If there is going to be a deal it has to be the first couple of days parliament returns. Haslinda sorting through a barrage of earnings reports. Left wants to see profitabilities. The law of large numbers is catching up. We call it the star wars stumble. Haslinda experts on how they are reading at jumble. China and the u. S. Aligned economically. I do not think the feds job is to make sure theres not a recession. Haslinda all straight ahead on bloomberg best. Nejra hello and welcome. This is bloomberg best the weekly review of the most important business, news and analysis from bloomberg around the world. After President Trump announced new tariffs on china last week, beijing vowed to retaliate. Their reaction sent shockwaves through global markets. Keeping stocks in the red this morning on fears that the u. S. China trade war is escalating. Asian stocks heading for the biggest selloff this year after yuan fell past the key seven per dollar level. Due to the tariffs on chinese goods. China has ordered Stateowned Enterprises to suspend imports of american agricultural products. What is china trying to signal today . It seems they are sending a message back that they will up the ante when it comes to a trade war. They made it clear that what they can do on the currency side of things. We had news that theyre not willing to buy u. S. Agricultural products either. A blow to one of President Trump s core demands. The president this morning his response to issues in the currency market. China dropped the price of their currency to almost a historic low. It is called currency manipulation. Are you listening, Federal Reserve . This is a major violation that china overy weaken time. China would not use foreignexchange as a tool the trade dispute and saying in a statement, im fully confident that the yuan will remain a strong currency the product despite a brief fluctuation mid external uncertainties. It is a see a bright red across europe. The markets in europe down and down hard. Is it fair to say the markets did not see the chinese escalating this way . Currency is seen as a weapon of last resort. We heard time and time again from china they were not going to be using it as a weapon in the trade war. Finally we saw china hitting back this way. It is catching a lot of peoples attention. Does this make the september 1 tariff 100 certainty now . As recently as friday we are hearing from Administration Officials that if the chinese will go ahead and deliver big buys of soybeans and other big agricultural goods, maybe tariffs can be avoided. Signaling happily today that it is not going to go down that route. It is kind of lost hope for a deal. That is what the market that seems to be with the markets are latching onto. U. S. Stocks heading for the biggest selloff this year. The dow off at one point by more than 900 points. Today the dow moved 735 points. The Trump Administration formally labeled china currency manipulator after that pboc allowed the yuan to fall in retaliation to new u. S. Terrace. Tariffs. In response, china has taken steps to slow the yuans dissent at two below at seven per dollar. This has profound significance does it not . , the symbolism is significant in terms of what it says about the rapid deterioration of relations between the u. S. And china. In terms of the actual impact on china, it is very limited. What this does is trigger negotiations and conversations between the u. S. And imf about what china is doing from the u. S. Perspective. Then of course there are potential penalties the u. S. Can impose on china. China already faces significant u. S. Tariffs. We are seeing a message from the pboc, cooldown folks. The yuan has suddenly not become a one way bet. We have seen a shot across the bow to people who became overexcited yesterday. The stock market bounce back today on the feeling that maybe this is recoverable after all. But it is really hard to see how that happened. When people get dug again. It becomes a really personal competition between xi and trump. Neither man wants to back down and lose face. Trade should not be personalized. Central banks taking center stage today. The r. B. I. Cut rate by 35 basis points. In new zealand, the kiwi has tanked after the rbn zed announced a larger than expected rate cut. 15 basis points. The messages Central Banks are willing to go big. It is a global trend. We have st. Louis fed president James Bullard saying theres no reason to pile on rate cuts. But markets do not seem to be buying that. Traders are pricing in 100 basis points of rate cuts from the fed of the next year. That will be on top of the reduction we got in july. Again, i think the messages that message is that Central Banks are very willing to go and to go big. Everybody is looking at the two elephants who are wrestling the middle of the Global Economy. That worried about what might happen so they are trying to steal a little bit of a first mover advantage. They are not going to say it but theyre trying to weaken their currency so they have cushion for their exports going into whatever happens. The problem is that if everybody goes in that direction, you have a currency war that leads everybody into recession. Im looking at the u. S. Threemonth 10year curve and you can see that this bond surge has gone much more into negative territory than it was. We are off of the low but we are still down 34. 