Woodford said he sees a lot of risk in the world economy with a lack of growth and deflation being major worries.
The fund manager said he believes there is ‘a structural absence of growth’ in the global economy which will take hold for the next three to five years, with the eurozone being of particular concern.
He said he does not consider the single currency bloc to be viable in its current form. The sovereign debt issues, economic disparity, and ‘pretending’ that countries such as Greece and Portugal are like Germany are fundamental problems, in Woodford’s view.
While acknowledging there remains a strong political will to overcome the Greece crisis and other issues in order to keep the project going, Woodford believes that ultimately the flawed economics will overrule the politics.
Woodford is also concerned about the UK’s economic prospects in the near term because he sees uncertainty about the country’s continued membership of the EU as drag on British business.
On a brighter note, Woodford said he is more optimistic about the longer term prospects for the world economy because he expects technological progress to drive growth.
The full interview will be broadcast on the BBC News channel tonight.
