Anatomy of an ailing industry

Brokers in the United Arab Emirates are in serious trouble. Half of the industry went out of business in 2011 and more closures are expected in 2012 as volumes in UAE markets continue to shrink at an alarming rate.  The financial crisis, which shook the world in 2008 and brought to an end the golden days of easy access to leverage, took a heavy toll on global markets and heavily indebted Dubai was not spared. It cried for help in November 2009, requesting to delay payment on $59 billion of debt on Dubai World, an investment company that manages projects and businesses for the Dubai government such as DP World and Nakheel. Three years on, the global picture does not look rosier as the ailing United States economy, the unresolved European sovereign debt crisis and the Arab revolutions continue on hitting the markets hard. While the UAE has ridden the