They have gone from being feared to (almost) felt sorry for in a very quick span. Now, Outlook Business has an article examining how SWFs are likely to behave going forward. Even as the US, Europe and many other parts of the world stare at a recession, many SWFs may alter their very nature from being externally focussed investment engines to becoming resource providers for internal growth. They also face the prospect of a significant depletion in resources as their domestic economies slow down. ...It is too early to deliver a verdict on whether the November 2007 charge of SWFs into the global financial arena was just a solitary event or a sign of things to come. Developed markets such as the US and Western Europe would benefit from their infusions, despite widespread nationalistic fervour against them in those economies. But the greater benefit would be to the economies that sponsor such SWFs. This is perhaps best illustrated by the October 2008 $12.3 billion joint investment by Qat...