speedracer
Banned
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091127/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_dubai_debt
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Debt-burdened Dubai insisted that it took into account market fallout from its appeal to delay paying creditors, but offered no specifics and did little to ease worries that dragged down global markets for a second day Friday.
Sheik Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman of Dubai's Supreme Fiscal Committee, stressed that the call to defer for at least six months at least some of $60 billion owed to creditors by Dubai World, the emirate's chief investment arm, was "carefully planned" and aimed at taking decisive action.
But the announcement appeared to reinforce worries that Dubai's rulers are fueling a crisis of confidence from world markets with their policies of keeping tight control over information on their fiscal standing and deal making. The timing of the announcement worsened the concerns, since it came ahead of a three-day Islamic holiday.
Some analysts believe the Dubai debt mess could bring demands for more financial transparency from Dubai and across the Gulf, which has become a magnet for international investment in the past decade.
"It touched investors' sensitive nerves," said Cai Junyi, an analyst for Shanghai Securities. "The world is watching whether that will have any substantial impact ... Dubai World is just like a small window that might reflect another financial tsunami."
World markets reacted in shock to what some analysts indicated amounted to a default by Dubai World, the city-state's key engine of growth with interests around the world ranging from ports to real estate.
Oil prices dropped near US$74 a barrel in Asia on Friday as investors curtailed their risky bets on commodities amid uncertainty over the extent of Dubai's financial woes.