I knew sooner or later the shit would hit the fans in the region. It is a Domino affect that will affect many in the region. At the moment the Gulf Countries better pray that the US,Asia and Europe don’t come crashing down or their markets will pretty much head to zero from this point on. DFM doesn’t have much left in it. DFM share are about 1.3 as of today which is just 30% above subscription prion price lol. That is pretty much a joke.

I would be more worried about the Gulf Countries shaping up instead of slipping into civil war at the moment. I see Silver and Gold climbing from here and overseas investments from Gulf Countries dropping as locals don’t trust their money in the US or Europe as it could become seized by governments overseas were local rulers to be over thrown from their dictatorship.

I just noticed that half the shares on DFM did not even trade. Of the ones that did trade most were down. Many either did not trade or had sellers with no buyers so ended up with no trade for the day. Also noticed that a big Hotel in Dubai Marina is up for sell.
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/dubai-marina-hotel-on-market-for-95m-383367.html?message=3&

Looks like people are dumping stocks whether it be in Saudi or Dubai and now have started dumping assets as well. Things are not looking so well in the Gulf these days. I see more problems in the Gulf at the moment than any other place. With no one buying stock shares and people dumping assets I see more of a reason for Dubai Holdings to default now.

Peter: “These are worrying times for the region”

Undoubtedly so, Peter. But if civil unrest spreads in the Middle East, these will also be “worrying times” for the West, where there is also a considerably amount of inequality. Take the USA, for example:
1. In the US, the top one-hundredth of one percent now make an average of $27 million per household,
2. 44 million in the US now get “food stamps”, and over 21 US states have 1,000,000 people on food stamps, and
3. The US has a Gini coefficient rating of 45, which is much higher than that of Egypt’s (34.4), Yemen’s (37) and Tunisia’s (40).

By using the Gini coefficient (a measure of inequality, corruptness, & oppression), this means that the US the most unequal, “oppressive” and “corrupt” of the four (yet most Americans might not agree!).

Most people outside the US do not realize that there are many US cities where the “poverty rate” is at least 25%; for example: Detroit (36.4%), Cleveland (35%), Buffalo (28.8%), Milwaukee (27.8%), St. Louis (26.7%), Miami (26.5%), Memphis (26.2%), Cincinnati (25.7%), Philadelphia (25.0%). Source: US Census Bureau. There are many, many other US cities where the poverty rate hovers between 18% – 20%.

You could easily see this one coming from yesterday. Many of the stocks did not even trade and you saw sellers with no buyers or bids basically. That was a huge sign that a big market crash was evident in Dubai on DFM and sure enough market tanked today.
Of all the markets I would say Asian markets are the best and safest bets for now. With the stimulus package or POMO as they call in affect it is no wonder many people have been buying up shares as if they had a half off clearance sale on them lol..
I am buying SLV shares and option calls which have been doing well for me.

I agree with the above mentioned about “Food Stamps” But do remember that at least they are getting something. In Dubai if a person does not have income he is most likely not going to get money from the government unless he or she is a local national.

When the peak oil crisis hits, it will be interesting to see how long it takes the USA to see people take to the streets in protest. I doubt that the politicians will want to ration gasoline, since their rich buddies will find it difficult to get around rationing. Can you imagine what the price would rise to if only PRICE controls consumption. It would be bid up a LOT. Trump can pay $20 a gallon, but I doubt that the folks riding their bicycles in the cold rain will appreciate getting splashed by his limousine as he and his friends use it ALL. But who knows, those brainwashed by Fox Lies and Limbaugh might think it is all their own fault. Rush, and the other hate radio multi-millionaires, will blame it on liberals, just like Hitler blamed the depression on the Jews. It worked for him, all too well. Ignorant people hear lies enough, and they believe them. Most people are simply too busy, or lazy and disinterested, to do their own research.
During the last 40 years in the USA, food stamps, earned income tax credits, and all the other numerous social welfare programs were instituted in order to keep the poor and lower middle class tranquil, while the rich got richer & richer, often by actually weakening the US economy. Then they got bailed out by the taxpayers. As the Oscar winner of the best documentary, “INSIDE JOB” said, no one has gone to jail ! Quite the contrary, some have walked away with billions of dollars made by creating unsustainable debt which has since been “socialized” as they like to call it, on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox.
The way things seem to be going in the Middle East lately, the USA could see demonstrations next year because, in the beginning, few revolutions turn out well. So get ready for a real mess over there in oil land. Those ’social networks’ have changed everything, but the Brit’s king won the Oscar. (I was watching CNBC from Asia, and reading about the Christchurch quake.)

@ Andy:
Your commentaries were interesting reads.

JPM and Blackrock are Shorting SLV:
Regarding your investment in SLV, this ETF tracks the silver futures price, and the ETF is heavily manipulated by both JPM (the Custodian) and by Blackrock, which manages the ETF. In essence, there are many occasions throughout the trading month when Blackrock is forced to short SLV, because they are unable to obtain any silver.

JPM is Draining the Physical Silver from SLV:
In addition, over the past two months, JPM has been draining the physical silver from the ETF. Go here for more info:

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/comex-default-or-hunt-brothers-redux-comex-silver-inventories-drop-4-year-low

The Bottom Line:
If you compare the monthly performance of SLV with any other silver ETF or with any other silver mining stocks, you’ll see a huge disparity. I believe that the day is coming when the “paper silver” price (which is what SLV is turning into) will be vastly different from the physical silver price.
Go here to read Stephanie’s remarks, and those of others:

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/comex-default-or-hunt-brothers-redux-comex-silver-inventories-drop-4-year-low
=================
@ Bill Near or in Slidell:
“During the last 40 years in the USA, food stamps, earned income tax credits, and all the other numerous social welfare programs were instituted in order to keep the poor and lower middle class tranquil, while the rich got richer & richer”

Well said!
Without those social welfare programs, the USA would have the same “soup lines” as this nation experienced during the Great Depression.

Here’s A Very Important Update – 3 March 2011

Further Proof that You Can’t Trust SLV or JPM:
Here’s a 5 minute video clip that shows the performance of SLV over the years, from two different perspectives. Those who own SLV should beware, because they are being cheated. Go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR28o5f9aKE&feature=player_embedded

This is irrefutable data!