Ever Heard of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum?

Ever heard of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum? Me neither, but I'm studying up on him quick. Why, you ask?..well that's because soon he will be our new business partner. Yup..yours and mine. Every time we make a trade on the Nasdaq, he gets PAID.

How is that possible? Well, anything is possible if you're the Prime Minister and VP of the United Arab Emirates, as well as, the ruler of the city state, Dubai. So when the honorable Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum wants something..he gets it. Be it the world's largest aluminum smelter, the fastest growing airline company, ports, hotels, premiere soccer teams, cheap slave labor...the Sheikh can have it all.

When Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum decided he wanted a part of the western financial markets...he set his strategic plan to get it. On August 6, 2007 he created Borse Dubai, a holding company which essentially consolidated the all Dubai 'exchanges' under one 'holding' company. Now remember...The Sheikh owns this 'holding company' it is his. It is a STATE OWNED company.

Shortly after its' birth it began a bitter battle with NASDAQ for months over OMX. OMX is a Swedish/Finnish financial services company with an amazing highly desired integrated 'back end technology' which consolidates other money market 'exchanges'. Formed in 2003, OMX has become a financial leader which makes gaining OMX paramount.

[OMX] in addition to owning and running exchanges in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and the Baltic states, provides technology to about 60 exchanges worldwide, including the Australian Securities Exchange, Nordic power market Nordpool and the Singapore Exchange. khaleejtimes

All that changed on Sept 20th when NASDAQ and Dubai announced they would partner up and attempt a highly controversial 'swap' trade. According to the NASDAQ Press release...

NASDAQ Increases Certainty of OMX Combination

Borse Dubai to become a 19.99 Per Cent Shareholder in NASDAQ;
Restricted to 5 Per Cent Voting Rights

Steps taken to allow DIFX to be rebranded with the NASDAQ Brand

NASDAQ to Become a Strategic Shareholder in DIFX

Borse Dubai Purchases a 28.0 Per Cent stake in LSE From NASDAQ
.....
Borse Dubai to become a 19.99% shareholder in NASDAQ (capped at
5 per cent voting rights)

NASDAQ will acquire all OMX shares to be purchased by Borse Dubai
in its offer for OMX

NASDAQ will become a strategic shareholder and the principal
commercial partner of Dubai International Financial Exchange
("DIFX")

DIFX will be re branded with the NASDAQ brand and licensed with market leading technology from the NASDAQ/OMX combination

Qatar, using the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) freaked upon hearing of the 'agreement' and went on a spending spree. They purchased roughly a 10% share of OMX and sent out a release to shareholders of OMX to 'take no action' on the NASDAQ/Dubai 'agreement'. Then QIA went ahead and purchased a 20% stake in the London Stock Exchange and on Friday, bought the remaining 5.3 million shares of NASDAQ owned shares in the LSE.

Qatar and Dubai are now the two biggest shareholders of the LSE, holding almost half of the world's third-largest stock exchange.reuters

Even more interesting...Qatar will not disclose who they received the money from to buy the LSE shares but, the Khaleej Times reported sources said Citigroup will be buying more shares of OMX to help out the QIA.

Obviously there is some type of economic shifting, right. Don't believe me..Consider this article from the UAE Interact.

Borse Dubai and Nasdaq are plotting to create a transcontinental trading platform that will include the London Stock Exchange (LSE)

These deals were billed as the beginning of global exchange platform bridging North America, Europe and the Middle East and the inclusion of the LSE in such a structure would be a stunning achievement.

The LSE has successfully resisted several hostile takeover attempts in the past three years, including two from Nasdaq as well as offers from the Deutsche Borse, Australia's Macquarie Bank and Euronext, while the latter subsequently merged with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

It seems so apparent. The following week was just as dramatic. Congress did nothing. The SEC..nothing. Homeland Security..nothing, as well. Once again..Are you kidding me? Geez, Nancy Pelosi blew it off stating,"It doesn't raise alarm bells...This is a marketplace issue.".

This is not a marketplace issue. This is a 'Homeland' Security issue. Dubai Borse is nothing more than a front company for the city state of Dubai. It blows my mind...This is far more important than the DP World fiasco in 2005. Same players...this time all of our policymakers are SLEEPING. or they are complicit.

This shady 'arrangement' is contingent on Dubai purchasing a 50% stake of all shares in OMX before the deal can progress. Not so easy when the QIA is gobbling up as much as they can. As of Sept 27th, Nasdaq and Dubai have attained 47.6% stake

Does this deal seem appropriate? I don't believe so. Dubai OWNS a plethora of ports and other cargo operations around the world. If Homeland Security, our policymakers, the media..et all, were anything but a fraud they would be investigating this deal with urgency. The DP World fiasco in 2005 was the first attempt at giving Dubai access to America's 'national interests'...the Nasdaq/Dubai arrangement is far worse. Far more dubious. Far more dangerous.

Such alliances could become a way for corporations to get around some political sensitivities about outright takeovers of key national assets

This kind of exchange in the sense of swapping stakes, this reciprocal cross holding, is possibly a substitute for a straight merger because there would be political difficulties in a straight merger," said international securities expert John Coffee, a Columbia University Law School Professor.

We're increasingly going to find that these petrol dollars will migrate not to treasuries but to capital assets in the United States ... and investments in money managers like Carlyle. reuters

according the Sen. Schumer, ""At this early stage this deal gives me pause... While I am and have been a big proponent of foreign investment in the United States, we must still be careful of the kinds of investments made in our critical infrastructure, financial exchanges, utilities, and other areas that are vital to the operation and security of our country...the Dubai exchange "is majority owned and controlled by the government of Dubai, which has previously been cited as a nexus of terror financing, money laundering, and a potential crossroads for shipping and trading for Iran in their quest for nuclear materials and technology." freeinternetpress

Same Players. Different Scandal.