Euro Group Head Says UK at Risk of ‘Sterling Crisis’!

• Euro Group head says UK at risk of ‘sterling crisis’! 
  by Philip Aldrick, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ 
  The pound’s recent slide could be the start of “a new sterling crisis” sparked by concerns about the state of the public finances, according to the Euro Group’s new president.
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  In a swipe at the UK, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who took over as president in January, said that Britain’s high national debt and persistent budget deficit had left it vulnerable to attacks from currency traders.
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  His comments will not be welcomed by the Coalition, coming just days before the Budget and with the pound already in freefall, having dropped from €1.23 to below €1.16 since the start of the year. It will also invoke ugly memories of the last sterling crisis, when the pound crashed out of the ERM in 1992.
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  Speaking to students at the University of Amsterdam, Mr Dijsselbloem said the UK was a much riskier proposition than the US due to the state of the public finances, despite its equally high deficit and the battles in Washington over the need to cut spending.
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  “England is vulnerable, it may be faster on the currency speculation. That has happened in the past. A new sterling crisis could happen again,” Mr Dijsselbloem said.
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  His intervention is reminiscent of Christian Noyer’s attack on the UK in late 2011. The head of the French central bank, who sits on the European Central Bank, said at the time that Britain should lose its AAA sovereign credit rating before France.
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