The scene could be straight out of vintage Hollywood. John Mack, playing Gary Cooper's legendary role in the film High Noon, waits for the arrival of the bad guys on the noonday train. The rest of the town is too frightened to lend its support and the local bookmakers are laying odds of five to one on the hero being dead by 12.05.

Will Mack win the shoot-out? Because that is exactly what is about to take place at CSFB. My information, in this instance about Mack, comes from Morgan Stanley. That is no surprise, as Mack is still regarded as a hero at Stanley, where his loyal supporters are still trying to work out how he lost a turf war with the numbingly dull Philip Purcell.