interest payments some of which are linked to inflation. let s get this in perspective though the uk s national debt is at record levels. it owes £2.69 trillion. that is almost the size of the uk economy the so called debt to gdp ratio is around 97.7%. that is a useful guide to how affordable the debt is for a country. the chancellor has pledged to get that ratio down. the uk s far better off than some of its neighbours though italy s debt to gdp is around 140%. but if we look at germany s that s is only around 65%. but if we look at germany s that s only around 65%. staying in the uk where aside from talk of potential tax cuts there are stark warnings that 2 million people could have their gas and electricity cut off this winter because they can t afford to top up their prepayment meter. that comes from the charity the citizens advice bureau as cost of living pressure continue to bite for many. joining me now is the report author alex belsham harris en
make their last minute pitches across the state. this is the second in a series of state by state contests with donald trump and nikki haley fighting for their party s presidential nomination. that prize will pit them against the democratic choice in november, almost certainly presidentjoe biden. but with a cost of living crisis hitting many americans what are these two candidates saying about economic policy? dr thomas gift is director of the centre on us politics at university college london good to see you again. when it comes to policy it is hard to find what these two are saying at the moment? it find what these two are saying at the moment? at the moment? it is terrific to talk to at the moment? it is terrific to talk to you at the moment? it is terrific to talk to you as at the moment? it is terrific to talk to you as always. - at the moment? it is terrific i to talk to you as always. there is not a whole lot of discussion in terms of policy about the us economy
let s speak to james smith, developed markets economist at ing. people are talking of a mild recession. what does that mean? quite often when we talk about recessions and the gdp numbers we think of two courses of negative growth being a technical recession. but that doesn t always feel like a recession to people. when we see a recession to people. when we see a recession we associate it with widespread job losses, people spending less money, people trying to save more, because they re uncertain about what is to come. we are not necessarily seeing that now. the fall in gdp we saw in the third quarter was small, we might see another slight fall in the fourth quarter. but it is not comparable to recessions in the past such as 2008 and the covid recession. so it is worth putting that in context. fix, worth putting that in context. a recession is two sets of three months where growth has been negative. in terms of what it means for people, what will this mean? the uk economy is
a mild recession . earlier i spoke to james smith. so we talk about recessions and the gdp numbers. us economists, we often think of two quarters of negative growth has been what we might call a technical recession. but i think it s worth remembering that doesn t always feel like a recession to people. often when we see a recession, we associate that with maybe widespread job losses, people spending a lot less money, people, you know, trying to save more because they re uncertain about what s to come. we re not necessarily seeing all of that right now. and of course, the fall in gdp we saw in the third quarter was very small, 0.i. we might see another slight fall in the fourth quarter, but it s not comparable to, you know, some of the famous recessions we ve seen in the past, 2008, of course, the covid recession as well. so it s worth putting that in context. just to let people know what recession is, it s two sets of three months. we ve seen growth negative in terms of wha
The two historical allies also reached deals aimed at boosting cooperation to develop artificial intelligence, semiconductors and green technologies. Meanwhile, biden and kishida brushed off a dispute over nippon steels offer for us steel, saying the issue was not a majorfactor in their discussions. Wendy cutler, a former acting deputy us trade representative, said the us and japan have benefited from maintaining close ties. Absolutely. I think both sides come into this summit confident and both the president and Prime Minister and their Press Conference underscored the huge two Way Investments that are moving between the two countries. The us is the largest fdi partner injapan and vice versa. Japanese companies are making huge investments in the united states, and this just serves to bring us closer, particularly with respect to strategic us closer, particularly with respect to strategic and advanced technology products. Now, the Biden Administration is also actively in talks with chi