Move by Standard Life to suspend trading comes amid fears of a crash

Standard Life's decision to suspend trading for a minimum of 28 days comes amid increasing fears there may be a sharp fall in property prices, as bleak figures reveal that builders in the UK have suffered their worst month for seven years due to uncertainty before the referendum. The last time savers were locked into property funds like this was in the financial crisis, when thousands were unable to get to their money while the fund value plummeted.

5 Jul 2016 21.21 BST Closing summary A late update... our full news wrap of today’s events is now live. Here’s a flavour: The fallout from the Brexit vote reverberated through the markets on Tuesday as two more City property funds barred investors from withdrawing their cash and the Bank of England warned that risks to the financial system had begun to “crystallise”. City watchers warned that further property funds would be forced to bar withdrawals as investors race for the door amid fears of a plunge in the values of office blocks and shopping centres in post Brexit Britain. The suspensions came on another day of drama on the financial markets, 11 days after the vote to leave the EU wrong-footed investors and sparked political turmoil. Developments included: The pound plunging to a new 31-year low against the dollar, falling 2% to $1.30 at one point.



A closely watched survey of the services sector coming in worse than expected, indicating a sharp slowdown in the wider economy.



The Bank of England easing regulations on banks to allow them to release up to £150bn worth of loans to households and businesses.



Chancellor George Osborne held a summit with the heads of the major high street banks, who pledged to avoid a new credit crisis by making loans available.

Here’s the full tale: Property funds halt trading as Brexit fallout deepens Read more

Updated at 21.22 BST

5 Jul 2016 17.58 BST Expert: This isn't a repeat of 2008 Although the UK property sector is undoubtedly in a serious situation, it doesn’t look like we’re careering into a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis.

Jason Holland, managing director of City advisers Tilney Bestinvest, explains that it’s different this time, partly because the Bank of England has been so proactive: The uncertainty around Brexit is undoubtedly a challenge for the property sector but this is not a post Lehman Brothers style moment when the whole financial system faced collapse and the supply of credit - key to property transactions - was in doubt. The Bank of England has set out its readiness to provide vast amounts of liquidity and interest rates look set to be cut. Talk is moving decisively in favour of a pro-growth rather than a tax hiking Budget. The stock market has weathered Brexit bettered than many predicted and successful corporate bond issues this week from British American Tobacco and Brown Forman (the producers of Jack Daniels) suggest the Sterling credit market remains open for business.



5 Jul 2016 17.55 BST Sign up for US jobs report alerts The Brexit crisis has been causing angst across the global economy, with investors worried that it could hurt world economic growth. On Friday, we’ll get an early insight into the damage cause by the EU referendum when the latest US jobs report is released. And we are looking for readers to join an experimental group of users who will receive notifications about the report, from the Guardian Mobile Innovation Lab. At 1.30pm BST on the day the jobs report is released each month, we’ll be sending a series of alerts about the report’s numbers and what they mean. Web notifications are currently only available on Chrome, so if you have an Android mobile phone (Samsung, included!), we hope you’ll sign up. Click here to sign up for the experiment.

