Securing private investments in their stock used to be the desperate measure of cash-strapped dot-coms teetering on the abyss.

FORBES: Piped Aboard

So Tricky Dicky taunts Kissinger with the spectre of Ford giving his job to Al Haig should Nixon fail to survive, while Kissinger dangles the judgement of history in front of a master desperate to be remembered as a great statesman.

BBC: Nixon's final hours

Mr Anderson said he feared the council would not be able to help to vulnerable and desperate people in "some of the most deprived communities, not just in Liverpool but the country".

BBC: Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson says cuts will 'cause riots'

Though most of the ten other candidates (Net entrepreneurs and industry players all) were in the room, no desperate attempt can be reported of any of them trying to seize Tracy's tiara, or even the bottle of metallic-blue nail-polish.

CNN: She's on Top

The desperate shortage of affordable homes in England appears to be worsening, following Tuesday's publication of national housing statistics.

BBC: Housing crisis deepens

Will this verdict strike such fear in the hearts of current or future desperate-to-be-a-star players that it will deter those so inclined from doping?

FORBES: The Barry Bonds Trial: Would You've Voted For That Federal Budget Expenditure?

You may be able to tell from my desperate clutching at stats that there is little in the way of paddock gossip this weekend, although some major changes are afoot on Lorenzo's side of the Yamaha garage - more details of which are likely to emerge as the weekend progresses.

BBC: Matt Roberts' MotoGP column

After a series of increasingly-desperate attempts by would-be immigrants to surmount the barriers in 2005, Spain and Morocco agreed to deploy extra troops to try to secure the borders.

BBC: Ceuta, Melilla profile

Simon Jones is desperate to prove that he can be effective in one day cricket - it seems that he needs to convince Glamorgan of that too.

BBC: SPORT | Cricket | England | Unwanted tour may help new talent