c crisis taking a heavy toll on property values, construction and employment. This has had a major impact on property investors in the region, some of whom are unable to release funds from investments made in property developments. One such example of this is the Vue De Lac development, which was featured in a BritishITV1 documentary Homes from Hell in 2010. As of February 2009 Dubai's foreign debt was estimated at approximately $80 billion, although this is a tiny fraction of the sovereign debt worldwide.
Dubai is also known as City of Gold, a major part of economy based on Gold trades in Dubai, Dubai's total gold trading volumes in H1 2011 reached 580 tonnes (average price US$1,455)
A City Mayors survey rated Dubai as 44th among the world's best financial cities in 2007, while another report by City Mayors indicated that Dubai was the world's 33rd richest city in 2009, in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). Dubai is also an international financial centre and has been ranked 37th within the top 50 global financial cities as surveyed by the MasterCard Worldwide Centres of Commerce Index (2007), and 1st within the Middle East
