'Low wage firms face fines blitz'

Rogue bosses who fail to pay the minimum wage will face unlimited fines, ministers will announce today. A new Bill will also force bosses, who currently face a maximum fine of £5,000, to pay back, with interest, wages owed to underpaid staff - The Mirror ​

Two thirds of finance chiefs believe the credit crunch will get worse, business consultants Deloitte found - The Mirror ​

Directors of small and medium-sized companies have become much more negative about their prospects in the past six months, and they largely blame the government. The rapidly darkening mood of small business leaders, unveiled in research published on Monday, reflects the grim economic climate of rising inflation, slowing consumer spending and tightening debt markets, as well as anger at recent tax rises - Financial Times ​

InBev has agreed to buy Anheuser-Busch for $52bn, putting the maker of Budweiser beer under Belgian control after almost 156 years as a family-run company - Daily Telegraph ​

The government's latest bid to halt youth violence was dismissed as a gimmick last night - as a soft judge was slammed for freeing a knife thug just days after he was jailed. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith wants knife-wielding teens to be marched into hospitals to meet stabbing victims - The Sun ​

Pressure was growing on the Chancellor last night to cancel planned tax hikes on alcohol after a survey showed most people regarded it as penalising sensible drinkers - Daily Express ​

Classic British dishes like stew, dumplings and hotpots are dying out as people turn to "foreign quick fixes", a study says - The Sun ​

Wales is set to spend more than £300m on flood defences over the next eight years leaving the country better prepared than England for the effects of climate change, the head of a leading protection body said today - Western Mail ​

Rosé, long dismissed by purists as uncultured plonk, has overtaken white wine in volume of sales in France, buoyed by a fashion for pink - Daily Telegraph ​