Royal Bank of Scotland has sold its large portfolio of pubs to a subsidiary of Heineken.
The 918 tenanted pubs across the UK generated £45m for the bank last year.
They will now be owned by Scottish & Newcastle Pub Company, which has been running them under a management agreement since 1999.
RBS , which is 84% owned by taxpayers, has received £422m from the sale.
:: At another part-nationalised bank, Lloyds Banking Group , will claw back up to half the £1.4m bonus from its former boss.
Sky's City editor Mark Kleinman has learned that the bank wrote to Eric Daniels to inform him that they may withhold the money after having to set aside £3.2bn to compensate customers who were mis-sold payment protection insurance.
:: Part of a steelworks in South Wales will be shut down for the second time in two years, along with 115 jobs.
Tata which owns the hot strip mill at the Llanwern plant near Newport, blamed a fall in demand for steel coil for automotive, construction and general engineering.
The Indian company said the plant will remain closed until increased demand justifies a restart.
:: However figures show that UK construction growth slowed in November.
The Purchasing Managers Index released by Markit/CIPS fell to 52.3 from 53.9 in October - a level of 50 separates growth from contraction.
Nonetheless, as the industry continued its slow but steady expansion, jobs in the industry grew at the fastest rate in nearly four years.
:: Employment picked up across the pond as well, with US non-farm payrolls rising by 120,000 last month, taking the jobless rate to 8.6%, the lowest level in more than two years.
Although public-sector jobs fell by 20,000 hiring in the private sector more than made up for it with 140,000 new additions.
The eagerly anticipated monthly figure showed the recovery is picking up in the world's biggest economy.
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