What The Papers Said: A round-up of Sunday business stories

n NTL, the US cable company, is to relaunch its pounds 160m bid for Newcastle United, following indications from Stephen Byers, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, that he would not block an offer.

n HSBC's bid for Republic New York Corporation, America's leading private bank, has been challenged by a pressure group accusing HSBC of discrimination against minority groups.

n Sheikh Fahad Al-Sabah, a member of the Kuwaiti royal family, is to appeal against last week's High Court ruling that he was party to the misappropriation of $900m (pounds 563m) from the Kuwait Investment Office and is liable for damages of $500m.

n Whitbread is to lift its offer for Allied Domecq's pub estate to pounds 2.8bn at the last moment, following pressure from several large shareholders. Whitbread will use some of the pounds 750m earmarked for return to shareholders to add a cash element to its paper offer.

n Granada chairman Gerry Robinson is being touted as a successor to Sir Richard Greenbury, the outgoing Marks & Spencer chairman. Friends say he is unlikely to take the job.

n The rail industry is to face the biggest shake-up since privatisation when Sir Alastair Morton, chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority, this week announces a review of rail franchises in the autumn.

n BT has threatened to suspend its pounds 3bn development of a national Internet network using traditional telephone lines unless the regulator rejects demands from BT's rivals for full access to the system.

n Sir Nigel Mobbs, the property developer, is being recruited by the government to mastermind the pounds 320m redevelopment of Wembley stadium.

n Debenhams is planning a 175p-per-share paper offer worth pounds 750m for Storehouse. Debenhams will be willing to improve terms to secure a quick recommendation from the board.

n Allied Domecq directors rejected the chance to start an auction for its pubs by refusing to negotiate with Bass. Schroders, Bass's advisers, wrote to Allied saying Bass could offer more than pounds 2.3bn, days before Allied announced its exclusive agreement with Whitbread.

n British Aerospace and France's Aerospatiale Matra are discussing merging their holdings in Airbus, giving them a controlling 58 per cent stake in the business. The move could hasten plans for an Airbus float.

n Centrica will buy the Automobile Association for pounds 1.1bn. The AA's 4.4m full members will qualify for a pounds 240 windfall.

n CGU is considering a pounds 10bn all-paper bid for Royal & Sun Alliance to create Britain's leading insurer. Bob Scott, CGU's chief executive, who oversaw the merger of Commercial Union and General Accident, would head the combined group.

n Whitbread will today raise its bid for Allied Domecq's pub estate, following shareholder pressure to add pounds 400m in cash to its pounds 2.4bn offer. A poll of fund managers revealed shareholders would block the deal on Friday.

n Alan Greenspan, head of the US Federal Reserve, is expected to raise US interest rates on Thursday and warn of further rises.

n National Westminster Bank made an approach to buy Bradford & Bingley, Britain's second biggest building society, for pounds 2.5bn earlier this month.

n Neil Johnson, chief executive of the Royal Automobile Club, is to receive a pounds 570,000 pay-off following Lex Service's pounds 437m takeover of the group.

n Wolverhampton & Dudley, the Midlands brewery group, is planning a pounds 160m counterbid for Morland, the brewery group for which Greene King offered pounds 145m.

n Key figures from business and the unions are urging Tony Blair to back swift British entry into the single currency. Granada chief Gerry Robinson, Northern Foods boss Lord Haskins and ICL head Keith Todd have urged the prime minister to take a more positive line.

n British power companies are taking legal advice on how to launch a challenge in Brussels to the expansion of French energy giant Electricite de France, following its recent purchases of two electricity companies.

n Airports group BAA is hiking landing fees by 5 per cent following the abolition of duty-free this week, leaving passengers facing higher air fares.

n Asda wants the Government to force Sainsbury's and Tesco to sell stores to break up their stranglehold in the South-east. Asda boss Allan Leighton will tell the Competition Commission inquiry into supermarket pricing Asda or Wal-Mart must otherwise be allowed to build more stores there.

n Scottish Widows reneged on a gentleman's agreement over a merger with Royal Bank of Scotland by agreeing a takeover from Lloyds TSB. RBS believed it had first refusal on a Widows tie-up because of their commercial ties.

n BAA is to maintain duty-free prices on most goods at its seven airports at a cost of pounds 40m.