The public reefs in nearby Black Bay, one of the post-spill reconstruction projects, had been closed after spat turned up to protect the larvae.

CNN: Empty nets in Louisiana three years after the spill

But the spat has opened up wider questions about Beckham's commitment to soccer in America and Major League Soccer's ability to not only lure but keep big name players.

CNN: Beckham's U.S. spat raises questions over role

When Cablevision blacked out Yankees games on Long Island in a since-resolved fight with the YES Network, DirecTV swooped in and almost tripled local subs by playing up the spat in ads and hanging flyers on customers' doorknobs.

FORBES: Magazine Article

This is how the source put it: "special advisers have fessed up that a spat with banks removes the political pressure from Clegg, which is the coalition priority".

BBC: Slim chance of bank bonus deal

What is clear, however, is that the spat over Iraq will not help to speed up trade negotiations in the Doha round, which already seem to be heading for gridlock.

ECONOMIST: War and Iraq

Away from this set-piece spat, people were sitting in meeting rooms and coming up with proposals.

ECONOMIST: The World Social Forum

Also on Motorola's list of potential troubles: its intellectual property spat with rival Research In Motion and its postponed plan to split up the company, reportedly because buyers' bids did not meet expectations.

FORBES: Magazine Article