To appreciate the extent to which seized-up financial markets are affecting the “real” economy, consider Akzo Nobel. The Dutch chemicals group has deferred the remaining €1.6bn of a €4.6bn share buyback plan until it can refinance €1.8bn of debt maturing in the next eight months. As Hans Wijers, chief executive, puts it, such a refinancing should be a “no brainer” for a company with an A rating and net debt of only 0.7 times 2008 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. In fact, he says, the financial markets are “closed”. Akzo was punished by a slump in its share price on Monday of almost 8 per cent for what it calls prudence but investors apparently see as over-caution. Even if the market was also rattled by warnings of weaker paint demand in the US, UK, Germany and Spain, that looks hugely disproportionate.

After all, Akzo’s acquisition of ICI last year sealed its position as the world’s biggest coatings group, with bigger emerging markets exposure than its peers. It slightly trimmed its 2008 earnings outlook in July amid rising raw materials costs but at Monday’s annual strategy day reaffirmed that outlook and pledged to reap the full synergies from integrating ICI a year early, by 2010.