The Waitrose effect and Mr Nobody, the new pensions minister

A month on from Brexit and the effects on the economy are beginning to show, says the Guardian in a study of the present state of the nation’s finances. It’s mostly bad news: the pound is at its lowest since 1985, down 12 pc against the dollar and 9 pc against the euro – meaning holidays are more expensive than ever. The weak sterling also means that imported goods will be more expensive; last week Unilver was the first company to admit that the cost will be passed onto consumers. The FTSE 100 is up higher than pre-referendum levels, possibly because of a number of sales of UK-listed companies. The sale of chip designer ARM to a Japanese company last week is a case in point. On the plus side, unemployment is at its lowest level for more than a decade. In the three months up to the end of May, 31.7