Shakira gives birth to boy
The Colombian singer Shakira and the football star Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona welcomed their son Milan Pique Mebarak on Tuesday in Barcelona. A statement posted on the pop star's site says that "just like his father, baby Milan became a member of FC Barcelona at birth". Shakira asked fans earlier on Twitter "to accompany me in your prayers on this very important day of my life". – AP
Favourite boy bands team for tour
New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees and Boyz II Men are teaming up for a summer tour, the groups announced on Tuesday. For 98 Degrees, it's their first tour in 12 years. New Kids on the Block also announced a new single, Remix (I Like The), to be released on Monday and a new album, 10, out on April 2. – AP
Bharucha calls TV ‘restrictive’
Nushrat Bharucha says she finds the medium of television restrictive and doesn't derive the same satisfaction from serials and soaps compared with film projects. "In a TV set-up, my body feels restricted as I have to emote only from my face. I find it restricting. Now that I have done it once, I can safely say I don't want to do it again," said Bharucha, who starred in the TV show Seven. "That medium also doesn't give me that satisfaction of doing a character creatively." Bharucha will next be seen in the romcom Akaash Vani, directed by Luv Ranjan. – IANS
Bieber overtakes Gaga on Twitter
Justin Bieber succeeded on Tuesday in overtaking Lady Gaga as the most followed person on Twitter. By Wednesday morning, Bieber had 33,370,073 followers, against 33,352,170 for Gaga, followed by Katy Perry, Rihanna and the US President Barack Obama. Bieber and Lady Gaga have led the Twitter pack since 2010, when she outpaced Britney Spears for the top spot. "So proud of @justinbieber and all the Beliebers!" Lady Gaga tweeted. "I'm only happy to see your fans growing in size, you all deserve it!" – AFP
The Postal Service reuniting
The American electronic duo The Postal Service are reuniting. A new site, PostalServicemusic.net, confirmed the news on Monday with a graphic that reads: "The Postal Service 2013." In 2003, the Death Cab for Cutie vocalist Ben Gibbard and the producer Jimmy Tamborello released their debut album Give Up under the name The Postal Service; their name inspired by producing songs via mailing tracks back and forth to each other. Billboard magazine confirmed they're planning a deluxe edition of Give Up and a concert tour. – The National staff
Sumanth wants villain role
The Telugu actor Sumanth, known for films such as Satyam, Mahanadi and Godavari, says he wants to play a bad boy on the big screen this year. "The agenda is to play a powerful, negative lead this year. A strong, negative role is something I've always wanted to do for as long as I can remember," said the 37-year-old star, who's currently shooting two films: the crime thriller Twist, co-starring Varun Sandesh, and a yet-to-be-titled project by the director Chandra Siddhartha. – IANS
Schwarzenegger: I still love Shriver
Arnold Schwarzenegger told Germany's top-selling newspaper he's still in love with his estranged wife, Maria Shriver. Schwarzenegger is quoted in Tuesday's Bild as saying that despite their separation, he spent Christmas with Shriver and their children. "We're not fighting any war: I still hope for reconciliation; I still love Maria," he said. Shriver filed for divorce last year after 25 years of marriage following Schwarzenegger's admission he fathered a child with the family's housekeeper. He has also admitted to other affairs. – AP
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper
Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km
The%20specs
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Pots for the Asian Qualifiers
Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Macau/Sri Lanka
The specs: Rolls-Royce Cullinan
Price, base: Dh1 million (estimate)
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 563hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 850Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 15L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali (test captain), Babar Azam (T20 captain), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
