Are du and Vodafone up to something? Vodufone?

At the beginning of the year,

du signed a "Partner Market Agreement" with Vodafone

. At the time, they said the agreement would let du access some of Vodafone's goodies - custom devices, special network services, technology etc. There was also the obligatory roaming deal.

This was back when neither du or Etisalat was offering the iPhone in the UAE, and Vodafone was rolling out the iPhone across its global network, including Egypt and Qatar. So I

wrote a story heavy with iPhone innuendo

, suggesting without actually saying that Vodafone would help du land the iPhone.

I was probably wrong (although rumours have suggested that du is getting its iPhones through Vodafone), but whatever happened, it seems like something is going on.

The two companies exhibited side by side at Gitex last week, and re-announced the partnership. And now they've sent out an invite to a press conference this Wednesday to "talk about the partnership."

Coincedence that the press conference comes the

day after du's iPhone launch

? I speculate, you decide. There's every chance that this is just a routine sort of dog-and-pony show, but I wouldn't rule out something more interesting. The guest of honour at the event will be F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, whose McLaren Mercedes team is sponsored by Vodafone (he'll be racing down the road at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend, which could also partially explain the timing...)

Something super awesome, which will not happen at this press conference, would be for du to take the Vodafone route in

opening its network to outside applications

. Vodafone's network API will be a

game-changer for a whole bunch of industries

, so here's hoping that's one side of the company that rubs off on its new partner.

Oh, and a side point - Vodafone's partner markets team, which manages these kind of deals, seems the be very Egypt-friendly. Their previous CEO was Hatem Dowidar, an Egyptian who rose fast through the ranks of Vodafone Egypt, became chief of Vodafone Malta, and who is now running Vodafone Egypt. And the new chief of the partner markets unit is Richard Daly, the former head of Vodafone Egypt.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Tales of Yusuf Tadros

Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)

Hoopoe

RESULT

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')

Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing

In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.

While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.

In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).

“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”

Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.

"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."