Business Diary: Dragon's Den man goes off-message

A curious lack of loyalty from the Dragon's Den star Peter Jones, who appears in advertisements for the price comparison website
moneysupermarket.com. Though that company also owns the website
travelsupermarket.com, Jones had no worries about telling the world that he uses rival travel deal site
skyscanner.net. He made the comment to Skymag, the magazine for subscribers to Sky TV (no relation).

A glamorous job vacancy – in Dubai

Working for a travel guide is one of those jobs that sounds glamorous, and there will no doubt have been much interest in an advert from Time Out, posted online yesterday, looking for editors for new products in the Middle East. But do you really want to be posted to Dubai in the middle of the latest financial crisis? Maybe not so glamorous after all.

Retailer's favourite festive story

As children across the nation began opening advent calendars, Britain's toy salespeople were doing their best to stoke up that perennial favourite: a story about shortages of must-have gifts. Character Group claimed parents could miss out on the Go Go Hamster, which it distributes in the UK and reckons will be the "biggest thing since Ninja Turtles". Buy now while stocks last.

Keeping it in the family at the FRC?

Sir Christopher Hogg, chairman of the Financial Reporting Council, has published his latest review of UK corporate governance standards. But a quick glance at the FRC website suggests a cosy relationship at the top of the FRC itself – Sir Christopher's deputy is Baroness Sarah Hogg. It is, however, another coincidence: the two are not related.

Silvio strikes a blow against Rupert

Round one to Silvio Berlusconi in his spat with Rupert Murdoch. The Italian PM's Mediaset business is facing a challenge from Murdoch's News Corp, which is pushing Cielo, a free digital-TV channel. But the launch yesterday had to be put back after the necessary permits from Mr Berlusconi's government didn't come through in time.

Number of the day: 4.4

The number of times, on average, that stories from US newspapers are reproduced on other websites

businessdiary@independent.co.uk