Here’s a test for your morals: while nice and fluffy companies (wedding lists indeed) are hanging up the Gone to Lunch sign for good, globetrotting hard and fast, spyware and soldier’s toys maker QinetiQ are acting on their plans for expanison. My favourite UK defence company have bought a US technology and consultancy firm, Dominion, for £53m cash. The move will help QinetiQ, which was sold by the government two years ago, to diversify away from its core work with the Ministry of Defence. Almost all the new firm’s staff have high-level security clearance, allowing them to act as consultants on top-secret projects – a tough market to get into (and get out of, one suspects). The purchase still leaves £147m in Boss Graham Love’s purse for further expansion. With 2000 robots (!) in combat situations around the world right now, this is a firm who’s middle names are travel and innovation. Proof if ever it was needed that Intelligence is everything.

Not happy that the only thing in my house he hasn’t had a hand in printing on is the toilet paper, Uncle Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp (The Times, The Sun, Sky…) plans to invest $100m over the next 12months to start six regional tv channels in India – one of the world’s fastest growing media markets. The channels will broadcast in six languages and run under the Star brand. That brand also has a presence in China, but Rup think India’s more open media sector could provide greater opportunities (less censorship for a start). The company, which also owns MySpace and Twentieth Century Fox, has also pledged to double the number of staff at Dow Jones Newswires, which Murdoch bought along with the Wall Street Journal last year.

As if the threat of being stood up at the alter, giving a speech or honeymooning in Antigua isn’t enough of a worry for this summer’s newlyweds, the 2,000 couples who have their wedding lists held with the online gift service Wrapit could lose their pressies as the company was put into administration with no money coming forward to rescue it. The firm’s bank therefore called in the chief bridesmaid, KPMG to wind up proceedings. Wrapit was founded in 2000, and beat John Lewis and Debenhams in Wedding Ideas magazine’s award for best wedding list provider with over 30,000 gift ideas. However, like Sadie Frost, the firm never made a profit and lost around £600,000 in both 2005 and 2006, and you can’t do that in this credit crunch (ahem…)  Customers of the wedding present firm, which operates predominantly online, had reported big delays in receiving their gifts – nine months in one case. Just in time for the wedding night consumation to have taken full effect! HSBC has said it will refund guests who bought gifts using a credit card or Visa debit card through the chargeback scheme - all they need to do is contact their credit card provider.  But those who made a payment more than six months ago, and around 20% of people who used a Switch/Maestro card or cheque to pay for their purchase, will lose out. KPMG has set up a phoneline to answer people’s questions. Brilliant: “Your wedding may be ruined. Talk to an accountant.” Till debt do us part…