Latest news with #nouveauriche
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
A (bath)room with a view: Inside the Lana Dorchester Collection hotel which offers an understated elegance and breath-taking vistas for those in search of the 'anti-bling' Dubai
Dubai has long been synonymous with a flashy opulence that attracts a 'nouveau riche' crowd who want to holiday in the latest 'it' hotel and be seen dining in the newest restaurant. But for those who would rather shy away from that scene, The Lana Dorchester Collection offers different kind of luxury - sleek, refined, and purposefully restrained. In a city famed for pushing the boundaries of architectural spectacle and gilded extravagance, The Lana is something a little different. The 5-star hotel's 30-storey silhouette rises above the vibrant Business Bay district. Its clean lines and shimmering facade present a sharp contrast to the city's more ostentatious landmarks. Its rooftop infinity pool is a calm oasis with 180 degree views of Downtown Dubai, and flanked with white cushioned sunbeds. There are many signs of a good hotel: one is that your feet don't burn on its tiling in the afternoon sun. The Lana manages that with aplomb. Just don't ask me how! Just beside it is the popular High Society bar which attracts a crowd of couples and business travellers. From its vantage point overlooking Marasi Marina, the rooftop offers uninterrupted vistas of speedboats skimming the water and the Burj Khalifa looming in the distance. It's the perfect spot from which to sip on a cool cocktail, brought to you by the hotel's very cool staff Inside the hotel lies an expanse of cool creamy marble, walnut trimmings and elegant neutral furnishings topped off with huge floral displays, a theme that continues into the bedrooms. We stayed in a junior suite which came furnished with a vast bed, floor-to-ceiling windows, small lounge area and a private balcony. But the standout feature - which the hotel staff described as 'the influencer's favourite' - was the deep soak free-standing bathtub positioned directly in front of the window and with an uninterrupted view of the glittering marina. . Slipping into its bubbly warmth was heaven. I can't think of a better way to relax after an evening desert safari (highly recommended!). The hotel is also rightfully proud of its culinary credentials. Michelin-starred Martín Berasategui brings an inventive Basque tasting menu and we sampled an extensive array of it. For those seeking an oasis of calm amid Dubai's ceaseless energy, The Lana offers a rare combination: modern luxury with memories you will cherish - like a bath framed by the glittering skyline - that linger in memory long after checkout.
Forbes
16-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Private Credit On The Zombie Treadmill To Meltdown
Bubble in the finance world When you suddenly hear about a boom in a financial instrument in the mainstream media, you can be pretty sure trouble is on its way. At the very least, you can speculate that a peak market level – whether in volume or price – has been, or is about to be, reached. There are a number of reasons for this. It could be because so much money has been made that the nouveau riche of this endeavor are boasting about it, setting off a wave of FOMO that hits the media. Or it might simply mean that, at the top of the market, holders of that asset want – and start to need – 'exit liquidity,' and are out promoting what they want to sell in order to pull in the final bag holders. Either way, it's a signal to me that something wicked this way comes. So, the phrase 'private credit markets' is popping up more and more, and the narrative is that they have been booming. To me, this says they have boomed. 'Private credit' sounds like a long-established concept, but it's relatively new – a term dating back to just after the global financial crisis. The private credit market is barely a market at all, since the financial instruments it generates are not publicly traded. Private credit is lending to companies at high interest rates by non-banks. A cynic might typify it as loan sharking to shaky companies by shady outfits, but that would be harsh – even for such a lucrative business. So let's go digging. Where can I get some of this private credit? It doesn't seem to be exactly front and center in rustling up business, and yet there are $2 trillion of private credit loans out there. That is a systemically important amount of money. Let's keep it simple: Q: Who raises this private credit?A: Private equity outfits. Q: So who do they lend it to?A: Private equity-backed companies. Q: Why do they lend it to private equity-backed companies?A: To keep private equity-backed companies afloat and/or pay out dividends to private equity participants. Q: Who do the private equity companies sell the private credit debt to?A: Institutions like your pension scheme, sovereign wealth funds, university endowments – the same kinds of operations that got stuffed with mortgage derivatives that blew up the world. Q: Who invests in private equity outfits?A: Institutions like your pension scheme, sovereign wealth funds, university endowments… you get the idea. Q: Why do those institutions invest in PE and private credit?Official A: Because the returns are A: Because the value of these illiquid investments is marked in private, not in public markets that trade daily, so the results are 'smooth.' Bad news can be delayed until the bitter end – and by then, the initial buyers or sellers are long gone. In summary: PE buys companies with investors' money, levers up the companies or keeps them afloat with high-interest loans sourced from similar investor groups, and makes lots of money along the way. Q: Isn't this the kind of circular, opaque, conflicted dynamic that caused the global financial crisis?A: Yes, but thankfully the numbers are not as big. (Assuming $2 trillion doesn't scare you.) Let's wave some red flags. The acronym of the day: WCGR! Well, it might never happen, but what might the impact be if trouble hits this never-blossoming financial juggernaut? Just like the mortgage market during the GFC, it depends on the quality of the assets generated by this financial process. The lower the average quality of the debt, the more likely things could go belly-up and send hundreds of billions to money heaven. The seeds of a vicious circle are all there. If the private credit market freezes, then companies that can't roll their barely sustainable debt fail. This devalues even the good paper, which can trigger forced/panic selling – deepening the freeze and causing further failures. Contagion spreads. The interconnectivity of this market within the financial system is not fully known, but hundreds of billions in credit assets going up in smoke would certainly have ramifications. However, here's the thing: this is all built on cheap, near-free money created by the history of recent bailouts and QEs. This, in turn, is ultimately driven by U.S. fiscal deficits, which create a constant need for liquidity to cycle money back into government coffers via taxes or debt. It's a high-wire act – and the circus has never been bigger. Ironically, this might be good news in the short term: a crisis in private credit will likely be bailed out, and that means money printing. This would probably mean QE – or some version of it – which is already on the way. Now it might just arrive sooner. The ratcheting of instability has no end in sight. This potential crisis is yet another indicator that the direction of travel for the dollar is toward weakness, inflation above the legacy 2–3% target, and chronically heightened volatility. Meanwhile, the zombie treadmill will grind on as the private credit industry moves from back rooms to front pages. Another financial crisis in the making? Ultimately, there's always another one on its way – but this could very well be the next.
