When the world started to melt
Asian banks: Now comes the real crisis
Asian research: Worth the paper it's printed on?
Hedge funds: You can run but you can't hide
Country Risk December 1997: It could be worse
Global Economic Projections: Overall Rankings
"The last time I saw something like that," commented one wry old hand, swigging a gin and tonic, "was when Drexel Burnham Lambert issued advertisements three days running denying they were insolvent. Of course, on the third day they went under..."
Hong Kong's business and banking elite were stunned by Peregrine's rearguard press action on October 27. Rumours about the firm were very bad indeed. But no-one expected the full-page advertisement in major newspapers denying them.
The ad, issued by order of the board, had a last paragraph printed entirely in capital letters. It stated: "Rumours of losses by Peregrine running into hundreds of millions of us dollars and of Peregrine's financial demise are completely false."
The advertisement included near-up-to-the-minute figures for the firm's performance. It stated that its (unaudited) net profits in equity trading and derivatives were $16 million in the year to October 24 - a fall of $23 million from the first-half figure.