Northern Irish business leaders have issued cautious support for Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, my colleague James Rothwell reports.

Stephen Kelly, the head of Manufacturing NI, which represents more than 100 firms in the region, said:

We give a guarded welcome to the agreement between the UK and the EU. 

It removes the risk of a catastrophic no deal and set a new floor below which NI could not fall providing a solid foundation from which to press up from should the UK and EU not speedily conclude a new relationship.

It is now critically important that Parliament approves a deal and that work is escalated to secure a new positive long term free trade relationship between the UK and the EU.

That’s the question Telegraph Money’s Adam Williams has set out to answer. He writes:

In the three years since the vote there has been a reduction in the number homes being put up for sale, ever-growing transaction times and a decline in annual house price growth as negotiations between Britain and the European Union have dragged on.

However, with the relative certainty presented by a deal, analysts believe that buyers and sellers will soon return to the market.

Read more here: Why the Brexit deal will reverse Britain’s property market slump

Here’s some reaction to the current Brexit situation from analysts.

Luca Paolini, chief strategist at Pictet Asset Management, says:

Brexit has left UK equities as the cheapest of all the global stock markets, while sterling is also undervalued. With plenty of bad news priced in, any resolution to the country’s political turmoil is likely to see a big snap-back. We figure there’s the prospect of a 20 per cent upside to the market.

Deutsche Bank’s Oliver Harvey says:

There will be much focus on upcoming votes in Parliament on Saturday, and whether Mr Johnson’s deal receives ratification (discussed in more detail below). But the important point from the market’s perspective is that avenues to a no deal Brexit have been largely closed off. The only prospect of a no deal Brexit in the next three to six months would arise if a general election resulted in the Brexit Party performing sufficiently strongly to be needed to support a Conservative minority government.

Dean Turner of UBS adds:

As has typically been the case with Brexit newsflow in the past, moves within the UK equity market are likely to remain more significant than moves to the overall UK equity market. On sterling, we retain our overweight position versus the US dollar in our FX strategy. If a deal is at last reached, we may even see GBPUSD rally to 1.35. If MPs do not agree on a deal after all and we are faced instead with an extension, followed by a General Election, we would more likely see GBPUSD settle between 1.26 and 1.32. The looming no-deal Brexit scenario, which could have flung GBPUSD as low as 1.12, now appears the least likely outcome.

Bad news for businesses: Firms face the biggest crunch in lending since the financial crisis as banks prepare to slash risk-taking and rein in credit in the coming months. My colleague Tim Wallace reports:

The availability of finance has held steady for the past four years after a recovery from the credit crunch and eurozone crisis.

But companies could suddenly find their easy access to debt drying up, according to the Bank of England’s quarterly credit conditions survey.

The proportion of banks expecting to cut access to credit over the rest of this year now outweighs those anticipating easier access to loans by a margin of 13.5pc, indicating the final three months of the year will see the sharpest tightening in financial conditions since 2008.

• Read more here: Credit crunch fears mount as banks cut business lending

It’s on – but may already be clearly off. The DUP have confirmed they will vote against the Brexit deal on Saturday, rather than simply abstaining. That makes it incredibly difficult for Boris Johnson to win a vote at this time.

That’s sent sterling down on the day – what a rollercoaster!

Things are still a fairly healthy green across Europe stock markets, but the gains we saw earlier have not hung around. 

With just under two hours until trading opens on the US markets, Wall Street is currently set for moderate gains based on futures trading.

Though Brexit hopes are spilling over the Atlantic, there are plenty of other things that may be on traders’ minds – for instance, this letter from Donald Trump to Turkish President Erdogan, leaked overnight:

It’s Brexitshambles out there, with the pound now back to almost flat on the day, the FTSE 100 and 250 both looking a bit more neutral at around 0.5pc up, and DUP sources confirming they will not back Boris Johnson’s deal on Saturday.

Cutting through the noise, here are five things you should read to understand what is going on, and where the UK goes from here:

1. Can Boris Johnson get his deal through Parliament without the support of the DUP?
2. The DUP says it cannot support Boris Johnson’s deal on customs and consent – what does it mean? 
3. Russell Lynch: This deal doesn’t get Brexit done – it’s just the end of the beginning
4. Allister Heath: This may be Leavers’ last, realistic chance to achieve a proper Brexit
5. Money: What does the Brexit deal mean for your personal finances?

