US president-elect Joe Biden pleaded with Americans to wear face masks on Monday after the first meeting of his new coronavirus taskforce.
In a 10-minute address from Wilmington, Delaware, Democrat Mr Biden said thousands of lives could be saved if “everyone would just wear a mask”.
“I implore you to wear a mask,” he said. “A mask is not a political statement.”
He also said: “It could even save your own life.”
In the past week, Covid-19 was diagnosed in one in 433 Americans. Hospitals in several states are running out of space and staff, and the death toll is soaring.
The US has recorded more than 10 million infections and more than 243,000 deaths from Covid-19.
Prior to the meeting on Monday, which was conducted by video call, Mr Biden released a list of members for his transitional advisory council on the pandemic.
It is led by former surgeon general Dr Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner David Kessler and Yale University public health expert Dr Marcella Nunez-Smith.
Also notable among the task force members is Rick Bright, a vaccine expert and former head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.
Dr Bright filed a whistleblower complaint alleging he was demoted after resisting political pressure to allow widespread use of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug, as a Covid-19 treatment.
Other members include Luciana Borio, a biodefence specialist; Dr Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist and bioethics chair at the National Institutes of Health; Dr Atul Gawande, a Clinton administration health advisor and surgery expert; Dr Celine Gounder, an infectious disease expert who has studied HIV/Aids and tuberculosis; Dr Julie Morita, a paediatric and immunisation specialist; Dr Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert and epidemiologist; Loyce Pace, a global health specialist; Dr Robert Rodriguez, an emergency medicine expert who has researched the mental health of Covid-19 responders; and Dr Eric Goosby, an infectious disease expert who has worked on HIV/Aids.
Also on Monday, pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced promising results from a vaccine trial.
The company, which developed the vaccine with the German drugmaker BioNTech, said it is on track to file an emergency use application with US regulators later this month.
Interim analysis of the Pfizer vaccine, from an independent data monitoring board, looked at 94 infections recorded so far in its study, in which about 44,000 people in the US and five other countries enrolled.
Mr Biden noted the positive news of the vaccine’s progress but also called for caution.
He said cases could climb by a further 200,000 before immunisation is widely available and that the US is “still facing a very dark winter”.
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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.”
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
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PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
