The last 12 months have been like the opening of Pandora’s box. It seems as if all the economic ills of the world have been released and yet lurking at the bottom of the box, we find hope.

In the US, while the world watches in morbid fascination as the mighty economy pays for its years of excess, maybe we have at last spotted the seed of the next boom.

2007, the year of subprime woe, of massive bank losses, of clear evidence the housing market was on the brink of crashing, saw the highest level of spending by venture capital in six years.

Venture capital surely provides the lubrication for entrepreneurial activity. And entrepreneurs are surely tomorrow’s wealth creators.

In all, 3,813 deals enjoyed $29.4bn worth of funding not since 2001, which saw $40.6bn piling into 45,000 start-ups, has the US seen better than that.