PRESS DIGEST-British Business - December 17

Dec 17 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

The Times

- UK ministers will announce on Wednesday that the UK is rejoining the Erasmus exchange programme from 2027.

- The British government said it will provide financial support to safeguard chemical production and hundreds of jobs at Grangemouth, the country's last ethylene plant, in a partnership with chemicals group INEOS.

The Guardian

- UK's Downing Street insists the $40 billion "Tech Prosperity Deal" between the U.S. and the UK that is on hold is not permanently stalled.

- The European Union confirmed it wants to water down its 2035 ban on the sale of new petrol or diesel cars, yielding to heavy pressure from the car industry.

The Telegraph

- OpenAI has appointed former British finance minister George Osborne as managing director and head of its "OpenAI for Countries" initiative.

- UK's Thames Water has blocked a 2.5 million pound ($3.35 million) bonus payout for nearly two dozen executives after a political backlash.

Sky News

- Materials science start-up CuspAI is close to raising tens of millions of pounds from some of the same shareholders which supported its autumn capital boost and is nearing a valuation of at least $1 billion.

($1 = 0.7458 pounds)