Hold on to your hats. British voters have opted to leave the European Union, PM David Cameron is resigning and there is likely to be a turbulent day ahead in world financial markets as governments and investors digest the news.
British PM David Cameron to resign
AFP – Prime Minister David Cameron announced Friday he will resign after Britons voted to leave the European Union despite his campaign to keep it in the bloc.
Cameron promised to try to "steady the ship" over the next months and did not give aprecise timetable for his departure but said a new leader should be installed by early October.
"I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination," the British leader said outside his Downing Street residence in London.
He said his successor should trigger the formal process for Britain to leave the European Union.
Flanked by his wife Samantha, Cameron said he had fought to retain Britain's membership of the EU "head, heart and soul – I held nothing back".
But he added: "The British people have made a very clear decision to take a different path and as such, I think the country requires fresh leadership to take it in this direction."
European stocks in free fall after Brexit vote
AFP – European stock markets and the British pound plunged at the start of trading Friday after Britain voted to leave the European Union, with banking stocks leading the way down.
London's FTSE-100 index was down 5.0 percent around 0745 GMT off earlier lows with banking stocks Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Lloyds all losing close to aquarter of their market value.