Suddenly, it looked as though those ethic blocks might actually count for something.

'Unless they made that wrong guess on purpose to make it look like HSBC isn't tipping them off as part of an elaborate ploy,' said a Lai See colleague, eyes narrowed suspiciously. 'That would be really clever.'

As it turns out, neither Chinese walls nor conspiracy theories were behind the far out figure. A glitch in the HSBC system sent the too-high number out into the info-sphere. By the time the analysts noticed, it was too late. Their HK$6.15 had become HK$6.78.

Oh dear. That must have had analysts climbing the walls.

We mean non-Chinese ones of course.

Ripe results: Do you know what a 'tomatoe' is?

And no, this has nothing to do with Dan Quayle.

We've just discovered that it's a Hong Kongese word meaning 'that which is made with water, tomato paste, salt and citric acid'.

Reader John Neill made that discovery when he bought a tin of the stuff in Yau Ma Tei.

'100 Per Cent Tomatoe Juice' said the label.

Under that was the ingredient list. The first thing on it was water.

But that's not what captured Mr Neill's attention.

He was unnerved to discover a set of instructions on the label.

'This juice has been made by excellent tomatoes and you should drink it every day for your health,' it declared.

We can only hope that the 'by' bit was a mistake.

Lai See has seen that old horror film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

She's plagued by images of the stars mellowing with age and setting up their own juice company.

Fleshing out tactics: The Rugby Sevens is just a few short weeks away, and already investment banks are plotting their corporate strategies.

Corporate box strategies, that is.

Every year, the money men wage a war of fun. And don't be fooled. This is serious business. Each bank wants to be seen to offer the wildest, the best, the most outrageous time possible outside of the south stand.

Last year, WI Carr opted for a Hawaiian Nights theme, complete with grass skirts and bongo drums.

So naturally Lai See was curious to learn what they were cooking up for this year. What fresh new idea has been floated?

Alaskan Afternoons? Dutch Days? Nope. Porn.

We're not sure whether the plan was to show it or re-enact it.

Sadly, we'll probably never find out.

The idea was binned on the grounds that it didn't fit the bank's corporate image.

Lai See doesn't know which bank does fit that image, but we bet they don't get much work done.

Humming success: Lai See has been reading about a hive heist.

Australian bee thieves made off with six million little honey makers.

Police say the robbery was well planned and executed.

They hid on the farm, shook the hives into boxes and escaped with the buzzing loot.

It's what's known as a bee sting.

Graphic: whee02gbz