The Federation of Small Business’s leader Mike Cherry has welcomed news of a deal, but added:

We have been here before, however, and although both the UK Government and EU have shown determination and a willingness to progress negotiations and deliver this breakthrough – we now need to see this continue if we are to reach a successful Brexit endgame. The Government and Parliament must now work together to ensure this is best deal for the UK small business community.

If the deal is passed – focus needs to turn quickly to the future relationship and ensuring that lessons are learnt from the experience of the last three years.

Many small businesses are just about surviving – not only do they desperately need certainty but they also need the Government to get back to business and focus on meeting the many domestic challenges that have fallen behind Brexit.

With a deal on the table, belief is ebbing that a no-deal exit could occur. That has reduced expectations that the Bank of England may soon have to cut interest rates.

Threadneedle Street officials have doggedly held the bank rate in recent months, saying they would rather wait until the impact of Brexit is clear before they begin a process of monetary easing aimed at stimulating the economy.

Bloomberg reports:

Just two days ago, the market was pricing a full 25 basis-point decrease by November 2020 after policy maker Gertjan Vlieghe said continued Brexit uncertainty would probably require further monetary stimulus.

Now money markets see only a 60pc chance that the central bank will lower its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points by that time, according to MPC-dated Sonia swaps data from TP ICAP.

Last month, the nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee elected to hold rates at 0.75pc.

• Read more here: Bank of England gloomier on growth but refuses to join Fed in cutting rates

After soaring to a fresh five-month high against the dollar and the as news of the deal broke, the pound has weakened slightly. 

It is currently sat just below $1.29, having broken that barrier for the first time since May earlier. Traders – like the rest of us – have two questions on their minds:

1. Can this deal pass through Parliament?, and:
2. If not, what happens next?.

It’s a good moment to reflect on how far the currency has shifted: since sinking to a 34-year low of $1.17 at the start of September, the currency has mounted a steady comeback, with foreign exchange desks buoyed by the assumption that a no-deal exit is off the table.

Look in the longer term though, and the pound’s weakening through the age of Brexit is still apparent: last year, we saw peaks above $1.40, and it was about $1.50 for much of 2015 – numbers that feel pretty far away right now.

What happens now that a deal in on the table?

Well, if it passes  (that’s a bit if), it could mean more than three years of market volatility, stunted growth and political paralysis could be finally coming to an end, my colleagues Tom Rees and Tim Wallace write:

Now that a draft departure deal has been struck, the economy faces a renaissance, unleashing pent-up investment, sending sterling higher and giving growth a much-needed shot in the arm. 

They’ve put together five charts that show how the economy is set to be boosted if Boris Johnson can get his Brexit deal over the line. Here’s a taster:

•  Read more here: How a Brexit deal will boost the economy – in five charts

Here’s a reminder of what lies ahead:

European investors has welcomed news of a Brexit deal,  send major indices upwards (though the gains aren’t staggering – a lot of the energy may have been blown earlier this week).

Responding to the deal, Food and Drink Federation chair Ian Wright said:

The UK’s food and drink manufacturers will welcome the news that a deal has been struck. They will hope that this means, definitively, that a no-deal exit on 31 October cannot happen.  

Our focus now switches to whether this deal can command the support of the UK Parliament, and what the detail of the deal means for our members. Their objectives are securing frictionless trade and regulatory alignment with the EU, our largest market. They also must have access to the workers our industry needs.

OANDA’s Craig Erlam said:

Anyone hoping that the process will be straightforward now is kidding themselves. With Labour whipping for a second referendum on the deal and the Lib Dems unlikely to support anything, there is still a good chance we’re heading for an extension and election, in order to get this over the line. Nothing in Brexit is ever simple.

It’s going to be a wild weekend which will make the market open next week all the more unpredictable. If the deal gets through Parliament, the pound could perform extremely well at the start of next week, despite having already rebounded more than 8pc from the lows a month ago.

With Boris Johnson on his way to Brussels to finalise the deal with EU leaders, he leaves behind markets pumped up by Brexit-deal excitement. 

There is still a huge amount of doubt, however. The DUP are standing by their statement from earlier, and Mr Johnson will still need to win over hard-liners within his own party, who have said they will withhold judgement until they see the final text of the deal.

The parliamentary maths is ugly for the PM – he has to face a Commons that repeatedly rejected Theresa May’s deal (one that was arguably superior to the special Northern Ireland customs arrangements integral to Mr Johnson’s offering), possibly without the DUP’s support:

A potentially massive sting in tale amid this news though – which has slighlty clipped the pound’s wings (though it is still over $1.29):