"If you've been in the [poker] game for 30 minutes and you don't know who the patsy is," said Warren Buffett, "you're the patsy."

We don't know why Peter Erichreineke has resigned from MAN. But we'd be interested to know if the fall guy resignations end with him. With Schaller departing a couple of months ago, there seems to be more than a bit of the revolving door about MAN at present.

Erichreineke is a large scalp to offer up to the investigators currently taking a look at MAN's allegedly dubious business practicises, and one is given to wonder who might follow him should another head be required to roll.

This, of course, assumes that his departure is linked only to the ongoing fraud investigation. We remain intrigued by the Sinotruk news however. With the best will in the world, it is very difficult to understand why MAN should have chosen to spend €560 million at present, when simply making payroll in Germany must be a difficult feat. Quite why it should choose to spend it on an investment in a company that has a strong track record in pushing the boundaries of IP legislation is another mystery, not least as MAN has some form here; its adventures with Zonda are still fresh in the memory, one assumes that nobody in Munich thought to put in a call to Jorma Halonen in order that his views be canvassed.

We still think that this smacks of some form of dowry, and that VW's stake in MAN is going to be on the block any time soon. Is CNHTC a likely taker? We shall see.