New Dubai deal

By Libby

This story appears to be under-reported. I wasn't going to blog it myself because I found it at World Net Daily but now that I see US News and Reports has confirmed it as a pending deal it seems worth mentioning. Dubai is now "moving to acquire 19.9 percent of the Nasdaq in New York, placing the Arab government in an ownership position of the key U.S. stock exchange and raising concerns in Congress." The complicated deal would also net them 28 percent of the London Stock Exchange.

The US News seems to think this is no great shakes, offering that economic co-dependence is a good thing and predict that it won't cause the public furor that the failed port deal did, but I'm not so certain they're right. I'm no high finance wonk, but it sounds like a rather large chunk of the international money market for one little bucolic emirate to control to me. I have to think the average Jake would find it at least somewhat alarming that a "Arab, Islamic country is trying to connect to the global economy through finance."

That sounds reasonable enough, but frankly, I don't really understand the implications of it well enough to have an informed opinion. I don't know quite what to think of it but my gut reaction is, it leaves me a little nervous. Help me out here if you can. Tell me why I shouldn't be.