Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling admitted he is "obsessed" with football as he prepares to take on neighbours Manchester United.
With 15 goals this season, and starring roles for City and England, Sterling said he had undergone a lifestyle transformation.
"I think now I'm living for football. I'm obsessed with football, obsessed with scoring goals, obsessed with recovering quicker, and obsessed with improving myself.
"You have every facility here so you have to use it to the best of your advantage to try and be the best you can be.
"I was decisive, but I wasn't 100 per cent committed. I wasn't 100 per cent living the way I should be living to be a professional footballer and that would give me an edge on a match day.
"I realised that and changed it. You see the improvements on the pitch and so that's why you continue to do it," added the 24-year-old.
Defending champions City go into Saturday's derby 11 points ahead of United in the table, but also 11 behind leaders Liverpool.
"We just need to keep winning games and hope they (Liverpool) lose some. It's as simple as that," said Sterling.
"They're playing some good football at the moment, but it's a long season. We have got to keep winning, keep believing."
Meanwhile coach Pep Guardiola says United may have won more trophies than City in their history, but his side are the "better" side now.
As the neighbours prepare to meet in the 179th derby, the Catalan was keen to stress City's current standing, especially since he took charge in 2016.
Successive Premier League titles, and a current 11-point advantage in the table, have highlighted the Etihad outfit's recent dominance when compared to United's league record and the last of their 20 top-flight championships being secured in 2013.
Asked if he was disappointed that there was no title rivalry since his arrival, Guardola said: "No, I prefer it.
"My reflection is that we were better. In the time I've been here, we've been better than United. We were so consistent in all departments, especially in the last two seasons.
"It surprised me, too. But we are not here to judge the results or what distance there is between teams or the past or the future.
"Listen, for United's fans, they'll always be the biggest club. For the City fans, they'll always be the biggest club."
What Guardiola is more concerned with currently is why leaders Liverpool have an 11-point advantage over City and how they can reduce the deficit.
"I would like to discover the reason for this big gap with Liverpool," he added. "One is, no doubt, the quality of the opponent. I repeat, one lost game in almost 60, the numbers are incredible.
"When I review all the games we've played, even (the defeat to) Norwich, we created 20 shots. I know the stats, we are the best team by far at creating chances and the best team by far at conceding few.
"Much better than the opponents, but we are 11 points behind. So something has happened. Sometimes, it's human. We can do better. There's something we missed and, honestly, I don't know."
MATCH INFO
Burnley 0
Man City 3
Raheem Sterling 35', 49'
Ferran Torres 65'
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MATCH INFO
Day 2 at the Gabba
Australia 312-1
Warner 151 not out, Burns 97, Labuschagne 55 not out
Pakistan 240
Shafiq 76, Starc 4-52
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
Favourite book: You Are the Placebo – Making your mind matter, by Dr Joe Dispenza
Hobby: Running and watching Welsh rugby
Travel destination: Cyprus in the summer
Life goals: To be an aspirational and passionate University educator, enjoy life, be healthy and be the best dad possible.
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 SIXTH SENSE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
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Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
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Who is Ramon Tribulietx?
Born in Spain, Tribulietx took sole charge of Auckland in 2010 and has gone on to lead the club to 14 trophies, including seven successive Oceania Champions League crowns. Has been tipped for the vacant New Zealand national team job following Anthony Hudson's resignation last month. Had previously been considered for the role.
