Business Diary: Bowles is Britain's No 1 for finance

Who is Britain's most influential politician when it comes to financial regulation? George Osborne, the Chancellor, perhaps, or Andrew Tyrie, the MP who chairs the Treasury Select Committee? Not a bit of it – according to Financial News, the City trade paper that keeps an eye on these things with its annual survey, Sharon Bowles is No 1. Ms Bowles, for those of you didn't know, is MEP for South East England, and now chairs the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee.

G4S proves it's fit for purpose

Are they masochists at G4S? Yesterday the security company invited us to a "fun-run" to be held in Hyde Park later this month, hosted by Haile Gebrselasssie, the Ethiopian athletics superstar who is a G4S "ambassador". Not only does the run start at 7am, it follows an evening event the night before. The invite says: "Nick Buckles, chief executive of G4S, along with other executives, will be in attendance," though it doesn't specify whether they'll actually be donning their running shoes.

Lloyds boss latest to lobby Osborne

Antonio Horta-Osorio, the chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, was in Downing Street yesterday to discuss bankingregulation with the Chancellor prior to next week's Vickers Report. For Lloyds, the main point of interest is the extent to which it will be forced sell off morebranches than expected currently under its Project Verde plans. Did Mr Osborne's response see Lloyds' Portuguese boss turn verde de medo, as they say back home (it means pale with fear), or was he a little more reassuring about his plans for the bank?

Travelodge gets the jump on uni

More proof university is not all it's cracked up to be: you don't need a degree to get on the Travelodge Junior Management Programme (the budget hotel chain likes to call it JuMP). Yesterday, 33 aspiring hotel managers started on the scheme, which is aimed at those leaving school after their A-levels – Travelodge reckons that many of them will be managing its hotels by the time they turn 21. So who needs three years of pot noodles and Neighbours repeats?

businessdiary@independent.co.uk