Many big issuers of i.o.u.'s are banks, which sell their own to raise short-term capital for lending.

"It's an example of how Brazil and other emerging-market countries would be well advised not to make themselves so dependent on short-term capital."

In any event, it is not clear that Malaysia even wants short-term capital to return.

They lend short-term capital (also called bridge loans) that provide funding based on the value of the real estate acting as collateral.

A fall in interest rates will lead to an outflow of short-term capital from the country.

If there is a lesson here, it is that short-term capital is no friend to emerging economies.

Investors pulled $1 billion in short-term capital out of the country and prepared for Poland to descend into the maelstrom.

And everyone points to Chile, which taxed short-term capital until recently, when investment dried up for all emerging markets.

Initially, vegetated roofs can have a high short-term capital but the long-term energy and maintenance savings outweigh them.

If the economic situation changes for the worse, short-term capital of this kind can easily be moved away - with potentially dire effects.