this is business briefing. i'm david eades. when a $20 trillion overdraftjust isn't enough. congress passes an emergency bill to stop the us government running out of money... but only for a fortnight. plus — pop star or tech entrepreneur. why not do both? we hear from will. i.am about his latest moves in the it business. and on the markets, asian shares are rallying after strong economic news from china — we'll bring you that in a moment — and there's been a sharp rebound in sterling on what could be progress at last on a brexit deal. there may be more to come as theresa may heads to brussels for an announcement. earmarked

we start in washington where congress has passed a last—minute bill to stop the government running out of money but only for two weeks. now president trump and the house have until december 22nd to thrash out long—term deal on spending. it's all about what's known as the ‘debt ceiling' — the country's borrowing limit set by congress. it's a huge number — around $20 trillion at the moment — but apparently not huge enough. the government spends more than it makes in taxes and the treasury is very close to hitting that limit. if it's not raised, bills will go unpaid, from medicare to salaries of federal employees like the armed services, to interest on the debt itself. that last one's a big problem as it would also dent confidence in us debt which investors regard as among the safest.

when the us inched toward its borrowing limit in 2011, standard & poors cut the country's triple a rating for the first time. and if all this sounds familiar — it should. since 1960, congress has acted 78 times to raise, extend or revise the definition of the debt limit. for the record — 49 times under republican presidents, 29 times under democrats. let's get more on this story — arun pillai—essex is senior north america analyst at verisk maplecroft. hejoins me via skype. good to see you. i wonder, two weeks is there. it as a stopgap. what are the key sticking points for a longer term deal? it seems there are a number of them. on one side the issue of military spending. republicans want an increase in

military spending, around 50 billion. on the democratic side, this is the one legislative area where they have leveraged. in order for a funding bill to be passed, eight democratic senators need to join the republican colleagues. to them they would like to see issues on obamacare, stabilisation of insurance market um issues around undocumented dreamers, young children who were brought here illegally. their protections were taken away by the trump in september. issues that the party has tried to advance, this is one of the areas in which they have influence and leveraged to do so. you are seeing a lot of brinkmanship on both sides because there is a lot to gain for both. a huge amount of work for the next two weeks. let's show you the next two weeks. let's show you the clock, the debt clock to think we have a picture. let's watch it teak. already 20.5 trillion. letter

says it all, really, in terms of the urgency. how much faster will that. with the tax cuts that donald trump is pushing through? it will probably go faster. that is the irony of the situation that they find themselves in. a broad context this game and ship around funding. it goes back to 2011 when the obama administration and the republicans in congress came up and the republicans in congress came up with a 10—year sequester. this was because they felt as if the deficit was getting out of control and they wanted to put ceilings on defence and non—defence spending. as a result there is a cap. republicans feel as if this cap, the ceiling on spending is not right and they would like to increase in military spending and spending on things like the border wall and other pet items

that the party wants to see free. a classic thing in politics, the party in power conveniently their fiscal interest goes out the window. let's see what happens in two week was my time. thank you forjoining us. heading out to asia. and a surprise rebound in china's economy is boosting markets in the region. imports and exports both surged in november after a slowdown the previous month. sharanjit leyl is following this for us in singapore. they are big jumps. really unexpected jump, actually, for china, thanks to a researching global economy. imports remain robust in china. exports were up 12.3% in november from robust in china. exports were up 12.3% in novemberfrom the previous year. imports were up nearly 18% and that leaves the world's second

largest economy with yet another massive trade surplus of $40.2 billion. this has sparked feels —— fears. people were expecting it to slow because the government has been cracking down on polluting economies and financial risk. the official factory in age unexpectedly rose to a near five—year high and this despite campaigns to clean up the environment. government policymakers, if you remember, they recently announced cuts to boost imports. china is trying to evolve into a more conception driven economy. we know they are the world ‘s largest exporter so that still face uncertainty in terms of trade especially with the trade imbalance they are being pressured over by the us. donald trump, fruit instants repeatedly called on to beijing to reduce the large surplus. political issues such as north korea are

putting trade ties risk as well. however, that does not seem to stop the chinese economy. if you can't decide between careers, here's living proof that you can be successful in two or even three. will.i.am won global recognition and seven grammy awards with his band, the black eyed peas. he'll also be familiar to viewers as a judge on the tv talent show the voice. but this month his technology start—up i.am+ raised more than $100 million in venture funding — as it announced it's entering the corporate computing market. the bbc‘s lerato mbele asked him where his interest in science and technology came from. when i was seven years old i went to a buy on school. at an early age we we re a buy on school. at an early age we were leading computer science on apple computer ‘s. we were learning physics and oceanography and i was a

