March 30 (Bloomberg) -- The pound fell against the dollar for a fourth day and gilts rose as equities dropped and an industry group said financial-services companies may eliminate as many as 15,000 jobs in the second quarter.
Sterling slipped to its lowest level in almost two weeks as leaders of advanced and emerging economies prepared to meet to discuss a global approach to financial regulation at the Group of 20 summit in London on April 2. Today’s drop versus the dollar put the pound on course for its third straight quarterly loss, the longest stretch of declines since December 2005.
“The pound is going to suffer given the negative global news,” said Ian Stannard, a senior currency strategist at BNP Paribas SA in London. “The increasing likelihood that we might not get anything significant out of the G-20 is going to weigh on equity markets and the pound too. Sterling could well be the underperformer of the week.” read more
