RIYADH // The Saudi interior minister, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, described dissident Shiite cleric Nimr Al Nimr as a "dubious person scholarly and mentally", the Saudi Press Agency reported.
"His claims demonstrate a lack of reason," Prince Ahmed was cited as saying on Monday by the kingdom's official news service. The prince also said that the state wouldn't tolerate any threat to its security, the news service reported.
Saudi security forces arrested Mr Al Nimr in the Al Qatif area of the oil-rich Eastern Province, the Saudi Press Agency reported on July 8, citing an interior ministry spokesman. Security forces shot and injured Mr Al Nimr during clashes with his supporters in the village of Awwamiya as he tried to escape, it said.
While Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia largely escaped the unrest that spread across the Arab world last year, minority Shiite protesters have clashed with security forces in Awwamiya, Al Qatif and other eastern towns. Two Shiite men were killed in protests after Mr Al Nimr's arrest and another died about five days later during an attack on a police station in Awwamiya.
"There are groups marred with irregularities," Prince Ahmed was cited as saying by the Saudi news service. "If the danger is confined to al-Nimr, it is his own business, but if it exceeds the limits, violates others' rights or bypasses the security of the state, it should be necessary to put an end to such an unacceptable violation."
Awwamiya, a village north of Al Qatif on the Arabian Gulf, was the scene of much larger demonstrations in 2009 after police sought to arrest Mr Al Nimr, who had said in a sermon that Saudi Shiites may be able to seek a state of their own in the future.
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
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US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
MATCH INFO
Who: France v Italy
When: Friday, 11pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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