Thursday newspaper round-up: Ireland, General Motors, GlaxoSmithKline

The Irish Government finally signalled yesterday that it may bow to international pressure and accept a multibillion-pound bailout, amid divisions in the Commons over whether Britain should contribute. While the details of any package may be several days away, there were growing signs that Britain could play a prominent role in any rescue, the Times reports.According to the Telegraph, a squad of inspectors from the EU and the International Monetary Fund will arrive in Dublin on Thursday to go through the books of the Irish banking system and prepare the way for a likely rescue of at least €80bn (£68bn). Olli Rehn, Europe's economics commissioner, said Ireland is not strong enough to back-stop a banking system that has been shut out of capital markets and suffered a haemorrhage of bank deposits.With the unemployment rate still above 13% and remaining high, many with a bankable trade are now considering taking the drastic option of leaving Ireland in search of work, the Independent adds. The government expects as many as 100,000 people to leave over the next four years.General Motors could raise almost $23bn (£14.5m) in the largest flotation in history when it rejoins the public market today. The carmaker said yesterday that it had increased the number of common shares it would sell from 365m to 478m, 412 million of which would come from the US Government. GlaxoSmithKline is close to securing formal US approval for the first new drug in 50 years to treat the complex autoimmune disease lupus, after experts recommended the release of the treatment despite broad safety concerns. The drug, known as Benlysta, is one of the most important new drugs in Glaxo's pipeline, says the Guardian. Britain's electricity market is braced for its biggest shake-up since privatisation as the Government prepares to unveil a package of measures designed to shore up £200 billion worth of investment in greener sources of energy over the next decade. The Times has learnt that David Cameron discussed the proposed changes on Monday with officials from the Treasury, the Department for Energy and Climate Change and Chris Huhne, the Energy Secretary.Business investment is bouncing back, according to the Bank of England, offering proof that the Government's private-sector led recovery is starting to bear fruit, the Telegraph reports. The Bank's November business conditions survey found that "investment plans over the next twelve months were more positive than outturns had been over the past twelve months", and that many companies "were gradually increasing capital spending". A multi-million pound investigation by the Office of Fair Trading into allegations of price fixing in the supermarket sector has been pulled in the latest blow to the embattled regulator, the Daily Telegraph says. The investigation has been quietly shelved after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) failed to find sufficient evidence of wrongdoing. The OFT raided a number of supermarkets and consumer goods companies in April 2008 after receiving information suggesting possible price collusion. Dawn raids were launched at Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons.Asda's plans to leapfrog Tesco to become the UK's biggest general merchandise retailer appear to be stalling after it admitted that it is set to open only two new Asda Living non-food stores in 2011. After unveiling just two shops this year, the Walmart-owned supermarket chain now has 25 Asda Living stores, which sell products such as its George clothing brand and homewares, the Independent says.BP's board will tighten its oversight of the company's day-to-day operations in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, its chairman has said in his first big interview since the accident. Carl-Henric Svanberg, app­oint­ed chairman in January, said he did not consider resigning following the oil spill in April, in spite of criticism from some investors for not taking a more public role at the height of the crisis, the FT reports.