Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Dubai's Debt

And why it matters to you, America.

Hard to believe no one saw it coming.


"Dubai’s request for debt ‘standstill’ stirs fear, questions" by Barbara Surk, Associated Press | November 27, 2009

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Just a year after the global downturn derailed Dubai’s explosive growth, the city is now so swamped in debt that it’s asking for a six-month reprieve on paying its bills - causing a drop on world markets yesterday and raising questions about Dubai’s reputation as a magnet for international investment.

The fallout came swiftly and was felt globally.... In total, the state-backed networks nicknamed Dubai Inc. are $80 billion in the red and the emirate needed a bailout earlier this year from its oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Markets took the news badly - with the Dubai woes and the continued fall of the US dollar giving investors twin worries.

Oh, so the DYING DOLLAR is all tied up in this, huh?

Dubai’s move raised concerns about debt across the Gulf Region. Prices to insure debt from Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain all rose by double-digit percentages yesterday, according to CMA DataVision....

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"Dubai news reaches US markets; Stocks fall as debt concerns hit once high-flying emirate" by Beth Healy, Globe Staff | November 28, 2009

Stocks fell sharply in a short trading session the day after Thanksgiving, as investors reacted to debt troubles in high-flying Dubai, news that had hit other world markets on Thursday.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 1.5 percent, or 155 points, and broader indexes fell slightly more, on news that the conglomerate Dubai World, a large state-owned developer and port owner, had asked its creditors for a six-month extension on interest payments on $60 billion in debt.

Really $80 billion, but who is noticing, right, Glob?

Asian and European markets reacted even more negatively to the news, as some global banks have exposure to the debt.... Bernard R. Horn Jr., president of Polaris Capital Management in Boston and a prominent international investor, said Dubai had a spillover effect on US stocks due to ongoing concerns that the United States is overextended financially.

We are in BIG, BIG, TROUBLE, America -- and $35 BILLION MORE for a WAR is NOT GOING TO HELP!

“The US does not have enough tax receipts to cover our spending,’’ Horn said, and reports of frivolous stimulus spending are fueling worries about the long-term health of the economy. “It’s not just Dubai. They’ve got plenty of cash in the United Arab Emirates. We don’t,’’ Horn said.

Yup, that is why your are getting a war tax, a health tax, and a fart tax.

Related: Stimulus Was a Perk

Oh, the $787 BILLION was just a BIG WASTE, huh?

There were reports of ongoing negotiations in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, that the Arab Monetary Fund would probably step in to shore up the Dubai World debt. Dubai saw booming development as a market center and luxury destination in recent years, when it could borrow money cheaply; it’s now retrenching, like much of the developed world, following the credit crisis.

Investor reaction was relatively muted in US markets yesterday, in part because trading was light and ended early for the post-holiday session, at 1 p.m. In addition, US banks were seen as having limited exposure to Dubai. Bond markets and the dollar rose as investors sought safe havens amid falling global stocks; oil prices fell....

In the DOLLAR?!!!

Yeah, OIL FELL because YOUR DOLLAR was worth just a bit more today, American.

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"Emirates to back banks amid Dubai crisis" by Associated Press | November 30, 2009

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The United Arab Emirates’s central bank said yesterday that it would offer additional liquidity to banks, signaling a push by the federal government to reassure investors worried about the country’s banking sector and its exposure to Dubai’s crushing debt.

Global equity markets were set to reopen today and investors are worried about a routing similar to that seen last week after Dubai’s chief engine for growth, Dubai World, said it wanted more time to pay some of its roughly $60 billion in debt. The UAE’s official WAM news agency said the central bank notified Emirati banks and foreign banks with branches in the country that it would make available “a special additional liquidity facility linked to their current accounts at the central bank.’’

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International investors reacted with shock to Dubai World’s announcement Wednesday that it would ask creditors to delay repayment of its debt and that of its real estate arm, Nakheel, until at least May. Nakheel has a $3.5 billion bond due in December. The company’s roughly $60 billion in debt makes up the brunt of the at least $80 billion Dubai owes as a result of a meteoric decadelong growth boom that saw the city-state transformed into a Middle Eastern Las Vegas, New York, and Los Angeles all wrapped into one....

Yup, PLAYGROUND of the POWERFUL!

Dubai officials have gone to neighboring Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich home to the federal government, for a series of meetings. Some analysts have speculated the timing of Dubai World’s announcement - on the eve of a three-day Islamic holiday - caught even Abu Dhabi’s rulers by surprise, putting them under pressure to act decisively in a bid to shore up confidence in the country’s banks. Emirati banks are believed to be shouldering a large chunk of Dubai’s debts, and international ratings agencies have either downgraded the ratings of some of the country’s banks or placed them on review for further downgrades.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - If global investors were looking for reassurances from Dubai that it would stand behind its massive, debt-swamped investment conglomerate, they got none yesterday. Instead, the city-state seemed to wash its hands of the financial woes that have rattled world markets.

