What the Sunday papers said
The Sunday Times
INVESTMENT bankers working on the break up of Six Continents are examining ways to release additional capital tied up in its £3.5 billion pub estate. Up to £2bn could be raised.
The company will announce demerger details next month and they will be examined closely by potential trade and private-equity buyers. Hugh Osmond and Luke Johnson have been named as possible buyers.
THE CITY is braced for further volatility in the stock market today (Monday) after the Dow Jones Industrial average tumbled three per cent on Friday. It has raised concerns that the London market cold fall for a record 11th consecutive day.
The Independent on Sunday
DRINK-as-much-as-you-can drinking clubs are creating a speed drinking culture among young people says the Independent.
Clubs like Tivoli Nightspot in Rotherham, which offer unlimited alcohol until closing (2am) for £15 (men) and £10 (women), are to be found up and down the country.
Campaigners says places such as Tivoli are breeding grounds for alcohol abuse and, in turn, put a strain on the health service.
Research published later this year will reveal the average age for children taking their first drink is just over 12, and a third of teenagers say they drink at least 10 units of alcohol in a typical weekend drinking session.
QUOTE of the week: "I was only a little bit dizzy," said Arunothai Sriaran, after drinking 10 pints of sweet wine and walking between two rows of bottles to win the Miss Drunk title in bangkok, Thailand.
SHAREWATCH: The Telegraph says Enterprise Inns, which delivered some much-needed cheer to the battered leisure sector last week, reporting buoyant Christmas sales, is a well run business with a strong growth story. Investors should keep buying the shares.
SHAREWATCH: In contrast, late-night operator Luminar revealed last week that revellers stayed away from its clubs and bars over Christmas. In the five weeks of trading over the new year sales declined 4.2 per cent.
The shares have tumbled to 300p. There is little hope of a turnaround in the short term so it is time for investors in Luminar to cut losses and sell.
BRITAIN'S biggest companies are facing a £100bn black hole in their pension schemes after a disastrous falls in share prices on the London stock markets over the past 10 days.
The Sunday Express
SHAREWATCH: The fizz has gne out of Cadbury Schweppes. The outlook for the US drinks operation is poor and Cocoa prices have risen. The outlook in the domestic market also looks limited. It may take time for buyers at 344.5p to be rewarded.
Mel Sykes, once the face of Boddingtons beer, has been offered a £1m contract to be the new face of ITV.
The Business
THE LEISURE sector has been badly hit as consumers tighten their belts, contrary to the common belief that spending is spiralling out of control.
Since the end of the summer six pub companies have issued profit warnings, including those at the bottom end of the market such as JD Wetherspoon and Yates - usually expected to be more robust in a downturn.
Last week was the turn of the nighclub sector as Luminar issued a warning and Po Na Na put out lacklustre figures. For investors, the sector is worth avoiding at the moment, although there is money to be made in picking out to buyout candidates.
THE licensed retail sector is not the only place where operators have been discounting. Many shop retailers like Marks & Spencer and Next have slashed prices to lure shoppers in the past few months. But the cost can be measured in squeezed margins.
IN the age of rising aspirations and healthier eating, McDonald's increasingly looks like a fillet-of-fish out of water. It recently posted its first quarterly loss - of £213m - since going public in 1965.
It also announced the closure of 719 restaurants, mainly in the US and Japan as it battled to reverse falling sales. So great is the crisis, McDonald's is considering changing the flavour of the Big Mac.
The Mail on Sunday
No industry-related news.
The Observer
No industry-related news.
