Getting an M&A banker to make a cast-iron prediction can be difficult at the best of times. Since the widely unforeseen collapse in M&A last year, you would be hard-pushed to get one to confirm that Wednesday will follow Tuesday next week.

Analysts, on the other hand, seem to love making predictions, using mathematical formulae and quantitative analysis to forecast everything from when the crisis will end to who the winners and losers will be when things return to relative normality.