curious young child. music was my way out of the ghetto but i always had aspirations in the world of consumer electronics. is this the end of will.i.am the musician and producer? i am still a producer. i just produce ideas. black eyed peas are still in my heart and soul and i will still make music for fun, are still in my heart and soul and i will still make music forfun, to raise awareness, to raise funds, to bring robotics and tools to inner cities. computer science skill sets to in sats, ijust want to do things for different reasons now. what is your message to young people who are drawn to the glamour of the entertainment industry and they still want to see their name in bright light? to all the musicians out there with big dreams, go out

there and pursue those dreams. don't let anything stand in your way. for all the people on the fans that want to do something bigger, um, there is nothing bigger than bill gates. there is nothing bigger than steve jobs. but you as well have the opportunity to try to be that big. if you try to be as big as bill gates and don't succeed, you will be bigger than michaeljackson. i guarantee that. interesting logic there. it always sounds so easy you just follow your dreams did it there could soon be news of a deal between britain and the eu that did it that will allow brexit talks to progress to the next stage. uk prime minister theresa may and brexit secretary david davis have travelled to brussels after holding talks overnight on the future status of the irish border — the last remaining ‘divorce issue' that must be resolved before trade talks can begin.

financial regulators have reached an agreement to harmonize global banking rules. the deal — known as basel iii — is the culmination of a decade—long effort to make banks less vulnerable to another financial crisis. it still has to be ratified by individual governments. but there has been some relief in the industry that banks won't have to raise as much capital as initially feared. and now — what's trending in the business news this morning... business insider calculates that google and facebook now account for 25% of all advertising revenue, online or off cnbc has been talking to boeing ceo dennis muilenberg. he told them over 80% of the world has never taken a flight. so the company's growth potential is, well, sky high. on wired: bitcoin mining guzzles energy — and its carbon footprint keeps on growing. it warns of the huge amount of computing power needed for bitcoin transactions and the amount of electricity it uses.

it claims one transaction uses as much as nine us homes do in a day the markets are already. asia has done very well. we had those chinese trade figures have been a great surprise to many. sharply upwards and they have done well. the sterling is also on a rebound and the dowjones doing nicely. coventry has been named the next city of culture for 2021 — beating paisley, stoke—on—trent, sunderland and swansea to the title. the people leading coventry‘s bid say winning will have a huge economic impact notjust on the city but also on the west midlands. economic impact notjus to 1 the city

was heart . this pitch and that the heart of this pitch and that clinched it for coventry, named a uk city of culture for 2021. it is such a huge opportunity. it is amazing. i am so a huge opportunity. it is amazing. i am so excited. it has paid off and i am so excited. it has paid off and i am so am so excited. it has paid off and i am so happy. i am the product of this city and i love it. i am so happy with this. once the celebrations die down than the hard work will start. coventry will have until 2021 to prepare a host of events in the city that will help boost its economy and tourism and its long—term legacy. boost its economy and tourism and its long-term legacy. 40 million people within two—hour's drivetime. we are going to do something incredibly special. we will give

someone incredibly special. we will give someone special to the uk. the city was bombed in the blitz and was once the heart of the british car industry. transformed over the decades by immigration. thejudges said it was a city that constantly reinvented itself. now in £3 million heritage lottery fund will kickstarted year of art and performance. i think it is about more investment. it is about retaining people here after they have finished studying. it is about potential jobs and employment. have finished studying. it is about potentialjobs and employment. it is a celebration of our lives and this isa a celebration of our lives and this is a fantastic journey a celebration of our lives and this is a fantasticjourney now. a celebration of our lives and this is a fantastic journey now. as the people of coventry have been saying tonight, you will not be sent to coventry, you will come here by choice. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: theresa may has returned to brussels

where the european union is expected to announce something important in about —— announced that the irish border row has been negotiated away. she and jean—claude juncker are expected to give a joint news conference within the hour. 200,000 people have been evacuated as wildfires continue to rage across california. violent protests erupted after president trump's recognition ofjerusalem as israel's capital. the white house has warned the palestinian leader, mahmoud abbas, not to cancel talks with vice president pence. us government debt has reached $20 trillion. congress has passed an emergency bill to stop the government running out of money. now it is time look at the stories that are making the headlines in media across the world. we begin with brexit in the daily telegraph. a brexit newspaper, you might say.

the front page headline speculating may will sign a deal today. that's looking very likely now with confirmation theresa may will meet with european commission chiefjean—claude juncker at ogoogmt. we are almost there, in fact. the front page of arab news is, of course, leading with palestinian anger erupting over thejerusalem embassy move. the article says residents shuttered schools and shops early on thursday to begin three days of rage. the digitalfront page of the jerusalem post has a multimedia piece looking ahead at the pending un security council meeting and future of the middle east peace plan. looking at the californian wildfires, the independent