>> it's almost 11:00 a.m. in singapore and shanghai. here are the top stories. asian stocks paring gains as traders weigh whether fed rate cuts this year are still on the cards. and the policy called the sour. president xi jinping meets emmanuel macron in paris, calling on his french counterpart to help enough new called -- cold war. plus we speak about the growth ambitions with a focus on india. the ceo joining us exclusively later this hour. this get you to markets, equities, taking a backseat right now.

avril: optimism fading, moving past the 50 day moving average, this is fueled by fed optimism. we also got a bit the tailwind for sentiment thanks to the homebuying restriction curbs being relaxed a little bit. but we've seen in the session of the chinese stocks have been swinging between gains and losses, although japanese stocks have returned from that long weekend and the optimism and state of play seems to still be boosting the stocks in the country. we be encasing -- keeping a close watch on dollar-yen. we are seeing it moving back to levels would last saw on thursday, working off the assumption that there were two rounds of intervention last week. well said that level coming through roughly help 1.54

despite intervention coming through from the currency chief. we've been focusing as well on the aussie as we hear from the rba in the next hour. let's fit the board and take a look at how traders have been bracing for a hawkish central bank, but we did get retail sales numbers that fell more than expected today and the aussie consolidation is in play here. we also have our mliv colleagues pointing out that the risk for the aussie are for that downside, that's if the rba policy in the footsteps of the fed and signals no rate hikes this year. haslinda: expected to stand pat. let's look at the outlook for the fed rate cuts, a hot topic at the global conference in beverly hills. the new york fed president was among those weighing in. >> if they haven't cut in

december, they are likely to cut in december. they're still a question of will inflation be affected by deglobalization happening. that takes away from the constant deflationary trend that has helped the pricing of goods for frankly most of our adult lifetime. >> for me it's looking at the totality of the data. you really want to make sure were looking at the broad picture. we have maximum employment and price stability goals. we want to see all the data and information that speaks to all of that and as the data come in, hopefully we will be moving in the direction we want to see both on inflation in terms of restoring balance in the economy, and then we will make our decisions based on that.

haslinda: our next guest believes there is reason for to rate cuts next year. you heard that we have to take a look at the duck -- totality of the data, and it does seem like you cannot support the two you're looking at. >> we still have a lot of time before september. our best guess is that the fed would actually start cutting by september and possibly another round in december. the point here is, they are not also guiding the market to expect a hike. so they are as hawkish as can be . the next question is, if they are not hawkish, who's going to be dovish? because were not going to be seeing any changes from the fed, at least until they are ready to guide the market. so we are looking more at moves driven by other central banks like the ecb, for instance.

in that scenario the dollar strength would likely continue beyond q3 and possibly only see the long-awaited decline of the dollar by q4. haslinda: we know the enough be revived hope off those rate cuts. the thing is it was only just slightly weaker. if the fed's data-dependent it needs about three months or three reports that are weaker than anticipated. >> beyond the headline, if you take out the main contributors of the nfb which is basically government and education and health, the addition of the other industries are actually declining, which is already telling you that there is some easing in the labor market. so if that just continues, and if it doesn't fall off the cliff, that should open the space for the fed to cut later this year. haslinda: you talk about

divergence in policy, how to you play that? others in asia might be doing the same thing. >> in the asia pac we are expecting the rba will be having their meeting later this afternoon. so we are expecting the rba to be a bit more hawkish and reverse what they had communicated in march. as for the other central banks in the region, i would expect the other central banks would be delaying their cuts because they cannot afford to see the currencies declining even more in the face of a very strong dollar. haslinda: we are talking about indonesia and thailand. >> even if they are suggesting there's room to cut, the currency is are saying there is no room to cut. haslinda: what are the chances of a rate hike by the rba, given

that inflation remains really sticky while employment is also strong. >> the reason have the strength in the australian economy is to pod the -- despite the fact that you have very high interest rates, the consumer is someone getting hit by the high interest rate, the fact is business confidence remains high. the likelihood is that the labor market will remain tight. in my view, where the interest rates are is enough to lower the inflation. we've already seen some decline, just not as fast as the rba would like to see. haslinda: there is a contingent pretty reliant on how china is doing when it comes to strike you. >> exactly. the fact is the other drivers of the aussie have not been contributing to the aussie as much.

