Business Diary: 06/02/2010

AIG parties on despite the bonus furore

AIG can run, but it can't hide. After reading all about President Obama's displeasure about the huge bonus payouts made by the insurer, British holidaymakers in Tenerife this week were a little surprised to find 200 AIG staff indulging in a no-expenses-spared knees-up at the island's top five-star hotel.

Rocks for Tiffany over its Botswanan rocks

It isn't quite what Tiffany is used to. Global stores are being targeted by protests from Survival. The charity accuses Tiffany of funding the Botswanan government's activities on a reserve in the country where local bushmen have been badly mistreated since diamonds were found.

Broken hearts and empty wallets

A cautionary tale for lovebirds. The Office of Fair Trading has published a heart-rending note, ahead of Valentine's Day, warning that internet fraudsters have begun targeting online dating sites. The art of romance is truly dead.

Start as you mean to go on – or not

Best of luck to The London Weekly, the new paper that hit the capital's streets yesterday. It got people talking, though ridicule is the word that sums up the verdict of media watchers. Spelling Phil Tufnell's name wrong on the front page didn't help, and we like the top five records column with only four entries. Room for improvement, though.

British Gas's message undermined

The advertising department at the London Evening Standard should expect a call from British Gas, which this week paid through the nose to crow about its price cuts. The Standard placed the advert just under an article on the terrible tale of the two children killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in Corfu, headlined "Gas death family's agony".

Number of the day: 2,247

The number of homes sold in the UK by Bellway during the second half of last year – 12 per cent more than in 2008