The Haram Car

If you are into your green, then you will know about E85 and ethanol powered cars. Unfortunately, there is an issue:

Saudi scholar, Sheikh Mohamed al-Najimi has expressed his opinion that under Islamic law the use of ethanol could be considered a sin, as it is a form of alcohol: This opinion is based on a statement by "the prophet that prohibited all kinds of dealings with alcohol including buying, selling, carrying, serving, drinking, and manufacturing."



If you go by that rule, then you might need a driver to drive you somewhere as long as you didn't have to pay. Jurisprudence eh? What do the people of Masdar have to say about this?

Driving or Riding in an Ethanol-Powered Vehicle Could Be Sin: Islamic Scholar Opines
Islamic Scholar Suggests Using Ethanol-Powered Vehicles May Be a Sin

More Cartoon Capers

UAE bans anti-Islam Israeli cartoon on YouTube.

The United Arab Emirates has blocked an Israeli cartoon on the video sharing website YouTube due to content that mocks Muslims and insults the UAE, the country's two internet service providers announced on Wednesday.

The controversial cartoon, called Ahmed and Salim, is a set of satirical skits that center on the title characters who are more interested in Western pop culture than their father's aspirations of having them die as martyrs by carrying out terrorist attacks on "filthy Jews or Americans," which the boys continue to fail at.

Of course we are NOT going to link to the cartoon!


Full story here at Al Arabiya

Dubai's Debts

How did Dubai get in trouble? Because it was leveraged up to the hill. That's no bad thing in times of boom, but when we are in dark times such as now - you could be in deep trouble. Where do those debts lie? Well, the Economist spells it out:



So while there is significant value in what Dubai has created, it's not as if Dubai can sell itself to reap the returns. It could... if it were desperate - but selling DPW for example is like selling your soul or your essence:


On the other side of Dubai’s ledger, the government claims to have $90 billion in assets on top of the $260 billion held by its corporations. But it has not revealed the composition or liquidity of its holdings. The very fact that it had to turn to its neighbour for help suggests that its own family silver is not that easy to sell.

The big question that the Economist asks is: Abu Dhabi bails out its neighbour. What will it ask in return?

Dubai will now have to be more accommodating of its neighbour’s wishes, he says. It will, for example, have to forgo its independent foreign policy, which had seen it become Iran’s outlet to the world, even as Abu Dhabi kept a careful distance.

Dubai will also have to “lose its ambitions to become the Monaco of the Gulf,” Mr Davidson says. Abu Dhabi will insist on greater prudence and Dubai’s go-getting rulers may also now feel defeated. Their economic ambitions were driven partly by their political insecurities. “A lot of the urgency we saw in the last ten years was fuelled exactly by Dubai’s need to keep its autonomy,” Mr Davidson says.

Expect a little less gusto from Dubai in the years to come. That's no bad thing - it's like a teenager having to grow up a little earlier after having learnt its lesson. And Dubai will be a wiser adult for it.

The outstretched palm

The Israel Deal

When Dubai prevented Peer playing in the tournament, the world frowned so much so that it dealt a further punch to Dubai's image. The fact that a satellite deal is currently under process between Israel and Abu Dhabi seems surprising:

Abu Dhabi has signed a multi-million dollar deal with Israel's ImageSat International, which is co-owned by the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and several private investors, that own and operate two EROS satellites, Their services will now be open to the Gulf state as well.

A few years ago, one would have thought that it would be the other way around. Abu Dhabi seems to be making all the right moves at the moment, and the world is watching and taking note.

Abu Dhabi Recognizes It's All About Image(Sat)

Smoke from fire?

Abu Dhabi wanted Kaka, but Kaka din't want to move. So it looks as if Abu Dhabi are now interested in AC Milan, which have Kaka on their books. It is all speculation, but two things remain. Abu Dhabi love Serie A - and Abu Dhabi have money.

MILAN, Italy (AP) — AC Milan has denied a report that the Abu Dhabi United group will purchase 40 percent of the club.

Milan and club president Silvio Berlusconi's Fininvest holding company issued a joint statement saying that "the news has no basis."

Italy's leading newspaper, Corriere della Sera, reported Tuesday that after failing to purchase Milan playmaker Kaka, Abu Dhabi United had switched its focus to buying part of Milan. The paper did not cite any sources, but said the offer would be $640 million.

Last month, Kaka rejected a reported $145 million-plus transfer offer from Manchester City, which is controlled by Abu Dhabi United.

"Fininvest Spa, which controls AC Milan, denies in the most categorical manner press speculation concerning possible changes to the football club's assets," the company said. "This is a journalistic hypothesis without any basis."


No smoke without fire....

AC Milan denies Abu Dhabi report of purchase

Dubailout

Whatever you want to call it - the world sees it that Abu Dhabi has saved Dubai. Lex has coined the phrase Dubailout. We predict that there will be more dubailouting happening over the next year or so. The markets think otherwise, with trading up on announcement of the injection/bonds/bailout. But that might just be because there is now an acceptance that Dubai and Abu Dhabi are now bound by more than just being neighbours. As Lex says:

All together now. Dubai’s $10bn cash injection from the United Arab Emirates’ central bank has eased concerns about the struggling emirate’s ability to make good on $13bn in debt payments due by the end of this year. Just as important as the deal’s dollar figure, however, is the political message it sends. After weeks of uncertainty, Abu Dhabi, the Emirates’ oil-rich sugar daddy, has demonstrated its willingness to stand behind its poorer relation.

Strictly speaking, the UAE central bank’s purchase of $10bn of five-year Dubai bonds – part of $20bn in new bonds priced at 4 per cent interest – was agreed at the federal level by all seven emirates. But at its core, the move amounts to a bail-out by proxy of Dubai by its bigger, wealthier neighbour, Abu Dhabi, which is the biggest contributor to the UAE’s federal budget thanks to a quirk of geography that left it holding 8 per cent of the world’s oil reserves.

And Lex finishes with:

But, by making its implicit backing explicit, Abu Dhabi has given its neighbour valuable breathing room.

Breathe in now.....

Dubailout

Employee No. 861

The foreman tapped on the dump truck's window and broke the news: The project was slowing and fewer workers were needed. Muhammad Munir Bahadar's next paycheck would be his last.

Read the full AP article

Is $10bn enough to save Dubai?

The marker is down and the UAE central bank has lent Dubai $10bn to ease its debt repayment - and about time too. The question one must ask, is whether that is enough? There are numerous issues in play here: repayment and the projected growth that was built on that investment, as well as the future growth based on tourism, trade and property. There is not much of that around at the moment, and it will be tough over the coming couple of years - and so will there be further injections? Or will there come a point in time where things will have to change. Could the huge projects be shelved? And which ones? If you read into the lists, those that have been put on hold could quite easily go away - because without projections, without being able to repay the debt, there certainly aint no money to be ploughed into the future.

If you ask the pessimist what this was they would say that it was an exercise in image saviour. Dubai is on the ropes at the moment and needs to come fighting back. It hasn't lost the bottle, but now appears to have a fighting to chance to recover.

Dubai to take up $10bn UAE loan
U.A.E. Central Bank Steps In to Support Dubai Debt
UAE federal govt throws Dubai financial lifeline
UAE to Help Dubai Ease Debt Load