Whilst England rugby celebrate a famous win over New Zealand yesterday, Welsh supporters are currently sitting on the edge of their sofas as they take on South Africa this morning. However, The Weekly’s attention has turned to an oval ball game of a different variety. NFL side Los Angeles Rams play host (sort of) to the Cincinnati Bengals at Wembley Stadium this afternoon. This will be the third of four NFL games to be played in the capital this year, a format which has been hugely popular with the estimated 15 million UK based American Football fans. The international series has grown over the years, going from two London games in 2013 to four games in 2017, 2018 and 2019, with the hope of progressing to a permanent NFL London presence in the future. Although it’s a positive for fans there have been some logistic concerns, alongside question marks over long haul travel taking it's toll on players and staff. Another four games have already been confirmed for 2020 with Tottenham Hotspur’s Stadium hosting two. If Spurs continue their poor Premier League form, then perhaps we’ll be seeing a Jacksonville Jaguars scarf begin to replace the Tottenham Hotspur one at a certain desk at The Weekly HQ.
This week saw Aviva Investors release the results from their 2020 Real Assets Survey. The research questioned 500 leading European pension funds and insurance companies on their real asset investment decisions over the next 12 months. The findings told a positive story for real assets, and real estate in particular. Of the 500 companies and funds, 51% of insurance and 37% of pension fund executives expected their investments in real assets to increase over the coming year. Direct real estate (53%), infrastructure equity (53%) and structured finance (52%) came out on top as pension funds' most sought after asset strategies. The survey highlighted that investors are now placing more emphasis than ever on environmental, social and governance issues (ESG) with 40% stating that a positive ESG impact was integral to their investment decisions. The survey comes the same week as JLL released data suggesting that a Brexit deal between the UK and the EU could mean that the UK ‘may meet or exceed’ JLL’s forecast of £45 billion in UK Investment Volumes in 2019. For this to happen Investment Volumes would have to reach a huge £12 billion in Q4, but JLL’s research suggests that a build-up of capital from Hong Kong and Singapore looking to target central London could help to make a dent in the forecast, were a Brexit deal to be made. The Weekly, however, has just about given up trying to predict the Brexit outcome. Over to you Boris…
Is your hair going a bit thin on the top, but you can’t work out why? Well it’s good news this week as researchers may have worked out what’s contributing to your receding hairline! Scientists this week have revealed that working long hours could double your chances of ending up bald! Researchers from Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, South Korea found that men who work more than 52 hours in a week lost their hair at twice the speed of those who spent less than 40 hours of the working week in the office. The research looked at more than 13,000 employed men aged between 20 and 59 stating the likely stress caused by too much work and not enough downtime was the main cause for hair loss. A recent survey by securities company Kisi showed that Kuala Lumpur has the longest working hours in the world averaging at 46 hours per week. London ranks in at 15th in the world with an average of 42.5 hours per week. The Weekly can’t confirm nor deny if those in Kuala Lumpur are balder than London, but if you needed a better excuse to dip out of work early this week you could always mention your hairline!