In quieter moments amid the market madness, I almost feel sorry for hedge funds. They stand accused of stoking the fires of volatility and leverage but, in my book, they’re far from the worst offenders. For me, the title of “Chief Potential Villains (Excluding Investment Bankers)” belongs to the private equity boys and girls.

I don’t mean venture capitalists – who are doing a fine job in horrible circumstances. I mean the obscenely large buyout houses that have been
doing the breathtakingly over-leveraged deals that will be burning their way through a balance sheet near you at some point next year.