WASHINGTON // Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, pressed his case for president with a strong performance in the first American presidential debate Wednesday night, against an at times unusually hesitant Barack Obama, the incumbent Democrat president.
If there was a sense leading up to this debate that the election was gradually slipping away from Mr Romney, he showed last night he is capable of taking the race right down to the wire.
The debate, at the University of Denver in Colorado, focused exclusively on domestic policy and the two clashed over their respective tax plans, how tobalance the budget, the role of government and healthcare.
The hour-and-a-half long debate was serious in tone. Neither candidate reached for easy one-liners. It was not short on attacks, however.
Mr Romney said his tax plan would lower taxes on everyone and do away with taxloopholes, but rejected repeated charges by Mr Obama that his proposal would add to America's budget deficit. Instead, he argued, it was Mr Obama's "trickle-down government" approach that had hurt America's economy.
"The president has a view very similar to the one he had when he ran for office four years ago, that spending more, taxing more,regulating more, if you will, trickle-down government would work. That's not the right answer for America."
Mr Obama countered that "common sense and our history", along with maths, dictated that Mr Romney's plan to lower taxes would increase the deficit without fail. Mr Romney's plan, he said, was simply a regurgitation of Republican policies in 2001 and 2003 under former president George W Bush.
"We ended up moving from surpluses to deficits and it all culminated with the worst recession since the Great Depression," said Mr Obama.
Mr Obama also charged that Mr Romney was short on detail whether on his tax plan, on what government programs would be ended to cut government expenditure or on his proposed alternative to Mr Obama's Affordable Care Act healthcare reform.
But Mr Romney lacked no detail in going after Mr Obama's record. Repeatedly invoking "23 million" unemployed, "one in six" in poverty, "47 million" relying on food stamps and "[US$]90 billion" in tax breaks for the clean energy sector, Mr Romney questioned the US president's priorities
"Why would he spend his energy and passion for two years fighting for Obamacare instead of fighting for jobs," Mr Romney asked.
Mr Romney said he would repeal Mr Obama's health reforms, but did not say with what he would replace a plan largely modelled on one he instituted in Massachusetts as governor. Mr Obama countered that repealing the health care plan would hurt the most vulnerable and undermine efforts to make "sure that middle class families are secure".
Throughout the debate, Mr Romney seemed better prepared, offering bullet-point answers to some questions, including on how he saw the role of government, a three-point answer that started with protecting the American constitution.
Mr Obama offered only that government could help "create the ladders of opportunity", though he was on firmer ground on education where, he said, "budgets reflects choices" and Mr Romney's budget plan would hurt education by slashing spending.
But Mr Obama's closing statement seemed lacklustre, ending only with a promise that if re-elected, he would fight "every single day on behalf of the American people, the middle class and all those striving to get into the middle class".
Mr Romney, by contrast, said the election was about two fundamentally different paths: one would lead to chronic unemployment and dramatic defence cuts. The other was his plan.
"I will keep America strong and get America's middle class working again."
Coming into the first debate, Mr Obama enjoyed a small but significant lead in opinion polls across the country, including in key swing states. But a snap CNN poll of registered voters taken immediately after Wednesday night's debate will now have provided Mr Obama and his campaign staff plenty of food for thought: 67 percent felt Mr Romney won the first debate. Only 25 percent went for Mr Obama.
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
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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.”
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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
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The specs
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Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
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
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner AF Nashrah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Mutaqadim, Riccardo Iacopini, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
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6.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
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Winner Dalil Al Carrere, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
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Winner Jayide Al Boraq, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
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Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
4.5/5
