Stocks and Sterling surge as Scotland says No

Scottish voters have rejected independence from the UK.  By 8:15am when all 32 council areas had declared, the No vote had secured 55.3% against 44.7% for Yes. The FTSE 100 index opened up +0.6% higher at 6,863 with banks and financials leading the way together with Scottish based companies that investors viewed as vulnerable in the event of a “Yes” vote.  Sterling jumped +0.4% to around 1.646 to the US dollar, having been recently as weak as 1.61.  The 10-year Gilt yield rose a point to 2.59% reflecting brighter prospects for a united Britain.  Speaking outside No.10 just after 7am, Prime Minister Cameron was visibly delighted but will have to manage the inevitable finger pointing in the aftermath of a vote what was rather close for comfort and by a margin that was unimaginable a year ago.