Monday newspaper round-up: Unemployment, junk food ads, Shell

(Sharecast News) - The UK is poised for a rise in unemployment in 2026 fuelled by the collapse of "zombie" companies that have struggled to adapt to a rise in business costs, according to a report. At the start of what could be a pivotal year for the economy, the Resolution Foundation said businesses were grappling with a "triple whammy" of multiyear increases in interest rates, energy prices and the minimum wage that could "finish off" some underperforming companies. - Guardian A ban on junk food advertising on TV before 9pm and a total ban online has come into force as the government attempts to tackle the childhood obesity crisis. Under the rules, which will be enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) 13 categories of products can no longer be advertised on TV before the watershed or at any time online. The banned products are high in fat, sugar and salt. - Guardian

Shell could earn billions of dollars from new Venezuelan gas projects following Donald Trump's ousting of Nicolás Maduro. The British oil company wants to target the rich gas fields lying between Venezuela and the neighbouring offshore islands of Trinidad and Tobago but has faced years of delay linked to US sanctions. - Telegraph

Britain is on the brink of a "turning point" where deaths begin to consistently outnumber births, the Resolution Foundation has warned. Gregory Thwaites, a research director at the Left-leaning think tank, said 2026 may be the first year of a "new normal" for the nation's ageing population, driven by "extremely low fertility and not especially high deaths". More deaths than births would leave the UK facing a shrinking population unless it welcomed more migrants. - Telegraph

British workers are increasingly unhappy in their jobs, with almost one in ten planning to quit in January, a new survey shows. Nearly a quarter said their work was making them unhappy, while 9 per cent expected to hand in their notice this month, according to research from the international schools group ACS. - The Times