Poor George W must be wondering how he managed to take over the reins at such an inopportune time. You could not blame the new incumbent if he thought the fates were conspiring against him.

The US economy is slowing alarmingly after its most sustained period of growth. Worse still, the reassuring certainty of touch of the legendary chairman of the Federal Reserve seems to be slipping.

In one month, the notoriously cautious central banker has lowered interest rates faster than ever before. This comes hot on the heels of a consistent hardening of rates. Someone, somewhere must be asking how the scale of the economic collapse snuck up on the sharpest minds in the Fed so effectively.