Blair may face attack on education spending
Tony Blair is braced for a wave of criticism of the government's public services strategy if education loses out to health in the latest three-year public spending round. Ministers expect that while health is certain to receive generous treatment, the chancellor will be hard-pressed to continue giving similar sums to education. (Financial Times)
Debts rising faster than incomes
Personal disposable income has risen by 30 per cent in real terms over the past ten years, but the average debt for every man, woman and child is now £11,830. People are spending more on wine, spirits and convenience foods than ever, and to counteract the ravages of their intensive lifestyle, they buy a record number of beauty products, vitamin pills and over-the-counter medicines, according to the latest survey by Mintel. (Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Times)
Genome doctor quits top job
Celera, the US company which last year completed a map of the human genome, has shocked the biotechnology world by announcing the resignation of its president Craig Venter. (Guardian)
Support grows for splitting church and state
Nearly half of all British voters believe it is time the Church of England lost its privileged position as the only official national church, according to the results of this month's Guardian /ICM poll. (Guardian)
Drug firm issues addiction warning
GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of Seroxat - a leading antidepressant of the Prozac class - has been forced to issue a warning to patients and doctors, acknowledging that some people can become addicted and might suffer severe side effects when they try to stop taking it. (Guardian)
BA tops sixth-formers’ careers list
British Airways comes top of a list of companies that sixth-formers would most like to work for despite turmoil in the airline sector after the terrorist attacks of September 11. But Railtrack fails to overcome its recent history and comes bottom in a survey organised by the Church Schools Company for the Financial Times . (Financial Times)
Delight as Amazon makes first profit
There was a collective sigh of relief in the e-commerce world yesterday when Amazon.com, the online bookseller that became a trailblazer for the internet revolution, announced it had finally made a profit. (Independent)