Luxury goods company LVMH has indicated it may be willing to sell some or all of its two-thirds stake in Moët Hennessy, its wine and spirits business, to partner Diageo, say people close to the matter. LVMH, part of the French luxury empire controlled by Bernard Arnault, approached Diageo this year to gauge whether Diageo was interested in buying the rest of Moët Hennessy. The companies held informal discussions, but LVMH stayed hypothetical about a sale rather than pressing ahead. It has not yet decided whether it definitely wants to part with the asset - The Financial Times
William Hill is offering 2-1 that Darling will set VAT back at 17.5%, evens that it will go higher, and 5-2 that it will remain below that level. A 4p rise in beer duty can be backed at 5-2, and an 11p increase in the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes is on offer at 9-4 - The Guardian
An estimated 960 people-a-day are hospitalised nationwide having suffered serious attacks, figures from Accident and Emergency departments show. Binge drinking in town and city centres is blamed for the total number of assaults resulting in hospital treatment going up by seven per cent, driven by large increases in attacks on women and people aged between 31-50 - The Telegraph
A shake up of alcohol and drug treatment services has been agreed in a move aimed at cutting addiction rates. The Scottish Government, the NHS and local authority group Cosla signed up to the changes which will see alcohol and drug partnerships in all 32 council areas. The move comes a month after a critical review of services by Audit Scotland, which said alcohol and drug misuse costs Scotland £5billion a year - The Daily Express
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association gave warning that any tax increase on alcohol in today's Budget would put as many as 75,000 jobs in the drinks industry at risk - The Times
The Northern Ireland drinks industry has warned a rise in alcohol duty in the Budget would put jobs at risk. The Federation of Retail Licensed Trade (FRLT) said it could "cripple the industry", which employs about 34,000. In December, the Federation of Retail Licensed Trade said sales in beer had fallen 8% as more people buy alcohol in supermarkets - BBC