East
1 Washington Nationals Shame on them if they don't win 100 games. Added top free agent Max Scherzer to the league's best rotation and team, and Bryce Harper's breakout season is overdue.
2 Florida Marlins Giancarlo Stanton's MLB-record US$325 million (Dh1.19 billion) contract will look good if his bargain-salaried teammates can demonstrate some value. A good half-season from ace Jose Fernandez (elbow surgery) would help.
3 New York Mets Nice pitching. Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom at the top. Bad hitting. Thirty more home runs from Lucas Duda won't make them a contender.
4 Atlanta Braves Justin Upton, Evan Gattis, Jason Heyward, Ervin Santana are on the move – away from Atlanta. Their replacements (Jonny Gomes, Eric Young, Zoilo Almonte) don't look like much.
5 Philadelphia Phillies Once Cole Hamels, Chase Utley and Jonathan Papelbon are traded, the Phillies will still have washed-up Ryan Howard and Jeff Francoeur. Their goal will be to avoid 100 losses.
Central
1 St Louis Cardinals Can't pick against the Cardinals. Pitcher Carlos Martinez will be spectacular, infielder Kolten Wong will be an all-star. Something. Something wonderful always happens under The Arch.
2 Milwaukee Brewers Already hate this pick. Pitching wins, and this staff is a bowl of noodles. But Braun, Gomez, Lucroy, Ramirez, Davis, Lind? They can rake and cover up the pitching, right? What a bad pick.
3 Pittsburgh Pirates This division is getting tougher, and the Pirates may regress. Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, Pedro Alvarez, Josh Harrison are fine. But aren't the pitchers getting mouldy? What a bad pick.
4 Chicago Cubs Signed Jon Lester because they want to compete now. They can't. Kids are kids, even Kris Bryant. They will promote him from the minors in Week 2 and dump it all on his shoulders. Cover your eyes.
5 Cincinnati Reds Catcher Devin Mesoraco may be their best hitter, like Johnny Bench was with the Big Red Machine of yore. But that leaves them short one Perez, one Foster, one Morgan, one Rose.
West
1 Los Angeles Dodgers Fewer defensive holes, solid lineup and Clayton Kershaw still the pitcher of the century. Looks good from here.
2 San Francisco Giants Why push for a division title? The wild card works. But a couple oldies (Matt Cain? Jake Peavy? A Tim, Hudson or Lincecum?) better spark because that offence is more Munchkin than Giant.
3 San Diego Padres The flashiest, talent-grabbing-est winter in recent history should launch the horrendous 2014 Padres all the way up to … maybe .500. The defence is worse and that stellar pitching staff may not be as good when balls start dropping in the spacious Petco Park outfield.
4 Arizona Diamondbacks Paul Goldschmidt is really good. Followed by Joe Nada, Bob Zero and Jim Empty. Even pitching-deficient Boston gave up on Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster, the featured No 3 and No 4 starters. But Goldschmidt is really good.
5 Colorado Rockies We're assuming injury risks Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzales won't last half the season, or will be traded, and the pitchers will be demoralised again by the thin air of Coors Field.
Click here for the MLB American League predictions
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Book%20Details
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Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Tips for newlyweds to better manage finances
All couples are unique and have to create a financial blueprint that is most suitable for their relationship, says Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial. He offers his top five tips for couples to better manage their finances.
Discuss your assets and debts: When married, it’s important to understand each other’s personal financial situation. It’s necessary to know upfront what each party brings to the table, as debts and assets affect spending habits and joint loan qualifications. Discussing all aspects of their finances as a couple prevents anyone from being blindsided later.
Decide on the financial/saving goals: Spouses should independently list their top goals and share their lists with one another to shape a joint plan. Writing down clear goals will help them determine how much to save each month, how much to put aside for short-term goals, and how they will reach their long-term financial goals.
Set a budget: A budget can keep the couple be mindful of their income and expenses. With a monthly budget, couples will know exactly how much they can spend in a category each month, how much they have to work with and what spending areas need to be evaluated.
Decide who manages what: When it comes to handling finances, it’s a good idea to decide who manages what. For example, one person might take on the day-to-day bills, while the other tackles long-term investments and retirement plans.
Money date nights: Talking about money should be a healthy, ongoing conversation and couples should not wait for something to go wrong. They should set time aside every month to talk about future financial decisions and see the progress they’ve made together towards accomplishing their goals.
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
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.”
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
