The former boss of HBOS could get into a pickle when he faces the banking standards commission

The last time erstwhile HBOS boss Andy Hornby appeared in front of MPs with his old chairman Lord Stevenson, all did not end well for Hornby’s predecessor Sir James Crosby.

The knight had to resign from the Financial Services Authority’s board after his clueless old colleagues were savaged by the Treasury select committee in 2009. The key turned out to be testimony supplied by HBOS whistleblower Paul Moore – whom Crosby had allegedly fired, seemingly for saying HBOS’s model was too risky.

So what will Crosby’s mood be this week, with the trio appearing in front of the banking standards commission? These sessions have tended to be less aggressive than the old TSC grillings, but that does not preclude the former boss of the former bank getting into a pickle. Crosby has shown a predilection for embarrassment, and not just via a touching devotion to his Terry Nutkins tribute coiffure.

Crosby, of course, joined funnyman Mark Thomas in 2008 by being awarded an honorary gong by Bradford University, which the Bradford Telegraph & Argus reported was for his: “contribution to financial services and, in particular, in recognition of his achievements as chief executive of Halifax, then HBOS”. That report was headlined: “Comedian to get honorary degree.” Quite.

Every little ad man helps struggling Tesco

Tesco has always been famous for its adverts, whether they featured Dudley Moore searching for roaming chickens or Prunella Scales returning a trout because she thought it seemed sad.

But it’s not just the fish that have looked grumpy this year, following the group’s first profit warning in 20 years in January, and as part of the fightback the grocer has switched advertising agencies from The Red Brick Road to Wieden & Kennedy.

Its first efforts show the creatives at least possess a love of irony. One Christmas ad is backed by the Kaiser Chiefs’ I Predict a Riot (many more years like this one and shareholders might consider it) while another invokes the Thunderbirds countdown – which will seem a neat gag this week when the grocer unveils third-quarter results and outlines the size of the international rescue required at its overseas operations.

Eastern Europe looks particularly tough, while Morgan Stanley predicts UK like-for-like sales will fall too, yet one Tesco stalwart is undiminished. The “Every Little Helps” slogan remains, as Tesco says it has “never been more relevant”. As this week’s figures should show, it’s not kidding.

So good they held it twice

Which is the odd one out? Cyber Monday, Santa Claus or a solution to the eurozone crisis?

The answer is a eurozone solution. It’s a long shot, but it might prove the only one that actually exists.

This may come as a nasty shock to all those innocent souls who adore the festive anticipation as they await Cyber Monday each year – a marketing ruse invented in America (where else?) which is supposed to mark the busiest online shopping day of the year.

In the US it comes on the Monday after Thanksgiving – initially intended as a way of flogging off anything left after Black Friday. In the UK, it takes place on the first Monday in December – which is usually the same thing, but this year we are celebrating our big day tomorrow, a week after the US.

If you’re sceptical about why Americans and Brits go online shopping on different days, you may be on to something. Internet retailers don’t have any convincing explanations about why Cyber Monday will be their busiest day, or even if it really will be. A PC World spokesman muses: “It will be one of the busiest. It is going to be busy between now and Christmas” – an insight that suggests he’s wasted flogging PlayStations. Such cogent analysis may eventually provide the breakthrough in the eurozone.