With Day 9 of Euro 2016 in the books, we have collated some of the best of our content from the last 24 hours in one place. All the latests news, plus group guides, kick-off times and news from around the teams can be found at our special microsite.
Unconvincing France top Group A
With two wins and a draw, hosts France are comfortably through to the knockout stages of Euro 2016, avoiding the sort of disaster the England rugby team could not at the 2015 Rugby World Cup held in their own country. Billed by many as favourites to win the tournament on home soil, France have done well in places, but failed to fully convince in the group stages. They needed a moment of Dimitri Payet brilliance in the opening game against Romania in the final moments to earn victory, it took until the 90th minute to find the breakthrough against Albania, and on Sunday night were held to a goalless draw by Group A runners-up Switzerland.
Richard Jolly provides his analysis from a game that saw Paul Pogba find some form, but France run out of luck.
Albania’s anxious wait
Armando Sadiku scored Albania’s first goal at a major tournament in a historic 1-0 win over Romania on Sunday to keep alive their slender hopes of progressing to the Euro 2016 knockout phase.
Albania will be hoping to see results go their way in the other groups with the possibility of their third place finish being enough to secure one of the places in the last 16.
Read the full match report from Lyon on Sunday night as well as a photo gallery comprising the best pictures from the game.
Hodsgon’s striker decision
The order of Group A has been decided, and on Monday, it is the turn of Group B as England face Slovakia, and Wales take on Russia. England may be leading the group with four points after an opening draw against Russia and a last-gasp win over Wales, but manager Roy Hodgson has a big decision to make regarding his strikers. Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane entered Euro 2016 as England’s undisputed No 9, but a sluggish first two games, combined with the goalscoring cameos of Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Vardy against Wales, leaves Hodgson with a dilemma.
Richard Jolly argues why Hodgson should reward Sturridge and Vardy with starting berths against Slovakia.
St Etienne’s rich football history
Euro 2016 matches are being held all around France, and among the host cities is St Etienne in the eastern central part of France. One of the smaller cities to host tournament matches, St Etienne’s steep football history has worked in its favour, as has the football club’s impressive stadium, the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
Our man in France, Andy Mitten, is in St Etienne ahead of England's Group B match with Slovakia, and his latest diary entry explores the history of AS St Etienne, and the city's relationship with football.
Greg Lea talking points
In his daily Euro 2016 talking points, Greg Lea writes on the surface of it, France seem to be on a convincing run after having tallied seven points from three games. But scratch that surface and you see some issues with the team – the form of Olivier Giroud, Didier Deschamps's confused strategy and inexplicable changing of the starting line-ups. Lea also discusses Albania's albeit slim chances of making it the knockout stages, who he thinks was the player of the day and more.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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.”
Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
