Asia: The uncertain epidemiology of eurozone contagion

Wondering if one party sneezing will cause another to catch a cold has been among the most common metaphorical questions of the past few years. If Lehman sneezes, does Wall Street catch a cold? If the US property market sneezes will the stock market catch a cold? If Greece sneezes, might Europe catch a cold? You get the picture. The answer to all of these has turned out to be a resounding yes. But what of Asia?

With Europe enduring something approaching full-blown flu, is it inevitable that Asia will start coughing and spluttering? This has been the question concerning capital markets professionals in the east as they track the financial tornado in the eurozone and wonder if they might yet be sucked into it.