I do expect some tales of woe. I am nervous about UBS and Deutsche and concerned about Merrill.

A broken watch shows the correct time twice a day. I have been a high priestess of gloom for at least a year and finally I can straighten my spine and look you in the eye. There were others who felt uneasy. Many senior bankers told me that the risks being taken were unsustainable. However, it was the investment banker, Paul, who put it most pungently.

There should be a health warning: hedge funds can cause death. Peter Wuffli, UBS’s former chief executive was assassinated last week. A hedge fund may have contributed to his untimely departure.

Has the eagle landed? Last Tuesday, Vino Timmerman, advocate-general to the Dutch Supreme Court, argued that ABN Amro should be allowed to sell its US subsidiary LaSalle to Bank of America without shareholder approval. Although the advocate-general’s opinion is not binding on the Supreme Court, it is generally followed. The court will provide its own verdict in mid-July.

Last week was an interesting week to be in New York. It was the week of the double Bs and I’m not referring to cup size. Or to put it another way, the week of B-S squared: Blackstone and Bear Stearns.

I am crest-fallen. My reputation as someone who reads the runes correctly has been ruined. In an earlier column, I fulminated against the meaningless title vice-chairman.

While writing this column I have met many interesting people. I have also met many delightful people. However, I have not met anyone more delightful and interesting than Jean-Pierre Mustier, the chief executive officer of Société Générale’s corporate and investment bank.

“It’s like hearing that a distant maiden aunt has died and left you nothing in her will,” a source said acerbically. Source was referring to the departure last week of Danny Palmer, former global head of capital markets at HSBC.

This is my 50th Abigail with attitude column.

When the journalist becomes the story, it is not ideal. On Friday, I was in Paris to meet the delightful Grégoire Varenne, head of fixed income, currencies and commodities at Société Générale. Around 1pm as I was reading some briefing material, my mobile rang.

Hot off the press

A fallen hero; a dog’s dinner; up the Swiss; and the fascination of Murdoch.

I feel vindicated.

“It’s not a question of if Armageddon arrives, but when,” a proprietary trader warned me last week.

Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank, must have forgotten rule 1.01 of public life.

In today’s disembodied world of text messages and electronic mail, who writes thank you notes for breakfasts?

John Varley is dicing with death. History reveals several examples of British banking chiefs who have made bold moves only to fall flat on their noses and into the mud. SG Warburg courted Morgan Stanley and was gobbled up by Swiss Bank Corporation. NatWest bid for the insurance group Legal & General and became lunch for the Royal Bank of Scotland. The transformation from predator to prey can be precipitous.

When the bear meets the eagle, can any good come of it? Lehman Brothers has capitulated and is returning to the Russian market. Earlier this month, news leaked that the firm was hiring Nicholas Jordan, co-head of Russian global banking at Deutsche.

“That’s a good story,” I said. “Maybe I’ll use it in my column.” “If you use it, I will call your managing director and get you fired”

There are many perks to being the chairman or chief executive of a bank: private jets, chauffeur-driven limousines and general genuflection wherever your go. But a crisp white envelope from Christopher Hohn can not be counted among them.

Credit Suisse used to be a byword for bad governance. I remember a friend who worked there in the dot-com days joking: “It’s hard to find a jurisdiction where we are not being sued.’’

The lights were low at the Connaught bar. Outside it started to snow, white flakes gliding silently in to the darkened street. I sipped my Earl Grey tea and said: “I like trouble.” The stranger sitting opposite drained his large Jack Daniels. “My dear,” he drawled, “you don’t know what trouble is.”

I was flattered when a chief executive emailed: “Abigail, are you the Euromoney honey?” but in business school they teach that there is no second mover advantage. The real money honey is Maria Bartiromo, the Sophia Loren look-alike anchor of the Closing bell programme on CNBC.

“I loved your last column,” a colleague said. “You sounded so angry. Are you angry?” I pondered the question. Being psychoanalysed in public is embarrassing. Several Euromoney journalists leaned forward to hear my response.

“The media,” I mused, is out of control. “They find a topic and savage it to death.”

Some say Fischer is a contender to succeed Oswald Grubel as head of Credit Suisse. I have only one question: “Is Lenny hunky?”

Frothy art prices, frenzied bidding for London property and smiling faces make me nervous.

A slimmer Citigroup? Is BarCap and Credit Suisse a better fit? And Abigail’s Awards for for the best in banking in 2006.

I emailed a friend who is a successful banker: “London is damp and grey. I am denuded of gossip. Send sustenance swiftly.” His response was immediate:

The phones of top divorce lawyers such as Raymond Tooth and Fiona Shackleton are ringing off the hook.