The effect of an independent Scotland vote would have had all kinds of repercussions for sterling financial assets, UK businesses and politics.

This led to increased volatility/uncertainty in UK fixed interest and equity markets during September leading up to the vote given that the outlook for assets with an exposure to Scotland depended on what form an independent Scottish economy would have taken (what proportion of oil rights it would retain, what share of the gilt market it would be liable for and what currency it would use).

To put this into context, about £355m of investment was withdrawn from UK equity funds in the week before the referendum – the second-largest weekly outflow this year.

However, we now know that the people of Scotland have voted in favour of remaining part of the United Kingdom with a clear majority in a high-turnout referendum. Understandably, UK markets greeted Scotland’s decision to remain part of the UK with some relief.

Even so, a substantial rally in asset prices seems unlikely, since the markets only priced in a small chance of a Scottish Yes vote. Although sterling fell against the dollar in the weeks before the vote, this seems to have largely reflected upward revisions to expectations for US interest rates, rather than concerns the UK might fall apart.

Furthermore, it is likely that the UK economy will continue to be buffeted by uncertainty about its political future over the next couple of years.

For a start, since a Scottish “No” vote was only achieved at the expense of all three major UK parties committing to the further devolution of powers to Scotland, other regions of the UK may now intensify their demands for more autonomy.

Earlier this month, at the Jackson Hole conference, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates to a historic low and unveiled a raft of bond-buying programmes to stimulate lending and starve of fears of deflation.

The ECB’s measures comes as EU policymakers continue to find themselves under pressure to stave off economic stagnation, high unemployment and very low inflation across the Eurozone. The Eurozone economy has grown by 0.2% in the first six months of 2014, while inflation hit a new low of 0.3% in August.

The ECB also revised down its projections for the Eurozone economy, forecasting annual growth of 0.9% in 2014 followed by a 1.6% and 1.9% expansion in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Meanwhile, Eurozone annual inflation was also lowered to 0.6% in 2014 before increasing to 1.1% and 1.4% in 2015 and 2016 respectively. The Euro fell to its lowest rate against the US dollar on the news which will benefit European exporters, as it means foreign companies can import goods and services at a lower price than they previous could.

Huge demand saw shares of Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba sold at the top end of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) price range at $68 (£41) when they floated on the New York Stock Exchange on September 19.

It raised $21.8bn, valuing the company at $168bn, meaning that if it were able to join America’s S&P 500 index (which it cannot as it is not an American company), it would be in the top 25 and ahead of Amazon ($150bn).

Alibaba has grown into one of the world’s biggest e-commerce companies, selling more packages annually than eBay and Amazon combined through its main websites, Taobao, Tmall and Alibaba.com.

It runs Alipay, an e-payment platform similar to PayPal and unlike most Chinese companies, the government has no stake in it. Investors who have bought shares in the company have not become an owner of Alibaba as one would normally become, since Chinese law forbids overseas ownership of strategic Chinese assets. To get around this, Chinese companies that list abroad use a complex structure called a variable interest entity (VIE) which is registered in the Cayman Islands.