CBD

Financiers can't resist using acronyms to sum up the health, or otherwise, of their respective outfits.

But as David Coe's failed Allco Finance Group has demonstrated, some might best be avoided - such as "FINAO".

The term was uttered on the first day of the public examination by Allco's receiver of its former chief executive and Point Piper resident, David Clarke, in the Federal Court in Sydney. The reference to FINAO was contained in a document from Allco's ex-chief bean counter, Tim Dodd, back in late 2007 that forecast a $90 million shortfall in Allco's full-year earnings.

And what does FINAO stand for? Failure Is Not An Option. As we well know, failure became the only option for Allco.

John Sheahan, SC, the barrister for the receiver Ferrier Hodgson, also questioned Clarke about whether the executive team was hoping a floor would somehow appear under Allco's share price around $9 in late 2007. Sheahan quoted a long-time Allco executive, Andrew Rutherford, saying that "if it goes to $9 I'm off to the beach". By December 19 of that year, the stock had slipped to $5.44 and when it was finally suspended from the ASX in November 2008 it had hit 14?. As it turned out, Rutherford and others left for the beach only months later.

DANCE FEVER

Even Federal Court judges know that "nobody puts Baby in a corner".

Justice Peter Jacobson took a moment to reminisce about the 1987 hit Dirty Dancing yesterday when umpiring a dispute over the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

The barrister Simon Kerr mentioned that his client, the veteran promoter Kevin Jacobsen, was also producing the musical Dirty Dancing on London's West End. Justice Jacobson said he remembered the movie, to which Kerr quipped: "The songs are probably now singing in Your Honour's head."

All parties seemed to agree it was a success. Gregory George, the barrister representing the corporate undertaker in charge of Jacobsen's company, said he once fell asleep during a show at Jacobsen's other Sydney venue, the Capitol Theatre.

Justice Jacobson said: "It couldn't have been one of Mr Jacobsen's productions." George replied: "No, no, Your Honour, Dirty Dancing would do it for me."

Justice Jacobson also revealed he was familiar with "an artist known as Pink". "You wouldn't fall asleep during a Pink concert," he noted.

The judge, however, is unlikely to hit the dance floor any time soon. Yesterday His Honour had to hear the final 30 minutes of the case while standing because of back problems.

REVVED UP

It might not be avgas but there's nothing like petrol fumes to bring airline chief executives to Australia.

Tony Fernandes, the boss of Asia's largest el-cheapo airline, AirAsia, and his sparring partner at Virgin, Richard Branson, will be trackside at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne this weekend.

Fernandes will be mindful of his recent bet with Branson. He will have to serve drinks as a female trolley dolly on a Virgin flight if Branson's formula one Virgin team finishes ahead of his Lotus team this season.

And not to be outdone, the Melbourne-born boss of Etihad Airways, James Hogan, is flying

in from Abu Dhabi this week for a spot of work and networking trackside at Albert Park.

Networking is not on everyone's mind, though. Virgin Blue's newest resident rev-head, John Borghetti, said he would be turning up to watch the race rather than mingle with his soon-to-be arch-rivals. "I'm a grand prix nut, so I go to as many grand prix as I can," the former recreational race-car driver told CBD.

Even Tony Davis, Tiger Airways' chief pilot, is apparently jetting in from Singapore for a bit of work and the car racing.

Meanwhile, Qantas's chief paddy, Alan Joyce, returned to his office in Mascot yesterday after several weeks on an investor roadshow of the US and Europe.

Joyce and the Flying Roo's chairman, Leigh Clifford, will be making an appearance at the Grand Prix Ball on Friday evening.

The Irishman has also enlisted part-time pilot John Travolta for this weekend's festivities.

In January Travolta was in the cockpit of his Boeing 707 to fly supplies to earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

BY REQUEST

One plane-spotter likely to miss the Grand Prix Ball is British Airways' former chief pilot, Rod Eddington.

The former Allco Finance director received his invitation yesterday, not for the ball, but to make a guest appearance on Friday in the Federal Court in Sydney for the Allco receiver's examination.

It might make turning up to the

ball later that evening a tall order for Sir Rod.

Barbara Ward, a Qantas director who endured a backlash from the airline's shareholders in 2008 over her links to Allco, was also issued

an invitation to turn up in court

on Friday.

CIAO CHOW

Ex-jailbird Glenn Wheatley was spotted lunching with Robert Joske, the manager of a raft of sports people, at Bistro Moncur in the Woollahra Hotel last Thursday.

Stopping by to say hello to the duo was Billy Birmingham, otherwise known as the 12th Man, who appeared to be in the company of recruitment queen Julia Ross.

BACKROOM BOYS

The big end of town can sometimes go to enormous lengths to get its message out.

Take the Investment and Financial Services Association, which

was keen to spruik its latest investor sentiment data to journalists at

the weekend.

The lobby group's chief flack, Stephen Woodhill, mistakenly sent out an email in which he detailed the work that goes on before he hits the send button on a media release. Woodhill wrote to his inner circle: "It is quite a good release but it will only get traction if there is not a lot of news."

He then asked his boss, the former NSW Liberal leader John Brogden, whether "you are going to be available to take calls if we get some interest".

The investor data subsequently ended up buried towards the back pages of some newspapers.

"It was not particularly brilliant," Woodhill said yesterday of the interest from media. "We put it out in an election campaign, which was not particularly clever."

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