Business Diary: Economic commentators and lobby groups have developed a habit of sending off suspiciously lucid and accurate comment to journalists just seconds after the Bank of England announces its interest rate decisions.

ECONOMIC commentators and lobby groups have developed a habit of sending off suspiciously lucid and accurate comment to journalists just seconds after the Bank of England announces its interest rate decisions.

This week should have been particularly straightforward for the legions of press officers with their digits on the send button as the Bank met market expectations by slicing 50 basis points off base rates to take them to 1.5%.

Alas, the slippery-fingered spinners at the British Chambers of Commerce picked the wrong version.

"BCC: British business welcomes bigger-than-expected MPC rate cut" proclaimed the press release sent one minute after the bank made its announcement at mid-day on Thursday, followed two minutes later by a terse recall of the mistaken missive.

Poet pleases with corvid composition CONGRATULATIONS should go to the resident poet at the National Farmers' Union Scotland who produced a press release entitled "Farmer Relief as Raven Rules are Relaxed".

The adept alliteration of the elegant epistle lightened the rather macabre news that our cheerful cultivators were welcoming new rules making it easier for them to bag the bandit birds before they ate their lambs.

Stake and quips order of the day LITERARY wit was in no short supply this week, as Bruce Packard of Evolution Securities played down reports that Royal Bank of Scotland is apparently trying to sell its Bank of China stake.

"This is the equivalent of someone with a huge mortgage and negative equity trying to solve the problem by selling their iPod."

Costs riddle from no-frills airlines PASSENGERS are getting increasingly cynical about the thrills of the no-frills airlines.

A poll by one flight comparison website this week found that more than half of passengers believe operators are going to start charging them for going to the toilet. Given that few can afford the refreshments paying to pee might not be such a hardship.