The City’s outlook on 2012: optimism for Olympic success but Eurozone doubts
A SUCCESSFUL Olympics seems almost guaranteed according to our latest Voice of the City poll, run in association with PoliticsHome.com, with 73 per cent respondents feeling optimistic about the event.
Just 10 per cent said they are pessimistic about London 2012.
But the government can feel less happy about the City’s views on its deficit reduction plans. More respondents – 45 per cent – are pessimistic on the coalition’s key goal, compared with 41 per cent who are optimistic.
On the continuing theme of fiscal woes, 47 per cent are pessimistic on the UK’s economy, while 30 per cent are still keeping up some hope for the recovery.
However, the UK’s problems are less severe than those of the Eurozone. Just one per cent of our panel said they are “very optimistic” that governments will be able to “get to grips” with the crisis, with a further 11 per cent “somewhat optimistic”.
Stocks over the year are set to stagnate, respondents believe. The FTSE 100 fell 5.6 per cent in 2011, losing 327.66 points over the year.
2012 will see a better performance, but not all of those losses will be recouped. The average respondent predicted the stock index will stand at 5660.95 at the end of 2012 – a gain of 1.59 per cent, or 88.67 points.