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British Prime Minister David Cameron announced this week that he wanted London to become "one of the great capitals of Islamic finance anywhere in the world."

Cameron said Britain will issue sukuk, or Islamic bonds, valued at $320 million as early as next year.

But what does all that mean? We take a look:

What are Islamic bonds?

Sukuk, which are compliant with Shariah, or Islamic law, are backed by assets or cash. A core tenet of Islamic finance is that it forbids interest, replacing it with profit- and loss-sharing. So instead of charging interest, the sukuk brings a fixed return from an asset or service.

For a fuller explanation of how Islamic finance works, do read this FAQ in the Guardian.

Why is the U.K. interested?

The U.K., as Cameron noted in his speech to the World Islamic Economic Forum in London this week, is already the biggest center for Islamic finance outside the Muslim world. Britain has banks that work on Islamic principles. British landmarks, including the Olympic Village and the Shard skyscraper, have been financed with Islamic investments, as have Britain's first deep-sea container port and the Battersea power station.

The move would, Reuters notes, "provide a much-needed liquidity management tool for Britain's six Islamic lenders and could encourage local firms to consider issuing sukuk of their own."

Where else are they issued?

Malaysia and Dubai dominate the sector. The Economist reports:

"Islamic-banking assets in Saudi Arabia account for more than half the market. Roughly $21 billion in sukuk were issued in Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states in 2012, three times as much as 2011. ... Other countries are emulating the Gulf model. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, has emerged as a leading champion of Islamic finance."

When many Americans hear the word "globalization," they think: "jobs going overseas."

And sometimes it does mean just that.

But as globalization knits nations closer together, foreign companies increasingly are creating jobs in the United States, not luring them away. Despite the Great Recession, slow recovery and political dysfunction in Washington, the United States remains a top destination for the world's wealth.

Overseas investors have U.S. assets totaling nearly $4 trillion, including auto plants, banks, mines and more. U.S. affiliates of foreign companies employ about 5.6 million people in this country.

On Thursday, President Obama highlighted those investments, and urged foreign business leaders — packed into a Washington, D.C., hotel ballroom — to build more plants and offices in this country.

"There is no better place in the world to do business," Obama said.

The administration welcomed 1,200 participants from roughly 60 countries, and urged them to learn more about an initiative called SelectUSA. Under the program, the U.S. State Department works closely with the Commerce Department to help foreign companies set up shop here.

U.S. ambassadors in 32 countries will now add "economic development" to their list of chores, according to the Commerce Department. The goal is to have local, state and federal officials in all departments working together to smooth the way for foreign direct investments.

Obama told the foreign guests "when you bet on America, that bet pays off," thanks to this country's many economic advantages, including cheap energy, an educated workforce, intellectual-property protections, a sophisticated financial system and much more.

"There are a whole lot of reasons you ought to come here," he said. "We are the land of opportunity. That is not a myth; it's a proven fact. "

U.S. business leaders who spoke at the gathering raised concerns about this country's ability to continue to be attractive to investors. For example, Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, a global investment management firm based in New York City, said he has become "alarmed" by Washington's political dysfunction, which he says unnerved many foreign investors.

Parallels

Asian Investors Find Hot Market In U.S. Properties

In a certain region of the Missouri Ozarks called Devil's Promenade, there are tales of a "spook light." According to local accounts, it's a mysterious orb-like light that appears in the woods — but only on chance nights. And, as many local legends are, this one is shrouded in mystery: Is the spook light real? What is it? Is it evil? Is it good?

Photographer Lara Shipley says there's no consensus — and that's what drew her to the spook light. She and her collaborator, Antone Dolezal, have been to the region — right where Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas meet — twice. Their photos don't literally show the light (which, Shipley says, they may or may not have seen at one point), but they convey "a feeling of what this place is like."

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