Just as the manager of a second-rate acrobatics troop knows that it's crucial the audience does not see the ropes that allow his stars to perform amazing feats in mid-air, so central banks have wanted investors to believe markets have soared of their own accord.

The problem is that, with a harsh light now exposing the primitive mechanics that have underpinned the stellar rise in global markets, investors have had to face the brutal truth that markets are simply not capable of supporting themselves at such heady heights.