The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is a vital agent of the state. Some of our brightest administrators analyse reams of complex data and utilise their formidable intellectual skills in the dextrous operation of the country's economic levers. So it was with some distress that Business Diary noted the battle between Andrew Sentance and his PDA at a recent hearing of the Treasury Committee. After several ringing interruptions, Sentance, defeated, was forced to hand over his PDA to a bag-carrier. He sheepishly told MPs: "There is a fault on my phone, it doesn't seem to switch off." Let's hope he handles quantitative loosening with greater ease.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is a vital agent of the state. Some of our brightest administrators analyse reams of complex data and utilise their formidable intellectual skills in the dextrous operation of the country's economic levers. So it was with some distress that Business Diary noted the battle between Andrew Sentance and his PDA at a recent hearing of the Treasury Committee. After several ringing interruptions, Sentance, defeated, was forced to hand over his PDA to a bag-carrier. He sheepishly told MPs: "There is a fault on my phone, it doesn't seem to switch off." Let's hope he handles quantitative loosening with greater ease.

Red green rules halt America's bold horse HURDLES are being put in the way of the Bold Horse. Rapidly developing China has a rather shaky record on environmental issues. But even it has blanched at the idea of being responsible for the gas-guzzling Hummer, known as the Bold Horse in Chinese. The Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corporation is in talks to acquire the division of General Motors that makes the pseudo-military monsters so favoured by rap stars and others with more money than taste. But leaks from the Chinese Government's planning department indicate it intends to reject the bid because the vehicles conflict with Beijing's conservation goals.

Stanford detained after brief encounter

Texan billionaire - at least for a few more months - Sir Allen Stanford has had a rapid fall from grace. Stanford, up in court for charges relating to an alleged $7bn investment swindle, said he couldn't afford the necessary $500,000 bond for release on bail because authorities had seized all his assets, including his underwear. The judge decided he was too much of a flight risk to let him remain free. He would certainly have travelled light.

Have a cold beer and forget about hunger
The moronity of TV advertising has conquered one of the last burble-free outposts. In an apparent first, North Korea, a country that struggles to feed its 24 million people, has aired a beer commercial on state TV. The three-minute film shows a grinning Korean man with a sweaty face holding a glass of beer, with the caption: "Taedong River Beer is the pride of Pyongyang." The commercial said the beer relieves stress and improves health and longevity. With an average per capita income of $1,065 it's not clear how many of its people will be able to afford one.

Employees seek Phair deal in bid to buy firm
Just about every day of the calendar has been snapped up by some cause or other. But why did the already rather low-profile International Co-operative Association decide to adopt July 4 as its day? Presumably after US Independence Day, Christmas was second on the group's shortlist. It's a shame because the co-operative movement has a good story to tell at a time when doubts are being raised about the way many publicly-quoted companies are being run. Some 21,000 Scots work for employee-owned firms, including John Lewis, Loch Fyne Oysters, and Tullis Russell. These numbers could expand if others follow the decision of engineering boss Frank Phair to sell his North Lanarkshire-based Stewart Buchanan group to its 156 employees.