February 13 to 19



For the traders among our readers, this is the time to sell gold. Changes in price in the precious yellow metal are related to the movements of the Sun, Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune and the asteroid Pallas. That is, when the price of gold has hit highs and lows in the past, these bodies have been in relationships that can be measured with a degree of statistical certainty. The metal typically corrects in the first quarter, and into the second. From 1979 to 2009, gold has fallen from January 21 to March 17 in 21 of 30 years. A composite cycle of the relevant planets peaks on February 17 and makes the next firm low on April 21. We should see the effect of the cycles very soon. Since 1979, gold has fallen 67 per cent of the time from the 21st to the 28th of February. For those in the market, sell gold now.

ARIES (March 20-April 18)This is a relatively quiet week for you. You are generally in a period of harder work and greater discipline for 2010 and 2011. You may need to alter your plans; tasks will take more time. TAURUS (April 19-May 19)There are some tricky cross currents that you must navigate. Teamwork will be difficult around the 16th. People have different procedures and find it tough to integrate as a group.

GEMINI (May 20-June 19))It may be more difficult to concentrate your energies this week. There are social and recreational distractions. You can relax, but there are great opportunities for networking and meeting people. CANCER (June 20-July 21))This is a calm week for you. There is time to consider inner beliefs and philosophies. It is easier for you to see whether your beliefs and your actions match. You can discuss such matters with friends and loved ones more closely now.

LEO (July 22-Aug 21) )This is a productive week for you. The organisational procedures that you have set up work well now. Communications are more direct and clear. This is a good week to make progress in a quiet way. VIRGO (Aug 22-Sept 21)This is an unusual week for the normally disciplined Virgo. Social invitations and recreational activities may distract you. Stick to your schedule - it will be tough to integrate work and play.

LIBRA (Sept 22-Oct 22)You are shouldering more responsibilities than usual. This may be due to a promotion or matters that you have neglected. This is a week when you can make progress. SCORPIO (Oct 23-Nov 20) There are minor distractions. Communications are not quite right, and work procedures are not what they should be. Take some time off. Recreational and social activities are more favoured.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 21-Dec 22) You look at the big picture and are one of the zodiac's great optimists. This is particularly true now, but you are influenced by feelings now more than thought. Stay grounded and be realistic.    CAPRICORN (Dec 23-Jan 19)This is a quiet week for the sign of the goat. Take care around the 20th and keep confidential information to yourself. There can be misunderstandings with credit card companies and banks.

AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb 18) This can be a constructive week for you. You feel inspired and have many creative notions. It is a fine time for brainstorming and experimenting with new techniques in art or advertising. PISCES (Feb 19-March 19) This is a most fortunate week for you. Venus and Jupiter bring warm feelings and material benefit, which brings the family closer together and may draw singles into relationships.

Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega

Director: Tim Burton

Rating: 3/5

The story in numbers

18

This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

73

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Match info

UAE v Bolivia, Friday, 6.25pm, Maktoum bin Rashid Stadium, Dubai

SERIE A FIXTURES

Saturday Spezia v Lazio (6pm), Juventus v Torino (9pm), Inter Milan v Bologna (7.45pm)

Sunday Verona v Cagliari (3.30pm), Parma v Benevento, AS Roma v Sassuolo, Udinese v Atalanta (all 6pm), Crotone v Napoli (9pm), Sampdoria v AC Milan (11.45pm)

Monday Fiorentina v Genoa (11.45pm)

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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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