in fact, out expect further upside considering how high the iron or prices have already gone. at this point the somewhat reluctance of the market to buy the china recovery story is dampening the upside to the aussie. but data is already showing the china economy is improving, taking out the property sector there is an improvement in the business sentiment. so that should be supportive of the aussie. you just need to be careful of the levels you by the aussie. right now we are very near the your today high. so maybe you can wait for declines, or you just need to be patient. as 66-70, is very difficult to go long at this point. then the policy divergence would be in your favor.

haslinda: we have to talk about the yen front and center, your thoughts on where it is headed, bearing in mind we are seeing dollar exceptionalism for the first time in a long time. >> today we are above when viewed -- 154, now that japanese traders are back online. the truth is the carry trade is just too attractive. if you look at the fundamentals between the u.s. and japan, it doesn't support further upside from here. when you're talking about traders being excited, it can easily push it to 158. but it 158, the market should be very wary of renewed intervention. haslinda: in terms of yen p, what is the strongest yen levels

you see out there? >> the scene 160. the market could push it beyond 160. haslinda: where re in terms of the indian rupee? >> the rbi is one of the currencies that has had very little volatility in comparison to the other currencies in the region. if anything, there is no volatility, even if you look at the indian rupee by itself. they have basically killed off the volatility. but the structural close are just too supportive of the rupee. but if you have continued strength in the dollar, that it is very difficult to see at the

indian rupee would appreciate from here. but it isn't necessarily going to depreciate as well because as i said, the structural close are just too strong. haslinda: modi is expected to serve another term. will that make a difference? >> the policy would definitely be supportive of foreign petroleum flows as well as foreign direct investments. that's really the issue here, if there are any changes or even divergence in the state policies, that would be very after mental to foreign direct investments. haslinda: thanks so much for your thoughts today. still ahead, global hospitality minor hotels betting big on india as it targets 50 new

openings in the next decade. the ceo joins us for an exclusive interview later this hour. first, chinese president continues his european visit. we will tell you what topped the agenda during his meeting with the presidents of france and the european commission. keep it here with us, this is bloomberg. ♪

>> i remain confident that more progress can be achieved. at the same time we stand ready to make full use of our trade defense instruments. haslinda: that was during chinese president xi jinping's visit to europe. let's bring in rebecca in hong kong. beyond the symbolism, what are some of the key takeaways from that trilateral meeting they had? >> it was probably -- probably had the most potential to be awkward. we've seen the e.u. increasingly move in lockstep with the u.s. when it comes to introducing prose into other forms of the

so-called three new drivers of growth, those cleantech areas. investigating beijing's state subsidies into supporting those industries, that you you has been very vocal, and china was very forthright in that meeting. point blank saying china does not create an overcapacity problem. china urged they continue not to trust or target any third party, and china should work directly with eu, and they should not be dependent are dictated by any third party to. so little bit of fantastic pushback between the influence that china sees the u.s. having on eu policy. haslinda: xi jinping also calling on macron to help fend

off a new cold war. take a listen. >> regarding the conflict, it is a test of human confidence. the international community must do something. we call for an immediate and comprehensive sustainable cease-fire in gaza and at the same time support palestine to become a full number of the united nations. haslinda: what do you make of xi's statement? >> on the one hand, china is there an xi jinping is there with an agenda of its own. on the other hand there have been huge issues, not just the middle east conflict, but also the issue of russia's war in ukraine that has come up.

the geopolitical landscape has shifted. when it comes to the middle east specifically, china has historically stepped up to try to act as something of a peace broker and to legitimize its credentials on the world stage as a global actor. but it is not weighty and particularly vocal over the recent issues. so i think although xi jinping has tried to step into the role, by and large he has not leaned in too far. so he has remained quite careful. haslinda: rebecca, thanks so much for that. now for an update on the middle east, israel's war cabinet has rejected a cease-fire proposal that hamas had earlier accepted, saying it falls far short of its demands. on monday israeli forces worn

civilians living in one area to leave, possible prelude to a long expected attack on the city where more than one million palestinians have sought shelter. u.s. and philippine marines have conducted rare military drills, just about 160 kilometers south of taiwan. the inclusion highlights the role that could be played in the conflict with taiwan. the switchblade 600 is the first of a new wave of lower cost autonomous weapons. the pentagon is publicly acknowledging its funding through its replicator program. it's known for helping push act on russian advances. plenty more had. keep it here with us. this is bloomberg.

