The mood is grim at the address Hotel in Downtown Dubai. Overlooking the iconic Burj Khalifa, the hotel has become a vantage point for viewing the spectacular dancing fountain that comes to life several times a day. But as we wait for the arrival of two of the UAE’s most senior government leaders, smiles are hard to come by and the music from the fountains is being drowned out by talk of a second global recession.
Gold has just slumped another $60, silver has plunged again to record losses of 40 percent in one week alone. Britain’s top 100 companies have lost $117bn in value the previous week, while the International Labour Organisation has just warned that G20 countries could end up losing 40 million jobs by 2012. Somehow, news of the eurozone’s plan for $2.6 trillion bailout for debt ridden countries, being flashed in the television screens at the hotel’s reception, goes unnoticed.
Everyone wants to know only one thing: is the crisis going to spread to the region? It is Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of state-backed conglomerate Dubai World and Emirates Airline, who appears first. Amidst the chaos, he is (as always) a figure of calm. Is he worried about a slowdown in the local economy and the event that Abu Dhabi could, as experts have warned, be affected?
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