The Who plan US tour - but first comes the Olympics finale

The Who's Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend will hit the road for a US tour this autumn, but first they're planning what Daltrey calls a great finale for the Olympic Games in London. The group made the announcement on Wednesday, saying that the two surviving members will kick off their tour on November 1. The pair also said they were scheduled to close the Olympics. Daltrey said the band's recordings show the great music that has come out of Great Britain. * AP

Giant Hasselhoff ads tempt thieves

David Hasselhoff flashes a smile in giant photo cutouts that his fans apparently can't leave alone. About 550 of the cutouts were stolen from outside Cumberland Farms convenience stores in Massachusetts in recent weeks. The company is using the cutouts in an advertising campaign to sell iced coffee. Hasselhoff, 60, is best known for his work in the TV shows Knight Rider and Baywatch. Last week he announced he has signed on to appear in a film adaptation of Baywatch. * AP

Katie Holmes to do Broadway

Katie Holmes has decided that her first major acting project after her divorce from Tom Cruise will be on Broadway. The actress will star in Theresa Rebeck's Dead Accounts, a five-character comedy that will be directed by the three-time Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien. Holmes's decision to return to the physically strenuous eight-show-a-week life of a Broadway stage actress may signal an intention to stay and live in New York City with her daughter Suri. Her last appearance on Broadway, which also marked her debut, was in the 2008 production of All My Sons. * AP

Nolan calls shootings 'senseless tragedy'

Christopher Nolan, the director of The Dark Knight Rises, has described the murders at a screening in Colorado on Friday night as a "senseless tragedy". In a statement, Nolan expressed his sadness about the shooting, in which a gunman opened fire on an audience watching the midnight screening of his new Batman movie, killing 12 and injuring 59 people. The director said movies are a great American art form and that watching one is an important and joyful pastime. He said committing violence against innocent people is savage and "devastating". He added that the cast and crew's thoughts were with the victims and their families. * AP

Halle Berry suffers injury on set

Halle Berry was taken to hospital on Tuesday after suffering a minor head injury while shooting a fight scene in her latest film, The Hive. The 45-year-old actress fell and hit her head on concrete and shortly afterwards began to vomit - a sign of concussion. This raised alarm from aides who advised her to go to a hospital, the celebrity news website TMZ reported. "She was taken to the hospital as a precaution, but she checked out healthy and was released," said the star's spokeswoman. "She will continue production as planned." * AFP

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.”

if you go

The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.

The trip

Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

The Who plan US tour - but first comes the Olympics finale

Plus: Giant Hasselhoffs a temptation for thieves, Katie Holmes to go back to Broadway, Christopher Nolan on The Dark Knight shootings, and Halle Berry injured on set.

if you go

MATCH INFO