Day: July 5, 2016

    On Monday morning, Markit released its latest set of data on the state of the UK’s construction sector, and to say things didn't look good would be an understatement. The sector slipped into contraction for the first time since April 2013, hitting just 46.o, a shock fall from an already poor base last month, and the biggest single month fall since 2009. All this helped confirm fears about a coming crash in the UK's construction industry. Generally speaking, Markit doesn’t make grand proclamations and or use strong language about its data, but on Monday representatives from both Markit and CIPS, which jointly produced the survey, variously said that "the rate of decline was not as sharp as that experienced during the last recession" and called the data "a clear warning flag...

    Investors in Standard Life’s property funds have been told that they cannot withdraw their money, after the firm acted to stop a rush of withdrawals following the UK’s decision to leave the EU. The firm halted trading on its Standard Life Investments UK Real Estate Fund and associated funds at midday on Monday, citing “exceptional market circumstances” for the decision. It said the suspension would remain in place until it is “practicable” to lift it, and that it would review the decision at least every 28 days. The £2.9bn fund, which invests in commercial properties including shopping centres, warehouses and offices, is thought to be the first UK property fund to suspend trading since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when some of the biggest names in investment management ...

    Dominic Grieve A second EU referendum could be justified if it becomes clear public opinion has shifted strongly against Brexit, the former attorney general has said. Dominic Grieve, a Conservative MP who was the Government’s chief legal advisor until 2014, said the result of the first referendum had to be “treated with respect” but that it was not necessarily set in stone. In correspondence seen and verified by The Independent Mr Grieve tells a constituent that the result of the first referendum cannot be ignored, but that a second plebiscite could become democratically justifiable. “We have to accept … that the referendum result represents, at the time it was held, a clear statement of a majority view that we should leave the EU,” he wrote. “In a democracy such a result ...