RB Leipzig again knocked Bayern Munich from top spot in the Bundesliga table on Saturday as their 2-1 win at home to Schalke left them three points clear.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Bayern had regained the lead with a 3-1 win at Mainz on Friday night, but Leipzig replaced them less than 24 hours later.
Bayern and Leipzig are set to meet at Munich’s Allianz Arena on December 21 in a mouth-watering pre-Christmas showdown.
A second-half own-goal from Schalke’s Bosnia international Sead Kolasinac sealed Leipzig’s win, their 10th league victory, extending their record unbeaten run to 13 matches in their first Bundesliga season.
Leipzig took an early lead in controversial fashion as Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann conceded a penalty with just 19 seconds gone when the referee judged he had made contact with RB’s top scorer Timo Werner.
Replays showed the Leipzig forward dived, but Werner, 20, drilled in his eighth league goal of the season. Faehrmann was booked to add insult to injury for Schalke.
Werner insisted he told referee Bastian Dankert — who later admitted he made the wrong decision after watching replays — that there was no contact from Faehrmann, but went to ground from a push by Schalke defender Naldo.
“I’m sorry that it looks like a dive, that wasn’t my intention, but there was a push from Naldo,” insisted Werner after watching replays.
“I told the referee there was no contact from Faehrmann, but he didn’t listen to me in the heat of the moment.”
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Long after the final whistle, Faehrmann was still fuming about the incident.
“It’s enough to make you sick. Werner told him (Dankert) that there was no contact and I still got a yellow card,” said the goalkeeper.
Schalke regained their composure and drew level when Bosnia winger Kolasinac drilled home a cross on 32 minutes.
But the 23-year-old, who has been linked to Liverpool, turned the ball into his own net two minutes into the second half following a free-kick from Leipzig’s Emil Forsberg.
Faehrmann tipped the ball onto the bar to deny a header from Leipzig defender Marcel Halstenberg 20 minutes from the end.
With time running out, Schalke’s Brazil centre-back Naldo cleared off the line from Forsberg.
This was Schalke’s first defeat in 13 games, dating back to the end of September, to leave them eighth.
Elsewhere
• Earlier, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice as Borussia Dortmund prepared for their Champions League clash at Real Madrid with a 4-1 rout of Borussia Moenchengladbach.
With both sides already into the last 16, the victor at Real’s Bernabeu on Wednesday will be confirmed as Group F winners and fifth-placed Dortmund warmed-up with an emphatic win over Moenchengladbach at Signal Iduna Park.
Fleet-footed Marco Reus weighed in with three assists as Dortmund fought back after Gladbach took the lead with six minutes gone when Brazilian forward Raffael slotted home from the edge of the area.
Lukasz Piszczek headed home and Ousmane Dembele also netted in the second half to seal an emphatic win.
• Hertha Berlin held onto third with a 3-2 comeback victory at 10-man Wolfsburg as Salomon Kalou converted the winning penalty in the 91st minute.
Wolfsburg coach Valerien Ismael dropped Germany international Julian Draxler from his starting line-up and his side responded with two goals in the opening 20 minutes.
Ex-Real Madrid striker Borja Mayoral gave Wolfsburg a 12th-minute lead before Marvin Plattenhardt put Hertha level by expertly drilling his free-kick over the wall.
Wolfsburg went back in front when midfielder Paul Seguin, who was later sent off for a second booking five minutes from time, slammed his shot home on 18 minutes.
Alexander Esswein levelled for Hertha 20 minutes from time before Daniel Caligiuri fouled Plattenhardt to concede the penalty Kalou converted for the winner.
• Hoffenheim, who along with RB Leipzig are the only unbeaten teams in the Bundesliga, are fourth after romping to a 4-0 win at home to Cologne.
Ex-Bayern striker Sandro Wagner scored twice for Hoffenheim while Jeremy Toljan and Mark Uth also got on the scoresheet.
• Bayer Leverkusen, who host Group E winners Monaco on Wednesday with both teams through to the knockout stages of the Champions League, drew 1-1 at home to Freiburg.
Janik Haberer gave Freiburg a shock first-half lead before Hakan Calhanoglu levelled after the break.
Leverkusen’s Javier Hernandez failed to convert a late penalty as the Mexico striker fired his spot-kick at the feet of Freiburg goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow.
• Werder Bremen climbed out of the bottom three with a 2-1 win at home to Ingolstadt, who are second from bottom, thanks to Fin Bartels’ second-half winner.
*Agence France-Presse
Friday’s scores
• Mainz 1, Bayern Munich 3
Saturday’s scores
• Bayer Leverkusen 1, Freiburg 1
• Borussia Dortmund 4, Borussia Monchengladbach 1
• Hoffenheim 4, Cologne 0
• Wolfsburg 2, Hertha Berlin 3
• Werder Bremen 2, Ingolstadt 04 1
• RB Leipzig 2, Schalke 1
Sunday’s fixtures
• Darmstadt v Hamburg, 6.30pm
• Augsburg v Eintracht Frankfurt, 8.30pm
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Jebel Ali Dragons 26 Bahrain 23
Dragons
Tries: Hayes, Richards, Cooper
Cons: Love
Pens: Love 3
Bahrain
Tries: Kenny, Crombie, Tantoh
Cons: Phillips
Pens: Phillips 2
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.”
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Company%20profile
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Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says.
Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.
Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier.
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
