Compiled by Laura Slattery

Quote of the Week . . .

"'Everything is much better now' is the line we were told . . . Nobody wanted to talk about the past and nobody wanted to accept any responsibility. Nobody would talk about how we opened up our borders to accept this kind of business and we didn't have the proper protection in place."

- MEP Mairéad McGuinness despairs at how victims of collapsed insurer Equitable Life were given short shrift by the regulators, both here and in the UK.

The Numbers. . .

1%Percentage of people who told recruitment firm Monster that they would stitch up their colleagues to get promoted. Let's play nice, people.

74%Percentage in the same survey who said they expected to be promoted as a reward for their hard work. (No sniggering at the back.)

€4 millionAmount taken home by Bank of Ireland chief executive Brian Goggin last year, a pay increase of 58 per cent.

Good Week . . .

Christine LagardeShe becomes the first female finance minister of a G7 country after a reshuffle in the French cabinet.

YouTubeIn a boost to show-offs, pranksters and nerds everywhere, the video-sharing site has launched local services in nine countries including Ireland.

StarbucksThe coffee house has struck a deal with Ethiopian coffee farmers to support and promote its specialist coffee types after a long-running row over the use of trademarks.

Bad Week . . .

BlackberriesFrench government officials have been ordered not to use hand-held Blackberry devices by the French security service amid fears that their e-mails may fall into foreign hands. Blackberry uses US and UK-based servers.

HD DVDThe Toshiba-backed high-definition DVD format is set to become the Betamax of the Noughties, as the film rental firm Blockbuster announced that it is to rent high-definition DVDs only in Sony's Blu-ray format in its 1,450 stores across the US.

Wal-MartThe retailing giant was forced to pay $2 million (€1.5 million ) in damages to pharmacist Cynthia Haddad, who was fired after she asked to be paid the same as her male colleagues.

Image of the Week . . .

"Like buying a filthy coal-fired power station just to use to charge up your mobile phone." - Environmental group Plane Stupid objects to rich people buying superjumbos for their private fun.

Quote of the Week 2 . . .

"There's a sense you're taking the mick, you're too rich and you're not paying enough tax."

- Labour MP Sion Simon warns executives from private-equity groups Permira, KKR, 3i and the Carlyle Group of a crackdown on the low tax paid by private equity groups in Britain.