"What about the middle east? With all the talk about European banks and exposure to the PIGS. How big a hit is Egypt or Libya? They are not even mentioned as write offs."

Eoin Treacy's view Thank you for this question which may be of interest to other subscribers. Despite civil upheaval, Egypt does not appear to be in any danger of imminently defaulting on its debts. It still has rather favourable foreign currency reserves and according to Wikipedia, Egypt's external debt was $29 billion in 2007. Despite Libya's civil war, its oil wealth makes it unlikely to default. In addition both these countries have recourse to a weaker currency with which to improve competitiveness.