From The BBC:
This time last year, Dubai was making headlines for entirely different reasons.It was the opening party of the Atlantis hotel, the star attraction of the city’s man-made palm-shaped island. Organisers spent millions on the fireworks and even more on the celebrities. As the sky exploded overhead, broadcast live around the globe, it was Dubai’s message to the world that it had arrived. But as Dubai’s elite sipped their champagne, the financial crisis was already beginning to take its toll in the West. For Dubai, this was the last night of extravagance before the credit crunch came knocking. And so, 12 months on, the headlines are very different. But who spoiled the party, and how? Perfect stormLiving in Dubai, as I have for the last two years, it seems everyone has a different theory.
Some say it was the perfect storm: a property bubble waiting to burst, with prices rising by the day, fuelled by rampant speculation. Built on and bought with borrowed money. No-one asked how, or even if,…
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