Chancellor George Osborne is part of a UK trade delegation to China, attempting to increase the business and investment links between the two countries. The China has growth figures that western countries could only dream of at the moment, and the UK is attempting to benefit from this in different areas:
-Chinese students coming to the UK for education
-Shopping and leisure
-Large-scale investment projects
-Export of UK luxury items
-Relaxation of UK visa rules
An interesting article from BBC News, covers "What does China own in Britain?"
The US Debt Ceiling and Potential for Default
As the US enters the 14th day of the government shutdown and the debt ceiling draws closer, investors are become more concerned that the political stalemate might not be broken and the US could default on its debt. This would have huge implications for the country and for global markets. The options the government has available as the available cash comes to an end, the US will either have to shut down vast parts of their services, stop paying state pensions or default on its debt. This is a political issue, rather than the US being unable to access the debt markets and borrow further amounts to cover the government’s outgoings.
