That the markets can cope with anything but uncertainty is one of those hoary old tropes that is frequently trotted out but rarely questioned. Like many clichés it has some basis in truth. But it also bears closer interrogation, especially at a time when, in the words of Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, we are living in a period of “elevated” uncertainty.

Trichet's comment is representative of the way that many financiers think about uncertainty: that it is variable - like an equity index, bond spread or currency rate. But if uncertainty is now "trading" at historically high levels it begs a question: is that such a bad thing? After all, economic uncertainty was mistakenly thought to have been all but eradicated in the two decades leading up to the credit crunch.