It’s Official: The Crisis is Worldwide

By Morgan Brown, Blown Mortgage

Where is the last place on earth you’d expect to need a bailout . . . due to a real–estate bubble bursting . . . and banks failing . . . and stock markets crashing . . . that has derivatives counterparty losses? Its the Gulf countries (GCC) in the Middle East and, in particular Kuwait. **ya coulda knocked me over with a feather**

Bloomberg reports that Abdullah Hajeri led a march on the Emir’s palace in Kuwait last week, demanding that the oil-rich nation’s ruler stop stocks from plunging. Adnan Mohammed Saleh said he wants more government protection from the global financial crisis.  Every day the market is crashing,” said Saleh, a 42-year- old trader, staring dumbfounded at the Dubai Stock Exchange’s ticker. **the government is responsible for stock market prices . . . where did we hear that one before?**

Things a little better at the pump lately? Well, one man’s gain is another man’s cliff dive. The region’s rulers are under pressure as crude prices have fallen 50% from a record $147.27 in July. Stock indexes in Dubai and Saudi Arabia have fallen a similar amount. **you mean they didn’t save those windfall profits for a rainy day? Oh, that’s right, it doesn’t rain there. Read more….