Latest news with #AbbeyRoad
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Business Standard
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Wealthy investors bet on Dubai, Abu Dhabi despite regional risks
At the Dubai offices of Abbey Road Investment Group, the phone calls and emails keep landing from around the world. The inquiries are from potential clients from India and the UK, the US and Africa — even as far afield as Brazil. They're all looking to set up family offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the twin emirates that offer to safeguard the fortunes of the world's wealthy without income or inheritance taxes. The cities, both part of the United Arab Emirates, have become irresistible for the world's richest people. Europeans have turned to the Gulf country to seek respite from economic uncertainties, while some wealthy Chinese have begun looking beyond long-favored hubs like Singapore. The UAE has also become a top pick for many of those relocating from the UK, where the government abolished a tax break for non-domiciled residents. They are all willing to look past the geopolitical risks swirling in the Middle East, which have been on sharp display in recent weeks as Israel and Iran launched missiles at each other. While the UAE wasn't directly affected, it stands just across the Persian Gulf from Iran. Yet the world's wealthy keep betting on the Gulf country. Abbey Road's founder Arjun Mittal says his clients like the UAE's central geographical location between east and west, tax benefits and fast developing financial system. 'We've seen no slowdown at all because of regional conflict,' said Mittal, who is the chief investment officer of Abbey Road, which acts as a multi-family office offering investment advice to wealthy clients. 'If anything, it reinforces the UAE's position as a neutral, strategic hub.' Dubai's international financial center estimates that it's home to family-related entities that control over $1.2 trillion, with the total number rising 33per cent to 800 last year. The wealth influx is driving yet another year of gains in Dubai's luxury property prices, while providing new money for its burgeoning hedge-fund industry. The emirate's financial hub has more than 70 hedge funds, while neighboring Abu Dhabi houses giants like Brevan Howard Asset Management and Marshall Wace. Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, who has been coming to the UAE for about 30 years and set up his family office in Abu Dhabi in 2023, points to the country's multinational lifestyle and its expansion into finance and AI. 'It is getting a lot more traction because as other places are deteriorating it's improving quickly so the contrasts are becoming more obvious,' Dalio said. This year, the Middle Eastern country is poised to attract about 9,800 new millionaires, more than any other nation, Henley & Partners estimates. Early data suggest the rich haven't been deterred by the tensions in the broader region. Luxury property prices in Dubai — an investment favored by foreign families — hit new records in the second quarter. Sales of homes priced above $10 million surged to $2.6 billion between April and June, according to researcher Knight Frank. The figure marked a 37per cent increase from the first quarter. Last month, Abu Dhabi's international financial center welcomed 267 new entities — including different types of companies and family offices. The hub has a strong pipeline for the rest of the year, a spokesperson said in a statement. Regional risks are still lurking in the background. The UAE is an American ally that's home to thousands of US military personnel. After the US hit Iran's nuclear sites last month, the Islamic Republic threatened to attack American assets and launched missiles on a US base in neighboring Qatar. There were no casualties. US President Donald Trump went on to announce a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Yet, there are lingering uncertainties about the status of Iran's nuclear program. 'Drones and missiles in the region have not been targeting individuals' safe deposit boxes. Yet surely a major, successful attack on desalination facilities or an airport keeps government officials up at night,' said Robert Mogielnicki, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. 'I'd say such threats fall into a low likelihood-high impact category.' To hedge against risks, the rich from overseas tend to put only some assets in the UAE and diversify well beyond, he said. 'The UAE is usually just one part of global optionality constructed by family offices.' The new money flowing in, coupled with the billions already held by local families, has already been fueling a more sophisticated private banking industry for the UAE as banks from Barclays Plc to Deutsche Bank AG and even Bank of Singapore expand. Barclays has seen double-digit growth in the total number of family offices it serves in the UAE and has relocated staff from overseas. 'The UAE is a key strategic market for us, not only because of the wealth creation from local Emiratis, but also because of the massive migration that has come into the country which has been extremely successful,' Mathias Gonzalez, Barclays private bank's new head of investments in Switzerland and Dubai said in an interview. At Dubai-based wealth advisory firm M/HQ, managing partner Yann Mrazek says one in five family offices they have been setting up are either Chinese or have some China connection. Elsewhere, one Chinese family office for several billionaires recently sold off most of their financial holdings in the US amid concerns about a recession there and is allocating a large chunk of the proceeds to Dubai this year while also weighing options in Asia, a person with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be named discussing private information. While they might have considered Singapore in the past, they were reluctant to use it this time because the country has introduced more regulatory reporting requirements in recent years, the person said. The Iran-Israel conflict didn't dent the family's view on the UAE because they see geopolitical risks in other parts of the world as well, the person added. Still, despite the UAE's gains, Singapore remains a primary hub for Chinese money and wealth from other countries. The city-state 'continues to receive strong interest' from family offices who are keen to access investments opportunities, said a spokesperson for the Singapore Economic Development Board. Many rich families are willing to look past the geopolitical risks of the Middle East because of difficulties in their own countries, said Mogielnicki, the political economist. 'Plenty of the individuals behind the influx of global wealth into the UAE are coming from places with substantial risk, be it conflict-related or otherwise,' he said. 'Risk tolerance is a relative measure.' --With assistance from Alex Dooler, Hema Parmar, Gabrielle Ng, Ben Bartenstein and Nicolas Parasie.
