituents in Birstall near Leeds in northern England. 
 
Media reports said she had been shot and stabbed. West Yorkshire regional police said a 52-year-old man was arrested by officers nearby and weapons including a firearm recovered. &quot;We are not in a position to discuss any motive at this time,&quot; said temporary chief constable Dee Collins. 
 
One witness said a man pulled an old or makeshift gun from a bag and fired twice. &quot;I saw a lady on the floor like on the beach with her arms straight and her knees up and blood all over the face,&quot; Hichem Ben-Abdallah told reporters. &quot;She wasn&#39;t making any noise, but clearly she was in agony.&quot; 
 
The lawmaker&#39;s husband Brendan said: &quot;She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now: one, that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her.&quot; 
 
The rival referendum campaign groups said they were suspending activities for the day, with the Remain camp saying its activities would also be suspended today. Prime Minister David Cameron said he would pull out of a planned rally in Gibraltar, the British territory on the southern coast of Spain. 
 
Cameron said the killing of the mother-of-two, who had worked on US President Barack Obama&#39;s 2008 election campaign, was a tragedy. 
 
&quot;We have lost a great star,&quot; the Conservative Prime Minister said. &quot;She was a great campaigning MP with huge compassion, with a big heart. It is dreadful, dreadful news.&quot; 
 
It was not immediately clear what the impact would be on the June 23 referendum, which has polarised the nation into pro- and anti-EU camps. But some analysts speculated it could boost the pro-EU &quot;Remain&quot; campaign, which in recent days has fallen behind the &quot;Leave&quot; camp in opinion polls. 
 
Britain&#39;s sterling currency rose against the Dollar after news of the attack, adding around two cents. 
 
Finance minister George Osborne and Bank of England governor Mark Carney scrapped major speeches planned for Thursday evening and the International Monetary Fund said it had delayed the publication of a report on the British economy. 
 
&#39;HORRIFIC MURDER&#39; 
 
Media reports, citing witnesses, said the attacker had shouted out &quot;Britain first&quot;, which is the name of a right-wing nationalist group that describes itself on its website as &quot;a patriotic political party and street defence organisation&quot;. 
 
But the deputy leader of the group, Jayda Fransen, completely distanced it from the attack, which she described as &quot;absolutely disgusting&quot;. 
 
West Yorkshire&#39;s elected police and crime commissioner said &quot;our information is that this is a localised incident, albeit one that has a much wider impact&quot;. 
Gun ownership is highly restricted in Britain, and attacks of any nature on public figures are rare.&nbsp; 
Britain&#39;s Union Jack flag was flying at half-mast over the Houses of Parliament in London, while in Birstall hundreds of people attended a vigil at a local church. 
 
Colleagues expressed their shock and disbelief at the death of Cox, a Cambridge University graduate who had spent a decade working for aid agency Oxfam in roles including head of humanitarian campaigning and was known for her work on women&#39;s issues. 
 
She won election to parliament for northern England&#39;s Batley and Spen district at the 2015 general election, and lived with her husband and children on a traditional Dutch barge moored on the Thames near the Tower of London. 
 
&quot;We&#39;ve lost a wonderful woman, we&#39;ve lost a wonderful member of parliament, but our democracy will go on,&quot; Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said in a televised statement. &quot;As we mourn her memory, we&#39;ll work in her memory to achieve that better world she spent her life trying to achieve.&quot; 
 
Labour lawmaker Sarah Champion said: &quot;She&#39;s a tiny woman, five feet nothing and a lion as well - she fights so hard for the things she believes in. I cannot believe anyone would do this to her.&quot; 
 
Police said a 77-year-old man was also assaulted in the incident and suffered injuries that were not life-threatening. 
 
BBC TV and other media showed a picture of the alleged suspect, a balding white man, being apprehended by police. Temporary &nbsp;chief constable Collins said a &quot;very significant investigation with large numbers of witnesses&quot; was under way. 
 
&quot;We are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident,&quot; she said. 
 
The last attack on a British legislator was in 2010, when Labour member and ex-cabinet minister Stephen Timms was stabbed in the stomach at his office in east London by a 21-year-old student who was angry over his backing for the 2003 Iraq war. 
 
In 2000, a Liberal Democrat local councillor was murdered by a man with a samurai sword at the offices in western England of lawmaker Nigel Jones, who was also seriously hurt in the attack.

