First Bus, unchanged at 144p, received the same recommendation.But news that the President of the Board of Trade, Ian Lang, had referred National Express' proposed acquisition of the Midland Main Line rail franchise to the Monopolies and Merger Commission sent the shares into reverse. In a chunky 74 page review of the industry, NatWest concluded that diversification by the quoted operators into rail privatisation and overseas expansion offered "tremendous opportunities" and should lead further strong share price performance.Stagecoach hit an all-time high of 482p, 9p higher on the day, as the broker urged investors to add to their holdings. Allied is in the process of selling its 50 per cent stake in Anglo-Danish brewer Carlsberg-Tetley to Bass, 2p weaker at 779p.It was a busy day on the buses. The Rank Organisation headed the list of blue-chip risers, adding 10p to 470p on a SBC Warburg buy recommendation. New chief executive Andrew Teare is expected to unveil details of a strategic review of the leisure group next week.

Food and drinks giant Allied Domecq filled the number two slot, rising 9p to 438p as Merrill Lynch upgraded from reduce to neutral. Shares in other restaurant chains rose in sympathy, with City Centre Restaurants advancing 4.5p to 120.5p, Pizza Express closing 6p better at 399p and Canadian Pizza 5p to the good at 88p.Disappointment that Whitbread had not gone for pubs group Tom Cobleigh knocked its shares back 12p to 210p. A similar fate befell JD Wetherspoon, another themed pub operator, which fell 11p to 864p.Leading leisure stocks had another good run. Whitbread dipped 3p to 686p on the news, but Pelican soared 22.5p to 167.5p. Glaxo-Wellcome, reporting first half figures today, denied it was interested, SmithKline Beecham effectively ruled itself out by saying British biotech companies were too risky to buy outright at this stage in their development while Zeneca declined to comment. Glaxo itself was the subject of buy recommendations from Societe Generale and NatWest and the shares closed 10p higher at 899p. Chiroscience, who said it had not received any firm approach from anybody, topped the list of FT-SE 250 riser, chalking up a 35p gain at 365p.Among the drugs tiddlers Phytopharm initially gained 6p to 205p before ending a penny higher as the group sought UK approval for its eczema treatment.Leisure was again a lively sector following confirmation that Whitbread had made a recommended pounds 133m offer for branded restaurants group Pelican. Investors spent most of the day trying to find out who, if anybody, was behind the near 10 per cent share-price rise in Chiroscience, the biotech babe which has attracted several broker's buy notes in the last week A round-up of the likely suspects yielded few results.

Even with Highland Distillers' 19 per cent, Grand Met would probably find Remy impervious to anything other than an agreed offer.But Remy and Grand Met had a business relationship back in the 1980s and the best arrangement now might be some form of joint venture that would give IDV access to a cognac brand and Remy access to IDV's extensive distribution channels and marketing clout.French chauvinism would be an obstacle but looking at Remy's towering debts and the poor prospects for its cognac sales, it might be wise to swallow some Gallic pride.. But that is academic since the flies in this particular digestif are the Heriard-Dubreuil family which owns and runs Remy and the French knack of closing ranks to repel unwelcome suitors.Although Remy is a quoted stock, more than 60 per cent of the shares are in the hands of Orpar and the Heriard-Dubreuil family. A further 7 per cent or so is owned by Cointreau and Krug interests. Of the three brands that matter, Martell belongs to Seagram and LMVH has control of Henessey, which just leaves Remy.What Grand Met does have, however, is a close relationship with Highland Distillers through their shared ownership of North British Distillers. And what Highland Distillers has is a close relationship with Remy through the 19 per cent stake it holds via Remy's parent company Orpar.Grand Met would have little difficulty assembling the fire power to mount a full bid costing somewhere north of pounds 600m. Remember, too, that Granada already has a 25 per cent stake, for which it paid an average of about pounds 4 a share, compared to the current price of pounds 12.50. No other bidder would match that advantage.Moreover, the deal makes strategic sense, as it would bring together the stellar programming and production capabilities of YTT and the equally impressive assets of Granada and London Weekend Television The odds have to be that Granada will get YTT.