More drama likely before the tragedy comes to an end

Fair is foul and foul is fair, hover through the fog and filthy air. So did the three witches in Macbeth warn that deceit and betrayal are part of any professional relationship, as Banquo later learnt the hard way when Macbeth hired hitmen to rub out his loyal pal. Career, Shakespeare knew even in the early 17th century, comes before camaraderie.

Investors and businesspeople here in the UAE generally have little to fear from knavery or murder, unless they happen to be of the Chechen persuasion. But there is plenty of potential treachery in the glee-mongering that has accompanied the recent rally in local markets.

The backslapping taking place appears to be the mirror image of the deep denial this nation and many others indulged in before the spreading global crisis struck them last autumn. “It couldn’t affect us,” they said in every city from Sydney to Riyadh and Dubai to Singapore. “Our monetary and fiscal houses are in order, our current accounts are high, our foreign currency reserves swollen.”