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UAE backs Dubai's banks

dubai-Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) — The yen weakened against higher- yielding currencies after the United Arab Emirates’ central bank said it “stands behind” the country’s banks, easing concern about a possible default by state-owned Dubai World.

The euro advanced for the first time in five days against the yen after the Abu Dhabi-based central bank of the U.A.E. said lenders will be able to borrow using a special facility tied to their current accounts. The Australian and New Zealand dollars rallied as demand rose for riskier assets after concern eased over credit losses in the Middle East.

“The decision by U.A.E. helped calm down credit woes,” said Akane Vallery Uchida, foreign-currency strategist in Tokyo at Royal Bank of Scotland Plc. “The yen, which was bought over jitters in Dubai, is being sold.”

Abu Dhabi Lecture: Short Summary

He began by explaining why extreme deflation scenarios are extremely unlikely under the Bernanke Fed, comparing the Fed chairman’s commitment to an anti-deflation strategy to Hitler’s Mein Kampf, a book that also clearly stated a policy program in advance but was not widely believed until it was too late.

Likewise Dr Faber believes Mr. Bernanke is committed to printing money and will in any case have very little choice because of entitlements and the US constitution. Thus he could see the S&P 500 dropping back from current levels to say 950 in this autumn but by then Fed monetary policy would be strongly inflationary and bring the market back up.

Dr Faber pointed out that with the US so deep in debt the Fed thinks it cannot allow asset prices to drop below a certain point because that would devastate the balance sheets of the banks with debt deflation. But he thinks in the long run this is just rolling up another crisis for the future that will destroy the US dollar and cause an even bigger financial crisis.

Declaring himself the ‘most pessimistic of forecasters, nobody is more pessimistic than me’ Dr Faber outlined a scenario in which the dollar has to be replaced by another unit after a future inflation, and holders of cash and bonds lose virtually everything in the process.

Emirates Palace unveils gold dispensing ATM

Emirates Palace has raised the luxury stakes in the Gulf even higher by unveiling an ATM that dispenses gold.

The machine, which monitors the price of gold minute-by minute, offers small bars that weight up to 10 grammes engraved with the Emirates Palace logo, as well as a variety of coins.

Thomas Giessler, the inventor of the Gold to Go machine, chose Abu Dhabi because of its luxury atmosphere, and hopes it will tie in nicely with the region’s traditional ties in gold commerce.

“A gold machine should be made of gold,” said Thomas Geissler, the chief executive of Ex Oriente Lux AG. “This is now at a hotel made out of gold. It is the perfect place.”

Six coins of differing weights come engraved with a maple leaf, kangaroo and Krugerrand, symbols of the gold-producing nations South Africa, Canada and Australia.

Emirates Palace Hotel general manager Hans Olbertz said: “We seized upon this idea and, as one of the most exclusive hotels in the world, we wanted the Emirates Palace to play a pioneering role and be the first hotel in the world to offer its guests this golden service.”

The idea is aimed at both a souvenir and an investment. Gold is still one of the most sustainable forms of investment and is currently as a record high price due to volatility in the current global economic market. (more…)

Visualizing The Global Rush To Build Skyscrapers


In the last two years, 39 skyscrapers taller than 300m have been constructed, with five of the them eclipsing the height of the Empire State Building.
Global skyscraper construction has increased a whopping 402% since 2000.

HIGH-RISE HOT SPOTS

China

Nearly every sizeable Chinese city has skyscrapers under construction, and the numbers are staggering. Since 2012, China has added 38 skyscrapers over 300m (~1,000 ft) in height, and there are another 16 skyscrapers on the way in 2018.
In particular, the Pearl River Delta megaregion, which is anchored by Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, has seen an astonishing commercial construction boom. Today, 20 of the 100 tallest buildings on earth are located in just this one urban megaregion of China. (more…)