With the the Olympics following hot on the heels of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, he thinks UK consumers will start spending again. "Ticket sales alone for the Olympics are going to add 0.2pc to the GDP in the third quarter of the year. Things are set to get a lot better in the UK."
Simon Smith of FxPro is cautiously optimistic, pointing to the low yield on UK gilts and saying: "There's little doubt that the pound has benefitted from events in the eurozone. I would expect the pound to continue to appreciate vs. the euro as this effect continues, pushing EUR/GBP to new lows for the year."
However, many consider it is just a race for the bottom between the two currencies with the single currency definitely winning.
"We should be clear that this is not due to any inherent strength in the pound – just the euro's abject weakness," believes David Kerns of Moneycorp.
The pound is also being talked down. Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, has suggested the UK base rate should be cut further below its current record low of 0.5pc while the Bank of England is yet again considering pumping more money into the economy.
Jeremy Cook of World First thinks the Bank could bring in more quantitative easing as early as this month but he doesn't believe it will have much of an impact.
"We would prefer to see the Bank take on some form of 'credit easing' – the purchase of corporate debt as opposed to that of the government. The fact is that the liquidity that the banks are receiving is not making it through to businesses and consumers."
The UK certainly can't afford to be complacent and imagine we can get away with sitting on the sidelines.
Charles Purdy of Smart Currency Exchange says: "There is a great possibility that the UK could run into trouble. The UK has been masterful in its management of international investment sentiment as it convinces the international market to finance our debt at a fraction of the cost of that of Spain or Italy. If this changes then we are in the same position as the southern states of the eurozone."
And Smith adds: "The eurozone crisis is ultimately a banking crisis. We remain a nation still very much reliant on banking and financial services. Therefore, it can't be dismissed."
The situation in the eurozone is creating a vortex threatening to suck everyone into it. It is hoped that the drawn out debacle in Athens has bought sufficient time to work out how to limit the damage.
"Hopefully the time spent will have allowed the authorities to build up an adequate firewall to protect the other 16 members of the euro," says Alistair Cook of Currencies Direct. "If not, then we're in real trouble."
Forex: USD/JPY lingers above 78.00 - FXStreet.com
Martin Lewis: how he built the Money Saving empire - Daily Telegraph
Mr Lewis was born in Manchester and grew in Cheshire. After attending the London School of Economics he worked in public relations in the City. He then attended Cardiff University to complete a postgraduate course in journalism.
Cardiff is famed for the number of BBC staff it produces, and Mr Lewis followed suit, work as business editor on Radio 4's Today programme.
It was after this, in 1999, that he joined Simply Money and then, the Sunday Express. A former colleague at the Express explained that Mr Lewis was not as popular as you might expect given his accessible television persona today, but was a "bit of a geek".
"Martin was quite intense, very ambitious and an excellent networker, I am not surprised he has done so well," a former fellow journalist said.
It was while he was at the Express in February 2003 he set up MoneySavingExpert – now the most popular consumer finance website in the UK, with 13 million monthly users and seven million people receiving the Martin's Money Tips email – for just £100.
While he was still at the Express, in 2007, he was rumoured to have been approached by Lloyds TSB who offered him £5m to buy the site. He turned it down on the basis that he "did not trust banks", and would worry about losing editorial control.
Before it was closed down last year, Mr Lewis had a column in the News of the World. He regularly appears on ITV's Daybreak programme, as well as Watchdog and a weekly slot on the Lorraine show.
Mr Lewis has a monthly column in The Daily Telegraph.
He is a best-selling author, titles include The Money Diet and Three Lessons & Thrifty Ways.
Commenting on todays announcement of the sale of his website to Moneysupermarket.com Mr Lewis said that he would be cutting down on the time he spends running the website to concentrate on his media work.
The website is being sold for £87m. Mr Lewis owns 100pc of the business and is expected to receive £35m in cash and around 22.1m shares in MoneySupermarket.com.
He intends to gift £10m to charity, including £1m which will go to Citizens Advice.
FOREX-Euro near 2-year low on Spain woes, Japan warns on yen - Reuters UK
* Euro near 2-year low vs dollar on Spanish bank concerns
* Yen off highs, market becoming wary of intervention
* Japan threatens action vs yen rise (Recasts, adds quote, changes dateline PVS SINGAPORE)
By Anirban Nag
LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - The euro was near a two-year low against the dollar on Friday and stayed close to its lowest in more than a decade versus the yen on growing uncertainty about how Spain will recapitalise its ailing banking sector and fix its public finances.
Japan said the yen's strength was being driven by speculators and stepped up warnings that it could intervene to curb the currency's rise, saying it would act decisively if excessive market moves continued.
The euro fell to as low as $1.2324 on trading platform EBS at one point, its weakest since July 2010. It last fetched $1.2345, down 0.1 percent on the day, with a drop towards $1.20 likely as bears remain firmly in control.
The drop in the common currency came as Spaniards sent money abroad in droves, worried about the health of the banking system. Bank of Spain data showed a net 66.2 billion euros ($82.0 billion) was sent abroad in March, the most since records began in 1990.
"It is looking very bearish for the euro with the latest capital flows data showing a significant amount leaving Spanish banks, all of which indicate they will probably need official help," said Peter Kinsella, currency strategist at Commerzbank.
Any help from the European rescue fund for Spain would mean an additional tax burden on Germany, Europe's paymaster, and could hurt the safe-haven status of German bunds, he added.
"It is not a situation where there is much help for the euro and chances are it is headed towards $1.20."
