It's hard to determine who out of retail tycoon Sir Philip Green and Goldman Sachs is held in the least affection in the British media.
So, reports that the House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills select committee looks set to haul Goldman Sachs over the coals for its part in the sale by Green, for a nominal £1, of BHS, must have the hacks ordering in extra supplies of poison ink.
BHS, of course, is the retail chain that recently collapsed, leaving a massive black hole in its pension scheme.
Green has offered to contribute some money to help plug the hole but his contribution “would not even touch the sides”, according to some observers.
While the Daily Telegraph reports that the committee would likely invite Goldman Sachs to respond to questions on the controversial sale, the investment bank's stance is that it had “no formal role” in the sale of BHS to Retail Acquisitions, and did not earn a penny from it.
In other words, the so-called Vampire Squid's money funnel was not inserted into the deal at any stage.
BHS, founded in 1928, had a pensions deficit of £571mln when it went into administration. According to accounts filed at Companies Account, that deficit was only around £100mln in 2013; Green sold the chain in March 2015.
The media, as a general rule, has a much more appreciative – someone would say fawning – view of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), the maker of the iPhone, but hard-nosed businessmen such as billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn take a less sympathetic view.
Icahn has long since argued that, with its mountain of cash parked safely offshore away from the grabbing hands of some of the more stringent tax administrations, the company was undervalued.
he has changed his tune, however, and dumped his entire holding – 45.8mln shares - in the glamour stock.
He was evidently spooked by the prospect of China making it very difficult to compete in the People's Republic against local champions.
Down among the small caps, investors have been tuning into the recovery story of Superglass Holdings plc (LON:SPGH), the manufacturer of glass wool.
Underlying losses (LBITDA) in the six months to 29 February narrowed to £0.5mln from £1.9mln in the corresponding period a year earlier, and production costs per tonne reduced by 9% while distribution costs were 22% lower.
The company continues to trade broadly in line with management's expectations and with adequate cash headroom, which was enough to send the shares more than 7% higher.
The trading update from Flowgroup PLC (LON:FLOW) was less warmly received. The shares tanked 11% but the high-tech boiler maker remains optimistic about overcoming setbacks in its energy-generating boiler business as it increased customers in its energy supply arm.
Morses Club Ltd sounds like a private club in Oxford where a middle-aged senior policeman might go for a quiet pint, except he'd probably steer well clear of any organisation with such a cavalier disregard for the use of a possessive apostophe.
Morses is actually the UK's second largest home credit provider, specialising in loans of between £100 and £1,000.
It announced plans today to list on Aim, placing shares at 108p, which would value the company at £140mln. The existing owner, Perpignon Limited, will be cashing in £68.5mln of shares in the stock market listing.