The subsidies, er, bailout packages, are flying thick and fast now: Germany is now offering 100 billion Euros in loans to companies facing tight credit amid falling machine tool orders. Japan is offering trade financing to exporters. This echoes calls earlier this week for a UAE industrial bank that would offer government loans to companies that can't prise funds from banks.
Some industry players are also suggesting the government get ahead of the curve and set up an agency that would be able to buy loans from the country's banks, lowering their loan-deposit ratio - already over the 100 per cent legal limit - and so allow them to start lending out their new deposits and liquidity injections. Central Bank governor Sultan bin Nasser al Suwaidi apparently thinks this is a dumb idea. Why build a levee before the floodwaters rise? Nonperforming loans aren't a problem yet, so why bother? What banks need is more liquidity, says the man whose Dh50bn in liquidity injections have, according to bankers and economists, done little to ease liquidity. Instead, Mr Al Suwaidi is suggesting that banks and companies pay off their foreign loans to reduce their reliance on pesky international capital markets, thereby removing more funds from the country and sending them abroad.
Now, Emirates NBD is reportedly going to convert federal deposits into federally owned equity, which is tantamount to the US federal government buying part of Citigroup, i.e. a bailout. How much with the government end up owning? Will Rick Pudner, like Vikram Pandit, get to keep his job? Stay tuned for the answers to these and other fascinating questions.
It's never a good sign for an economy that stocks rise on hopes that the government will be dissolved. But that's what's happening in Kuwait, where reports that the Emir might dissolve Parliament have buoyed hopes that doing so would remove the major obstacle to passing an effective economic bailout package.
warnold@thenational.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Zombieland: Double Tap
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone
Four out of five stars
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UAE SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Khalid Essa, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Salem Rashid, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Attas, Walid Abbas, Hassan Al Mahrami, Mahmoud Khamis, Alhassan Saleh, Ali Salmeen, Yahia Nader, Abdullah Ramadan, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Fabio De Lima, Khalil Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Muhammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
'Gold'
Director:Anthony Hayes
Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes
Rating:3/5
MATCH INFO
Sheffield United 0 Wolves 2 (Jimenez 3', Saiss 6)
Man of the Match Romain Saiss (Wolves)
