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‘Our phones are ringing off the hook’: Amid a global downturn, the finance world is chasing Middle Eastern money

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‘Our phones are ringing off the hook’: Amid a global downturn, the finance world is chasing Middle Eastern money

A person wearing a thawb walks previous Dassault Falcon govt jets, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Leonid Faerberg | Sopa Photos | Lightrocket | Getty Photos

The organizers of the Investopia x Salt convention in Abu Dhabi — the brainchild of American financier and one-time White Home press secretary Anthony Scaramucci and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum — anticipated to see 1,000 visitors over its two-day occasion in early March. As a substitute, it acquired 2,500. 

“We’re just a little overwhelmed, however it’s an excellent signal,” one of many organizers instructed CNBC. Some others have been aggravated. “It is too many individuals. Everyone seems to be coming to the Gulf now begging for cash. It is embarrassing,” one Dubai-based fund supervisor stated. Each sources declined to be named attributable to skilled restrictions. 

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That oil-rich Gulf states have some huge cash to spend is not new. The area’s 10 largest sovereign wealth funds mixed handle practically $4 trillion, in response to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. That is greater than the gross home product of France or the U.Ok. — and it would not embody personal cash.

However the inflow of overseas institutional traders — and visual curiosity from enterprise capitalists and startup founders in superior sectors like fintech, digital transformation and renewable power know-how — reveals a degree of sophistication that is being observed now greater than ever, business gamers say.

“Funding used to solely circulation from the Gulf outward. Now it is going each methods; institutional traders are coming and investing right here,” Marc Nassim, managing director at Dubai-based funding financial institution Awad Capital, instructed CNBC.    

The regional traders, particularly the sovereign funds but additionally the households, at the moment are rather more refined than earlier than.

Marc Nassim

Managing director, Awad Capital

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“The Center East feels extra steady than Europe does proper now,” Stephen Heller, founding accomplice at Germany-based AlphaQ Enterprise Capital, instructed CNBC. “Europe’s safety points, financial inequality are getting worse … in the meantime, the Gulf has its s— collectively.” Heller’s fund of funds, which invests in megatrends like local weather know-how, infrastructure, well being and fintech, lately opened its first Center Jap workplace in Abu Dhabi.

“There’s an entrepreneurial power within the UAE and Saudi Arabia immediately,” Heller stated. “I see the potential as a result of you could have technically infinite capital, and in case you have entrepreneurs coming right here, you possibly can have big outcomes.”

Observe the capital

As oil costs made a roaring comeback within the final two years, the Gulf’s public wealth funds went on a spending spree. The highest 5 regional funds when it comes to spending within the final 12 months — Abu Dhabi’s ADIA, ADQ and Mubadala, Saudi Arabia’s PIF and Qatar’s QIA — deployed a mixed complete of greater than $73 billion in 2022 alone, in response to sovereign wealth fund tracker International SWF. 

Abu Dhabi metropolis skyline, United Arab Emirates.

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In the meantime, the worth of sovereign wealth funds’ belongings globally dropped from $11.5 trillion to $10.6 trillion between 2021 and 2022, International SWF reported, and people held by public pension funds additionally dropped amid a dramatic downturn in inventory and bond markets.

“5 out of the ten most energetic traders hail from the Center East,” and ADIA is at present the “world’s largest allocator to hedge funds,” International SWF’s 2023 report wrote. It added that GCC sovereign wealth funds “performed an vital function in 2020 through the Covid-19 pandemic and now once more in 2022 throughout occasions of monetary misery.” 

So it is an understatement to say that overseas demand is excessive. “Numerous locations on the earth are low on capital – Western institutional funds are sort of hamstrung. And this area has a whole lot of capital. Our telephones are ringing off the hook,” one supervisor from a UAE funding fund stated, declining to be named attributable to skilled restrictions. 

Not ‘dumb cash’

However whereas many abroad firms have lengthy seen the Gulf as a supply of “dumb cash,” some native funding managers stated – referring to the stereotype of oil-rich sheikhdoms throwing money at whoever needs it – funding from the area has turn out to be rather more refined, using deeper due diligence and being extra selective than in previous years.

“The regional traders, particularly the sovereign funds but additionally the households, at the moment are rather more refined than earlier than,” Awad Capital’s Nassim stated. “They’re much extra diligent than earlier than when it comes to who they write the examine to.” 

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“Earlier than it was a lot simpler to return and say, ‘I am a fund supervisor from San Francisco, please give me a pair million’. Now, not solely are they extra refined however there are much more funds from all around the world – the U.S., Latin America, from Europe, Southeast Asia – coming right here to lift capital. I feel {that a} very small minority of them will have the ability to take cash from the area – they’re much extra selective than earlier than.”

A display broadcasts Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chief govt officer of Mubadala Funding Co., throughout a session on the Future Funding Initiative (FII) convention in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022.

Tasneem Alsultan | Bloomberg | Getty Photos

Within the UAE particularly, liberalizing reforms, a much-praised dealing with of the Covid-19 pandemic and a willingness to do enterprise with anybody — together with nations like Israel and Russia – have enhanced its picture to overseas traders. In Saudi Arabia, financiers are drawn to historic reforms and an enormous development market of practically 40 million folks, some 70% of whom are under the age of 34. 

