Here's a very strong defence of the British economy, and attack on the Spanish situation, by a Spanish money trader based in London. All the usual pro-arguments are there regarding the UK economy - the City makes a pile for the whole country, the country attracts loads of investors, the apparent low unemployment rate, it's easier to start a new company etc. No mention of the 9 million economically inactive, the £200+ billion spent each year on benefits and social security, the lack of export response despite the floating pound etc. But it does show a lot of strong elements to the economy, and that there has been progress for example in cutting the civil service. For the Spain-knockers, there is plenty of ammo in there, particularly in the public debt figures, the savings banks/cajas fiasco, the slowness in copying good ideas from the likes of Britain etc.
Will these strengths in the British economy help the pound to rise again? Unfortunately the article doesn't tell us - indeed no one can realistically predict the future. But it does seem to indicate that perhaps the Euro currently is overvalued. Hope for the pound reaching 1.30 against the euro is again reborn!
http://energyandmoney.blogspot.com.e...telegraph.html

the GBP only has to rise by 10% against the Euro to achieve that - as it is currently at 1.18..........
but how much helium is in the baloon ??

Stevie
The underlying point, as I am sure you are well aware, is that you could have substituted any one of a dozen Eurozone countries for "Spain" in that article. There is nothing new in it, nor is there nothing that is not going to be said again and again in slightly different contexts.

Here is Roger Bootle in todays Telegraph:-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/c...-to-roost.html

More and more i believe Edward Lear saw all this coming.


They went to sea in a Sieve, they did,
In a Sieve they went to sea:
In spite of all their friends could say,
On a winter’s morn, on a stormy day,
In a Sieve they went to sea!
And when the Sieve turned round and round,
And every one cried, ‘You’ll all be drowned!’
They called aloud, ‘Our Sieve ain’t big,
But we don’t care a button! we don’t care a fig!
In a Sieve we’ll go to sea!’

Oh lordy, markets are going crazy.... Pounds looking a bit peaky too. Hope this settles down soon...

shows what a killing in the high street can do to the delicate balance

Every time BoE minutes are released, the trade has a pop at Sterling. Been doing it every month since December.

Maybe this time it is indeed different- it is the first time they have not fed Reuters currencies page stories!

Personally, I am with Hendersons. I think we will find 2013 a lot better for the UK than the teenage scribblers predict.

Sell in May and go away,
Come back on Leger day.

Stocks are on the way down today after some bad figures from the USA. Not worried though, got my profits out

Someone predicted sterling dropping lower this summer to near parity but can't remember where I read it.

Market movement is due to (poor) Chinese figures - not much anyone can do about that and it's not limited to the UK stock exchange.
Pound has dipped because of good news - inflation is below expected levels. That means interest rates will stay low, so the return on sterling investments will stay lower, too.

Best bit of investment advice I ever got: sometimes they go up and sometimes they go down.

See, even you two can't agree on the reason(s) so how the flying fish can you expect a gaggle (?) of money market people to agree

According to the Telegraph they are predicting the new Governor of the BOE will aim to lower sterling by 15%

so it must be true.......
what if the DM said the same thing, would you start believing it then ??

But that refers to the GPB vs USD. The article went on to say that the GBP/EUR rate would not change as the Euro was also expected to fall.

Fred, are you saying that Jacky only took the juicy bit for her own purposes ??
I can't believe that.

But then I am more than interested in how a national bank governor has the power to manipulate the money markets to his own ends and why. After all he is supposed to be free of influence from the government.

Pimco have been short Sterling for the last two or three years.
They must be getting a bit worried that it might go wrong if they are holding press conferences to announce sterling weakness.