OUR share tips finally paused for breath after their marathon run of the last couple of months with all four investment portfolios recording falls when we carried out our weekly review on Wednesday morning.

The overall slippage was less than 1.0 per cent although some of our post-Brexit star performers suffered more severely as cautious investors decided to take profits.

Scottish medical software group Craneware was at the front of this list with a 6.0 per cent fall ahead of its annual results on September 6 although most observers expect news of further big sales gains in the US.

Others to suffer above average reversals included big overseas earners such as Diageo, RPC, 3i Infrastructure and Imperial Brands following a small rally in the value of the pound on foreign exchange markets.

Actual share selling was described as light although we are braced for more turbulent times as dealers drift back to their desks after the summer holidays and accept that some of our tips are now looking fully valued.

Certainly we will not hesitate to sell any of our notional holdings which fall to their published stop loss targets.

On the other hand, there were signs that some investors are now switching their attention to companies which earn most of their money in the UK.

Mortgage lender Lloyds Banking and paving slabs producer Marshalls were particularly favoured last week after more encouraging news on housing sales while Dairy Crest and Royal Mail were other gainers.

We are not entirely convinced that the UK economy is set to enjoy a rosy future over the longer term but have decided to take a flutter on Belhaven owner Greene King for the 2013 portfolio which is due to be liquidated at the end of this year.

Rationalisation benefits from the recent acquisition of the Spirit Pub Company are a major attraction and we believe the company can continue to use its strong balance sheet to pay hefty dividends which already mean investors can pick up more than £40 annually from every £1,000 worth of shares at current prices.