UK budget-related bets tend to trend towards the financial. GBP may will fall. UK CDS will tighten widen etc.
There are other ways to go though. Spread betting firm Sporting Index is offering odds on the following aspects of UK chancellor Alistair Darling’s speech:
How long?
The number of minutes the Chancellor’s Budget speech will last 55
‘Order, Order’
The number of times the house is called ‘to order’ during the speech 1
Sips of Water
The number of times the Chancellor will take a sip of water during the speech 1
‘Health’
The number of times the word ‘health’ is used during the speech 5
‘Million’
The number of times the word ‘million’ is used during the speech 37
‘Billion’
The number of times the word ‘billion’ is used during the speech 44
‘Euro’
The number of times the word ‘Euro’ is used during the speech 6
‘Education’
The number of times the word ‘education’ is used during the speech 12
‘Prudent’
The number of times the word ‘prudent’ is used during the speech 1
Interestingly, ‘billion’ featured 30 times in last year’s budget speech, while ‘prudent’ was completely absent.
Related links:
What Darling has to play with – FT Alphaville
Britain braced for grim Budget as government borrowing soars – FT
Time to smell the coffee over at HMT – FT Alphaville