Money printing by governments ensures the global economy is recovering - but no one has any idea what will occur once the official stimulus stops, so everyone fervently hopes it won't happen any time soon. Though deals are back in the City, the regular swingeing fines being dished out to banks for LIBOR-rigging and the mis-selling of financial products (not to mention the EU bonus cap) doesn't bode well for Alex's future remuneration. The massed ranks of compliance officers now employed by Megabank to implement the Bribery Act has decimated Alex's precious social season and dashed his chances of making it to the World Cup in Brazil on expenses. To his further chagrin Alex breaks his leg party-hopping in Davos and suffers the indignity of having to attend his wife Penny's corporate strategy weekend in the capacity of "significant other".