GEEZERPOWER

WAZZUP

Hmmm. I wonder what Dubya has in mind?


Here are five facts about Dubai Ports World.

* Shareholders at Britain's P&O, who had been managing the ports, voted last week in favor of Dubai Port's multibillion dollar bid, giving the firm control over the management of P&O's global operations, including in the U.S. ports of New York and New Jersey, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Miami.

* The deal made Dubai Ports World the world's third-largest ports group.

* Dubai Ports World purchased the global port assets of U.S. freight rail company CSX Corp. (CSX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) in 2005 for $1.15 billion. U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow is a former chairman of CSX, but left the company a year before the Dubai deal.

* One of DP World's top executives, David Sanborn, was nominated by President George W. Bush in January to become the administrator of the Maritime Administration in the U.S. Department of Transportation. At least one senator plans to hold up Sanborn's confirmation until more questions about the port deal are answered.

* Dubai Ports has international operations in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Germany, Romania, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, India, China, Malaysia, South Korea and Australia in addition to the UAE.