Ill-hidden pique from the French finance ministry today. Turned out that the AMF and the Banque de France never got around to telling them about the SG losses until it was almost all over - they were worried that the ministry would leak it to the market and make matters worse. (See the ministry's report). "It would be desirable", the report says, for the ministry to be informed rather sooner in future, if that is all right with everyone.

They finally told the minister on the Wednesday. Sure enough, somehow it leaked out into the market the same day.

"The ship of state," as Bernard Woolley remarked, "is the only ship that leaks from the top."