5 basis points below zero. If that is not an inverted curve, i do not know what is. It is the biggest fiveday drop since the debt ceiling debacle back in 2011 for the 10year. That move is nothing that speaks to how entrenched the lower forever stance with regard to policy rates are. If that is the global backdrop, then it is just a matter of time until that continues to weigh on the u. S. The data we are getting are simply telling us that, hey, not only are we having this trade war but the Global Economy is in an even worse position going into it than we have thought. U. S. 30year yield closing into their lowest level ever. Negative yields in the u. S. , what would it take for that to happen . Probably not around the corner. I think what would take is a serious downturn in the economy. A recession in which the fed will take the rates all the way down to zero, will restart qe. I think at that stage we may well macy negative yields we may see negative yields in the u. S. As we are seeing them in other parts of the world. The yuan rose after China Central bank set its daily strong than expected. It is the first time in over a decade that the pboc set the reference rate weaker than seven per dollar. Does this mean that we are seeing stabilization in the yuan . Why is the market taking it that way when this is the first time we have seen a seven handle and the fix . The key takeaway is there still somewhat stronger than market anticipated. Sure, theyre willing to allow it to go on a certain direction, to allow the market to push lower. But it seems they want to keep something about flow as well. That is important from the pboc. Because they have been preaching they want to keep it somewhat stable and do not want to let a perception run away from themselves in terms of a oneway bet on the yuan. Thats probably what the market has taken from the level today. We have equities extending their gains. Nasdaq up for the third day now. Every group in the s p 500 are higher. Can you believe that it was just monday when we saw the big selloff . No. Chinas Producer Prices contracted for the first time in nearly three years. Dimming the outlook for factory profits in the trade war with the u. S. Key takeaways . As you say, Producer Prices, those factory prices dropping. 3 for the month of july below the forecast. What this number suggests is that profits for some of these Industrial Companies will be squeezed. Then there is this divergence between the factory prices and consumer prices. Consumer prices ticking up 2. 8 , above forecast. Forecast had been increased to 2. 7 . That is something of a conundrum for policymakers in terms of stimulus, additional stimulus they pump into the system. The trade picture looks complex and Growth Continues to slow in china. The white house is holding off on a decision about licenses for u. S. Companies to restart business with huawei after beijing said it was halting business with u. S. Farming goods. Does it show willingness on the part of the u. S. To find a way to negotiate with china . It is another sign that things are falling apart. We have had two olive branches out of the g20. On the u. S. Side it was going to be limited resumption of business with huawei and on the chinese it was going to be resumption of agricultural purchases. In the past week we have seen both of those be taken away. That is not a good sign. We have talks in september that are scheduled. Big questions over whether they will actually go ahead. Still ahead as we review the , week on bloomberg best, legendary investor howard marks shares his thoughts during a wild week for global markets. Plus, former u. S. Treasury secretary Larry Summers weighs in on the risks of currency wars. Up next, more the weeks top business headlines with earnings reports. With the debt they have with the stock price where it is, it will be to go to do another d. L. Another deal. This is bloomberg. Nejra this is bloomberg best. I am nejra cehic. Lets continue our global tour of the weeks top business stories with a deep dive into a flood of earnings reports. Hsbc was among several european banks releasing results. They surprised with an executive shakeup. John center is stepping down as chief executive hsbc. His surprise departure happens after 18 months in the top job. That is as the Bank Announces a Share Buyback of up to 1 billion. We had heard the possibility of differences. How much of the focus will be at someone who can shakeup the u. S. And asian franchises . According to reporting they may potentially look outside as well for the First Time Ever for hsbc. We may see a ceo that is not coming from the institution. That will be a big change for the bank. The u. S. Businesses a hot topic for the bank because returns have not been very positive there. They also have liquidity they would like to use. The business is not very competitive compared to the big u. S. Banks. There are few decisions that need to be taken. Commerzbank says it is becoming tougher to reach a target for higher profit this year. The Bank Reported a fourth straight quarter of falling revenue. Global trade tensions hit commerzbanks key corporate client unit in particular and operating profit fell. How hard is that to do business in this negative rate environment . It is getting harder to a certain extent especially , if you believe a forecast like this. On the other hand, i think it is a reflection of what we have are seeing over the last year. The question is not how hard is that, the question