Credit

Jonathan Taylor is returning to Whitehall. The former senior executive at UBS is to become managing director of financial services at the Treasury in the new year. He previously has served as private secretary to Nigel Lawson and in other senior Treasury roles.

Debit

Nicola Horlick’s career as a City fund manager appears to be over. Bramdean Asset Management, formed two years ago by her, has sold the contract to manage assets on behalf of Bramdean Alternatives, a listed vehicle. This leaves Ms Horlick with only a slice of pension assets to administer and Bramdiva, her consultancy for rich women.

Exceptional items

• A French hotel is offering guests the chance to live like hamsters. The hotel in Nantes has a suite, the “Hamster Villa”, where they will be fed on hamster food, exercise on a giant wheel and sleep in haystacks.

• John Stewart, who ran the Woolwich building society until its 2000 takeover by Barclays Bank, has been lined up as chairman of Legal & General.

• Goldman Sachs has promoted 272 staff to the ranks of its managing directors. For the second year running, they are not being named because of concerns over the general unpopularity of bankers.

• Richard Lambert, the CBI Director-General, has expressed his concerns over the influence that hedge funds and other short-term investors will have in the hostile bid for Cadbury and suggested that their voting rights should be restricted.

• The latest celebrity chef is Clara Cannucciari, 94, whose Great Depression Cooking videos, of recipes she recalls from the Depression, have become an unlikely hit on YouTube.

• Richard Baker, the former head of Boots, has emerged as the leader of a £1.5 billion private equity bid for Matalan, the fashion retailer.

• The man ejected as chief executive of Reed Elsevier this month has suffered a second blow. Ian Smith has been denied a place on the board of Centrica, despite being some way through the selection process.

• Fear of rising crime caused by mass unemployment has triggered a surge in gun sales in America, with manufacturer Smith & Wesson expecting to nearly doubles sales.

• Archie Norman, chairman-designate of ITV, will come under pressure from shareholders to clear out non-executive directors at the broadcaster.

• The sale of assets owned by Bernard Madoff and his wife has raised more than $1 million (£600,000) for the victims of his Ponzi scheme.

• Lord Myners, the City Minister, has called on bankers determined to ignore new rules on bonuses to leave mainstream banking.

• Lazards has taken the safe option in replacing Bruce Wasserstein as chairman after his death on October 14, elevating Kenneth Roberts, the chief executive, to the role.

• Halfords is trying to shed its “blokey” image and appeal more to women and families, David Wild, its chief executive, said. The car parts retailer is seeking to expand female-friendly online sales and stock more products aimed at familys, such as child seats.

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