A round-up of Friday’s ATP and WTA action from around the world as both the men’s and women’s tours continue their preparations for the Australian Open.
Brisbane International
Defending champion Milos Raonic beat former world No 1 Rafa Nadal in three sets on Friday to reach the Brisbane International semi-finals.
The big-serving Canadian blasted 50 winners, including 23 aces, to overcome the Spaniard 4-6 6-3 6-4 and set up a last-four clash with seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov.
Returning from a wrist injury, Nadal took the first set but momentum swung at 3-3 in the second when Raonic claimed four straight games.
Raonic capitalised on an early break in the decider and served out to book a semi-final against Dimitrov who beat Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-3 4-6 6-3.
World No 4 Stan Wawrinka survived aggressive hitting from Briton Kyle Edmund before winning 6-7(2) 6-4 6-4 in another quarter-final.
Read more:
■ Preview of 2017: Big Four still the centre of attention
■ Serena Williams: Her quest for history should dominate 2017
■ Qatar Open: Djokovic stops for selfie with beaten opponent
Edmund cruised through the first set tiebreak before Wawrinka, making his Brisbane debut, raised his game to beat the world number 51.
Swiss Wawrinka will meet Kei Nishikori in the semis after the Japanese third seed’s 6-1 6-1 win over local favourite Jordan Thompson.
In the women’s event, world No 6 Karolina Pliskova beat Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-4 and will play Alize Cornet in the final.
Pliskova could go to No 5 in the world rankings if she beats Cornet in the final on Saturday
Unseeded Frenchwoman Cornet reached her first final in nearly three years after Spanish fourth seed Garbine Muguruza was forced to retire due to injury.
Hopman Cup
Roger Federer’s comeback gained momentum when he produced an almost flawless performance to beat French veteran Richard Gasquet at the mixed teams Hopman Cup.
After being beaten by Alexander Zverev in his previous singles match in the tournament, Federer bounced back to thrash the 18th-ranked Gasquet in straight sets in under an hour.
The Hopman Cup is the 35-year-old’s first tournament since a six-month layoff due to knee and back injuries.
The 17-time grand slam champion barely missed a groundstroke, getting his first break of serve in the fourth game of the match and dominating proceedings from that point on.
He also sent down 11 aces in nine service games, winning 6-1, 6-4 in 56 minutes.
Gasquet had been in good touch heading into the match, beating Zverev and Dan Evans, both in straight sets.
Meanwhile, Zverev continued his impressive build-up for the Australian Open with a straight-sets win over Dan Evans.
Britain’s Evans beat Zverev at last year’s US Open, but he couldn’t repeat the feat against the 19-year-old German.
Auckland Classic
Croatian Ana Konjuh overpowered German Julia Goerges 6-3 4-6 6-3 at the Auckland Classic to reach her second career WTA final.
The eighth seed will meet American Lauren Davis in the final after seventh-seeded Jelena Ostapenko retired trailing 4-1 in the third set due to illness.
The unseeded Goerges shocked former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the quarter-finals but Konjuh ensured there was not another shock at the tournament in which top seed Serena Williams was upset by fellow American Madison Brengle.
Ostapenko took the first set against Davis 6-4 before the American levelled the match and the Latvian was unable to continue after falling behind in the decider.
“I woke up with a fever, with coughing and everything. I feel much worse today than yesterday,” Ostapenko said.
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Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
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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UAE%20PREMIERSHIP
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
The years Ramadan fell in May
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Company%20Profile
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
Top financial tips for graduates
Araminta Robertson, of the Financially Mint blog, shares her financial advice for university leavers:
1. Build digital or technical skills: After graduation, people can find it extremely hard to find jobs. From programming to digital marketing, your early twenties are for building skills. Future employers will want people with tech skills.
2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.
3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.
4. Pay yourself first: The minute you receive any income, put about 15 per cent aside into a savings account you won’t touch, to go towards your emergency fund or to start investing. I do 20 per cent. It helped me start saving immediately.
MATCH INFO
AC Milan v Inter, Sunday, 6pm (UAE), match live on BeIN Sports
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Six pitfalls to avoid when trading company stocks
Following fashion
Investing is cyclical, buying last year's winners often means holding this year's losers.
Losing your balance
You end up with too much exposure to an individual company or sector that has taken your fancy.
Being over active
If you chop and change your portfolio too often, dealing charges will eat up your gains.
Running your losers
Investors hate admitting mistakes and hold onto bad stocks hoping they will come good.
Selling in a panic
If you sell up when the market drops, you have locked yourself out of the recovery.
Timing the market
Even the best investor in the world cannot consistently call market movements.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
OPTA'S PREDICTED TABLE
1. Liverpool 101 points
2. Manchester City 80
3. Leicester 67
4. Chelsea 63
5. Manchester United 61
6. Tottenham 58
7. Wolves 56
8. Arsenal 56
9. Sheffield United 55
10. Everton 50
11. Burnley 49
12. Crystal Palace 49
13. Newcastle 46
14. Southampton 44
15. West Ham 39
16. Brighton 37
17. Watford 36
18. Bournemouth 36
19. Aston Villa 32
20. Norwich City 29
SPEC%20SHEET
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