The devastation that has hit the housing market is hardly a cause for festive cheer, so it is good to see that Pete Redfern, the chief executive of Taylor Wimpey, has not lost his sense of humour.

In an e-mail to staff, leaked to Construction News, the trade journal, Redfern is in decidedly skittish mood. “Given that our share price is 'somewhat volatile' and that over the last few weeks we had more press coverage than if Angelina Jolie gave birth to Siamese twin chimpanzees, I thought it was time for a further update.”

Actually, far from being the usual boring “man the battlements” rallying cry, the memo contains a lot of useful information. He notes that the company had had “a very productive couple of weeks on our debt negotiations with our banks and US lenders”, which he says has “significantly increased our confidence of reaching an acceptable solution for the company”.

One analyst suspects that the memo was a clever ploy to allay fears over the company's future: “It could be that Redfern expected this e-mail to be leaked and it is a parting shot to the City before it closes for Christmas.”

Looks like 'same again' for thirsty Vijay Mallya

Is there no end to Vijay Mallya's thirst for acquisitions? The entrepreneur, who owns Kingfisher lager, said this week he would be interested in the UK operation of Cobra Beer, being sold by Lord Bilimoria. I wonder what Shepherd Neame, which brews Kingfisher under licence from Mallya's United Breweries, will make of the news.

With the public's faith in banks at rock bottom, marketing experts are pondering how the banks should start trying to rebuild their tarnished reputations. Ebiquity, a media company that monitors such things, has worked out that in the past month HSBC, HBOS, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB have spent £4.7 million on advertising in the national press. It puts the value of their press coverage over the same period at £25 million, although I'm not sure the figure is terribly relevant. Most coverage has been about bailouts, tumbling share prices, repossessions and chief executives' apologies. And snide diary items about staff parties.

A bizarre item on the financial crisis on Tuesday's edition of Newsnight. It featured Paul Mason, the show's economics editor, who is notorious for his hard-left views and for speaking at an event run by the Socialist Workers Party offshoot Socialist Unity, pacing Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms near the Treasury. It was left to Simon Wolfson, the youthful chief executive of Next, the high street retailer, to point out more soberly in the panel discussion afterwards: “We're in a recession - not a war.” Mind you, given the carnage that has engulfed many of his rivals, I hope that Wolfson had his fingers crossed.

Bonuses may be scarce, but there are lots of birdies. YourGolfTravel, the website, is offering golfers in the Square Mile a turkey with every booking. It claims to have sent out more than 250 so far, including several to the offices of a certain investment bank in Fleet Street.

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