Could Gulf investors be about to ride to the rescue of the US credit markets? Six months ago, that question might have seemed almost laughable. But as the oil price edges inexorably higher – and Western credit markets squirm in pain – the idea is now being quietly voiced behind the scenes at some Western financial groups.

After all, on one side of the world, an increasingly unpleasant liquidity crunch is taking hold. Just look at the stress emerging in the European covered bond sector and the American money markets – not to mention the continued freeze in the world of asset-backed structured credit.