Yesterday’s trading session was dominated by a sense of expectation. Following a procedural vote yesterday we can expect a full vote on the Obama stimulus package today. Needless to say smooth passage is preferable for sterling sellers with a surge in risk appetite anticipated as long as nobody plays silly buggers with $800bln.

Euro was weaker yesterday as it fell against the USD and JPY primarily as fears continued over the state of the Russian debt market. Russian banks are looking to reschedule their payments to foreign creditors to the tune of $400bln. Most of the lenders are European institutions and these moves could herald a large down leg for the single currency.

If your nickname is ‘Fred The Shred’ you’re not likely to a quivering mass of indecision however with the members of the Treasury Select Committee sharpening their knives for the former head of RBS bombastic replies may be out of place. Members of the Committee will grill Sir Fred Goodwin and other former heads of High St banks that have since become government assets in an attempt to find out what went wrong.

Further analysis of sterling and its prospects are available on our video blog http://uk.youtube.com/user/WorldFirstJC

Please feel free to contact me (jeremy.cook@worldfirst.com) if you have any questions or thoughts regarding these updates or if you are interested in a particular event in the calendar. If you would like to discuss your foreign exchange requirements, please contact our: Corporate Foreign Exchange Team on 020 7801 9050 or our Private Client Currency Exchange Team on 020 7801 9080. Disclaimer: The above comments are only our views and should not be construed as advice. You should act using your own information and judgement. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon multiple sources the author believes to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy and it may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions and estimates constitute the author’s own judgement as of the date of the briefing and are subject to change without notice. Any rates given are “interbank” i.e. for amounts of £5million and thus are not indicative of rates offered by World First for smaller amounts. E&OE. Definitions of jargon/market terms can be found in our Glossary of Foreign Exchange Terms.

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