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Hospital Put On Standby for Swine Flu Epidemic

A Birmingham hospital is vaccinating its nurses and calling up reservists to be on standby as the region braces itself for a potential swine flu outbreak. The World Health Organisation said four in ten of the UK population could catch the deadly disease over the next six months if a pandemic broke out.

Pounds 20m City Bar Chain Collapses

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In the Spotlight

Government's Inflated House-Building Target Is Pie in the Sky

Flooding warning - page 15 One of the much-repeated criticisms of the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy is that it seeks to steamroller through totally unrealistic levels of house building in order to please the Government and that in doing so practicalities such as where the infrastructure needed to support 365,000 new homes is going to come from have been sidelined.

Mg's Quiet Revolution in Face of Recession

Longbridge milestone - page 6 The launch of a new variant model by any car company is relatively common - but the first glimpse of the Longbridge-built MGTF 135 deserves closer scrutiny.

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Prime Minister Gordon Brown and His Wife

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Business News

BUSINESS NEWS 4-11 Bar group collapses Upmarket bar chain Bar Room Bar has collapsed, two years after it was set up in a high- profile pounds 20 million deal by a pair of Birmingham entrepreneurs. Page 4 Airport jobs cut Dozens of jobs are set to be cut at Birmingham International Airport after passenger numbers dropped in the wake of the economic downturn.

Tomorrow in the Birmingham Post

Flagship Mailbox Bar Up for Sale As Chain Collapses ; Leisure

Upmarket bar chain Bar Room Bar has collapsed, two years after it was set up in a high-profile pounds 20 million deal by a pair of Birmingham entrepreneurs. Three of the firm's high-end bars have been closed with the loss of 50 jobs while the flagship site in the Mailbox is one of ten that have been put up for sale.

Tesco-Friends Deal ; Update

Friends Provident is poised to strike a deal for Tesco to sell its life assurance and other protection policies. Friends announced the deal yesterday alongside a 40 per cent year- on-year drop in its life and pensions sales, the result of a drive to focus on highermargin products.

Wired Up for a Pandemic ... ; City View

One of the few West Midlands companies whose shares bucked yesterday's soggy stock market trend was Dignity. Run out of Sutton Coldfield, this is Britain's second-biggest provider of funerals (after the Co-Op). It would be tempting, if tasteless, to conclude that the market is starting to price in the consequences of a swine flu pandemic.

Yorkshire Bank Increases Lending and Pledges Continued Support ; Banking

The Midlands division of the Yorkshire Bank increased its lending by 12 per cent over the last six months, according to its latest results. The local division of the bank was one of the better-performing in the country, according to the half-year results of the National Australia Bank Group, the owner of the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank.

Airport Sheds 45 Jobs As Recession Hits Travel Sector ; Aviation

Dozens of jobs are set to be cut at Birmingham International Airport after passenger numbers dropped in the wake of the economic downturn. About 45 jobs are to go from the airport's 690-strong workforce as the financial turbulence made people cancel holiday plans and cut down on foreign travel.

In Tomorrow's Post