Business Diary: Bad blood fuels Tomkins row

The row at Tomkins rages on, with shareholder Standard Life furious that the company's chairman David Newlands is recommending a takeover offer from Canadian private equity concerns at a price it regards as too low. The fact that Mr Newlands is a former Standard Life executive gives the argument extra spice. And now we hear that during his time at the insurer, there wasn't much love lost between him and Gerry Grimstone, Standard Life's chairman. This one looks set to run and run.

Osborne claims German bank

George Osborne's first engagement on the trade visit to India yesterday was a speech at a Mumbai hotel, where he listed some of the "leading figures from British business, sports and academia" accompanying him. Just one small point, Chancellor. Deutsche, which Mr Osborne name-checked alongside financial sector firms such as Barclays, Standard Chartered and the London Stock Exchange, isn't actually British. The clue is in the name.

Now you can tweet for a cab

It's amazing it took them this long, but London's drivers of black taxis have joined Twitter (@tweetalondoncab), spotting its opportunity as a shop window for their services. Once you've signed up to follow them, you can tweet requesting a cab any time you like. Handy, but presumably you also have to put up with an awful lot of unwanted conversation, even it is all in the 130 characters or less category.

Five rebranding for Desmond?

Richard Desmond's acquisition of Channel Five has prompted an outpouring of online gags related to the media magnate's background in adult entertainment. But this spoof new logo from satirists at The Poke is especially inspired.

businessdiary@independent.co.uk