Yes, I think its inevitable.

When the economy hits the rocks, the realities start to emerge. Companies that have been keeping up a good front on the back of a large mountain of debt are no longer able to fool anyone and, when the facts emerge, shareholders run for the exits, the share price drops, and companies with funds and ideas of synergy and streamlining can step in and, with care, pick up a bargain.

Does anyone think that JP Morgan is buying Bear Stearns out of sheer goodness? Of course not - they're getting a Wall Street monster for less than a tenth of it's value just a few months ago. Did that value really all evaporate overnight? No. And JP Morgan (with the help of their friends at the Fed, of course) will reinstate that value over time.

That could yet turn out to be the deal of the century!