It was an unprecedented fiasco. US president Joe Biden's re-election candidacy crashed and burned spectacularly at the debate against former president and convicted felon Donald Trump. On policy, Mr Biden had the better of the conversation, such as it was, but on style he failed miserably. He came across as bumbling and often confused.
I warned on these pages that style would outweigh substance. Mr Trump had a far better night on style, seeming confident and controlled. He avoided outrageous outbursts. He contained himself emotionally, which was his main task. Mr Biden, by contrast, had a meltdown on his primary assignment, which was to reassure Americans that he is capable, focused, engaged, mentally acute and ready to continue in this highly challenging job.
On substance, Mr Trump was dreadful. He mainly relied on outrageous falsehoods, claiming credit for accomplishments, like job growth and deficit reduction, that were in fact secured by Mr Biden.
He occasionally displayed bouts of excessive nastiness, but between the disgracefully disengaged moderators and Mr Biden’s misguided effort to remain “presidential”, he faced remarkably few provocations.
Mystifyingly, Mr Biden barely mentioned Mr Trump's criminal record, and no one seriously interrogated his status as an adjudicated sexual abuser and serial fraudster. He also astonishingly failed to mention strengthening Nato by adding Finland and Sweden despite Hungarian and Turkish recalcitrance.
Mr Biden had some strong moments, observing that Mr Trump has the "morals of an alley cat," and is a "whiner" who can’t accept a legitimate defeat. Mr Trump’s performance had extremely serious flaws, including his predictable refusal to commit to respecting the election outcome and dodging questions on issues such as childcare and climate change.
The "debate" degenerated into farce during a preposterous argument about golf. But Mr Trump came closer to laying out a vision for a second term. The president’s misguided insistence on rising above Mr Trump's sordid criminality and adjudicated abuses should at least have facilitated a laser-like focus on how he proposes to improve the lives of ordinary Americans. He wretchedly failed to do either effectively.
Mr Biden displayed surprising and impressive vigour during March’s State of the Union address when he was robust, forceful and at his best as he sparred extemporaneously with Republican hecklers. Last night, he seemed a different person altogether.
Democrats are panicking, shocked to discover their leader is too old, if not in years then in focus and acuity
Democrats have been insisting that behind closed doors he seems fine. Obviously, those who reported that he has "good days and bad days", typically said of someone who’s fundamentally unwell, were telling the truth. That fact is now on full display because of the contrast between the two performances. And it's likely catastrophic for his chances.
The administration insiders who have been insisting Mr Biden is sharp and focused have much to answer for. What, after all, are the chances that the bumbling and confused president of the debate never exhibited those characteristics before?
I greatly admire Mr Biden. In my assessment, he has headed the most successful presidency in my adult lifetime, despite some obvious blunders — worst of all his failure to clearly explain his administration’s wise preference for job salvation and growth over low inflation. And he adopted a badly misguided policy towards the Israeli rampage in Gaza, which for many months emphasised conflict containment. It was more an amoral rather than an immoral policy, but it has damaged American interests by implicating the country in obviously indefensible levels of killing and mayhem inflicted on Palestinian civilians.
Arab and Muslim Americans should note, though, that Mr Trump called Mr Biden "a bad Palestinian" as an attempted insult. It was clear he didn't mean the US president should be a better Palestinian, but rather that being Palestinian is simply a terrible thing. But Mr Trump's deep-seated racism is not news, and for part of his base it's actually a selling point.
Yet, taken as a whole and on a relative basis, I assess Mr Biden's presidency as remarkably effective and positive. Therefore, it is extremely painful for me to confront the fact that he's apparently no longer a plausible candidate for the job – except in contrast to his felonious and profoundly narcissistic opponent.
It’s simply unreasonable to ask the American people to choose someone who is no longer up to the task simply to avoid giving the presidency back to a thoroughly bad person.
Those of us who fear the consequences of a second Trump term must accept now that Mr Biden should immediately retire and give his party a chance to either elevate the vice president as their standard-bearer or, more wisely, find a way to tap into the deep and talented Democratic Party bench around the country. Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan is an obvious and appealing option, but there are many other plausible alternatives.
Some pundits are insisting it's impossible for Democrats to change their ticket at this stage. But it obviously isn't; a candidate can suddenly retire for health-related reasons. If a presumptive candidate were to suddenly pass away, there are mechanisms for addressing that. Given that his candidacy is probably now so implausible, it amounts to the same thing politically.
Democrats are panicking, shocked to discover their leader is too old, if not in years then in focus and acuity. The US president's main role is that of a chief executive who primarily must appoint the right people. In general, Mr Biden has done that and could continue to. But too much individual power and decision-making is vested in the office to confidently give it to someone who suffers from so much evident, even if intermittent, mental fog.
Democrats can and should find a new candidate. It is by no means too late. But it’s up to Mr Biden. If he truly loves his country and believes it’s imperative to stop Mr Trump’s re-election in order to protect the US democratic and constitutional order – a very reasonable evaluation – he must face the music and step aside, not as President but as the Democratic candidate, without much delay.
If the Democrats stick with Mr Biden, he could certainly still win, just as Mr Trump survived the disgusting 2016 Access Hollywood video, in which he boasted about grabbing women by their genitalia. But such a gamble would be unconscionable, given that Mr Trump genuinely poses a significant threat to the US constitutional order.
Mr Biden must get out of this race as soon as possible.
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
RESULT
Manchester City 1 Sheffield United 0
Man City: Jesus (9')
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
ORDER OF PLAY ON SHOW COURTS
Centre Court - 4pm (UAE)
Gael Monfils (15) v Kyle Edmund
Karolina Pliskova (3) v Magdalena Rybarikova
Dusan Lajovic v Roger Federer (3)
Court 1 - 4pm
Adam Pavlasek v Novak Djokovic (2)
Dominic Thiem (8) v Gilles Simon
Angelique Kerber (1) v Kirsten Flipkens
Court 2 - 2.30pm
Grigor Dimitrov (13) v Marcos Baghdatis
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Christina McHale
Milos Raonic (6) v Mikhail Youzhny
Tsvetana Pironkova v Caroline Wozniacki (5)
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
MATCH INFO
Manchester United v Manchester City, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match is on BeIN Sports
HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 1:39:46.713
2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 00:00.908
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-GP 00:12.462
4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP 00:12.885
5. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing 00:13.276
6. Fernando Alonso, McLaren 01:11.223
7. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 1 lap
8. Sergio Perez, Force India 1 lap
9. Esteban Ocon, Force India 1 lap
10. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren 1 lap
11. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso 1 lap
12. Jolyon Palmer, Renault 1 lap
13. Kevin Magnussen, Haas 1 lap
14. Lance Stroll, Williams 1 lap
15. Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber 2 laps
16. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber 2 laps
17r. Nico Huelkenberg, Renault 3 laps
r. Paul Di Resta, Williams 10 laps
r. Romain Grosjean, Haas 50 laps
r. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 70 laps
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.”
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
