Sterling ETF A Sterling Play For 2011?

If one of the more important themes that traders and investors have had to deal with in 2010 is the speculation that the world is headed for a currency war, then give the British pound some credit. Normally a currency that benefits from an uptick in risk appetite, sterling has held up fairly well in an environment that has been challenging to say the least. Sure, the U.K. has engaged in some of quantitative easing of its own and then there is the matter of some European guilt by association, but the CurrencyShares British Pound Trust

is up 7% in the past six months. Just last week, Barclays issued a bullish note on the pound, saying the currency could the be the strongest of the world's majors in 2011. Barclays said the pound could head to $1.82 against the greenback and 0.78 against the Euro by the end of 2011 and if those forecasts, especially the former, prove accurate, FXB will be benefit (duh). One pound is worth just a touch under $1.58 and move the decimal a couple of spots to the right and you get $158, roughly the current price of FXB. So this isn't a cheap ETF, but another $24 on top of that is decent capital appreciation, so put FXB on your 2011 watch list.