BP Share News (BP.)

Commuters into London from Essex and East Anglia and train passengers in Liverpool could be the guinea pigs in a radical break-up and part-privatisation of Network Rail.The Department for Transport is set to consider reforms that could promote the "vertical integration" of parts of the network, allowing train operators to own the tracks and stations they use. If such a scheme were to go ahead, the National Express franchises out of Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street, which come up for re-tender next year, could be prime candidates, the Times reports.EU members and the IMF pledged to provide Ireland with €10bn in immediate assistance to prop up its indebted banking system and a further €25bn in "contingency" funding should the country's banks need it. The deal was agreed in Brussels after six hours of negotiation between EU finance ministers, including George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Britain will provide €6.9bn to Ireland as part of the rescue package through a mixture of bilateral loans and as part of the larger EU bail-out fund, the Telegraph reports.France and Germany, with the support of the European Commission and the European Central Bank, have reached agreement on the central elements of how private creditors will be involved in future eurozone debt crises. Paris and Berlin were seeking the backing of European Union finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Sunday night, as the bloc accelerated its preparations for a permanent inter-governmental financing facility in a bid to reassure financial markets unsettled by the Irish debt crisis, the FT reports.George Osborne will publish draft plans for stimulating growth today as the new independent budget watchdog paints a more positive picture of the economy for this year.The Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) is expected to revise up its June forecast of 1.2% growth for 2010 to more than 1.5%, although predictions for future years may be cut. The better prospects for this year are largely the result of a surprise increase in consumer spending in the third quarter. However, the high street splurge is being driven in large part by consumers attempting to beat the VAT increase in January, the Times reports.Anxieties about Britain's faltering economic recovery will be heightened today by new data revealing that improvements in the key services sector appear to have stalled over the past quarter. The Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) latest snapshot of the dominant part of the economy is published on the day the Chancellor delivers his autumn statement and the Office for Budget Responsibility gives its latest forecasts for UK GDP growth. The CBI said 30% of consumer services businesses had seen the value of their work rise over the three months to the middle of November, while 38% had seen a fall, a negative balance of 8%, the Independent reports.Huge salary rises at banks have filtered down to middle and junior level staff, leaving even the average "vice-president" - a catch-all title for mid-ranking employees - on close to six-figure salaries, according to City headhunters. The City recruitment firm Astbury Marsden said the average base salaries for City workers at vice-president level had increased by a fifth over the past year, from £81,250 to £97,500, the Independent reports.BP has agreed to sell its stake in Pan American Energy to Bridas Corp. The $7.06bn (£4.5bn) disposal would give Bridas, which owns 40 per cent of the Argentina-based oil and gas group, complete control over the company. It is the latest in a series aimed at raising money to cover the estimated $40bn cost of the Gulf of Mexico spill. BP has agreed so far to sell about $21bn of assets since April, the Times reports.Qantas on Sunday began flying its Airbus 380s for the first time since a mid-air explosion of a Rolls-Royce engine forced one of the Australian airline's jets to make an emergency landing earlier in November. The flight from Syndey via Singapore landed at Heathrow on Sunday morning. Alan Joyce, Qantas chief executive, joined the 453 passengers on board for the first leg of the flight, the Telegraph reports.People wanting to live in England's smaller market towns are having to pay £29,319 extra to buy a home, despite nationwide falls in house prices. Research published today by Lloyds TSB shows that houses in market towns cost an average £231,163 ? just over seven times average annual earnings and 14 per cent more than prices across English counties. More than two thirds of market towns also command higher prices than neighbouring towns, the Times reports.