Immune to coronavirus and stronger than Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden, Donald Trump wanted America to know he was back.
"Here we are!" he roared at a rally in Sanford, Florida, on Monday, his voice made slightly hoarse by his bout of the virus.
A week after leaving hospital, Mr Trump strode on stage, tossing masks like a rock star handing out autographs.
He was not wearing a mask, and neither was anyone else barring a small minority in the crowd of several thousand who gathered to see the Republican's return to the campaign trail.
Mr Trump wanted to show that he could defy illness and his poor polling figures against Mr Biden.
Loud, coarse at times, diving into his repetitive jokes and insulting opponents and journalists, Mr Trump did not sound like a clinically obese 74-year-old who a few days ago was being given oxygen by doctors.
"They say I'm immune," he bragged. "I feel so powerful."
From ditching his mask to parking the presidential Air Force One jet behind the podium, this was a rally stage-managed to push Mr Trump's image as a man unbound by laws governing ordinary people.
He was not wearing the Superman shirt under his suit that the New York Times reported he had considered doing on leaving hospital October 5, but the crowd would not have been fazed had he done so.
"We love you, we love you," they cheered.
That defiance was on show before Mr Trump left Washington.
Waiting for Mr Trump's motorcade from Washington at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, staff could be seen mopping and wiping down surfaces in the press cabin of Air Force One.
Unlike on past trips – even throughout the coronavirus period – staff, Secret Service agents and air force personnel all wore masks.
There was real tension surrounding the trip. The White House has become a coronavirus hotspot in the past 10 days, a symbol of Mr Trump's hands-off approach to a pandemic that has killed more than 220,000 Americans.
So, the White House assured the pool of journalists that every person boarding the plane would first be tested for the coronavirus and anyone interacting with reporters would wear a mask.
But when the presidential motorcade arrived, it jarred to see Mr Trump step from his car with no mask, the only bare face in the convoy.
With a thumbs-up to the press, he boarded the plane and jogged on one of the steps to show his vitality.
Mr Trump talked of a protective glow after getting over coronavirus. The way he told it, his special powers made him invincible against Mr Biden, too. Since re-emerging from medication for the coronavirus, he has mocked his opponent's travel schedule, his mask-wearing and coughing.
"He's got no strength left, he's got no power left," Mr Trump told Monday's crowd.
"He may be the worst presidential candidate in history, and I got him," he scoffed.
The polls do not bear this out.
They consistently show Mr Trump far behind Mr Biden, possibly heading for a defeat of landslide proportions.
They show an overwhelming majority of Americans angry at Mr Trump's handling of the pandemic. They show women and the elderly – two key voting groups – abandoning Mr Trump.
But Mr Trump has spent a lifetime perfecting the art of creating a story about himself and on Monday night in Florida, at least, he was able to tell his story to a receptive audience.
"These are the real polls," he said, gazing over the crowd of supporters in red Make American Great Again baseball caps.
They cheered.
Pakistan Super League
Previous winners
2016 Islamabad United
2017 Peshawar Zalmi
2018 Islamabad United
2019 Quetta Gladiators
Most runs Kamran Akmal – 1,286
Most wickets Wahab Riaz –65
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
More coverage from the Future Forum
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How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
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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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Company%20Profile
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