That may be particularly troublesome because of another difference between this crisis and the Asian one: in 1997-98, more debt was sovereign.

ECONOMIST: Economics focus

And that is the big difference between the foreign giants and their Asian competitors: the foreigners have the resources to stick to their expansion plans, while local firms are pulling back further with each additional piece of bad news.

ECONOMIST: Asian retailing

The point captured in searing temperatures in Riyadh, saw the Koreans edge into second place in Asian qualifying Group 2 to finish ahead of Saudi Arabia on goal difference and seal their place in the finals.

CNN: North Korea qualifies for 2010 World Cup

Go into an Asian market and read the ingredients on any other brand you find and you will quickly see the difference.

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The one big difference that will keep China from crisis is that it is a large international creditor, not a debtor like the Asian crisis countries.

WSJ: Philip Bowring: China Needs a 1997-Style Crisis