is what you what do you have to offer to counter the issues . And i think to a certain extent growing with customers has been a very successful way of dealing with it for the last year and quarter. Abn amro has beaten its estimates on the bottom line and says it is well placed to boost payouts the second year. 693 Million Euros at the bank gain market share in mortgages. The group did warned that lower Interest Rates are having an impact on margins. Please tell me you can see a glint of light on the revenue story at abn . Good morning. Our results are good this quarter. Our revenue is good. Particularly on the net income interest side. Despite low rates our Net Interest Income was up quarter on quarter and year on year. There are few oneoff in the area. We see our nii Net Interest Income underlying pretty stable. But over time, quarter on quarter, you will see the effect of low rates impacting deposit margins. That is why we have called that out this morning. Operating income for the First Quarter that beat the highest estimate. This comes as the banks vision fund expanded its Financial Technology portfolio with a 200 million funding rounds. What honda did to the Auto Industry in the 1970s, softbank is doing to the entire Venture Capital community now. It is probably the most disruptive Japanese Organization since japanese autos came in and disrupted the u. S. Auto market. You are hot, cloudbased sass company and your raising 50 million at a premoney valuation of 100 million. Softbank comes in and says will give you premoney valuation but 150 million we are investing and by the way if you do not say 100 million. Yes and 48 hours, youre going to the Second Player in the them 100giving million. You are seeing american vc funds that used the former masters of the universe elbowed out of the way by softbank. It is the disruptor in the space. Uber with second results including a 5. 2 billion loss. Sales, bookings, and monthly users all missing estimates. Shares down to the lowest levels since may. What are your biggest takeaways . The bookings and wide growth look good. It was just a revenue miss and part of that was the use of subsidies in ridesharing and for deliveries. And their free delivery. That is where they have been using subsidies and seeing pricing pressure. Food deliver is a fragmented market. On the core ridesharing side theyre doing fine. It is just the numbers are catching up and bookings are up 37 . To me it looks fine. Shares of lyft are higher after the Company Reported a secondquarter loss and sales better than what analysts expected. The overall numbers are good. Is that impact the profitability . Lyft wants to see moving towards the path of profitability. The adjusted loss numbers are better than expected. What is really key here is that lift is saying, we think our annual numbers are going to be in some cases hundreds of millions of dollars better than we expected. They are sort of improving their forecast. They beat analyst expectations. Thats why we are seeing this reaction. Shares plummeting in late trading. Earnings squeezed by falling themepark attendance, spending on new streaming services, and a costly flop of a movie inherited in the acquisition of fox. I dont understand. Disney opened the most anticipated themepark attraction ever, star wars. Attendance dropped . Yeah. We are calling it the star wars stumble. Weve written about this. There were social media posts saying, theres nobody on main street. Theres no wait for these rides. There were a lot of explanations given. Bob eisner had a mea culpa. He said, we tried to hard to limit attendance because we thought the crowds were going to be so big. They had a reservation system for the attraction. People just stayed away. The same thing at walt disney world. People were staying away because they are waiting for that galaxies edged open later this month. As a group is weighing offers to sell some of its businesses with the ceo saying units with no clear future cant keep earning money. This comes amid an economic slowdown in germany which is added to concerns for the industrial conglomerate. Its market cap has been cut in half in the past 12 months. Theres a possibility the group could lose its place in the dow. In the dax. It will present ahead with plans to lift its elevator music its elevator business. Are all these moves that youve announced today going to be enough to turn the company around . I clearly think so. If you take a look behind the current figures, you see some Strong Development as well. Although the overall numbers are clearly distorted by the weak Automotive Industry and the problems in steel. You see that in elevator. You see that we improved margin in one quarter. We are clearly looking ahead. That weekend fulfill our guidance for the full year. We have seen a turnaround in the margin. Kraft heinz is feeling the heat from wall street. The packaged food company plunging at one point nearly 16 to a record low after reporting earnings for the First Time Since february. The results were disappointing. Its a rough welcome for the new ceo who said, the level of decline we experienced in the first half of the year is nothing we should find acceptable moving forward. There are definitely problems here. Going forward one of the Biggest Challenges is that they are in a tough position as far as making a major acquisition. That was always the goal here. Going back to february of 2070. 