Analysts speculate that this tragedy could boost the pro-EU "Remain" camp , which had fallen behind to the "Leave" camp in opinion polls

A British member of parliament was shot dead in the street on Thursday, causing deep shock across Britain and the suspension of campaigning for next week's referendum on the country's EU membership. Jo Cox, 41, a lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party and a vocal advocate for Britain remaining in the European Union, was attacked while preparing to meet constituents in Birstall near Leeds in northern England. Media reports said she had been shot and stabbed. West Yorkshire regional police said a 52-year-old man was arrested by officers nearby and weapons including a firearm recovered. "We are not in a position to discuss any motive at this time," said temporary chief constable Dee Collins. One witness said a man pulled an old or makeshift gun from a bag and fired twice. "I saw a lady on the floor like on the beach with her arms straight and her knees up and blood all over the face," Hichem Ben-Abdallah told reporters. "She wasn't making any noise, but clearly she was in agony." The lawmaker's husband Brendan said: "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now: one, that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her." The rival referendum campaign groups said they were suspending activities for the day, with the Remain camp saying its activities would also be suspended today. Prime Minister David Cameron said he would pull out of a planned rally in Gibraltar, the British territory on the southern coast of Spain. Cameron said the killing of the mother-of-two, who had worked on US President Barack Obama's 2008 election campaign, was a tragedy. "We have lost a great star," the Conservative Prime Minister said. "She was a great campaigning MP with huge compassion, with a big heart. It is dreadful, dreadful news." It was not immediately clear what the impact would be on the June 23 referendum, which has polarised the nation into pro- and anti-EU camps. But some analysts speculated it could boost the pro-EU "Remain" campaign, which in recent days has fallen behind the "Leave" camp in opinion polls. Britain's sterling currency rose against the Dollar after news of the attack, adding around two cents. Finance minister George Osborne and Bank of England governor Mark Carney scrapped major speeches planned for Thursday evening and the International Monetary Fund said it had delayed the publication of a report on the British economy. 'HORRIFIC MURDER' Media reports, citing witnesses, said the attacker had shouted out "Britain first", which is the name of a right-wing nationalist group that describes itself on its website as "a patriotic political party and street defence organisation". But the deputy leader of the group, Jayda Fransen, completely distanced it from the attack, which she described as "absolutely disgusting". West Yorkshire's elected police and crime commissioner said "our information is that this is a localised incident, albeit one that has a much wider impact". Gun ownership is highly restricted in Britain, and attacks of any nature on public figures are rare. Britain's Union Jack flag was flying at half-mast over the Houses of Parliament in London, while in Birstall hundreds of people attended a vigil at a local church. Colleagues expressed their shock and disbelief at the death of Cox, a Cambridge University graduate who had spent a decade working for aid agency Oxfam in roles including head of humanitarian campaigning and was known for her work on women's issues. She won election to parliament for northern England's Batley and Spen district at the 2015 general election, and lived with her husband and children on a traditional Dutch barge moored on the Thames near the Tower of London. "We've lost a wonderful woman, we've lost a wonderful member of parliament, but our democracy will go on," Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said in a televised statement. "As we mourn her memory, we'll work in her memory to achieve that better world she spent her life trying to achieve." Labour lawmaker Sarah Champion said: "She's a tiny woman, five feet nothing and a lion as well - she fights so hard for the things she believes in. I cannot believe anyone would do this to her." Police said a 77-year-old man was also assaulted in the incident and suffered injuries that were not life-threatening. BBC TV and other media showed a picture of the alleged suspect, a balding white man, being apprehended by police. Temporary chief constable Collins said a "very significant investigation with large numbers of witnesses" was under way. "We are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident," she said. The last attack on a British legislator was in 2010, when Labour member and ex-cabinet minister Stephen Timms was stabbed in the stomach at his office in east London by a 21-year-old student who was angry over his backing for the 2003 Iraq war. In 2000, a Liberal Democrat local councillor was murdered by a man with a samurai sword at the offices in western England of lawmaker Nigel Jones, who was also seriously hurt in the attack.

British lawmaker shot dead, EU referendum campaigns suspended

Gold inched down on Tuesday as investors waited for cues from a two-day US Federal Reserve meeting beginning later in the day and a June 23-referendum that will decide whether Britain will exit the European Union. 
 
