Singing Pig

CAIRO, Oct. 9 -- The oil-rich princes and financial titans of the Persian Gulf went into the week touting their immunity from the financial turmoil of the West, but stock markets in the region ended it posting sharp losses.

LONDON, Oct. 9 -- The flash of cash by the super-rich bankers and traders who work in London's financial district had come to symbolize the capital. They ordered birthday cakes with emeralds. They ran up $10,000 bar bills at nightclubs. They drove, or were driven in, Porsches and Bentleys.

CAIRO, Oct. 9 -- The oil-rich princes and financial titans of the Persian Gulf went into the week touting their immunity from the financial turmoil of the West, but stock markets in the region ended it posting sharp losses.

LONDON, Oct. 9 -- The flash of cash by the super-rich bankers and traders who work in London's financial district had come to symbolize the capital. They ordered birthday cakes with emeralds. They ran up $10,000 bar bills at nightclubs. They drove, or were driven in, Porsches and Bentleys.

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Gulf states were forced to issue assurances that the region's economies remained sound after a run on its once soaring stock markets.

LONDON, Oct. 6 -- World stock markets suffered one of their worst days ever Monday amid fears that government responses to the global financial crisis, including the U.S. bailout and inconsistent moves by European leaders, would not be sufficient to prevent a worldwide recession.

LONDON, Oct. 6 -- World stock markets suffered one of their worst days ever Monday amid fears that government responses to the global financial crisis, including the U.S. bailout and inconsistent moves by European leaders, would not be sufficient to prevent a worldwide recession.

Are the wheels coming off Dubai? Momentum in the spendthrift emirate certainly looks to be grinding to a halt. Last week Dubai received a 15bn £8.5bn bailout from Abu Dhabi its cashrich big sister. At least that's how the lending facility set up by the UAE central bank is being privately interpreted.

SHANGHAI -- Looking down from his building's 87th floor at the glittering signs of multinational banks along the river here, Fan Dizhao declared confidently that Wall Street's reign as the world's No. 1 financial hub is coming to an end.