City Spy: Miami's palm trees prove too strong a lure at Ashtead's plant hire industry jolly

Try to get hold of an analyst specialising in the exciting world of plant hire over the next couple of days and you might be out of luck.

Ashtead Group, the international equipment rental business, headquartered in King Street in the City, is hosting an investor event today and tomorrow.

This will apparently “provide analysts and investors with more detail on the group’s American strategy, operations and markets, with presentations being made by senior executives from Ashtead Group and Sunbelt Rentals, its US subsidiary”.

So far so dull, but the event has been “heavily oversubscribed”, according to Ashtead.

Not surprising, given that it is being held in Miami, where the current midday temperature is 22 degrees and it’s sunny while London is basking under leaden skies and a top temperature of nine degrees.

The prospect of trophies for Manchester United may be slim this year as they trail Chelsea in the League and struggle against lower-league opposition in the Cup.

But off the pitch the money-spinning goliath is still at work: the Reds have signed up Geneva-based Swissquote as their “global forex and online financial trading sponsor”.

Spy notes the currency broker’s recent record isn’t great: the Swiss National Bank’s scrapping of its cap against the euro cost it Swfr25 million (£19million).

At least that's not as bad as West Ham sponsor Alpari UK, which blew up and is now for sale.

You may have noticed the Institute for Economic Affairs has come out against plain paper packaging for cigarettes.

Could this be the same IEA which last year staged a press conference and lecture by economist Arthur Laffer (of Laffer curve fame) to launch his book on the iniquity of tobacco industry regulation and taxation — a book which, he was happy to tell Spy, had been financed by $300,000 from Philip Morris?

Yup. That’s capitalism!

Hats off to The Daily Mash’s take on the “shock” Greek election result which the markets took in their stride yesterday.

“Greek voters have defied expectation by choosing not to be beaten like cringing dogs for the next five years,” the satirical website suggested.

“The ruling New Democracy party is still wondering how its platform of Endless Suffering For Everyone was defeated by Syriza’s competing message of Maybe Not That.”

The bookies are meanwhile making their own minds up on the prospects of Greece becoming the first country to pull out of the euro following Syriza’s win.

William Hill is offering 1/5 on the “Grexit”, slashed from 1/2 following the election result.

Paddy Power is offering 13/8 on the chances of the euro falling to parity against the dollar later this year.