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Eurozone developments prompt mixed response from industry

As Cameron defends his decision to block an EU-wide treaty to tackle the Eurozone crisis, many are wondering where this will leave the UK.

James Hickman, managing director of Caxton FX, stated that it was no great surprise to see the EU Summit fail to deliver effective solutions to the eurozone crisis.

He said: “David Cameron was completely right to protect UK interests and not bend to the will of the French and Germans.

“While the economic climate in Britain is far from being rosy, the markets have responded positively to the Government’s austerity measures and we don’t need to be dragged down by those who haven’t been as responsible.

“This is clearly illustrated by the strength of sterling against the euro over the past couple of weeks, with the markets saying much the same.”

Mr Hickman also suggested the outcome of the EU Summit did not go far enough, and that similar problems would only repeat well into 2012.

He questioned the likelihood that periphery eurozone countries such as Greece would be able to conform to proposed responsible economic measures.

Elsewhere, David Blair, head of regulation at law firm Osborne Clarke said: “The Eurozone seems to have come up with a decent plan for staunching the flow, which will be good news for the economy, but the UK hasn’t had to entrench itself any deeper in the European mire and has showed the backbone to fight against the erosion of its financial services industry.

“The thing that amazes me is that there is a queue of six Eastern European nations waiting to join the Euro. I wonder if they’ve also hired Bernie Madoff to invest their sovereign wealth for them.

“Opinion still seems divided on whether to throw our financial industry overboard to avert the dangers of British isolation.

“In light of the storms battering the country, one would have expected a greater understanding of the need for insulation from the fire raging in Europe.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .