Paul Volcker, Alan Greenspan's predecessor as US Federal Reserve chairman, recently told an audience: "The fate of the world economy is now totally dependent on the US economy, which is dependent on the stock market, whose growth is dependent on about 50 stocks, half of which have never reported any earnings [profits]."

That apt reminder of some of the ludicrous valuations being applied to new technology stocks came to mind as Microsoft's president, Steve Ballmer, put the mockers on a recovery by stocks in New York towards the end of the week by asserting that technology stock valuations had reached "absurd" levels.

He went so far as to admit that even, speak it softly, mighty Microsoft might be overvalued. Asked then what Microsoft's stock price should be, he said, "less". How well that will go down with his boss is difficult to say. Microsoft stock fell more than 4 per cent in the aftermath of the report as the Nasdaq index suffered one of the worst one-day falls in its history.