Spot gold was down 0.4 per cent at $1,279.16 an ounce as of 0648 GMT, but has gained more than 5 per cent this month, hitting a peak of $1,287 on Monday, its highest since May 16. 
 
US gold fell 0.4 per cent to $1,282.30. 
 
&quot;I think investors have decided to take profits and some of them are staying on the sidelines before taking a decision on what to do next until the Fed makes an announcement,&quot; said Brian Lan, managing director at Singapore-based gold dealer GoldSilver Central. 
 
Bullion, which is often perceived as a hedge against economic and financial uncertainty, has been driven by rising investor risk aversion before key central bank meetings this week. 
 
Apart from the Fed, the Bank of England, Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Japan will meet this week, and are expected to hold monetary policies steady against a backdrop of caution about the global economic outlook. 
 
The safe-haven appeal of gold, which is near a four-week high hit in the previous session, could get a further boost if a vote by Britain to leave the 28-member group, dubbed &quot;Brexit&quot;, pushes Europe back into a recession. 
 
The British pound remained fragile near a two-month low against the dollar, while Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday on concerns ahead of the referendum. 
 
Britain&#39;s &quot;Out&quot; campaign widened its lead over the &quot;In&quot; camp ahead of the referendum according to two opinion polls published by ICM on Monday. 
 
&quot;We think that the risk of Britain leaving has now increased substantially and the Fed will therefore signal its willingness in no uncertain terms to &#39;stay the course&#39; in light of this potential &#39;Black Swan&#39; event,&quot; INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said in a note. 
 
&quot;This will likely enable gold to push even higher over the next few days, at least until the polls start to swing the other way.&quot; 
 
Meanwhile, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd is aiming to launch its planned physically-delivered gold futures contract in September, said&nbsp;its head on Tuesday. 
 
Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world&#39;s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.27 per cent to 896.30 tonnes on Monday, the highest since October 2013. 
 
Spot silver fell 0.8 percent to $17.29 per ounce, after touching a one-month high of $17.45 on Monday.

Gold is likely to get a further boost if a vote by Britain to leave the 28-member group dubbed "Brexit," pushes Europe back into a recession

Gold inched down on Tuesday as investors waited for cues from a two-day US Federal Reserve meeting beginning later in the day and a June 23-referendum that will decide whether Britain will exit the European Union. Spot gold was down 0.4 per cent at $1,279.16 an ounce as of 0648 GMT, but has gained more than 5 per cent this month, hitting a peak of $1,287 on Monday, its highest since May 16. US gold fell 0.4 per cent to $1,282.30. "I think investors have decided to take profits and some of them are staying on the sidelines before taking a decision on what to do next until the Fed makes an announcement," said Brian Lan, managing director at Singapore-based gold dealer GoldSilver Central. Bullion, which is often perceived as a hedge against economic and financial uncertainty, has been driven by rising investor risk aversion before key central bank meetings this week. Apart from the Fed, the Bank of England, Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Japan will meet this week, and are expected to hold monetary policies steady against a backdrop of caution about the global economic outlook. The safe-haven appeal of gold, which is near a four-week high hit in the previous session, could get a further boost if a vote by Britain to leave the 28-member group, dubbed "Brexit", pushes Europe back into a recession. The British pound remained fragile near a two-month low against the dollar, while Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday on concerns ahead of the referendum. Britain's "Out" campaign widened its lead over the "In" camp ahead of the referendum according to two opinion polls published by ICM on Monday. "We think that the risk of Britain leaving has now increased substantially and the Fed will therefore signal its willingness in no uncertain terms to 'stay the course' in light of this potential 'Black Swan' event," INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said in a note. "This will likely enable gold to push even higher over the next few days, at least until the polls start to swing the other way." Meanwhile, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd is aiming to launch its planned physically-delivered gold futures contract in September, said its head on Tuesday. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.27 per cent to 896.30 tonnes on Monday, the highest since October 2013. Spot silver fell 0.8 percent to $17.29 per ounce, after touching a one-month high of $17.45 on Monday.

Gold dips, but lingers near four-week high ahead of Fed meeting

European Union&nbsp;governments&nbsp;should not ban services like home-rental site&nbsp;Airbnb&nbsp;or ride-hailing app&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;except as a last resort, the&nbsp;EU&nbsp;says in new guidelines, seeking to rein in a crackdown on the &quot;sharing economy&quot;.

