US/Dubai

The US has been running a trade deficit for nearly a quarter of a century. But until recently, that hasn’t caused any significant problems, either economic or political, for the world’s sole superpower. The row over Dubai’s proposed investment in US ports suggests that things are changing. The ports controversy follows last year’s furore when a state-owned Chinese company attempt to buy Unocal, a US oil concern. The money for both these proposed foreign purchases derives indirectly from the US t...