Sterling had a torrid day losing ground against the majority of currencies following the release of the Bank of England monetary policy committee meeting minutes. Sterling ended the day at a 2 month low against the euro and lost over a cent and a half against the dollar. The Bank of England’s minutes unexpectedly revealed that two policy makers had voted for an even greater expansion to the asset purchase program calling for an extra £25 billion to be injected into the UK’s economy. This news resulted in sterling weakening across the board as the markets speculated that further quantitative easing could soon be on the way. Call in now for the latest update and the latest news.

In Europe, weak Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data released yesterday sirprised the global markets as both the services and manufacturing sectors contracted suggesting that a recession in Europe could soon follow. Whilst the German services and manufacturing sectors are still expanding; unfortunately, the figures fell short of the markets expectations. The most positive news out of Europe yesterday was the unexpected expansion of the French manufacturing sector. Fitch, one of the three major credit rating agencies has downgraded Greece to its lowest rating above a default and the other credit rating agencies are expected to follow suit despite the new €130 billion bailout being agreed. Call in now for the latest update and the latest news.

In the US, figures released yesterday showed that the number of previously owned houses sold in the US increased; but, at a slower rate than expected. The main release today is the unemployment claims figures which are expected to show a decrease in the number of people filing for unemployment insurance in the last week supporting the employment led recovery we have seen in recent weeks. Call in now for the latest update and the latest news.

Elsewhere, manufacturing PMI data out of China showed a contraction for the fourth straight month providing further suggestion that the Chinese economy is slowing down. Call in now for the latest update and the latest news.

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