Another one bites the (desert) dust

Dubai has joined the Scottish Premier Alex Salmond's 2006 "Arch of Prosperity", with fellow bankrupt members Iceland and Ireland. Sheikh Mohammed’s, the emirate's alpha male, building spree ended badly when Dubai failed to back "Dubai World", the umbrella company behind all those nice hotels, because there is not enough money.

To cut it short: a teenager (Sheik Mohammed) took his dad's credit card and went on a shopping spree expecting the dad (Abu Dhabi, the Emirate with oil and gas) to pay the bill. The problem is the dad was already upset about the whole business and the uncles (Emirates Central Bank and the international credit markets) couldn't keep cheating the creditors by giving away Monopoly notes and borrowing for ever and ever.

The Dubai crisis offers some relief for the cynical: at least it was your neighbour's house burning and not yours. Next in line in Greece. And printing money and depending too much on foreign funding sounds worryingly like Britain.

Dedicated to our fellow spender Sheikh Mohammed !