'S&N plotting Russia sale to derail bid'

Scottish & Newcastle, is planning to thwart a £7.5 billion hostile takeover by Dutch and Danish rivals by selling off Hartwall, the Finnish holding company behind its most valuable asset - The Sunday Times ​

However the Sunday Telegraph says Carlsberg and Heineken are likely to face competition from some of the brewing world's top players including Budweiser owner Anheuser-Busch and the London-listed SABMiller, as the companies put together a bid for Scottish & Newcastle. And a comment piece from the Telegraph's deputy business editor Syliva Pfeifer claims Scottish & Newcastle's share of its Russian joint venture with Carlsberg, BBH, could be worth as much as £5bn, according to insiders at the British brewer - Sunday Telegraph ​

The doctor who caused controversy by admitting guidelines on safe drinking were 'plucked out of the air' 20 years ago says alcohol is a 'lethal substance' and should be taxed more heavily. Richard Smith said he watched his brother, the comedian Arthur Smith, come 'within a whisker of death' as a result of alcohol and he never meant to suggest that heavy drinking was not harmful - The Observer​

Another doctor says you can drink above the official recommended alcohol guidelines quite safely. Retired GP Richard Taylor, a member of the government's Health Committee said yesterday: "Although I would still endorse the old government limits, I would add the rider that if you step outside them within reason, it will not do you any harm." - Mail on Sunday ​

More than 4,000 pints were supped by England rugby fans at the Frog and Rosbif pub in Paris yesterday, helping them through the misery of losing to the Springboks in the World Cup Final - Mail on Sunday​

Beer prices are set to fall to an all-time low as the supermarket booze war builds up in the run-up to Christmas. Drinks industry experts believe store giants could soon be selling popular lagers for as little as 30p a pint - Sunday Mirror

One in three bingo halls are facing closure because of the smoking ban. About 600,000 customers have stayed away - a 20 per cent drop in attendance figures - since the July 1 ban in England. Industry experts believe around 200 of the country's 634 bingo clubs will have to shut - on top of 60 closures in the last year - Sunday Mirror ​

The campaign to reverse the 80 per cent increase in capital gains tax will take on a new ferocity this week when leaders from the UK's four main business groups grill Alistair Darling at a meeting in London - Scotland on Sunday ​