Elon Musk takes aim at Apple over Twitter advertising and asks Tim Cook 'what's going on?'

Twitter owner Elon Musk has unleashed a barrage of tweets aimed at Apple, accusing the technology company of threatening to remove the social media platform from its App Store and suppressing free speech.

Mr Musk, who has been very vocal on Twitter since his controversial acquisition of the company for $44 billion at the end of last month, went as far as saying the situation has become “a battle for the future of civilisation”, and said Apple had cut its Twitter advertising.

“If free speech is lost even in America, tyranny is all that lies ahead,” he tweeted.

Twitter has lost at least half of its major advertisers in the weeks after Mr Musk became its chief executive, representing a loss of nearly $750 million, a report by non-profit watchdog Media Matters found.

The exodus has included General Mills and Pfizer, and Mr Musk previously acknowledged that the defections led to a “massive drop” in revenue, and that the company was losing $4 million per day.

Apple was consistently one of the top advertisers on the social network, spending well above $100 million annually, Bloomberg reported.

This month, longtime Apple executive Phil Schiller, who oversees the App Store, deleted his Twitter account.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook has remained on the platform, and Mr Musk asked him: “What's going on?”

This came after Mr Musk asked whether Apple hates free speech in America and said the company had “mostly stopped advertising on Twitter”.

Mr Musk also suggested that Apple has made demands on Twitter’s content moderation. He posted a yes-no survey: “Apple should publish all censorship actions it has taken that affect its customers.”

He also claimed that Apple “puts a secret 30 per cent tax on everything you buy through their App Store”.

Mr Musk tweeted at the weekend that if Twitter is removed from the Apple and Google app stores, he will make an alternative phone that can work with the platform.

There have been widespread reports before of Mr Musk working on a Tesla smartphone.

Twitter has endured a tumultuous period since Mr Musk took over.

Thousands of jobs were cut, and the new Twitter Blue subscription service was rolled back after a chaotic wave of fake accounts with the new blue ticks parodied US presidents, well-known dead people and large companies.

It is set to soon be re-introduced with gold checks for companies, grey for government, and blue for individuals.

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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.”

Three trading apps to try

Sharad Nair recommends three investment apps for UAE residents:

For beginners or people who want to start investing with limited capital, Mr Nair suggests eToro. “The low fees and low minimum balance requirements make the platform more accessible,” he says. “The user interface is straightforward to understand and operate, while its social element may help ease beginners into the idea of investing money by looking to a virtual community.”
If you’re an experienced investor, and have $10,000 or more to invest, consider Saxo Bank. “Saxo Bank offers a more comprehensive trading platform with advanced features and insight for more experienced users. It offers a more personalised approach to opening and operating an account on their platform,” he says.
Finally, StashAway could work for those who want a hands-off approach to their investing. “It removes one of the biggest challenges for novice traders: picking the securities in their portfolio,” Mr Nair says. “A goal-based approach or view towards investing can help motivate residents who may usually shy away from investment platforms.”

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Saturday
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Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

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Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

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