2017. They tried to buy unilever. They couldve gone back to cutting costs which is what they do best. With the debt and stock price where it is it will be very , difficult to do another deal. That leaves the new ceo to try to get these brands growing. When you look at their brands theres a lot of stuff there , that is out of step with where the consumer is these days. This is bloomberg best. Global markets took a onetwo punch this week from escalating trade tensions and steepening Central Bank Rate cuts. In a conversation on thursday, oaktree capitals howard marks told Erik Schatzker how he thinks things will play out. Usually, we stimulate the economy when its doing poorly and we want to wake it up from the doldrums. We generally dont stimulate the economy after 10 good years. We usually accept that there will be an ebb and flow to the cycle and that there might be a justified recession. We have the lowest Unemployment Rate in 50 years. You usually dont stimulate at that time. The point is that the fed can stimulate. Should it do so . Is it the feds job properly . I get the feeling you dont think it should. I get the feeling, no. I dont think the feds job is to make sure theres never a recession. What the fed chair tends to say, and jay powell said it last month, i have a quote in there from september 2007 where they said we will do what it takes to keep the expansion going. Is it the feds job to keep the expansion going forever . I dont than so. If i ran the fed, im not applying for the job, when the economy is roaring, i would try to cool it off so theres not too much inflation. When its really weak and not creating jobs, i would stimulate it. In between, i would leave it alone. If the fed keeps cutting rates, what does that mean for investors . The 10year is at 175. Bonds are paying 3 . High yield is on the order of 6 . It means that savers and lenders and people with money are going to have trouble getting good returns. All the returns emanate from the base rate which is what the fed says. Below are it is, the lower the the lower it is, the lower the perspective return on everything is. The process of lowering the rates causes assets to inflate. There will be more wealth piled up by the people who have assets. Itll be harder for people who just have a little bit of savings to get a return. Onturn coming up bloomberg best, more of the weeks top stories in business and finance. Conflict continues on the streets of hong kong. A bloomberg scoop explains why Asset Managers are on the break brink of crisis. Up next more compelling , conversations. Malaysias foreign minister says his country will become Collateral Damage in the trade war with china. You have to tell the u. S. You are just being unfair. You are being a big bully. This is bloomberg. From the couldnt be prouders to the wait did we just winners. Everyone uses their phone differently. Thats why Xfinity Mobile lets you design your own data. Now you can share it between lines. Mix with unlimited, and switch it up at anytime so you only pay for what you need. Its a different kind of Wireless Network designed to save you money. Save up to 400 a year on your wireless bill. Plus get 250 back when you preorder a new samsung note. Click, call or visit a store today. This is bloomberg best. Trade dominated discussion on Bloomberg Television this week. While the u. S. And china are the two key antagonists, other nations are feeling economic and political fallout. The foreign minister of malaysia says he would pushback if the u. S. Tried to impose sanctions. He spoke to our reporter in bangkok. We would like to trade with both the u. S. And china. The thing that we are most worried about is, should there be unilaterally sanctions taken by the u. S. Against us, if we continue to trade for china. Our position is that we want to continue trading with china. There are some concerns. China has already the u. S. Has taken action against some of the countries it deems as having trade deficits, the likes of china, germany, canada. In asia, malaysia is among those in the top 10, including the likes of india. Are you concerned that the u. S. Will take action against you . We are concerned. If this thing were to happen, we have to tell the u. S. , you are being unfair. You are being a big bully. Do you think the u. S. Will buy that . We know the u. S. The Trump Administrations decision to label china a currency manipulator raised the temperature in that relationship. Among those who raised their eyebrows at the move was the former u. S. Treasury secretary. He discussed it with us on bloomberg daybreak americas. Now, declaring china to be a manipulator raises the specter of some kind of further retaliation, raises the specter of a situation where it will be more difficult on grounds of pride for china to say yes to u. S. Demands. Therefore, raises the risks of a cycle of financial conflict. That is that is coming at a time when we are already 10 years into expansion. When the fed has already recognized growing risks to the current expansion, and when, given how low Interest Rates already are, if there were to be a downturn, there is much less room for Monetary Policy to act than has been the case traditionally. Larry, you mentioned a designation by secretary mnuchin yesterday. Was there justification for it . The claim was in response to the president saying there had been increased tariffs. You saw the pboc really weaken the rate for the yuan. No. I