Daily Brief – European Economies

European Economies

Of the 5 largest European economies, the largest 3 being Germany, UK and France are growing more slowly than Italy and Spain . That is if they are measured by job postings. However the number of job postings turns out to be a reliable indicator on this occasion. So for those looking for employment the message is go to Italy and Spain and the two industries that are growing fastest are food preparation and service and software development.

EUR/USD 1.0375.

Pearl Harbour

Film buffs who caught this 2001 film will recall that Hollywood managed to magic the hero, Ben Affleck boarding a train in NYC’s Grand Central Station and getting off that same train at London’s Paddington Station. Clearly the producers knew what Elon Musk would reportedly plan in 2025: a railway tunnel linking NYC and London with frictionless trains travelling at 4800KPH which means that passengers could travel between the two cities in just one hour. Unless if not the latest burst of genius from Elon Musk it’s yet another example of fake news of course.

USD/JPY 150.63.

Japan

As we have written last week, Japan is showing signs of emerging from its long economic hibernation by abandoning the zero interest rate policy. That is not yet feeding through into the demographics with the birth rate in 2024 falling to 721K down by 5% from 2023 while the number of deaths is 1.6 million i.e. a death ratio of more than 2:1. Time for Mr Watanabe to go home or maybe Mrs Watanabe to be home more.

GBP/USD 1.2577.

Gold Cards

POTUS Trump’s proposed $5 million down no questions asked gold card US citizenship scheme has raised the question of where else offers such schemes. As is well known Malta, Greece, Cyprus and Italy are best known in Europe and each offer residency, citizenship or flat tax deals. Then there are a clutch of Caribbean islands including St Kitts, St Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda. Other than the UAE in the Middle East that leaves Indonesia at a pricey $10 million. But it is Thailand in the Far East that the budget conscious should head for: for less than USD 20K one can get residence rights for 20 years and a very small additional fee will secure a package of administrative and tax benefits. No wonder people relocate to exotic islands in the Gulf of Thailand, or the serenity of the Golden Triangle or the bustle of Bangkok.

EUR/GBP 0.8249.

Killing Me Softly With His Song

Years, in fact decades, after releasing this song in 1973, Roberta Flack who departed this world at the beginning of last week made the mistake of trying to hail a taxi in NYC that a man named Tennyson Charles was riding in. It turned out that TC was deranged and became Roberta Flack’s stalker threatening to kill her in a number of ways until he in turn made the mistake of shouting about it upon which he was promptly arrested this day in 1995.

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly with his song

I heard he sang a good song, I heard he had a style
And so I came to see him to listen for a while
And there he was this young boy, a stranger to my eyes

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly with his song

I felt all flushed with fever, embarrassed by the crowd
I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud
I prayed that he would finish but he just kept right on
Strumming my pain with his fingers

Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly with his song

He sang as if he knew me in all my dark despair
And then he looked right through me as if I wasn’t there
And he just kept on singing, singing clear and strong

Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder

Click Here to Subscribe to the SGM-FX Newsletter