A spirit of gloom descended upon a gathering of private equity's most senior deal doers yesterday, as turmoil in the financial markets dominated discussions at a conference in New York. Two-thirds of delegates said deal flow will be patchy next year, while four-fifths said they thought that the credit crunch will last until late next year.

Several leaders of the private equity community said that while the downturn could provide opportunities, the economic situation was likely to first get worse.