Lobbyists Smoothed the Way For a Spate of Foreign Deals

Bob Davis and Dennis K. Berman
Word Count: 2,404 | Companies Featured in This Article: Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Standard Chartered, UBS

WASHINGTON -- Two years ago, the U.S. Congress pressured the Arab emirate of Dubai to back out of a deal to manage U.S. ports. oday, governments in the Persian Gulf, China and Singapore have snapped up $37 billion of stakes in Wall Street, the bedrock of the U.S. financial system. Lawmakers and the White House are welcoming the cash, and there is hardly a peep from the public.

This is no accident. The warm reception reflects millions of dollars in shrewd lobbying by both overseas governments and their Wall Street targets -- aided by Washington veterans from both parties, including ...