What the Sunday papers said - 13 January
Prince Harry has been sent to Featherstone Lodge Rehabilitation Centre in Peckham, south London, by his father, Prince Charles, according to all the Sunday papers. The Prince of Wales took the decision after learning his son had taken drugs during private parties at Highgrove, and had drunk alcohol at the nearby Rattlebone Inn in Sherston, Wiltshire.
The Sunday Telegraph
Country pubs are being forced to ban foxhunts from meeting on their premises after a new campaign of intimidation by saboteurs. Anti-hunt activists have bullied publicans in Surrey, Sussex and Kent into barring traditional pre-hunt meetings or social events. Landlords have been subjected to campaigns of leafleting, telephone-jamming, picketing and had their outside walls daubed with graffiti.
The weekend investor column rates Diageo shares a buy: "The recent acquisition of some of Seagram's business, including Captain Morgan rum, gives the group an additional strong product range and should drive future growth. Current trading at the food and drink group remains buoyant, and has been ahead of its peer group this year."
The Business
Hugh Osmond, founder Punch, the largest tenanted pub business in Britain, has held talks about making a £500m bid for Life Assurance Holding Corporation, with the founder of the vulture fund, Sir Mark Weinberg.
Business confidence among British companies is at its lowest level since the global financial crisis of 1998 and is likely to worsen, according to a report by Lloyds TSB.
The Sunday Times
Interest rates in Britain are unlikely to rise for several months, analysts say, following downbeat assessment of American economic prospects from Alan Greenspan, chairman of Federal Reserve.
Entrepreneurs feel unloved and unwanted according to a survey of 500 chief executives and finance directors. The Ernst & Young report found that two-thirds - all company owners - felt their contribution to the British economy was not recognised by the public.
Scotland on Sunday
The difficulties facing Scotland's bars and restaurants are partly attributable to the increased minimum wage of £4.20 an hour, says a chartered surveyor specialising in the sector. Creevy Associates said prices would have to rise to cope with increasing staff costs and more competition in the marketplace. The comments follow the closure of Glasgow's renowned Buttery restaurant, the insolvency of Scottish restaurant chain Leonardo's, and the sale of Glasgow's Eurasia restaurant.
The Weekend FT
Business travel bounced back in November leading to an increase in the total number of visitors to the UK for only the second time last year according to government figures.
The Mail on Sunday
Figures for ITV Digital out next month will increase the pressure of chief executive Stuart Prebble, who has presided over the huge losses that have nearly bled the life out of its owners, Carlton and Granada. Subscriptions have slumped and are well down on a year ago. Analysts say it may take as long as four years to reach break-even point.
Japanese investment bank Nomura, owner of the Inn Partnership, Unique and Voyager pub businesses, is heading for a showdown with pensioners of its TV rentals business over plans to withdraw most of the surplus (£65m) in the pension scheme - even though it has never contributed a penny.
The Observer
Court proceedings commence tomorrow against a former chairman of Boodle's, the St James's gentlemen's club in London. Roderick Shand, 66, faces fraud charges in connection with a series of investments in US slagheap firms that brought his family envelope business, a major supplier to the Christmas card market, to its knees.
High Street retailers are planning to cut prices to keep consumers spending, says John Clare, chief executive of Dixons, Britain's biggest seller of electrical goods. Clare, whose retail group includes Currys, The Link and PC World, is the first major retailer to admit publicly that profit margins will be squeezed harder to prevent a slowdown.
The Independent on Sunday
Dates for this week's diary include financial results from Whitbread and Thistle Hotels this Wednesday, which should indicate further how the hotel and restaurant market has faired in the light of the September 11 attacks.
On Thursday, the National Statistics office will publish the December retail sales figures, revealinge the extent of consumer spending offer the festive period. It will also give an indication of confidence in general.
The Express
No industry-related news.
The Business
No industry-related news.
