The living dead

HERE is an illuminating exercise, recommended for those who think the worst of the Asian financial crisis is past. Visit the Hong Kong headquarters of Peregrine, the investment bank that collapsed earlier this month, and observe the walls stripped of pictures and empty rooms so efficiently scoured by the liquidators. Then visit the Jakarta offices of Infiniti Wahana, the holding company for Steady Safe, an Indonesian taxicab firm whose stated inability to pay back a $350m loan from Peregrine was the final nail in the bank's coffin. The wood gleams, the pictures shine, the office bustles: business as usual.