Caution the watchword

The post-CGT slow-down is now most certainly upon us, according to my inbox. Now, this may not be the best way of taking the temperature of the private equity market but in the absence of other reliable indicators it will have to do. The last few weeks have seen a marked drop-off in the volume of deals as private equity firms hold onto their cash and wait to see how deep the credit crunch starts to bite into the real economy