The ancient Roman poet Juvenal remarked that the masses only care about two things, “bread and circuses”.

So most Western governments are not worried by the prospect of the recession causing revolution, so long as the masses still have the modern equivalents of bread and circuses – fast food and digital entertainment.

This means that there are lucrative opportunities even in the downturn for those businesses which provide them.

So, although high-quality retailers are under pressure, the market for cheap food is actually improving. This explains the record profits of Britain’s ubiquitous Tesco, among others.

However, given the power of mass production in the modern food sector, the best opportunities for entrepreneurs are on the “circus” side rather than in “bread”.

With less money to spend on going out, many people are looking to more imaginative uses of existing digital technology to keep them amused.

That market is bound to increase as rising unemployment gives them more time on their hands.