Finaly the arrogant sheikh and their entourage bow down into reality ..as expected

After the 'bow and scrape' for 6 to 7 years and totally disregard about the financial risks, now Dubai finally have to embrace realities...
So, my billions dollar question is where the heck is your so call smart high esteem western consultants huh? Those guys would says what ever you would like to hear...a classic example never the less. Postponing debt repayments is just a lame excuse of corporate PR damage control, the bigger picture is default. A default is a default and that about it. Too much wasteful spending,,too much excessive showoff and egos, too many idiotic dictate the policy and running the show, with the easy oil dollar went into smoke, leaving a tremendous debts for generation to come... The Arabs are screwed!


Pity those people on the streets...and those who's bought the properties..and the list goes on and on. 



DUBAI/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Dubai said on Wednesday two of its flagship firms planned to delay repayment on billions of dollars of debt as a first step toward restructuring Dubai World, the conglomerate that spearheaded the emirate's breakneck growth.

The sudden move by the Gulf government led Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service to deeply downgrade several government-related entities. Moody's slashed some units to junk status and S&P said the restructuring could be considered a default.

The government's announcement, which said consultants Deloitte had been appointed to help with the restructuring, sent the cost of insuring Dubai's debt against default soaring and bond prices tumbling.

State-run Dubai World has $59 billion of liabilities, its subsidiary Nakheel said in August, a large proportion of Dubai's total debt of $80 billion.

Analysts expect financial support from deep-pocketed Abu Dhabi, a neighboring member of the United Arab Emirates, to keep Dubai afloat. But Dubai will likely have to abandon a flamboyant economic model that focused on heavy real estate investment and inflows of foreign capital.

"It's shocking because for the past few months the news coming out has given investors comfort that Dubai would most probably be able to meet its debt obligations, and most analysts were of the view that Nakheel's commitments would be met," said Shakeel Sarwar, head of asset management at SICO Investment Bank.

SIX-MONTH STANDSTILL

The government said in a statement: "Dubai World intends to ask all providers of financing to Dubai World and Nakheel to 'standstill' and extend maturities until at least 30 May 2010."

Moody's cut ratings on some government-related entities to junk status, while S&P cut ratings on some entities to one level above junk.

S&P said the restructuring "may be considered a default under our default criteria, and represents the failure of the Dubai government (not rated) to provide timely financial support to a core government-related entity."

Nakheel, developer of iconic palm-shaped residential islands owned by Dubai World, has a $3.5 billion Islamic bond maturing on December 14 and debt worth 3.6 billion dirhams ($980 million) due on May 13, 2010. Limitless, another Dubai World developer, has a $1.2 billion bond maturing next March 31.

The announcement appeared to be timed to minimize its impact on markets; it came after the stock market shut and just before the eve of the long Eid al-Ad holiday, which will close many firms and government offices in Dubai and the Gulf until December 6.

But the cost of insuring Dubai government debt against default with five-year credit default swaps soared, jumping over 100 basis points to 420.6 from a close of 318 a day earlier, according to CMA DataVision. Nakheel's Islamic bond prices fell more than 20 points to 87.

"The market had expected a timely repayment of the $3.5 billion sukuk and spreads had narrowed. This will destroy a lot of confidence," said Eckhart Woertz, economics program manager at Gulf Research Center.

Dubai's economy was hit hard as the global credit crunch over the past year ended a six-year boom in the region and sent the emirate's once-flourishing property sector into decline.

Dubai's announcement Wednesday shook the confidence of investors in government debt elsewhere in the region; credit default swaps for Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Qatar also rose, by more modest amounts.

Investor confidence in Saudi Arabia has been hit this year by up to $22 billion of debt restructurings at the country's Saad and Algosaibi groups.

DEBT-RAISING

In another move Wednesday which the government said was not connected to the Dubai World restructuring, Dubai raised a further $5 billion as part of a $20 billion bond program launched this year. The $5 billion was half of what it had previously said it would raise.

The $5 billion tranche, with a maturity of five years and paying 4 percent interest, was placed with two Abu Dhabi-controlled banks, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Al Hilal Bank, officials said.

Dubai has said previously that proceeds from its bond scheme will underpin companies such as Nakheel, as part of its drive to build tourism as an alternative to dwindling oil reserves.

(Reporting by Rachna Uppal, Andrew Hammond, Matt Smith, Nicolas Parasie, Enjy Kiwan, Carolyn Cohn; Additional reporting by Ciara Linnane, Caryn Trokie, John Parry and Walden Siew in New York; Writing by Thomas Atkins; Editing by Andy Bruce, Andrew Torchia and Kenneth Barry)

I beseek thee, pees

Modern slavery in United Arab Emirates and elsewhere

*updated at 8:35 PM, April 11, 2009

I have read some comments tote elsewhere, such naysayer and a bit moron who's lack of a common sence or simple logic. Some comment kind of funny but I'm not amuse by such remark! Some toke it as patriotic, and tries as much to defend their country etc etc. I'm not going to reproduce it here tho'.

Anyway Islam forbit cruelty treatment even to the animal, and yet this is not animal, this is a human being, pretty much like you and me. Well they might be smaller, thinner and indeed came from inferior country perhap much like the Emiratis before the oil was discover. If it's not because of the black gold, chances are, this bedouins still chasing the camel and frantikly looking for the water like their ancestor in not so distant past and you should know better of how difficult it be, what a frantic undertaking I must say.  So let not forget about your past or else you are betting for doom.

With the ecomony mismanagement,  property bubble and global financial melt down that your inept goverment fail to calculate in your master planning despike some credible financial guru predict it so many years before the sub-prime crisis taken place in the US.  You keep building a lavish, massive building and bloody excessive in nature to boast your Beduin's pride an ego, yet you fail to properly address the nature of property bubble nor the gloomy possibilities of impending global economy hiccup then. While the smart people from all over the world race among themself to propose yet another gigantic project which more often than not stress the environment futher, couple with other basic issue like lack of town planning, many problem pop up and many more will surface for many years to come for sure. With a little oil reserved in Dubai, oil price declining, debts sckyrocketing than the GDP, and the global economy snlow down, thing are pretty bleat for Dubai for sure,  so don't be so ignorant please. Penny wise and pound foolish. 

And if you still fail to realise than tries imagine yourself as a slave workers. Perhap you should, for a minute step outside your super air-condition hall/veranda, let the Middle East's scorching sun burn your skin a little while, perhaps the sensation will invoke some feeling in you, some humility, compassion, love as well as benevolence as what been thought by our beuty religion of peace and way of life, Islam. Islam liberate the slavery. The only one religion who do so is Islam, there's no mention about the slavery in the Bible, no none at all, there's great deal of slavery in Hinduism with their caste and stuff. So tell me what value you guys follow?

For the other readers, this bad workers treatment is not new really, the Human Rights Watch group already publish the report almost 4 year before, yet this still happening, and many poor soul still fall trap on the honey trap while they search for a greener pastures (carpet?) inDubai and their sorrounding area. They been promised a good salaries etc etc but realities is they been con into a dubious contract, inhuman treatment, with a small salary nothing more than slavery I must say. This are breadwinner mind you, they put food to the table, there's many small mouth to feed and aging parent to look after. Pluss the huge money that they borrow to pay up-front for visa fees, medical fee, airline ticket and whopping charges by recruitment agency, from friends, realtives, loan shark and not so shark lender that still need to repay. Suddenly, they realise that the pay check is not even half what been promised then. With extremely penny wise they need to support the family and service the loan back home.

So you tell me how much misery that you people imlicting to this poor workers and their immediate familly. While almost 99 percent of the private work force in UAE are foreigners and they make up about 85 percent of the UAE population, you should know how many of their suffering family by now. So while you sipped some fancy mocha/cappuccinos in a fancy restaurant, you might want to pause for a sec and think about some people somewhere, who might not have anything to eat at all/not having a proper meal, malnultition, sick, family disintegrated and what have not just because of your kind attitude and the lame duck goverment that fail miserably to tackle the issue. The whole lots of you.. 

Anyway here is excerpt from the Human Rights Watch report addresses the abusive conditions faced by migrant construction workers in the UAE dated in 2006.

Dubai, with its glittering new skyline of high-rise buildings and its profusion of luxury resorts and real estate, is the most globally emblematic evidence of the economic rise of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As the UAE undergoes one of the largest construction booms in the world, at least half a million migrant construction workers are employed there. Behind the glitter and luxury, the experiences of these migrant workers present a much less attractive picture—of wage exploitation, indebtedness to unscrupulous recruiters, and working conditions that are hazardous to the point of being deadly. UAE federal labor law offers a
number of protections, but for migrant construction workers these are largely unenforced.

This Human Rights Watch report addresses the abusive conditions faced by migrant construction workers in the UAE, specifically their exploitation by employers...

