A claim of patriotism is the last refuge of a busted government
Mar 05 2010 The Daily Telegraph
There’s a well-known bookmaker who, when asked how he is, likes to reply: “Sound as a pound, old boy, sound as a pound.”
As Britain’s financial woes mount, one suspects that he will soon need a fresh line in chirpiness because, far from being sound, the pound is looking softer than Mr Whippy in a heatwave.
Sterling’s exchange rate is, in crude terms, a 24/7 opinion poll of what the markets think about Britain’s economic prospects. As currency traders fret over how honest the Government is being in its pledge to slow the growth of state debt, their enthusiasm for holding pounds is dwindling.
And who can blame them? Britain’s budget deficit, as a percentage of GDP, is the worst in the G20, with total debt expected to go beyond £1 trillion and reach 100 per cent of GDP. Call it redinkonomics. This, in part, explains why Britain must pay much more to borrow than rival economies such as Germany, France and the US.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeffrandall/7370619/A-claim-of-patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-a-busted-government.html
5
March
A claim of patriotism is the last refuge of a busted government
Mar 05 2010 The Daily Telegraph
There’s a well-known bookmaker who, when asked how he is, likes to reply: “Sound as a pound, old boy, sound as a pound.”
As Britain’s financial woes mount, one suspects that he will soon need a fresh line in chirpiness because, far from being sound, the pound is looking softer than Mr Whippy in a heatwave.
Sterling’s exchange rate is, in crude terms, a 24/7 opinion poll of what the markets think about Britain’s economic prospects. As currency traders fret over how honest the Government is being in its pledge to slow the growth of state debt, their enthusiasm for holding pounds is dwindling.
And who can blame them? Britain’s budget deficit, as a percentage of GDP, is the worst in the G20, with total debt expected to go beyond £1 trillion and reach 100 per cent of GDP. Call it redinkonomics. This, in part, explains why Britain must pay much more to borrow than rival economies such as Germany, France and the US.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeffrandall/7370619/A-claim-of-patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-a-busted-government.html