First published: Prospectmagazine.co.uk, 4/07/2016
There is little that is material to panic about—so far
After the referendum, the UK’s most important existential event since 1945, a curtain has lifted to reveal a major political and constitutional crisis. It has only been just over a week since we heard that Britain voted to “Leave” the European Union, and for the time being we are in a vacuum. Quite who fills it, with what, and under what circumstances is unknowable, and it is all too easy to imagine possibilities that are deeply disturbing.
But for those expecting a rout in financial markets, there is precious little to write home about, at least so far. A number of City talking heads and several high profile commentators have mocked their gloomier brethren. The Daily Mail—not normally known for its financial and economic acumen—ran a lead story on 2nd July entitled Stop panicking and put the country first. It singled out the Financial Times as representative of City and industry leaders who, it said, had panicked about the aftermath of the Brexit vote like startled sheep. So, what can we deduce from the relatively sanguine performance of financial markets?…Read more:
