DIFC loses its appetite for the lavish gathering

* username: rupertbu

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is scaling back its annual conference this year because of a dwindling appetite for lengthy, lavish gatherings.

The DIFC Week, which in past years brought to Dubai the likes of Il Divo, the singing group, Maria Bartiromo, the CNBC television anchor, and Steven Levitt, the co-author of two Freakonomics best-sellers, was delayed from last year to the first quarter of this year.

With markets still in a state of uncertainty, however, organisers decided to push the gathering back to May and shorten it from a week-long investment fest to a two-day get-together called the MENASA Forum.