It is always good when someone legitimises what you regard as a bad habit by turning it into a medical or psychological condition.

You might regard your day-time chocolate guzzling tendency as mere greed, or something to break up the tedium, but according to research from self-proclaimed "workplace eating giant" Eureka (making it sound more BFG than caterer) UK workers have an "indulgence curve" beginning the working week with healthy eating goals which are soon disregarded.

Apparently the slide begins on Tuesday (that late?) according to the survey of 1101 office workers. The curve also occurs through- out the working day, as early-morning good intentions fade by 4pm when almost a third of people are snacking, often unhealthily.

Psychologist Geoff Beatie blamed stress: "The reason that people choose these foods is to feel better. It is, in effect, a form of self-medication."

Stebbings to chase sales for Stanley
WHILE much of the City retrenches, there has been an interesting hire at Charles Stanley Securities.

The company, which is known for its services to private investors, has appointed Chris Stebbings as managing director, equities with a brief to further develop its institutional sales and research offering.

Stebbings was formerly managing director and head of equities at Altium until May of last year when he was among several who quit amid grumblings about paltry bonuses. He was once head of UK equity sales at Schroders and was also a founding partner of broker Sutherlands, which was sold to Chaterhouse Bank.

Stebbings, who joins on January 12, will report directly to the board chaired by Sir David Howard.

When it pays to have geek in the family
IN another sign that either technological development is moving too fast or we are too lazy to read instruction manuals a business calling itself the Gadget Helpline is offering a post-Christmas service to help you get your iPod playing or mobile phone ringing. "Highly trained UK-based staff" will talk to you in "simple, no-nonsense, jargon-free terms" if you shell out £9.99 for a three-month contract. The cheaper alternative is to befriend a family with a 12-year-old. They always know how to work that stuff.

www.gadgethelpline.com.

Gateley Wareing's law books, we presume
THE internet age is not all bad news. Scottish law firm HBJ Gateley Wareing is sending 82 boxes of law books to Malawi because it can now get all the information online.

The two-tonne load, whose shipping is being paid for by the Law Society of Scotland, has been donated to the Malawi Law Society's resources centre in Blantyre, the country's biggest commercial city which was named after the Lanark- shire birthplace of explorer and missionary David Livingstone.

HBJ Gateley Wareing has accumulated the books since the 1870s.

Businessdiary@theherald.co.uk