Business Diary: Waitrose fails the spelling test

"What makes us different?" is Waitrose's catchphrase, and the grocer attempted to answer the question in different ways with banners at its store in the gleaming Westfield shopping centre in West London yesterday. A good idea, but next time a spell check might be helpful. "veryone [sic] who works for Waitrose owns Waitrose so we really care about the service and experience we give our customers," said one banner. Another added: "That means great tasting food that's ethically produced by people we trust and respec [sic]". A bit less trust and respect for the copywriting staff might be in order.

A message from history for Darling

Alistair Darling used yesterday's James Callaghan memorial lecture to spell out in detail how the Labour government has tried to stimulate the economy with fiscal boosts. Odd, given the venue. Did Darling forget Callaghan's famous speech? "We used to think we could spend our way out of recession," the then Labour Prime Minister told his party conference in 1976. "I tell you, in all candour, that that option no longer exists."

Not all sweetness and light at Cadbury

Kraft's tilt at Cadbury has prompted a string of tear-jerking stories about the chocolate company's social responsibility and its history of good employee relations. Easy to forget that just last week, staff at Cadbury voted to take industrial action over pay. "Workers told their employers to keep their buttons," Unite, their union, announced at the time.

Ahmed goes back to school for lessons

The hiring of Kamal Ahmed as business editor of the Sunday Telegraph raised a few eyebrows, given his lack of experience in the field. Now we hear that Ahmed, a former Observer journalist who has quit the Equality and Human Rights Commission for his new post, has been sent to London Business School to get a few pointers before he starts.

Not loving it

Bad news for McDonald's. The giant fast food restaurant chain has lost an eight-year legal battle to force a Malaysian eaterie, McCurry, to change its name.

Number of the day: £180m

Nielsen's estimate of the cost to the media industry of a ban on alcohol advertising, as called for by the BMA.

businessdiary@independent.co.uk