Boris Johnson's decision to back a EU exit sends pound towards 11-month low

Boris Johnson's decision to back a Brexit sends pound tumbling towards 11-month low as PM's EU deal also 'troubles' investors
Pound slides downwards as trading opens after Johnson's Brexit backing
UK currency falls against dollar, euro and yen because of Boris' popularity
Experts admit chances of EU exit causes uncertainty - as has PM's deal
http://dollars-vedioonline.blogspot.com/2016/02/boris-johnsons-decision-to-back-eu-exit.html


Boris Johnson's decision to defy David Cameron and back a Brexit caused the pound to fall off a cliff this morning.

Britain's currency slid to its lowest level for almost a year after the Mayor of London's decision to side with the Out campaign.

Experts believe that Mr Johnson's decision to back an EU exit yesterday is not only a major blow to David Cameron's campaign - it has also led to uncertainty in the financial markets.

Scramble: The Mayor of London cycles through a crowd of journalists outside his London today as experts say his decision not to join the In campaign is troubling the markets
Traders began selling off the pound when the markets opened this morning and the pound instantly dropped by 1.5 per cent - from $1.44 to the pound on Friday to just $1.419 today.
If maintained, that would mark its biggest one-day fall in 11 months.
Alvin Tan, a strategist with French bank Societe Generale in London said: 'The out camp were struggling to get a figurehead who was popular and Boris has given them that boost,' said Alvin Tan, a strategist with French bank Societe Generale in London.
'I think there is genuine worry that Britain might vote to leave and the uncertainty is going to rise into the referendum.'
Sterling also fell sharply against euro, losing around one per cent to 78.08 pence per euro.
The pound also dipped below 160 yen for the first time in more than two years.


Currency markets were digesting the EU reform package secured by Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of an In/Out referendum on June 23.

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said the forthcoming EU referendum was adding to the many concerns 'troubling' investors, which included the impact of an economic slowdown in China.

Karl Goody, from Shaw and Partners in Sydney, told Bloomberg News: 'People are looking at the sell-off this year and saying: enough is enough, there's been enough pain now'.

Chris Weston of City firm IG said: 'BoJo (Boris Johnson) showing his hand does throw a spanner in the works, but the odds of a 'Brexit' are still around 35 per cent'.

Row: Boris Johnson (right) informed David Cameron (left) that he was making the announcement by text just nine minutes before
Mr Johnson announced on Sunday that he would back the Out campaign, stating that the EU was fuelling political disengagement by voters and driving the rise of extremist parties.
He added that if the forthcoming referendum delivered a vote to remain in, Britain faced a further erosion of democracy.
Mr Johnson's support for Brexit was seen as a blow to the Prime Minister.
But Mr Cameron has been boosted by reports that bosses of around half of Britain's 100 biggest companies are preparing to back his campaign to keep the country in the European Union.
The chairmen and chief executives of around 50 FTSE companies are prepared to sign a letter in support of the Prime Minister's renegotiation package, the Financial Times reported.
Supporters are said to include senior figures from Shell, BAE Systems, BT and Rio Tinto.
A draft of the letter, which is due to be published on Tuesday, states: 'Following the Prime Minister's renegotiation, we believe that Britain is better off staying in a reformed EU.'

Unemployment in the UK stays at ten-year low as earnings edge up by 1.9%

Unemployment in the UK stays at ten-year low but wage rises slow down to 1.9%
http://dollars-vedioonline.blogspot.com/2016/02/unemployment-in-uk-stays-at-ten-year.html

The number of jobless fell by 60,000 in last three months of 2015, to 1.69m
Three in four people are in work - an all-time high of 31.4 million
Number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell to 760,000
Average earnings down 0.2 per cent on previous month


The unemployment rate in the UK remains at its lowest level in a decade last year, official figures revealed today.
The number of jobless fell by 60,000 to 1.69million in the last three months of 2015 - keeping the unemployment rate at 5.1 per cent.
Three in four people in the UK are in work, Office for National Statistics figures from the last three months of 2015 show.

The 74.1 per cent employment rate is an all-time high since records began in 1971, with 31.4million people in work - a rise of more than half a million in a year.
But the figures showed another slow growth in wages - average earnings increased by 1.9 per cent in the year to December - 0.2 per cent down on the previous month.


ONS statistician Nick Palmer said the 'subdued' growth in earnings was disappointing.
'While the employment rate continues to hit new highs and there are more job vacancies than ever previously recorded, earnings growth remains subdued and markedly below the recent peak of mid-2015,' he said.
Ministers were hoping to see the unemployment rate fall below 5.1 per cent and despite staying at its lowest level since 2006, today's figures will be seen as a touch disappointing.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell by nearly 15,000 to an overall total of 760,200.
Today's figures show the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits is at its lowest level since 1975.
The employment rate of people aged 50 to 64 is also at a new record high of 70.1 per cent, although the figures do not distinguish between part-time and full-time work.
The region in the UK with the lowest rate of unemployment is the South West, where 3.7 per cent of the population are jobless.
The North East remains the region with the highest unemployment rate. The jobless total fell by just 2,000 in the last quarter of last year and 8.1 per cent of the North East are without a job.
In Scotland unemployment stands at 5.8 per cent - the same rate as Northern Ireland, which recorded no change in the total number of unemployed on the previous quarter.
In Wales, the number of jobless fell by 12,000 in three months to 5.3 per cent.
Wales First Minister Carwyn Jones said the figures showed Wales was 'continuing to outperform the UK as a whole'.
'The increase in employment, decrease in unemployment and fall in economic inactivity in Wales over the last 12 months have all been at rates of more than double those of the UK as a whole.
'Claimant count in Wales has also fallen faster than across the UK,' he said.
Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said: 'February is another record-breaking month with the employment rate now at the highest it has ever been and wages continuing to grow.
'At a time when we are seeing the number of workless households at its lowest ever, this is further proof that our economic and welfare reforms are delivering more security and providing opportunities that give families the best chance in life.'