Business diary: The Falcones' pig misses out on his afternoon strolls

Philip Falcone and his wife Lisa Maria haven't been short of a bob or two since the hedge fund mogul made billions betting on the sub-prime mortgage crash. But they have problems too, Lisa Maria tells W, the fashion magazine. She no longer feels comfortable taking Wilbur, her pet pig, for walks in the park. "One day I had somebody taking a picture of me and the pig," she explains. "I thought, Oh, my God! I can see it now. My husband will lose his whole business, and it will be me, the pig, five dogs, a cat and my daughters out on the street, no place to live!"

A change of gear to get ahead of the pack

So you want to get ahead in business? Well, dump the golf clubs and buy a bike, says stockbroking firm Rensburg Sheppards. The firm is so convinced of the two-wheel revolution that its Sheffield office has launched a cycling club where professionals can do business from the saddle, because "cycling is challenging golf as the preferred sport for business networking".

When everyone wants to watch the big match

An urgent memo to HR bosses everywhere. "Nine out of 10 employers have no plans in place to help manage staff absence during the forthcoming World Cup," says the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. When it says "help manage staff absence" the CIPD presumably means "help work out who is really ill and who has chucked a sickie to watch the big New Zealand v Paraguay clash".

The market meltdown that never happened

Sky News no doubt expected to have a front-row seat for a stock market crash yesterday, sending its anchors to broadcast live from a City dealing room. The only hitch being that the markets refused to play ball: rather than collapsing because of Britain's political uncertainties, share prices soared on the European Union financial stabilisation deal.