What the Sunday papers said

Leading investment banks and research houses are cutting their growth forecasts as the outlook darkens for the global economy, research has revealed. Economists now expect the UK economy to grow by 3.2 per cent this year and 2.6 per cent next year - The Business​

With cheap booze piled high in supermarket aisles pubs are finding it tough and none more so than JD Wetherspoon. Having taken on the supermarkets by selling cheap beer it appears to be struggling to drive up volumes and the result has been a run of profits downgrades - and the misery is by no means over - The Sunday Times​

Faced with dwindling customer numbers and a 30 per cent sales plunge following the smoking ban, Irish landlord Gareth Kendellen of Paddy the Farmer in Cork has cut a hole in his roof and walled the open space in - smokers have apparently flocked back and takings are normal again - The Independent on Sunday​

Scottish & Newcastle, Britain's biggest brewer, began printing advice warning against the dangers of binge drinking on its bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale in a move that is to rolled out across all of its brands, including Fosters and John Smith - Financial Times​

Health secretary John Reid has decided against allowing pubs, restaurants and offices to apply to their local authorities for licences that would allow smoking. Instead, he will offer a set of national restrictions that ban smoking in all restaurants that provide hot food - Financial Times​

Bauger, the Icelandic retail giant bidding for struggling Big Food Group, is expected to lower its £379m bid after the deterioration in trading at BFG continued to accelerate - The Business​

Analysts believe Bauger will reduce its £378m bid for Big Food Group after the company announced disappointing trading results for the first half of the year - The Sunday Times​

Banning smoking in pubs, far from heralding the death knell for the drinks industry, would boost profits, according to the findings of a survey from KPMG and YouGov. The key group of people are the 'once a week brigade', representing 56 per cent of the survey base, they have the largest clout, are 65 per cent in favour of a smoking ban, with 29 per cent believing they would visit pubs more often if a ban were introduced - The Business​

The craze for alcopops is rapidly fizzling out as popular brand Bacardi Breezer's sales slump - leading Thomas Hardy Services to close its bottling factory in Tiverton with the loss of 80 jobs - Sunday Express​

Richard Branson is planning to open a chain of Virgin casinos in Britain and the first could arrive within 18 months - The Observer​

Cigarettes, drink and bad diet could kill off today's youngsters before their parents. This week, a white paper will address the issues but ministers fear creating a nanny state - The Observer​

Nanny state proposals pestering people to lose weight, get fit and stop smoking are doomed to failure because we won't listen - Sunday Express​