Is the post-Lehman crisis in financial markets almost over? It is tempting to say yes.

The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in mid-September led to an immediate spike in equity volatility and in the cost of high-grade corporate credit. The CBOE Vix index of fear of volatility in the S&P 500 index shot from 25 just before Lehman’s collapse to a high of 79. It has now crept back below 40 – a symptom at least of returning calm.