Building Towers, Cheating Workers report by Human Rights Watch, read it all here , in pdf format, which the abc news pick up a little latter.

While we on this topic still, perhap you might want to watch this video too from the KSA aka the funny Wahhabis land where women cannot drive, old mosque and building dated back in prophet era been bulldozer,  the companion tombstone been razed to the ground. This historic site not only need to be preserved and or at least have respect for the grave of the dead instead of been buldoser to the ground on the pretex people tend to whorship the grave and yet latter at the same site, they build anything from parking lot to the toilet! how bloody insulting! This is the same people with the same ideology that aid the Brits army and backstab the ottoman empayar from within, subsequently weaken the turks in Hijaz open theater, who's previously gaining the uperhand in the northern/European theatre. It never cease to amuse me reading/hearing the Wahhabi apologetics and their blind supporter who read anything but the book and story printed by the Wahhabis only. They insist not to be been label as Wahhabi and argue is was invent by the west yet they fail to remember the history, it's their forefather who open the gate and help the Christian bloke to defeated the great Muslim empire. They still following the same ideology and the same man who justify the actions. Their forefather disrecpect and destroy the grave and monument related to our Prophet/Companions before and their great great offspring did just the same to this very days pluss some funny rule as well. So why do they feel shame now? But then their funny fatwas and rules can be relax, but only for those who's walking in the corridor of power, the royal household, thousands of them. What about the ordinary people?screw 'em!

While the ordinary saudi get kill on drug trafficking, the saudi royal prince get caught red handed with plane load of drug, cocaine worth of £50 million  in their private jet in into Europe, been shelter and shielding with diplomatic immunity in the Wahhabi land, saved from even a sligtly harm. The others royalties just like many not so royal blood but rich enjoy a whopping expensive booze and womeniser a lots, as any high society or even the whore would know better of how bloody generous they could be..not helping the poor mind you but in the bed! A ho even bragged they 20-30K is nothing if he really like you! While the Saudi population in general, live in substandard facilities, abusing system and deprive the womenfolk despike Islam teach the otherwise. Regarding the prince with the drug case in the US, I dunno what bargain it would be, but what ever it is, the smart ass in the Washington and france would manipulate this again the Saudi goverment for sure. They would demand things, only god almighty know what it be this time. Yup this time..

They said the wealth belong to Allah SWT, yet I don't see it fit the descriptions. Only a fool would believe the retoric. And now they bring the US army in the holly land in the pretex of Saddam treat but the truth is to protect the Saudi royal family from the impending treat with from within(it was widely know among the intelligence community and war planner about the Saudi's situation in the late 90's), the expensed borned by the Saudi goverment, well it ok, as they are not accountable to any scrutiny from the like of parliment. Again the wealth belong to Allah SWT as they say so what big deal with few billions? I dunno how to describe it when I lay my hand on some material, documenting and describing in vivid detail of how the United Stated counterpart with what I would call a "poker style", managed to push the inept Saudi's counterpart to pay for all expenses even the single brick lay to build the US base, all in all in the tune of billions petrol dollar money of course, I could not forget the laughter and remarks and gesture from the correspondent when the high rank retired army told how they scramble on the jet plane and jetting to Europe to bank in the billion dollar cheque, so that they can earn the overnight interest! They would not risk loosing a single day interest mind you. Anyway this is the person who "entrust" to guard the 2 holly land ladies and getlement. Looking at how they handle things, my guess as good as you guess, it's not an isolated cases really. So I will left you with the knowing that the ammo, jet fuel and many thing associate wth the US war been fund by the muslim coffer, I don;t want to suggest where the US marine use those arsenal as I'll leave it to you all to ponder.

A special documentary on slavery in the land of Wahhabis and their not Wahhabi royal household.

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Btw, for the sake of this article, I won't delve futher, so I better stop here. Anyways the Wahhabis and the House of Saud have a unique relationship. Although I understand the royal household is not subscribe to the teaching of Wahhabi but they do tad along with their Wahhabi cleriks, base on article an insight stories and documentaries of the many prince and princes(5000 thousand of them!) that begun to emmerge on this past few years(notieceable especially after 9-11 taken place-weird huh?not really if you knew abou the scrutiny toward the Saudi back then). They need each others, the Wahhabis cleriks and the Saudi royal household  need each other like the oxygen to the living cells. They are symbiosis and co-existance, that what I can say of their not so complex relatioship.