If money makes the world go around, then the ear-splitting screech you heard in the waning months of 2008 was the sound of the wheels of the global economy braking as it lurched from one crisis to another, uncertain about the road ahead.
In any other year, the rise of a member of a historically marginalised racial minority to leader of the most powerful country in the world might easily rank as the top news story. So, too, might the Olympian entry onto the international stage of the world's most populous nation, China.
Even escalating worries over Iran's nuclear programme and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial that Tehran was building nuclear bombs ("Nuclear weapons are so 20th century") might warrant top billing.
But for the sheer impact it had on people's wallets, company coffers and national treasuries - and more importantly, its probable impact in the uncertain months and years ahead - nothing mattered more in 2008 than money: money vanished, money squandered, money stolen.
In retrospect, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression should have come as little surprise. The global banking system had been living dangerously high on debt for years. High-risk investments and loose lending kept the music playing and the profits rolling in.
But in mid-September, the tune changed to a dirge, as venerable pillars of the international financial system started to tumble. As the reckless bets of months and years, especially on mortgage securities, were called in across the system, there was precious little actual money to cover them.
Lehman Brothers went belly up. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs were forced out of investment banking. The sixth-largest bank in America, Washington Mutual, went under, marking the biggest bank failure in US history. The British government nationalised two banks and Germany drew up a bank bailout plan worth up to $645 billion (Dh2.36 trillion).
Not everyone, however, got the message the party was over and that a grimmer, more volatile, era had begun.
The Republican Party's presidential candidate, John McCain, declared that the "fundamentals" of the US economy were "strong" - a gaffe that probably helped cost him the election. And a week after the insurance giant AIG received an $85bn government bailout, 70 of its top employees enjoyed a week-long retreat in California, replete with banquets, golf and spa treatments. The cost: $440,000.
Those in the US and Europe who took malicious delight in the misfortunes of the very rich quickly lost their smirks when they realised the values of their homes and retirement accounts, as well as the money they had set aside for the education of their children, had plummeted or evaporated.
Their chagrin was compounded when it soon became clear who would foot the bill to save banks, companies and industries from ruin: the taxpayer. By the end of 2008, taxpayers in the West were set to cough up more than $2trillion in various rescue and stimulus packages.
In the twilight of an administration that ran up an estimated $10.35trillion in debts while in power, making the world's money troubles even worse, the best public explanation George W Bush could muster was, "Wall Street got drunk, and we got a hangover."
No one was immune from blame for the meltdown - not the agencies who rated credit-worthiness, not government regulators, not credulous borrowers and investors, not the banks or investment houses themselves.
Even Alan Greenspan, the powerful former chairman of the US Federal Reserve and the reputed "God of Money", was forced to admit he had made a mistake in opposing attempts to regulate the easy money policies that helped funds flow into high-risk investments. "I found a flaw," he said.
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Those beyond the shores of America and Europe who thought their distance from Wall Street and the epicentre of the crisis would spare them pain were soon disabused of that notion. Here is something we learned in 2008, in case it had not quite sunk in before: there is no longer an "epicentre".
Banks and investment funds had been intertwined for a long time and were often underwriting each other's heedless risks. With much of the global economy depending on US consumer spending, the news that Americans spent $102.8billion less than they did the month before had predictably calamitous results.
Thus, by year's end few had been spared economic woes.
Across the globe, some $25trillion in the value of stocks went up in smoke. Mongolia saw runs on its banks. Argentina nationalised pension funds. Iceland went bankrupt. Japan fell into recession. Honda dropped out of Formula One auto racing. The economies of India and China, once thought immune to the crisis, began to slow.
As the storm clouds gathered, oil and money-rich Gulf countries such as the UAE boasted with their trademark confidence that they were the calm eye of the hurricane. Their self-confidence was understandable. For the first half of 2008, they enjoyed extraordinarily high oil prices, with the cost of a barrel hitting a whopping $147.25 on July 11.
Yet the insistence there was a "calm eye" was just as anachronistic as an "epicentre". As the global economy slowed, so did the demand for oil. By Dec 19, the price of crude had plummeted 77 per cent to $33.87 a barrel - a four-and-a-half year low.
The cash flows of Russia, Venezuela and Iran, as well as Gulf countries, suffered. Real estate was quick to follow. In the UAE, the bank loans and foreign buyers that property developers depend upon started to dry up, even as Nakheel announced plans to build a 1-km high skyscraper, hundreds of metres higher than Emaar's Burj Dubai, the world's tallest.
By late 2008, the nation's leading developers had suspended work on pending projects, laid off workers and scaled back plans for high-profile ventures. The plunge also wiped billions off the value of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the world's flushest sovereign wealth fund.
After assuring that the real estate sector was "witnessing a healthy correction", Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chairman of the Dubai property giant Emaar and head of the hastily formed Financial Advisory Council, declared: "Yes, we recognise the new reality. Make no mistake."
To be sure, 2008 was not just a year when money disappeared, "new reality" or not.
An investment group led by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, the brother of Abu Dhabi's Ruler, bought the English Premier League's Manchester City for $123 million. The Abu Dhabi Investment Council purchased a 90 per cent stake in the Chrysler Building, New York City's art deco jewel for an estimated $800m.
Meanwhile, a 25-year-old from Abu Dhabi named Saeed Khouri bought a licence tag for $14m at a charity auction, and Nakheel and Kerzner International threw a $20m party to celebrate the opening of Dubai's Atlantis resort.
About $7,450 at the Skyview Bar in Dubai's Burj al Arab hotel also bought what is reputed to be the world's most expensive cocktail. And for an unspecified amount, the Tamweer Group and Nibras Media purchased the rights to stage a Middle Eastern version of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Elsewhere, an average of $2m liberated a vessel captured by Somali pirates in the busy shipping lanes of the Gulf of Aden and $2.4bn financed the US presidential campaign.
