Like the sun, it’s best not to stare directly at the NFL standings. Things are ugly four weeks in. There are 14 teams – 44 per cent of the league! – with losing records, though only the poor Browns are winless. Only three undefeated teams remain, one of which had a bye this week.
The NFC, in particular, has completely been turned on its head. From last year’s play-off teams, only the Vikings, Packers and Seahawks currently have winning records, while title-game participants Carolina and Arizona are free-falling. Of last year’s division winners, only the Vikings are currently back in first, while the other divisions barely resemble last year’s standings.
Let’s look at each of the NFC teams this week to determine how seriously we can take their prospects a quarter of the way through.
• See also: Last week's Power Rankings
1 Denver Broncos (4-0, Last week: No 2)
2 New England Patriots (3-1, LW 1)
3 Minnesota Vikings (4-0, LW 3)
• Tied with Denver for the league’s best record, the Vikings’ model is strikingly similar to the defending champions: Game-managing quarterback, heavy emphasis on the running game and a stout, suffocating defence. They’re for real.
4 Green Bay Packers (2-1, LW 4)
• They have Aaron Rodgers and their only loss was to the Vikings on the road. They’re also for real.
5 Philadelphia Eagles (3-0, LW 5)
• Easily the most surprising team in the league. It'd be easy to say they and their rookie quarterback will regress, and they almost certainly will, but even a regression could keep them afloat in a weak NFC East or Wild Card race. Football Outsiders had them as the NFL's best team in their DVOA rankings last week. The Eagles should stick around for a while.
6 Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1, LW 6)
7 Seattle Seahawks (3-1, LW 9)
• Another team loved by DVOA, and that should only improve after a dominant Week 4 win at the Jets. As Christine Michael and the running game get on track, look for the Seahawks to be among the NFC elite all year.
8 Houston Texans (3-1, LW 7)
9 Atlanta Falcons (3-1, LW 16)
Sunday takeaways: Matt Ryan and the scorching Falcons
• The Falcons have made believers out of many after blowing the doors off Carolina. Temper expectations, though, because the next two games are on the road at Denver and Seattle. Their two-game cushion in the NFC South helps, but don’t put the Falcons in the play-offs just yet.
10 Oakland Raiders (3-1, LW 17)
11 Dallas Cowboys (3-1, LW13)
• Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott have a chance to go down as the best rookie duo ever (not that too many such examples come to mind). At this rate, Tony Romo should be back midseason, and the Cowboys will have to play him over Prescott for the play-off stretch. With either under centre, last season’s musical-chairs quarterback nightmare is long gone. This season or next, the Cowboys are in good shape.
12 Cincinnati Bengals (2-2, LW 15)
13 Kansas City Chiefs (2-2, LW 8)
14 Baltimore Ravens (3-1, LW 10)
15 Los Angeles Rams (3-1, LW 19)
• Beating the Cardinals in Arizona is nothing to sneeze at, and they’re the only team to beat the Seahawks. With JJ Watt out for the season, defensive tackle Aaron Donald could be the favourite for Defensive Player of the Year, and that side of the ball is set. The fact they’re 3-1 with barely a contribution from Todd Gurley is encouraging, but it’s hard to take a team with Case Keenum and Jeff Fisher seriously. Don’t expect this to last.
16 New York Giants (2-2, LW 12)
• Right in the middle, .500 record, every game a coin flip. The Eli Manning Giants are always either middling or winning random Super Bowls. Neither path would be too surprising in this year’s NFC, so they can’t be counted out.
17 Carolina Panthers (1-3, LW 11)
• How the mighty have fallen. Carolina’s 15-1 2015 season was certainly somewhat fluky, but legitimate enough to earn a Super Bowl trip. This year, the Josh Norman-less secondary is getting destroyed, the offensive line is a wet cardboard box, and Cam Newton can’t stay upright long enough to look like the defending MVP. Their 3-year run as NFC South champions looks to be done.
18 Arizona Cardinals (1-3, LW 14)
• Same goes for the Panthers’ NFC Championship opponents out west. Carson Palmer has been mediocre, but he’s still a better option than Drew Stanton, who might have to play for an injured Palmer this week. Thursday night’s road game with San Francisco looks to be do-or-die.
19 Washington (2-2, LW 22)
• Kirk Cousins has looked better the last two weeks than the first two, and Josh Norman has done his part to keep an otherwise bad defence look at least OK. Apart from a Week 7 trip to Detroit, though, their upcoming schedule is brutal. Washington could fall out of the race sooner than later.
20 Jacksonville Jaguars (1-3, LW 30)
21 Buffalo Bills (2-2, LW 26)
22 New York Jets (1-3, LW 23)
23 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-3, LW 21)
• Remember when they beat the Falcons in Week 1?
24 New Orleans Saints (1-3, LW 29)
• The Saints were at least competitive in their first two losses, losing by one to Oakland and three to the Giants. The comeback win at San Diego last week was a positive way to go into their Week 5 bye, and it’s tough to count out any team with Drew Brees. All hope isn’t lost for New Orleans.
25 San Diego Chargers (1-3, LW 20)
26 Tennessee Titans (1-3, LW 27)
27 Miami Dolphins (1-3, LW 24)
28 Chicago Bears (1-3, LW 32)
• Better than the Lions.
29 Detroit Lions (1-3, LW 25)
• Worse than the Bears.
30 San Francisco 49ers (1-3, LW 28)
• The opening-week win over the Rams feels like a long time ago, and now it looks like they've lost their best player, NaVorro Bowman. At what point does Colin Kaepernick replace Blaine Gabbert? It might not even matter, though, because the Niners are clearly playing for the future.
31 Indianapolis Colts (1-3, LW 18)
32 Cleveland Browns (0-4, LW 31)
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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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.”
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
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Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
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Bharatanatyam
A ancient classical dance from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Intricate footwork and expressions are used to denote spiritual stories and ideas.
Company%20profile
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
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Pakistan T20 series squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shahzad, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammed Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Amir Yamin, Mohammed Amir (subject to fitness clearance), Rumman Raees, Usman Shinwari, Umar Amin
The years Ramadan fell in May
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