Are Berbatov and Robinho the only ones with money in the bank this week?

Darling doesn't seem to have any, I certainly never have any - maybe magic boots are the only way to insulate yourself against financial oblivion? After signing with Manchester United for a whopping £30.5m this week, perhaps Berbatov could teach Darling a thing or two about economics, or at least about asset valuation!

Darling's comments in the Guardian last weekend, yes the "60 years" ones, can be regarded as the political equivalent of turning your pockets out to reveal lint and a few pence rattling around in there.

Image is everything in politics and the negative press following this interview has depressed the pound even further this week as confidence sinks to an all time low.

While famed for his pragmatism and ability to get the job done, Darling's searing honesty was interpreted as a virtual 'abandon ship' by currency traders as they dumped the Pound in favour of offshore currencies, sending Sterling into a freefall.

Exploring new lows virtually every day this week, the pound dropped £0.8144 against the euro and $1.770 against the dollar on Wednesday, rounding off a decline of 10% in just one month.

Conspiring to keep the pound weak has been the raft of negative data released.

OECD forecasts singled out the UK as only economy from the G7 group to face recession. Sterling faced a 12 year low in a trade weighted index for the 10th consecutive month and PMI data showed contraction construction, service and manufacturing sectors across the board.

The housing market struck a similarly bleak tone, with new home loans for July the lowest in 9 years and house prices declining 10% since the beginning of 2008.

In response to the domestic situation the MPC decided to keep interest rates on hold at present, maintaining the base lending rate of 5%. The pound trimmed its losses slightly on Thursday following this decision, recovering against the Euro and the US Dollar but remains on the edge of uncharted territory.

But as there are always winners and losers in the currency game, the depreciated pound has created a veritable bonanza for buyers of the currency.

If you are looking to change your Euros back to Sterling, now is a great time to act!

In the Eurozone this week, news has been similarly grim.

On Thursday the ECB also opted to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.25% and ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet, having obviously learned nothing from the Darling incident, commented that the Eurozone is experiencing an "episode of weak activity".

In addition, Luxembourg Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker's claims the Euro is "effectively overvalued" at present led the Euro to fall for the first time in 8 days against the Pound as well as against the US Dollar and the Yen.

With the ECB revising growth predictions for 2008 and 2009, proceed with caution seems to be the message with the euro at the moment. Your dealer can keep you updated on the situation as and when it changes.

It has been a relatively quiet week for US markets. The Indian summer for the Dollar continues, coinciding with contraction in European and Asian economies as they follow in the wake of the US credit crunch. Hurricane Gustav in the Gulf of Mexico has been tempering the price of oil which is further supporting the dollar.

In other markets, the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to lower interest rates has deflated the Aussie dollar this week, taking the Kiwi down with it. The Slovak Koruna has recovered from its 5 month low against the US Dollar and the pick of foreign currencies remains the Yen as it continues to benefit from credit nervousness and risk aversion internationally.

Have a good weekend!

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