Fashion group Mosaic listed on the Icelandic stock exchange on Tuesday, and Derek Lovelock and his team celebrated with a lavish bash in Reykjavik last weekend, attended by no less a figure than the country's first lady.
However, there was even bigger news to emerge on the day of the float - an Icelandic investor has been building up a stake in beleaguered Marks & Spencer. It was a move that gave the M&S share price a decent nudge in the direction of the magic 400p figure, although there's an awful long way to go yet.
Speculation over the identity of the investor centred inevitably on Baugur, although Icelandic investors such as Kaupthing are also in the frame. But the news was met with some scepticism in the City. Despite the tough times M&S is going through, its value is almost as much as the GDP of Iceland. So, unsurprisingly, all the questions have been about where the money is coming from and whether there is any realistic chance of a bid.
The talk surrounding M&S was an entertaining sideshow from the continuing market gloom - and tough times demand tough decisions. House of Fraser bit the bullet this week with its decision to close Dickins & Jones. Its landmark Regent Street store has been a drain on the business ever since a big rent hike three years ago.
HoF was fortunate that the prime site attracted a big offer from two property investors, but other retailers with underperforming stores they'd love to get rid of won't be so lucky.
Not everyone is down about it, though. Dixons founder Lord Kalms told Retail Week that 'a downturn is one of the wonderful experiences of retail' - a sentiment that perhaps not all struggling retailers would agree with right now.
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