Friday newspaper round-up: Monte dei Paschi, Brexit, Carney, house prices
The Italian government has agreed to a bailout of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) after the world’s oldest bank admitted that it had failed to raise €5bn (£4.25bn) from private investors as part of a last-ditch plan to rescue the bank. Paolo Gentiloni, Italy’s new prime minister, announced in the early hours of Friday that his cabinet had agreed to the rescue and would be dipping into a €20bn fund that had already been approved by the parliament earlier this week in the event that MPS needed to be saved. - Guardian
The government is being urged to clinch a transition arrangement for the City of London during Brexit negotiations to assuage concerns of employers who are delaying business decisions because of the uncertainty created in the run up to the UK’s departure from the EU. The City of London Corporation, the local authority that covers much of the financial district, urged Theresa May to arrange transition arrangements “as soon as possible”. - Guardian
Champagne drinkers in Britain - the biggest export market for bubbly - face higher prices next year as the impact of the shock Brexit vote on the British pound takes its toll, champagne industry executives warned. "The market in Britain is undergoing a period of adjustment. The brands have not yet factored in the effect of foreign exchange rates on their prices," said Charles-Armand de Belenet, marketing director for Pernod Ricard's Martell Mumm Perrier-Jouët champagne brand. – Telegraph
Mark Carney faces a bruising showdown with a group of influential MPs when an investigation into the Bank of England’s use of monetary policy since the financial crisis is launched, amid concerns that it has had “unintended consequences” for the economy. The Treasury select committee is to investigate in February whether the Bank made the right decision in cutting interest rates to record lows and buying billions of government bonds with new money in the years after the recession. – The Times
Estate agents have reported a large increase in the number of homes being sold under their asking price in another sign that the housing market is slowing. The National Association of Estate Agents said that 84 per cent of homes on its members’ books sold for less than the asking price last month, the highest figure since the association began collecting figures in 2013. The figure for November last year was 76 per cent. – The Times