The good news capital of the world?

While the rest of the world talks of cutbacks and caution, the Middle East seems to be going full steam ahead with expansion. Is this really true?

There's blood on the street in London and New York, with the Financial Times, for example, predicting that up to 10,000 jobs could be lost in the City of London this year.

Meanwhile, it's all growth in the Gulf. International banks are flocking to the area as though it's a money magnet, and bolstering teams in the process. What's more, with an expanding capital markets industry, and an increasing taste for rolling out more exotic financial products, it seems there simply aren't enough people to fill the array of new jobs.

But is it really as rosy as all that? Headhunters say a lot of organizations are a bit top heavy and have been slyly letting expensive talent go, and Standard and Poor's reckons Gulf banks are hiding sub-prime exposures.

And, while it might be a little unfair to make comparisons with London or New York, the latest Global Financial Centres Index reveals that despite the Middle East fanfare, Dubai still ranks below the Isle of Man...

So is 2008 the year that the Dubai International Financial Center has its day? Or is the region simply opaque enough to mask the fact that it has the same problems as everywhere else?

Your thoughts please...