Smash hit

Toby carves out a niche with Facebook ‘friends’

The social networking site has generated half a million Christmas inquiries for Mitchells & Butlers’ brands

Tempus: DMGT breaks with tradition

Comparisons with DMGT’s newspaper rivals look increasingly out of place on the evidence

UK needs clear tax plan to be ‘fit for business’

Businesses need regime that allows flexibility to take commercial decisions without being hampered by tax complexities

Recollections of HBOS deal draw blank at No 10

Funny, we all got the idea at the time that Gordon Brown was rather keen on Lloyds TSB buying HBOS

A location you can bank on

The Bank of China plans to become the Bank of England’s neighbour in the City of London with the purchase of One Lothbury

Dubai World and properties built on sand

The state-owned conglomerate is seeking a six-month standstill on $60bn of debts, raising the prospect it may sell assets

Funds relieved at Sir David Walker’s line

His final report on the corporate governance lessons of the banking crisis backtracks on some of its original suggestions

Drop in trades shock at LSE

The days when the London Stock Exchange was a near-monopoly are over but its rivals have difficult decisions to make too

The future office — not an office at all

Companies will make use of city-centre facilities that are publicly available — coffee shops, restaurants, pubs, parks

The top traders don’t need luck, just grey hairs

A serious study by two Cambridge academics claims risk-averse traders do better than those who rely on testosterone

Tempus: Homeserve loves stormy weather

FTSE 250 domestic-repairs specialist is turning in double-digit gains in sales that it did before recession

Misjudged acquisition provokes frosty directive

The BBC Trust has told Worldwide: no more acquisitions and mergers, especially outside of its core business

Wm Morrison seeks successor to Marc Bolland

Speculation grows about candidates for supermarket job, with Waitrose boss Mark Price said to be among the contenders

Hedgies are learning the high price of freedom

Alternative Investment Management Association has hired Finsbury PR to lobby against a Brussels crackdown on hedge funds

Tempus: Mitie's orderly house bodes well

The FTSE 250 outsourcing specialist has lowered revenue forecasts, but investors believe that it can take slowdown in its stride

A rough ride ahead for National Express

The Cosmen family has been portrayed as being against a rights issue but support for their position appears to have grown

A fund of ideas with a frugal approach

Gordon Brown's 'Growth Capital Fund' seems to be a step back from the grandly titled 'National Investment Corporation'

A gush of party leaders woo the CBI

All three main political party leaders turned up at the conference to court British business and all were appropriately gushy

Globetrotting puts figures into perspective

One constant surprise for me is the emotional state of the discussions I encounter about the health of the UK economy

No time for Cadbury to show flakiness

The group is beginning to look like a victim in this drawn-out bid battle, not the iconic international confectioner that it is