Slowing Economy Gives Way to Global Role Reversals

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By Anthony Faiola and Jill Drew
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 17, 2008; Page D01

The global slowdown stemming in part from the deepening U.S. financial crisis is hitting the world's richest nations the hardest even as emerging nations, some with once-fragile economies, are proving relatively resilient.

My first thought was...yeah...cause they still remember how to eat beans and live on a budget. But there's more to the story washingtonpost.com

Contrast that with oil-fat Russia -- a red-hot emerging market. As in many commodity-driven economies in the developing world, soaring energy revenue has largely insulated Russia, the world's second-largest oil exporter, from the turbulence in global markets...

If Californians are rushing to withdraw money from banks there, the situation in Kenya is just the opposite: People are flocking to banks to open accounts. The Nairobi exchange, which lists mostly Kenyan companies and a handful of multinational firms, posted 10 percent gains in the three months ended in June as local and foreign investors flocked to the initial public offering of the cellphone giant Safaricom. washingtonpost.com

Crazy days ahead.