US Republicans spent $124,487 to outfit their vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, and her family, and a right-wing Israeli candidate for parliament said Israel should pay each Palestinian family $250,000 to move out of the West Bank.
Amid the hurly-burly of money lost or spent, some events with profound consequences passed virtually unnoticed. For the first time in human history, there were more people living in cities than in rural areas. Also, the polar bear was listed as an "endangered" species - the first animal to be added due to global warming.
As we turn the corner on a new year, perhaps the majestic creature's fate is an apt metaphor. In 2008, due to the global financial meltdown, the ground under everyone's feet shifted. Assets by the trillions have been replaced by mistrust in spades. Vagaries have replaced verities, not only in the marketplace but in politics as well.
Ironic, then, that buzzword of 2008 was "change". We are getting far more than we expected and bargained for. On the cusp of a new year, it is therefore tempting to follow the example of the Iraqi journalist Muntazer al Zaidi and hurl a shoe at the old one and shout: "Enough already!"
The hitch is that 2009 could be worse, as money problems sweep the globe. No one - not even "change agent" Barack Obama and his celebrated Obi-Wan Kenobi calm - can be sanguine about that.
cnelson@thenational.ae
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Sav
Started: 2021
Founder: Purvi Munot
Based: Dubai
Industry: FinTech
Funding: $750,000 as of March 2023
Investors: Angel investors
The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
BRAZIL SQUAD
Alisson (Liverpool), Daniel Fuzato (Roma), Ederson (Man City); Alex Sandro (Juventus), Danilo (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Emerson (Real Betis), Felipe (Atletico Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva (PSG); Arthur (Barcelona), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Fabinho (Liverpool), Lucas Paqueta (AC Milan), Philippe Coutinho (Bayern Munich); David Neres (Ajax), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Richarlison (Everton), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Willian (Chelsea).
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Scores
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Kashima Antlers 3 (Nagaki 49’, Serginho 69’, Abe 84’)
Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
The Super Mario Bros Movie
Directors: Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic
Stars: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Seth Rogen and Keegan-Michael Key
Rating: 1/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 275hp at 6,600rpm
Torque: 353Nm from 1,450-4,700rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 250kph
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: Dh146,999
INFO
Everton 0
Arsenal 0
Man of the Match: Djibril Sidibe (Everton)
Bridgerton season three - part one
Directors: Various
Starring: Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 3/5
EMIRATES'S REVISED A350 DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE
Edinburgh: November 4 (unchanged)
Bahrain: November 15 (from September 15); second daily service from January 1
Kuwait: November 15 (from September 16)
Mumbai: January 1 (from October 27)
Ahmedabad: January 1 (from October 27)
Colombo: January 2 (from January 1)
Muscat: March 1 (from December 1)
Lyon: March 1 (from December 1)
Bologna: March 1 (from December 1)
Source: Emirates
Series information
Pakistan v Dubai
First Test, Dubai International Stadium
Sun Oct 6 to Thu Oct 11
Second Test, Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tue Oct 16 to Sat Oct 20
Play starts at 10am each day
Teams
Pakistan
1 Mohammed Hafeez, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed, 8 Bilal Asif, 9 Yasir Shah, 10, Mohammed Abbas, 11 Wahab Riaz or Mir Hamza
Australia
1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Travis Head, 6 Marnus Labuschagne, 7 Tim Paine, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jon Holland
Paltan
Producer: JP Films, Zee Studios
Director: JP Dutta
Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood, Arjun Rampal, Siddhanth Kapoor, Luv Sinha and Harshvardhan Rane
Rating: 2/5
Scoreline
Man Utd 2 Pogba 27', Martial 49'
Everton 1 Sigurdsson 77'
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Playing records of the top 10 in 2017
How many games the top 10 have undertaken in the 2017 ATP season
1. Rafael Nadal 58 (49-9)
2. Andy Murray 35 (25-10)
3. Roger Federer 38 (35-3)
4. Stan Wawrinka 37 (26-11)
5. Novak Djokovic 40 (32-8)
6. Alexander Zverev 60 (46-14)
7. Marin Cilic 43 (29-14)
8. Dominic Thiem 60 (41-19)
9. Grigor Dimitrov 48 (34-14)
10. Kei Nishikori 43 (30-13)
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
FIGHT CARD
Featherweight 4 rounds:
Yousuf Ali (2-0-0) (win-loss-draw) v Alex Semugenyi (0-1-0)
Welterweight 6 rounds:
Benyamin Moradzadeh (0-0-0) v Rohit Chaudhary (4-0-2)
Heavyweight 4 rounds:
Youssef Karrar (1-0-0) v Muhammad Muzeei (0-0-0)
Welterweight 6 rounds:
Marwan Mohamad Madboly (2-0-0) v Sheldon Schultz (4-4-0)
Super featherweight 8 rounds:
Bishara Sabbar (6-0-0) v Mohammed Azahar (8-5-1)
Cruiseweight 8 rounds:
Mohammed Bekdash (25-0-0) v Musa N’tege (8-4-0)
Super flyweight 10 rounds:
Sultan Al Nuaimi (9-0-0) v Jemsi Kibazange (18-6-2)
Lightweight 10 rounds:
Bader Samreen (8-0-0) v Jose Paez Gonzales (16-2-2-)
2019 Asian Cup final
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
STAGE 4 RESULTS
1 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 4:51:51
2 David Dekker (NED) Team Jumbo-Visma
3 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal
4 Elia Viviani (ITA) Cofidis
5 Matteo Moschetti (ITA) Trek-Segafredo
General Classification
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 12:50:21
2 Adam Yates (GBR) Teamn Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:43
3 Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:03
4 Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:43
5 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45