Michel Bon, the urbane head of France Télécom, may live to regret an interview in a French newspaper in which he confidently predicted that the Orange deal would be a roaring success. He added that for investors 'it is always better to have an IPO in a weak period than when the markets are peaking'.

After all, the value of Orange has roughly halved since France Télécom bought it in June. But such confident predictions are dangerous stuff. The last chief executive to be so upbeat about her IPO before it started trading, by thanking investors for the immense confidence they had shown in her company, was a certain Nina Brink, the former head of the former World Online...