Helen Nugent

After a number of dicey days on the markets, UK shares are regaining some of the ground lost in the wake of the Brexit vote. The BBC reports that after increasing 2.6 per cent on Tuesday, the FTSE 100 share index opened up 1.6 per cent at 6,240.31. The FTSE 250 index rose 1.6 per cent in early trade. After rising on Tuesday, the pound was little changed against the dollar at $1.3341. Sterling had risen as high as $1.50 before the referendum. Brexit and businesses Vodafone has warned it could move its headquarters from the UK depending on the outcome of Britain's negotiations to leave the European Union. In an email statement, the telecoms company said it was important to retain access to the EU's free 'movement of people, capital and goods'.

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.

Without wishing to add to the hyperbole over Brexit (from both sides), it's fair to say that Britain is all over the place today. From the temporary suspension of trading in Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays shares and sterling's continued slide against the dollar, to the slump in the return on government bonds and a profit warning from easyJet, the UK is beginning to digest its decision to leave the European Union. In the morass of doom and gloom was another profit warning, this time from Foxtons. The estate agent said concerns following the vote will depress London property sales and, in the first few minutes of trading, shares in the company dropped 18 per cent. By 11.45am they had plummeted by 22 per cent.

When I lived in London, I was introduced to a whole new vocabulary. 'Blinding' was a new one on me (for instance, 'that was a blinding goal') as was Chalfont St. Giles (don't ask). But perhaps the most sinister was 'London bar'. Count your lucky stars if you don't know the meaning of that last one. Put simply, it's a metal security strip designed to reinforce door frames. As far as I understand it, the London bar is so-named because many burglaries in the London area are 'kick in' attacks. Using brute force, the burglar kicks at the door until the frame fails, splits or shatters. I had personal experience of this when I lived in the capital. I was on holiday at the time and came home to discover my door frame in shreds.

Rents have reversed their Spring trajectory as a tide of homes to let bought before the April Stamp Duty surcharge have reached the private rented sector. According to the latest Buy-to-Let Index from letting agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, average rents for homes to let across England and Wales now stand at £792 a month. This represents a drop of 0.2 per cent since April, and compares to a long-term average monthly rise of 0.4 per cent every May since the recession. Adrian Gill, director of lettings agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, said: 'This is the equivalent of a flash flood for the rental market.

The Financial Conduct Authority has caved in to banks over payment protection insurance compensation by backing their call for a two-year deadline for new claims, according to internal documents published in The Times. The paper says this is the latest example of the city watchdog softening its stance with banks and comes after a public row over its decision to scrap a review of banks’ conduct. After intense lobbying by lenders for a cut-off to be introduced for new claims over PPI — the mis-selling scandal that so far has cost £24 billion — the FCA said in November that a deadline accompanied by a marketing campaign to raise awareness would draw the affair to a close. It has yet to make a final decision.

Is cash king? Yes, according to a new study showing that money in best buy savings accounts has fared better than the stock market over most investment periods since 1995. It found that investments in tracker funds would have lost money up to a third of the time, the BBC reports. But cash in a savings account always ends up higher than it started, said Paul Lewis, the author of the report. 'People who prefer the safety of cash can make returns that beat those on tracker funds.' House prices The collapse in global oil prices has sent house prices tumbling in areas reliant on the UK’s North Sea oil industry, according to a new official house price index.

A levy could be added to bills to ensure that consumers do not lose out if their energy supplier goes bust under proposals put forward by Ofgem. With more than 40 firms now offering gas and electricity deals, the energy watchdog has warned of the danger of one becoming insolvent. At present anyone who is in credit with their energy supplier could lose out. The watchdog wants the cost of a safety net to be paid for by customers, which would have 'a small impact on bills'. Ofgem's senior partner for consumers and competition, Rachel Fletcher, said: 'We are proposing a safety net to protect customers' credit balances in the unlikely event of a supplier failure.' Taxing times Employees are paying an average £1.

I live in a world of Post-it notes. Yellow ones, blue ones, orange ones. They are everywhere. One day someone is going to find my wizened body beneath a mountain of these infernal things. Death by Post-it note. In a world where multi-tasking has become a full-time profession, the humble Post-it note is now an integral part of modern life. The company which makes them - 3M - amassed sales of $7.4 billion in the first quarter of 2016. The first quarter! (OK, they make other stuff but you see where I'm going with this). The ubiquity of the Post-it note in my household is such that I've instigated a traffic level system for use. Yellow denotes a must-do task, blue means urgent, and orange points to something I have to tackle at some point before I die.

Cracks are beginning to show in the new pension freedoms, hailed by the Chancellor as a 'pensions revolution'. About 160,000 people have had to pay fees to access their pensions since these freedoms were introduced in April 2015, with some seeing more than 10 per cent of their retirement pot swallowed up by charges. The study by Citizens Advice and published in The Guardian said that those with smaller pots were the group hit the hardest. Last month, the Financial Conduct Authority announced that exit charges for people cashing in their personal and stakeholder pensions are likely to be capped at 1 per cent of the value of a member’s pot.

Another day, another house price survey. Today's research from chartered surveyors predicts that house prices are set to drop for the first time since 2012, as demand for property falls at its fastest rate in eight years. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) says there will be a short-term drop in UK house prices over the next three month. Surveyors expecting prices to drop outnumbered those expecting prices to rise by a majority of 10 per cent. However, Rics said the fall was likely to be short-lived. It cited the EU referendum, and a cooling of the market following stamp duty changes in April.

It’s a phrase you don’t hear much these days: ‘civic pride’. And, if a new report is to be believed, it won’t be long before it goes out of fashion altogether. According to Britain at Home, a comprehensive bi-annual study commissioned by Lloyds Bank Insurance, more than half of UK homeowners live in neighbourhoods that are falling into disrepair. Common problems include untidy gardens, spaces used as dumping grounds, overflowing bins and grotty buildings. The problem is now so acute that two-thirds of homeowners suffer from negative feelings about where they live and one in five are considering moving house.

Here we go again. As the nation prepares itself for the glory and the pain of Euro 2016, supermarkets and DIY stores are readying themselves for a run on beer, crisps, pizzas and barbecues. And there's the rub. While our natural inclination is to expect the worst on the field (and no Sir Geoff Hurst, I don't think England's squad is the most exciting since the World Cup winning team of 1966), there is a glimmer of good news for the economy. If you've seen the glut of booze offers and cut-price fast food on the shelves of your local shops, you'll know what I mean. According to Lloyds Bank, the countries reaching the final four stages in the last five tournaments have tended to see rises in both consumer spending and GDP growth.