Credit crisis diary: Baugur's top brass eye the next opportunity

Jon Asgeir Johannesson and Gunnar Sigurdsson, the boys behind the troubled retail group Baugur, may be moving on. The Icelandic duo are understood to have registered a new company in the UK and even found office premises for the venture. No news yet on what the pair are planning, but the company does have a name. And "Carpe Diem" – seize the day – is certainly a fitting moniker for the opportunistic entrepreneurs.

Sounds of the City

Remember how the struggling real-estate developer Brixton Estates quoted lines from "All Along the Watchtower" by Bob Dylan in its first-half results presentation? Well, so do analysts at JP Morgan, who couldn't resist sticking the knife in after the sudden departure of the company's long-standing CEO, Tim Wheeler, this week. The quote of the day in their new report comes from that same Dylan track: "There must be some sort of way out of here/said the joker to the thief/There's too much confusion/I can't get no relief".

Rio Tinto doth protest too much

The spinning continues as Rio Tinto attempts to convince the world of the merits of its controversial deal with Chinalco. The company is quietly but firmly telling people that key shareholders are now swinging into line behind the fundraising, because its financial benefits outweigh their fears about loss of pre-emption rights. Meanwhile, those same shareholders are doing some spinning of their own – insisting just as firmly that they still don't back the deal.

How to stash your cash under the mattress

Top marks for marketing nous go to the furnishing group Feather & Black, which has launched a new range of beds with, wait for it, built-in safes for your cash and valuables. "Confidence in banks has hit an all-time low and fears of a recession crime wave have been raised by the Home Secretary," explains the company's md, Robbie Feather. Why didn't we think of that?

A good cause lives to fight another day

A rare piece of good news in these challenging times. Woolworths Kids First, the charitable trust whose future was threatened when the retailer collapsed, has been relaunched as the Kids First Trust. The charity, which supports primary and special schools around the UK, is now seeking new sponsors – find out more at www.kidsfirsttrust.org.

businessdiary@independent.co.uk