What the Sunday papers said
The Sunday Times
SCOTTISH & NEWCASTLE is to secure a 30-year management, distribution and beer-supply contracts as part of the £750m sale of more than 600 pubs to Japanese bank Nomura.
THE InterContinental Hotels Group, the hotels arm of the soon-to-be Six Continents group, is preparing to lay off up to a third of its 2,600 back-office staff.
SHAREWATCH: Shares in the community pub owner Punch Taverns hit an all-time low last month of 149p. The group will report interims that should restore confidence. The business is trading at a discount to its sector peer Enterprise Inns. Buy.
THE Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) faces a knife-edge decision on interest rates this week, but most analysts think it will hold fire until next month.
The Business
Peroni, the Italian brewery that owns the Nastro Azzuro brand, has been put up for sale by the families which own it with a price tag of around £345m.
The Sunday Express
THE Confederation of British Industry will this week warn that the uncertain business outlook is now damaging all parts of the economy, triggering fresh demands for a business-friendly Budget from Chancellor Gordon Brown on Wednesday.
THE Chancellor faces urgent calls this week to bail out Britain's tourism industry as it faces a £2bn double whammy of war in Iraq and the deadly Sars virus. It is feared the financial consequences could be worse than the foot and mouth disease crisis in 2001.
The Observer
THE property industry is braced for a "catastrophic" rise in stamp duty in Wednesday's budget. Chancellor Gordon Brown is likely to set it at five per cent on transactions of more than £1m, a one per cent rise that would raise an extra £500m.
MARIA SCOTT says this week's budget may well hit the traditional "sin" taxes of booze and fags. Duty on beer has not changed since 2000 and duty on spirits has been frozen since 1997.
The Government could raise £175m by adding 1.5p to a pint of beer, calculates accountant Ernst & Young, £75m from 7p on a bottle of wine and £25m by adding 32p to a bottle of spirits. Adding 17p to a packet of cigarettes could raise £325m.
CHANCELLOR Gordon Brown will blame Europe this week for his second cut in UK growth forecasts and the second multibillion-pound rise in borrowing in four months.
SALES of alcopops in Britain in 2002 exceeded £2 billion, a rise of 50 per cent since 2001. Young women and the "ladette culture" mean Britain has the highest alcopop market in Europe according to figures published by Datamonitor ahead of the Government's alcohol strategy.
The Mail on Sunday
CELEBRATED City dealmaker Guy Hands has fallen on tough times. Having left Japanese bank Nomura last year, with a £50m bonus for selling its pub businesses, to set up his own fund some people are asking if he has lost the Midas Touch.
He recently tasted his first failure with the collapse of Grey Archer, the £30m internet supply service for pubs and he has pumped millions into his Rockingham race track.
The Sunday Telegraph
GORDON BROWN will this week make an upbeat assessment of the health of the economy and the public services in his Budget on Wednesday, defying the widespread gloom of City forecasters.
BRITAIN is not ready for the euro and will fail three of the five key economic tests, according to a study published by accountant Deloitte & Touche this week.
The Independent on Sunday
No industry-related news.
