Business Diary: The City's speed merchants

Congratulations to Chris Busaileh, who won Thursday evening's 5km Standard Chartered Great City Race in a stunning time of 15 minutes and 35 seconds.

Busaileh, the internet reveals, is a keen amateur runner with Herne Hill Harriers, so Speechly Bircham, the City law firm that employs him, will have had high expectations. And well done too to Standard Chartered's Ben Shearer, who came second only 13 seconds behind, for realising that it really would not have done for an employee of the event organiser to cross the tape first.

Building society boss on a bike

The Standard Chartered event was held to support a very worthwhile charity, Seeing Is Believing, but before the 6,500 participants congratulate themselves too warmly, they ought to know that while they ran five kilometres in aid of a good cause, Iain Cornish, the chief executive of Yorkshire Building Society, has just clocked up 172 miles on a bike in support of the Alzheimer's Society. Cornish has only recently announced his retirement from Yorkshire – he'll no doubt be glad to spend a little more time with his saddle sores.

Enjoy the big bang all over again

Roll up, roll up: the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment invites you to an evening event at Drapers' Hall in the heart of the City in October. The occasion is the 25th anniversary of the "big bang", the moment in 1986 when the Thatcher government's deregulation of the City transformed the Square Mile overnight. Some people trace the origins of the financial crisis back to that moment but no matter – dig out your sharpest suit and your largest mobile phone, and prepare to party.

The cost of poor spelling

Have you been wondering why your website is failing to clock up sales at anything like the rate you expected? Well, maybe it's time to check your spelling. Internet entrepreneur Charles Duncombe, who has made a study of online businesses, reckons a single spelling mistake on a website can cut trade in half – because people take it as a sign that the site has been set up by fraudsters rather than professionals who ought to know better.

businessdiary@independent.co.uk