Dubai ranked top for trading

Dubai has muscled into the top 10 list of best places to trade according to a survey by US-based publication, Trader Monthly Magazine.Dubai was the only Middle East city listed in the Top 50, which also stormed past regional rival Singapore which placed in position 33.Trader Monthly, which is aimed at professional traders and hedge fund managers, ranked 50 cities in an effort to find the ultimate place to live and trade. Chicago headed its list.

The report praised Dubai for its low level of taxation and trading infrastructure, "with high scores in all other categories"."Dubai has no personal taxes whatsoever — no income tax, no capital-gains tax — and gets an average of one day of rain a month... Did we mention no taxes?"For a relatively new market Dubai's rise has been meteoric. However the report said the growth of electronic markets had levelled off the global playing field, "making it possible to fire off winning trades while enjoying a poolside cocktail in Tahiti."Chicago, London, New York, Dubai and Miami made the top five, in that order.The magazine said it rated a mixture of work and lifestyle factors, from trading infrastructure, taxes and access to capital to weather, nightlife and time zone.The latter apparently helped knock Sydney, the jewel of the South Pacific, to No. 26 on the list, below Philadelphia and only two notches above Minneapolis.Chicago was praised for its enduring position on the commodities world's front lines. Trading is "in the city's blood," the magazine said.The two largest U.S. futures marts and the largest U.S. options exchange all reside in the Windy City, and face-to-face trading endures alongside the electronic markets.Affordable real estate - "practically youth-hostel rates compared to London" - also boosted Chicago while knocking down its two nearest competitors. New York was also rapped for a "deadly tax trifecta:" federal, New York state and New York City taxes.Bringing up the rear at No. 50, Stockholm was cited for beautiful people, ice-fishing - "and not much else." Source