'Union warns of more pub closures'

Union leaders have warned of fresh pub closures because of falling beer sales and rising rents. The GMB said sales had "fallen off a cliff" last year, made worse by the increase in VAT, claiming that pubs were being priced out of the market. National officer Paul Maloney said the difference between alcohol prices in pubs and supermarkets was wider than ever - Press Association ​

Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive aims to become the first government in Europe to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol in a bid to tackle binge drinking and anti-social behaviour and cut the region's health bill. Alex Attwood, the social development minister, and Michael McGimpsey, health minister, launched a consultation process on Monday calling for a minimum price of between 40p and 70p for a unit of alcohol in off-licences, pubs and registered clubs - Financial Times​

Claims by the big supermarkets to be driving economic growth by creating thousands of jobs have been exposed as a sham. Supermarket bosses have used the claims as their major weapon to push through hundreds of controversial planning applications for more stores. The boasts have also allowed them to stand alongside Prime Minister David Cameron to be hailed as job creation heroes. However, figures from their own annual reports reveal that the number of full-time jobs offered by Tesco and Sainsbury's has actually fallen over the past two years - Daily Mail​

Consumers fled the high street in droves last month, according to industry figures released today. They showed that a slump in sales following the government's VAT hike became entrenched during February. Across the high street spending dropped 0.4% in February compared with the same month last year in a marked reversal of the 2.3% bounce seen in January after the pre-Christmas snow chaos, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said - The Guardian​