Barcelona registered their fourth consecutive La Liga win on Sunday after Ferran Torres scored twice in the 4-0 victory over Osasuna at Camp Nou.
The result moved Barca into the top three with 51 points, level with fourth-placed Atletico Madrid and five points behind second-placed Sevilla, but with a game in hand over their nearest rivals.
Torres, signed from Manchester City in January, opened the scoring 14 minutes into the game with a penalty after Gavi was tripped from behind inside the area.
Seven minutes later, the Spain forward doubled his tally, receiving a brilliant pass by Ousmane Dembele in behind the defence before beating the keeper with a delicate finish.
Dembele was unstoppable on the right flank and five minutes later the French winger teed up former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, another January arrival, to net Barca's third from close range.
Substitute Riqui Puig completed the victory when he found the net after collecting a rebound in the 75th minute.
"I’m really happy that we won and are rising," Torres, 22, told reporters. "Our objective is to keep climbing in the standings and keep improving game by game."
Barca manager Xavi Hernandez was pleased with the result but ruled out the possibility of his team making a late run for the title, with fierce rivals Real Madrid holding a 12-point lead at the top of the standings.
"I don't think the league is possible this season, Real Madrid are too far ahead," Xavi said when asked about the importance of next Sunday's Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu. "We need to keep winning and they have to lose three or four games, it's not realistic."
Having dropped as low as ninth in November, when Ronald Koeman was fired, Barca are closing in on second-placed Sevilla, who dropped more points in a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano earlier on Sunday.
The fight to finish in the top four and secure Champions League qualification is intensifying, with only four points separating Barcelona from Real Sociedad in sixth.
Sevilla were the only team in the top seven who played and did not win this weekend and they are now looking over their shoulders after a sixth draw in their last eight league matches.
Real Madrid, who comfortably lead with 63 points from 27 games, will play at 16th-placed Mallorca on Monday.
Wins for Real Betis, Real Sociedad and Villarreal moved them closer to Sevilla. Fifth-placed Betis have 49 points, Real Sociedad, 47, and Villarreal, in seventh, have 45.
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 National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
UAE and Russia in numbers
UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years
Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018
More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE
Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE
The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023
Eyasses squad
Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)
Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)
Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)
Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)
Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)
Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
