Dubius Dubai?

[GlassOnion]

What do ya'll think will happen with Dubai? How does a city like that (aside from overspending ala indoor skiing resorts) fail? What do you do with it afterwords?

From what I understand, all the major investors have cut and run already, so all that's left is those that actually live there, but how will the city run with no money?


Also I think it was announced on Thanksgiving (shrewd planning...) so that the American stock market couldn't react, but then the market opened for 3 hours on Friday. Does it always open on the Friday after TG or was that like an 'emergency' session? Struck me as odd that it was only open for 3 hours and I dont' recall it being opened last year at all on the Friday after. But it managed to plummet 200 points right out the gate and then rally a bit to only a 150 point loss.




Anyhow here's a good (long) article over Dubai and its short comings, published in April of this year. So I suppose this was a long time coming.

The dark side of Dubai - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent

[Renee750il]

I wonder what will become of Halliburton if Dubai tanks . . . One can only hope . . . .

[GlassOnion]

I was reading some expat forums of people living in Dubai. Either the situation isn't as bad as the media is making it out to be, or the people still there are seriously delusional.

Couple people realize that they're in trouble but most people just think it's a temporary inconvenience and that the worst that'll happen is their tax-free living will get maybe a 5% tax rate at the most.

And that may be truth but...ahhh, will be interesting.

[AllieMackie]

I didn't even know all of this was going on. After reading your thread I researched a bit... interesting, to say the least.

I would guess that people are in a combination of denial and it's-not-true-until-we-see-it.

[joce]

I know a couple people,some from forums and one personally,who live their and I have not heard a thing but that its great. The bfs dad still goes there for business and he is the first one to point out when something is horrible and going down.

Who knows though? I thought it was supposed to be an independently wealthy country?

[Laurelin]

I have friends that live there and haven't heard anything about it fromt hem. They all love it there.

[BullMastiffMama]

Originally Posted by Renee750il

I wonder what will become of Halliburton if Dubai tanks . . . One can only hope . . . .

Shysters! Halliburton and KBR. KBR's downsized a bit from what I understand, not renewing US Expat's contracts in favor of paying a ****-ton less money to foreign nationals, like Turks, Kurds, and Filipinos. They get away with paying these people next to nothing, and they often cannot communicate with their supervisors, lack training, and are given sub-standard materials with which to work. And people wonder why these guys get electrocuted in the shower!?!

sorry.

/rant

[LittleBigDog]

I read the 'Dark Side' article a couple of days ago and it is grim. There is one everywhere to some extent, the system is so unbalanced globally. I was afraid of the fallout from the debt problem, but it looks like they are getting propped up a bit by the UAE central bank.

...well, now, looking for an article to post, I just found this.

Nakheel asks for Dubai Nasdaq bond freeze - The China Post

So maybe there is still a threat. Here's the article I was looking for about Dubai having bought a big chunk of the Nasdaq in 2007.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/bu...1exchange.html

I don't know if that is significant, but I was wondering about those short term bond funds where trading accounts park money for awhile. Some are uninsured. And I think money market funds use those, too. There's been some trouble twice already that I know of.

UPDATE 1-A Reserve money market fund halts distributions | Stocks | Reuters

I've wondered if this could flow down into those somehow.