I had quite a lot of my hair chopped off the other day. While I was very happy with the cut (after getting used to the fact it was now much harder to pile into a ponytail), it was the blow dry that impressed the most. If your hair lacks a bit of volume (as mine does) and is ever so slightly fine (as mine is) then Mohammad Farkouh at Hush Hair Lounge in Wafi Mall, Dubai, is your man.
Wielding just a small, rounded brush and hairdryer, he carefully and quickly coaxed my hair into a shiny, swingy bob that kept its style and bounce until the next wash. For a reasonably priced Dh100 blow dry that transforms your hair into a better-looking version of itself, this stylist comes highly recommended. Visit www.hush.ae. To book an appointment, call 04 327 9577 or email info@hush.ae
* Emily Shardlow
Indispensable web tools
What are the top three websites you just can't do without on a daily basis? I'm not talking Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest here; I'm asking about those useful online locations that help you get your work done or find those answers you're seeking with minimal fuss. For myself and my line of work, the following are sites I find invaluable:
- XE: The World's Favourite Currency Site, www.xe.com. I use it regularly to convert from any currency in the world in an easy drop-down menu to dirhams, or to any other currency, for that matter. It's fast, reliable and easy to use - the best universal currency converter I've come across. Definitely have it on your radar.
- Word Count Tool, www.wordcounttool.com. Another site that's free, fast and useful. Just copy and paste the chunk of text you'd like counted into the window on the site's home page and press the "submit" button. A second later, you'll know if you're over your word count or hours away from finalising that bit of copy you're working on - useful if you're writing using software that doesn't provide a word count quickly and efficiently.
- Instapaper, www.instapaper.com. This site gives you a "Read Later" bookmark. When you find something you want to read, but you don't have time, use this site. It'll save the web page for you and allow you to come back when you have the time, or read your articles on the go, whether on your iPad, iPhone, Kindle or computer. And, of course, it's free!
* Hala Khalaf
My dream house with www.made.com
I don't own any property, and the apartment I currently rent in Dubai came fully furnished. But that doesn't stop me making a mental library of stuff with which I'd like to adorn my own future house/flat/shed, whenever it is that I accept the word "mortgage" in my life and finally make that first precarious step on the property ladder.
And so far, I've pretty much kitted out my entire imaginary abode (four bedrooms, sizeable garden, big room for cheap plastic holiday souvenirs) with items from the hugely addictive UK furniture website www.made.com. Aside from offering sizeable discounts by linking directly with the designers (thus cutting out shop-store middlemen) and only manufacturing what has been ordered, Made wins by having a whole load of really ace stuff. Quirky oak stroller desks (on which I'll write my award-winning novel/screenplay/autobiography), modern-meets-retro sofas (to lounge on while watching the premiere of my first comedy drama on TV), rustic farmhouse-style dining tables (around which friends will gather to enjoy my homemade haute cuisine): it's all there and it's all been added to my list. Whether I ever get any of this stuff is another thing altogether, and I haven't even dared look at the international delivery rates. But in my head, it all looks brilliant.
* Alex Ritman
Featherweight, four-wheeled luggage
Every so often we stumble across an item that was so worth it, we want to tell everyone about it.
It's hard to believe people used to have to pick up a suitcase by a handle and lug it when travelling, and even more difficult to fathom how anyone got their luggage from the car or taxi to the airport check-in desk this way. But now that I am rolling my cargo in a featherweight four-wheeled case, I am having trouble understanding how I coped with pulling something so heavy on two wheels - one of them always slightly wonky from that time I was a bit careless and in a hurry and dragged it for a couple of seconds.
And the wheels are not even the best part: these cases only weigh a few kilograms apiece, meaning this was the first trip home to Canada where I didn't struggle with an overweight bag on my return. A stylish option is Samsonite's new Essensis line for women. The pieces start at Dh1,550 and are available at Samsonite stores at malls in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, as well as Mega Mall in Sharjah and Al Ain Mall.
* Ann Marie McQueen
MATCH INFO
Tottenham 4 (Alli 51', Kane 50', 77'. Aurier 73')
Olympiakos 2 (El-Arabi 06', Semedo')
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: SimpliFi
Started: August 2021
Founder: Ali Sattar
Based: UAE
Industry: Finance, technology
Investors: 4DX, Rally Cap, Raed, Global Founders, Sukna and individuals
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.”
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
UJDA CHAMAN
Produced: Panorama Studios International
Directed: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 3.5 /5 stars
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
