Business Diary: Lion's share goes to wrong man

Our compliments to David Buik, the BGC Partners commentator who has been doing such sterling work defending the bankers and their bonuses in recent days. Still, yesterday's blog didn't quite make sense. Entitled "Bob Diamond – Androcles in the lion's den, I don't think so", Buik forecast there would only be one winner in the battle between Bob Diamond and the Treasury Select Committee: the Barclays man. But the point of the famous tale is that Androcles was the winner – he was pardoned in the gladiatorial arena after a lion which he had once cared for refused to attack him. Time to spend a bit of that City pay packet on a decent book of fables.

That's $5,000 sir, the fries are free

For bankers wondering where to spend their filthy lucre without the plebs hurling abuse at them, may we recommend Fleur, the latest addition to the Las Vegas restaurant scene. Its menu includes a $5,000 burger made from Kobe beef and topped off with foie gras and black truffles. For those wondering about whether this really represents good value – employees of Britain's state-backed banks need to justify lavish spending, after all – note that the price includes a bottle of Petrus 1995, worth $2,500, and free fries.

One Lib Dem gets way on bonuses

Still on the question of bonuses, at least the Liberal Democrats have been able to deliver on their pre-election rhetoric in Brussels – at least that is the claim of Sharon Bowles, one of the Lib Dems' MEPs. New rules on bonuses agreed for the European Union are now being rolled out across the bloc, she points out, adding very humbly that they were her idea in the first place.

LSE confesses fat fingers hit systems

More proof that cock-up rather than conspiracy explains most things. When the London Stock Exchange's trading system crashed in November, lurid stories did the rounds about rivals having sabotaged its computers, with the LSE itself citing "suspicious circumstances". Yesterday it conceded "human error" was to blame all along. "The incident has now been closed," the exchange added in a rather terse statement. No news on what has happened to the human in question.

businessdiary@independent.co.uk