South Korea's Park Tae-Hwan won the silver in an Asian record of 1:44.85 with American Peter Vanderkaay third in 1:45.14.

CNN: Phelps on course with third gold medal

But such portfolio investments are also handy and have driven Asian stockmarkets to record levels.

ECONOMIST: Malaysia��s misdiagnosis

When economic recovery takes hold, nationalized banks will gradually be divested -- and the track record of the Asian Crisis countries on privatization is good.

CNN: REFORM IS CRUCIAL

Now Asian companies were among the big winners during a record year for the videogame industry.

NPR: Surprise Winner in the Video-Game Console Wars

Gold imports have been a major contributor to the South Asian economy's current-account deficit that widened to a record 6.7% of gross domestic product in the October-December quarter, the latest period for which the figure is available.

WSJ: India Trade Deficit Widens

Few investors have as good a track record as Robert Horrocks, when it comes to investing in Asian markets.

FORBES: Don't Worry About A Hard Landing In China -- Here's What's Next For Asian Markets

This speed-climbing technique is known as running a PDL (or Pakistani Death Loop, purportedly named after an unfortunate South Asian climber who took a huge fall off the Nose attempting to break the record).

WSJ: El Capitan's Nose in a Day | By Michael J. Ybarra

Riding the Asian debt boom, Sinopec's latest bond is the third-largest on record in Asia outside of Japan that was denominated in either dollars, euros or yen, according to data provider Dealogic.

WSJ: Sinopec Issues $3.5 Billion Bond, Asia's Biggest in a Decade

Asian companies are taking advantage of the renewed enthusiasm from the U.S., borrowing at record low rates.

WSJ: The U.S. Is Back in Asian Debt