Business Diary: When you're in a hole...

Vedanta doth protest too much, we think. The miner's annual report arrived in the office yesterday, accompanied by an equally weighty document explaining the Indian group's social responsibility efforts. Entitled "Samavesh" – which roughly translates from Hindi as "inclusive" – the report, sprinkled with pictures of smiling people, tries to temper Vedanta's challenging reputation (just ask the Church of England, which refuses to buy the group's shares). We note that Anil Agarwal, the chairman and majority owner, continues to refuse to break his silence on the various issues confronting Vedanta.

LSE enters the big league

Here's some advice from the London School of Economics for football managers wondering who to recruit for next season as the World Cup, the perfect showcase for international talent, draws to a close. While two-footed players tend to earn more, according to the LSE's research, the proportion of players comfortable using their left and right feet on a team doesn't seem to affect the points it gets during a season. Why the LSE has spent its time conducting this research isn't clear, but Premiership managers on tight budgets should read it.

Don't ban the kids' games

Still on the sporting front, are the folk at Essec, the French business school, touting for a spot of funding from Nintendo or another games company? They've put out a study showing that kids who play sporting video games are much more likely to play sport in real life too – neatly countering the perennial complaint of parents worried that consoles are turning their kids into fat couch potatoes.

Having fun with the Catalans

What is the Financial Times playing at? One can normally trust the "pink 'un" not to be too imaginative with headlines, preferring a sober summary for even the most exciting stories. But it has come over all tabloid. Its headline yesterday on a story about financial difficulties at one of Spain's leading football clubs? "Barce-loan-a."

businessdiary@independent.co.uk