EURO HITS 16 MONTH LOW

The
Eurozone has taken yet another beating this week, due to concerns over
the state of Europe’s banks. Many of the problems seem to be situated in
Italy, with shares in the UniCredit bank falling 14.5 pecent on
Wednesday, followed by a 17.3 percent fall on Thursday, a 19 year low.
In other European banking news, we’ve also seen falls in shares in
Germany’s Deutsche Bank (6%), France’s BNP Paribas (5.3%) and Spain’s
Santander (4.5%).

Many
European countries seem to have adopted further austerity measures,
especially Spain, which is aiming to cut its spending by 8.9bn Euros
this year. Whilst these measures will no doubt be welcomed in the
Eurozone, it is unlikely they will have a large impact on the overriding
problems prevalent in the region. Greece continues to be a problem with
the announcement that it may have to default on its debts in March.
 Its not all bad news for Europe though, with higher than expected
manufacturing figures for December and unemployment figures in Germany
hitting a record low. France and Germany still seem to be keeping the
Euro stable, and this is reflected in their improved business activity
for December.

These
problems in Europe, combined with the effects of David Cameron’s
decisions at December’s Eurozone summit,  has dropped the value of the
Euro against the Pound to its lowest level in 16 months, giving us the best rates for transferring pounds into Euros
since September 2010. In the United States, we have seen increased
growth in the service sector which, in turn has increased the value of
the Dollar. As with the pound, it has hit a 16 month high against the
Euro, giving us the best rates for transferring dollars into Euros.

With
the level of problems in the Europe, many people may be worried about
the total collapse of the Euro, which may affect decisions to purchase
property overseas. With regards to this, it seems that any concerns
about the Euro completely collapsing appears to be the result of media
sensationalism. While there is no doubt that the Euro is in trouble, the
economic and political turmoil that would be caused by disbanding the
Eurozone means that, while it is possible that nations with weaker
economies (IE: Greece) may drop out, the chances of the entire currency
collapsing are very small, and would take years to complete even if it
did happen.

The
fears of recession in the UK are still looming in certain sectors, but
higher figures in the services sector in December seemed to have delayed
those fears somewhat. It is thought by many that the Bank Of England
may vote for more quantitative easing in the coming months in order to
keep the economy stable. Despite these concerns however, sterling is
still holding its own against the Euro, offering the best rates for
transferring pounds into euros that we’ve seen since 2010.

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