Houston

JOSEPH Gladbach and his fellow bankers at Jefferies Group field three to five calls a day from investors eager to park their millions in energy stocks or bonds in the worst down cycle in 30 years.

They're no dummies, Mr Gladbach says. One of the biggest mysteries of the oil market crash is why the money hasn't dried up. The collapse in crude prices was supposed to devastate companies and spook investors after wiping more than US$200 billion off the balance sheets of US and Canadian producers. It didn't.