Richie McCaw, the New Zealand captain, is set to play his first game of the Super 14 season this morning when Canterbury Crusaders welcome the Natal Sharks. McCaw was given special dispensation by the New Zealand Rugby Union to miss the tournament's first two games on extended leave after the autumn internationals. The seven-time champions hope his return will spark them back into form after last weekend's loss to Queensland Reds, a defeat Dan Carter describes as "pretty tough to take".
McCaw was a frustrated spectator and he said: "I started to watch the last few weeks and wish I was out there and that's the way it should be every time. That's a good sign," McCaw said. McCaw returns to a Canterbury team which is significantly changed from the one which lost 40-21 to Queensland in Brisbane. Wyatt Crockett, the prop, and Brad Thorn, the lock, will both start for the first time this season but Isaac Ross, their All Blacks teammate, has been ruled out of the match with an ankle injury.
The Sharks also make changes in the wake of their upset last week when they went down 25-20 to compatriots the Free State Cheetahs. Johan Muller, the Springboks lock, returns from injury while captain John Smit will start at tight-head prop and Bismarck du Plessis at hooker. Andy Goode, the former England fly-half who has been loaned to the Sharks by Brive, will start on the bench. The Cape Town Stormers host the CA Brumbies looking for only their second win over the Canberra franchise in 12 matches.
"Our defence has always been outstanding," said Allister Coetzee, the Stormers coach. "It has always been a key thing for the Stormers side It is important to maintain it and improve on it."
* With agencies
Canterbury Crusaders v Natal Sharks, 10.35am, Showsports 3
Cape Town Stormers v CA Brumbies, 9.10pm, Showsports
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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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.”
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
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