Business Diary: Having your cake and eating it

Our congratulations to Matthew Kraeger, a BlackRock investment manager, who has just got hitched. In particular, he deserves a slap on the back for not being jilted at the altar. Why? Well, after organising a wedding cake in the shape of a Bloomberg computer terminal, complete with Post-it Notes, one could have forgiven his new wife for walking out before the start of the honeymoon. It's one thing being devoted to your work, but she might take this as a warning that he certainly intends to bring his professional life home from the office.

Holiday hell for firms in China

Planning on doing some business in China anytime soon? It might be best to give it a month or so. This year's calendar falls in an exceptionally unusual way, with a mix of traditional and modern holidays making for a rather broken-up working pattern over the next fortnight. To explain: the mid-autumn festival is followed by the week-long National Day break. Both holidays confusingly have working days in the middle of them. Don't be too surprised if no one answers the phone when you call.

JP Morgan opens the floodgates

As this newspaper revealed last week, JP Morgan is close to scrapping plans to build a brand new European headquarters in Canary Wharf, opting instead for a move into the old Lehman Brothers office which has been empty ever since it went under. Either way, staff must be desperate for a decision: a burst pipe on the trading floor of its current London office last week caused extensive damage.

Soros is blah-say on double dip

For decades now, the word of George Soros has been akin to the word of God in many circles. The views of the legendary hedge-fund manager are closely watched and his pronouncements often move markets in their own right. So, when he is asked about his latest view on the outlook for the US economy, we should listen. "If I had to sum it up in one word, I would say, 'Blah'," he says. Is that clear enough for you?

businessdiary@independent.co.uk