Markets: calm, please

Edward Hadas The problems at Dubai World are unquestionably a bad sign. But Thursday’s global market response – share prices down 3 percent in Europe and 4 percent in Hong Kong, credit spreads widening around the world and the oil price down $3 a barrel – looks excessive. It is too early to know just how much international investors will lose in Dubai. But the emirate has only 1 million people, a GDP around $50 billion and debts of $80 billion, according to the government. The losses cannot be...