Business Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
World's rich ignore Middle East strife to bet on Dubai and Abu Dhabi
[DUBAI] At the Dubai offices of Abbey Road Investment Group, the phone calls and emails keep landing from around the world. The inquiries are from potential clients from India and the UK, the US and Africa – even as far afield as Brazil. They are all looking to set up family offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the twin emirates that offer to safeguard the fortunes of the world's wealthy without income or inheritance taxes. The cities, both part of the United Arab Emirates, have become irresistible for the world's richest people. Europeans have turned to the Gulf country to seek respite from economic uncertainties, while some wealthy Chinese have begun looking beyond long-favoured hubs like Singapore. The UAE has also become a top pick for many of those relocating from the UK, where the government abolished a tax break for non-domiciled residents. They are all willing to look past the geopolitical risks swirling in the Middle East, which have been on sharp display in recent weeks as Israel and Iran launched missiles at each other. While the UAE was not directly affected, it stands just across the Persian Gulf from Iran. Yet the world's wealthy keep betting on the Gulf country. Abbey Road's founder Arjun Mittal says his clients like the UAE's central geographical location between east and west, tax benefits and fast developing financial system. 'We've seen no slowdown at all because of regional conflict,' said Mittal, who is the chief investment officer of Abbey Road, which acts as a multi-family office offering investment advice to wealthy clients. 'If anything, it reinforces the UAE's position as a neutral, strategic hub.' A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up Dubai's international financial centre estimates that it has home to family-related entities that control over US$1.2 trillion, with the total number rising 33 per cent to 800 last year. The wealth influx is driving yet another year of gains in Dubai's luxury property prices, while providing new money for its burgeoning hedge-fund industry. The emirate's financial hub has more than 70 hedge funds, while neighbouring Abu Dhabi houses giants like Brevan Howard Asset Management and Marshall Wace. Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, who has been coming to the UAE for about 30 years and set up his family office in Abu Dhabi in 2023, points to the country's multinational lifestyle and its expansion into finance and AI. 'It is getting a lot more traction because as other places are deteriorating it's improving quickly so the contrasts are becoming more obvious,' Dalio said. This year, the Middle Eastern country is poised to attract about 9,800 new millionaires, more than any other nation, Henley & Partners estimates. Early data suggest the rich have not been deterred by the tensions in the broader region. Luxury property prices in Dubai – an investment favoured by foreign families – hit new records in the second quarter. Last month, Abu Dhabi's international financial centre welcomed 267 new entities – including different types of companies and family offices. The hub has a strong pipeline for the rest of the year, a spokesperson said in a statement. Regional risks are still lurking in the background. The UAE is an American ally that's home to thousands of US military personnel. After the US hit Iran's nuclear sites last month, the Islamic Republic threatened to attack American assets and launched missiles on a US base in neighbouring Qatar. There were no casualties. US President Donald Trump went on to announce a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Yet, there are lingering uncertainties about the status of Iran's nuclear programme. 'Drones and missiles in the region have not been targeting individuals' safe deposit boxes. Yet surely a major, successful attack on desalination facilities or an airport keeps government officials up at night,' said Robert Mogielnicki, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. 'I'd say such threats fall into a low likelihood-high impact category.' To hedge against risks, the rich from overseas tend to put only some assets in the UAE and diversify well beyond, he said. 'The UAE is usually just one part of global optionality constructed by family offices.' The new money flowing in, coupled with the billions already held by local families, has already been fueling a more sophisticated private banking industry for the UAE as banks from Barclays to Deutsche Bank and even Bank of Singapore expand. Barclays has seen double-digit growth in the total number of family offices it serves in the UAE and has relocated staff from overseas. 