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January 20th, 2010
MPC member sets the ball rolling with talk of higher UK interest rates. Greece's fiscal problems worry the euro. After a day's hesitation in the vicinity of Monday's €1.11 starting point the pound set off higher. It was not quite a straight-line advance (it almost never is) but sterling did not ...
Continue reading Broad Improvement For Sterling
January 13th, 2010
The likelihood of a defeat for Labour is positive for the pound. Euro zone economic data are uninspiring but not harmful to the euro. Monday's €1.1250 opening proved to be too rich for sterling's blood and it quickly began to retreat. It traded below €1.11 on Tuesday, rebounded to €1.12 on ...
Continue reading Politics Drives Sterling
December 29th, 2009
Spanish-based blogger Mathew Bennett and Edward Hugh have started doing podcasts. The first covers the Spanish economy and how events elsewhere in Europe are affecting it. Access the podcast (approx 40 minutes duration) Among the points covered are: How does what’s happened in Dubai affect the economic situation in Greece, Spain and the ...
Continue reading Podcast: Spanish Economy
December 10th, 2009
Guarded optimism from the Bank of England balances concern about UK government borrowing. The European Central seems to be looking ahead to taking interest rates higher. Sterling ratcheted higher, having dipped only briefly below last Monday's €1.0950 starting level. It peaked above €1.11 on Friday and opened in London this morning ...
Continue reading Investors In Two Minds About The Pound
December 8th, 2009
News this week of new laws to help Spanish companies reduce employment costs may seem like a backward step for full employment, but it's a necessary one if Spain is ever again to be competitive in Europe.At last, Zapatero's government has conceded that they need to reform Spanish labour laws. I ...
Continue reading Full Employment is Key to Spanish Economy
December 4th, 2009
The European Central Bank is set to begin the delicate process of phasing out its financial crisis support on Thursday, backed by new staff forecasts which should show greater economic optimism. With markets still some way from normality, all 80 economists in the latest Reuters poll expect interest rates to be ...
Continue reading ECB Will Exit Cautiously
November 26th, 2009
First signs of Bank of England optimism dented by public borrowing. ECB hints at an end to 'extraordinary' liquidity measures. For the first couple of days the market was comparatively enthusiastic about sterling. It climbed from €1.1150 €1.1300. It failed to get any further and on Wednesday set off downwards. It ...
Continue reading Moneycorp: Sterling Starts Well But Falters
November 23rd, 2009
Once a star performer in Europe's 11-year old monetary union, Spain has become the wayward laggard. Growth data last week showed the Spanish economy - hit badly by a property market collapse and soaring unemployment - stuck firmly in recession in the third quarter, while the eurozone as a whole ...
Continue reading European Recovery is the Best News for Spain
November 11th, 2009
No interest rate change from Bank of England, FOMC or the ECB. Sterling shrugs off £25 billion of additional QE measures. UK data had less influence on currency levels during last week, with the main focus on how much the Bank of England (BoE) would expand its existing quantitative easing (QE) ...
Continue reading Moneycorp: Stalemate for Sterling
November 5th, 2009
Sterling's resilience shines through. Have we all forgotten the previous week's appalling UK third quarter GDP performance? Following the previous Friday's dismal UK GDP figure, there was every reason to suspect the pound would have to face the full force of economic law and aggressive selling from worried FX traders ...
Continue reading Moneycorp: Sterling's Resilience Shines Through
November 4th, 2009
A spectre is haunting Europe, but this time it is not the spectre of revolt by the popular masses, or even one of yet another wave of bank bailouts. No, the spectre which is currently stalking the corridors of Europe's most prestigous institutions is one of a Spanish economy which ...
Continue reading Spanish Spectre Haunting Europe
October 22nd, 2009
An unusually good week for sterling. The coming week will be even more critical, bringing data for government borrowing, retail sales and third quarter GDP. For the first half of the week sterling remained below Monday's €1.0750 opening. On Tuesday it went as low as €1.06. A Wednesday bounce above ...
Continue reading Moneycorp: Euro Weekly Update
October 8th, 2009
Spain's current account deficit fell to 2.064 billion euros in July from 7.752 billion euros a year earlier as imports tumbled, according to the latest Bank of Spain data. This is a very sharp and dramatic fall, and my guess is that at this rate the gap will close in six ...
Continue reading Spain's Current Account Deficit
September 21st, 2009
The euro zone is emerging from recession, the European Commission said on Monday, but kept a gloomy overall forecast for 2009 as data showed job losses across the region still rising and sapping growth. In its interim forecast, the European Union's executive said the euro zone economy would contract by 4.0 ...
Continue reading Eurozone at a Turning Point
September 9th, 2009
A swings and roundabout week for Sterling. UK manufacturing PMI disappoints; services PMI exceeds expectations. Euro zone economic shrinkage confirmed at -0.1% in the second quarter of the year. The pound returned from its long weekend looking sickly and its first move was downward, touching €1.13 on Tuesday morning. Consolidation around ...
Continue reading Euro Weekly Update: September 9th 2009
