With regard to your story, Counting the cost of personal debt in the UAE (April 23), my personal thoughts are that the interest rates should be irrelevant because everyone should pay off their total in full each month before it starts accruing interest charges.
If you can’t pay the full amount owed every month, it means you’ve been spending too much money and should immediately stop using the card.
Brigitte von Bulow, Abu Dhabi
I will be cancelling my credit card after I was charged an annual fee of Dh750 after being told it was free for life.
The problem is that you cannot pay for some services with a debit card. One example is renting a vehicle, because rental car companies don’t accept debit cards.
Sohail Anjum Mohammad, Dubai
If you budget and spend wisely, why would you have to rely on credit cards?
I think knowledge about banking and finance is essential for everyone who resides here. I hear people say you should use a bank loan instead of using a credit card but that’s just another form of debt.
Credit cards are also used for security purposes, even if you do not intend to get into debt. To rent a car, the hire companies will block a certain amount of money on your credit card for a period of time and then the bank will automatically release that amount when the car is returned in an undamaged condition.
Name withheld by request
Acceptance is key for parents
With regard to your story, Children as young as a year old being tested for autism, centre says (April 22), it is very hard as a parent to admit that something might be wrong with your child.
Even if you know it in your heart and mind, to actually do something about it is also difficult. Once you find out that something is wrong, it does not make you feel better to know that you were right and that your instincts were correct.
You then need to accept the situation and this can be the most difficult part of all. This can take some time, but once a parent accepts their child’s situation, then they can do what is best for their child and family.
Acceptance is the best part – the freeing part. There will still be bumps along the way, but with acceptance you can handle them.
Tracy Innes, Abu Dhabi
US always had its eye on Iran
In relation to Hussein Ibish's opinion piece, In truth, the US hasn't given up on the Gulf (April 24), the United States always weighs its interests in any region. In the Middle East, the only real ally the US seems to think it has is Israel.
The US has also always eyed Iran as major power and political player in the region. The Islamic revolution was a setback, but that did not stop the US from eyeing Iran as a potential place of US interest because it has a promising economy with diverse resources and a population of roughly 80 million people.
It was only a matter of finding a breakthrough and the Iranian nuclear deal was it.
Jehad Makhoul, Dubai
The United States seems more interested in Iran than in the GCC countries.
I, for one, thought the Americans would not be that stupid. Sadly, they are doing stuff that keeps proving me wrong.
Name withheld by request
Prince’s concert ‘the best ever’
Having read Saeed Saeed's article, Stuff of dreams: Remembering Prince's secret Dubai gig (April 23) I feel blessed to have seen Prince perform in the UAE. His concert after the Grand Prix in 2010 was the best I've ever attended.
He was a legend, a genius and a superstar and it is so sad that he is no longer with us.
However, as you say, his music will live on.
Deb Adcock, France
I started listening to him in my teens. He was a true musical genius.
Sarah Davis, Dubai
How to ensure safe deliveries
In regard to your editorial (The challenge of deliverymen, April 24), these unsung heroes should not be pushed so hard by their employers.
When an order is placed, customers should be patient – or even burn excess fat by going to the restaurant themselves.
Mathew Litty, Dubai
Aston martin DBX specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Top speed: 291kph
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: Q2, 2020
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
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.”
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Rebel%20Moon%20-%20Part%20One%3A%20A%20Child%20of%20Fire
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EZack%20Snyder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESofia%20Boutella%2C%20Djimon%20Hounsou%2C%20Ed%20Skrein%2C%20Michiel%20Huisman%2C%20Charlie%20Hunnam%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
The Gandhi Murder
- 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
- 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
