More Brexit fallout, personal finances and debt worries

Despite the Chancellor’s efforts yesterday to calm the markets and soothe business fears, the pound hit a 31-year low against the dollar. There was more bad news when the UK lost its top AAA credit rating from S&P. The ratings agency said the the referendum result could lead to ‘a deterioration of the UK’s economic performance, including its large financial services sector’. Rival agency Fitch lowered its rating from AA+ to AA, forecasting an ‘abrupt slowdown’ in growth in the short term. However, the outlook this morning is slightly brighter. The FTSE 100 share index has opened higher (although it is still some way off recovering its Brexit losses) and the pound is showing signs of recovery. And the Brexit stampede to safety meant that the Government’s cost of borrowing for 10 years fell below 1 per cent yesterday for the first time ever. The Evening Standard reported that the return on UK 10-year gilts sank to a low of just 0.975