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London dominates global currency trading
Business Digest: A three-year report shows London is still at the centre of the currency market
The recession may have led to fears over London's future as a financial centre, but the City has maintained its dominance of currency trading over the last three years, and it accounts for twice as much of the world's foreign exchange market as its nearest rival, New York.
According to a new survey by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the average daily turnover in the City this year has been $1.85 trillion - 37 per cent of the world's total. New York, the world's second biggest currency centre, accounts for less than half of that.
The survey found that $4 trillion changed hands around the world every day in April 2010, up from $3.3 trillion in April 2007 - an increase of 20 per cent.
Most of the growth was down to an increase in the daily spot market, where people buy and sell currency according to its value at any given time. Turnover was also driven by increased activity with hedge funds, pension funds, mutual funds, insurers and central banks.
Read a full report at the Telegraph ·
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Excellent as it is to see a section of the City of London in such rude health, pulling in the wages for the earners and the taxes for the layabout non-earners on the dole, let us not take any of this for granted. Modern banking was invented in the late Middle Ages by the Italians, who lost the crown to the Dutch, who lost it to London. We have had it since then, but there is no divine right to this lucrative business and its glamourous temples of steel and glass (would that they still built in stone and had taste too). The EU are busy passing directives which will become European law, and UK law too, by default via the European Communities Act (1972), and our control and our supremacy will pass to Munich. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA is an acronym to watch out for), run out of Munich and Brussels will slowly change the rules of the game to the expense of the UK. And only very severe repercussions and reactionary fight-back in the political front will be able to mend the situation. If UKIP were in power in the Houses of Parliament now it would still take a decade to fix all the damage that is going to occur soon now. And the City boys are still enjoying their champers and Porsches...let them enjoy them while they may, so long as they earn them.