Italy's battle for political stability is far from over

The political crisis unfolding in Italy is the longest in the republic's history. For more than two months, a pair of populist parties – the Five Star Movement (M5S) and the League – that won the most votes in the March elections have struggled to forge a government. That struggle has, over the past week, landed Italy in a constitutional crisis. Sergio Mattarella, the country's president, is facing calls for impeachment from the right for refusing to allow Giuseppe Conte, the prime ministerial candidate backed by M5S and the League, to name a notorious Eurosceptic as his finance minister. Mr Mattarella then quickly went ahead and invited Carlo Cottarelli, an economist with no political experience, to form an interim government. All cabinet appointees will, like Mr Cottarelli, be non-political technocrats.

The decisive repudiation of populism inherent in Mr Mattarella's actions is a welcome departure from the growing tendency among western politicians to surrender to populists. Yet the wave of public disaffection that the populists rode is gathering force – and will probably return M5S and the League with a larger share of the vote in the next election. Mr Mattarella is already being portrayed as the anti-democratic underling of the European Union and nationalists appear thrilled at the prospect of turning this crisis into a referendum on Italy's sovereignty. We witnessed something similar in Greece. The difference is that Italy is the third-largest economy in the Eurozone and among the ensemble of populists paralysing the country are unmalleable and extreme right-wingers.

What is happening in Italy has drastic implications for the Eurozone and all who do business with it, including the UAE, which has seen a steady rise in commerce with Italy (in 2015, bilateral trade stood at Dh30 billion). The free trade agreement being negotiated between the EU and the GCC member states is likely to be further delayed by crisis of confidence in Europe. The prospect of a Eurosceptic government in Rome has already knocked the euro to a low. The task before Italy is to create political stability without succumbing to populism. It won't be easy but the future of Europe depends on it.

How to avoid crypto fraud

Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.

How Beautiful this world is!

'The Sky is Everywhere'

Director:Josephine Decker

Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon

Rating:2/5

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Guide to intelligent investing

Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:

Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: HyperSpace

Started: 2020

Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Entertainment

Number of staff: 210

Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners

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 worst thing you can eat'

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Other workplace saving schemes

The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.

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Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books