In guidelines seen by Reuters, the&nbsp;European Commission said any restrictions by&nbsp;EU&nbsp;member states on these new online services should be justified and proportionate to the public interest at stake.

&quot;Total bans of an activity constitute a measure of last resort that should be applied only if and where no less restrictive requirements to attain a public interest can be used,&quot; the draft document says.

In the case of room-renting sites like&nbsp;Airbnb, the Commission said&nbsp;banning&nbsp;short-term lets of apartments &quot;appears difficult to justify&quot; when limits on the maximum number of days apartments can be rented out would be more appropriate.

The guidelines will come as good news for the likes of&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;and&nbsp;Airbnb, which have faced outright bans or restrictions in some cities as established industry players complain of unfair competition.

Airbnb, founded in 2008, and&nbsp;Uber, launched a year later, both grew up in the hot-house San Francisco tech&nbsp;scene and almost from the start have faced regulatory battles across the United States, and&nbsp;more recently from&nbsp;around the world.

Both have become favourite targets of local officials and rival trade groups in&nbsp;Europe, with its tradition of strong social oversight.

In the &quot;sharing economy,&quot;&nbsp;customers use the internet to contract services such as ride-sharing, where amateur drivers displace professional taxi drivers, or home-sharing, which reduces hotel demand.

&quot;These services can fall within several sectors, falling under the regulatory burden of all of them,&quot; the Commission said.

A case in point is&nbsp;Uber,&nbsp;which considers itself merely a digital service connecting drivers and passengers, not&nbsp;a transport service, which would make it subject to more onerous rules on driver qualifications, road rules and insurance.

The&nbsp;EU&#39;s highest court is set to rule later this year or next on whether&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;is a transport company or a digital service.

 
LOCAL SKIRMISHES

Associations of taxi drivers have staged high-profile protests against&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;in France, Britain, Portugal, Spain and many other&nbsp;European countries since 2014.

Last year, French prosecutors staged a&nbsp;raid of&nbsp;Uber&#39;s Paris offices in a showdown over whether the company was violating a law to curtail online taxi services.

Uber&nbsp;suspended its&nbsp;UberPOP service, which relies on non-professional drivers, in Brussels last October after a court ordered it shut down.

The company reintroduced its service in Madrid in March after beating a hasty retreat from the market in 2014 following a court ruling against it.

Airbnb&nbsp;has faced loud criticism from city officials in Barcelona and Paris over its impact on local housing markets.

On May 1, Berlin officials implemented one of the world&#39;s toughest clampdowns on&nbsp;Airbnb. City officials have promised to reject 95 per cent of requests by landlords to rent out places on a short-term basis.

City officials have received more than 500 legal complaints over the murky provisions of the new law. A Berlin court on June 8 is handling the case of German&nbsp;Airbnb&nbsp;competitor Wimdu, which filed suit over the new regulation.

German hotel association IHA said in response to the&nbsp;EU&nbsp;guidelines: &ldquo;The current legal vacuum...comes at the expense of consumers, residents and taxpayers and distorts the competition to the (disadvantage) of the heavily regulated hotel industry&rdquo;.

European Union says governments should not ban services like home-rental site Airbnb or ride-hailing app Uber except as a last resort

