I can see I'm taking a big hit on this. Reading Merrill Lynch - $2000 less

I wish England well. I have no idea what the fallout will be, but I'm pretty sure it's going to take years for it to all shake out. Personally, I hate the global economy and global manufacturing. It only serves multi-national corporate interests and has allowed the exploitation of millions. Recently we had a news story in Canada about prescription drugs that didn't meet their design specifications. Basically they were junk. Turns out that the ingredients are globally sourced and manufactured and then inspected and tested outside the country as well. The paper trail is so convoluted that you can't find out who dropped the ball.
 
Corporations view the world as a big store. One country for raw materials, another for manufacturing, another for design and so on. Something goes wrong in China and the US and Canada feel the pain. To me it doesn't make sense to be so closely linked to countries where we have no control. I think that England leaving the EU, and affecting global markets, is a perfect example. 

jamesg1213
The pound will rally. Glad we're getting our country back, and won't be dictated to by faceless overpaid Eurocrats who we didn't elect and couldn't get rid of. Of course, it'll likely take years and they'll give us a good kicking on the way out to try and dissuade other countries from doing the same.
 
IBTL...

With the pound at a thirty year low and £100 billion off the value of the FTSE even before trading started this morning, you're right. It will take many years for the UK's economy to recover.

It would help if the assorted Brexiters actually had a plan what to do next. But they don't. Well, OK, Nigel Farage has a plan and it's more power and money for Nigel and he doesn't care how he gets it. Boris Johnson has muttered about "no need to rush anything chaps...." and disappeared from view, but the EU seem to rather disagree with him.

To quote Martin Wolf in that most sober of newspapers, the Financial Times "This is probably the most disastrous single event in British history since the second world war."

The saddest thing is that the majority of people who voted in the referendum couldn't tell you how a European Directive is drawn up or what almost any of them actually say or do.

Well, the Chicken Lickens were bound to come out in full force. I guarantee, none of their worst predictions will come true. Business always finds a way because people want to make money.

outland144k
 
The vote was largely split along age lines (younger- bremain, elder- brexit) and locale (urban- bremain, rural- brexit) in Great Britain.
 

 
Not that simple. Birmingham the 2nd largest city in England, voted leave. Some of the poorest urban areas in England had the highest percentage of leave votes.
 

 
Scotland and Northern Ireland voted Brexit.
 

 
The majority of voters in Scotland voted to remain.
 

 
4) London, strangely, could theoretically leave the EU on its own. It's status is closely akin to what we might call a city-state with a high level of autonomy.
 

AFAIK, there's no mechanism in place that could make that happen.

backwoods
this is going to screw with easy european travel for people like me which is a drag. I thought it was going to be close but the other way. like james said the EU may make it pretty nasty for the brits now to dissuade others from leaving. it might be too late. i'm always paranoid that countries like greece who need massive help will get peeled off by russia  if it disintegrates. like usual-- it will be left to the US to worry about that.

Quite honestly, if the EU try any "nasty business" in retaliation I think it's just going to fuel the exit campaigns of the remaining countries. And I think that once the initial shock wears off they will realize that it is not in their best interests to penalize or boycott the UK in any way.

Moskito:
How much you want to bet that this will hurt artists and musicians the most?
You just wait!
 
 
Well, if that's the case at least you wont be hurt.

Right now no one knows how this will end. It could be nothing more than re-working trade agreements and no mass exodus from the EU.

On the other hand, the EU could dissolve completely. Each country going back to their own currency and the complications that would create. Maybe stretching here a bit, but this could also mean the end of NATO.

Very interesting times to be sure. How England reacts in the coming months will determine the outcome.

sharke
Well, the Chicken Lickens were bound to come out in full force. I guarantee, none of their worst predictions will come true. Business always finds a way because people want to make money.

I'm very glad to hear you will stand guarantee for your words. Unfortunately both the currency traders and the very nearly half of us who voted to stay in the EU may not share your confidence.

So, moving onwards to your promosed bright future, an occupational pension fund I was paying into in the 90s lost roughly 15% of it's value overnight. Which is a few million quid. Will you be making a donation?