euro

The pound reached a two-year high against the euro overnight while yields on gilts and treasuries rose, as Scottish voters rejected independence from the UK and investors swapped safe havens for equities.

The European Central Bank has cut its headline interest rate by ten basis points to 0.05%, prompting the euro to slump against the dollar, and said it will begin a long-awaited asset purchase programme in the coming months.

Stock markets have jumped this afternoon following a series of drastic measures from the European Central Bank to stave off a downturn and boost inflation.

The euro is hovering near a four-month low on the expectation the European Central Bank (ECB) will today take steps to tackle the threat of deflation and lacklustre growth in the eurozone.

The most read story on Investment Week's website this week concerned outgoing fund manager Neil Woodford and how Invesco Perpetual is moving to protect investors in his funds.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has named its top ten trades for this autumn as investors prepare for a tapering of QE in the US and a possible jump in interest rates.

Neil Staines, head of trading for the ECU Group, assesses the impact of recent global policies on currency markets.

CURRENCIES

The pound has slid sharply over the last few weeks versus a basket of currencies, while the US dollar has continued its 2013 resurgence, but where are the screaming buys in currency markets now?

Investors backing the US dollar were caught out last night after Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said stimulus measures are likely to remain in place in the US for some time.