Twitter won't be removed from Apple's App Store, Elon Musk says. Reuters
Twitter won't be removed from Apple's App Store, Elon Musk says. Reuters
Twitter won't be removed from Apple's App Store, Elon Musk says. Reuters
Twitter won't be removed from Apple's App Store, Elon Musk says. Reuters

Elon Musk says Twitter feud with Apple has been resolved


Ian Oxborrow
  • English
  • Arabic

Elon Musk said his “misunderstanding” with Apple over the potential removal of Twitter from the App Store has been resolved.

Mr Musk, the new Twitter owner, unleashed a volley of tweets targeting Apple earlier this week, accusing it of threatening to deny free speech in America and stop advertising on Twitter. He said the situation had become “a battle for the future of civilisation”.

However, there has been a thawing after Mr Musk appeared to have visited Apple headquarters to speak with chief executive Tim Cook.

He tweeted: “Good conversation. Among other things, we resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the App Store. Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so.”

Twitter has lost at least half of its major advertisers in the weeks after Mr Musk became its chief executive amid concerns over content moderation. This represents 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 over $100 million annually, Bloomberg reported.

Mr Musk had tweeted: “Did you know Apple puts a secret 30 per cent tax on everything you buy through their App Store?”

Apple has made no official comment on the apparent meeting between Mr Cook and Mr Musk.

Meanwhile, Mr Musk must do more to fight disinformation to comply with European Union law, said the bloc's top official for enforcing digital regulation.

Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner for the internal market, held a video call with Mr Musk and told him “there is still huge work ahead” to bring the platform in line with Brussels' rules.

Mr Breton posted a brief, silent video clip of his videoconference on Twitter, but followed it up with a link to a longer statement on the rival Mastodon network.

“Twitter will have to implement transparent user policies, significantly reinforce content moderation and protect freedom of speech, tackle disinformation with resolve and limit targeted advertising,” he said.

__________________________

Elon Musk memorabilia auctioned by ex-girlfriend for $165,000

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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.”

Roll of honour 2019-2020

Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain

West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership

UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes

UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II

UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby

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Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners

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Updated: December 01, 2022, 7:06 AM