Sterling falls against Euro
The pound has hit an all time low against the Euro; some currencies are now expecting parity between the two commentators at the end of next year


Sterling dived in value against the euro yesterday, hitting an all time low of 1.1890. It has also fallen to a six-year low in dollar terms. A combination of unemployment figures at their highest for 10 years, and worries over deflation have prompted investors to sell sterling.
The pound is below $1.50 for the first time since July 2002. Holidays in the Euro zone will now cost approximately 20% more than a year ago.
Buying a EUR500,000 house in France at the end of 2007 would have cost £354,600; today the sterling price would be £420,520.
See the FT Adviser which argues that the recession could result in a parity between the euro and sterling by the end of 2009
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
-
Uniquely unique? The Yorkshire grain silos transformed into a home that's a symphony in glass, steel and curves
Amid the beautiful countryside of North Yorkshire, on the edge of the Castle Howard Estate, The Silos is a property for which the word 'house' simply doesn't cut it. And that's not the only way in which it's made us throw out the dictionary.
-
Polluting water executives now face up to two years in prison, but will the new laws make much of a difference?
The Government has announced that water company executives caught covering up illegal sewage spills could now be imprisoned for two years, under new laws — but many still have their doubts.