The cash from the GCC funds nonetheless overwhelmingly goes to developed markets, particularly the U.S. and Europe. Precedence sectors embody power, renewables, local weather know-how, biotech, agri-tech and digital transformation, fund managers say. 

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Like all commodity-related financial increase, nevertheless, fortunes are topic to vary – it was not so way back that the pandemic pushed oil costs to multi-decade lows, forcing Gulf governments to reign in spending and introduce new taxes. Saudi Arabia and the UAE particularly are investing closely in diversification, with a view to the long run. 

“The music would cease if [the price of] oil goes down in a approach that some SWFs are pressured to make use of their reserves to assist governments shore up their fiscal positions – most unlikely – or geopolitical threat” reminiscent of battle or uprisings, Nassim stated.

“If oil goes down, the excess generated and which is often allotted to the SWFs would clearly cut back, and that may power them to scale back their investments and restrict them to belongings that generate increased returns,” he added, although famous that not all SWFs have the identical mandate with regards to funding technique.

For these firms looking for funding from the deep pockets of the Center East, they’re sensible to take action whereas the music is taking part in.

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GOP Rep. Andy Ogles faces reelection amid FBI campaign finance probe

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GOP Rep. Andy Ogles faces reelection amid FBI campaign finance probe

Andy Ogles, a freshman Republican from Tennessee, is hoping to retain his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives amid an FBI investigation into alleged discrepancies in his 2022 campaign finances.

As the first-term congressman seeks reelection, he will face a strong challenge from Democrat Maryam Abolfazli, a progressive advocate from Nashville, in a district that has become increasingly competitive following recent redistricting.

Ogles, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, confirmed in August that federal agents had seized his cellphone as part of an ongoing investigation into his campaign’s financial filings.

The inquiry stems from reported inconsistencies in Ogles’ 2022 records, including a $320,000 loan he initially reported making to his campaign.

Newsweek has contacted Ogles’ office for comment via email.

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U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles speaks to supporters after being declared the winner in his Republican primary race, Aug. 1, 2024, in Franklin, Tennessee. He is hoping to fend off Democratic opponent Maryam Abolfazli in Tennessee…


Mark Humphrey/AP, file

What is Andy Ogles Accused Of?

Ogles later amended his filings, lowering the figure to $20,000, and explained that the larger amount had been a pledge, not an actual loan, which he claimed was mistakenly included in the reports.

In addition to the phone seizure, FBI agents obtained a warrant to access Ogles’ personal email account.

However, according to court documents, investigators have yet to review the contents of the account.

Ogles has publicly stated that he is fully cooperating with the investigation and believes the discrepancies were the result of honest errors.

Why is Nashville Left-Leaning?

The scrutiny follows an ethics complaint filed in January 2023 by the Campaign Legal Center, which raised concerns about potential violations related to his personal and campaign finances.

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Democratic congressional candidate Maryam Abolfazli
Democratic congressional candidate Maryam Abolfazli greets voters on primary election day, Aug. 1, 2024, at the Christ Church Nashville polling place in Nashville, Tennessee. Abolfazli is from Nashville and started Rise and Shine TN, a…


Jonathan Matisse/AP, file

The nonprofit, which advocates for transparency in political funding, compared Ogles’ situation to that of embattled New York Rep. George Santos, who has faced numerous investigations into his own campaign finances.

Ogles represents Tennessee’s 5th District, a Republican-leaning area that includes a portion of the liberal-leaning city of Nashville and stretches through five more conservative counties.

Although the district remains solidly Republican, the influence of Nashville’s progressive voters, combined with shifting national political dynamics, has created a potentially more competitive race than in the past.

In the 2022 election, Ogles won the seat by more than 13 percentage points, a result bolstered by the Republican-led redrawing of the state’s congressional districts after the 2020 census.

Lawmakers split Nashville into three separate districts, forcing longtime Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper into retirement and shifting the state’s congressional delegation to an overwhelming GOP majority.

Ogles’ district now includes part of the newly drawn 5th District, which spans from the Democratic stronghold of Nashville through more conservative rural counties. The redistricting was seen as a strategic move by Republicans to strengthen their hold on the state’s congressional seats.

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Ogles faces a tough challenge from Maryam Abolfazli, a Nashville-based nonprofit leader and activist.

Who is Maryam Abolfazli?

Abolfazli, the founder of Rise and Shine TN, has been a vocal advocate for stronger gun control in the wake of the tragic shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville in March 2023, which left six people dead, including three children.

Since entering Congress, Ogles has become known for his vocal opposition to the Biden administration and his alignment with the most conservative factions of the Republican Party.

Beyond his financial controversies, Ogles has faced criticism for past statements about his educational background.

After a news outlet questioned his claim of holding an international relations degree, Ogles admitted to overstating his credentials, saying he was “mistaken” about his academic history.

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Ogles, a former mayor of Maury County and state director for the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, remains a staunch defender of conservative policies.

He has filed multiple articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, citing their administration’s policies on border security, the economy, and other issues.

