Business Diary: BP still feels the love back home

Some good news at last for the beleaguered oil giant BP: its Gulf of Mexico crisis may have seen consumers boycott its American petrol stations but people here don't seem too bothered. A survey from the opinion pollster Harris reveals that just 33 per cent of Britons think any less of the company following its oil leak. We're not sure what that says about Britons, but let's be charitable and note that patriotism seems to be alive and well.

Memory lane for veggies

The disposal yesterday of Dalepak by Northern Foods – it has flogged the grills and burgers unit to an Irish company for about £6m – looked like a run-of-the-mill transaction, but the business has a claim to fame that should not be overlooked. Though Dalepak has been under the ownership of Northern Foods since 1998, it was founded in 1976 in Yorkshire and shot to fame in the early Eighties as the inventor of the veggie burger.

No wine if you're over the limit

Since Pennsylvania has some of America's strictest rules on alcohol consumption, it seems an odd place for the launch of street-based wine vending machines. These, however, are machines with a difference. Not only do you have to insert your driving licence to prove you are who you say you are (and that you're old enough to buy booze), a video link to the vending company's HQ verifies that you are who you say you are – but there is also an inbuilt breathalyser that will prevent you buying anything if you're already a little squiffy.

Sponsoring the men in black

The Premier League welcomes a new name to its ranks this season, which kicks off properly on Saturday. The referees have a new sponsor, Tune Group. The Malaysian business owns the budget airline AirAsia and a hotel chain, which is due to open its first London site shortly, and its logo will adorn the shirts of the men in black. Presumably the marketing folk at Tune don't share the old footballing adage that a ref has had a good game if he hasn't been noticed.

businessdiary@independent.co.uk