Category Archives: World
Harrod's Sale Crowns Mohamed Al-Fayed World's Craziest Billionaire
When feisty Egyptian retail mogul Mohamed Al-Fayed announced earlier this week that he sold his prized luxury store Harrods to the Qatari royal family for $2 billion, it marked his official entry to the who’s-who list of ten-digit fortunes. Yes, … Continue reading
Filed under Billionaires, Business, World
Obama's Entrepreneurship Summit: Propaganda or Progress?
In case you missed it, the “new beginning” to US-Muslim relations kicked off Monday. The difference is palpable, no? Well, maybe no. Not yet- but the two-day Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship which ended yesterday at the White House is evidence … Continue reading
Filed under Billionaires, Business, World
Qatar's Visa Revenge
If the US is waiting for an apology from Qatar for last week’s insolent-ambassador incident, they are wasting their time. Qatar has been silent since last Wednesday’s flap but if this recent news out of the Qatari Embassy is any … Continue reading
Qatar Above Reproach?
You know that bad kid in the neighborhood? The one who shoplifts, loiters and sells your kid pot but who you can never rat out because his mom is your boss’s sister? The US government sure does and they’re now … Continue reading
What Abu Dhabi's Looming Power Struggle Means for Dubai
The sudden, tragic death of Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahayan in a plane crash in Morocco has cast a pall over the UAE in more ways than one. The intensely-private 41-year-old was not nearly as high-profile … Continue reading
Filed under Billionaires, Business, World
Dubai Cracks Down on the One Thing it Can Still Control
That would be randy Brits. And sexting. Massage parlors. Cooking booze. Pretty much anything that might constitute a threat to traditional Emirati culture and the very same things that differentiated Dubai from its ultra-conservative neighbors. Dubai’s value proposition to the … Continue reading
Filed under Billionaires, Business, World
Dubai Offers Cash For (Real Estate) Clunkers
The story of Dubai’s real estate market over the past eight years would make an exciting flip-book. A sleepy port town introduces freehold property rights for foreigners (May 2002) and- hang on to your hats- a buzzing metropolis is born. … Continue reading
Filed under Billionaires, Business, World
Dubai's Problems Solved*
Just as the latest debacle out of Dubai seemed to secure the world’s most picked-on Emirate’s status as Abu Dhabi’s pet poodle, comes this exciting news: “I can confirm that oil has been discovered and expect production to start within … Continue reading
The World is Sinking
It was intended to sink. That is the party line of Nakheel, developer behind Dubai’s manmade island project “The World.” The company issued the defensive statement yesterday in response to a story in Britain’s Daily Mail claiming a satellite image … Continue reading
Filed under Billionaires, Business, Uncategorized, World
Dubai Saved, Here Comes the Spanking
Well that was exciting. In a suspenseful down-to-the wire countdown, nervous investors and spooked markets got the answer they wanted this morning: Yes, Abu Dhabi would after all bail out their naughty neighbor Dubai to the tune of $10 billion. … Continue reading
Filed under Business, Uncategorized, World
