Punch Taverns, Britain's biggest pub company, said today that it had dropped its takeover attempt for the rival Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), the owner of the All Bar One and Harvester chains, but said that it was still considering a joint offer with a third party - The Times
Laurel pubs, the high street pub business controlled by property investor Robert Tchenguiz - which includes the Yates, Slug and Lettuce and Litten Tree chains - has collapsed into administration after failing to find a buyer for about 90 loss-making bars within the 330-site group - The Guardian
Teenagers are drinking 44 bottles of wine or 177 pints of beer a year each, a new study into under-age alcohol intake and violence shows - Daily Express
British youth are violent, drunken and out of control, a leading American magazine concludes today. The front cover of renowned publication Time Magazine depicts a young man in a "hoodie" with mugshots of others across a Union Jack - Daily Mail
Brussels yesterday increased pressure on Italy to provide details about the scale of a potential crisis over links between cheese and cancer, warning that buffalo mozzarella could be banned across the EU - The Guardian
Skipping breakfast then snacking on junk may be fuelling soaring obesity rates in kids, says a survey by Cancer Research UK - Daily Mirror
Britain's growing passion for take-away raw fish looks like wiping Japan's most famous cuisine off the menu as worldwide fish stocks strain to meet the demands of "supermarket sushi" - The Times