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As with any big comeuppance, I hear a lot of Dubai "duh"s from folks now.
"Of course Dubai's investment arm was setting itself up for problems as it built ski slopes in a desert, man-made palm-tree-shaped islands, and, well everything short of castles in the sky [see a video of this stuff here] ... all on top of a mountain of debt."
Just like there are a lot of "duh"s around Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM), and the rest of Wall Street's walking wounded, you'll undoubtedly be hearing a lot of hindsight geniuses out there.
Sure some people saw it coming (perhaps you?), but for most of us, because it was off our radar, because we just assumed oil would take care of any excesses, or because we bought into the "if you build it, they will come" thesis, Dubai's debt crisis was a shock.
Here's an example. If you've been following the City Center project in Vegas -- a joint venture between MGM (NYSE: MGM) and Dubai World -- you probably assumed they legally shielded the project from parent defaults solely because of MGM's debt problems. Who knew?
Not me. Of course, I never did a deep dive on Dubai's investments.
I'm curious what potential disasters you may know about that the rest of us have missed. Here's your chance to mark down "the next one coming" and stake your claim to being a foresight genius ... specifically, what high-flying company is in for a fall?
Perhaps Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN), fresh off its all-time highs? Maybe the banks, off a rally? Maybe ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), because of the threat of alternative fuels? Whatever your rationale, add your prediction to the comments area below.
“The Death of the Euro!”…Greece may seem worlds away, but be warned. What happens there next could reshape global finance and rattle your portfolio. On Mar. 22, The Motley Fool’s Tim Hanson heads to Greece to get the story. Follow in real time and hear how best to profit from this historic development (Hanson returned from China in July with a stock that’s up 117%!). Enter email below.
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