Does the UK even produce anything? With all the world market minglings going on (US, China, India), the UK seems not all that involved in a lot of global economics. What do they even do? What are they known for economically (besides being a terribly expensive place to live and school).

2buff: Does the UK even produce anything? With all the world market minglings going on (US, China, India), the UK seems not all that involved in a lot of global economics. What do they even do? What are they known for economically (besides being a terribly expensive place to live and school).

Financial services. That's their mainstay now.

Some of the exports I think the British are still famous for are food and heavy machinery. Also as the previous poster stated financial services still play a big role in global economics but I guess the fact that British economy revolves around the service industry is what makes the place expensive. Also I think they are big players in global lending which enables their pound to be highly valued.