The Biz: Jiggling Santa a bit much for heart

We've done the benevolent Santa thing to death, haven't we? Time to give his personality another dimension. That must have been the reasoning behind a new Santa, erected for the festive season outside The Warehouse headquarters in Northcote. Standing well over 2m high, the giant Santa provided an interesting visual spectacle for a waiting Biz staffer - until she ventured too close. The noise-activated, flesh-toned beast started belting out a Christmas carol, jiggling like a break dancer and giving everyone in the vicinity a mini-coronary. Like that Paul Holmes CD, the perfect thing to send frazzled Christmas shoppers over the edge, thanks Mr Tindall.

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SPRUNG! Stephen Tindall in a - gulp - suit, with no red Warehouse polo shirt in sight.

For the record, it appeared to be a stylish black three-button single-breasted, set off by a red patterned tie on a light grey shirt, underpinned by fashionable square-toed black shoes and black socks. And there is more. His right index finger was heavily bandaged. He maintained it cocooned a tendon damaged playing soccer with his son; one wag ventured it had been mangled knotting the unfamiliar tie.

The cause of all the excitement? Mr Tindall was speaking at yesterday's sustainable development conference at the swank Northern Club.

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The National Business Review's Business Sponsorship of the Arts awards last week were a jolly fine affair, with corporates, the PM, media and artists congratulating each other on their generosity, to the strains of the Auckland Chamber Orchestra. Most curiously named award: the Creative New Zealand award for Bravery, awarded to Rudd Watts & Stone for backing the Music Paradigm, where corporates study the NZ Symphony Orchestra to learn about teamwork. Original, yes. But brave?

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As the saga between Fletcher Challenge and Citic over control of one of the world's largest plantation forests climbs to fever pitch, it is worth noting a few cultural differences between the two corporates. Citic is Chinese, and Fletcher Challenge is Kiwi. Citic meetings probably feature PA systems that do not blow up half way through. And while Fletcher Challenge spends hours debating the relationship between the two, Fletcher barely rates a mention in Citic's 1999 annual report. Then again, local Citic reps probably won't mind a bit of anonymity at home.

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What do technology company Advantage Group and baked beans - have in common besides their propensity to produce hot air? Advantage chairman Evan "bodgie boy" Christian drew our attention to the relationship between the two at the company's annual meeting last Friday. As his company's share price falters, Mr Christian quoted investment guru Warren Buffett. The Sage of Omaha reckons that when the local supermarket discounts baked beans, its time to stock up and buy more. "Now's the time to stock up on Advantage," was Mr Christian's lesson. He paused for laughter, but alas, like a Grammy for Paul Holmes' CD, there was none. One suspects shareholders were thinking of pantry shelves already groaning with baked beans. And how many beans can one person take, anyhow?