US President Joe Biden faced heady tasks as he delivered this year’s State of the Union address to Congress. He had to face concerns about his age, voter anxiety about the economy, the dysfunctional environment created by Republican hyper-partisanship, and the continuing threat to America's democratic processes posed by a feared replay of the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
As expected, commentators had differing views as to how successful Mr Biden was at meeting the challenges before the country and his presidency, with partisan Democrats appearing to read from Biden campaign talking points and Republicans glibly finding fault with the US President’s every word.
An honest assessment, however, would suggest that Mr Biden gave Democrats what they needed to campaign for his re-election, but did little to heal the partisan divide or advance any legislation currently blocked in Congress.
It was strange that Biden opened and closed his remarks with Ukraine and Gaza, both of which were dealt with unsatisfactorily
Given the magnitude of the domestic challenges that comprised the bulk of the President’s State of the Union address, it was strange that he chose to open and close his remarks with two foreign policy issues, both of which were dealt with quite unsatisfactorily.
Mr Biden opened his remarks with dire warnings about the war in Ukraine comparing the challenges this war poses to the West’s democracies with the situation in Europe in the lead up to the Second World War. At best, this was an extreme overstatement. The war in Ukraine is most certainly not a threat to the US and poses no serious challenge to any of Europe's Nato countries.
Russia has a particular historical grievance with regard to Ukraine, and while it has been important to defend Ukraine's territorial integrity, it can be done without exaggeration or making inaccurate historical comparisons. And the use excessive rhetoric about how democracies are confronting authoritarianism is off-putting and more than a little disingenuous, since the European “democracies” in question were colonial powers in the 1940s and among the world’s worst violators of rights.
It’s been two years now that the President has been using Churchillian or Reaganesque flourishes to describe his recreation of the Cold War conflict with Russia and China. It may sound good to some in his inner circle, but it isn't registering with voters. A significant percentage of both Democrats and Republicans do not support allocating billions of more dollars to fight a war in Ukraine.
If his Ukraine opening fell flat, the President’s closing remarks on Gaza hit with a thud. While Mr Biden’s re-election effort will not be harmed by his support for Ukraine, results in some of this year’s early primaries make it clear that his continued arming of Israel and refusal to condemn its devastating policies in Gaza may cost him votes in November. As a result, Mr Biden felt compelled to address the issue, but his approach was, at best, confusing. The problem was that he tried to square a circle.
On the one hand, the US President continues to pledge total support for Israel and its reputed “right to defend itself”, while on the other, attempting to temper this support by also calling on Israel to demonstrate more concern for Palestinian civilians – calls that Israel has repeatedly acknowledged but ignored for months.
Despite Mr Biden noting Israel’s responsibility for the humanitarian crisis created in Gaza, instead of calling for a ceasefire and demanding that Israel pull back its forces, he pledged instead to build a floating port to bring needed supplies into Gaza.
For the most part, this proposal drew scorn. It was seen as unnecessary, since the problem of getting supplies into Gaza could be more easily solved by joining international calls for a ceasefire. It has also been noted that in the two months it would take to get the port operational, thousands of Palestinians will have died of starvation.
Regrettably, I’m joining the camp of those who want to end the annual ritual of the State of the Union address. It neither honestly describes the state of the nation, nor does it serve to unify Americans to confront the challenges they face.
Rather it has become a patently partisan affair, complete with heckling, or a campaign event with repeated and unnecessary applause. It does more to deepen the partisan divide than to unify the country to serve the common good. Seen in this light, Mr Biden’s address probably served him well with some in his party but did little to unify the nation.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
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.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
