Analysis from EY, one of the fabled 'Big Four' accounting firms, suggests anxieties over the EU referendum have seeped through into the bottom line of corporate UK - at least at first glance. The UK's publicly listed companies issued a total of 66 profit warnings in the second quarter of 2016, nine more than in the corresponding period last year and the highest second-quarter total since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008.
That's somewhat disquieting on the face of it, but as we've seen elsewhere the June referendum is being blamed for a multitude of sins. Shocks to financial markets aren't necessarily detrimental right off the bat, but they do have a tendency to expose pre-existing economic faultlines.
UK corporations had already been struggling with sluggish growth rates ahead of the Conservative government's decision to call the plebiscite, exacerbated by a marked slowdown in aggregate demand from China and the slump in crude oil prices. And while there's no point pretending that uncertainties, both prior and subsequent to the vote, haven't had a negative impact on certain sectors such as travel, construction and real estate, only seven companies cited 'Brexit' as the primary reason for issuance.