The beginning of the double-dip and continuation of the Grand Depression, America? They won't hold off until after Christmas?

The muddled message from Dubai has fueled worries over a possible default by the conglomerate, which is involved in projects around the world - from Persian Gulf banks and ports in 50 countries to luxury retailer Barneys New York and a grandiose six-tower hotel-entertainment complex in Las Vegas. Many investors are hoping that the conglomerate, Dubai World, will either openly discuss restructuring of $60 billion in debt with its creditors or that Dubai’s larger, oil-rich neighbor, Abu Dhabi, will step in to restore confidence by promising to help financially.

I think it is too late for that; no one has confidence in this globalist Ponzi scheme anymore.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the most powerful of the seven highly autonomous regions that make up the United Arab Emirates, but their sharply different styles have made them rivals. For any help, Abu Dhabi would likely demand a price, possibly including increased say over Dubai’s affairs. Abu Dhabi, the seat of the UAE’s federal government, has been the more conservative, religiously and financially, relying on its oil wealth to fuel growth. Meanwhile, smaller Dubai - without any oil resources - has for the past decade been the freewheeling boomtown, racking up debt as it built extravagant skyscrapers, artificial residential islands, and malls complete with indoor ski slopes.

All while YOU WERE OPENING a FORECLOSURE NOTICE, American!

Government-owned Dubai World has been the engine for much of that growth at home and abroad. So it was a bombshell last week when Dubai said the conglomerate wanted to defer debt payments until at least May. The United Arab Emirates’ two main stock exchanges registered steep declines yesterday as they opened for the first time since the announcement, after a long Islamic holiday. The Dubai Financial Market was down 7.3 percent, while Abu Dhabi’s bourse was off about 8 percent. Brokers said they hadn’t seen such declines in at least a year.

Global markets leveled after heavy drops last week. Investors appeared to have a better sense of the size of potential losses from Dubai, and they were reassured that its woes don’t signal a new crunch for credit markets, still recovering from last year’s near-shutdown.

That is NOT what the FIRST PARAGRAPH said, damn liars!!!!

But the impact from Dubai’s comments yesterday could rekindle the same concerns.

Abdulrahman al-Saleh, Dubai’s top financial officer, distanced the emirate from Dubai World’s debt, saying that while the conglomerate was government-owned, it was “established as an independent company.’’

Moreover, lenders should take some of the responsibility for the problems, he said, arguing that they lent money to the company on the basis of the feasibility of its projects, not on assurances provided by Dubai’s government.

What, is he kidding?

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Update:


"Dubai tries to soothe panicked investors" by Barbara Surk and Tarek el-Tablawy, Associated Press | December 2, 2009

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Dubai’s ruler tried to calm panicky investors yesterday with a message that all was well in the glitzy city-state after the largest government-owned company shook global markets by saying it needed to delay payments on its $60 billion in debt.

Dubai World, one of the government’s chief investment arms, has stakes in holdings ranging from luxury retailer Barney’s New York to a grandiose six-tower hotel-entertainment complex in Las Vegas....

Any comfort from the latest statements was likely to be overshadowed by uncertainty over how Dubai would tackle its debt mess. Analysts say the crisis is symptomatic of a broader malaise in Dubai. Unlike Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich neighbor that serves as the seat of the UAE’s federal government, Dubai lacks oil wealth, and its propensity to spend big using the cheap credit available over the past few years means it has leveraged itself to the hilt.

For the past decade, Dubai has promoted itself as a freewheeling boomtown, racking up debt as it built extravagant artificial residential islands, malls complete with indoor ski slopes, and the world’s tallest tower. Such holdings, along with a massive push in infrastructure development, helped both Dubai World and Dubai build a combined debt-load that Moody’s Investor’s Service estimates could be as high as $100 billion.

So it is ALMOST TWICE what is officially being thrown around.

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And
don't forget that dollar!

"As dollar slides, crude oil rises past $78" by Associated Press | December 2, 2009

Oil prices climbed yesterday as the dollar weakened and new figures showed energy demand for crude may be growing in China....

Yup, the news JUST GETS WORSE for you, American!

Since oil is largely bought and sold in dollars, investors holding stronger currencies can buy more crude for less....

You, on the other hand, American, will PAY MORE because YOUR DOLLAR DOES NOT BUY as MUCH!!!

Gasoline and heating oil also rose yesterday....

Once again defying the "law" of supply and demand because YOUR DOLLAR'S PURCHASING POWER is ERODING!! That is why EVERYTHING STILL COSTS MORE even though they are telling us prices are not rising.

I'll only tell you that the last bill for groceries stunned me for what little I had.

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