The currency blog

…. this, combined with the lack of any significant data on Friday, left the technical traders very much in charge. Euro/Dollar obeyed the charts almost to the Nth degree with the closing support at 1.4610 holding even though we had seen slightly lower in late afternoon trading. Having broken the early November low of 1.4626 we are left with some fairly definite support and resistance levels to look at between now and the end of the year. There has been a considerable amount of trade around the 1.4700 level and this looks to be the initial Euro resistance level with last week’s high of 1.4780 the next resistance level. In a nutshell, if we don’t back up through 1.4800 in the next few days then the downside beckons. Recent moves suggest that short term trading will focus on being short of Euro with a target of 1.4450/1.4500 on the cards. This directional trade has been given impetus by what appears to be an improving relative economic performance from the US, which is in turn giving the Dollar a modicum of support.
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Bjørn Heidenstrøm, from Oslo visited the Costa del Sol area last month, as part of the global journey, which he is undertaking by bicycle and hitch-hiking, to raise awareness of, and funds for the plight of refugees.
Bjørn, a football fan, is a supporter of Liverpool F.C., and Valerenga in Norway where he works as a Marketing Manager. He describes himself as 41 and usually normal!

So far he has travelled 6,000 miles, collecting signed football shirts which will be sewn together to create a flag to be flown at the 2010 World Cup, as a symbol of unity and passion for both football and the plight of refugees. As Bjørn says, the flag will symbolise the “football family standing together and not forgetting the small ones”
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The home emergency solution in Spain

One Call home emergency service is the newest and freshest solution to all your domestic plumbing and electrical problems.  Whether your home is an apartment or villa, owned, rented or just for the holidays, being a member of One Call will relieve you of the worry of finding suitable, honest and reliable tradesmen quickly, in the event of an emergency.

About the company

The idea of One Call came about simply due to the lack of a reasonably priced, reliable and swift emergency service for plumbing and electrical problems. Helen Parker, the Managing Director, previously worked in the construction industry in the Costa del Sol as a project manager, and was constantly asked about whether she could ‘recommend’ a good electrician or plumber. They are a rare breed here on the coast, and the ones who are  good are often hard to get hold of because they are so busy. The other issue is the cost - often the cost of getting hold of a plumber or electrician at short notice or at an unsociable time of the day is expensive - once you’ve paid the call out fee which can be between €50-60, you then have to take into account labour charges and parts, which can make the whole experience frustrating and costly. Read the rest of this entry »

…. even in the face of overwhelming arguments against it. Concerns over sovereign default following the recent negative actions from the 3 largest ratings agencies had caused bond prices in the nations concerned to collapse and their yield spreads over the perceived stronger risks to widen. This occurred for Dubai, Greece, Spain and Portugal on Wednesday and was followed by a massive sell off in UK Gilts yesterday (after investors re-assessed just what Alistair Darling had said, or not said, in his pre-budget report).

Since then however, there has been an element of retracement in European markets (partially following a comment from German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, that Europe has a responsibility to support Greece) and likely to be a bounce in Gilt prices this morning after a senior Moody’s analyst, at an Asian event, was quoted as saying that there were no plans to revise either the US or the UK triple-A rating status, adding that the ratings agency had looked very closely at both countries’ policy responses to their respective fiscal woes.
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So the pre-budget came and went yesterday and the economists and the politicians digested it in earnest. Naturally there was a heavy focus on the report due to the impending election and also the dire health of the UK economy. We saw a one-time 50% tax on bank bonuses that exceed £25,000- this expires on April 5 and does not include contractual agreements…lots of bonus payments to be made on April 6 then! Hard to know the intention here as it is easily sidestepped and avoidable and not likely to raise a jot to reduce the deficit or deter the bonus culture going forward.

From a market perspective other measures including an increase in National Insurance and a public sector freeze on pay limited to 1%, leave the ability to reduce the deficit in half within 4 years looking very doubtful. Sterling has not reacted too badly however but going forward I feel the words “deficit”, “credit rating” and “downgrade” will be heard more and more to the detriment of sterling.
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Christmas means a big celebration in Spain. The Spanish people enjoy the season as much for the parties as for the opportunity to celebrate their religious beliefs, which is what makes it incredibly appealing to most of the citizenry.

The Immaculada: Signalling the beginning of Christmas

The Christmas season in Spain officially begins on December 8 with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. A predominantly Roman Catholic country, most Spaniards believe that the conception of Mother Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus Christ, is enough a reason to celebrate. This triggers all the festivities leading to Christmas. As such, it is normal to see store displays lit up with colourful Christmas lights, Christmas trees, and other decorations. Churches share the festive atmosphere, too, as they are decorated with colourful floral bouquets and other adornments. Additionally, almost every home in Spain will be filled with Christmas decorations.
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