Credit crisis diary: Mood music that set the wrong tone at the Bank

A nice inside joke at the Bank of England yesterday, with its multimedia folks poking some fun at their boss, Mervyn King. The Governor's Inflation Report presentation is carried live on the web and while you wait for the Bank's brass to take their seats, you get some very pleasant Vivaldi piped down the line. Yesterday, King took his seat just as the tumultuous storm section of Four Seasons began.

Little Chef's curious information menu

A curious email arrives from the PR folk representing Ian Pegler, the boss of Little Chef. Pegler is supporting National Family Week, it tells us, adding that he is deciding whether to roll out a Heston Blumenthal menu across the country, and that he has strong religious beliefs. A more random trio of statements it is harder to think of, but maybe that's life on the road.

Two football teams are better than one

Business must be looking up in the online gaming business. 188Bet is feeling so flush that it has decided to sponsor a Premiership football team next season. In fact, make that two football teams. Not content with snapping up the shirt rights at Wigan, the company's name will also appear on the shirts of Bolton players. Always smart to spread your bets, of course.

A damning statement on City greed

Check out rattraders.com, which tells the tale of a conceptual artist who has used some rather fancy technology to enable rats to make investment divisions. The rats who call the market best get rewarded with food bonuses and will eventually be bred with each other to create uber rat traders. That's what the site says, anyway, but it could just be another send-up of the City.

Mandy gatecrashes the businesswomen's party

Tuesday's Global Women in Business conference in London is going to be slightly surreal. A string of prominent women from around the world have been lined up to speak – as well as the Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, the only bloke on the bill. Baroness Vadera, Mandy's No 2, has been kept out of the limelight since dropping a green shoot clanger earlier this year, but surely they could have let her speak at this gig.

businessdiary@independent.co.uk