Business Diary: So how big is Roubini's flat?

Will the saga of Nouriel Roubini's property dealings ever end? Last week, we reported that the gloomy economist had put his swanky New York pad up for rent after failing to sell it, even after cutting the price by a whacking $100,000.

Now Felix Salmon, a Reuters journalist who used to work for Roubini, is having a bit of fun with the listing of the apartment in question. On his widely read blog, Salmon takes issue with the claim it is 1,300 square feet – more like 939 square feet if you add the room listings together, he argues.

Time to move closer to work

Bankers wondering where to spend the bonuses their bosses are about to hand them (despite public outrage) could do worse than look at the property market closest to their offices. LSL Property Services reports that London house prices rose at an annual rate of 8.1 per cent in the final quarter of last year, with increases seen in all but one of the capital's 33 boroughs. The only under-performer – and which you might therefore see as representing value – was Tower Hamlets, home to Canary Wharf and a stone's throw from the City.

businessdiary@independent.co.uk