Let's forget share prices for a mo' – wasn't the rugger marvellous?
After a week working one's fingers to the bone, there could have been nothing more satisfying than watching Johnny Wilko et al dish out a beating to their World Cup rivals.

Talking of beatings, Tokyo-based contractor Kajima Corporation, which is one of fewer than 100 companies in Asia and Australasia with a London Stock Exchange listing, saw 8% wiped off its share price last week. By the time the full-time whistle had blown on Friday, the world's third-largest construction company stood at 220.75p.

Kajima's scrape could well be to do with an investigation into corruption that has just got under way in Japan. The country's Fair Trade Commission has put 40 firms, including Kajima, under the spotlight to investigate allegations of civil engineering tenders being fixed.

Why should we worry about an allegation being investigated so far away from our own shores?

Well, it's all very well being a little-Englander on these matters, but as was reported in the national press this weekend, it is Kajima that recently tried to persuade Liverpool and Everton Football Clubs to share a ground in Merseyside.

Given the recent barrage of negative press that the national game has recently received – what with failures to turn up for drugs tests and unseemly brawls – such talk is the last thing the sport needs.

An upbeat trading statement and a new joint venture make Countryside Properties worth a punt

Hunch of the week

As you may have noticed, I'm feeling in a sporty mood this week, so I'm going to cheesily compare a share price to a major sporting event … ahem, here we go …

Building's news desk is feeling as triumphant as Ernie Els did on Sunday, lifting his fifth World Golf Matchplay Championship trophy (a tenuous link, I concede).

"What is this victory?" I hear you cry. Well, last week Building wrote that the chaps and the chapettes in the City believe that AIM-listed building maintenance contractor Mears has a bright future. As if to confirm that punt, investors greedily bought up shares in the company, and by the 18th hole Mears' price had risen 5.5% to 134p a share.

But my own amazing powers of perception was cruelly undermined by the hunch of the week that didn't quite work out as planned.