Michael Burry became famous in international investment markets when he picked the collapse in the US housing market which provoked the global financial crisis in 2008, and later as one of the main characters in the movie The Big Short.

This week it was revealed he was closing the hedge fund he operates because, he said, "my estimation of value in securities is not now, and has not been for some time, in sync with the markets".

The news came amid ongoing market jitters which were crystallised late in the week with US stocks posting their worst day in a month, despite the end of the US federal government's longest ever shutdown.

While the market falls were widespread, it is the growing view that tech stocks are wildly over-valued that has been making people nervous.

This week President Donald Trump signed the funding bill to end the longest US government shutdown in history. (Reuters: Kevin Lamarque)

Markets unhinged from reality

As The Economist wrote this week, "the cyclically adjusted price-earnings ratio of the S&P 500 index of stocks, propelled by the "magnificent seven" tech giants, has reached levels last seen during the dotcom boom".

"Investors are betting that the vast spending on artificial intelligence (AI) will pay off. Yet the numbers are daunting.

"For companies to achieve a 10 per cent return on the AI capex projected by 2030, they will colle