* The lead story on all UK news bulletins today is the government's sale of Newcastle-based bank Northern Rock to Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Money. The Rock was the first UK victim of the financial crisis. Virgin wanted to buy it when the crisis hit, but failed to agree terms. The price agreed now, £747 million, means the taxpayer takes a big hit on the deal, but Virgin's expression of confidence, given all the doom and gloom at the moment, is important, at least symbolically. And, just in case wrong stuff starts to appear in the media, no, a sale like this doesn't automatically reduce the budget deficit.
Given Newcastle's well-earned reputation as Party Central, there must be all sorts of jokes to be made about Virgins, but we're above that sort of thing here.
* About the sixth item on the radio news bulletins this morning, and warranting only one sentence, was the report that UK retail sales rose 0.6% in October. Pop quiz folks: if sales had fallen 0.6%, do you think it would still have merited sixth place and only a single sentence? Me neither.
* FIFA President Sepp Blatter's cretinous comments about racism in football have attracted well-earned contempt from all quarters. Amazingly, Blatter has attempted to respond by posting a picture of himself hugging a black politician, the wonderfully-named South African, Tokyo Sexwale. Unsurprisingly, Sexwale jumped to the top of the Twitter trending topics list, where one wag has dubbed him "Blatter's Biggus Dickus". Sexwale, a businessman as well as an ANC stalwart, is one of the richest black men in South Africa, which means he's pretty damn rich. Second pop quiz then: does Tokyo Sexwale get his picture taken with Sepp Blatter (a) because he's black or (b) because he's rich.
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