Something has changed, grumble the railway staff whose trains carry commuters into London’s financial district. One said: “People have stopped buying annual season tickets, they are just buying them for three months at a time,” as falling job security in the financial services industry makes its presence felt.

Asset management firms that hoped the markets would recover this year have been forced to focus on staffing again in the wake of market falls last month, which took many by surprise. Hopes of an early revival in the European retail funds market look forlorn as recession gathers pace. A senior European executive at a US-quoted asset manager said: "There is a second round of job cuts under way. Everybody is doing something."