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>> the pilot program was inspiring to everyone around the world. we don't want the apollo program to be the high watermark of human expiration. we want to have some sense that the future is going to be better than the past, that we are going to be out there going to other star systems, and what you see in a science fiction story -- ai might be the most important part of the role. the percentage of intelligence that is biological grow smaller

with each passing month. actually the percentage for intelligence that is biological will be less than 1%. haslinda: tesla ceo elon musk speaking at the global conference in l.a. he spoke on other topics from free speech to the existence of space travel to aliens. the ibm ceo says it's ai unit has booked more than $1 billion worth of business already this year. he spoke with us in beverly hills about the regulatory landscape for ai and tech. >> i think every regulator is worried about three topics. they're worried about innovation, competition, and safety and regulation. when you take those three together, the ai alliance comes

together to foment innovation. it helps the regulators to think about what is going on here. in my experience, open technology has always been safer and more secure than close technology. >> is one of the risk that some of the big guys get an advantage and get an entrenched position? >> when you have a walled garden, have areas of innovation been more or less innovative? i think it helps create more competition. isn't it good for all of us? >> are you pro regulation? >> i am pro regulation as long as it is light touch and allows innovation to happen.

i absolutely will be pro regulation. >> what about distinguishing between regulating technology and uses? we had someone who said regulating use does not regulate technology. that will impair innovation. >> how can you regulate technology when you don't even know where the technology will go? six months ago no one had heard of our technique. there will be another one and another one. trying to regulate technology implies that the regulator and the policy folks believe no more invention can happen. >> that was the ibm ceo speaking with bloomberg's david westin. amazon plans to spend 9 billion dollars expanding its cloud computing infrastructure in

singapore. the outlay will be done over the next four years. it says it doubles amazon's investment in the lion city and will accelerate the introduction of ai. s&p saying china property is looking for the bottom, all in negative territory, reversing earlier gains. logan group down about 2%. we are keep an eye almost property plays, easing homebuying to revise sales but that's not helping sentiment. it says it will allow order firms to buy second units in some non-core districts. aussie assets in focus as well as as we count down to the rba decision, is expected to stand pat for four meetings in a row and likely keep rates at 12 year highs.

the risk really is on the downside for the aussie if the rba sounds dovish. asia trending higher, looking for direction somewhat. wall street higher with the s&p coming off its best three days since november. optimism that the fed will start cutting interest rates. the kospi up almost 2% and the hong kong dollar unchanged. plenty more had. keep it here with us. this is bloomberg. ♪ people couldn't see my potential. so i had to show them. i've run this place for 20 years, but i still need to prove that i'm more than what you see on paper. today i'm the ceo of my own company. it's the way my mind works.

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haslinda: property and the negatives, gains of s&p saying company plays in china still looking for abundance. csi 300 down to 10th of 1% in disha ravi, we see renewed optimism of the chinese economy. beijing's latest policy stance with market sentiment along with supercheap valuations. in terms of the yuan, 72179 is the level we are looking at. we see dollar strength today putting pressure on the chinese currency that was well supported by the pboc. let's get a check on how the markets are faring with avril hong in the lion city. avril: we are looking at japan just about to return from the large break and that's not all, they have been returning from a long holiday. of course they are playing catch-up today to that bout of fed optimism in the run-up in

u.s. stocks overnight and of course today, a bit of bucking the trend from the likes of sony, start following the most in about three months after its proposal to buy paramount global is raising financing concerns. those are among the stocks we are watching today, we will keep an eye on the likes of tokyo, electron as well as toyota to see how the narratives of their weak yen and the ai boom for these respective companies are playing out and benefiting them. let's take a look at how the japanese currency is faring because it has returned to weakness as traders focus on those yield differentials and that's despite what was likely two rounds of intervention. we are moving back towards the 155 handle on dollar yen, that's despite that verbal intervention coming through from the currency chief today that almost sounded like a challenge to more

