The International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank, says there are four main regions : Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe and “others”, which include Africa, the Middle East and some Mediterranean countries. There are vast differences between these markets, which range from India to Greece, Indonesia to Kenya, Hungary to Brazil.But what marks them all out is the perception that they are going through vast economic or political upheavals out of which those with an inside track can benefit. On Red Tuesday this week, as equity prices collapsed, Russia’s ASP general share index plummeted by 19 per cent, the worst fall of any market that day. By contrast, the Dow Jones rose by 4.7 per cent, while the index of top 100 UK companies in London fell by 1.76 per cent.
The Russian example illustrates a dilemma for investors: how can they hope to out-perform returns generally available from equity markets? For increasing numbers of savers, the answer has been to look to emerging markets.These are typically seen as developing stock markets where rapid development can lead to spectacular growth and, therefore, spectacular returns. Amid toasts of vodka, the visit aimed to convince the scribes of the wonderful investment opportunities available in the former Soviet Union, where S&P has launched a new fund

But the timing was dreadful. Soros has also been attacked by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed as the cause of Southeast Asia’s currency turmoil..

Earlier this month Save & Prosper, a UK investment management company, flew a bevy of journalists to Moscow. The Quantum Fund, then about $ 2 billion in size, tumbled a huge 30 percent. But it was Soros’ gains in 1992 that brought him international attention. He bet against the pound in 1992, wagering it would be forced to drop out of a European monetary arrangement That bet reaped his funds an enormous $1bn. That means they are investment funds that bet on stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities worldwide with borrowed money.The Soros funds also were pummeled in the 1987 stock market crash. Soros Fund Management, founded by currency speculator George Soros, suffered its heaviest one-day loss – $2bn – in the market plunge on Monday, the fund confirmed.

Half the losses were sustained by the Quantum Fund, which is the flagship of a group of seven hedge funds under the banner of the Quantum Group of Funds. The Quantum Fund had nearly dlrs 10 billion in assets under management before the market drop. “The recent volatility in the world’s financial markets is reflected in the volatility of the Quantum Group’s performance,” Soros Fund spokesman Shawn Pattison said yesterday.
The funds were apparently hit not only by the plunge in stock markets around the world on Monday, but also by the decline in the value of the dollar, which was weakened by the selloff on Wall Street.Although the Quantum Fund tumbled 8.9 percent on Monday, the Soros funds are on average up 17.7 percent for the year, Pattison said.The Quantum Group of Funds, totaling nearly $19 billion in assets under management, are high-risk hedge funds. And these are people with considerable experience of capitalism: for countries that have only emerged into the global market place in the past decade, and which are still unsteady on their feet, this week’s rollercoaster ride will have left them feeling distinctly queasy..

Watching daytime TV, Hap notes: “I could have told those people quick-like why they were having so much trouble with their lives. Perhaps that accounts for the jolting, cut-and-paste feel of much of the writing.The gear-crunching in some paragraphs might be down to the translator, but presumably Todd can claim credit for the following metaphor: “He guided Patricia along the seas of literature and politics, helping her to avoid certain coral reefs.”Todd has been a painstaking researcher, but writing someone’s life – a writer’s life especially – is not synonymous with presenting the evidence of research. But it is the same message as that of Mahathir Mohamed, similar, even, to the new and cautious message of George Soros, once the prophet of global markets, now more concerned about the impact of unbridled capitalism. China’s Liberation Daily had no doubts: “Striking a blow at Hong Kong’s financial system through the foreign exchange and stock markets has become a big conspiracy by foreign exchange dealers”, it said.The Liberation Daily, of course, is by no means a representative voice in Hong Kong. In these circumstances an element of xenophobia has crept into the debate about why Hong Kong is facing financial problems. James Tien, a legislator, who chairs the powerful Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, said he doubted the government’s complacent version of events because it ignored the damage which the defence of the local currency was causing to the economy.There is an uneasy calm, with turbulence lurking around every corner.

Not only had the speculative attacks been fought off, he declared, but the SAR’s foreign reserves had risen as a result. Sir Donald Tsang, the financial secretary, was equally triumphant and earlier told legislators that “the market mechanism of natural adjustment” would cut the cost of doing business and strengthen competitiveness.Businessmen have been considerably more circumspect. Yesterday, Joseph Yam, one of the highest paid central bankers in the world, swept into the Hong Kong legislature to claim victory on all fronts. But there were widespread rumours during the weeks of problems in Brazil’s banks and the Central Bank was reported to have spent at least $10bn of its $62bn (pounds 38.7bn) foreign reserves to prop up it currency.”Brazil is potentially the magnet for currency speculators,” said Mr Porzecanski.