'HSBC curbs lending to pubs'

Banking giant HSBC has launched a crackdown on lending to bars, restaurant and hotel groups. The decision will add to the gloom in the industry, which is already seeing firms collapse, staff shed and pubs closed at a rate of three a day, according to recent industry estimates. - Press Association​

More than a dozen potential bidders have expressed interest in acquiring Cains, the Liverpool brewer that is one of the largest suppliers of own-brand beer to supermarkets. Cains produces up to 150m cans of beer a year for retailers such as Asda and went into administration last week. - The Daily Telegraph​

Alcohol fuelled anti-social behaviour has soared since the introduction of 24 hour drinking laws, according to new figures. Mike Craik, Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, said: "What 24-hour licensing has done is to give us more problems at three, four and five in the morning. It is drinking that is driving the levels of penalty notices up. More than half are given to drunks and I would say this is the case across the country." - The Daily Telegraph​

The judge who promised 'zero tolerance on alcohol-related violence' has let off a drunken yob who threatened to stab policeman with 120 hours community service and a six-month suspended sentence - Daily Mail​

According to the psychology team at Bristol University, a pint-and-a-half of beer can distort people's opinions of others. Volunteers were asked to drink alcohol and rate the attractiveness of 40 people. The same faces were shown to volunteers who had consumed only soft drinks. The boozers scored the faces around 10 per cent higher than those who had not drunk only to reassess thier thoughts 24 hours later. - The Mirror​

Scottish Labour leader contender Iain Gray wants mandatory proof of age cards to buy alcohol. The former enterprise minister said the move would help curb under-age drinking. He also said he did not support the government's plans to increase the age limit for buying booze in off-sales from 18-21 - The Sun​