When UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling declared a bold rescue plan for the UK banking sector on Wednesday October 8, he created a blueprint for a bailout that has been copied by governments around the world. But last Monday, when he revealed the detailed terms and conditions of the plan, he got a frostier reception.

The Government had - on the recommendation of its advisers - substantially tightened up the terms of the rescue plan, in a move that underlines how, in the words of European Central Bank governor Jean-Claude Trichet, governments and their advisers are writing the rulebooks for dealing with this crisis as they go along.