'The UAE is a key strategic market for us, not only because of the wealth creation from local Emiratis, but also because of the massive migration that has come into the country which has been extremely successful,' Mathias Gonzalez, Barclays private bank's new head of investments in Switzerland and Dubai said in an interview. At Dubai-based wealth advisory firm M/HQ, managing partner Yann Mrazek says one in five family offices they have been setting up are either Chinese or have some China connection. Elsewhere, one Chinese family office for several billionaires recently sold off most of their financial holdings in the US amid concerns about a recession there and is allocating a large chunk of the proceeds to Dubai this year while also weighing options in Asia, a person with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be named discussing private information. While they might have considered Singapore in the past, they were reluctant to use it this time because the country has introduced more regulatory reporting requirements in recent years, the person said. The Iran-Israel conflict did not dent the family's view on the UAE because they see geopolitical risks in other parts of the world as well, the person added. Still, despite the UAE's gains, Singapore remains a primary hub for Chinese money and wealth from other countries. The Republic 'continues to receive strong interest' from family offices who are keen to access investments opportunities, said a spokesperson for the Singapore Economic Development Board. Many rich families are willing to look past the geopolitical risks of the Middle East because of difficulties in their own countries, said Mogielnicki, the political economist. 'Plenty of the individuals behind the influx of global wealth into the UAE are coming from places with substantial risk, be it conflict-related or otherwise,' he said. 'Risk tolerance is a relative measure.' BLOOMBERG
Scotsman
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Scots showbiz gal Bev Lyons goes pop with viral debut single 'I'm Leaving You'
Scottish showbiz journalist and broadcaster Bev Lyons has spent the last few decades writing about everyone from Bieber to Beyonce and now she's gone viral with her debut single. Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Bev, who was invited to sing at Glasgow's Pride in the Barrowland ballroom over the weekend, is getting rave reviews for her self-penned song I'm Leaving You, released this week. The Scots writer and broadcaster, whose family in Morningside used to own an Edinburgh music shop in the North Bridge Arcade, began singing properly during the pandemic when she tried to entertain neighbours and friends from her flat balcony. Her love of singing started long before that. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Bev Lyons performs her debut single I'm Leaving You at Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow She said: 'I've always loved performing and I used to sing at family parties when I was wee but I couldn't look at my audience cause I was too scared. In more recent years I messed around in my bedroom, writing music on GarageBand.' Although Bev has always championed other singers she did once get a chance to perform with one of the UK's biggest pop stars. She explained: 'I won a karaoke competition to be one of Boy George's backing singers at Abbey Road for a re release of Karma Chameleon. It was an amazing experience and I thought that was my 15 minutes of fame.' Being a busy showbiz journalist soon took over and Bev put her singing dreams on the back burner until lockdown when the world of red carpet events and glitzy parties came to an abrupt stop. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Bev Lyons already has a successful career as showbiz journalist and broadcaster but has only just released her debut single I'm Leaving You With extra time on her hands she returned to her love of singing taking virtual lessons from renowned vocal coach Robert Wishart. She said: 'I'd been thinking about adding songs to my hosting work and had contacted Robert about that - and over lockdown, I sang on Facebook and tried to entertain my then-bored neighbours with some balcony tunes.' Her online lockdown performances got a huge thumbs up and when life got back to normal after Covid she was asked to appear at live gigs. She said: 'I love being able to sing to bigger audiences. Usually I would perform covers which I really enjoy but I began thinking it would be cool to develop some of my own songs. 'My debut single is a pop song about life after love, inspired by songs by Cher, Miley Cyrus and Gloria Gaynor. It's a real upbeat anthem about hope, strength and survival." Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Bev Lyons debut single I'm Leaving You is a hit Bev added: 'I wrote it in December and finally went into the recording studio a couple of months ago.' Bev posted up a brief excerpt of her new song on her social media and it's already received acclaim from some of her celebrity followers including Deacon Blue's Lorraine Mackintosh, Bay City Roller Stuart Woody Wood, Showbiz star Ross King, River City's Tom Urie, and Scottish singers May Miller, Jesse Rae and St Phoenix. This weekend Eurovision icon Miriana Conte also told her she loved it after hearing it backstage. Bev said: 'I'm really hoping the song resonates with people and can't wait to see where it ends up. I'm absolutely loving the buzz and excitement just now and to be able to perform it at the iconic Barrowland Ballroom was a dream come true. I have been told I'll get radio play from some stations but I don't believe anything until it happens. As Oasis once said: 'I'll just roll with it.'
