5 years ago
Why have Western societies become soft?
By Charlie H. Cooksey I can’t help but notice how societies, certainly those in the West, are becoming weaker. Never before have people been so “offended” or “hurt” by words and feelings and made so much noise about it. I say this because “problems and issues” we face today, are unfathomable or even laughable to those perhaps from the 20th century. Turn the clocks back and imagine the life of someone born in 1900 — WW1 breaks out when you’re 14 and ends with 22 million deaths. Shortly after, a truly deadly pandemic breaks out — Spanish Flu — it kills 50 million. If you come out of both of those alive, you’re still only 20. Then at 29, you face the Great Depression — causing worldwide unemployment, hunger and inflation. At age 33, the Nazis take power and at 39 WW2 kicks off, with around 60 million brutal deaths. Those who even managed to survive any of these wars lived a life of hunger, living on rations and often not knowing where the next meal would come from, watching loved ones die, and every other possible grief you could imagine. In fact, we probably can’t begin to imagine quite […]
5 years ago
Crossing Borders: Bahrain Business Development with Palm Beach, USA
Gulf Insider’s Charlie Cooksey interviews Alfred Zucaro, Founder & President of the World Trade Center Palm Beach. Alfred Zucaro shares the World Trade Center Palm Beach’s plans for the cross-border business development with Bahrain, international trade, opportunities and benefits, and how tourism, education, and business tie together. Alfred is making great efforts in opening up trade, business, investment, and educational opportunities between Bahrain and Palm Beach County in Florida, which is ultimately a great opening into the USA and the Western Hemisphere. What do you do at the World Trade Center Palm Beach, Florida? I am the founder and president of the World Trade Center, Palm Beach. This means that I am one of the license holders for the World Trade Center Association, which is the world’s largest private trading association. There are over 325 license holders from around the world in about 90 countries. There are no two World Trade Centres that operate exactly alike. It is a license, not a franchise. But the bottom line is that it’s always gauged around the idea of developing international relationships, business and finance opportunities, and extending into educational opportunities; that’s how I got involved with Bahrain. I’m a lawyer by training […]
5 years ago
Checking into The Ritz-Carlton’s Flagship Property at New York’s Central Park
Charlie Cooksey spent a summer getaway in the iconic New York City, staying at The Ritz-Carlton Central Park. Mention The Ritz-Carlton, and images of luxe suites and Central Park are conjured into mind. These idyllic images are not far from my experience while staying at the well-known Ritz-Carlton Central Park. This 5-star luxury hotel is located in Midtown Manhattan, offering ample opportunities to discover nearby restaurants and attractions like Rockefeller Center. The Ritz-Carlton Central Park is about a 30-minute drive from LaGuardia Airport, achieved via taxi or rental car. It is located alongside Central Park, accessible by simply crossing the street. This incredible location offers the ability to roll out of bed and enjoy an early morning walk through the park. While there are 111 Ritz-Carlton company locations, this is their flagship property, and rightfully so. Upon arrival, I was greeted by an incredibly friendly staff and shown to my room by Jeremy. I was pleasantly surprised by a champagne bottle on ice waiting for me when entering my room. A few steps further into the room provided an incredible display of candies, chocolates, and sweets with edible Bahrain and British flag decorations. My photo was included, providing the perfect […]
5 years ago
How are women changing science in the MENA region?
