Armageddon has been postponed. The politicians blinked, the US debt ceiling was raised, and Uncle Sam does not yet need to have the “AAA” tattoo lasered from his wasting bicep. Unfortunately, no-one expects the respite to be anything but temporary.

Indeed, global markets only took a brief breather after the debt deal was voted through before convulsing in fresh paroxysms.The world seems to be playing a hybrid version of the board games Risk and Cluedo with the markets taking turns to guess which economy is in the worst mortal danger.