Deloitte: At least one country could leave euro in 2012

Forex traders may be interested to hear that financial experts are alarmed at the prospect of a break-up in the eurozone, with many seeing it as the biggest possible threat to their business.

Chief finance officers (CFOs) surveyed by accountancy firm Deloitte see a 37 per cent possibility that one or more states will leave the single currency by the end of the year.

Deloitte also found that CFO considered this something which would impact negatively on UK business, potentially causing a new credit crunch in Britain and damaging exchange rates.

Ian Stewart, Deloitte's chief executive, said a return to recession the UK is the second-biggest fear among finance officers.

"CFOs are now working on the assumption that Britain will fall back into recession. They see a 54 per cent chance of a double-dip, up from just 27 per cent a year ago."

According to the latest World Economic League Table published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, Britain's economy was recently overtaken by Brazil as the sixth largest in the world.

Posted by Greg Secker