The White House is asking for the remainder of the money from the $700 billion (Dh2.57 trillion) Troubled Asset Relief Programme, and Congress looks likely to dole it out despite growing criticism about how the money has thus far been used and how little really is known about just how it has been used.
This will undoubtedly please the chorus of economists clamouring for greater fiscal stimulus to prevent a deeper slide in global growth. The gist is the same: we need more money, everywhere, anywhere, now. We'll obviously have to deal with the consequences later. The waste, the corruption that will inevitably result.
It is interesting, though, how few economists are now sticking to a strictly free-market orthodoxy and saying governments should allow financial institutions to fail and for free markets to clean up the economic fallout organically. Few sane people now fail to understand just how disastrous that would be.
Funds are still creeping into emerging markets in a sheepish bet on a recovery later this year. But the New Year's rush into risk appears to have abated, and the dollar is regaining strength as a safe haven and as investors look to the 'Great Obama Stimulus Package' after Jan 20. This will apparently include tax incentives for capital investment, but not for keeping people employed - Democrats strangely oppose the latter.
Some investors are also betting that even the $1 trillion-odd that Washington will need to borrow isn't that much considering the global appetite for the relative safety of US dollars. Yes, the US economy has been mismanaged, its financial industry left to rack and ruin, but it may still be the best-run economy around.
The US, therefore, may enjoy some sort of second-half market recovery if only credit markets stay thawed and the machinery of Wall Street can be repaired. A combination of Smith Barney with Morgan Stanley's retail brokerage unit might be a step in that direction. If it works, there may be a revival of investment once the dust settles surrounding the economy's hard landing. Look first for a bottom in corporate earnings.
The situation in the UAE, where one emirate is pledging to go into deficit amid questions over its ability service existing debt, is being mirrored in the US, where many states are raising spending despite falling revenues and rising funding costs. In both cases, federal funds may be the only answer. In the US, this will undoubtedly come at a cost, both financially and especially politically, to states that still proudly exercise their constitutional right to tax and spend.
In the meantime, regional economists are gradually tapping down their forecast for economic growth, or the lack thereof. Some are now predicting recessions in the UAE and Saudi Arabia this year. The notion that the region would escape the global crisis seems long forgotten. Only regional consumers - or employees would be another way of putting it - remain in the dark, according to a MasterCard survey that shows resilient confidence in spite of falling housing allowances, rising unemployment, easing property prices and cooling growth. The latest Colliers survey points to lower prices quarter-on-quarter in Dubai. But let's not lose our heads here: the survey also says prices in Q4 were still up 59 per cent from the same period in 2007. That's a pretty respectable return if you're a property investor, unless of course you were one of those people hoping to sell your flat in just a few months.
warnold@thenational.ae
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Sweet%20Tooth
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The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle
Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
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Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
South Africa squad
Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.