The UK and US press have been making themselves feel better by trashing Dubai

How many cars were abandoned at Dubai airport in 2008 and January 2009? Eleven.

Yes, Dubai’s immigration authority is cancelling about 1,500 work visas per day, but what the press failed to ask was how many new work visas it was issuing. In January 2009, it was about 2,500 per day, which equated to an overall gain of 30,000 people per month. My visa is cancelled each year – the same day it is renewed.

Dubai is scarcely becoming a ghost town. Perhaps 1,000 persons have been laid off, but their employers are putting them on “holiday” rather than reporting their termination to immigration. This gives them time to find new jobs or have their lives in order before they leave. New construction is being postponed, but projects under way, such as the metro, are being completed. Real estate prices have dropped on average 30% in the past four months, but that is from prices that rose about 30% in 2006, 70% in 2007, and 100% in 2008.

Ken, via the website

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