European Union governments should not ban services like home-rental site Airbnb or ride-hailing app Uber except as a last resort, the EU says in new guidelines, seeking to rein in a crackdown on the "sharing economy". In guidelines seen by Reuters, the European Commission said any restrictions by EU member states on these new online services should be justified and proportionate to the public interest at stake. "Total bans of an activity constitute a measure of last resort that should be applied only if and where no less restrictive requirements to attain a public interest can be used," the draft document says. In the case of room-renting sites like Airbnb, the Commission said banning short-term lets of apartments "appears difficult to justify" when limits on the maximum number of days apartments can be rented out would be more appropriate. The guidelines will come as good news for the likes of Uber and Airbnb, which have faced outright bans or restrictions in some cities as established industry players complain of unfair competition. Airbnb, founded in 2008, and Uber, launched a year later, both grew up in the hot-house San Francisco tech scene and almost from the start have faced regulatory battles across the United States, and more recently from around the world. Both have become favourite targets of local officials and rival trade groups in Europe, with its tradition of strong social oversight. In the "sharing economy," customers use the internet to contract services such as ride-sharing, where amateur drivers displace professional taxi drivers, or home-sharing, which reduces hotel demand. "These services can fall within several sectors, falling under the regulatory burden of all of them," the Commission said. A case in point is Uber, which considers itself merely a digital service connecting drivers and passengers, not a transport service, which would make it subject to more onerous rules on driver qualifications, road rules and insurance. The EU's highest court is set to rule later this year or next on whether Uber is a transport company or a digital service. LOCAL SKIRMISHES Associations of taxi drivers have staged high-profile protests against Uber in France, Britain, Portugal, Spain and many other European countries since 2014. Last year, French prosecutors staged a raid of Uber's Paris offices in a showdown over whether the company was violating a law to curtail online taxi services. Uber suspended its UberPOP service, which relies on non-professional drivers, in Brussels last October after a court ordered it shut down. The company reintroduced its service in Madrid in March after beating a hasty retreat from the market in 2014 following a court ruling against it. Airbnb has faced loud criticism from city officials in Barcelona and Paris over its impact on local housing markets. On May 1, Berlin officials implemented one of the world's toughest clampdowns on Airbnb. City officials have promised to reject 95 per cent of requests by landlords to rent out places on a short-term basis. City officials have received more than 500 legal complaints over the murky provisions of the new law. A Berlin court on June 8 is handling the case of German Airbnb competitor Wimdu, which filed suit over the new regulation. German hotel association IHA said in response to the EU guidelines: “The current legal vacuum...comes at the expense of consumers, residents and taxpayers and distorts the competition to the (disadvantage) of the heavily regulated hotel industry”.

EU cautions governments against banning Uber, Airbnb

Companies should be allowed to prohibit staff from wearing the Islamic headscarf but only as part of a general ban on religious and political symbols, an adviser to the European Court of Justice said today.

The Islamic headscarf is a contentious issue in some European countries, particularly in France which attaches importance to the separation of state and religious institutions.

This is the first time Europe&#39;s highest court is handling a case on banning the headscarf, referred to it by a Belgian court hearing a compensation claim from a woman who was dismissed from her job for wearing an Islamic headscarf.

The woman was working as a receptionist for Belgian company G4S Secure Solutions, which has a general ban on wearing visible religious or political symbols.

The Belgian court asked the European Court of Justice whether forbidding the headscarf violated an EU law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of religion.

&quot;While an employee cannot &#39;leave&#39; his sex, skin colour, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or disability &#39;at the door&#39; upon entering his employer&#39;s premises, he may be expected to moderate the exercise of his religion in the workplace,&quot; Juliane Kokott, the EU court&#39;s advocate general, wrote in her opinion published today.&nbsp;

The advocate general&#39;s findings are not binding but the EU court typically follows the adviser&#39;s recommendation. A ruling from the European Court of Justice is expected later this year. The Belgian court will rule on the matter thereafter.

There are already some headscarf bans in schools and public institutions in France and Belgium. However, Germany&#39;s top court last year struck down a ban on teachers wearing headscarves in schools.

Companies should be allowed to prohibit staff from wearing headscarf but only under general ban on religious and political symbols

Companies should be allowed to prohibit staff from wearing the Islamic headscarf but only as part of a general ban on religious and political symbols, an adviser to the European Court of Justice said today. The Islamic headscarf is a contentious issue in some European countries, particularly in France which attaches importance to the separation of state and religious institutions. This is the first time Europe's highest court is handling a case on banning the headscarf, referred to it by a Belgian court hearing a compensation claim from a woman who was dismissed from her job for wearing an Islamic headscarf. The woman was working as a receptionist for Belgian company G4S Secure Solutions, which has a general ban on wearing visible religious or political symbols. The Belgian court asked the European Court of Justice whether forbidding the headscarf violated an EU law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of religion. "While an employee cannot 'leave' his sex, skin colour, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or disability 'at the door' upon entering his employer's premises, he may be expected to moderate the exercise of his religion in the workplace," Juliane Kokott, the EU court's advocate general, wrote in her opinion published today. The advocate general's findings are not binding but the EU court typically follows the adviser's recommendation. A ruling from the European Court of Justice is expected later this year. The Belgian court will rule on the matter thereafter. There are already some headscarf bans in schools and public institutions in France and Belgium. However, Germany's top court last year struck down a ban on teachers wearing headscarves in schools.

Employers can forbid headscarf if general ban in place - EU court adviser

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