Gulf Insider interviews the 14 L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Middle East winners. The L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Middle East Ceremony was held at Expo 2020 Dubai, honoring 14 women from the MENA region for their remarkable discoveries in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). For over 20 years, the Fondation L’Oréal and UNESCO have worked together to empower female scientists to achieve scientific excellence and to support them during their thesis or post-doctoral studies. With over 50 programmes including the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science, they support over 250 female researchers per year. Post-doctorate Researcher Category Nura Adam Mohamed (Qatar) What is the focus of your research and the purpose behind it? My research focus is in the nanomedicine field, a promising area that is attracting national and international interest, especially as the world is moving towards developing targeted therapeutics and personalized medicine. Particularly, I am focused on nanoparticles that have cardio-protective effects to be used as an advanced treatment method for cardiovascular diseases/complications associated with diabetes. Diabetes is one of the most common chronic metabolic disorders in Qatar, the Gulf region and the world, and cardiovascular complications are the most common complications of diabetes. Studies have shown […]
5 years ago
BMW Group: Sustainability, inclusivity, and social responsibilities
Charlie Cooksey of Gulf Insider attends a roundtable by Ilka Horstmeier, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Human Resources and Labour Relations Director, and patron of the Intercultural Innovation Award (IIA) as she speaks about BMW and the IIA. The BMW Group is an international, intercultural company operating in 140 countries and has production operations in over 30 countries. Intercultural, mutual understanding, and respect are their key drivers for future cooperation, as well as climate change with their sustainability strategies and social responsibilities. The BMW Group and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) awarded ten organizations from ten countries with the Intercultural Innovation Award (IIA) at the Germman Pavilion at EXPO 2020 Dubai. The award honoured people and projects that promote diversity, tolerance, and inclusion in a creative way. Over 1,100 organizations from 120 countries applied for the award. Why hold the IIA in Dubai? Coinciding with the themed week on Tolerance and Inclusivity, and the International Day of Tolerance, it was the perfect place. I really liked the motto of the of the expo – “connecting minds creating future”. If you want to connect minds, you need to respect one another, therefore, I think it’s […]
5 years ago
Travel: Luxurious trip to Florida Keys, USA
Charlie Cooksey spends a weekend in the Florida Keys in the pinnacle of luxury, checking into Isla Bella Beach Resort and Oceans Edge Resort. When in Florida, a trip down to The Keys is a must. The Florida Keys are a long strip of tropical islands stretching about 120 miles off the southern tip of the peninsular US state of Florida, running through the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. This long strip of islands running through the middle of the ocean ranks high in being one of the most beautiful and spectacular places I’ve travelled to, and the approximately 4hour drive from Miami down to Key West is a commute you’ll seriously enjoy. I broke the drive from Miami to Key West into 2 legs stopping over half way in Marathon, a city in the Keys, and checked into Isla Bella – a luxury resort hotel tucked away in one of the most beautiful parts of Florida and just 2 hours from Miami. A windy driveway lined with over a thousand tall palm trees greet you as you drive into the hotel entrance area, whilst the hotel is just off the main A1A road, you feel truly separate and isolated […]
5 years ago
Afghans arriving in India will get six-month visa
India on Friday said that Afghan nationals arriving in the country will get a six-month visa and the government will “take it from there” as making long term plans have not been the “best of ideas” under the current circumstance. This comes as the Union Home Ministry announced that all Afghan nationals must travel to India only using e-Visa given the current security situation in Afghanistan.
6 years ago
Julius Baer: Eight surprises for 2021
Christian Gattiker, Head of Research and Mathieu Racheter, Strategy Research Analyst Emerging Markets, at Julius Baer take us through eight events that would qualify as “low probability-high impact” in 2021. Thinking the unthinkable Expecting the unexpected does not only defy linguistical logic but also, is a very hard thing to do. After issuing our yearly outlook expectations, we are regularly asked about what could go wrong and what would be the most devastating things that could happen. That usually leads straight into black swan discussions. This is when we throw in that even Nassim Nicholas Taleb, who hammered the term ‘black swan’ into the consciousness of the financial community, has declared that neither the Great Financial Crisis nor the Covid-19 pandemic qualify as black swan events as these types of risks have been known for generations. We therefore settle on the term ‘low-probability, high-impact events’ hereafter to discuss the uncertainties in the months ahead. 1: An utterly dull 2021 disappoints high-flying hopes After coming out of a crisis, investors expect things to continue as least as spectacularly – for good or bad – as during the crisis. History tells a different story. After the heavy interventions of policymakers, markets tend […]
6 years ago
Sinopharm vaccine works against mutations, makers say
Chinese vaccine maker Sinopharm insisted their jab was effective against current virus mutations. Pharma giant Sinopharm was given “conditional” approval for its vaccine candidate last week, and makers said they were confident the vaccine was effective despite a new variant strain spreading rapidly. Sinopharm vaccine received its first approval in the UAE.
6 years ago
Which economic and investment trends will shape the decade?
by Yves Bonzon, Group Chief Investment Officer at Julius Baer From the macroeconomy and capital markets to potential risk factors – each December we present the main forces that will shape the next decade. This year we have singled out fifteen trends. Continue reading to learn more about three of them. Background: We are shifting from the neoliberal era to ’state-sponsored capitalism’ The neoliberal era, which started 40 years ago under the Reagan and Thatcher administrations, is definitely over. We are now on a fast track toward a system that can be best described as ‘state-sponsored capitalism’. This new paradigm is a direct response to colossal shifts that globalisation, liberalisation, extreme finacialisation and digitalisation brought upon western societies. Historical secular trends 60/40 = 60% equities/40% bonds; quantamental = combination of quantitative and fundamental investing; MMT = Modern Monetary Theory; TechCare = combination of technology and healthcare, * projection Source: Julius Baer Trend 1: Rise of political triggers and decline of market signalsIn the age of state-sponsored capitalism, endogenous market signals are blurred, as government interventions steer the cost of capital. We are in the process of losing free markets, as central banks extend their asset purchases further and further along […]
