Monday newspaper round-up: Forex shrinkage, Ofgem warning, Boxing day, Sky

The world’s foreign exchange markets have shrunk for the first time on record in a downturn that poses a big challenge for the City, the global leader in the buying and selling of currencies. Daily foreign exchange trading volumes have shrunk by $300 billion in the past three years to $5.1 trillion, according to the Bank for International Settlements, prompting warnings that the currency markets are becoming more volatile and prone to events such as the sterling flash crash in October. - The Times

Britain's increasing reliance on "intermittent" renewable energy means that the country is facing an unprecedented supply crisis, a senior Ofgem executive has warned. Andrew Wright, a senior partner at Ofgem and former interim chief executive, warned that households could be forced to pay extra to keep their lights on while their neighbours “sit in the dark” because “not everyone will be able to use as much as electricity as they want”. - Telegraph

Theresa May has refused calls to force all shops to close on Boxing Day, saying it is not the Government’s job to tell businesses how they should run their shows. MPs will hold a Westminster Hall debate on a petition with more than 140,000 signatures calling for a ban on all retail premises opening the day after Christmas, on the basis that it exploits low paid workers. - Telegraph

Theresa May will back steep rises to council tax bills this week in an attempt to plug a gaping hole in social care funding. Warnings of an “absolute crisis” in the industry have prompted the prime minister to drop her opposition to the increases, as the government strives to prove that it is facing up to the ballooning costs of caring for Britain’s ageing population. - The Times

Asking prices for properties in the UK will rise by 2% in 2017, although sellers in inner London will be asking less as the bubble “continues to deflate”, property website Rightmove has predicted. Sellers entering the market over the past month have priced properties 2.1% lower than those putting homes up for sale the previous month, at an average of £299,159, but Rightmove said it expected next year to be a seventh consecutive year of rising prices. - Guardian

Arms companies and defence officials are hampering attempts to crack down on profiteering by military contracts, MPs have been warned. A regulator set up to ensure the taxpayer is not being ripped off has complained it is not seeing the details of the multi-billion deals such as Britain buying Apache helicopters and P-8 spyplanes from the US. - Telegraph

Insolvency experts believe City banks BNP Paribas, Nomura, Morgan Stanley, ING and Mizuho International could have been the victim of a multimillion-pound fraud, according to recently filed documents. Lawyers and a forensic specialist have been hired by administrators of Invexstar Capital Management after an initial investigation into the group’s collapse last year uncovered “a matter that might lead to recoveries”. - The Times

New figures from the British Retail Consortium and Springboard suggest that consumers may already be becoming more cautious. Visitors to the high street and shopping centres fell in November despite shops cutting prices as part of the Black Friday promotional event. - Guardian

A major Sky shareholder has said it will vote against the takeover bid as it stands from 21st Century Fox, joining growing criticism among investors that the offer is too low. On Friday Sky announced it had reached agreement with Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox on a cash offer of £10.75 per share – described by one observer as ‘the bargain of a lifetime’. - Mail

Tory MPs including Amber Rudd, the home secretary, whose constituents have been affected by the disruption of Southern rail services, have stepped up their criticism of the continuing industrial action. Members of rail union Aslef will strike for three days this week in a move that the MP for Hastings and Rye branded totally unacceptable. -Guardian

The West Midlands has become an employment blackspot and is badly trailing behind other parts of the UK on job creation and living standards, a leading think tank has warned. These considerations pushed the region into voting to leave the European Union, said the Resolution Foundation. - Guardian

The owner of the sightseeing company Big Bus Tours is taking an even bigger bet on London attractions with a £150m swoop on the tourist business Leisure Pass Group. Leisure Pass’s chief executive, Darran Evans, is understood to be in line for a £30m payday as Exponent is in the final stages of buying the business from a rival private equity firm, Primary Capital. - Telegraph