Oprah launches Book Club 2.0

Oprah Winfrey is back in the book club business, modified for the digital age. Oprah's Book Club 2.0 begins tomorrow with Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild. Along with the traditional paper book, special e-editions will be available that include Winfrey's comments. The new club, announced on Friday by Winfrey's OWN network, will test whether she still has clout with readers. She made best-sellers out of countless books with her previous club. * AP

Madonna to wear Jean Paul Gaultier tonight

Madonna will be wearing an outfit designed by Jean Paul Gaultier for her MDNA tour - a cage-like bustier over a white shirt and black tie. About his inspiration, the French haute couture designer said in a statement: "We played with the ideas of a suit and a corset. What I have done is a nod to the conical bra of the Blond Ambition tour, but reinterpreted it in 3D, in patent leather on the outside and metallic leather inside."

Emirati filmmaker directs shorts for MBC1

Attendees at the Gulf Film Festival in April had the chance for a first glimpse, but now Nayla Al Khaja's short films, produced in conjunction with Nivea, are being shown on TV. The Emirati director turned three love stories - chosen from more than 1,400 submitted - into short films, which are now being shown weekly on MBC1's daily morning show Sabah Al Khair Ya Arab. Viewers are invited to select their favourite by voting online from June 20 to July 4 at www.nivea-me.com/sensualmusk. One of the shorts, Lamha (Glimpse), already earned Al Khaja a Special Mention award in the Official Gulf Shorts Competition in April's film festival. * Alex Ritman

Andy Samberg leaving SNL

The actor and comedian Andy Samberg is leaving Saturday Night Live. His publicist said on Friday he won't return as a cast member next season. Samberg's exit follows that of SNL's other lead cast member Kristen Wiig last month. "Kristen kept saying it just feels like it's her time," Samberg told the New York Times. "I connect with that. Something about it just feels like it's the moment." Like other Saturday Night Live alumni, Samberg will be seen on the big screen. His new movie with Adam Sandler, That's My Boy, is set for a June 15 release. * AP

Jessica Chastain to help hand out Tonys

Jessica Chastain, Nick Jonas, Amanda Seyfried and Jim Parsons are some of the stars tipped to help the host Neil Patrick Harris hand out the Tony Awards on June 10. Organisers unveiled a list of presenters on Friday that also includes Paul Rudd, Ellen Barkin, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Candice Bergen, Christopher Plummer and James Marsden. Chastain will be making her Broadway debut this autumn in The Heiress, a play based on the Henry James novel Washington Square. * AP

The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index

Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.

The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.

“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.

“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”

Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.

Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.

“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.

Key Points

Protests against President Omar Al Bashir enter their sixth day
Reports of President Bashir's resignation and arrests of senior government officials

Herc's Adventures

Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5

While you're here

Richard Jolly: Man City's appeal win eradicates uncertainty over club's future prospects

Nick March: City fans don’t miss the bad old days, they’re too busy living in the moment

Damien McElroy: What the failed Newcastle takeover says about Boris Johnson's Britain

The specs

Engine: Dual permanently excited synchronous motors
Power: 516hp or 400Kw
Torque: 858Nm
Transmission: Single speed auto
Range: 485km
Price: From Dh699,000

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.”

Final scores

18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)

- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)

-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)

-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)

-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)

-10: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Chris Paisley (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)

TWISTERS

Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung

Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos

Rating:+2.5/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: Klipit

Started: 2022

Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant

Based: Dubai, UAE

Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain

Funding: $4 million

Investors: Privately/self-funded

Kill

Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat

Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal

Rating: 4.5/5

Inside Out 2

Director: Kelsey Mann

Starring: Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri