Investors breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as Abu Dhabi rode to the rescue of its naughty younger brother Dubai.

A last-minute $10bn loan reassured investors that no problem in global markets is too big to bail out. $4.1bn was used to repay troubled property developer Nakheel's bond which came due yesterday. The rest will buy Dubai World time to negotiate a restructuring of its debt with lenders.

Stock markets around the world made gains. But they shouldn't get too complacent. Dubai's little hiccup is far from being the worst shock investors can expect in the months to come...

Dubai's not the only region in trouble right now

Dubai's woes aren't important enough on their own to derail the global economy, as my colleague Cris Sholto Heaton pointed out in his MoneyWeek Asia email yesterday (you can subscribe to it here for free). However, the emirate's clumsy attempts at dealing with its debt problems are a very real reminder that the world is a risky place.

And it's not the only region in trouble. Many far more financially significant parts of the world are under pressure. For example, the Greek government seems to be waking up to the need to reassure markets about its commitment to dealing with its budget deficit. But there's a big difference between talking about fiscal responsibility and acting on it.

Unlike Ireland, the Greeks haven't yet convinced their public sector workers of the need for wage cuts and job losses. Indeed, the Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, has said that public sector workers will receive real wage increases next year. As Jonathan Loynes of Capital Economics points out, that's "hardly a sign of serious fiscal restraint."

Meanwhile, Austria has just nationalised its sixth-largest bank, Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank International. It's the second Austrian bank nationalisation since the financial crisis began. The main worry for Austrian banks is property debts going bad in Eastern Europe. A bank collapse in Austria could undermine confidence in the whole region.

With all these timebombs waiting to go off, the euro looks vulnerable to falling further, particularly against the dollar. We looked at ways to play a rising dollar last week: Three ways to profit as fear returns to global markets.

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