THE LITTLE RED DOT FLEXES ITS FINANCIAL MUSCLES

Once labeled by then Indonesian President B.J. Habibie as nothing more than a "little red dot", my country is starting to leave its footprints in the financial world. This past week's rumors of Merrill Lynch possibly receiving a $5b capital infusion from Temasek Holdings is the latest chapter in the story of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) coming to the rescue of beleaguered financial titans suffering in the wake of the sub-prime crisis.

The American public is justifiably skeptical of the intentions of these SWFs, especially those of Middle East nations and communist China. After all, the enormous build-up in wealth of these nations have indirectly come at the expense of American consumers. China's huge trade surplus with America is one of the main sources of its prosperity. The Middle East nations almost exclusively derive their income from one source: oil. Let me re-phrase that last word. OVER-PRICED OIL as a result of an oligopoly known as OPEC.

Any skepticism on the part of Americans should not cloud the extraordinary accomplishments of Singapore. To think that a nation of of merely 4m people and only 270 sq. miles has the financial clout to rescue UBS, one of Europe's most illustrious financial institutions and looks set to do the same for America's largest brokerage. To that I say, "Damn we're good!"