Dubai's Wild Stock Market Suffers Another Epic Crash

While the U.S. stock market has been chugging upward with an unusual lack of volatility, Dubai has had eight bear markets—declines of 20 percent or more—in the past six years. The most recent swing was especially dramatic. After more than doubling from June 13 of last year through May 5, the benchmark DFM General Index lost 26 percent through June 30. A 13 percent rally in the first two days of July left the index up 30 percent for the year.

The symbol of Dubai’s last economic boom, which ended brutally in 2008, was a network of islands built out of dredged sand in the shape of a world map—still mostly unoccupied. On the brink of bankruptcy, the sheikdom got a $20 billion bailout from Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates Central Bank.