Some of us believe that one of the more pernicious trends over the past couple of decades has been a rise in the influence of big City PR firms, influence that seems to bear little relationship to their competence. Firms like Brunswick, for example, founded by Alan Parker.

On Wednesday this office received an e-mail from a junior at Brunswick. Jeremy Grime, an analyst at Arden Partners, had done a research note on Numis, the stockbroker, and got his numbers wrong. His “sell” recommendation was a mistake, and he would have to change it. Would the diary like to write up this story of City bungling? There was one problem with the story. It was utterly untrue, Grime told me.

Numis was quite happy with the note. I rang Brunswick. “I’m not going to get into a he-said, she-said argument,” said the person involved. Not good enough. A few minutes later I got this weasel-worded comment from a more senior staffer: “Of course, we respect the independence of analysts’ views and apologise if we’ve in any way misunderstood.”

Not exactly heartfelt, is it? And no explanation of how this “misunderstanding” happened. I spoke to Numis, where they were incandescent with rage, because they have a good relationship with Grime and no argument with his research.

I went back to Brunswick. Clearly, so had Numis. The same senior finally admitted that, yes, Grime was due an apology. This arrived yesterday. “We have apologised for this clear misunderstanding and we of course respect Jeremy’s independent views.” No apology to The Times for suggesting we defame an analyst whose views Brunswick took issue with. And no proper explanation of how this miserable business came about. But I think we can make up our own minds.

Bernanke sparks spot of hosiery-related hilarity

There is a long – even by American standards it is long – piece in The New Yorker about Ben Bernanke, head of the Federal Reserve. It describes his first meeting, as a shy academic, with President Bush as chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers. President Bush notices that Bernanke is wearing light tan Gap socks under his dark suit. “They don’t match,” says the President, who mentions the socks throughout the meeting. The next month, in the Oval Office, the entire economics team turn up in light tan socks. Bush turns to Dick Cheney. “Mr Vice-President, what do you think of these guys in their tan socks?” Cheney rolls up his trousers. He is wearing tan socks, too. Bush breaks up.

— From the e-mail yesterday to staff from Brady Dougan, chief executive of Credit Suisse, announcing 5,300 redundancies in the bank: “Today, we announced a number of strategic measures to reflect the continuing evolution of the financial markets over the past year.” Surely a message that, in its studied understatedness, rivals Emperor Hirohito’s broadcast to his subjects announcing Japan’s surrender in the Second World War: “The war has developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage.”

— I am taken mildly to task by Nicola Horlick’s people for suggesting that she failed to spot the credit crunch beforehand. They forward a note from her Bramdean fund manager in June talking of “difficult investment decisions” in the next few years. Credit where credit’s due; but I’m not sure such a forecast last June quite adds up to Godlike omniscience. Now June 2006 would be a different matter . . .

— Citigroup has, at late notice, cancelled a Christmas party for its equities and research divisions. Officially, it is for the usual political reasons; but wags on the Here Is The City website say that in the formerly 400-strong equities side, there are no longer enough people to constitute a party.

Stormproof
In the blue corner: Vince Cable

One man who has had a very good credit crunch is Vince Cable, the Lib Dems’ ballroom dancing-mad economics spokesman and MP for Twickenham since 1997.

Cable has this year suffered twin humiliations. He was denied a part in the next series of Spitting Image because he failed the “public recognition test”, meaning no one knew who he was. And that was after his “Stalin to Mr Bean” quip about Gordon Brown. He was also turned down by the BBC for an appearance on Strictly Come Dancing, his dearest wish, apparently because they didn’t want any politicians.

But on Northern Rock and other developments in the credit crunch saga, Cable has shown an almost Robert Peston-style ability to stay ahead of his rivals. Yesterday he revealed that he is writing a book about the crisis. It was to have been called The Storm. The title was then amended to The Hurricane. Latest working title: The Tsunami. How about saving time and settling, once and for all, on The Apocalypse?

Got a diary story? city.diary@thetimes.co.uk

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