India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Britain for a state visit today, the first since 2006, hoping to discuss millions of dollars worth of trade deals and promote India as a country for investment. Modi is expected to have a hectic schedule, meeting David Cameron for talks today, being hosted at Chequers and visiting Tata Motors’ plant in the West Midlands before giving a speech at Wembley to India’s diaspora in Britain on Friday. Modi recently suffered an electoral blow in the Bihar state, where his Bharatiya Janata Party were defeated after a campaign he played a strong role in. His office hopes that this visit to Britain will secure trade deals and prove himself as a figure worthy of the international stage. David Cameron’s office said Britain would seek to promote London as a centre for offshore rupee bonds. Cameron has described the trip as “extraordinary”, saying in a statement: “I am excited by this visit. I am excited by what Prime Minister Modi is doing in India and I’m excited about the partnership that we can build together.” The UK and India have always had a strong investment ties, the most recent of which was made in September with the ‘Fintech 2020 India’ agreement. India and Britain will collaborate to create a ‘FinTech bridge’ between the two countries. Led by Alok Vajpeyi and Britain’s Startupbootcamp, it will encourage close partnership and investments in Britain and Indian FinTech companies, and help them expand globally. However, Modi’s state visit to Britain is not without opposition. Modi’s perceived Hindu nationalist political agenda had led more than 200 writers, including authors such as Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan and Nikita Lalwani, to pen an open letter to David Cameron urging him to raise concerns about freedom of expression in India. “We, the undersigned, are extremely concerned about the rising climate of fear, growing intolerance and violence towards critical voices who challenge orthodoxy or fundamentalism in India,” the letter said. Similarly, a number of groups have announced a “day of protest” on Thursday, before his speech at Wembley on Friday, including those by the “Modi Not Welcome” campaign and CasteWatchUK.

Online Chinese retail giant Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) have announced impressive sales so far during China’s biggest shopping day, with more than $1 billion being spent within an hour of midnight. November 11th is ‘Singles Day’ in China, originally a day mocking Valentine’s Day for those not in relationships, in which stores offer huge discounts in a similar manner to America’s Cyber Monday. Alibaba Group have said that so far the value of merchandise it has sold online so far had surpassed last year’s total of $9.3 billion – and it is just past 4pm local time. As speculation grows as to the health of China’s economy, Alibaba’s sales data has been closely watched as a gauge of Chinese consumption. These strong figures will come as a relief to those worried about growth in the world’s largest economy.

British retail sales fell unexpectedly in October, possibly due to shoppers waiting for ‘Black Friday’ discounts at the end of November, according to new figures from the British Retail Consortium. Retail sales were down overall by 0.2 percent in October compared with the same month last year, a sharp drop from the 2.6 percent rise seen in September. The BRC’s chief executive Helen Dickinson commented: “October was a somewhat disappointing month overall for retailers. “A number of categories which we would typically expect to be popular on Black Friday saw a slowdown in October, suggesting that some shoppers may be holding out in the hope of some great deals at the end of November.” The BRC also highlighted the fact that Halloween fell on a Saturday this year, meaning fewer people were likely to have gone shopping – and the impact of Britain adopting America’s annual ‘Black Friday’ sales day means shoppers may be waiting until then to spend.

Prime Minister David Cameron has laid out his plans for EU reforms, arguing that the European Union needs to play a lesser role in the day-to-day functioning of its member states, ahead of the membership referendum in 2017. The Prime Minister is due to state his aims in a letter to the president of the European Council, which will include four main objectives. These will be the protection of the single market for Britain and other non-euro countries, a boost in competitiveness, exemption for Britain from an “ever-closer union” and restrictions upon EU migrants’ access to in-work benefits. In his speech, Cameron said: “Never forget that the European Union now comprises 28 ancient nations of Europe. That very diversity is Europe’s greatest strength. Britain says: let’s celebrate that fact, let’s acknowledge that the answer to every problem is not always more Europe. Sometimes it’s less Europe.” David Cameron has committed to forming a better deal for the UK but remain in Europe, however admits that if that cannot be achieved, he may be in favour of leaving the EU altogether. Arguably, Cameron’s aims for reform of the EU may be nothing but a fantasy; in particular, the restriction of access to benefits for EU migrants, as certain basic rules governing this area are enshrined in EU law and are part and parcel of being in the EU. However, whilst Cameron admits his mission is ‘big’, he says it is not impossible – the truth of this remains to be seen.  

The Confederation of British Industries has downgraded its growth forecasts for the UK economy for 2015 and 2016, as the uncertainty of a US rate hike takes its toll.

It now expects GDP to grow by 2.4% in 2015, down from a previous forecast of 2.6 percent. This lack of economic growth will come as bad news for chancellor George Osborne, who is due to make a speech later today announcing a further 30 percent budget cut. However, despite the downgrade, the forecasts remain slightly above average for the British economy. CBI director-general John Cridland said in a statement: “Manufacturers are enduring tougher conditions as a persistently strong pound is hamstringing our export competitiveness. But our domestic story is strong and overall we are now in a phase of stable but solid economic growth.” He called for “solid foundations” to support the economy, including a final decision on expanding airport capacity.