Thomson Financial, the information group, must have a rosy outlook for markets. The company has just taken over another four floors at its headquarters in downtown New York, for an estimated $5.5m. The move gives it an extra 150,000 square feet to fill at 195 Broadway, described as "a hallmark of American architecture" and famed for its Ionic colonnades.

Thomson assured us it was simply making room for existing employees rather than planning for acquisitions.