Unfortunately UEFA does not want us to kick Spanish balls

Theoretically they couldn't stop it.
Granted they'd keep you apart in early rounds, but after that you're just as entitled to kick their balls as anyone else.

Great manufactiring PMI figures across most Europe, but particularly strong in the UK, leads to rise in value of pound. Could this be the long-awaited recovery? I hope, and believe so

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...ufacturing-pmi

Stevie I too am a firm believer in the pound breaking upwards again this summer.
A lot of vested interests - BBC, Trade Unions, Labour Party etc are only too keen to decry the performance of the UK. The big currency houses (most particularly our RBS Rabobank and RBC- also note Pimco's comments over the last couple of years) have been using this and knocking sterling successfully and are unlikely to stop soon.
Personally, I believe it will bite them in the ***. The deficit has been pruned as a percentage of GDP very successfully, and just a whiff of improvement across the Eurozone, and you will see the 2 percent growth that Henderson (et al) think is likely.
But then I am talking my book as much as they are.

You are comparing pound against the Euro. The pound has remained more or less stable against most currencies, but the Euro gained a lot during the Euphoria over the Euro crisis being "solved".

Given the reality of the Eurozone's continuing problems and the apparent decision to engage on more QE, it's likely the Euro will fall, making the pound rise relative to the Euro.

So predicting the pound to "rise" is not incorrect, but it's actually a prediction of the Euro falling in value rather than the pound rising, and that's more an indicator of the Eurozone's economy and politics than the UK's.

Amideislas - not sure I agree there, as it has been my impression (can be very misleading I grant you) that sterling has weakened against a basket. Certainly down 10 odd percent against the dollar, which would generally weaken sterling against the basket.But I seem unable to find trade weighted sterling figures.
Certainly looking at the BIS figures it seems to wing about a fair bit - nothing like the collapse we saw at the end of the Brown Bubble - but still quite weak for comparatively "normal" times.
Certainly agree that what we are likely r hope to see would be at least as much a Euro weakness as sterling strength

That's kind of what I was saying, but the pound's weaknesses against other currencies is comparatively small when compared with the highly overvalued Euro - the only currency that seems to be of interest here - and what the "weakness" of the pound seems to be measured by.

The thread has sort of evolved into a UK political discussion about the UK politics behind the pound's "weakness", which in reality isn't anywhere near as relevant as the politics behind the Euro's "strength", which IMHO, is completely out of touch with reality, and the strength or weakness of the pound against the Euro has less to do with UK economics or politics, and much more to do with the Eurozone's politics and economics.

Could not have put it better.

Fingers crossed eh?

that is all because of the original power house led by Germany and France, the prime movers in the project (who you may remember did not want to share their new found vision with Britain, like little boys with a ball).
The euro had a hiccup when France was seen to be faltering, which frightened the life out of Germany. Now Germany cannot be seen to falter, it is the only prop the vision has to rely on. Hence the firm grip there is on their figures and the way they are released. No Loose Talk. No Scandals. Nothing that will rock the boat.

When Australia decimalised they based their currency on the 10/- rather than the A£ and felt they got the best of the deal. But back in those days they were getting 2 to £, now it is running around 1.5 to £1. Australia used to be a major trading partner of the UK but they have now come to realise their future is more closely tied to the nations who are physical neighbours, such as Malaysia, China, Japan.

So if the £ has slumped against one or two currencies there will be others that is getting stronger against. And really you shouldn't be looking at the day to day rise and fall but the longer term rise and stability the £ still offers.

Not wishing to disagree with your underlying sentiment - sterling, as an independent currency has a degree of flexibility others - most notably the patchwork currency of the Eurozone -lack. And the day to day fluctuations, whilst often fascinating are far less important than the trend.

Nevertheless the whole point of trade weighting is that it measures a currency against those with which it is exchanged. So the 30 odd percent decline in trade weighted sterling is across the board. That there might be one or two currencies against which it has risen, is more a measure of their weakness (or irrelevance to the UK commercial paradigm) than anything else.

there is no patchwork currency of the Eurozone, just a currency that was built on the known German fiscal strength and the believed strength of France, which really is no different to that of those countries located south of the 43rd parallel in their laxer fiscal attitudes.

there are too many spotty youths out there trying to emulate George Soros in kicking the fluff out of the UK teddy bear. the fiscal system was not designed for the instant profit/loss by small movements, it is a hangover from the days when a ship took weeks to make a journey and alter the balance based on hard information.
Which is why the Rothschilds made a couple of fortunes on the information that Wellington had kicked the French at Waterloo by using horses until they dropped to steal a couple of days on the official information.

Just been watching Daily Politics with the leader of this party on. Basicly he is saying it is time for the southern european countries to leave the Euro in order for it to continue. Failing that he and his party is of the view that Germany should leave it.
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/20...ti-euro-party/

Uber Deutschland Independence Party. !!
Like UKIP living in the past and will probably have as much influence when it comes to elections that matter.

Perhaps we should change the name of this thread. If you look at the performance of sterling against the dollar and Asian currencies over twelve months, it is soaring...upwards.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/m...cy/default.stm

No doubt suppose like UKIP have to wait and see mind also on BBC site re Germany http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22852929