Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/616203
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 16 DECEMBER 2015 17 Events Events Maltese photographer among finalists at prestigious portrait prize in London FOR the second consecutive year, a photographic portrait by local photographer Joe P Smith has been short-listed for exhi- bition at the National Portrait Gallery in London as part of the prestigious Taylor Wessing Por- trait Prize. Joe's work (above) entitled 'Vil- lage Butcher' was included in the final choice of 55 images out of an entry of 5,000 works from over 2,000 photographers. The image forms part of Bank of Valletta's calendar for 2015 that has the theme of tradition- ally produced and genuine Mal- tese delicacies, and features Zurrieq butcher Anthony Vella producing the favourite delicacy of Maltese sausage made using traditional methods and accord- ing to his own special recipe. The exhibition at London's Na- tional Portrait Gallery runs until the 21 February 2016. Emergency exercise at Birzebbuga ENEMED Co. Ltd will be conduct- ing an emergency response exercise at its fuel installation at Birżebbuġa, today Wednesday between 09:00 and noon (12:00). The exercise will be carried out with the participation of the Civil Protection Department, the Po- lice, hospitals and other national entities to continue improving the level of preparedness of the Com- pany and all entities involved in their response to emergency situ- ations at this site. As part of this exercise, emergency sirens may be used. However, there is no cause for alarm and where necessary, the public is invited to follow instuc- tions from the authorities. This inititive forms part of En- emed's commitment to safeguard the health and safety of its custom- ers and emplyees, as well as other individuals that live or work in the vicinities of its installations. The exercise is also being planned in ac- cordance with the COMAH (Con- rol of Major Accident Hazards) regulations. For more information, contact Enemed on info.enemed@enemed. com.mt. Emirates and Real Madrid take their partnership to new heights THE world 's biggest football club and the world 's largest aircraft have joined forces as Emirates unveils a huge Real Madrid decal on one of the airline's A380 aircraft. Touching down in Madrid, the Emirates A380 has been emblazoned with the image of Real Madrid footballing giants: Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos, James Rodriguez, Karim Ben- zema and Marcelo. Visible on both sides of the aircraft the entire decal totals more than 500m2 in size and shows the six players in action. "There is no better way for us to celebrate our sponsorship of Real Madrid than by adorning one of our f lagship A380's with the club's crest and team. Real Madrid have a huge following around the world and with our A380 now f lying to 36 differ- ent destinations we hope that a good number of fans will get to see the aircraft," said Boutros Boutros, Emirates Di- visional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand. The entire Real Madrid squad turned up at Madrid Airport Barajas to view the decal firsthand before the aircraft departed Madrid for Dubai. The aircraft is planned to travel to Hong Kong, Am- sterdam and Frankfurt this week giving Real Madrid fans in these countries a chance to snap a picture of the aircraft as it makes its way around the globe. The decal will stay on the aircraft for six months tra- versing the globe to Emirates' 36 A380 destinations. Emirates operates a daily scheduled f light between Du- bai and Malta via Larnaca, Cy- prus. For further information and f light schedules, one can visit the site: w w w.emirates. com/mt The full Real Madrid squad at Madrid Airport looking at the Emirates A380 decal Eurozone to see 'fastest investment growth' since 2007 – EY THE Eurozone will continue its path to recovery next year boosted by capital investment at rates that have not been seen since 2007, ac- cording to the December 2015 is- sue of the EY Eurozone Forecast (EEF). After initially being led by con- sumer spending during 2014 and 2015, economic conditions within the Eurozone continue to rebound with Eurozone capital investment expected to underpin a steady re- covery into the medium term. "Creating more jobs and encour- aging those who are inactive to search for work will be key deter- minants of prosperity in the years ahead. Investment will help in this respect, but there remains a need for governments to do more to tackle the cost of employment in some major economies," Ronald Attard, Country Managing Part- ner, EY Malta, said. The EEF expects gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.5% in 2015, before picking up to 1.8% in 2016 and 2017. Growing exports and rebounding domestic demand mean that capacity constraints are emerging in a number of sectors, such as financial services, profes- sional services and tourism and leisure. In addition, better access to credit and low interest rates for the foreseeable future is driving increased loan demand. The EEF expects total fixed investment to grow by 2.4% in 2016 - the fast- est rate since 2007 - accelerating to 3.1% in 2017. In 2018 and 2019, total fixed investment is expected to grow by around 2.5% a year. While this growth is at a slower rate than in the decade to 2007, much of the capital accumulation that took place during that period was in housing, meaning that a slower rate of investment growth does not necessarily mean slower potential growth. Mark Otty, EY Area Managing Partner for Europe, Middle East, India and Africa, said: "As we move into 2016, the economic re- covery of the Eurozone is looking more stable. Capital spending has begun to show an upturn as firms have become more confident in the recovery and are seeing im- proved profitability. We should not forget however that growth will remain distinctly under- whelming into the medium - and even long-term." Tom Rogers, Senior Economic Adviser to the EY Eurozone Fore- cast, said: "Recent measures by the ECB to extend bond purchases and cut the deposit rate offer fur- ther reassurance of low borrowing costs for some time to come. This should boost loan demand further in 2016 and help drive the recov- ery in capital investment." Export prospects impacted by emerging markets slowdown Additional capital investment should complement the compet- itiveness-enhancing reforms that have boosted exports from some Eurozone economies in recent years. But the slowdown in emerg- ing markets will weigh on pros- pects. Despite a lower exchange rate - aided by an extension of asset purchases by the ECB and expected monetary tightening in the US - and recovery in advanced economies, the EEF expects ex- port growth to ease from 4.5% in 2015 to 3.7% in 2016 and 3.4% a year from 2017 to 2019. Labor income to become key driver of household spending Helped by the impact of lower oil prices, consumer spending has been the principal driver of growth in the Eurozone recovery so far. Looking ahead, although the EEF expects a more balanced recovery with investment spend- ing and consumption making broadly similar contributions to growth, household spending will nevertheless remain crucial. Re- bounding labor income will be the key driver of household spending, driven mainly by a pick-up in wage growth. The EEF expects consum- er spending to grow 1.7% in 2015 and 1.6% in 2016 and over the me- dium-term, it expects spending growth of around 1.4% a year. Looking ahead With emergency austerity meas- ures now largely in the past, gov- ernments are expected to ease their capital budgets. After fall- ing for six consecutive years up to 2015, the EEF expects public investment to grow by 0.4% in 2016 and then gather pace to 3.2% by 2018, before easing gradually thereafter. YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt