Bankers should not give in to car dealers on loans

A letter-writer suggests banks should get tough on loans; Wimbledon is not as much fun without Roger Federer; laptop giveaway is a mixed blessing; and Michael Jackson was misunderstood.

A reader is disappointed by Roger Federer's Wimbledon loss, saying he thinks the player gave up. Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP
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In reference to the news article, Car dealers want finance rules eased (June 30), the Central Bank should not bow to this pressure. Good credit practices are a must for long-term stability in the market.

Practices like one credit card per person; 20 per cent down payment on cars and home mortgages; US-level interest rates plus 3 per cent profit and administration expenses; better bankruptcy laws; cheque bouncing becoming a civil - and not criminal - offence.

All these would be good for the individual as well as the health of the economy in the long term.

Radha Krishna, Dubai

Magic gone with tennis star's loss

My heart is broken now that Roger Federer has lost; Wimbledon has lost its charm for me. I was sorry to see him lose.

The surprising part is that he seemed to give up after the third set. That is highly unlike Federer. Normally he never gives up.

Rajendra  K  Aneja, Dubai

A bad day in Paris, and a life lesson

Last August I was in Paris, and one day three girls surrounded me while I was getting on a subway train. But they got off before it started.

After 20 minutes of walking I realised that my bag was open and my purse was missing. Some euros were gone, but more importantly so were my credit cards, my Emirates ID, my driving licence, and my company ID.

We rushed back to the station and searched through every dustbin  in case the girls had taken the money and thrown the purse and cards away. But it was not to be. So I lodged a complaint with uninterested policewomen at the nearest police station, and moved on.

Ten months later, out of the blue, I got a call from our Dubai Police department, saying they had received a parcel for me from the French embassy. It contained my purse and my stolen credit and identification cards.

It was very heartening to see that our system works - police, embassy, communication, good intentions. I am very grateful.

The lesson: lodge a complaint and keep faith.

Sandhya Prakash, Dubai

Differing views on laptop giveaway

I write in reference to the news article, One woman and 5,000 laptops (June 30). The women behind this initiative is a truly a very courageous lady - a real woman of substance.

Amit Bhattacharjie, Dubai

In spite of considerable hype to the contrary, my extensive testing in 2008 indicated that One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) battery life was typically just three hours, with off-grid charging a very significant issue.

The net-book phenomena, many of which are now as cheap as the OLPC (and with superior features), may change this. Children will initially play with the OLPC, but unless they're integrated into the curriculum, past experience tends to show schools will soon stash them away in a back room.

Most tellingly, it's fair to say that the OLPC programme is now considered quaint in today's touch screen and 3G mobile phone age.

Stan Swan, New Zealand

Two sides to the late King of Pop

Michael Jackson's legacy as an icon of music history is so clouded by our media-biased views of his life that we'll never know the man behind all his rich music. (Like Jackson's jacket, buyer has a history, June 29).

He is the ultimate example of what happens when celebrity worship goes too far, having the press and court of opinion try him the last half of his life.

I created a before and after portrait of The King of Pop on my artist's blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com

Brandt Hardin, US

A Kazakh firm's financial mistakes

In reference to the column Kazakh move an object lesson for the likes of DP World (June 29), Frank Kane writes about a recent "boardroom coup" by non-execs of a Eurasian natural resource company. Mr Kane says complaints from the non-execs suggested that owners' behaviour "was more Soviet than City".

As one of the ousted directors, I would make two points. First, the complaint was not sudden - our ousting caused me to make public what had been the subject of internal debate for months.

And second, my expectation was that explicit written representations regarding board independence as a condition of the US$3billion (Dh11.01billion) IPO - and subsequently, assurances about their voting intentions - would be honoured by their authors. That is how we do things in the "City".

Ken Olisa, London