United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates' decision to study a possible depegging of its currency from the tumbling U.S. dollar might pressure other countries in the Middle East to follow suit. The central bank of the U.A.E. has set up a committee to study a possible depegging of the dirham from the greenback, according to a report by Zawya Dow Jones on Monday. This committee will help coordinate any delinking of the dirham and is expected to report its finding at the end of the year, the report said.

Wall Street bankers are flocking to the Middle East, and it's not for oil or the balmy weather. Years of raging energy prices have made the states surrounding the Persian Gulf one of the fastest-growing regions and a source of immense wealth seeking investments at home and around the world. The sovereign investment arms of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Kuwait have an estimated $1.5 trillion at their disposal.