Business Diary: Reuters users may feel the heat

City professionals depend on Reuters to provide them with a financial news service, paying top dollar so they don't miss out on breaking market-sensitive stories – and complaining bitterly about any glitches. Still, it would be churlish to have a go at Reuters for problems this week, which it is warning may follow "solar flares".

Sir Martin forced to reinvent the wheel

You can always depend on Sir Martin Sorrell to say something original – but when asked yesterday what shape the UK's recession and recovery was likely to take he had to think quickly. Other analysts have already taken the letters L, V, W and U. Still, the WPP boss was not to be outwitted. He reckons we face an "italicised L", whatever that means.

Football bosses in office own goal

The Football Association thought it would save a few quid by moving into cheap office accommodation at Wembley Stadium, quitting swanky premises in Soho Square, central London. But though the FA made the move earlier this month, it has been unable to find a tenant for the old place, on which a lengthy lease has been signed. The office is right next to the site where the Crossrail project is to build the new Tottenham Court Road station – and no one wants the disruption.

Buik forced to grovel to Starbucks

David Buik has put his foot in it yet again. BGC's market commentator often engages mouth before brain – yesterday he emailed City contacts complaining that Starbucks had turned down a request from troops in Afghanistan for coffee because the retail chain was opposed to the war. Seconds later a second Buik missive was sent out, apologising that he had fallen for an urban myth doing the rounds of the internet.

IT's bad boys head for the beach

Breathe easy folks: computer hackers take summer holidays too. Internet security specialist Tufin Technology, which has been busy doing market research at a conference for hackers in the US, says 80 per cent of hackers take the summer off.

Number of the day: 450k

People who have emailed Diageo protesting about the closure of a Johnnie Walker facility in Kilmarnock.

businessdiary@independent.co.uk