dont think there was much justification. Currency manipulation is a legitimate issue. We tend to say that a currency is being manipulated when a few conditions are met. When the country in question is running a substantial trade surplus. China used to run a substantial trade surplus. It does not any longer. When the country in question is trying to weaken its currency, when it is selling its currency into the market to push its value down. In recent months, recent weeks, china has been entering the market, not to sell its currency, but to buy its currency. Really, china has been propping it up. When you are propping up your currency, you are not running a trade surplus, you are not manipulating the currency on any definition that is understood and accepted in the financial community. European banks continue to struggle as Central Banks push Interest Rates lower and lower. This week, commerzbanks cfo spokes frankly abrupt the headwinds. Matt asked him about what he would say to policymakers about negative rates and their impacts. What really changes if you lower the Interest Rates by another 10 or 20 basis points, what will change . Is there any house you want to buy additionally or whatever . From my point of view, it is unclear what exactly the additional benefit of this lower Interest Rate is. Nevertheless, if it happens, you need to deal with it. It will put up additional pressure on the sector in general. We will need to see what the answers look like. The idea is that they have no other choice, because of the geopolitical issues, they have to do that in order to grow the economy. That helps your customers continue in business. Does that not make sense to you . In general, that makes sense. Thats what the core benefit of the last year is. The question is, does an additional. 2 or. 1 create an additional effect or other Collateral Damages which it produces, do they outweigh the positives . How important is the fiscal side of things . I spoke with olaf schulz last week. He said there is no financial crisis, germany doesnt need additional spending, hes not going to boost his spend on infrastructure or anything like that. Do you think that germany needs to do that . No. I dont think theres anything we can see right now. The economy is growing this year, albeit at a much slower pace. We will probably see some contraction in q2. It remains to be seen. We are still going for Something Like a growth rate like a percent for next year. At least that is the latest expectation. In that sense, doing a Fiscal Stimulus Program or something would be helpful and will come doing a Fiscal Stimulus Program would be helpful and will come for the industrial basis. In total, you need to weigh what is being done on the Monetary Policy side. Its unclear whether you can really add with additional stimulus. Finally, for a birds eye view of the week in markets, Erik Schatzker shut down for an exclusive conversation with kkr head of global macro and asset allocation. Ultimately, i dont think china is going to do a large devaluation. I dont think thats in their interest. They are trying to build a consumer economy. Weakening your currency hurts you. They are sending a shot across the bow that they have other tools to match what President Trump is doing on the tip front. Tariff front. Speaking of other tools, lets talk about them. If this situation keeps escalating, what happens next . Does the u. S. Halt exports of advanced technology to china, bringing zte and huawei to their knees . Or does china retaliate or perhaps take the initiative by cutting off exports of rare earths, hobbling the u. S. Industrial economy in the military . The first thing you will see is a pullback in capex from all sides. Most executives are watching the situation. One of the facts that we feel strongly about is, if you had all the tariffs and say President Trump does auto tariffs on top of that, that is anless of an umag impact on gdp than a 10 pullback in capex. How long until western capital is no longer welcome in china . I think the chinese this is not when people say it is a cold war, its not like it was with the u. S. And russia. Ultimately, china and the u. S. Are aligned at the hip, economically. The idea that chinas massive consumption population wouldnt want u. S. Goods is unfounded. Thats not going to happen. What you need to dowhat you neen where the government and private sector need that expertise. You will see a bifurcation where some Companies Double down on capex because they have an advantage and can partner with the chinese economy to do well. There will be others that fold their tents. This is bloomberg best. Im they rich a pitch. Nejra cehic. Lets resume our wrapup of the weeks top news in business, finance, and politics in hong kong. Protests show no signs of abating. Disruptions in hong kong are entering a ninth straight week. Thousands of protesters have moved to shut down the Asian Financial hub, leaving traffic stalled, sub raise subways in operable. Over 100 flights were canceled. This is a movement that is not slowing down because they feel that the government is not listening to them. Really, bringing a city of 7 million to its knees. It was too full. They called for a general strike. Thats what this banner they have been handing out. Strike at work, school, the market. All the while, keep the pressure on chief executive carrie lam to withdraw that controversial extradition bill, which kicked