What it says in the papers

IRISH TIMES

- The Irish Times leads with the Garda Representative Association's rejection last night of revised pay proposals, which the paper says leaves the state facing the first ever strike by Gardaí on Friday. The GRA central executive unanimously opposed a new offer put forward by the Department of Justice.

- The paper reports on research by think-tank Public Policy.ie, which finds that people over 65 pay almost €5,000 a year less in tax on an average income of €36,000 than younger people earning the same amount.

- The Irish Times says Apple has asked the High Court to fast-track a legal challenge by a handful of objectors to its stalled €850m data centre investment in Athenry, Co Galway, seeking to avert a potential delay of up to 18 months under a judicial review.

- The paper reports that a Dublin-based energy-saving LED lighting firm, Urban Volt, has signed a €30m funding deal with Swiss green energy private equity firm Susi Partners. Urban Volt's backers include Irish rugby international Jamie Heaslip.

FINANCIAL TIMES

- The Financial Times leads with Mark Carney's decision to stay on as Bank of England Governor until 2019, saying he will remain the most important non-political British economic policy official working to maintain stability throughout the Brexit talks with the EU.

- The FT reports on comments from Donald Trump, who has called on FBI director James Comey to "hang tough" in his investigation of rival Hillary Clinton, and has predicted that the US would see the criminal trial of a sitting president if she wins next week's election.

- In companies news, the paper says a trio of takeover deals yesterday, led by GE's $25 billion deal to acquire oil and gas services provider Baker Hughes, lifted the value of deals in October to more than $500 billion, making October one of the busiest months for deal-making on record.

- The FT reports that Ola Rollen, chief executive of one of Sweden's largest technology companies, Hexagon, has been arrested by Norwegian authorities and charged with insider trading.

IRISH INDEPENDENT

- The Irish Independent has learned that investigators looking into financial problems at Rush Credit Union have discovered a litany of financial flaws and are now referring to the case as the worst in the country. Gardaí were called in last summer to probe the suspected disappearance of €700,000.

- The paper says bank machines across the country are likely to run short on cash next weekend if the garda strike goes ahead. The paper has learned that the main banks are drawing up security plans to deal with the unprecedented withdrawal of services by 12,000 officers.

- The Irish Independent reports on the finndings of the PwC Irish Oil and Gas Survey, which says investment in projects is tipped to shrink in the next two years from €1 billion to €300m as the sector deals with rock bottom prices.

IRISH EXAMINER

- The Irish Examiner also leads with the prospect of a Garda strike, quoting senior GRA officials who described last night's meeting to discuss new proposals as "completely negative". It quotes a senior GRA member as saying that it did not appear that the Department of Justice had "met us halfway".

- The paper reports on figures from the Revenue Commissioners' 2015 Appropriation Accounts, which show that €177,000 was taken in last year from people securing personalised number plates. This was the highest figure since 2010, though not as high as the €566,000 spent in 2008.

- The paper says taxi drivers may be required to adopt a formal dress code, including a possible uniform, under new proposals being considered by the National Transport Authority. The NTA pointed out that taxi drivers are already expected to wear smart clothing in many jurisdictions.