Richard Desmond, the owner of the Daily Express and OK! magazine, rarely gives interviews, after a parting of the ways with his PR man a couple of years ago.

Now, though, details about this year's accounts have emerged and, as usual, the story is about how much the proprietor is taking out of the business, buying a £17million Gulfstream only because the more expensive one wasn't available.

Of course, it is no longer so tax-efficient to pay £40million-plus into the pension fund and there are worrying precedents too. After all, the last media owner who liked a corporate jet was Lord Black of Crossharbour, although Express journalists can take comfort in the thought that Mr Desmond can at least afford it.

Ricky Hatton's points victory in his comeback fight in Manchester over the weekend was watched by 55,000 people. Interestingly, about 3,000 tickets were bought through Seatwave, an online broker, at an average cost of £100. Touting, like it or not, is moving rapidly into the mainstream.

The information memorandum for the sale of Reed Business Information by parent group Reed Elsevier has not been sent out to interested parties, despite talk that it would be ready to go in mid-May. While those involved insist the sale is on track and the memorandum is now “just weeks away”, concerns are being raised that a sale could be difficult to pull off in this credit-crunched market. Most of the parties interested in buying the business-to-business publishing assets are private equity groups, which may be having difficulty stretching to the £1.25billion needed.

At what point will Electronic Arts appreciate that it has to raise its bid for Take Two, the home of Grand Theft Auto IV, if it is to walk away with the prize? The shares ($26.97 yesterday) have hovered at or above the $25.74 offer price since the first sales figures for GTA IV emerged this month. Keeping a low offer open is a waste of time all round.

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