The financial crisis has come full circle. Having started in Florida, home of speculative property development and sub-prime lending, it is culminating in Dubai, the most fragile of the United Arab Emirates.

The ambiguity over the financial strength of  Dubai,  a trading entrepot that relies on Abu Dhabi, the richest of the emirates, for financial backing ended on Wednesday with the disclosure that it wants investors to agree a debt standstill at Dubai World, its flagship holding company. Read more