World financial transactions fall 30 pc, says A&O

In its 'Life after Lehman' report, Allen & Overy also shows that the level of transactions has fallen 60 per cent in the UK from US$1.7 trillion in 2006/07 to US$635 billion last year. And reporting on the global M&A market alone, the Magic Circle firm's research shows a 49 per cent slump to US$2.27 trillion last year. The authors of the report say: 'The climate has once again become more challenging as markets wait to see what impact an end to cheap money from quantitative easing programmes, particularly by the US Federal Reserve, will have. Increased volatility can only make it more difficult to access the markets. There is certainly a very different feel to 2008 and it may be some time before we know what the “new normal” will be in all regions.'