A ray of light in the gloom...

The news from The Euro Zone is not good this week, to say the very least. In an assessment of the crisis gripping Greece and the eurozone, Moody's the international rating agency warned that banks in the UK and Ireland as well as those in Portugal, Spain and Italy all faced challenges if the countries suffered the same fate as Greece in being downgraded by the credit-rating agencies.

Moody’s warned on Wednesday it may downgrade Portugal’s government bonds in the next three months because of deteriorating public finances and “long-term growth challenges”. The warning came as the Lisbon Stock Market fell for a second consecutive day and the cost of government borrowing rose amid market fears that the Greek debt crisis could spread to Portugal and Spain.

Strike action against the new measures instituted at the insistence of the EU and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) has started in Greece, leading to three deaths. There have also been strikes in Portugal.

It does seem that there is a singular lack of forethought as to how strike action and protest marches will effect the economy – mind you, I suppose the same could be said about the BA strikes at a time when BA is struggling to keep afloat. Add to this the natural disaster of volcanic ash making travel to Europe less appealing and it really does seem a recipe for financial disaster that may well see holiday makers staying away in droves.

Many are predicting that the wealth of nations is shifting, with the new economic giants predicted to be China, India and Brazil. Who knows? But one thing is for sure – we are living in volatile times…

All this would seem to be unremittingly gloomy, but interestingly enough, if you are in the process of buying property abroad right now it may not be.

On Wednesday sterling hit €1.16/£1 against the euro. If there is one single thing that you can do right now to protect yourself, it is to sign up with a reputable currency company like Smart Currency and consider ‘forward buying’ your currency. As Smart mentioned in an email sent out to all clients, and I quote: ” Even though the European Central Bank and the IMF say they have agreed a debt rescue package for the Greeks the markets remain unconvinced. And problems are spreading to other European countries such as Spain and Portugal, whose debts are much greater than the Greeks.”

You can buy currency at today’s rate for up to a year in the future. This means effectively that you will know in advance exactly how much your currency transfers will cost you. You will not have to be in the hands of whatever financial disaster may arise, and that includes any problems that may hit the UK. Frankly, the wisest course of action would be to pick up the phone and have a chat to a currency expert about this. Right now! Go to www.smartcurrencyexchange.com

Let me know how your plans to emigrate are going. Times may be tough but perhaps this is a good time to really have a good think about where you want to be in a few years. Careful planning will get you where you want to be…it may just take a little longer than you thought.

Bye until next week,

Carol.
www.emigrationguide.com