Many people thought the low point of Japanese electronics firm Sharp was sponsoring Manchester United's shirt (but that's football fans for you) but it has surely hit a new low.
Shareholders are set to be wiped out by a restructuring that will see banks provide US$1.7bn of bailout funds, swapping debt for equity. It is the second restructuring by Sharp in the last three years.
The bailout is not quite of Greek proportions, but is still hefty … talking of Greece, Germans apparently piled into gold in the first quarter of the year on fears Greece will default on its debt.
Gold is often seen as a haven for risk-averse investors and the price tends to harden in times of crisis. The Indian population must be feeling relaxed, however, as demand from the sub-continent rose 15% as India, the world's largest consumer of gold, relaxed its import restrictions on the yellow metal.
On the other hand, consumption of gold jewellery in China declined due to a slowing economy, the World Gold Council said in its quarterly report.
Elsewhere in the metals sector, resources firm Vedanta might be regretting diversifying into oil, as it took a US$4.5bn write-down related to its Indian oil and gas business.
Vedanta bought a controlling stake in Cairn India from Scottish energy firm Cairn Energy, and its timing could hardly have been worse, as oil prices have halved in the last year.
One week into the new Conservative administration and we have our first high profile strike – though, having said that, I think there has also been a “winter of discontent” strike by refuse collectors in east London that is probably very high profile for those affected by it.
ITV's “Good Morning Britain” was hit by industrial action this morning, but it's not all good news … unions are apparently held a protest outside ITV's (LON:ITV) annual general meeting today featuring a Simon Cowell lookalike.
Among the small caps making the news is Greatland Gold (LON:GGP), which is almost where we came in, or it would be were today's announcement about gold, but it isn't; it is about nickel sulphide.
The Aussie firm said its ground electromagnetic survey to identify nickel sulphide targets is complete, and one “very substantial nickel sulphide bedrock conductor (an area of highly conductive material in the bedrock)” has been identified, as well as three others that require drill testing.
Tungsten (LON:TUNG) sounds like it ought to be minerals company, but it is in fact a specialist in electronic invoicing and invoice financing.
It managed the unusual feat of issuing whatever is the opposite of a profits warning – a profits guidance upgrade, perhaps – and seeing its share price tumble, as it said its chief executive officer (CEO), Edmund Truell, will be giving up the role to concentrate on trotting the globe, networking with potential clients and partners, and generally driving the global roll-out of Tungsten's platform.
As the public face of Tungsten since it floated in October 2013, the change of role will be of concern to shareholders, but his successor, Richard Hurwitz, currently CEO (Americas) and head of Global Client Development, sounds like just the sort of person you'd want with his hand on the tiller, given his operational experience.