Man Utd come from behind to draw at Celtic

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND // Ryan Giggs rescued a 1-1 draw for Manchester United at Celtic, which should almost certainly be enough to guarantee the defending champions passage into the next round of the Champions League. United took until the 84th minute to cancel out Scott McDonald's delicate lob for the opener in the 13th minute. "With so little time to go I suppose we'll settle for a draw but with the way we played and our tempo in the second half, we probably deserved to win," Giggs said.

"It was a disappointing first half for us but the performance in the second half was much better. We came out and worked really hard and kept them pinned down. "We knew chances would come. We knew we just had to keep the crosses and the one-twos going, keep the tempo up and it (the goal) would come." Giggs, 34, headed home after Cristiano Ronaldo's dipping strike from distance was parried by Celtic keeper Artur Boruc into the veteran striker's path. "I just gambled and it fell right onto my head," Giggs said.

But Celtic could find themselves facing a UEFA fine after a man ran onto the pitch during the match. The man, who appeared to be wearing a Celtic scarf underneath his coat, encroached on Celtic Park in the 35th minute. The Celtic manager Gordon Strachan thought the red and blue hood the fan was wearing could have been a United States flag. "I don't know where he came from, he appeared to have an American flag on his head or something," Strachan said. "Maybe it was a political thing."

The result leaves Manchester United top of Group E level on eight points with Villarreal, who drew 2-2 at AaB Aalborg after the home side twice came from behind to keep a mathematical chance of progressing. Group F took on a similar look after Bayern drew 1-1 at Fiorentina and Lyon beat Steaua Bucharest 2-0. Fiorentina have three points and a slim chance of reaching the last 16 while Steaua, who have one point, can only hope for a UEFA Cup berth available to third-placed teams. Arsenal failed to break down a stubborn Fenerbahce at the Emirates Stadium but still lead Group G with eight points, two more than Porto following their come-from-behind 2-1 win at Dynamo Kiev. Dynamo are still in contention on five points.

Juventus, inspired by two-goal Alessandro Del Piero, chalked up their first win at Real Madrid since 1962 by beating the Spaniards 2-0 on Wednesday to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League. Defeat left the nine-times European champions Real in a precarious position in Group H, needing to avoid slip-ups in their final two matches against BATE Borisov and Zenit St Petersburg. BATE were beaten 2-0 by visiting Zenit yesterday. *Agencies

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.”

Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk

Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

Company profile

Name: Infinite8

Based: Dubai

Launch year: 2017

Number of employees: 90

Sector: Online gaming industry

Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor

German intelligence warnings

2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)

Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai

Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

Man Utd come from behind to draw at Celtic

Ryan Giggs rescues a 1-1 draw for Man United at Celtic, which should almost certainly be enough to guarantee passage into the next round of the Champions League.

Squid Game season two

Company profile

German intelligence warnings

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)