My thesis was as follows: Chinese companies looking to buy American companies are usually looking for a valuable technology or commodity or, to a muchlesserextent, a strong brand name.
The opposite will likely be true for the coal industry, although to a muchlesserextent, since decreasing domestic coal use under Obama has been partially made up by increasing coal exports.
It was the last vestige, along with (to a muchlesserextent), Titanic and The Sixth Sense, of the idea that a hit film could play in theaters for months and months on end.
So my bet is that the main outcome of the current kerfuffle will be to hand a stick to Labour (and to a lesserextent the Lib Dems) to beat the Conservatives with, and make it much harder for them to legislate in a way Labour doesn't like.