Well that is heartening news. That there's a debacle that doesn't involve our banking sector, comes as something of a shock.

I wonder if there's a spread betting market on the number of Eurostat figures that will be replaced by the letter 'c' on the 22nd October.

As ever, Unclear

Our exposure to both together is enough to shake us but is not in the same league as our continental cousins. They had far more presence in the european periphery than we did.

But if Europe has a melt down we will get pulled down.

I think we are more likely to get caught in CDS trades and a general SIV debacle. For which no one, not Eurostat, not the central banks has any figures. I have asked and they say they don't know.

The bif change COULD come Oct 22nd when Eurostat said it will publish its new figures for european debts. It 'hope' these will include figures for much if not all the so far undisclosed currency swaps in Greece an elsewhere and include the consolidation of bad bank debts on to national debt levels. Prime amongst thsese would be th einclusion of Hypo Real Estates 240 billion odd euros on to Germany's debt level. Which could bring it up to around 90% of gdp.

For the purposes of answering the question, you may assume that the song was about UK banks' vulnerability to falling construction indices in minor European states.

Always Unclear.