Not only has Scotland shouted a resounding ‘No’ to independence, the historic referendum vote has also removed months of uncertainty for businesses, investors and financial firms.
Going alone would have injected huge doubts and concerns for the future of the economies of England and Scotland.
Splitting the countries would amount to a huge undertaking involving a shift of people and money across the border.
Now, with the resignation of Alex Salmond after the vote failure, Scotland is on the verge of taking a new direction with a leader not carrying the millstone of defeat.
Scotland and England have worked together in financial, economic, social and military union since 1707, and there is no good reason why this union should not remain steadfast for another 300 years or more.
What does the no vote mean?
The vote against independence means the status quo is maintained in Scotland for the time being.
Investors do not have to worry about losing money due to recalculating cash and asset values under a new currency. Scots financial institutions also have the security of a bank of last report supporting them – the Bank of England.
The governments in London and Edinburgh can now move forward to take advantage of the recovery without the concern of wasting hundreds of billions on restructuring on both sides of the border.
Alibaba sensation
Alibaba – the Chinese internet sensation opened for trading on the New York stock exchange on Friday.
The first shares changed hands at $92.70, a premium of almost 40% against the expected price of $68.
On the first day of trading, Alibaba shares hit $93.89 at closing, valuing the company at $231 billion.
Traders made first-day profits of $9 billion.
Alibaba is China’s largest online business – and now already one of the largest by value in the US, outstripping Wall Street stalwarts like multinational conglomerate Proctor and Gamble.
Dollar on the rise
The strengthening dollar is likely to keep growing stronger.
Russ Koesterich, BlackRock’s Global Chief Investment Strategist, argues this is more to do with weak economies overseas than a robust economy at home.
“Eurozone data is continuing to disappoint the markets and the euro is expected to weaken against the dollar, yen and pound,” he said.
Koesterich also explained the rising dollar is sucking value away from commodities, with gold down 5% in the past few weeks. Brent crude values, gas and agricultural stocks have also felt the pressure.
