IN 2008 large financial firms suffered the biggest declines in share prices of any industry, falling by 56% overall. In 2009 they rose by 28%, but were still 52% below their peak of May 2007. The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) world index tracks the equtiy returns of the world's 1,500 largest companies. Though the index gained 27% last year, it is still 31% below the peak it hit in October 2007. IT and telecoms firms never recovered from the dotcom bust in 2000, though IT companies posted strong gains in 2009.