When Eliot Spitzer told a press conference in October that the management of Marsh & McLennan was "not a leadership I will negotiate with", one thing was clear. Jeffrey Greenberg should start looking for another job.

Within days, Mr Greenberg, the company's chief executive and one of the most powerful men in the global insurance industry, was forced to resign. He was not the only casualty. A month later, the company, whose stock price had almost halved, said it would have to fire 3,000 staff.