Business Diary: Advertising watchdog takes bite out of Peta

It's not just big business that runs into trouble with its advertising. Vegetarian pressure group Peta has found itself on the wrong end of an Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruling after running a "meat kills" advert that alluded to swine flu. The ASA has told Peta to pull the campaign amid concerns people might think eating meat somehow puts you at risk of getting the virus.

Mending the City's reputation

Who says the City of London is socially useless (well, apart from luminaries such as FSA boss Adair Turner)? Lord Mayor of London Ian Luder tonight presents the annual Dragon awards to businesses that have made socially useful contributions over the past 12 months. He's managed to find no fewer than 20 worthwhile contenders for gongs.

More bad luck for the Stock Exchange

Oh dear. Another bad day for the London Stock Exchange, which has been plagued by technical problems this year. Yesterday it was again forced to publish a series of market updates after trading in a string of securities proved impossible. New boss Xavier Rolet will not be impressed.

Google's top woman is a self-confessed geek

Google continues to set the standard as a progressive employer. Marissa Mayer, the internet giant's impressively titled vice president of search products and user experience, has this to say about being the most senior woman at Google. "People say 'what is it like to be a woman there?', but I don't think about that because I am a geek and everyone else is a geek and it's great to be a geek at Google."

Find the paper for yourself

More teething problems in the great London Evening Standard giveaway. Since the paper went free this week, readers have begun complaining that vendors (can we still call them that?) have a somewhat lackadaisical attitude to getting the paper out, pointing vaguely in the direction of huge piles of the paper when prompted, but otherwise preferring to chat to their mates.

Number of the day: 301.5m

Users of social networking in August globally, according to Nielsen, more than email users for the first time.

businessdiary@independent.co.uk