Every time you think private equity has scaled the peaks of death-defying risk, a new Everest comes into view. Cerberus's purchase of Chrysler is only tangentially to do with the fortunes of a clapped-out carmaker. The real economic risk lies in taking on $48bn (£24.3bn) of long-term financial liabilities, which mostly lie outside the company's control.

Comment on this has focused on Chrysler's $19bn of healthcare liabilities, which are essentially unfunded. What matters more, though, is the $29bn of pension liabilities. These are deemed not to be a problem because, as the seller Daimler put it last week, the pension plan is "significantly overfunded".