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Day: 9 March 2020

More events fall victim to Covid-19

by: Cassandra Tanti
09/03/2020

The list of event cancellations in Monaco due to the coronavirus is growing. The latest include a key aspect of Monaco Ocean Week and artemonte-carlo at the Grimaldi Forum.
According to the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Monaco Blue Initiative (MBI) organising committee has received several cancellations from participants of the 11th edition scheduled to take place on 22nd and 23rd March 2020.
Faced with this situation, the organising institutions have regretfully decided to cancel the 2020 edition of the Monaco Blue Initiative, a high-level discussion platform gathering numerous international leaders from the political and ocean spheres.
The 11th edition will be postponed to March 2021.
The Monaco Ocean Week, scheduled for 23rd to 28th March 2020, is for the time being maintained. This federating event organised by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Prince’s Government, the Monaco Oceanographic Institute, the Monaco Scientific Centre and the Monaco Yacht Club will gather more than 40 events throughout the week, bringing together ocean players around topical issues such as food security, sea level rise, ocean acidification, sustainable yachting, the preservation of coral reefs, global warming and ocean innovation.
Meanwhile, Monaco’s main exhibition facility, the Grimaldi Forum, has announced further postponements and cancellations. Artmonte-carlo, initially scheduled for 1st to 3rd May 2020, has been postponed to 29th April 2021.
The One to One Retail E-commerce event, due to take place on 17th March, has been postponed to a new date – yet to be confirmed.
And the IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport, initially scheduled for 12th to 14th March, has been put back to 3rd February 2021.
It was previously announced that the Aesthetic & Anti-Aging Medicine World Congress – AMWC and the James Bond – No Time To Die film premiere would also not go ahead as planned.
Suffering through the cancellation of 2020 events is not how the Grimaldi Forum expected to spend its 20th anniversary year. With a strong line-up of scheduled events announced in January, Monaco’s premier conference centre was hoping to better last year’s record figure of 290,000 visitors.
The cancellations will also heavily impact Monaco’s economy. The Grimaldi Forum achieved a turnover of more than €21.5 million in 2019, with spinoffs amounting to more than €68 million for the Principality.
Monaco’s biggest upcoming events – The Rose Ball on 21st March, The Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on 11th April and the Monaco Grand Prix on 24th May are – at this stage – still going ahead as planned.
Photo: Empty hall of the Grimaldi Forum
 
Read more:
Record year for the Grimaldi Forum
 
 
 

Cross town rivals beat AS Monaco

by: Stephanie Horsman
09/03/2020

AS Monaco fell to OGC Nice on Saturday at the Allianz Riviera stadium due to a tie-breaking goal by Nice in overtime.
It was a last minute heartbreaker for AS Monaco on Saturday night as OGC Nice eeked past them with a Kasper Dolberg goal two minutes into overtime play.
The night started out with electricity in the air and the teams both were supercharged by it. Monaco had the first chance to score when Fabregas nicked the posts, but didn’t quite make it in. Not long after, Ben Yedder found Jovetic in the box, but the Montenegrin couldn’t quite make the conversion. Then Nice struck back with an attempt by Claude-Maurice, who was handily stopped by Glik.
The Red and Whites went on the attack, and Jovetic again had a chance to score, firing a gorgeous shot across the goal. Unfortunately for Monaco, Nice’s goalie Benetiz had a quick reaction and blocked the shot.
Only a few minutes later the same scenario played out, only this time it was on a shot by Bakayoko.
It was Wissam Ben Yedder who finally broke the stalemate at 32 minutes on a fantastic pass from teammate Bakayoko, the French International racing up the field with two defenders in pursuit. He outran them and out-manoeuvred Benetiz to open scoring.
This goal, Ben Yedder’s 18th of the season, put him equal to his all-time career scoring record for a season.
Jovetic had a clear shot just a few minutes later, but the ball bounced off the post. Adam Ounas then took possession and narrowly missed the goal, keeping Monaco in the lead at the break.
Nice came back from the break with a renewed energy. Clade-Maurice took a seriously powerful shot, but Lecomte was on it and stopped the ball in its tracks. At the hour mark, things took a turn. On a pass by Ounas, Kasper Dolberg made an outstanding header right between the bars, evening up the score and putting the pressure on the Red and Whites.
In the 86th minute, Jovetic was red carded for tackling Lusamba, showing just how high the spirits on-field had gotten. Golovin made one last-ditch regular play shot on goal that crashed into the underside of the bar.
In overtime, the final blow came when Dolberg broke away in front of the goal and made the winning shot for his team. In a sad end, AS Monaco lost 1-2.
Coach Moreno couldn’t hide his disappointment, not with his playesr, but for them.
“This defeat hurts after the match we played,” he said. “I think we deserved the win, not even a draw. We had a good match for 90 minutes. The second half was more balanced, but we had more chances than them, hitting the crossbar in particular. We are going to review all that we have done well this evening. If we always play like this, I’m sure we will win the upcoming matches. We are already thinking of winning the next meeting. My team has had one of its best matches since I have been here.”
 
Photo courtesy: AS Monaco
 
 

Archbishop David ordained

by: Stephanie Horsman
09/03/2020

Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco have welcomed the Principality’s new Archbishop during an official ordination on Sunday at the Cathedral of Monaco.

Appointed Archbishop of Monaco on 21st January by His Holiness Pope Francis, Archbishop Dominique-Marie David was ordained in a special ceremony attended by around 20 bishops, more than 60 priests, many faithful followers of the church and members of Monaco’s institutions, as well as the Princely couple.

