Randomly Noted

In the fast-paced financial market world, history gets started more quickly all the time.

Feb. 10. Twelve days ago. History.

So while enthusiasts for the growth of the U.S. economy surely want to take heart from the data on U.S. consumer confidence delivered earlier today by the Conference Board, the chilling reality is that date – Feb. 10. The Conference Board tells us in a press release: “The cutoff date for February’s preliminary results was Feb. 10, 2011.”

That means that the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, reported today at 70.4 for February, up from 64.8 in January, can’t take into account a particular lack of confidence expressed today through the price action in certain U.S. financial markets.

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Colleague Maria Abi-Habib reports that the Gulf News has told reporters to avoid using the terms “default” and “bailout” when reporting on Dubai default and bailout news. Gulf News is the biggest English-language daily in the United Arab Emirates. The paper’s ban – characterized as a “style guide” by its editor-at-large – comes as Dubai’s pooh-bahs have taken to rhetorically flogging (and in one case, confiscating) the international press for problems of their own creation.  It’s a sign of moral decay that should give those considering investing in Dubai’s beaten-down assets a great deal of pause.

This link from Dubai World’s website shows the extent of the bubble Dubai’s leaders have been living in. Check out in particular the Dubai World chairman’s comment about “the complexities of crisis management and decision-making.” There’s a crisis at Dubai World, alright. Like so many investing fads, Dubai was always a tenuous proposition – lacking oil wealth unlike sister Abu Dhabi, it made itself out to be a regional center for finance and tourism. This in and of itself was supposed to pull in megabucks from professional and individual investors around the world. It did, and for several years “everyone” had to be in Dubai. (You may recall the hoopla surrounding soccer star David Beckham’s decision to buy a fancy home there; he was but one of many celebs whose endorsement added to Dubai’s allure.) Those who went in with eyes wide open surely aren’t particularly surprised by Dubai’s present financial mire. There was no there there.

The smuggling and sale of counterfeit drugs is on the rise in the Middle East, with terrible consequences for public health but large profits for traffickers, according to an investigation by Benoit Faucon of Dow Jones Newswires and fellow Dow Jones journalists.  “The business of fake medicine is attractive to criminals because the margins are significantly higher than for illegal hard drugs,” according to Aline Plancon of Interpol, quoted in the article. And the potential penalties are much less harsh for importers and distributors of fake medicines, with convicted narcotics smugglers often facing life in prison or even execution.  Benoit’s article examines the case brought against a Palestinian company accused of importing and selling fake drugs.  He quotes Israeli, Jordanian and Egyptian officials as saying that China is the source of many of the counterfeit medicines found in their countries. Meanwhile, the Middle East region is a good target for the traffickers because of political turmoil and sketchy legislation.