Focus on EU finance meeting in Brussels | Olive Press Newspaper ...

ON Friday, retail sales figures were released in the UK with the data coming in much better than expected. There is very little economic data released across the World today plus there is a bank holiday in the US.

Therefore the focus will be firmly on the EU finance meeting in Brussels this afternoon. This week the main data out of the UK is public sector net borrowing, revised GDP data and the MPC meeting minutes which will shed some more light on the Bank of England?s view on the state of the UK economy. Call in now for the latest update and the latest news.

On Friday in Europe, the German Chancellor, Italian Prime Minister and the Greek Prime Minister held a conference call and indicated strongly that the bailout package will be finalised at today?s EU finance meeting. The Greek prime minister has also stated that it has found the extra ?325 million in cuts demanded by the EU before the bailout could be approved. The private sector investment bond swap still needs to be finalised which is expected to reduce the Greek debt by about ?100 billion. This week the focus remains on the much hoped for conclusion to the Greek bailout package. It has to remembered talks have now been running for seven months and the damage to business confidence and economic growth have been significant. Call in now for the latest update and the latest news.

In the US, Core Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures came in as expected; but, CPI data was worse than expected showing consumer prices have climbed less than expected. The Core CPI figures reveal the fastest pace of growth since September 2008. This week there is more unemployment data out of the US and home sales data is also released. Call in now for the latest update and the latest news.

There was a raft of better than expected Canadian data on Friday which included Canadian Core CPI figures released at a level more favourable than analysts had predicted. This week the minutes from the Australian monetary policy meeting will provide insight into the surprise decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.25%. The other main releases include the inflation expectations from New Zealand and the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data in China. Call in now for the latest update and the latest news.

EURO/GBP ? 1.2015
US$/GBP ? 1.5850
CHF/GBP ? 1.4520
CAN$/GBP ? 1.5754
AUS$/GBP ? 1.4742
ZAR/GBP ? 12.2028
JPY/GBP ? 125.810
HKD/GBP ? 12.2896
NZD/GBP ? 1.8920
SEK/GBP ? 10.625
AED/GBP ? 5.8214
US$/EURO ? 1.3185
INR/GBP ? 78.12

To request an up-to-the minute quotation or for more information on Smart Currency Exchange, please call our freephone: 0808 163 0102 (+44 (0)207 898 0541 from outside the UK) or visit our website at: www.smartcurrencyexchange.com

Source: http://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2012/02/20/focus-on-eu-finance-meeting-in-brussels/

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