With German two-year yields near zero, traders said a lot of safe-haven flows have, so far, stayed within the single currency area. But if that were to change, the euro's decline against the dollar and the yen could accelerate considerably.
The euro's selloff has gained steam this week as Spain's borrowing costs surged on worries it may need to issue more debt to recapitalise its banks, adding stress to markets already frayed by anxiety that Greece may exit the euro zone.
The rising borrowing costs risk pushing Spain towards an international bailout. The yield spread between Spanish 10-year government bonds and German Bunds have risen to euro-era highs this week, and the euro has fallen almost in lock step with that move.
"We're looking for $1.18 by the end of Q3, and at this rate, it could happen before that," said Callum Henderson, global head of FX research for Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.
"During this risk-off environment, the U.S. dollar is the only place to be," he added.
YEN INTERVENTION JITTERS
Apart from the dollar, the safe-haven yen has also been in demand. The euro was steady against the yen at 96.90 yen , not far from an 11-1/2-year low of 96.48 yen struck the previous day.
On Thursday, the euro got a brief lift after The Wall Street Journal said the International Monetary Fund was discussing a contingency plan for a rescue loan to bail out Spain's third largest bank. The report, however, was specifically refuted by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.
The euro may not get much respite even if Spain gets an international bailout, said Standard Chartered's Henderson.
"If Spain had to be bailed out, the market would instantly focus its attention on Italy. Current European Union and IMF resources cannot fund bailouts of both Spain and Italy," he said.
So the risk of contagion will support the safe-haven yen. The Japanese currency's broad surge this week, including its rise to a 3-1/2-month high versus the dollar, are making market players wary about the potential for Japanese yen-selling intervention, traders say.
Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said Japan would act if excessive yen strength continued while the country's top currency diplomat signalled Japan was willing to act alone as it was becoming clear that yen rises were being driven by speculators.
The dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 78.46 yen but remained close to Thursday's low of 78.21 yen, the dollar's lowest level against the yen since mid-February.
A fall in the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield to a record low this week has cut the yield advantage of Treasuries over Japanese government bonds, and has helped drag the dollar lower against the yen.
Traders say the dollar could come under renewed pressure against the yen if U.S. jobs data due on Friday comes in weak. The data is expected to show U.S. employers created 150,000 jobs in May. (Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano in Singapore; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Grieving family's anguish as conwoman makes money 'collecting' cash for their two-year-old's gravestone after he fell to his death from moving car - Daily Mail
- Levi Brailsford died after apparently unbuckling his harness and climbing out of the moving car
- A woman claiming to be a 'family friend' has been going door-to-door asking for cash, homeowners have claimed
- The boy's father Kevin said: People shouldn't give this woman any money because we don't know who she is'
By Rob Cooper
|
Tragic: Levi Brailsford, aged, 2, who died after falling out of his grandmothers car
A conwoman has been going door-to-door pretending she is collecting 'donations' for a two-year-old's gravestone after he fell to his death from a moving car.
Levi Brailsford's grieving family claimed the woman has been calling at houses across Bristol using the ruse to trick people into handing over cash.
The boy died in Stockwood, Bristol, on May 11 after unbuckling his harness and apparently opening the door of the moving vehicle.
The family, who recently held the boy's funeral, said they have not asked anyone to collect money on their behalf.
Residents living in Redland, Bristol, said they had been called by a woman claiming to be fundraising for Levi's funeral and headstone.
The boy's family have been contacted by friends with similar stories about a mystery woman asking for donations.
Levi's father Kevin said: 'If it was legitimate and the proceeds were coming to us for our son, there would be no problem with it.
'But we haven't asked anyone to do it and for anyone to make any money in my poor boy's name is very upsetting for us all. People shouldn't give this woman any money because we don't know who she is.
'I've had a lot of phone calls about it and I was so worried I told our family liaison officer at the police.'
Fresh agony: Levi's parents Kevin and Andrea were hit by the news that a conwoman has been falsely claiming she is collecting money for their dead son's headstone
Tribute: One of the bears that was left at the scene of Levi's death holds a message to the tragic two-year-old
Among the messages was a note from Levi's parents, Kevin and Andrea, who have been left devastated by the accident
Grief: The dead boy's family have been rocked by fresh claims that a conwoman has been going door-to-door claiming she is collecting money for them
The 33-year-old from Stockwood, Bristol, said: 'We will be raising money for the air ambulance with a sponsored walk in June, but that is still being organised.'
Jo Broome, who lives in Redland, said: 'A female, reporting to be a "family friend" of the Brailsford family is scouring the Redland area asking for donations to help pay for the funeral and headstone.
'She was very thin, had blondish hair tied back in a very tight ponytail and a very gruff voice. Her complexion was very white looking and she was about 5ft 4ins.
Wellwishers: Friends of the boy's family leave flowers at the spot where he tragically fell to his death
'She had a paper cutting of the story in a clear plastic envelope and was taking the name of anyone who had donated some money for the funeral on a scrap piece of paper.'
South Bristol Cemetery was packed last Friday as the two-year-old was laid to rest.
His father Kevin and mother Andrea, 29, released balloons into the sky, followed by scores more from family and friends.
Avon and Somerset Police spokeswoman Claire Stanley said: 'Both police and the family of Levi are aware of a woman who claims to be collecting on behalf of them for a headstone.
'None of these collections has been sanctioned by the family.'
Forex Flash: EUR/CAD short covering recommended - Westpac - FXStreet.com
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