Current Account doesn't have any axe to grind in relation to Aminex and its hostile bidder, Ofex tiddler Apple Oil & Gas. It's hard to get excited about this particular affair, although no doubt Aminex shareholders might have a different view.

But last week's intervention in the affair by the Takeover Panel was a piece of high comedy, with Apple being forced ignominiously to withdraw some quotes it had borrowed from the Examiner and the Financial Times, which purportedly backed its case.

Surely it should have been clear to Apple, not to mention its broker Seymour Pierce, that newspaper comments on its offer - no matter how worthy - are never included in takeover documents in support of a bid. We journos pride ourselves on the wisdom of our words but do we count in the eyes of the Takeover Panel? Not really.

The words "schoolboy" and "error" spring to mind in this case. This sort of episode hardly enhances Apple's position as it tries to persuade Aminex shareholders that its "jam tomorrow" offer is worth their while.