Cliff Lee was in fine form by mixing up his pitches and keeping the Yankee hitters honest in Game One.
Cliff Lee was in fine form by mixing up his pitches and keeping the Yankee hitters honest in Game One.

Sport

Phillies' Lee silences Yankee faithful

The first World Series game played at the new Yankee Stadium turns into a sombre affair by the Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee.

NEW YORK // The first World Series game played at the new Yankee Stadium was turned into a sombre affair by the Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee. Lee gave the crowd of 50,207 little to cheer about while leading the 2008 World Series champions to a 6-1 victory over the New York Yankees in the first game of the 2009 Fall Classic. On a chilly night with a consistent drizzle, the powerful Yankee hitters were kept off-balance by Lee's ability to mix his fastball with an array of off-speed pitches.

"That was the key," said Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz. "If you're the pitcher, you've got to mix it up. He did it very good. His curve and change-up was great all night." Lee, a midseason acquisition by the Phillies, struck out 10 while giving up only six hits and an unearned run in the ninth. By that time, most of the fans had headed for the exits. "Winning Game One is huge," said Lee, who won the 2008 Cy Young Award with the Cleveland Indians.

"You want to get off to a good start. It's a seven-game series, getting that first one out of the way is big for us. "At worst we can split here in New York and go back home and really have the home field advantage." Thursday's Game Two has turned into a crucial test for the Yankees, who do not want to head to Philadelphia for the next three games in an 0-2 hole. New York manager Joe Girardi praised Lee for keeping the Yankees guessing.

"He was great," said Girardi. "He kept us off balance. "He got us to chase some pitches when we were down in the count, up in the zone. He used his cutter very well, he used his curveball really well. "He's pitching extremely well. But one thing is he can't pitch every day." Phillies reliever Brad Lidge said he enjoyed watching Lee from the bullpen. "It's pretty amazing what he did tonight, but he's been doing it all postseason," he said. "He can pinpoint his change-up. His cutter. His curveball.

"I don't even have close to that kind of control. I don't know a whole lot of guys in the game that do. It's fun to watch a guy when he's on the top of his game." * Reuters

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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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.”

WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS

England v New Zealand

(Saturday, 12pm UAE)

Wales v South Africa

(Sunday, 12pm, UAE)

 

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

Kareem Shaheen on Canada
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Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants

Saudi National Day
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Favourite superhero: Batman

Favourite quote: We must become the change we want to see, by Mahatma Gandhi.

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The biog

Name: Atheja Ali Busaibah

Date of birth: 15 November, 1951

Favourite books: Ihsan Abdel Quddous books, such as “The Sun will Never Set”

Hobbies: Reading and writing poetry

Red Joan

Director: Trevor Nunn

Starring: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Tereza Srbova

Rating: 3/5 stars

On Women's Day