New Year Day Papers: U.S. to go over cliff as vote delayed

Top stories

• The Daily Telegraph: The United States is on course to topple over the "fiscal cliff" as Democrats and Republicans reached the broad outlines of a deal but failed to pass the required legislation in time.
• The Daily Telegraph: Britain must remain at the centre of the Europe Union to 'bang the drum' for business, according to the CBI, which warned against 'throwing the baby out with the bathwater'.
• The Guardian: The UK economy could suffer a "groundhog year" in 2013, a left-of-centre thinktank has warned, with little or no growth amounting to a rerun of last year's economic performance, when GDP is thought to have fallen 0.1%.
• Daily Mail: Nearly four in 10 (38%) of people quizzed by Halifax predicted that house prices will rise in 2013, while less than a fifth (18%) believe prices will decline.

Business and economics

• The Daily Telegraph: Cyprus President Demetris Christofias has hit out against the harsh austerity measures being meted out to struggling eurozone members as the Mediterranean island faces a bleak new year.
• The Daily Telegraph: Super-rich hedge fund financiers emerged as the big winners from the Bank of England’s money printing programme in 2012, as pensioners and savers were made to struggle with shrunken incomes.
• The Daily Telegraph: Business leaders are “frustrated” and “disappointed” over the lack of action from the Government on industry proposals to cure Britain’s sick-note epidemic, which are still awaiting an official response.
• The Guardian: Last year's record rainfall has cost British farmers £1.3 billion, prompting calls for government to provide insurance against extreme weather if it wants to preserve national food security.
• The Guardian: Taxpayers will end 2012 with a £23 billion loss on their stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, illustrating the difficulty the government faces in attempting to make a profit from any sell-off of the shares in the bailed-out banks.
• Daily Express: The pound ended the year with annual gains against both the euro and the dollar yesterday but analysts say Britain's currency may struggle in 2013.
• Daily Express: Gas explorer BG Group has won a £1.1 billion US loan to help it buy the services of American companies for building a new liquefied natural gas plant in Australia.
• Daily Express: Oil prices notched up a fourth annual rise in a row in 2012 as Brent crude enjoyed a record average daily price for the year.

Share tips, comment and bids

• The Daily Telegraph: The money raised by the stock market flotations of private equity-backed companies across the world almost halved last year, according to Ernst & Young.
• The Daily Telegraph (Comment): New rules banning payment of commission to financial advisers may force hundreds of thousands of people to become DIY investors.