Credit where credit is due: It's bad enough having the most expensive bank bailout around. But not getting official recognition for it? Unbearable! Luckily for Ireland, there's a concerted effort underway to right that wrong... Risks be damned; China set for another year of the same: Don't be misled by the proclamations of "reform" or "quality growth" from China's central economic work conference at the weekend. It's more of the same, at least for the time being writes a jaded Kate. The second coming of Abe... confirmed: The landslide win for the Shinzo Abe-led Liberal Democratic party in Japan at the weekend pushed the Japanese yen to its weakest level against the dollar since April 2011 while Japanese shares surged. Kate runs through the consequences of the election and injects some very necessary caution. There's an FT run through too. Banco Santander is considering spinning off its US consumer finance business, following a deal last year to sell a minority stake in the subsidiary to three private equity groups. Santander, which recently completed the listing of a stake in its Mexican subsidiary, has begun to explore listing Santander Consumer USA, which has a loan portfolio of about €18bn, according to a person familiar with the situation. (Financial Times) Santander also said it would study fully absorbing its 90-percent owned subsidiary Banesto, the latest move in a round of consolidation among the country's lenders. Shares in both banks were suspended on Monday following the announcement. Hopes of a US budget agreement to avert the looming fiscal cliffwere bolstered after John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, floated raising income tax rates for Americans earning more than $1m a year, a big concession in negotiations with President Barack Obama. China eases foreign-investment limits: "China's foreign-exchange regulator has raised the investment limit for sovereign-wealth funds and central banks investing in domestic stocks and bonds, underlining efforts to deepen the country's capital markets." Foreign government-linked entities may invest more than $1bn in China's stocks and bonds, beginning immediately, but there is no mention of a limit. Yet. AIG offers to sell as much as $6.5bn of AIA shares: "AIG, based in New York, is selling about 1.65 billion shares in Hong Kong-headquartered AIA at HK$29.65 to HK$30.65 each, according to a term sheet obtained by Bloomberg News. AIG holds a remaining 13.7 percent stake in AIA, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's got no respect in 2012: "This year, investors ignored 56 percent of Moody's rating and outlook changes and 50 percent of those by S&P." Markets: Stocks are seeing pockets of strength - notably in China and Japan - but fiscal cliff fretting leaves the mood somewhat subdued as markets begin the final full trading week of the year writes the FT's Global Market gourmand Jamie Chisholm.