Minnesota's win on Monday night made them one of five NFL teams with a 4-0 record. Three of the other four are for real; one team, though, may be playing above their station.
Nearly every pre-season publication held that the New York Giants were a Super Bowl contender and they have done nothing to disprove that.
The Giants, who slapped Kansas City around on Sunday, have built a foundation on tremendous defensive and offensive lines.
The only thing that could stop them is bad luck or a significant injury to their quarterback, Eli Manning. His injured heel is not that bad and he expcts to be fit to play against the lowly Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
That is only a sparring session before the biggest game of the season a week later, when the Giants face the NFC's other undefeated team, the New Orleans Saints.
The Saints are guaranteed to enter that game unblemished because they have this Sunday off, not that they seem to need it.
New Orleans faced a rough test last weekend, but their defence stepped up and forced the New York Jets' rookie quarterback, Mark Sanchez, into four turnovers while sacking him five times.
Because the Saints' attack have been the most prolific in the league (144 points, 36 per game) their defence have been overshadowed.
Astonishingly, their quarterback, Drew Brees, has not thrown a touchdown pass in two weeks and it has not mattered; his team's aggressive defence are allowing only 16.5 points per game.
In the AFC, the Indianapolis Colts lost their long-time head coach, Tony Dungy, to retirement and their Hall of Fame receiver, Marvin Harrison, to eroding skills, but this has not made a difference to Peyton Manning, the NFL's best quarterback.
"We played greatness today," the Seattle Seahawks coach, Jim Mora Jr, said of Manning after he led the Colts to four touchdowns in his first five possessions on the way to a 34-17 win.
The Colts' running game has not yet rounded into shape and their defence, while feisty, have yet to see their leader, Bob Sanders, flying around like a human missile.
Sanders is an undersized safety who plays with such recklessness he is often injured. That is again the case, but when he comes back someone will pay.
The surprising Denver Broncos are he remaining unbeaten team. Their off-season was filled with turmoil, first with the firing of their long-time coach, Mike Shanahan, and then the trading of their quarterback, Jay Cutler, by Shanahan's 32-year-old replacement, Josh McDaniels.
McDaniels was formerly the New England Patriots' offensive co-ordinator and he came to the Rocky Mountains intent on doing things his way.
At first that hinted at disaster but when their wide receiver, Brandon Marshall, caught a pass off the head of the Dallas defender Terence Newman and took it a weaving 51 yards for the winning touchdown with 1:46 to play on Sunday it may have set in motion a revival in Denver.
This Sunday, McDaniels comes to a showdown with his old boss, the Patriots' Bill Belichick.
He has a defence that held the Cowboys to 74 yards rushing and limited their quarterback, Tony Romo, to 11 of 24 passing in the second half with no touchdowns, a critical interception and five sacks.
"To come out and do it against a great team shows we are great," the Broncos' linebacker, DJ Williams, said.
This sort of confidence is perhaps premature in Denver, and the Giants, Saints and Colts may prove just that.
rborges@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
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.”
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
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Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company Profile
Company name: Big Farm Brothers
Started: September 2020
Founders: Vishal Mahajan and Navneet Kaur
Based: Dubai Investment Park 1
Industry: food and agriculture
Initial investment: $205,000
Current staff: eight to 10
Future plan: to expand to other GCC markets
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 plus rear-mounted electric motor
Power: 843hp at N/A rpm
Torque: 1470Nm N/A rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.6L/100km
On sale: October to December
Price: From Dh875,000+(estimate)
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