Sterling tumbled against the dollar and slid to a six-month low of under 90 pence against the euro as fears over a Halloween exit for Britain from the EU haunted investors.

British companies are more worried about Brexit than at any time since the 2016 referendum decision to leave the EU, and they plan to reduce investment and hiring, a survey of chief financial officers shows.

Sterling stumbled yesterday as UK transport minister Jo Johnson resigned, saying he wants a new Brexit referendum, and the DUP clashed with prime minister Theresa May over potential plans for the Border.

European shares rose slightly yesterday, reversing initial losses, as anxiety over political stability in Italy appeared to ease just hours before a cabinet meeting to set budget targets.

Cork is Ireland’s maritime haven, embracing the spirit of the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East — but we simply must let it be known to more people across the world, according to destination manager with Visit Cork, Ursula Morrish.

Italian assets were pummeled again yesterday on mounting concern over the populist coalition’s fiscal plans, with the moves rippling across European debt markets.

Irish paper and packaging giant Smurfit Kappa has rejected a raised takeover offer from US rival International Paper, but a sharp 3.4% fall in Smurfit shares may well signal the hostile suitor is so far winning the €8.9bn bidding war.

European stock markets continued to shed value as investors locked in profits at the end of a strong month, with all eyes now fixed on potentially overvalued US markets after jitters in recent days.

A slide in Wall Street, involving fears over interest rates and reported Chinese cooling over US bonds, sent tremors around the world that an almost nine-year bull market in stocks was at an end.

World stockmarkets hovered close to all-time highs yesterday as the best start to a year in eight years showed little sign of running out of steam, with the combination of strong global growth and low inflation powering the appetite for risk.

Twenty-First Century Fox shares jumped in US trading and Sky shares rose in London after sources said both Comcast and Verizon Communications were also interested in buying parts of its studio and TV operations.

The UK’s top share index fell yesterday, depressed by a slide in oil stocks among others. The Ftse 100 index fell 0.6%. A brief recovery was brought to an end in afternoon trading when Bank of England governor Mark Carney said the bank would debate an interest rate increase in the coming months.

Irish exporters have been warned about further sharp currency fluctuations, should the EU-UK talks end in no trade deal and tough controls over workers.

Stock markets were torn between the continuing fallout of Brexit and the countdown to the probable announcement of a US rate hike tomorrow evening.

Drug shares took the strain in the US as President Donald Trump tweet a promise of lower priced medicines for Americans, as European shares were little changed ahead of the ECB’s meeting tomorrow.

The renewed slump in sterling is hurting key Irish businesses hard as the turmoil caused by the uncertainty of the UK’s new relationship with Europe will persist for a long time, analysts here have warned.

Christmas spending at UK supermarkets and weak sterling helped boost London’s Ftse 100 blue-chip index, which hit fresh record highs yesterday, as other European shares also ended slightly in positive territory.

A ruling by a UK court that insists the British parliament approve the Brexit vote will unlikely delay the final divorce proceedings with the EU, Ireland’s leading independent expert on Brexit has said.

The UK’s premier index briefly reached a 13-month high thanks to surging oil prices and a strong rally from blue-chip banking stocks.

The editor of the Irish Examiner, Tim Vaughan, is to take up a new position in another company next October.

London’s top flight index tumbled below 6,700 yesterday as investors baulked at a bleak economic update from the UK manufacturing industry.

Britain’s biggest companies are beset by doubts about the future after last month’s vote to leave the EU and have slashed their investment plans, according to a survey that bodes poorly for the UK economy.

London’s top-flight index fell just short of breaking through the 6,700 mark for the first time in 11 months after shares in ARM Holdings soared following its takeover approach from Japan’s SoftBank.

London’s top-flight index rallied towards the closing bell as it was confirmed that Theresa May would be in post as prime minister by tomorrow after rival candidate Andrea Leadsom dropped out of the race.

The London market was dragged into the red after a gloomy economic update from Britain’s construction industry dealt a punishing blow to housebuilders.

Chancellor George Osborne’s efforts to calm the markets over Brexit proved fruitless as more than £40bn (€48bn) was wiped off the value of Britain’s biggest companies.

The FTSE 100 matched global stock markets and rose sharply as bullish investors piled back into equity markets after concerns of a British exit from the European Union eased over the weekend.

Less than three weeks before the UK votes on its membership in the EU, the country’s equity investors are much less worried about the outcome than their colleagues trading currencies.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

Britain’s FTSE-100 share index snapped a three-month run of gains and sterling fell against all of its major peers yesterday as two new opinion polls surprisingly indicated that UK voters now favour the country leaving the EU.

The London market closed higher with traders cheered by strong US economic data, soothing a hangover caused by Thursday’s stark warning by the Bank of England governor about the cost of a Brexit vote.

Shares in paper and packaging group Smurfit Kappa jumped more than 3% in early trading yesterday on the back of it posting a 31% increase in quarterly profits and forecasting strong earnings growth for the full year.

London’s top-flight index sunk deeper into the red as it came under pressure from sliding commodity stocks and a slump from the supermarkets.

London’s top-flight index was dragged into the red yesterday as a lacklustre performance from commodity stocks weighed heavy on the market.

The London market edged back into positive territory as a rise in the price of oil eased the pressure on top-flight stocks.

The Ftse struggled to make headway yesterday as the falling price of crude dragged on stocks after a key meeting of oil producers ended in stalemate.

Paper and packaging group Smurfit Kappa is to switch its primary share listing from Dublin to London next month in a move aimed at expanding its investor base and gaining access to the FTSE index.