The Pound: $1.30 By Christmas?

The pound is back below $1.50 today, taking up where it left off last night. We started the day yesterday at $1.5479, before steadily declining to crash through the $1.50 mark in late trading for a loss of around 5 cents on the day.

Losing 5 cents in a day is almost becoming an embarassing norm now for the pound. Where the hell is it all going to end, apart from in tears? Below $1.30 by Christmas? I wouldn't like to bet too much against that, at 5 cents a day it could be be $1.40 by Friday night!

In early this morning we stand at $1.4911 at 8.30am GMT, having already been down as low as $1.4809.

This week is the first time we've been below $1.50 in more than six years.

Job vacancies in London's financial-services industry sank 48 percent in October from a year earlier, according to a survey by recruitment firm Morgan McKinley. Total unemployment claims rose to the highest level since March 2001 it was revealed yesterday. BT have today said that they will cut 10,000 jobs by the end of the financial year.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England indicate that it will keep cutting interest rates as the economy slumps.