City Spy: Faster, stronger... and lots more of it

Having supplied 130,000 Durex condoms to athletes at the 2004 Athens Games, the group is now giving 150,000 away for the London Games.

That's almost twice the 80,000 that China supplied for the Beijing Olympics four years ago.

Some 23,000 athletes and officials will be housed at the Stratford Olympic village. You do the maths...

*Take a calm, deep breath and don't get mad at this news. There are still places available for Beating Anger, a three-day intensive course. It's run by the British Association of Anger Management, which calls itself the UK's leading anger management expert. But perhaps it needs to think again about its acronym: BAAM. Hope the fee doesn't make potential attendees too angry - it's £620 plus another £23 for "training materials".

French fashion face-off

It may be London Fashion Week this week but French designers are already fighting it out on Bond Street. This week Chanel is hoping to get planning approval from Westminster for an all-singing, all-dancing new shop front to go head to head with French rival Louis Vuitton, which already has a very flash shop opposite. Chanel's design boss Karl Lagerfeld isn't known for his tact - last month he said Russian men were ugly and Grammy winner Adele was fat. Chanel should probably keep him away from the delicate planning meetings then.

Secker has another pop

If you fancy a laugh, tune into BBC 2 on Thursday evening for Wonderland: A Dad is Born. It's a documentary that follows three men, including "multi-millionaire trader Greg", in the weeks before and after their first child is born.

That would be "multi-millionaire trader" Greg Secker, the publicity-loving boss of Knowledge to Action, which actually offers courses teaching punters how to trade the financial markets.
The film's bumf adds: "[Since Greg] left his wife and baby son, his girlfriend's pregnancy offers a second chance to be the dad he wants to be." More like a cad is born, then.

*It's tough out there on the high street. Tough enough, in fact, for a judicious punter to risk a few quid on the next retail casualty to join the likes of Peacocks and Blacks Leisure. Bookmaker Stan James reckons HMV is more likely than not to go bust, offering slender 2/7 odds to those wanting to bet on it going under. Game's recent refinancing clearly hasn't impressed the layers either as the bookie makes the games and consoles retailer a 2/5 odds-on shot. There are more generous odds to be had elsewhere with Clinton Cards and JJB Sports 3/1 shots to call in administrators although travel giant Thomas Cook, forced to go cap in hand to its banks before Christmas, is a much slimmer 6/4.

*Here's how low those payday-loan operators go. Ferratum, which calls itself Europe's biggest online microloan lender, throws up a press release saying "a short-term loan is a convenient way to ensure lovers can show their affections". Ian Porter, sales manager, continues: "Britain's romantics might only need £50 or £100 to treat their loved one to a Valentine's gift or night out and a payday loan is the ideal solution." Yup, for someone looking for a 3113% APR. Ferratum isn't so lovey-dovey with its interest demands.