A haven for money in the middle east, Dubai is losing its shine

Ever since the first gleaming towers sprang out of the desert, Dubai has gotten used to rapid change. It’s no stranger to boom-and-bust. What’s happening now is different: a slow bleed.

The city’s iconic builders are plowing ahead. Cranes are everywhere. But no one is sure who’ll occupy all that new retail and office space. Already, Dubai’s malls are noticeably less full of stores and restaurants than they once were. Expatriates, the lifeblood of the economy, have started to pack up and go home — or at least talk about it, as the cost of living and doing business