Transfer talk: Aston Villa considering Owen Hargreaves

Aston Villa

Aston Villa are considering signing Owen Hargreaves on a pay-as-you-play deal, writes Duncan Castles. The England international midfielder is a free agent after being released by Manchester United because of his long-standing knee problems. Still just 30 years old he would offer experienced cover in midfield with the club agreeing to loan Jean II Makoun to Olympiakos for the season yesterday. Villa manager Alex McLeish is also attempting to complete a deal for Scotland international Alan Hutton, who has been deemed surplus to requirments at Tottenham Hotspur. He is understood to face competition from Fulham for the right back, a £9 million (Dh54m) acquisition from Glasgow Rangers in January 2008.

Iraq

Zico, the Brazilian legend, has agreed to take over as the coach of Iraq, hoping to revive the team's fortunes following a disappointing run of results. Najih Hamoud, the Iraq Football Federation president, told the Associated Press in a telephone interview yesterday that a final agreement on Zico's one-year contract was reached late on Sunday. "The deal with Zico is done and he started his work with our team," Hamoud said. "We hope to see good results by Zico and our national team." Hamoud declined to say how much the Brazilian would be paid, although he is expected to get a bonus for every game Iraq wins.

Fenerbahce

Fenerbahce say they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after their removal from the Champions League by the Turkish Football Federation over a match-fixing scandal. Fenerbahce said in a statement yesterday that they were holding talks with two lawyers who would represent the club at the CAS. More than 30 people, including the Fenerbahce president, Aziz Yildirim, have been arrested in the ongoing match-fixing investigation that allegedly involved 19 games last season.

Queens Park Rangers

Armand Traore, the Arsenal defender, was reportedly undergoing a medical at QPR yesterday. Traore has made just one Premier League appearance for the Gunners in the last 15 months - Sunday's 8-2 defeat to Manchester United - and appears to be surplus to requirements at the Emirates Stadium despite the club's lack of defensive cover. The left-back, who joined Arsenal from Monaco in 2005, is behind Kieran Gibbs in the Gunners' pecking order. Since his takeover of the Loftus Road club, Tony Fernandes has already bankrolled the signings of Joey Barton and Luke Young.

Newcastle United

Davide Santon, the Inter Milan full-back, has opened talks with Newcastle, according to his agent. The 20 year old, who is also wanted by Roma, is among the Newcastle manager Alan Pardew's targets as he looks for a replacement for Jose Enrique, and Claudio Vigorelli, his agent, has claimed negotiations are under way. He told Corriere dello Sport: "At this time, there is no possibility that Santon can join Roma because right now the aim is Newcastle." Newcastle have turned to him having failed, to date, to push home their interest in PSV Eindhoven's Erik Pieters.

Bolton Wanderers

Stuart Holden, the United States midfielder, is set to play his first match tonight after almost six months out with a knee injury. Holden announced on Twitter yesterday that he will play for Bolton's reserve team against Fulham in London. He tweeted: "I'm buzzin." The 26-year-old Holden injured his left knee in March playing against Manchester United in the Premier League. Holden needed 26 stitches to close a gash near his knee.

Liverpool

Daniel Agger is enjoying a new lease of life under Kenny Dalglish. The Denmark international defender has been blighted by fitness problems in recent seasons but has started all three Premier League games this term, and is showing good form. Agger, 26, said: "It is enjoyable, I think everybody will say the same. When you play good football and when things are going the right way, everyone enjoys themselves more."

WHAT MACRO FACTORS ARE IMPACTING META TECH MARKETS?

• Looming global slowdown and recession in key economies

• Russia-Ukraine war

• Interest rate hikes and the rising cost of debt servicing

• Oil price volatility

• Persisting inflationary pressures

• Exchange rate fluctuations

• Shortage of labour/skills

• A resurgence of Covid?

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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.”

Rocketman

Director: Dexter Fletcher

Starring: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The Super Mario Bros Movie

Directors: Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic
Stars: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Seth Rogen and Keegan-Michael Key
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UAE Premiership

Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes

Fixture
Friday, March 29, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, The Sevens, Dubai

The biog

Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children

She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career

She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence

Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken

Company Profile

Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000