As Mr Greenspan made plain in his speech, an economic slowdown is what the Fed has been aiming to achieve by raising interest rates six times in the past 18 months.

ECONOMIST: Slowing down, to what? | The

There was no place in the Queen's Speech for proposals to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes or legislation on minimum alcohol pricing, although Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has insisted both plans are still under consideration.

BBC: Queen's Speech: Immigrants face tougher rules