News Headlines - 16 December 2015

▽Revealed: Prince Charles has received confidential cabinet papers for decades | The Guardian

Prince Charles has been receiving confidential cabinet papers for decades, giving him access to the inner workings of British government, according to a Whitehall manual released after a three-year freedom of information battle.

▽Margaret Thatcher's red prime ministerial box sells for ￡242,500 - BBC News

Margaret Thatcher's red prime ministerial dispatch box has sold at auction in London for ￡242,500... They are among 150 items belonging to the late PM being auctioned at Christie's, with bids from as far away as the US, Australia and South Korea.

▽Japan upholds rule that married couples must have same surname | The Guardian

Japan’s supreme court has ruled that a 19th-century law forcing married couples to use the same surname – almost always that of the husband – does not violate the constitution.

▽Fed readies first hike in almost a decade amid calm markets | Reuters

Eight years after a devastating recession opened an era of loose U.S. monetary policy, the Federal Reserve was set on Wednesday to raise rates for the first time since 2006, in a sign the world's largest economy had overcome most of the wounds of the global financial crisis.

▽Booming UK jobs market sees unemployment drop to pre-crisis rates - Telegraph

UK unemployment returned to pre-crisis rates in the quarter to October, in another milestone for the recovery that underscored the strength of Britain's jobs market.