T he phrase "perfect storm" has been trotted out once too often to characterise the past year's financial crisis. Yet the real perfect storm may still lie ahead.

Fans of the George Clooney film will recall that the perfect storm was caused by the convergence of a hurricane off the Atlantic seaboard, an area of low pressure south of Nova Scotia and a cold front swooping down from Canada. Result: howling winds, vast waves and the loss of at least one boatload of Gloucester fishermen.