Posted on Monday, August 13th, 2012 at 10:25 am.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Sir Mervyn King pondered the possible economic legacy of the Olympic games; “By spreading happiness and good cheer the Games have made us all feel better. And, who knows, the impact on confidence may give the economy a boost. But ultimately the Games cannot alter the underlying economic situation [...] Read More...
Posted on Monday, August 6th, 2012 at 9:19 am.
The month of July was not at all kind to the euro. From start to finish it fell by 3% against the pound and was the month’s worst-performing major currency. As usual the euro was shadowed by its alter-ego, the Swiss franc. That poor overall result does, however, conceal a late rush by the euro. [...] Read More...
Posted on Thursday, August 2nd, 2012 at 4:08 pm.
It is not unusual to see in supermarkets a one-kilo box of something for £2.79 and a two-kilo family pack for £5.79. Like national lottery tickets, retailers treat the practice as a tax on stupidity. But Tesco, according to a story in the Daily Mail, has raised the barrier. At a branch in Bridlington it [...] Read More...
Posted on Monday, July 30th, 2012 at 1:01 pm.
Until Thursday morning it was looking like business as usual for the euro. Weak Euroland purchasing managers’ index readings, a negative outlook for Germany’s AAA credit rating, lack of demand for Spanish government debt; none of them helped the single currency. That all changed on Thursday when the head of the European Central Bank said [...] Read More...
Posted on Wednesday, July 25th, 2012 at 8:38 am.
Again it was the euro at the bottom of the heap, this time for a third successive week. On Monday morning it touched a two-year low against the US dollar, a 3 1/2-year low against the pound and a 12-year low against the yen. There was no freshly devastating news weighing the euro down, just [...] Read More...
Posted on Monday, July 16th, 2012 at 4:18 pm.
For the second week in succession the euro and its doppelganger, the Swiss franc, were the worst-performing major currencies. It was not that there was any particularly nasty news from Euroland, more that what did appear was all vaguely unhelpful and fed investors’ existing misgivings. When euro area finance minister met at the beginning of [...] Read More...
Posted on Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012 at 8:46 am.
The “breakthrough” trumpeted by EU President Van Rompuy at the end of June has yet to persuade investors that the euro’s problems are over. The idea is for the two EU rescue funds to provide direct funding to Spanish (and maybe Italian and Cypriot) banks to keep them in business. If Brussels can flesh out [...] Read More...
Posted on Thursday, June 21st, 2012 at 12:55 pm.
The Euro has been under pressure from the mounting issues in the Eurozone which has been great for Euro buyers. The bailout for Spain impressed investors for little more than a couple of hours last Monday. They saw it as another Euroland sticking plaster in place of the major surgery that is really necessary. By the [...] Read More...
Posted on Friday, June 15th, 2012 at 3:53 pm.
Sterling has fallen by about half a cent against the euro since last Friday morning. It covered a range of just over two cents, bottoming out on Monday morning and peaking on Wednesday afternoon. The pound took a downward lurch this Friday morning after speeches the previous evening by the Bank of England governor and [...] Read More...
Posted on Friday, June 1st, 2012 at 9:45 am.
Having covered a range of just under two cents the pound started this Friday morning about half a cent lower on the week against the euro. Along the way it was unable to match the previous week’s high and it has been under gentle downward pressure since Wednesday lunchtime. The more things change in Euroland [...] Read More...