We are on to the second week of the Premier League after week's opener saw title contenders Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United all triumph. What can we expect this weekend? Here is a run through the 10 games and what to watch for.
Cardiff City 1 Newcastle United 2
Saturday, 3.30pm UAE time
Why? They may have lost on the opening day of the season at home to Tottenham Hotspur but Newcastle looked good in defeat. Rafa Benitez's men have enough quality going forward to trouble Cardiff, and Ayoze Perez and Joselu will fancy their chances against the home side, playing their first Premier League game on home turf for four years.
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Everton 3 Southampton 0
Saturday, 6pm
Why? Marco Silva's side had looked on track for three points against Wolves until Phil Jagielka's red card. They looked good going forward and Richarlison can inspire a first win of the season for Silva men's against a Southampton side, who on the balance of last week's game with Burnley, are going to struggle for goals this year.
Leicester City 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1
Saturday, 6pm
Why? Neither team won on the opening weekend but both showed enough to hint they will be nowhere near the bottom three come next May. Wolves looked very impressive in their draw at home to Everton, while Leicester will rely on Jamie Vardy for their goals again. Honours even in a Midlands derby that is too close to call.
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Fulham 0
Saturday, 6pm
Why? Records are meant to be broken and Harry Kane's run of never having scored in the Premier League in August has to end some time. Up against newly promoted Fulham is as good a chance as any. Fulham looked good in patches in losing to Crystal Palace, but did look susceptible at the back. Kane to break his August duck, albeit at Wembley Stadium, and Tottenham to maintain their winning start to the campaign.
West Ham United 2 Bournemouth 1
Saturday, 6.30pm
Why? It was almost unfair to judge Manuel Pellegrini's side on their opening weekend loss to Liverpool as lots of sides will be overwhelmed by Jurgen Klopp's team this season. West Ham just happened to be the first ones. It is important West Ham bounce back quickly and the likes of Marko Arnautovic, Andriy Yarmolenko and Javier Hernandez should give them the offensive power to see off Bournemouth.
Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0
Saturday, 8.30pm
Why? Chelsea looked great in Maurizio Sarri's opening game in charge last weekend. Yes, it was Huddersfield Town, but Chelsea still made a side they failed to beat back in May look ordinary. Jorginho settled in quickly, Willian did not look as if he had lost a beat from the World Cup, and Eden Hazard impressed as a substitute. Arsenal look like a work in progress under Unai Emery and they will stay on no points when they lose again at Stamford Bridge.
Burnley 1 Watford 0
Sunday, 4.30pm
Why? January 2 was the last time Watford scored an away goal in the Premier League. Or 728 minutes to be precise. Javier Gracia's side may fancy their chances, thanks to Burnley's Europa League exertions, but they will still struggle for goals on the road with Troy Deeney and Andre Gray as their strikers. Burnley's defence was key to their success last season and Sean Dyche's men will fancy a second successive clean sheet, and hope for inspiration from Chris Wood or Ashley Barnes at the other end, to set them up for victory.
Manchester City 4 Huddersfield Town 0
Sunday, 4.30pm
Why? The fixture computer was really not kind to Huddersfield Town. First Chelsea and now Manchester City. City may be without Kevin de Bruyne, which is a setback, but they have more then enough quality to overrun Huddersfield. When Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus are only coming on as late substitutions at Arsenal that tells you about the quality on Pep Guardiola's bench. A tough afternoon ahead for Huddersfield.
Brighton and Hove Albion 0 Manchester United 2
Sunday, 7pm
Why? For all the doom and gloom in pre-season United looked fine in beating Leicester City. Paul Pogba looked motivated and Alexis Sanchez was on good form as he caused problems with his pace and movement. More of the same here should see off a Brighton side who were awful at Watford last weekend.
Crystal Palace 0 Liverpool 3
Monday, 11pm
Why? An interesting test of where Liverpool are as title contenders. Palace are a good side yet if Liverpool are to be fighting at the top this is the kind of game they need to win with minimum fuss. Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane will find Palace tougher to break down initially then West Ham, but they should still be far too good over the 90 minutes.
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
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MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3 (Silva 8' &15, Foden 33')
Birmginahm City 0
Man of the match Bernado Silva (Manchester City)
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
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.”
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Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
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'Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower'
Michael Beckley, Cornell Press
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 2 (Willems 25', Shelvey 88')
Manchester City 2 (Sterling 22', De Bruyne 82')
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
