Results tagged “dubai”

For some reason, spending billions on skyscrapers and man-made palm-shaped island leads to...debt! So far, the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq have fallen at least 1% (even up to 2% as soon as the markets opened today), due to, as the Wall Street Journal puts it, "fears...about the potential fallout of debt prolems at Dubai World, the city-state's largest corporate entity, which asked creditors for a six-month stay on repayment of its $60 billion in debts." UBS actually estimates that Dubai's overall debt may be over $80 billion.

A businesswoman from Dubai was found yesterday inside a condo at the Essex House, disrobed, with her throat slashed and a jumprope around her neck. 44-year-old Andree (Sara) Bejjani, president of Royal Investments, LLC, a real estate investment firm based in Dubai, had been staying at the luxury hotel on Central Park South since August. This morning cops arrested an Essex House employee, Derrick Praileau, but have not yet charged him.

Even Dubai is having money issues! Bloomberg News reports that the Dubai-based Istithmar World PSJC "may sell the luxury retailer for less than half what it paid two years ago as the state-owned fund seeks to raise cash to meet debt payments." Istithmar paid $942.3 million for the retail store in 2007, but sources say bids seem to be in the $350 million to $600 million range. An analyst points out, "It’s a buyers’ market. The fact that luxury-goods stocks have fallen more than 30 percent in the past year is also going to weigh on expectations.” Right—especially since some customers can't get credit! Related: The Barneys Warehouse Sale starts tomorrow.