Suddenly it is not just east Asia but the whole world that has become unpredictable. As a recent Thai visitor remarked, no one talks about an Asian financial crisis any more. Attention is now directed at how to manage the global financial system, with its huge, labile capital flows.
Predictions are more common nowadays than remedies.
Former Fed chairman Paul Volcker predicts that the current crisis will speed up globalisation, as large players strive to achieve even greater size and diversity. Volcker also foresees a move towards seeking currency stability through regional arrangements - the apotheosis of such arrangements being the European single currency. Perhaps such arrangements will eventually emerge in Asia. In the short run, though, regional co-operation on financial matters is not much in evidence, particularly as far as Southeast Asia is concerned. Dr Mahathir's decision to impose capital controls and pick on his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim has left Malaysia on its own, and in an uneasy mood - a mood crisply depicted by Margaret Clark on page 6.