Any hopes that emerging markets could somehow ring fence themselves from the eurozone debt crisis and the misery of the US economy have been unequivocally shattered this month. Forget it.
More specifically, it is their currencies that have suffered a rout, justifying the decisions of many central banks to build up their foreign exchange reserves in recent years.
Global emerging stock markets GEMs have slumped by almost 18% in September, which is the worst monthly decline since October 2008, according to a Citi research report issued this week. And, given the savage unwinding of the emerging market carry trade, over 40% of that collapse is...