Marks & Spencer will open 50 stores in India over the next five years in a joint venture with Reliance Industries, the sub-continent's largest company. The companies have joined forces to create Marks & Spencer Reliance India. M&S will own 51% while Reliance Retail will hold 49%, and the partners will initially invest £29m in the venture.

Waitrose has criticised a new planning proposal aimed at halting the rise of so-called 'Tesco Towns', where one supermarket dominates an area. The rule is one of the key reforms proposed by the Competition Commission after a two-year study of the £120bn sector, but Waitrose MD Mark Price argued that capping local market share at 60% made it a farce.

Tesco's legal team is appealing against a US court decision to withdraw environmental planning approval for the distribution centres at the hub of Fresh & Easy. If it lost the appeal it would have to carry out a costly environmental review process on the site, which supplied the entire chain, said the Express. It added that Sir Terry Leahy was confident of a successful outcome. ? Sales of frozen food have grown in 2008, reversing a steady decline over the past two decades, the Mail on Sunday said. Sales of Asda's frozen ranges were up 15% on last year, with meat products such as burgers and chicken driving sales. Pressure on consumer spending had encouraged a move into the cheaper frozen aisles, the paper added.

A third of meat products sold in supermarkets and shops could be wrongly labelled, according to survey results published in The Mirror. The survey found sausages, mince and samosas contained other meats, such as lamb, in 38 of 109 samples. Trading Standards said it was a concern for people who avoided meats for dietary or religious reasons.