Credit crisis diary: Man United fans rue the pound's decline

Much anger among financially savvy Manchester United fans. It's not so much that star player Ronaldo is going to Real Madrid, but that every media report on the subject keeps banging on about how the Spanish club overtook the Red Devils as the richest club in the world last year. True, of course, but Man United fans point out this was only the case because the pound weakened so much against the euro during 2008. Had sterling traded at more normal levels, Man United would have retained the title.

Apprentice loser needs legal advice

Is Trinity Mirror heading for a lawsuit? Debra Barr, who missed out on the final of BBC 1's The Apprentice by a whisker, previously worked for the media company, and it was from there that references were taken up. Those references, the show revealed, were a little less than flattering, and Debra then missed out on the final. Lawyers point out that Trinity could now find itself open to legal action over the potentially slanderous nature of many of the comments made by her ex-colleagues.

US lawmakers' losses revealed in full

Talk about a conflict of interest. It turns out that leading US politicians, including the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and 18 members of the House Financial Services Commission, were hugely invested in many of the firms which the authorities bailed out last year. Pelosi, for example, lost a six-figure sum as AIG collapsed in value, while others had investments in Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. All received bailout money.

Some diners still have money to burn

Another green shoot. When the recession first struck, the City restaurant Vivat Bacchus wasn't surprised that all interest dried up in the £1,000 tasting menu it originally devised following a record round of bonuses for bankers in 2007. In the past month, however, Gerrie Knoetze, the restaurant's provider, says he has had a string of requests to revive the menu.

Send them back to spelling school

Red faces at the BBC, which carried a series of reports on the West Bromwich Building Society yesterday, only to repeatedly spell the Midlands town's name wrong in its sub-titles. Forgetting the "W" in Bromwich is easily done of course, but you look a little silly when the only pictures you have to illustrate the story are of the society's head office, with its name in huge letters.

businessdiary@independent.co.uk