You heard it here first: After giving our lawyers the fidgets claiming that one of India’s biggest firms, Tata, had used thugs to seize farmland for the factory to build the world’s smallest and cheapest car, the Nano, we seem the claim was not a conspiracy or flashback. In fact the opposition party in West Bengal has called for an indefinite siege of the factory building in protest. The party leader, a tough old dame called Mamata Banerjee, wants 400 acres of land returned to local farmers and is in no mood for a compromise. In such a stand you soon find out who your friends are: a number of other states in India have come forward and said they are more than happy to build the Nano. That will worry the state government here who are desperately trying to attract investors who for years have been put off by its communist policies. If Tata are forced to move, what message will that send out? The world’s cheapest car, yes. But at what cost? Hanson St Hansen-Hansan, News at Ten, Bengal.

When every headline you read is about is about us facing the worst economic climate since the Black Death, some bosses see this as the perfect time to get rid of dead wood staff. No surprises then that Allianz insurance group has said its legal helpline, Lawphone has received a record number of calls inquiring about redundancy issues in the last month. Lawphone boss Ian George said “It started off in the transport and logistics sectors and has seen rapid growth across the UK”. Financial institutions and construction companies have announced more than 10,000 job losses since the end of June. Last week M&S came under scrutiny as they looked to change the terms of their redundancy contracts. There are proper procedures for giving someone the elbow, and if firms don’t adhere to them they could end up in a tribunal. Hence smaller, corporate laws firms such as Travers Smith has seen a boom in work relating to this area. So, as the saying goes: Too many  clouds gather a silver moss.

The publisher Penguin has launched an online dating website with Match.com to bring sex-starved literature fans together. Members will be asked to list their favourite books in their profile and will be able to search for suitors with similar literary tastes. You get the idea: “I like Bret Easton Ellis, I like fine dining, red meat and watersports…” Dragging the book industry into the 22nd Century, Penguin will promote the site in the final pages of more than two million paperback novels. It hopes the site will restore “the importance of the written word to modern courtship”. And it is important….that and booze. Like the idea of publishing? The for heaven sake watch our videos on the industry.

Nearly 300 workers at Land Rover in the West Midlands have been moved to the nearby Jaguar factory because of a lack of work. The staff have agreed to move from the Solihull factory to the Jaguar plant in Castle Bromwich where they have been guaranteed two years work on the Jaguar XF model. A spokeswoman for Land Rover said it was just “good business” practice and the moves were voluntary. The brands were recently bought from Ford by Indian motor giant Tata (them again) for £1.7bn. It seems like sensible business practice, as brand demand fluctuates, simply shift the workforce. I wonder whether we’ll see the headline, “300 staff move back to Land Rover,” or “300 staff made redundant from Land Rover,” in 2 years time? Oh…who cares?!