Indian Express
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
The rock and roll flame may be on simmer, but it can never die down
I was eight years old, maybe younger, when I heard 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' by Nirvana. It was my first taste of rock and roll, and it opened my soul to a sound I didn't know existed. I remember jumping up and down in the living room with my brother as Kurt Cobain screamed in the backdrop of wailing electric guitar on VH1. I think it's safe to say that I knew the kind of music I would be obsessed with for the rest of my life before I knew that mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell. My deep fascination with this raw, uncut genre only grew in my teen years — not just because of my inclination, but because of how it influenced the culture around me. I remember my dad listening to Pink Floyd and Dire Straits at house parties with his friends. I remember teenagers around me taking guitar lessons, modelling their entire personalities after the legendary Axl Rose. I even remember begging my mom to buy me my first band t-shirt when I was just 11 years old — an oversized, grey top with the album art of The Beatles' 'Abbey Road' printed on it. In the early 2000s, independent music burst onto the Indian scene. As the obsession around rock and roll grew, so did the local bands, who may have started out with Led Zeppelin covers but soon found their own sound. It seemed that the thirst for rock could never be satiated — until today, when the craze seems to have died down. Nearly two decades later, the sound and soul of a genre, which once breathed second life into some of the biggest music movements of the time, seems lost. But for the veterans of the genre, rock and roll will survive as long as the spirit of rebellion is alive. In a candid conversation, legendary musician Subir Malik reminisced about how his band Parikrama, considered to be the biggest rock band of Asia at one point, used to play hundreds of college shows up until the 2010s. IITs and IIMs had a deep rock and roll society. Fast forward a decade, and almost no college hosts a rock night anymore. 'College kids in the early 2000s were listening to Floyd and Zeppelin, which is why they related to Parikrama's music. But after 2012, the sound shifted, and local rock and roll bands went into a deep decline,' Subir said. The 55-year-old musician, who founded Parikrama with his younger brother and college mates in the late 1980s, explained how the shift in the digital age is one of the major factors why the genre was subdued in the mid-2010s. 'One major reason behind this decline was the shift from a guitar base to a synth base. Another core reason is that earlier five or six musicians used to sit together with their instruments and compose a song. Now, with technological advancements, a kid with a laptop can sit and write and compose a whole song from his home,' Subir said. Raaghav, a budding music producer, helped me gain a deeper understanding of this technological shift. While the influence of rock and roll remains entrenched in the music we listen to now, he said, the shift is somehow justified. Young musicians would rather invest in a good laptop or a home setup than in bulky hardware like expensive electric guitars and massive amps. An amateur producer can now sample music off YouTube, rip any international music mixing software at zero cost, download beats from the infinite music platforms available now, or even make his own using a portable sound board attached to his personal computer. The reliance on software and soundboards, while more cost-effective, put an end to the raw sound of the typical 80s rock and roll. The shift to appliances from instruments produced clean, precise music, friendly for streaming and aesthetically pleasing, just as the demand for a 45-second drum solo in an eight-minute record came crashing down. The change became apparent to me during a nostalgic visit to my school in Noida, where students from different walks of life only united over one front, our annual music festival. It was the one event which was ours — loud, brash and steeped in personal rebellion. We used to cover the walls of the school with graffiti while blasting Megadeth songs in the corridors as teachers took a backseat. It is one of the few core memories I hold from my school days. To relive the past, I went back to my school fest a couple of years ago. I was ready to vibe once again, but what was once an ode to rock and roll was now a celebration of pop music. The shift from Megadeth to Maroon 5 caught me off guard. Not just the artists, but the tone of the event had changed. Teenagers now wore vintage band t-shirts off of Shein just for their aesthetic value, and the burn of rebellion behind rock and roll now simmered at a low flame. Don't get me wrong, people are still deeply passionate about the music they listen to, but somewhere along the way, the 'how' changed. Now, we don't wait for albums to drop; we just discover new music and artists through trending Instagram reels. We skip intros, loop the hook, and judge a track on the basis of the first 30 seconds. Rock and roll, with its messy solos, long buildups and unabashed energy, doesn't fit the format anymore. The time when each