What the papers say - July 4, 2007

Pub-sector stocks frothed higher after the announcement by Greene King that it is planning to inject a tranche of its pubs into a property joint venture. Analysts said that Greene King's move, similar to plans announced recently by Mitchells & Butlers, could prompt rivals including Marston's, up 16½p to 408½p, and Punch Taverns, up 42p at £12.62, into considering similar ventures - The Times, Financial Times, Guardian, The Daily Telegraph​

Red tape introduced in the 2003 Licensing Act is stifling small-scale gigs and performances, a report commissioned by ministers has found. A West Country brass band has been told that it could only play religious songs when performing for charity in a town centre - or pay for a licence that could cost more than the band would be able to raise - The Times​

Philip Morris International, the American cigarette maker, has launched a Marlboro cigarette flavoured with cloves in Indonesia, seeking to boost sales in one of the world's largest tobacco markets - The Times​

Scottish & Newcastle, the brewer, said that the torrential rain sweeping the country has taken the fizz out of beer sales, estimating that the market fell by 5 per cent in the first half of the year - The Times, The Daily Telegraph​

Kraft yesterday sought to allay French fears over job security following confirmation it had provisionally agreed to buy the biscuit arm of Danone for €5.3bn ($7.2bn). The deal represents amassive internationalisation of Kraft's own biscuit business, which makes Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers, and follows its purchase last year of United Biscuits' Spanish and Portuguese operations - Financial Times, Guardian, The Daily Telegraph​

A tiny square of dark chocolate a day can lower blood pressure without piling on the pounds, researchers claim today. A team led by Dr Dirk Taubert, of University Hospital of Cologne, assessed four adults with borderline high blood pressure. The researchers report in the Journal of the American Medical Association that dark chocolate reduced average blood pressure without affecting body weight. The white chocolate group's blood pressure was the same - The Daily Telegraph​

Food prices and energy bills are rising faster in Britain than almost anywhere else in the world, figures showed yesterday. Shoppers are paying 4.9 per cent more for their weekly groceries compared with a year ago - an increase that is nearly twice the European Union average and more than five times higher than in France, said the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) - The Daily Telegraph​

Gordon Ramsay has lashed out at parents of obese children, calling for them to be taken to court and fined. The 40-year-old father of four believes the threat of legal action is the only way to get through to parents who let their children over-eat - Daily Mail​

Supermarkets have been criticised for offering consumers too much choice after it was revealed that Tesco now stocks 38 different varieties of milk. Britain's largest food retailer typically sells specialties such as low cholesterol, lactose free, omega 3 enriched, locally sourced, soya, flavoured and goats' milk alongside standard cows' milk - Daily Mail​

Drinker Kerry Morgan has got round the cig ban at his local — by building a pub at home. Friends can light up as the bar — named after a late pal — is not licensed and all drinks are free. Builder Kerry, 49, of Briton Ferry, South Wales, said: "Everyone who comes contributes a bottle of wine or spirits. I'm not going to make money but I can enjoy a pint and a ciggie with pals." - The Sun​