I just spoke to the FC of a large european co. They were complaining that if they don't use IBAN to transfer funds to me, their bank will charge them an extra 15. I told them tough - if they do, our bank will charge us an extra 37.50 - (25). Told him, he has a choice - pay the extra 15 or I increase our costs by 37.50 to cover it!

Hes going to go away and think about it. Thats how the UK banks make so much money - charging UK companies for receiving funds from overseas.

Closed all my positions in my spreadbet account. Lucky for me I had a Short on the UKX, which cancelled on the loss on the long BP. I think I'm going to wait for the dust to settle before trading again (lets see how long that lasts ;-)!)

A period of reflection? what a good idea.

Personally I fear that this rate rise + one probably tomorrow from ECB could be the trigger for another big sell-off that has been threatening for a little while. Certainly no time to buying.

End-of-day Market Roundup