Originally Posted by
Azor
The June 24 selloff off of the FTSE 100 was not worse than in 1987 or 2008, although for the FTSE 250 only 1987 was worse. However, stock market crashes occur over a period of months and flash crashes, as we saw in January and February of this year across the major equity indices, represent more of a buying opportunity than an indicator of a major downturn or secular bear market. To be honest, we'll have to take stock of the situation, no pun intended, in 2-3 months.
The British economy will adjust and in the short-term it will cause pain and joy to different players, but the EU is not going to impose sanctions on exports to the UK because Brussels' socio-political re-engineering of Europe was rejected by the English; this is particularly true as various EU factions want to begin selling foodstuffs to Russia again.
The EFTA is not the same as the EU, and Schengen cannot be used for those seeking welfare benefits. Moreover, the UK had a unique opt-out to the Schengen Agreement despite EU membership. We do not know what the government after Cameron's will decide, but a separate free trade deal with the EU is possible, as was negotiated with Canada, Israel, etc.
Brussels has certainly overreached. The EU is a great idea if left as a Free Trade Area or Customs Union, but the bureaucrats in Brussels want to expand their power within the union and expand the union itself. The UK immigration system has been broken for decades, long before the Polish plumbers and the Roma beggars appeared. Brexit is but the first in a series of steps needed to control the borders and prevent the "rivers of blood" that Enoch Powell spoke of decades ago.
Again, you're making assumptions about the UK's tight spot with regard to future negotiations while ignoring all the Eurozone countries that want access to the UK's market. And by the UK's market, I mean the productive people in England rather than the vocal dependents in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.