Papers

The threat of an increase in interest rates in the new year grew yesterday after the International Monetary Fund sounded a warning another rise may well be needed, reports the Times .

London's world pre-eminence as a financial centre could be jeopardised by recent "frenzied borrowing" by investors if a global credit crunch were to hit financial markets, reports the Times .

The Financial Services Authority is investigating how market sensitive information was leaked during four recent takeovers in London, reports the Daily Telegraph .

I know Christmas is coming when my desk starts to creak under the mass of government papers scattered over it. Civil servants are clearly incentivised to clear their desks before the year end, and they do that by covering mine.

America's banks are expecting sterling to plummet next year after its meteoric rise to near $2 this autumn, believing Britain's growth surge to be well past its sell-by-date, says the Daily Telegraph .

House prices are expected to climb 7% nationally next year on the back of strong gains in London, The Daily Telegraph reports the Nationwide as saying.

PERSONAL ACCOUNTS, which are the centrepiece of the Pensions White Paper published later today, could turn into the next big financial scandal, experts have warned the Daily Telegraph.

Mortgage lenders have been accused of cashing in on last month's bank rate rise, says the Times .

The universal acknowledgement of the PBR today is it means more revenues for the government, but more for the benefit of a future Brown government than improved services over the next couple of years.

Banks have begun a desperate attempt to replace billions of pounds of revenue they expect to lose next year under a regulatory crackdown, according to the Independent .