IRISH financiers John Magnier and JP McManus are being linked with a takeover bid for the British pub group, Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), which could value the business at more than £1.7 billion (€1.9bn).

Upbeat reports from the Federal Reserve and DuPont lifted US stocks for a second day in a row today, pushing the Standard & Poor’s 500 past 1,300 for the first time since May 2001.