The economic news is so frighteningly bad here, it has all but squeezed out reports of the turmoil wrecking the developing world. And in a globalised economy there is no insulation for anyone. The emergency spreading through Eastern Europe has sent currencies plunging in financially stretched nations like Hungary and solid economies like Poland. The crisis threatens political stability along the European Union’s eastern border.

Over the weekend, the European Union’s wealthy members rejected calls for a bailout of its poorer members. Collapsing economies in Eastern Europe could bring down the banks in the West that lent to the East. Such turmoil should serve as a warning about the

perils of ignoring the disasters unfolding across the developing world. Poor countries remain the world’s only hope for economic growth this year, but that’s dimming as they are walloped by collapsing exports and the shutdown of foreign finance.

As the credit crunch spreads, the world stands in need of economic stimulus. Poor countries, however, do not have the resources to neither pay for their own

fiscal pump-priming nor to recapitalise foundering banks and reignite the lending to their private sectors. They need outside help.

For their own sake, developed countries should provide it.