Credit crisis diary: Singing the blues

Picture the scene. It's Tuesday night at the O2 arena in London and the crowd is getting down at the Stevie Wonder gig. So too are the guests in every single executive box. Bar one, that is. Box 208 is empty – it belongs to Glitnir, the Icelandic bank nationalised just hours before. Presumably they couldn't get permission for such a jolly from their new paymasters. Maybe they'll be back for November's big attraction at the O2 – Disney on Ice is coming to town.

Tesco to bring finance to the world

Everyone knows Tesco is hell-bent on world domination, but do its plans for financial services expansion go much further than it has admitted? Why else did Mervyn Davies, one of the group's non-executive directors, feel compelled to stand down yesterday citing conflicts of interest with his role as boss of Standard Chartered Bank. The latter does almost no consumer-facing banking in the UK, Tesco's next big target – it makes most money from emerging markets. Look out for a Tesco Latin American fund management launch soon.

There's no need for language like that

It's a tricky one for those poor old Congressmen and women. Should they save the global economy by voting for the Paulson bailout plan, even if it means risking their seat come the November elections? Don't underestimate the strength of American public opinion when it comes to the contempt in which Wall Street is currently held – this picture of demonstrators outside the New York Stock Exchange, above, just about sums up the mood.

Head in the clouds?

You've got to admire the optimism of Content Kings, the publishers of Jet Magazine: a new mag for private jet travellers. It's a market one wouldn't expect to be expanding, what with all those rich bankers losing their jobs.

Someone else isalways worse off

Calling City workers in need of a few quid – the unsavoury Chance 4 Finance is offering £100 in return for the names and email addresses of five people who might need a "payday loan". The 1355 per cent typical APR might be steep, but still, needs must.