Funny thing, coincidence. In the space of a few days, Olivant, Luqman Arnold's investment company, has hit the news not once, but twice.
First, there was the apparent suicide of Kirk Stephenson, the company's chief operating officer. He died a week ago when he was hit by a train near Taplow. Arnold, the CEO, said everyone at the firm had been “devastated by the news”.

Then it emerged that Olivant's shares in UBS were held in accounts at Lehman — and they have gone missing. Olivant has been in intensive discussions with Lehman and PwC, the bust bank's administrators, and it can't find them. This means Arnold, a former UBS executive who was stalking the Swiss giant, can't use the shares to vote at its shareholders' meeting today. The shares were used as security on borrowing from Lehman.

City Spy hears it was “in the small print” that they could be moved on, that Lehman could use them to raise cash. Arnold said: “We are fortunate that we are a private company, and a company which has substantial paid-up capital, which means that this is not a drama for us.”
Oh no? The shares have vanished and you can't vote? Sounds pretty dramatic. Did Stephenson know Lehman could take them? If not, why not? How did Arnold find out and how did he react? Questions, questions. Unfortunately, the COO cannot answer them.

* Can anyone explain the logic of the Irish Government's €400 billion guarantee to support local banks? The pledge applies to the UK branches of Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Banks and Anglo Irish Bank. It does not apply to the Republic of Ireland branches of the likes of Ulster Bank, Halifax or indeed, Barclays. But when you check the websites, Allied Irish Banks (GB) is regulated by our own Financial Services Authority while Barclays Bank Ireland is under the regulation of Ireland's Financial Regulator. To add to the confusion: the British Post Office's savings accounts are all now handled and run by Bank of Ireland so they are covered by the €400 billion guarantee.

Rothschild ignores crunch

Her relatives may be fretting about the banking crisis but Baronne Nadine de Rothschild shows there are alternative ways of coining it. A former actress and mother of the richest Rothschild — Baron Benjamin— she has set up her own website, offering riff-raff access to the Academy Nadine de Rothschild.

Dedicated to the “International Way of Life” she claims to provide them with a passport for that life. She will instruct them in, among other things, the art of conversation, how to create a well-dressed table, knowledge of wine and how to write the perfect letter. If they follow her advice they will be able to act with “confiance, courtoisie et sérénité”.

But Madame la Baronne has not forgotten the family tradition. So if you want to put a question to her, it will cost you. One question is €5, two questions are €10, three will set you back €15, and so on. There are no bulk discounts. You can't speak to her but you will get a reply by mail in three to four working days.

* Law firm Manches is adding eight lawyers to cope with the rush in divorces following the slump...

Lawyer who loves the Krays

Who is the employee of Addleshaw Goddard who describes the Kray twins as their “greatest heroes”? This intriguing question is raised by the law firm's decision to exhibit a collection of 1960s David Bailey prints in its offices.

Lawyer magazine reports that staff have queried whether a solicitors is the right place to display pictures of gangsters. But others take a different view, hence the question. However, another is said to be upset because the Krays killed someone they knew. Who was that, then? Frank “The Mad Axeman” Mitchell or George Cornell or Jack “the Hat” McVitie?

The partner at the firm (law firm, not The Firm) responsible for buying art, Jane Hollinshead, said: “The idea is to create things that will make people talk. I don't want it to be corporate.” Quite Jane, quite.

Hey, who are you calling a douche-bag?

Media commentator David Buik of BGC Partners gets a note from the US written by a Mr Aldridge. “Excuse me, but when did this douche-bag David Buik acquire the authority to spend
$1 trillion of the United States' taxpayer's money? You folks need to get his stupid ass off the television. I just saw him on Fox News chastising the American legislature for not doing what 80% of the voters in the US don't want them to do. You Brits can be socialists if you want, we are not. That's why we kicked your green-toothed asses out of here 200 years ago.”

Buik, perfect gent that he is, takes the time to respond: “Hello Mr Aldridge. I haven't been called a douche-bag for the best part of 40 years and such as it is worth, it does not offend me at all. However, what does offend me is being referred to as a socialist! Just for the record, politically I am probably to the right of Genghis Khan!”

We know David, we know.

* Politics the American way. The new improved Wall Street bailout plan contains attachments lobbed on by various Congressmen in return for a “yes” vote. Including this: A “Mental Health Parity” provision, which requires health insurance companies to cover mental illness in the same way they would a physical illness.

* It wasn't only New York brokers' profit and loss accounts that took a hammering on Monday following Congress's rejection of the $700 billion banks rescue. City Spy hears that no fewer than 70 of the handheld gizmos they use on the trading floor to record trades and relay them to their offices were hurled at the wall by angry dealers when news of the vote came through.

* From US chat show host Jay Leno: “I want to warn people in Nigeria who might be watching our show. If you get any emails from Washington asking for money, it's a scam.” And: “I'll give you an idea how bad the economy is. I wrote a $5 check over the weekend. The check was good, the bank bounced.”

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