Biden invites Saudi Arabia and UAE to Leaders Summit on Climate

US President Joe Biden invited on Friday the leaders of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and 38 other heads of state to attend the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate that Washington will host on April 22 and 23.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE were the only Arab leaders on the list of invitees released by the White House.

Other invited leaders include Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were also invited.

“The Leaders Summit on Climate will underscore the urgency – and the economic benefits – of stronger climate action. It will be a key milestone on the road to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop26) this November in Glasgow,” a statement from the White House read.

The list of invitees is made up of the 17 countries responsible for approximately 80 percent of global emissions and global GDP, along with heads of other countries “that are demonstrating strong climate leadership, are especially vulnerable to climate impacts, or are charting innovative pathways to a net-zero economy,” the White House added.

The UAE was one of the first countries contacted by John Kerry, the US special envoy for climate. Just 10 days after coming into office, Mr Kerry held talks with Emirati minister and special climate envoy Dr Sultan Al Jaber on joint efforts to deliver global action on key environmental issues.

Dr Al Jaber, who is also the minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, was Mr Kerry's first official call to the region.

The April climate summit will focus on six goals, according to the White House.

These include reducing emissions during this decade to keep the limit of warming 1.5°C within reach; mobilising public and private sector finance to drive the net-zero transition and help vulnerable countries cope with climate impacts; and addressing the economic benefits of climate action, with a strong emphasis on job creation.

The other goals include spurring transformational technologies that can help reduce emissions and adapt communities to climate change; showcasing subnational and non-state actors that are committed to green recovery and an equitable vision for limiting warming to 1.5°C; and discussing opportunities to strengthen the capacity to protect lives and livelihoods from the impact and security challenges of climate change, and address the role of nature-based solutions in achieving goals to reach net zero by 2050.

This will be the first global summit hosted by Mr Biden since taking office in January.

Mr Biden reversed many of the decisions that his predecessor Donald Trump had taken on the issue of climate change, including returning the US to the Paris Agreement.

How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now

Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.

The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.

1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):

a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33

b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.

2. For those who have worked more than five years

c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.

Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.

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How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers

Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.

It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.

The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.

Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.

Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.

He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.

AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”

A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.

Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.

Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.

Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.

By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.

Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.

In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”

Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.

She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.

Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.

Biden invites Saudi Arabia and UAE to Leaders Summit on Climate

Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are the only Arab parties invited to the US-hosted summit next month

How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now

Habtoor interview

How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers