Whats AIG, XL Leisure, Northern Rock, Bradford & Bingley Got In Common?

Apart from an unwanted association with the term financial crisis?

The answer is that all have sponsorship agreements with English football clubs, though in the case of West Ham United the name of XL is no longer featuring on the club shirts.

I am not saying there is anything significant in the connection, but were I Wigan Athletic FC I would be slightly perturbed that its sponsor, JJB Sports, had to refute claims last Friday that it had breached a bank covenant on a £15m banking facility with Bank of Scotland.

News Monday that credit insurer Coface has refused to cover the company's suppliers against the risk of the sports retailer being unable to pay them sent shares in JJB down by 25% yesterday.

This comes a week after JJB reported a £9.7m six-month loss, with its auditors casting "significant doubt" on its ability to continue as a going concern.