'Bargain booze war hits UK supermarkets in time for Christmas'
Rival supermarkets have launched a Christmas spirits price war with heavy discounts on whisky, gin and vodka - despite admitting the move might lose them money. Chains including Tesco and Sainsburys are slashing the prices of top brands just because they feel they need to compete with each other.Tesco's spirits manager Mark Sudderby admitted 'deep discounting' of spirits was 'not necessary' at Christmas and financially damaging. 'However, we must continue to be competitive and to provide our customers with offers that are not drastically undercut by discount retailers,' he added - Metro
One of Scotland's largest supermarkets has fallen foul of police stings designed to catch retailers selling alcohol to children. Tesco at St Rollox in Glasgow has now been banned from selling alcohol at all self-service checkouts in the superstore for four weeks, hitting the retailer and its customers at the busiest time of the year for alcohol sales. The ban, which starts tomorrow, will not end until just 10 days before Christmas - The Herald
Diane Abbott, the shadow public health minister, is calling for the health select committee to launch an inquiry into government moves to put McDonald's, PepsiCo and food manufacturers such as Unilever and Kellogg's at the heart of writing policy on obesity, diet-related disease and alcohol misuse in the UK - The Guardian
There was cause for cheer among pub groups yesterday, after investors were urged to make merry as analysts forecast a stable future for the troubled sector. Many of the major names saw their share prices rise in the wake of an extensive note from Execution Noble that encouraged the market to "get the pints in". In the research, the broker's analysts upgraded both Punch Taverns and Greene King to "buy", and they dutifully rose 1.05p to 68.1p and 3.6p to 446.8p, respectively - The Independent
A new vending machine uses facial recognition to recommend drinks based on a customer's age and gender. The firm behind the high-tech canned drinks dispenser has seen sales triple thanks to the new technology - The Sun
