Monday 19 January 2009

It is all starting to fall apart

Item one: Spanish public sector debt has just been downgraded. No more triple AAA.

Item two: UK bond prices fell sharply today, which is equivalent to saying UK interest rates went up. If I read the Bloomberg webpage correctly, 30 year gilt yields are up almost 15 basis points. Markets have just woken up to the fiscal risks of unlimited bank bailouts. Just how far is the UK away from a rating downgrade? Too close for comfort, I'd say.

Item three: There is talk in Ireland of leaving the euro. Irish exports are being crushed by that extremely unfriendly sterling devaluation. There is a whiff of default wafting around Ireland right now.

What do these three economies have in common? Housing bubbles.

2 comments:

Mark Wadsworth said...

Excellent stuff. I've got all my money with NS&I in a quasi-current account, so if government interest rates go up, all the more for me!

John McClane said...

Just give me 8 more weeks. Then my money will be out of the UK.