Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a light-hearted approach to a dinner at the White House after a day of meetings and appearances on his US state visit.
In a toast to US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden at a dinner in his honour on Thursday, Mr Modi about Indian and American cultural exchanges and his singing.
“I know your hospitality has moved your guests to sing. I wish, I too, had the singing talent,” Mr Modi said. “I could have also sang before you all.”
He was referring to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who surprised guests when he got up onstage during a White House state dinner honouring him in April and gave a rendition of American Pie, one of his favourite songs, to raucous applause.
Just as Mr Biden and Mr Modi are using the trip to improve their personal ties, Americans and Indians are also reaching better understanding, Mr Modi said.
“We can pronounce each other's names correctly. We can understand each other's accent better,” he said. “Kids in India become Spider-Man on Halloween and America's youth is dancing to the tune of Naatu Naatu,” a catchy song from the Indian film RRR.
After the toast, the Indian leader and other guests, including tech leaders, designer Ralph Lauren, filmmaker M Night Shyamalan and tennis player Billie Jean King, ate a vegetarian meal, the feast making up for a 2014 banquet when Mr Modi was fasting and would not eat.
“I remember you were asking me and asking me again and again what I could eat during my fast. But it was not possible for me to eat anything and you were quite concerned about it,” he told Mr Biden.
“Well today, I’m making up for it. All that you desired at that time with so much affection is being fulfilled today.”
Ms Biden enlisted California-based chef Nancy Curtis to help in the kitchen. Curtis specialises in plant-based cooking and said the menu shows "the best of American cuisine seasoned with Indian elements and flavours.”
Saffron risotto accompanied the mushroom main course, and dessert was infused with cardamom and rose syrup. She used millet because India is leading an international year of recognition for the grain.
Mr Modi's visit was not without controversy. His speech to Congress, normally a bipartisan affirmation of a visiting leader from an allied nation, was boycotted by some liberal lawmakers, who cited the Modi government's treatment of India's Muslim minority.
"I encourage my colleagues who stand for pluralism, tolerance and freedom of the press to join me in doing the same," Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Wednesday.
Mr Modi's speech to the Congress also drew a crowd of onlookers who chanted "Modi, Modi" at applause lines.
As about 7,000 gathered for a colourful opening ceremony at the White House, a far smaller group of demonstrators gathered blocks away to protest against the Biden administration's cosiness with Mr Modi, who leads the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Mr Modi is seeking to raise the status that India, the world's most populous country at 1.4 billion and fifth-largest economy, has on the world stage as a manufacturing and diplomatic powerhouse while navigating strained ties with China.
His participation in a White House press conference itself was a reflection of contrasting political traditions, marking the first time the BJP leader has taken questions in such a format in his nine-year tenure.
Asked by a US reporter about what steps he would take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities, Mr Modi said "there's absolutely no space for discrimination" in India.
Mr Biden told reporters he and Mr Modi had a straightforward discussion about democratic values.
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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.”
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Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs
A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.
The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.
Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.
Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.
