Lehman collapse: Dubai and Gulf give a glimpse of a new world order

Nowhere did the financial crisis expose dreams as fantasy more starkly than Dubai and the Gulf. But perhaps nowhere, not even China, is the new world order that might result more clearly visible.

In the early months of the credit crisis, before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Gulf states seemed immune.

Energy giants such as Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi saw their sovereign wealth funds swell from the upwards surge of the oil price.