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The Times
Scrap GCSEs to boost skills, CBI Chief urges: Politicians must reform the education system by scrapping GCSEs because they fail to produce the type of people that employers want to hire, the head of Britain’s biggest business lobby group has claimed.
Greek poll shortens odds on Euro exit: Bookmakers shortened the odds on a Greek exit from the Euro next year to “evens” after the triggering of a snap general election in Athens.
Raise rates before poll, Bank warned: Interest rates should rise before the general election as the U.K. economy continues to stabilise and wages start to recover, several former Bank of England policymakers have said.
Stamp duty switch puts brake on house prices: House prices in prime central London dipped in December as property owners grappled with the Chancellor’s shake-up in stamp duty, which sharply increased the tax paid on buying luxury homes.
Wetherspoon expansion is glass half-full: The Founder of JD Wetherspoon predicted that the pub company’s annual tax bill would reach £1 billion over the next five years as it opened another 200 pubs across Britain and Ireland.
Price of motor insurance to rise next year: Car insurance premiums are set to rise next year, meaning customers who fail to shop around when renewing could end up £100 worse off.
Network Rail Boss may still take a bonus: Train passengers could be spared a repeat of the annual misery of travel chaos at Christmas and Easter after the head of Britain’s rail network ordered a review of the timing of big engineering projects. Journeys for thousands of commuters and holidaymakers were disrupted for a third day but the Chief Executive of Network Rail remained defiant and insisted he could still be entitled to a bonus.
The Independent
Grocers light up as e-cigarette sales soar 50% in a year: E-cigarettes, sports nutrition bars and gluten and dairy-free food were the fastest growing products sold in U.K. supermarkets and grocers in the last year, according to new data.
Canadian fund Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan snaps up 48% of Birmingham Airport: More British infrastructure passed into the hands of Canadian pensioners as the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan increased its stake in Birmingham Airport to 48.25%. Its purchase of a 19.25% stake is in addition to the 29% it already owned. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Investment in UK tech firms soars to £1.4 billion: U.K.-based tech companies attracted $2.1 billion in venture capital funding this year, compared to $1.1 billion in 2013, according to data compiled by CB Insights.
The Daily Telegraph
Greece comes back to haunt Eurozone as anti-Troika rebels scent power: The Eurozone’s long-simmering crisis has returned with a vengeance as snap elections in Greece open the way for an anti-austerity government and a cathartic showdown over the terms of Euro membership.
Banks not yet ‘completely safe’ says Mervyn King: Banks have not completely recovered from the 2008 financial crisis but will not be responsible for the next crash, the former Governor of the Bank of England predicted on Monday.
Third of listed UK oil and gas drillers face bankruptcy: A third of Britain’s listed oil and gas companies are in danger of running out of working capital and even going bankrupt amid a slump in the value of crude, according to new research.
BG Group loads first LNG at Australian coal seam gas project: Investors in BG Group can breathe a sigh of relief after the company announced that it had loaded the first cargo from its $20 billion (£12.8 billion) Queensland coal seam gas LNG project in Australia.
BAE increases apprentice intake to new record: BAE Systems will be taking on a record 710 apprentices in 2015 as the company looks to expand its training programmes to help meet its growing workload.
Royal Mail shares gain after rival’s collapse: Royal Mail led a positive yet subdued return to trading on the London markets on Monday after the Christmas break, rising 4.6% after the collapse of a smaller parcel delivery company.
The Guardian
Labour not responsible for crash, says former Bank of England Governor: The former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has denied that the previous Labour government was responsible for the financial crash, saying there was a shared intellectual responsibility across the political parties and financial institutions for failing to foresee the problems.
Network Rail Chief refuses to say whether he will take bonus this year: Network Rail’s Chief Executive has refused to say whether he will take a bonus this year as he promised to publish an internal inquiry into Christmas rail chaos caused by overrunning engineering work.
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi valued at £29 billion: China’s Xiaomi, one of the world’s fastest-growing smartphone makers, has raised $1.1 billion (£707 million) in a round of funding that cements its status as one of the world’s most valuable private technology companies at a valuation of $45 billion (£29 billion).
Daily Mail
King risks backlash by saying it was ‘fun’ fighting the great financial crisis: The former Bank of England Governor risked an angry backlash after saying his efforts to resolve the economic crisis were ‘great fun’.
Millions taken out of City Link in run up to its collapse as a going concern: A series of payments between City Link and its private equity backers has raised questions about whether its owners profited in the run-up to its collapse
One in five expect their finances to worsen in 2015 as household debt soars and interest rate rises loom: Twice as many people fear their finances will worsen next year as those who believe they will improve, new research from the Money Advice Service suggests.
Daily Express
More jobs for 2015 but a bigger gap in riches: Job–hunters are set to benefit from the best UK labour market for eight years in 2015 but the gap between low–paid and high paid workers is set to widen, a survey showed. Private firms are expected to create 500,000 jobs, more than offsetting a 100,000 drop in public sector roles and marking the best overall market since 2007 according to employment consultancy The Jobs Economist.
Mixed fashion forecast for Next: The City will be hoping Next had a fashionable Christmas when the chain kicks off a string of festive updates from high street retailers. Analysts will seek signs that Next has recovered from a downturn caused by mild weather in September and October.
City A.M.
Greece is teetering on the edge of a new political crisis: Greek stocks were pummelled after a key vote failed to result in a new President, pushing the country towards early general elections in January.
Russian economy contracts for the first time in five years as rouble crisis takes hold: The Russian economy contracted by 0.5% in November, its first fall since October 2009, according to official figures released.