Financial markets: Is it too late for Kuwait?

In November last year, the cosy club of sheikhs and their courtiers who have long ruled over Kuwait was somewhat shaken when a paper written by 29 of the oil-dependent emirate’s most respected economists landed on official desks and in bankers’ inboxes.

Entitled ‘Before It’s Too Late,’ the 28-page commentary on Kuwait’s economy didn’t pull any punches. In what amounted to a blistering call to arms, the economists levelled the blame for mismanaging the economy directly at the country’s ruling elite.