off all of these protests. On the other hand, you have a hardcore protesters who have pitched battles between protesters and police. We heard from carrie lam, and she says the protesters are ruining hong kong. The protesters say they will not back down. Hardeningcorbyn is plans to block a no deal brexit. He signals he will call a confidence vote in the Prime Minister when Parliament Resumes in september. He has until september 18 to show we can command a majority in the house of commons. The following day is the last data trigger a general election. Thats before the brexit deadline. What do we know about what has to happen when it parliament wants to block no deal . The timeframe is extremely tight. That is why, if theres going to be a confidence vote, it has to be the first couple days that parliament returns. After that, we are in slightly uncharted territory. In terms of how the fixed Term Parliament act plays out, the 14day window applies to johnson to try to form a new government. It also allows tory rebels, labor to form a coalition that would prove that they have the majority as well. Therefore, it will be an intense period of horsetrading, and what can people coalesce around a single position. Britains economy saw a surprise contraction last quarter as manufacturing shrank. The pound when falling ended raises the stakes for Boris Johnsons government as it seeks a fast exit from the european union. Its a bracing reminder to Boris Johnson about what the markets do. In the end, its all fine having this great laugh because no deal brexit and talking about boosterism and you need to get ready, put money aside, and all these things. Actually, no deal brexit, there isnt an economist on the planet two things that wont be painful. Matteo sal vini is pulling the plug on italys ruling coalition. He has called for early elections, saying the government has no longer got a majority. That sent italian yields surging. And, the spread widening. St question needing resolved is when is this parliamentary debate going to take place . Its the midst of summer vacation. Parliament is on recess right now, technically. They have to be called back. Salvi is pushing for them to get back in their seats next week. And have a vote as soon as possible on this. It looks like he has the sufficient votes to bring down this government. Its a matter of time. The indian Prime Minister is promising a new era in kashmir after revoking its special status following seven decades of autonomy. He says it will rid the region of separatism and terrorism. What was the thrust of his argument . Hes saying that hes bringing kashmir into the mainstream governance of india. So, no longer will it be a state with its own separate autonomy. Instead, it will be subject to the same laws and regulations as the rest of india. He says it will eliminate corruption and domestic politics. For kashmiris, it has been a days long curfew, phone and internet blackouts, and have seen thousands of extra troops streaming into the valley. They are worried about what is to come. Asset managers are facing a n existential crisis. Investors have been shifting their money into passive funds for years. This push has led to the loss of thousands of jobs and forced largescale consolidation. The industry is on the brink of a shakeout. Only the strongest will survive area what surprises did you find in your research . The industry is struggling. They have been pushed to a tipping point. Active managers have been charging too much for subpar returns for too long. Investors are voting with their feet and pouring out money for passive funds for sometimes. Its a fraction of the cost of active managers. In some cases, they have outperformed. Industrywide, that has led to fee compression. Thousands of job cuts of the Asset Managers, and wide consolidation. Smaller players will continue to be absorbed by the larger competitors. Some may disappear. Wall streets trading desks endured the first worst the worst first half in a decade. Bonds are poised to take a hit. This is leading to a collective 5 billion drop in firsthalf trading revenue at wall streets major banks. It was the worst first half in over a decade when the banks reported, a couple weeks ago, we saw that. We also saw cuts across the industry. Here, these traders are getting less and also they are reducing headcount. That can reduce the cost to keep these things profitable in a lower revenue environment. Hedge funds and private equity might go up a bit. As much as 5 on positive inflows. Then, we also have retail and commercial bankers who are who could also see as much as a 5 increase, and that is because that that side of the bank has really been driving profits at these big banks. Thats while the Capital Market site is having more muted revenues. Crude oil is extending losses for a third day. Brent crude has lost almost 5 over the last two sessions. It entered a bear market on tuesday. From the trade war between the u. S. Though the trade war between u. S. And china continues to escalate, oil is a major casualty. The trade war is dominating any moves in energy markets. West texas intermediate, the u. S. Benchmark, is down 0. 5 today. It fell 1. 