“Existential” has replaced “wake-up call” (and before that “perfect storm”) as the way to say “I’m a pseudointellectual phony” among the chattering classes.
Ambrose did the lord’s work on the Clinton’s Whitewater and related scandals while covering the US for the London Telegraph. Since then, though, he has gone on to be a financial Cassandra of the sort who predicts ten out of the last two market crashes.