In the US, Black Friday refers to the shopping frenzy that comes the day after Thanksgiving. I partook in the frenzy...though not as frenzied as others were. I deliberately brought only $25 with me so I would not spend so much, and I ended up buying 2 long-sleeved winter running shirts from Finish Line for $20. Score!
In Asia, "Black Friday", as dubbed by major Asian media sources, refers to the crash of all East Asian stock markets today due to the news of Dubai World's debt troubles. Dubai World's announcement today that they wished to default on 6 months of interest payments of their $59 billion debt raised serious concerns about nationally-backed corporations defaulting on their debt. Honestly, I don't think anyone should be at all surprised by this development. One only needs to take a glance at Dubai's ridiculous real-estate investments, from the environmentally-insensitive Palm Jumeriah Islands to the Atlantis hotel with the whopping $16 million opening ceremony, to see that Dubai was basically courting trouble. The sky-high fantasy has finally collapsed on Dubai...but I suppose they could always go skiing in the ski slope they built in the middle of the desert.
Just a year or two ago, Dubai was being lauded as being a "financial foundation" that all Arab countries should follow. Today, it's being compared with Argentina and Russia for their financial mismanagement that led to hyperinflation, as two nations that have defaulted on their debt. But hey, as Americans, we should expect it and live with it...as one day it will be us.
Dubai's debt - $59 billion, or $26,106 per capita
US's debt - $12 trillion, or $39,099 per capita
Now won't that be a glorious day..."Hey World, can we stop paying interest on our $12 trillion debt for 6 months?"
-FCDH
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