Whittingdale advert placed in the prestigious Financial Times.

Poor Whittingdale.

Promoting themselves as gilt-edged experts, the British unit trust management company pictured Hick in his cricket gear, holding up his bat in acknowledgement, under the headline "Up to the Pace''.

Well, much to the disgust of English cricket fans last week, neither Hick nor his team were even remotely up to the pace bowling attack of Curtly Ambrose in the Test match against the West Indies.

England were slaughtered in a merciless second innings when Hick could manage only six, and his team-mates were all out for a mere forty more.

The numbed English fell to their most serious cricket humiliation of the century.

It was a batting display that was hardly "up to the pace''.

* * * BUC ANOTHER new trading floor has been opened in Bermuda.

However, like most compatible operations on the Island, such as Mr. Munroe Trout's Trout Trading and Dr. Wolfgang Flottl's Ross Group, walls of secrecy have been erected around their activities.

Refco Global Finance was recently the subject of an incorporation notice. The company will provide financing and financial investment, and act as an investment company, according to the legal notice.

Strategic Asset Management (SAM), housed in opulently-decorated office space in Jardine House are, unlike their counterparts, refreshingly open.

Mr. Mohamed Zayan, managing director and partner of SAM, said: "We are happy operating here in Bermuda. We are not closed or secretive.

"Some are run for the benefit of one or two individuals, but we are a fund for any investor to gain access to, provided they can pay the minimum initial subscription, which is $2.5 million.'' * * * BUC IN their most recent biweekly review of major financial markets, Butterfield Asset Management asserts its view that world bond and equity markets are likely to remain volatile in the period ahead as participants continue to adjust their interest rate expectations.

"The sharp reversals experienced in recent weeks were in part due to the growing use of leverage across all sectors, a development that has raised the risk profile of many markets, and should be monitored carefully,'' stated the publication called Financial Viewpoint.

* * * BUC SHOPPERS awaiting the re-opening of Benetton by Front Street operator Hornburg Calypso will have to wait a little longer.

Although Hornburg Calypso general manager Mr. Pierre-Francois Dutoya had hoped for an Easter opening, he said this week the store would not be ready until early May. Time spent waiting for immigration approval for work permits has stalled the opening.

* * * BUC THE biggest grocery chain in the Netherlands is entreating shoppers to try green eggs.

The Albert Heijn supermarket outlet hopes the eggs, laid by jungle-bred Araucan chickens from Brazil, will meet growing customer demand for new and exciting products.

"Our customers are always in for something different. We hope they'll like the egg,'' said company spokeswoman Pascale Smeets.

* * * DGS MORE job seekers are saying no to drugs, according to companies that conduct employee drug testing.

The companies say 2.6 percent of job candidates and five percent of current employees tested positive for drugs in recent months.

Three years ago, 4.3 percent of job candidates and five percent of employees tested positive. Consultant William M. Mercer Inc., which surveyed 183 companies, says more businesses are using drug tests to screen job applicants.