Sports presenter David Coleman became as famous for speaking nonsense as for his chosen trade. "Colemanballs" joined the lexicon, but at least he generally reduced his audience to tears of laughter. The sayings of Wim Duisenberg increasingly reduce his audience simply to tears. It's no laughing matter. Maybe it is unkind to suggest that every time the president of the European Central Bank opens his mouth, the euro goes into freefall; unfortunately, it is too close to truth for comfort.

This week he indicated the ECB would not intervene to support the euro, saying it had no exchange rate target. As one economist said, he might be right but you do not tell that to the market at the very time your currency is struggling for support. The euro promptly shed more than a US cent to hit six-month lows. Need one say more.