What the Sunday papers said
What began as a walkout by regular drinkers and then turned into a campaign uniting residents of a rural Sussex town against the might of one of the UK's biggest breweries has finally ended, reports the Independent On Sunday. Greene King has U-turned on its decision to remove the locally brewed Harveys Best Bitter from the Lewes Arms, which is owned by the Bury St Edmunds brewer. The boycott by regulars, which followed the beer's removal five months ago, saw the pub's takings "decimated". - Independent On Sunday
New tests can reveal how much alcohol someone has drunk during the past few months, or even years, says the Mail On Sunday. Likely to be used by companies to screen employees or by courts in child welfare cases, the £345-a-time test can separate moderate drinkers from those who have a problem by examining chemicals in the hair. - Mail On Sunday
Doctors have drawn up blueprints for making cigarettes harder to buy, particularly for young people. The government is evaluating the proposals, which include banning the sale of packets of 10 cigarettes, which are attractive to teenagers because they are cheaper. The British Medical Association wants to compel retailers to obtain licenses to sell tobacco products, to outlaw tobacco vending machines and impose regular and above-inflation price increases to try to cut demand. - Observer
Huge volumes of shares being traded in Scottish & Newcastle were being driven by 'black box' dealing, rather than informed gossip concerning a possible bid for the brewer, according to the Sunday Telegraph. Computerised trading systems "got it wrong and caused abnormal movements in the share price", according to the paper. These picked up on a dip in the group's share price and flagged it as a buying opportunity. - Sunday Telegraph
Pubs have become the toast of the Square Mile, says the Mail On Sunday. For the first time three pure pub groups are in the FTSE100 index, after Punch Taverns and Mitchells & Butlers joined Enterprise Inns among the UK's business elite. Most industry insiders are meanwhile expecting Mitchells & Butlers to announce a small sale and leaseback deal to release cash for shareholders, instead of separating its entire property estate as one of its investors, Robert Tchenguiz, would like. - Mail On Sunday
Whitbread shares have doubled in a year, not least because of takeover speculation, writes the Observer. However chief executive Alan Parker deserves credit for streamlining "this unwieldy leisure conglomerate, returning billions to shareholders in the process". The paper says this week should not only sees a pleasing set of figures but news on the sell-off of the David Lloyd leisure estate. - Observer