Performances were given by the Philharmonic Orchestra and the organists of the Cathedral, as well as the Maîtrise de la Cathédrale and the Little Singers of Monaco.

A number of traditions marked the consecration, including the reading of the papal bull officialising the appointment of Bishop David, the laying of hands by all the bishops present, the prayer of ordination, the anointing, the presentation of the evangelist and the insignia of the bishop.

Ahead of the mass, HSHs Prince Albert and Princess Charlene welcomed the new Archbishop at the gates of the Cathedral, as tradition dictates.

The episcopal ordination was followed by a lunch at the Prince’s Palace hosted by the Princely couple.  

According to a statement by the Prince’s Government, Archbishop David wishes to place the family, young people and education at the centre of his missions. Amongst aspects he wants to explore are how baptised Christians can find their place as witnesses of Christ in today’s society in collaboration with priests, teaching people to respect individual experiences, and to pay attention to other’s ideas and choices in “this increasingly individualistic world”.

Archbishop David has taken over from Bernard Barsi as Archbishop of Monaco.

 
© Photos : Eric Mathon / Palais Princier and Mickael Alesi / Direction de la communication
 
 

Markets weekly

by:
09/03/2020

After Super Tuesday last week showed former vice president Joe Biden resurrecting his campaign and halting Bernie Sander’s progress, this Tuesday sees a flurry of state primaries and caucuses with Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota and Washington among those being contested. The week in total has 371 pledged delegates up for grabs.
On the data front, fourth-quarter (Q4) gross domestic product (GDP) second estimates come from the eurozone on the Tuesday and the day after sees UK data on January GDP. The former is likely to confirm that European growth stagnated at 0.1%, three times less than Q3 growth. In the latter, the focus will likely be on whether a post-election bounce was evident in output after flat growth in the previous quarter.
Evidence of a post-election bounce in the UK economy has been seen clearly in the housing sector, with mortgage approvals rising to an almost four-year high in January. The February Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors housing survey data on Thursday will provide more evidence on the state of the sector.
However, taking centre stage on Thursday is the European Central Bank March meeting, with President Christine Lagarde facing a dilemma in light of the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak between following the Federal Reserve’s unexpected 50 basis point cut and lowering already negative interest rates or providing further quantitative easing/measures focused on providing short term liquidity to struggling firms.
Investors have been contemplating if the disruption to output on the supply-side from the coronavirus is offsetting weak demand and creating inflationary pressures. February inflation data from China, on Tuesday, the US, on Wednesday, and the eurozone on Friday will give a clearer insight into which effect is stronger.

The almighty dollar

The US dollar (USD) has performed strongly across the board this year, breaching levels last seen in October in recent weeks. Driving USD strength has been robust economic growth, safe-haven flows amid previous Iran tensions, the Covid-19 epidemic and the dollar’s attractive yield relative to other currencies in the ten largest economies, or the G10.
Most market participants envisioned a weaker USD in 2020 and so the recent outperformance would have come as a surprise. Whilst the fundamentals of the US economy appear healthy and would suggest that the recent move has legs, we highlight that the 2020 elections and the uncertainty that comes with this could provide some volatility.
That said, the US Federal Reserve’s surprise 50 basis point rate cut on 3rd March may limit the attractiveness of the dollar.
For more information contact Barclays Private Bank in Monaco by clicking here or on +377 93 15 35 35
 
 
 

AS Monaco Basketball crushes Dijon

by: Stephanie Horsman
09/03/2020

AS Monaco dominated the court against Dijon to a crowd of nearly 2,400 fans at Gaston-Médecin on Saturday night.

The Roca team has taken back control and are at the top of the Jeep Elite standings after a smashing 80-67 victory against Dijon.

Monaco was in it to win it from the start. The return of their supporters, who had not been allowed to attend the last game due to Covid-19 fears, urged them on and gave them wings. They took advantage of the renewed vigour and came out swinging.

After only eight minutes, the Roca team was up 17-7 with amazing plays by team captain Dee Bost and American superstar Norris Cole showing their stuff. By the beginning of second quarter, Yakuba Ouattara got in on the action with a superb three-pointer, keeping the 10 point lead in check. 

Dijon weren’t about to roll over though and came back with fantastic shots from Axel Julien and Saulius Kulvietis, almost evening the score by the 13th minute. For a brief shining moment, Dijon took the lead, only to see another Monaco onslaught, putting them at 41-33 at halftime. 

After the break, Dee Bost opened the scoring and set the pace. Despite some sloppy ball handling, the Roca Boys stayed firmly in the lead.

Dijon’s frustration came through when coach Laurent Legname was handed a technical fault, followed by two more for Julien, who was asked to end his game early.

Anthony Clemmons made a tremendous three-pointer not long after and the score sat at 65-53 at the end of the third quarter. There was no letting up after that and Monaco went onto a 80-67 victory, with four players. Cole, Bost, Ouattara and Clemmons, earning 12 or more points on the night.

Ever stoic Coach Sasa Obradovic said after the game: “I cannot say that it was a pleasant match to watch. The most important thing is to have won it. We had a good attitude. We played hard and we did a good job in defence. When you let this team play, they know what to do. They shoot, they are physical…but we were not allowed to play their game in the second half.” 

The Roca team returns on 10th March for a match against LDLC Asvel.