Getting bank loans is still a 'lottery' after lending to cash-strapped companies plunged by £5billion last month, small firms told MPs yesterday. They said many banks are continuing to starve viable firms of the credit they desperately need to weather the recession - Daily Mail
Business groups that had been highly critical of the government's flagship scheme to support bank lending to small businesses on Tuesday lauded it as a "model" for future support programmes. Andrew Cave, head of policy for the Federation of Small Businesses, said that the benefits of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, launched on January 14, were now coming through - FT
Pub meals served up at hundreds of outlets in Britain's most popular chains are laden with salt and saturated fat, a report reveals today. One in three puddings were found to contain as much salt as two bags of crisps, while more than half the main courses had more than half the recommended daily allowance of salt, according to an analysis by the campaign group Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) - The Guardian
Plans by the Scottish Government to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol products have come under fire in a major research report today. It finds that the likely impact on heavy and hazardous drinkers has been over-estimated and that the benefits of increased alcohol prices, such as reductions in health, crime and workplace accidents and damage are over-estimated - The Scotsman
A slim businesswoman convicted of drink driving after just consuming just one glass of wine warned other women to be on their guard yesterday. Jacqueline Atkinson, 44, who weighs eight stone, had one large measure of white wine during a business lunch. But - little more than an hour later - she failed a breath test when she was stopped by police - Daily Mail
Britain needs an emergency Budget immediately after the general election as public spending is set to soar to the highest level in post-war history, a leading think-tank has warned - Daily Telegraph
A British man and an Irish woman have died in Indonesia after drinking contaminated alcohol - in a poisoning scandal that has claimed 25 lives - Daily Mail