Posted on 11/30/2009 7:34:11 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Global markets sank sharply at the end of last week on fears that Dubai World, a subsidiary of the government of Dubai, was on the verge of defaulting on approximately $60 billion of the emirate's $80 billion in total debt held by creditors world-wide. The rush of news stories added to the wildfire of panicky speculation, with headlines ranging from "Dubai Default Risk May be Big US Bank Problem," to "Dubai Shows Limits of Government Rescues."
The mini-panic, however, has little to do with Dubai and everything to do with the tenuous psychology of global investors still skittish after the financial crisis that hit in the fall of 2008.
The challenges that Dubai faces are both well-known and at least a year old. In the wake of the global financial crisis, Dubai's debt was seen as one of many international soft spots, especially since most of the debt was tied to the assumptions that oil would stay above $145 a barrel, and that Dubai would continue to make the fantastic real-estate gains that had characterized the previous years.
The much-lauded and debated Dubai development model depended in part on a well of capital secured by oil and buoyed by the confidence of the emerging world. That confidence led to the creation of man-made islands, ski slopes in the desert, and some of the world's tallest buildings. It also led to aggressive foreign investments in a portfolio that included luxury stores such as Barney's and frivolities such as Madame Tussaud's wax museums.
What led to Dubai's rise was a vision of Arab entrepreneurialism, easy credit, and anything-is-possible attitude that epitomized the "if you build it they will come" philosophy. It was and is a dynamic materialistic outpost in a corner of the world more identified with religious and ethnic strife,
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
you recall the peninsula shaped like a palm tree and loaded with mansions? that was in Dubai.
or the islands shaped like a map of the world? Dubai
the world’s tallest skyscraper? Dubai
the giant sail-shaped hotel? Dubai
Ski slopes in the mall? Dubai.
Dubai
megalomania, insane gigantism and degenerated ‘paris hilton’ lifestyle... go skiing in the rockys or the alps and go to a beach in brasil.
US outrage over Citi loan to Dubai
A Dubai mart is a walmart with Camel parking.
Please note that Bill Clinton has been a huge supporter of investment in Dubai. He has been paid millions to smooth over the doubters of this anti-Semitic bunch of thugs. Bill Clinton... the gift that keeps on giving.
Clearly you have never been to Dubai.
Have no intention of going anywhere close to where a RH can blow my a** off because of the way I dress are what I eat, are believe.
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