Planet business

Laura Slatteryperuses the week in business

The numbers

EUR7 billion

– Cost of keeping AIB and Bank of Ireland in business. Coincidentally, it is also the size of IL&P's
temporary deposit with Anglo Irish Bank last September. So couldn't they have all have just sorted this messout by themselves?

£1 million

–Wow,the value of sterling must really have fallen through the floor if Eric Daniels, chief executive of
Lloyds Banking Group, is moved to describe his pay package as "relatively modest" without getting
beaten with sticks.

APOLOGIES OF THE WEEK:

"We are profoundly and, I think, unreservedly sorry at the turn of events."

– Ah, the "turn of events", impossible to foresee and therefore impossible to claim responsibility for: the subtext of this meaculpa from Lord Dennis Stevenson, former chairman of HBOS.

'While the causes are many, there is full acknowledgment that the sector must take its share of responsibility for the crisis.”

– Pat Farrell, chief executive of the Irish Banking Federation, isn’t in the running for this week’s Barack “I screwed up”Obama award for most unqualified apology.

“I don’t feel I am particularly personally culpable.”

Andy Hornby, former chief executive of HBOS, isn’t even trying.

GOOD WEEK

LiveNation/Ticketmaster

The shifting in music industry revenue streams from recordings to live events will gather speed if the agreed "merger of equals" between the world's biggest concert promoter and the world's biggest ticket seller is given the thumbsup by US competition authorities. The cosy new friendship between
the two companies has already attracted the fearsome ire of Bruce Springsteen (right), who warns it will expose music fans to a near-monopoly in gig ticketing. So handling fees aren't going away anytime soon then.

BAD WEEK

SirJamesCrosby

Financial regulators have asmuchjob security as a Premier League manager, with this week's casualty being deputy chairman of the UK Financial Services Authority and ex-chief executive ofHBOS. SirJames resigned after allegations that,when head of HBOS,he sacked head of risk
Paul Moore for warning the bankwas"going too fast". (An "independent" report found Moore's dismissal wasdue to "personality clashes".)