For old-fashioned deal action, turn to mining and boozing. Suggestions that Rio Tinto will turn the tables with a so-called Pac-Man bid for rival BHP Billiton - where pursued becomes pursuer in the manner of the videogame - are wide of the mark. But the board, including chairman Paul Skinner and legendary Cazenove head David Mayhew, is not about to roll over. Rio will use an investor conference a week tomorrow to demonstrate the value within the company, and to highlight the gulf between BHP's three-for-one share offer and what it sees as the company's true worth. BHP will have to come up with a much sweeter proposal if it wants to win over the Rio board. The gap is narrower at Scottish & Newcastle, where the improved 750p a share offer from Carlsberg and Heineken is relatively close to what shareholders might expect. S&N has had a ghostly 'For Sale' sign behind its blue-star Newcastle Brown logo for aeons. Unless there is a white knight such as SAB Miller in the background, it will be under pressure to start talking.