Carnival, a cruise line, has issued bonds at a crushing 11.5% interest rate. The plethora of support schemes—there are at least ten in America, with different

That $8trn is a big number, and includes state and central-bank loans, guarantees and temporary subsidies to keep paying inactive workers.

Such bespoke deals are easy to sign but often go sour. Uncle Sam lost over $10bn on the General Motors rescue of 2009 and the Wall Street bank