The dastardly Mr Deedes

Ruthless activist investor Elliott wants to build better relations with the companies it targets. Hard-boiled founder Paul Singer has charged former research analyst Christine O’Brien, 30, to ‘humanise’ the fund by selling it as a force for sound corporate governance. Selling ice to Eskimos would be mildly less challenging. Did Aviva boss Mark Wilson’s defenestration take him by surprise? Asked by the Irish Times only in January when he planned to move on, the swaggering Kiwi, 52, replied insouciantly: ‘That date isn’t remotely close’. Fox has appointed former White House aide Hope Hicks as its PR chief, which she’ll take up once Disney’s acquisition of most of 21st Century Fox is complete. The previously unknown public relations dolly within the Trump organisation, attractive Ms Hicks, 29, became one of the few aides to have the ear of the President, who affectionately called her ‘Hopie’. Why did she leave? Washington tomcats purr she’d begun to outshine Medusa-eyed Melania. Royal Bank of Scotland chairman Sir Howard Davies’s suggestion the lender might be renamed to break from its toxic past seems a little late in the day, particularly now it’s returned to profitability. A new name is only likely to irritate customers. Predictably ‘Banky McBankface’ is the preferred choice among Twitter’s sage commentariat. Economist and former US Fed chief Alan Greenspan’s wife, NBC News anchor Andrea Mitchell, was forced to scotch cruel internet rumours yesterday that he’d passed away, tweeting: ‘Alan’s doing fine. In fact, he’s got a book out next week!’ Andrea, 71, agreed to marry Greenspan, 92, after he smoothly suggested she came back to his apartment to see an essay he had written on the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890. Sir Richard Branson says increasingly erratic Tesla boss Elon Musk needs to sleep more and learn how to delegate. And stay off Twitter, he might have added, considering Musk’s propensity for composing self-sabotaging tweets late into the night. After recently trolling the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the headline on waspish business website Dealbreaker read: ‘Toddler Billionaire Can’t Stop Putting Hand On Burning Stove.’