Let's not kid ourselves - it's been a week to forget. S&P's downgrade of the US's creditworthiness wrought its inevitable havoc when markets opened on Monday and no sooner had they closed than rioters were swarming across the UK's major cities. Add to this a lingering feeling of ill-will surrounding global governments' austerity measures and it's hard to see what there is left to smile about. But there are always reasons to be cheerful, if you know where to look.

1) The UK is still part of an increasingly exclusive AAA club