UK The plight of the economy intensified on Wednesday, with a large rise in recorded unemployment, a rapid deterioration in public finances and a bleak Treasury round-up of independent economic forecasts.
Investors are losing faith in Britain. Sterling fell to its lowest level against the US dollar since 1985; and compared with Germany, the cost of government borrowing has risen by 0.2 percentage points over the past week. With bank shares plunging, markets have rarely blown such a large raspberry at a government rescue package as in the past three days. With so much bad news, it is not surprising extreme views are gaining ground. Jim Rogers, chairman of Singapore-based Rogers Holdings and co-founder of the Quantum Fund with George Soros, caused a splash when he told the FT: “I don’t think there is a sound UK bank now, at least, if there is one I don’t know about it.”
