Business Diary: Cable still paying 'rogue institution'

Not a bad week's work then for Vince Cable, who has returned from the Lib Dems' annual conference with his halo repolished, courtesy of attacks on fat cat pay and his old foes the bankers. On the latter front, the UBS rogue trader scandal arrived just at the right time – enabling him to slam the bank as a "rogue institution". Not rogue enough for the bank to be dropped as lead adviser to Mr Cable on the privatisation of Royal Mail, you understand, which the Business Secretary was also banging on about in Birmingham.

Amazon staff feeling the heat

We're delighted, of course, that in these difficult economic times, Amazon is creating lots of jobs with its new distribution plant in Dunfermline. Just one word of advice to would-be employees, however – buy yourself a fan before next summer. Amazon is coming in for a spot of bad publicity in US newspapers at the moment after temperatures soared at one of its fulfilment centres in Pennsylvania during a recent heat wave – some staff had to be taken to hospital.

Unilever faces a spot of bother

Poor old Unilever – the conglomerate's executives were pleased as punch when its UK and Ireland chairman, Amanda Sourry, had been invited to hand out gongs and make the keynote speech at the Britain's Most Admired Company Awards yesterday afternoon. The shine was rather taken off the day out by the fact that many of Unilever's own staff were keen to make it known that they don't admire their own company – by picketing the event in a protest about changes to their pension scheme.

Entrepreneurs stay on the rails

To Sheffield, for the latest event in StartUp Britain, a rolling promotion designed to encourage more people to start their own companies. Sheffield yesterday hosted The Entrepreneur Festival, a conference at which successful entrepreneurs – everyone from Dragon's Den judge Peter Jones to James Averdieck, the founder of Gü Puds – passed on their tips. Hundreds of them were shipped up to the bash on a special train, which East Midlands Trains christened The Entrepreneur Express for the day. Amazingly, it didn't break down.

businessdiary@independent.co.uk