WASHINGTON // It's almost over. Tomorrow, Americans, or the vast majority who did not vote early, will decide who will lead them for the next four years.
Their choice?
In the blue corner: Barack Hussein Obama, the incumbent president, who has failed to live up to the high - unreasonably high, in some cases - expectations that greeted his election four years ago as the nation's first African-American president.
He undoubtedly inherited a mess. One, as he has argued on the campaign trail, that he has had to spend most of his time fixing. There has been progress, he says: Osama bin Laden is dead, the US-led occupation of Iraq has ended, its occupation of Afghanistan will end soon, the recession has been bucked and unemployment, while still high, is coming down.
Fundamentally, his argument is that the US needs active government to support private-sector growth, protect the vulnerable and ensure that "everyone plays by the same rules". And while the country's massive debt means government spending needs to be reduced, he is more inclined to seek those cuts from the country's defence budget than from social programs. He also intends to raise taxes on the wealthiest citizens.
His most important domestic achievement was the passing of healthcare reforms that help to extend health insurance to all. A victory for Mr Obama would see those reforms take hold.
In the red corner: Willard Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, who made a fortune in the private sector and who oversaw the 2002 Winter Olympics, one of the most profitable in history.
Mr Romney poses a dilemma for voters: is he the anti-welfare, anti-universal health care, socially conservative, foreign policy hawk that ran for the nomination of an ever more right-leaning party?
Or is he the far more moderate politician who, as governor, created a statewide healthcare system that became the model for Mr Obama's?
Mr Romney has been consistent in arguing that government has to play a smaller role and "get out of the way" of the private sector. He opposes all tax increases but says he wants to do away with exemptions and tax loopholes. Promising more defence spending, he has struggled to explain how this will address the county's budget deficit.
He has pledged to overturn Mr Obama's healthcare reform on his first day in office.
Tuesday's vote could also be hugely consequential on an issue that has hardly been touched upon in the campaign: the environment and global warming.
Mr Obama has tried to encourage alternative sources of energy and reductions of carbon emissions. Mr Romney is a climate-change sceptic. He opposes carbon-emission regulation and supports the traditional energy sector.
Both sides have claimed this to be one of the most important elections in recent memory. Ultimately, though, voters are being asked to believe Mr Obama's argument that, while flawed, his record suggests that the US is on the right track. Or, take a leap of faith that a vote for Mr Romney's private-sector prowess - his most consistent appeal to US voters - will be the road best explored.
Barack Obama profile
Name Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.
Birthdate August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Age: 51) His mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas. His father, Barack Obama Sr., was born in Kenya's Nyanza Province and grew up herding goats, eventually earning a scholarship to go to college in Hawaii. Parents divorced when Barack was 2.
Education Punahou Academy (Hawaii), Occidental College, Columbia University, Harvard Law School
Job experience Professor, University of Chicago Law School (1992-2004). Wins seat in the Illinois State Senate (1996). Loses Democratic primary for seat in the US House of Representatives (2000). Wins seat in the US Senate (2004). Elected first African-American president, defeating John McCain (2008).
Personal Married Michelle Robinson (1992). They have two daughters: Malia (14) and Sasha (11)
Playlist "I've got old school - Stevie Wonder, James Brown. I've got Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan . . . . And then I've got everything from Jay-Z to Eminem, to the Fugees . . . . I've got some jazz - John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Gil Scott-Heron. You've got to mix it up. I just depends on what mood I'm in."
okarmi@thenational.ae
More from Neighbourhood Watch
The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
Need to know
Unlike other mobile wallets and payment apps, a unique feature of eWallet is that there is no need to have a bank account, credit or debit card to do digital payments.
Customers only need a valid Emirates ID and a working UAE mobile number to register for eWallet account.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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 specs
Price, base / as tested Dh135,000
Engine 1.6L turbo
Gearbox Six speed automatic with manual and sports mode
Power 165hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 240Nm @ 1,400rpm 0-100kph: 9.2 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Yabi%20by%20Souqalmal%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMay%202022%2C%20launched%20June%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAmbareen%20Musa%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20u%3C%2Fstrong%3Endisclosed%20but%20soon%20to%20be%20announced%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E12%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseed%C2%A0%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EShuaa%20Capital%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
