Shares in Marconi have hit an all-time low of just 18 pence following a City briefing in which analysts said they were "virtually worthless". The drop is a very, very long way from its high of £12.50 a share just over a year ago.

Only a huge injection of cash looks like saving the company which was once a flagship company of UK plc. The huge share drops stem from a badly handled profit warning in July. That warning demonstrated that the Marconi board's policy of turning the company into a specialised telecoms company has gone disastrously wrong and that it hadn't seen the global downturn coming.

Very soon after the announcement, deputy CEO John Mayo was sacrificed to investors baying for blood. But as the full details of the cock-up came to light, shares continued to fall and investors started turning their back. Two months later the chairman Sir Roger Hurn and chief exec Lord Simpson also left. ®

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