1.One Step Closer to a Cashless Future (Freakonomics)

In Sweden they are phasing out hard currency, writes Freakonomics

2. Obama doesn’t even name banker to run World Bank (Reuters)

Barack Obama’s pick to head the World Bank comes out of the blue, writes Christopher Swann

3. Where the Iron Lady feared to tread (Financial Times)

 Even Margaret Thatcher balked at privatising the Royal Mail, writes Brian Groom

4.  UK banks "still need strengthening" (Robert Peston)

The Bank of England says that the UK's big banks do not have enough capital, writes Robert Peston

5. Only by tackling spending will we ever tame the debt monster (Telegraph)

In four years’ time, the state will be 40 per cent deeper into the red than it is today, writes Jeff Randall