George Osborne must draw meaningful growth promises from G7 leaders That doesn't necessarily mean more quantitative easing, a policy that looks dead in the UK after it was once again rejected by the Bank of England on Thursday, but more inventive measures. Mr Carney, who will be attending the meeting just weeks before he takes over from Sir Mervyn King, is bound to be a leading influence in the discussions. A recovery feels tantalisingly close. Manufacturing is back out of its sectoral recession, the services sector is once again above its pre-crisis peak, inflation is relatively stable, and consumers are spending their meagre incomes. But the banks remain an obstacle, exports are picking up too slowly, and the UK is still mired in debt - both public and private. Business holds the balance of power. If it believes the time has come to invest, that could kick off a virtuous circle that delivers the growth to resolve the debt problems. If Mr Osborne can corral his G7 colleagues into pledging to deliver meaningful promises on growth, that will keep hopes of a real recovery alive. How will Sky tackle BT's nifty football move? Everyone was expecting BT to price its new sports channels very competitively, but the decision to give them away to broadband subscribers surprised even seasoned industry watchers - and perhaps executives at BSkyB, too. BT executives were transparent about their motives: they want to use live football to retain their broadband customers and win back the many they have lost. The stakes are high and, while BSkyB is confident, they will have to look at cutting prices. After all, with household budgets under strain, football fans looking to save money will eye their Sky Sports subscriptions as a cash-strapped manager does a star player. Some will take what we might call the Arsene Wenger approach and offload the big bills in the way that the Arsenal manager allowed Robin van Persie to exit the Emirates. Until the arrival of BT Sport, the options for those fans was to continue paying for Sky Sports or cancel their subscription and head to the pub. It is a challenge to BSkyB on its home ground of a type it has not faced before. Of course, there is no prospect of BSkyB matching BT's offer. The premium it attracts for live sport remains the bedrock of its business, even if it appears that satellite television subscriptions have reached a plateau at around 10.4m households. Like BT, BSkyB's strategic priority is growing its broadband base, which pits the pair in direct competition, even if executives on either side emphasise the differences in their live sport propositions. So the question for BSkyB is: how do you compete with free? Bookmaker boss offers shareholders a safe bet As Manchester United fans digested Sir Alex Ferguson's departure, at least one Scottish football boss was able to offer some cheer. William Hill's chief executive Ralph Topping, who is also the outgoing chairman of the Scottish Premier League, revealed he would stay on at Britain's biggest bookmaker until at least the end of 2015. The revelation prompted a spontaneous round of applause at the bookie's annual meeting, as shareholders, who were only last year protesting against a one-off bonus to keep hold of Mr Topping until the end of 2013, welcomed two years of stability. Mr Topping, who turns 62 in July, still has plenty of ambition for William Hill, but the company has also clearly learnt from its past mistakes. Mr Topping was appointed chief executive in February 2008 after a torturous eight-month search for a replacement for the bookie's previous boss, David Harding, who quit for personal reasons in 2007. Mr Topping, who first joined William Hill as a "Saturday boy" in Glasgow while at university, wasn't the board's first, second or even third choice after the company approached almost every other executive in the betting industry - including, reportedly, Ladbrokes" chief Richard Glynn while he was still at the helm of Sporting Index. When this newspaper asked Mr Topping at the time whether he was the "Steve McClaren option" for the job, the Scot replied that he would rather be compared to one of the successful Scottish football managers "like Sir Alex Ferguson." Since his appointment, William Hill's market capitalisation has soared from £1.42bn to £3.67bn and Mr Topping believes it can reach £5bn in the next five years. It seems as though the betting boss may well get his wish.