By Nigel Hodges, Currency Solutions

Would it be too British to suggest that it's just a little too hot at the moment?

The stifling heat, while certainly a welcome change from the regular London downpours, is making keeping track of all the market changes even more frantic work than usual. And there certainly have been a lot of data releases this week, causing us to run our poor air conditioning unit into an early grave.

Most of the week's major news came from across the Atlantic. Last week, the Federal Reserve stepped in to financially back ailing mortgage suppliers Fannie Mac and Freddie Mac.

By Monday, four of the largest American banks announced plans to elevate the credit crunch by issuing 'covered bonds' - a form of financing that is the primary source of mortgage funding for European banks.