Business Diary: Has Lord Sugar met his match?

So what exactly has Lord Sugar done to upset Charlie Mullins, the self-styled plumbing entrepreneur who runs Pimlico Plumbers. Mullins professes himself furious about the great man's recent attack on Nick Clegg (he said the LibDems in government was like "Leyton Orient suddenly being planted in the Champions League"). "Talk about notknowing when to keep your gob shut," complains Mullins, before accusing Lord Sugar, who had a long spell as chairman of Spurs, of "crippling Tottenham for a decade".

Osborne reveals his horse sense

We can argue all day long about his policies, but George Osborne has made at least one eminently sensible move. In his early years as Labour's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown made a habit of winding up many in the City by scheduling the Budget for the week of the Cheltenham Festival, the racing meet to which many in finance are so keen to decamp. Osborne has been a little more savvy, scheduling next March'sBudget for the week after the festival. It makes sense to keep the City boys onside.

Vedanta wise after the event

And people say that big business doesn't listen. Vedanta Resources, the London-listed Indian mining company, has just appointed a chief sustainability officer. "Antony Henshaw comes with 30 years of global experience in the cement and oil and gas sectors," the company explains proudly in announcing its new hire. Andanyone who suggests it might have been an idea to beef up the sustainability office before all those high-profile rows with environmentalists in India is just being picky.

A briefs degree of success

What exciting lives these business tycoons lead. Theo Paphitis turned to Twitter to formally launch Boux Avenue, his new lingerie store (such was the response, Boux's sparkling new website promptly crashed). Presumably, he felt compelled to opt for a quick online announcement because of his other commitments. Having launched a new business on Thursday morning, he was due at Southampton University in the afternoon, to accept an honorary degree.

businessdiary@independent.co.uk