Following Biden’s announcement that he would not seek reelection in 2024, Ogles introduced new articles of impeachment targeting Harris.

As the race in Tennessee’s 5th District heats up, Ogles’ ability to navigate the FBI investigation, manage his financial controversies, and hold onto his conservative base will be key to his chances of securing a second term.

This article contains additional reporting from The Associated Press

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Stock market today: Asian shares are mixed after Wall Street drifts ahead of US Election Day

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Stock market today: Asian shares are mixed after Wall Street drifts ahead of US Election Day

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares were mixed in Asia early Tuesday after U.S. stock indexes drifted lower a day ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

This week will bring various potential flashpoints, among them Election Day in the United States. But the results may not be known for some time as officials count all the votes, and that could bring sharp swings since markets hate uncertainty.

U.S. futures were virtually unchanged early Tuesday.

Adding to the potential for volatility, the Federal Reserve will also be meeting on interest rates later this week. The widespread expectation is for it to cut its main interest rate for a second straight time.

Investors also hope the Chinese government may announce stimulus for the world’s second-largest economy.

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Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.3% to 38,552.67, reopening after a holiday on Monday.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.7% to 2,569.75, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia dropped 0.6% to 8,117.30.

The Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress is meeting this week, and analysts say the government may endorse major spending initiatives to boost economic growth amid troubles for the country’s real-estate industry.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported that the lawmakers had reviewed legislation to raise ceilings on local government debt to replace existing hidden debts, part of a process to arrange debt swaps to help resolve the financial woes brought on by the pandemic and by a collapse in the property market in recent years.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.1% at 20,597.30 and the Shanghai Composite index picked up 0.4% to 3,323.26.

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On Monday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% to 5,712.69, remaining near its record set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% to 41,794.60, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3% to 18,179.98.

Intel fell 2.9%, and chemical producer Dow sank 2.1% in their first trading since getting notified they’ll no longer be included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway dropped 2.2% and was one of the heaviest weights on the market after reporting a drop in operating profit for the latest quarter.

But the majority of stocks within the S&P 500 rose, including a 2.8% gain for Fox after it reported a stronger profit than expected.

The hope that’s propelled U.S. stock indexes to records recently is that the U.S. economy can remain resilient and avoid a long-feared recession, in part because of the coming cuts to rates expected from the Fed.

The broad U.S. stock market has historically risen regardless of which party wins the White House. And in 2020, U.S. stocks climbed immediately after Election Day and kept going even after former President Donald Trump refused to concede and challenged the results, creating plenty of uncertainty. A large part of that rally was due to excitement about the potential for a vaccine for COVID-19, which had just shut down the global economy.

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University of Phoenix and Goalsetter Launch Financial Wellness Webinar Series

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University of Phoenix and Goalsetter Launch Financial Wellness Webinar Series

Virtual, free series features Goalsetter’s award-winning curriculum along with guest speakers to support financial wellness

PHOENIX, November 04, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–University of Phoenix is pleased to announce a new webinar series with Goalsetter, an award-winning financial education platform dedicated to helping individuals and families achieve financial wellness through engaging and practical resources. The ten-part series will launch with a discussion on “Managing Credit Card Debt and Fostering Good Credit Habits,” on Tuesday, November 19, at 12 p.m. MST. Featuring Tanya Van Court, Founder and CEO of Goalsetter, Kevin Soehner, Senior VP of Operations for iGrad®, and moderated by Chris Conway, Director of Financial Literacy at University of Phoenix, the discussion will focus on building good credit habits, understanding interest rates, and how credit can impact personal finance decisions. Throughout the series, participants will gain valuable insights and practical strategies to manage their finances and plan for a secure financial future, as well as have the opportunity to engage in a Q&A session during each webinar.

“At University of Phoenix, we are committed to equipping our students with the knowledge and tools necessary for financial success,” shares Director of Financial Literacy at the University, Chris Conway. “Our collaboration with Goalsetter aligns with our mission to empower students not only in their academic and career pursuits but also in their financial lives by helping them save time and money. This webinar series is designed to provide practical strategies and insights that can help learners make informed financial decisions.”

Each month during the series, University of Phoenix and Goalsetter will offer webinars focused on key strategies for financial wellness:

  • November: Managing Credit Card Debt and Fostering Good Credit Habits

  • December: Paying for School and Scholarships

  • January: The Art and Science of Effective Budgeting

  • February: Stop Overspending: 5 Tips

  • March: Yes! You Can Save Money: Little Actions that Add Up

  • April: Emergency Funds are Critical; How to Create Them, Even If You Think You Canʼt

  • May: Why Credit Scores are Important and How to Improve Them

  • June: How to Plan for Your Eventual Retirement

  • July: Investing in Your Families’ Future

  • August: How to Set Your Kids Up for Future Financial Success

“Our mission is to empower every individual with the financial knowledge they need to secure a strong financial future,” says Van Court. “By working with the University of Phoenix, we are bringing our award-winning financial education tools to a larger audience, helping individuals and families gain the practical skills to make informed financial choices. Together, we aim to create a pathway toward financial freedom that’s accessible, engaging, and transformative.”

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