if you have joined if you havejoined us, you are welcome and we are looking at the top business stories. we start here in the uk, where there is some relief for millions of people facing soaring housing costs. lenders have started the new year by slashing the cost of mortgages as financial markets bet the bank of england will soon begin to cut interest rates from their 15 year high. from today banking giant hsbc becomes the first major lender to bring back mortgages below 4% since last march. it comes as rival halifax slashed almost a percentage point off some of its mortgage rates this week. and it s raised hopes of a price war between banks. hsbc is offering a five year fixed rate mortgage at 3.94%. it s only available to people remortgaging their home not to first time buyers. but it s far below rates of almost 6.5% that borrowers were facing just a few months ago. and it will be a welcome development for many uk households as our cost of living correspondent kevin peach
last year a shortage of chips led to supply chain disruption around the world meaning delays to everything from cars to washing machines and of course, computers. and now, the dutch government has announced that it will impose new export restrictions on advanced chips being sold to china. the dutch have some of the most significant companies in the field and china is keen to buy them but the us have been putting pressure on european countries to curb exports of sensitive technology to china on national security grounds. our correspondent anna holligan is in the hague. one of europe s smallest nations has found itself in the middle of a battle between the world s two biggest superpowers. and at the heart of it, microchips. they power everything from our mobile phones to military hardware. and the us has been applying political pressure on countries to limit exports. now the netherlands is home to asml until recently a relatively obscure company, but it makes the most advance
and of course, computers. and now, the dutch government has announced that it will impose new export restrictions on advanced chips being sold to china. the dutch have some of the most significant companies in the field and china is keen to buy them but the us have been putting pressure on european countries to curb exports of sensitive technology to china on national security grounds. our correspondent anna holligan is in the hague. one of europe s smallest nations has found itself in the middle of a battle between the world s two biggest superpowers. and at the heart of it, microchips, that power everything from our mobile phones, to military hardware. and the us has been applying political pressure on countries to limit exports. the netherlands is home to asml, until recently, a relatively obscure company, but it makes the most advanced machines used in the manufacturing of microchips. in fact, it s europe s most valuable tech company. in a letter to parliament, the countr
the global economy calling the situation immoral and unsustainable. the us has placed import tariffs on billions of dollars worth of chinese goods to protect its own manufacturers and it s also restricting the export of some advanced technology to china on national security grounds. this week marks 45 years since the us and china re established diplomatic ties. nick marsh has been looking at the challenges facing their relationship this year. 0n the surface, things seem to have improved between the us and china recently. their leaders met in november and then mood was pretty positive. but when you get down to the nitty gritty, to the economic relationship, things are still as tough as ever. first, let s talk about trade. the idea of the two countries completely breaking off ties or decoupling, that is not going to happen anytime soon.