Of course it had to happen, and where else but in the US where you sue first and think second? The news that some disappointed US investors were after Morgan Stanley's once-celebrated Mary Meeker should come as no surprise. After all, a disgruntled Merrill Lynch customer has already sued former celebrity internet analyst Henry Blodgett, who claimed that he was misled into buying shares which subsequently cratered.

What did Merrill, a firm which normally knows how to take care of itself, do? Fight all the way up to the supreme courts? No. It paid the disgruntled punter $400,000 (&euro452,000). Has Merrill opened the floodgates? It looks that way. From now on equity analysts around the world should see themselves as little more than a high-flying grouse on August 12. One 'bang' and you could be lunch at the Savoy Grill.