Collapse of the pound

The Sterling pound is collapsing against the euro, having reached the all-time low of £1=1.1 euro, and maybe soon will hit parity. That's a 22% drop in one year. It is a result of the sharp fall in interest rates decided by the Bank of England last week, but also shows a lack of confidence in Brown's economic package stimulus to limit the impact of the recession, especially the large resort to borrowing. The government has announced that it does not intend to support the pound.

Queen's speech

Yesterday, the Queen delivered her annual address to Parliament, in which she announced the government's legislative programme for 2008-2009. It turned out to be rather thin, fuelling renewed rumours of a possible general election next Spring. In particular, there was no constitutional reform. Crime and welfare reform were the most contentious bills announced. More detail on this. Gordon Brown also announced a plan to help homeowners hit by the economic downturn to avoid repossession of their homes: people losing their jobs or suffering a dramatic loss of income will be able to defer payment of their mortgage interests for up to 2 years.