The news that Dubai World, one of the stalwarts of the Dubai economy, is potentially defaulting on its debt is, quite simply, massive. It highlights the sheer scale of a financial crisis that Dubai has been doing its best to keep under wraps for more than a year. The situation is far from clear, but… [Read more]
“If you have a lot of what people want and can’t get, then you can supply the demand and shovel in the dough”. – Lucky Luciano It’s a simple enough concept, and one that helped make the father of modern organised crime in the United States cited above ‘one of the most influential builders and… [Read more]
Upon her return from the United Arab Emirates, we ask Liz Martins from the Middle East desk at BMI to share some of her views on the country and its prospects of weathering the macroeconomic storm hitting the region.
Around this time last year, I blogged about the correlation between the completion of skyscrapers and recessions. Having just returned from the UAE, which is getting ready to open the spectacular Burj Dubai in December, I can confirm the relationship remains in place. Certainly, the opening of the tower doesn’t mark the beginning of the… [Read more]
Due to popular demand following my blog piece on skyscrapers and recessions last week, I have humbly agreed to take a closer look at one of Latin America’s outstanding success stories in recent years: the Panamanian property market. Back in the liquidity-drenched days of early 2007 (remember them?!), my colleagues at Business Monitor crowned Panama… [Read more]
