As the world watched with baited breath, the results of Scottish poll for independence left no-one in doubt and may be a few surprised. The verdict was in favour of those who did not wish to break away from United Kingdom and with 55%, it accounted for the opinion of 1.9 million people. Those who were vying for independence from the more powerful neighbour constituted 45%, meaning 1.5 million votes, and they were the ones who had to face despondency.

For United Kingdom, this has been a relief in more ways than one, the foremost being its ability to retain a large chunk of land that would have broken away had the movement for independence succeeded. Not only would it have spelled losing precious oil reserves and nuclear power station located in Scotland but also suffering from loss of influence in a number of international forums like NATO, UN and also the European Union.

The best news has probably been the surge in Pound-Sterling post independence vote as the currency touched its highest value in two years against Euro as also against the US Dollar wherein the latter touched a record figure of $1.65 against its British counterpart. According to Jonathan Ferro of Bloomberg, Scotland’s impact is likely to impact Spanish assets as compared to French markets. From investment perspective, things are much brighter for the Pound especially when compared to the Euro which is on a down-slide owing to a number of factors.

Last but not the least was the big sigh of relief heaved by the British Prime Minister David Cameron who laced the victory with the promise that new powers would be bestowed upon Scotland in a number of spheres. He included other states too and announced that –

"Just as the people of Scotland will have more power over their affairs, so it follows that the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland must have a bigger say over theirs. The rights of these voters need to be respected, preserved and enhanced as well."

Next question on everyone’s lips pertains to ‘devo-max' in terms of whether it will be implemented and how.