9 yesterday. Brent, the global benchmark, has fallen 20 since an april peak. It moved into a bear market yesterday. If donald trump implements the additional trade tariffs he has threatened that would be scheduled to start on september 1, a lot of analysts have speculated that china would slap tariffs on u. S. Crude imports. That is the next factor people are looking at. It certainly could have a larger economic impact. Thats what people are looking to next in energy markets. Oil prices are rebounding after bloomberg reported that saudi arabia said it is considering all options to stem the decline. The gains halt a threeday slide in crude prices. The biggest tool that saudi arabia has is managing supply. But, if you look at whats happening under opec plus agreement already, they are cutting more than what they agreed to. Whether they have extra wiggle room to cut supply there is a big question. The details are vague. They are talking about using all options. They are talking about speaking to other producers. We dont know who they are or what those options are at the moment. Gold staging a comeback rally rallying to the highest level since 2013, topping 1500 as demand for the traditional haven. Gold up 17 year to date. Gold is an interesting one. You are looking at other commodities. Gold has performed really well. Thats because it is traditionally a safe haven investment. At a time where we face things like the trade war, the chance of a no deal brexit later this year, tensions in the middle east, just to name a few of what we are facing right now, it is no wonder that investors are flocking to precious metals. The philippines is the latest to join the wave of Central Banks cutting rates to encounter growing economic risks. The governor there told bloomberg he sees further easing coming as soon as next month. Right now, what we are contemplating is another rate cut of 25 basis points. It could come in as early as september or it could be in the fourth quarter. We intend to cut further our reserve requirement. As you know, we started easing and 2016 now. Another possible 100 basis points before the end of the year. Basis points cuts before the end of the year. We see volatility. It is certainly in certain asset classes. This is the volatility and correlation analysis tool. This is about fx markets and the level of implied volatility. In particular, im focused on the part that says range, the blue dots and red dots. The blue dots are ahead of the average red dots. The now implied volatility is higher than the average. I want to go to a bloomberg insight terminal function, everyone worldwide uses it. All you need to know is that this is what the pros look at, the curves. The two tens, the threemonth 10, and the headline this morning is the 210 spread breaking to basis points. It is flattening out with a vengeance. There are about 30,000 functions on the bloomberg. We always enjoy showing you are you our favorites on Bloomberg Television. Maybe they will become your favorites. Heres another function you will useful, quic go. You can get fast insight into timely topics. Heres a quick take from this week. They can litter sidewalks, menace pedestrians, and endanger their writers lives. Over the past year, electric scooters have popped up in cities around the world, inviting a wary public to hop a ride as regulators scramble to regulate them. Surprisecome as a that the scooters the escooters could be exactly what trafficked cities need. This is your bloomberg quick take on these scooters. Download an app, find a scooter, unlock it and go for a ride. When you are done, leave it behind. Rides can cost less than two dollars. There is bird, lime, and both uber and lyft have scooters now. They are new. By their essence, they are all over the place. If you are not using them, they get in your way. Because people are just learning how to use them, they tend to ride them in obnoxious ways. In a lot of places, they have become a symbol of the Technology Industry which annoys people. At launch, cities like cleveland banned them. San francisco halted operation for several months to create a permit system that caps the number of scooters a lot. Allowed. Bird and lime offer scooters in more than 40 cities. Despite the controversy, escooters have their defenders. In dense urban areas, cars arent the fastest way to get around. Many cities has to that have turned to bike share systems and dedicated bike lanes because they take up less space than cars. Some urban planners see scooters see escooters as part of the future of city transportation. The hope would be that you would eliminate shorter car trips. That would get a lot of cars off the road, create protective lanes and so on. That would in turn drive the demand for scooters. A virtuous cycle. Despite bird and lime being valued at more than 1 billion, is too 1 million, it early to tell if they will become viable businesses. Determine howo long it takes to pay off a vehicle and how long a vehicle stays on the road. We dont know exactly how much this is. It does seem like you can pay these things off fairly quickly. They are relatively inexpensive. They get completely trashed very quickly. You will take your of your own bike or car. No one ever washes a rental car. That was just one of the many quick takes you can find on the bloomberg. You can find them at bloomberg. Com, along with all of the latest Business News and analysis 24 hours a day. That will be offer bloomberg best this week. Thank you so much for watching. I am they rich a pitch nejra chahitc emily im emily chang. Tonight, for a special broadcast of the Bloomberg New economy and collaborate collaboration with the asia society, i speak