aggressive currency traders that they wouldn't need to intervene if the markets are orderly. let's take a look at what's at play for the reserve bank of australia. we hear from them in the next hour. and after their q1 upside surprise to inflation, traders more or less brecheen -- bracing for a more hawkish central bank is our mliv colleagues have been pointing out if they follow with the fed has been signaling about no rate hikes this year. then we can see more downside risk. haslinda: for more on markets, let's bring in bloomberg mliv executive editor mark kuttner -- mark cudmore. talk about being optimistic when the data was only ever so slightly softer. mark: still a lot of jobs being added. last month we saw this dynamic of unemployment ports saw treasuries amid hot cpi print and yields blasted arlen way

higher. we've got cpi coming next week. that does a risk for the economics again. i think we are due for a bit of recovery that we see. i am still the view later on this year that is a good chance we see yields coach on fire yet again. with the remainder at the moment, in the moment there is to a risk. getting excited either way. haslinda: we talk about how when it comes to a data dependent fed, it must be three print, which is softer than anticipated. that's when the fed will consider its next move. mark: i think it's important it's not just reprint softer than it is, but i think it is soft prints. we are still adding jobs. it's getting lower. it is true the unemployment rate kicked up been i think we got a soft headline ism data but the prices paid component was strong. we could be in a dynamic where we do see the economy slowed a little bit, which might see the fed say we will cut, it's a

timing issue, december, next year, that might cap the front end. as long as prices are sticky, we are seeing sticky inflation and we see the curve steepen. that will become a bit more dynamic. rather than having a strong directional yield, i think the strong field at the moment is steeper in the curve. i think we finally see this record long and fruited curve finally ending its inversion in the coming months. haslinda: we have been talking about the yen for forever. despite the two interventions, suppose it interventions, which we saw, the yen did not manage to get to 152. >> bearish, bearish, bears the yen. i said if the plan came in and bought the yen, macro hedge funds around the world will be celebrating and high-fiving each other. it is to sell yen at further levels. the dynamic is not changing. the boj would be helped much more by the fact that yields have turned around.

that has change the picture but only at the margin. overall the story is you may want to sell the yen against the dollar. i actually think the dollar is turning. i think dollar can become softer. i like the idea of being more bearish from here. on the point is that yen you want to be short against a. haslinda: there is dollar from here? mark: longer-term dollar, over the next couple of years it will go lower. i have been looking for months for a turn and when you might want to become bearish dollar for the longer term. i was wondering whether the fed might be the catalyst, it's kind of providing an opportunity. i'm not 100% convinced this is the long-term turning point, but i think it won't go much higher from here. we get one more terror fire in the year. overall, there no upside to be bullish the dollar from your. but that does not mean you particularly want to be along the yen. you still have to be bears the yen on the crosses and i think

probably turning more neutral in the dollar term bearish. haslinda: we heard there is no need to intervene if it's orderly. is the fx market listening? mark: they listen but i think there's a comedy element to why you listen to the statements. i don't think -- they always listen to see if there's anything new. overall, as we have seen, this is a green light to push the yen weaker again. fundamentally, it's deeply negative real yields in an economy that is still not strong in an economy that needs to import almost all of its commodities in a world where commodities are strong. this is not a country that has a fundamental basis to have a strong currency. we can say it depreciated a long way, it has but for valid reasons. maybe you don't want to be bearish anymore, fine. there's no reason to turn bullish the yen. haslinda: the yen level by the

end of 2020 four would be? mark: i embarrassed again, not bullish the dollar. i think it will be a chunk higher. if you are going to ask if we call it dollar yen, i think we will see dollar yen probably go above 160 this year. it might finished lower only because we get a big dollar turn. dollar-yen is not interesting cross higher. haslinda: mliv executive editor mark cudmore here in singapore. more on criminal proceedings in hong kong against gandy capital management. the hedge funds founder and a former trader, the firm has long played a vital role helping wall street banks unload chunks of stocks dominating one of the markets last old-school businesses. hedge fund reporters joins us now. why is it in the news? >> it's in the news because there was a statement last week

announcing the criminal case against the founder and a long time trader for using inside information to trade. haslinda: give us a sense of what a block trade is. click save block trade is actually a very loosely defined idea. it's basically someone unloading a large trunk of shares in a listed company. it could be the company selling new shares. it could be a corporate insider, it could be institutional investors selling. but the key point here is it's a privately negotiated transaction. haslinda: talk to us about inside information. how is it shared before a block trade and why is it problematic.

