Still, there are juicy pickings to be had from loan-sharking to destitute gamblers.

ECONOMIST: Macau

More than 30 people have been killed so far this year, as rival triads fight for control of lucrative gambling, loan-sharking and prostitution businesses.

CNN: ASIANOW - Asiaweek | Daily Briefing: Holiday Hiatus? Hardly

In Europe, for-profit medicine is barely more respectable than loan-sharking.

ECONOMIST: Medicine for export | The