Pictured above: David Bloom addressing business delegates and traders at the Hilton Portomaso

HSBC Global Head of Foreign Exchange Strategy David Bloom addressed business delegates and traders during a business event entitled ‘A new era for FX’, held recently at the Hilton Portomaso.

Mr Bloom said that the constant stream of political structural events facing the world economy has defined a new era for foreign exchange (FX) in which forecasting and decision-making are increasingly challenging.

“The foreign exchange market is no longer the best trading instrument for the post-2007 financial market,” explained David Bloom. “In the past, the differential in growth between one country and another would be reflected in interest rates differentials and these were best traded by foreign exchange. Today, however, it is the structure of economies that really matter.”

Talking about the high deficits and the sovereign debt crisis, Mr Bloom said that the last generations and the current one have outspent their future. He added that the solution is slow growth over a very long period and that the world must learn that the levels of growth and wealth will be different to what everyone had got used to in the past.

During the event, HSBC Malta’s Head of Global Banking & Markets Chris Bond gave insights intoMalta’s economy, which, in terms of GDP growth and other key economic indicators, has consistently averaged above EU levels for the last 4 years. “It is largely the collective thrift of the people ofMalta, their strong work ethic, and their propensity for saving, which have seenMaltaweather the international financial crisis so well. One must also note the strong performance of the banking system inMaltawhich has continued to lend and support the economy thanks to traditional banking models and high levels of liquidity.”