THAT the two most powerful men in America might occasionally have things to discuss is no surprise. But when Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, disclosed on March 20th that he had recently spoken with Barack Obama, listeners assumed the subject was his future.

Mr Bernanke has yet to say what he plans to do when his term as chairman ends on

CYPRIOT depositors are not the only ones suffering the aftermath of a banking bust. People who bought shares or subordinated debt in Spain’s dodgiest cajas, or savings banks, have either been all but wiped out or forced to take hefty losses. Many small Spanish investors are among them.

Four months after Spain requested a €40 billion ($51 billion) c