what is the ffc doing about it? quakes basically, in order to gauge investor interest in a block trade, banks are trying to determine the right price level. thanks often time have to go out to a small coupon investor before the deal and share certain information. usually the detail information is not shared until the investor agrees to be taken across the wall, which means act on that information until it becomes public. but even before that, banks have to give enough hints of what's happening in order to size out the pledge. and that's where the problem begins. often times, both the investors and the bank will have calendars of pending lockup of who may

have shares in a certain company. so, the limited information that you share can actually help the investor guess who it is -- how it is selling at how much and all that information. haslinda: thank you so much for that. bloomberg hedge fund summit reporter. you can get the story on the bloomberg terminal. still to come, our exclusive interview with the ceo of global hospitality group minor hotels. we will discuss the india expansion plans. this is bloomberg. ♪

haslinda: welcome back to bloomberg markets: asia, you are watching india. counting down to the india open in just under three minutes. futures pointing to a higher open. gains for the other benchmarks. when it comes to india, it has been the dolling of investors, including its bond market. local funds have been piling into india's one billion -- $1 trillion sovereign bond market

ahead of the country's addition to the global debt index. india pretty much front and center. india's promise of narendra modi as election moved to his home state. it's about 11 states and territories voting today part of the third round of polling in india's marathon election will run through june 1 with a count expected on june 4. global hospitality group minor hotels is set to intensify its presence in india. it's targeting 50 new openings within the banks decade. the company says it plans to focus its strategy on the upscale in luxury hotel sentiment joining us exclusively, the ceo. give us a sense of what potential quantifies for us when it comes to the indian market? >> i think the indian market has become very strong over the years, especially we see the

high in segments that have really taken off. we see it outside india because today we don't have a luxury that is in existence at the moment. we are hoping to open our first in august this year. but i think the indian travelers outside of india have been very strong for us, therefore we see a huge potential with the indian markets both inbound in the coming years. haslinda: quantify that for us in terms of india's contribution three to five years down the road. how much of the indian market contributes to revenue, for instance? >> today we are hoping to have -- the target is to get to 50 in the next 10 years or maybe sooner.

based on the growth trajectory we have at the moment, the indian market will account for at least about 20% of annual revenues coming from this segment of the market in the coming years. today we see indian market being one of the strongest markets, especially when it comes to wedding functions in the lecture he segments on the holidays as well. haslinda: you talk about filling the gaps and by that you mean the lecturer your the upper scale hotel. are you also looking at tier two cities and beyond? >> yes, we are. we have a brent's today, our top and luxury hotel will be in tier one cities. we have the other banks, we have the european brand which we acquired in 2018 and it will

going to tier two and tier three, we have a hotel under our oaks hotel brand in the north of india. our plan was to create a second around that, which is on target as well. haslinda: it is a tough market. we have local brands, how will you compete? what is your advantage? click think our advantage is bringing a global brand bringing other elements to the experience. the brand is all about and experience will driven brand. and that's where we excel compared to some of the other brands.

it is based on the local culture, the local architecture and bringing that into the hotel as well. and adding other concepts like wellness, other experiences. fmv is one of our key focuses. we bring a holistic solution. they can experience the lecturing end of the brand as well. haslinda: how are you doing so far? talk to us about occupancy and the growth you anticipate. >> last year was a record year for us. this year's trailing better than last year. our frequencies are around 65% to 75%. what we have seen as a massive red growth. and maybe is to eradicate or offset the other challenges we are facing.

