The prospect of higher earnings kept Ladbrokes on a firm footing as the wider market struggled to find direction last night.

Having written a quartet of well-regarded racing thrillers, Graeme Roe has swapped fiction for fact with this collection of reminiscences from a high-class field of folk talking about their days to remember.

Bookmakers were were in focus last night, with William Hill and Ladbrokes advancing as traders studied the scope for further gains.

Was Stephen Hester expecting a rough ride from journalists or the public on arrival at yesterday's Treasury Select Committee hearing? If so, the RBS boss has discovered that working for the Government does have some advantages – with the help of staff at the Commons, Mr Hester was ushered in through a back entrance to the committee room, thereby avoiding the crowds.

Ronnie Wood's ex-girlfriend Katia Ivanova has said she dumped DJ Basshunter because he was "too clingy".

Outlook You win some, you lose some. The decimalisation of betting odds, unveiled this week, was seen as good news for bookies, enabling them to make a few pennies by offering meaner starting prices. Yesterday, however, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced less welcome news: a move to tighter regulation of online gambling offered to Britons by offshore operators.

Commuters can expect travel chaos tomorrow after forecasters predicted significant snowfall in the South-east of England. The Met Office issued a 24-hour severe weather warning for Friday, saying that travel networks might be affected.