• People walk along a platform on the London Underground.
    People walk along a platform on the London Underground.
  • People walk along Oxford Street in central London. England lifted most Covid-19 restrictions on July 19.
    People walk along Oxford Street in central London. England lifted most Covid-19 restrictions on July 19.
  • Participants run across Westminster Bridge in London during the Asics London 10km marathon.
    Participants run across Westminster Bridge in London during the Asics London 10km marathon.
  • Festival-goers watch Wolf Alice perform at Latitude Festival at Henham Park.
    Festival-goers watch Wolf Alice perform at Latitude Festival at Henham Park.
  • A person wearing a protective face shield and face mask walks through Oxford Circus in London.
    A person wearing a protective face shield and face mask walks through Oxford Circus in London.
  • The Changing of the Guard at Windsor Castle takes place for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
    The Changing of the Guard at Windsor Castle takes place for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
  • Festival-goers wait to receive a vaccine on board a bus at the Latitude Festival.
    Festival-goers wait to receive a vaccine on board a bus at the Latitude Festival.
  • Empty shelves in a supermarket in London. Brexit lorry shortages combined with large numbers of retail staff isolating have cause shortages of household staples in parts of the UK .
    Empty shelves in a supermarket in London. Brexit lorry shortages combined with large numbers of retail staff isolating have cause shortages of household staples in parts of the UK .
  • Demonstrators hold up banners as they listen to speeches during a "Rally for freedom" protest in London.
    Demonstrators hold up banners as they listen to speeches during a "Rally for freedom" protest in London.

Coronavirus

UK deaths highest since March but cases decline for seventh day

Prime Minister urges caution after drop in infections

Neil Murphy
Neil Murphy

July 27, 2021

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Britain reported another 131 coronavirus deaths on Tuesday as it recorded its highest daily death toll since March.

The country also recorded 23,511 new Covid-19 cases, making it the seventh consecutive day where infections have fallen.

The reversal after weeks of rising rates has coincided with the removal on July 19 of nearly all pandemic rules in England, including legal requirements for social distancing wearing a mask in public indoors.

The surprising drop has confounded the government and scientists, who had previously warned cases could reach as high as 100,000 cases per day.

Despite the turnaround, which comes after the start of summer school holidays, ministers are warning the long-term situation remains uncertain.

"I have noticed that obviously we have six days of some better figures but it's very, very important that we don't allow ourselves to run away with premature conclusions about this," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday.

The country's successful vaccine rollout is believed to part of the reason for the sudden drop in cases. So far, 71 per cent of the population has received a second dose, one of the highest figures in the world.

Imperial College epidemiologist Neil Ferguson said the end of Britain's pandemic could be just months away as vaccines have so dramatically reduced the risk of hospitalisation and death.

"We're not completely out of the woods but the equation has fundamentally changed," Ferguson, whose modelling of the virus's likely spread at the outset of the pandemic in early 2020 alarmed governments across the world, told the BBC.

“We will still have Covid with us, we will still have people dying from Covid but we will have put the bulk of the pandemic behind us.”

According to Prof Graeme Ackland of Edinburgh University, Covid-19 could be defeated in the UK by the end of the summer.

“Cautiously, I think it might be over at the end of the summer,” he said. “It’s perfectly reasonable to suggest that we could get herd immunity in a few months because at the moment people who are refusing to be vaccinated are becoming infected at a much higher rate.

“So we might be done by the end of the summer, but I think it's fair to say that nobody really understands why.”


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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Updated: July 27, 2021, 4:21 PM
Coronavirus