We will not be convinced the M&A deal famine is finally over until Alex, The Daily Telegraph's strip cartoon anti-hero so agonisingly deprived of a decent expense account for the past six months or more, is rehired. But it looks as though it won't be long. Last week brought the $47bn (€40bn) US merger between Bank of America and FleetBoston Financial, and a string of smaller deals on both sides of the Atlantic.

There have been several other significant banking sector transactions, including HSBC's purchase of Bank of Bermuda, and Barclays' acquisition of Gerrard, the private client investment group.