Even the Smallest Gulf Economy Is Too Big to Fail
- Aiding Bahrain is seen cheaper than containing spillover
- Bahrain is said to have asked Gulf allies for support
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Its economy is 5 percent the size of Saudi Arabia’s, but analysts are betting the kingdom won’t let its neighbor’s financial woes morph into a Gulf crisis.
Bahrain, one of the most vulnerable economies in the Gulf Cooperation Council to political instability and oil-price swings, sought financial support from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to replenish its foreign reserves and avert a currency devaluation, according to two people with knowledge of the issue. A third person said Kuwait was also approached.