Bonne année....

....is what Salut! is happy, in these somewhat unhappy times, to wish all readers, admittedly more in hope than serious expectation.

Bad luck has already marred my own start to 2009. Just when I was hoping to spend my windfall - I swear someone told me it would stretch to a small loaf of bread - I took another look at the expiry date.

And realised that as of midnight last night, I was $25 billion poorer.