track demanded your attention, not your algorithm, is long gone. Now, long guitar solos are mostly limited to reels with a nostalgic filter on them. Rock and roll is more of a mood board than a movement, and honestly, I miss the noise. In a long conversation, Subir took me on a trip to the 90s and 2000s rock and roll scene, explaining with vivid passion how Parikrama, along with other big Indian rock bands, changed what the genre meant. How the youth of India saw rock and roll music as a wave of rebellion and a symbol of anti-establishment sentiment, which runs deep in the heart of every 20-something who chose to pick up a guitar once in their life. So, is rock and roll gonna survive the current paradigm shift in music? His response was simple, 'Of course it will.' He elaborated, 'After a pause of nearly a decade, Parkirama was invited to perform in seven top colleges across the country, a clear sign that the demand for the genre is still there. In fact, I attended a music festival a few years ago, dedicated solely to rock bands, and I was shocked to see the entire crowd filled with youngsters, most of them in their early 20s.' 'It is surely making a comeback, and the signs are there. In fact, you see a similar style of music in a lot of mainstream Bollywood tracks, a good example would be the Dil Dhadakne Do album. In fact, when it comes to the live scene, all the headliners in big music fests in India, be it Lollapalooza or Zomaland, are rock bands,' he said. Iconic guitarist Randolph Correia, who founded the iconic band Pentagram alongside Vishal Dadlani, is certain that rock and roll will never fade out. 'Music evolves, and almost everything we hear today i.e. modern music, comes from or has some relation to 50s, 60s, 70s rock and roll. Energy cannot be destroyed, it transforms and that's the world we live in today. Rock and roll ain't dead. It's on your phone and streaming services and it will keep haunting you for the rest of your life,' he said. My take? I believe that rock is something which is passed down from generations, taking up a new shape with every passing year. What Deep Purple was to my father, a band like Arctic Monkeys is to me. But will the generation after me embrace the genre with the same open heart that I did? The pattern of dissent that rock and roll follows — my dad's metal house parties as an escape from the suit-and-tie life; my siblings and I watching late-night televised concerts on V1H; and a bunch of kids reclaiming the school grounds at an annual music event — might never be replicated again, but the hope remains that its soul will survive for ages to come.
Forbes
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The Beatles Send Multiple Albums Back To The Billboard Charts
The Beatles return to the Billboard lists with Abbey Road reappearing on the Vinyl Albums chart and ... More 1 reentering the Top Rock & Alternative Albums ranking. Photo of the Beatles, April 1963; L-R: Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon - posed, group shot - jumping on wall, Used on the Twist & Shout EP cover (Photo by Fiona Adams/Redferns) The Beatles may be the bestselling musical act of all time, but the group isn't guaranteed a spot on the Billboard charts in the United States at all times. The rockers regularly appear on one list or another, as consumption of the band's music remains high, even decades after the musicians went their separate ways. The band does disappear from the rankings occasionally, only to, sometimes, return with multiple wins at once. This week fits into the latter category, as several of The Beatles' most famous releases bounce back onto Billboard's rankings. Abbey Road Becomes a Vinyl Bestseller Again Abbey Road returns to the Vinyl Albums chart this week, landing at No. 19. The former champion is about two months shy of reaching 500 weeks on the list of the bestselling vinyl releases in the U.S. While it might take a few more months or even a year, it's highly likely that The Beatles' bestseller will hit that milestone. The Beatles' 1 Returns At the moment, Abbey Road can be found on only that one list. Meanwhile, 1, one of The Beatles' most famous compilations, returns to a different tally. The compilation reenters the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart this frame, settling in at No. 49, which is second-to-last place. Unlike Abbey Road on the Vinyl Albums chart, 1 has somehow never managed to conquer the Top Rock & Alternative Albums tally. At its peak, the band pushed the compilation to No. 3. The Beatles Join Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift It's a quiet frame in terms of debuts on both the Vinyl Albums and Top Rock & Alternative Albums charts. On the vinyl list, The Beatles join Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, SZA, and Kendrick Lamar, as all those artists and others mount comebacks with hugely popular projects. Ozzy Osbourne scores the only debut on the rock and alternative ranking, as The Essential Ozzy Osbourne opens at No. 29 following his final live performance. When it comes to returning favorites, Bruce Springsteen, Blink-182, Kid Rock, and — appropriately, given that the last tracking period included the Fourth of July — the band America all reappear on the ranking alongside The Beatles.
