Credit crisis diary

Canary Wharf knows how to pick 'em

Does Canary Wharf Group want the good news or the bad? Well, for investors in the property company inclined to be optimistic, it's fortunate that Canary Wharf has insurance that pays out in the event of Lehman Brothers defaulting on the rent it pays for 25 Bank Street, its 1 million sq ft European headquarters (a not inconsiderable £53 per square foot a year from November's rent review onwards). Here's the downer: which insurer's name is on the policy? You've guessed it – good old AIG.

Same bank, different type of queue

The past few days may have been dramatic, but the most enduring image of this crisis remains the queues round the block of Northern Rock savers trying to get their cash back. How times change – yesterday those queues were back at some Rock branches, but this time people were desperate to stash their cash with the Government-backed savings bank, now the safest bet going in these torrid times.

Revenge is sweetfor HBOS

What goes around comes around. The US hedge fund Harbinger profited handsomely from its strategy of selling HBOS short earlier this year. Nothing wrong with that, but HBOS was certainly left feeling sore. So the chaps from Halifax and Edinburgh may be pleased to know the identity of the investment bank that lent much of the HBOS stock necessary for Harbinger to do the trades. Step forward Lehman Brothers.

So near for Misys and yet so far

A nasty case of collateral damage. Is Misys the unluckiest company in business? After years of difficulties that almost finished it off at one stage, the healthcare software group finally seemed to have put its problems behind it with a recovery plan and then a merger with Allscript, its US rival. Oops: the deal is now under pressure because almost all of the cash underpinning it was coming from Lehman. A deal can still be done, says Misys, but next Monday's extraordinary general meeting for shareholders to okay the merger has been suspended until 6 October as the search for new finance begins.

Rooney's chance to stop the credit crunch

The UK's consumer watchdogs are missing a trick. When West Ham United lost at West Brom last week, they were wearing shirts with a patch to obscure the name of their sponsor, the defunct travel group XL. Why on earth didn't the patch carry the helpline number for Atol, the compensation scheme? Still, if AIG goes under, the Financial Services Authority may get its chance at Manchester United's Champions League match this evening. Watch out for Wayne Rooney's shirt advising fans to call the Financial Service Compensation Scheme for a refund of their insurance premiums. Alternatively, the Man United first team could hand over a week's wages – that ought to solve the credit crisis in a stroke.