Business Diary: Where have all the men gone?

Our congratulations to the 16 personal assistants named yesterday on the shortlist for the Hays PA of the Year Award.

The winner will be revealed at a swanky ceremony in May, hosted by Michelle Mone, the lingerie entrepreneur, on behalf of the recruitment consultancy. We feel duty-bound to protest, however, in these politically correct times – and particularly given the fuss over the shortage of women on the boards of big British companies – that only one man has made it to the last 16.

John Lewis shares mothers' joy

So much for the high street slowdown, which has claimed victims ranging from Halfords to Carpetright in the past few days. Department store group John Lewis said yesterday that last week was its best of the year so far, with shoppers persuaded to open their wallets a little wider by the combination of decent weather and Mothering Sunday. Looks like unlucky mums didn't get carpets or bikes this year.

Tory MP goes off-message on banks

Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom clearly isn't as concerned as the Chancellor and other senior Tories about the prospect of banks quitting the UK if the proposals made on Monday by the Independent Commission on Banking are not to their liking. "One or two of them might change their corporate headquarters for tax purposes but if they do go we probably won't even notice," Leadsom, who serves on the Treasury Select Committee, told Reuters yesterday. "There won't be a great outflow of workers and Canary Wharf won't turn into a ghost town."

The real must-see sports fixtures

Turn off the Masters and forget the Grand National. For those in the know, the top sporting event of the weekend is taking place at the Bank of England Sports Centre in south-west London. Teams of financial journalists take on teams of financial PRs in the annual Hacks v Flaks football andnetball grudge matches. The weather, if not the fancy footwork, promises to be scorching, and it's all for a great cause, the disability charity Remap. Feel free to come along and cheer the Hacks on to victory.

businessdiary@independent.co.uk