like inflation, cost of labor increasing, interest rates going up. we have focused on the high-end top travelers and focusing on the rates. we have seen a very strong year this year. haslinda: your open office is part of the expansion plans. any plans to perhaps open more offices, and what are you doing in terms of hiring? >> we have already hired a vp for operations and we are now planning to beef up our local presence in the market. we already have five or six general sales agents who are looking after the out brown outbound traffic. our plan is to on birth this outbound and inbound. we will beef up on the commercial side, on the human resource side and on the tax

service side and planning side as well. so we could be providing on the ground experience and be close to the owners as well. also in: minor is a global brand. it is headquartered in thailand. talk to us about how you are doing in thailand and the rest of asia. >> as i said, we have had the best year ever last year was our best year. this year, based on what we are seeing, q1 is going to be better than q1 last year, so we are seeing a very strong growth. especially coming out of europe. it has always been a soft quarter, quarter one. but this year it has come up as a strong quarter. we hope that this continues into

the rest of the year. this year we should be beating last year's numbers and making another record, in terms of preparing us to some of the other global brands. in terms of growth, in terms of pipeline, in terms of some of the rebranding's we have. some of the new countries we have entered into as well. haslinda: what are the plans for the time market? this is on the back of a backdrop where there is conflict between the government as well as the bank of thailand and that has hurt investor sentiment. how are you looking at the situation in your plan for thailand? >> thailand is our home base. we continue to be bullish about thailand in spite of some of the external challenges we are facing. i would hope these are temporary measures. we continue to invest in thailand and have a few projects

coming in thailand, including some of the high-end luxury residences, which we are doing under this brand, which also continues to grow quite strongly. we cite many hotels in thailand. and therefore we see thailand as a strong market because from a tourism perspective thailand would be one of the top destinations in the government is really promoting the tourism drive in terms of bringing this destination up to the global market. haslinda: do you think thailand needs a rate cut to boost the economy as suggested by the government? >> i think it's a monetary policy -- the thing is, there are pros and cons. if there's a rate cut, the interest rates become cheaper. the currency, the investors tend to leave the country as well.

as interest rates go up, investors go in him. money flow goes into thailand. we have insulated ourselves in terms of the great, which is there at the moment. we are offering more challenging countries compared to thailand. we offer argentina, cuba, and other places. we are use to navigating around the monetary policies of each of the countries. haslinda: thank you for your time today. ceo of minor hotels. we have headlines to tell you about. a new local bond restructuring plan is underway. the firm is asking for a new grace time for a yuan bond payment. logan one creditors support to withstand global bonds in 2022. chinese builder logan molly, a loop -- a new local bond restructuring plan is asking for a grace time for a yuan bond

payment. plenty more ahead, keep it here with us. this is bloomberg. ♪ i can't believe you corporate types are still calling each other rock stars. you're a rock star. we're all rock stars. oooo look look at my data driven insights, i'm a rock star. great job putting finance and hr on one platform with workday. thank you! guys, can you keep it down. i'm working.

you people are (guitar noises). hand over the air guitar. i've got another one. >> clearly there are some things on the economy. that's to be expected given the

interest rate rises and living pressures, etc.. the market is subdued, especially here in australia and new zealand. we see that and we see that with more customers struggling in the number of customers struggling is, from a historic point of view, relatively low. haslinda: that was the ceo shane elliott giving us the assessment of the australia's academy after the cash profit fell 7% and announced a 2 billion aussie dollar buyback. it's out with its decision at 12:30. take a look at where we are in terms of the benchmark in australia. asx 200 index up 8/10 of 1%. the aussie is flat, 6628. some say if the rba sounds less then hawkish, it will tilt to the lowest side. a day when the dollar is actually trading higher.

delivering a hawkish old. rates a 12 year high. overall, you can turn to your bloomberg for more on the rate decision. go to tliv to get commentary and analysis from bloomberg's expert editors. in terms of the broader market, asia trending higher. pretty much in line with what we saw on wall street overnight on expectations. perhaps the fed will still cut rates this year, front and center, the yen currently down for tenths of 1%. 154's the level we are looking at, despite intervention. two interventions we have been talking about. that is it from bloomberg markets: asia. middle east and africa is next. this is bloomberg. ♪

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