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tv   Asia Edge  Bloomberg  March 15, 2015 11:00pm-12:01am EDT

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coming out, hong kong is hosting art fairs. bloomberg is their lives. also in town, victoria beckham -- planning her second designer store and we have an exclusive interview. plus, where eagles dare -- we are flying high in dubai with a birds eye view of the city. all that and more in this monday edition of asia edge. zeb: energy shares under pressure today as oil continues to fall to a six-year low. this is what we have in terms of financial markets -- investors focused on the fed. tomorrow and wednesday we will see if they removed that statement. and how markets will react. in hong kong and shanghai, a lot of optimism. the shanghai composite, on those
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comments from the chinese premier saying they will do what it takes to keep the economy afloat, the gdp slows. he hinted it as targeted e-zine. -- easing. we are seeing property developers and casinos decline in hong kong. rishaad: breaking news coming through. china holdings save they are set to found kaiser, a company that took a 49% stake, saying it did on profitable. they say they will take due diligence to find out if they should be taking over kaiser holding. this is all conditional on satisfactory debt levels. executives are saying that they
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drew this conclusion based on studying cases. these people did ask to not be named. we are not sure whether they have or haven't pulled the plug -- pulled the on a full takeover. talks say that due diligence is taking place. china is having a look at the congress, the conference -- ensuring growth while pushing through with painful reforms. we are joined now with a look on what is going on. what have we learned? >> good morning. nothing especially new. we know the script by now. china is trying to transition the economy towards area like consumption -- areas like consumption.
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they are saying china will slow along the way and they will have to get used onto that. we know they have some options, they can cut rates if they need to. rishaad: they have a lot of bullets to put into the revolver. >> and that is a key point they have a lot of ammunition. but they need to get the banks to respond. rishaad: let's talk about what has been going on -- we have seen a lot of economies cutting interest rates. the meeting and the bank of japan and indonesia -- >> we are having the same rush of asia and banks here are incorporating your pressure and political pressure, but the story is the same. falling inflation, slower growth -- they need to boost growth.
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japan has some push/cold factors pull factors but on the flipside a weak yen is not a good thing for importers. there are two sides of the coin but for now they are not expected to change. we will see other banks around the region on that as well. rishaad: the biggie is the federal reserve. it looks like they will be getting rid of the word "patient." "a considerable length of time" was the one before. >> janet yellen has already taken to congress. i think the markets are looking through it and some are starting to look through the initial rate hike. it will happen -- june or september might be the big one.
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the question will be the pace of the hikes. so what is the impacts on those -- i think people are getting comfortable that the fed will be hiking this year, it is what will happen after. rishaad: thank you. a check of oil. >> a six-year low for oil prices since 2009, driving down energy shares. 23 stocks falling a big decline r. these are oil and oil service companies -- japan's biggest oil and gas producer is down by 3%. there are some unintended winners here from the decline in oil, and that would be the airlines. let's take a look at how they are faring.
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the nymex benchmark is now down. gold is seeing some modest buying today. a1 percent again. -- a 1% gain. one of the best-performing airline stocks across the asia-pacific right now, a modest performance for hong kong. that is a check of what's moving. airlines of seeing a nice jump. >> other stories making headlines -- usually a central bank rate cuts means local lenders will follow, but not for india. the largest banks have still not past on two rounds of monetary easing. banks blame a surgeon bad loans for a drop in overall profitability.
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the economy shrunk 17% in the last quarter with plunging casino revenues. gdp dropped 4/10 of 1% and the forecast is little better. aid into medicine is arriving in the pacific island nation of and want to -- nation. eight have died and the number is expected to rise. pam scored a direct hit with winds of about 300 kilometers an hour and eight meters storm surge. the president says it is the worst disaster in history. >> communication is still a setback for us. communications both in this and other islands we cannot get through. we only have the telecom, it has
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been restored, the only means of communications. other companies are not up yet. but with the outlying islands we do not know the extent of the damage. >> let's get the very latest. we are joined on the line from port vila. we are joined from world vision. how bad are things? >> the scene is absolute devastation. i thought i had seen the worst of it on saturday when i went down toward the capital, but yesterday i made it out to some
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of the villages about 20-30 minutes drive away and what i saw was absolutely catastrophic. shanti type villages, iron shapes, they didn't stand a chance in a category five. whole homes have been gutted. two young girls in the classroom that is now a pile of rubble -- it is a scene of devastation. >> this devastation is feared only to get worse. eight are confirmed dead by as we reach out to the outlying islands, it could get worse. what is your feeling on how deeply impacted those outlier islands could be? >> some of those islands could be absolutely flattened. these islands were more
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vulnerable to the cyclone. port vila is a city with some homes that are constructed quite strongly and a lot of those lost their roofs. thinking how small and isolated these are, they could be total devastation. right now we are getting on a plane. hopefully over the next couple days we will get a picture of how bad it has been. >> how much of it now is a race against time to make sure those who have survived and sustained injuries will survive and live instead of sitcom? -- of sucumb? >> that is obviously an issue. we heard of a flyover of the hospital -- of a hospital that looks like it was ok, and
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hopefully people can get their to get some treatment that it is a race against time. people are going to need safe and secure structures. my colleagues here are visiting communities dropping off essential items hygiene kits making sure there aren't high rates of diarrhea which can be detrimental to the health of young children. >> it is so integral that agencies like yours are there right now to provide assistance. thank you so much for the latest update. that is our emergency communications officer. rishaad: later on the program samsung and ipn keeping sensitive data safe. and hitting the right note in hong kong. ♪
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rishaad: myanmar has denied accusations that a warplane crossed the porter and killed farmers with a bomb. an official suggested it could have been the work of a rebel group. their relationship has already been stressed by their shift toward the united states. a 20-year-old man has been charged with shooting two officers during demonstrations last thursday. he admitted being at the protests but this said he was not targeting the officers. one officer was hit in the face and the other in the shoulder -- both have been released. a conservation group is drawing attention to the world's dwindling number of birds of prey. they organized a bird's
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i view of the city. this is his flight from the top of the burj khalifa lifestream on the internet. it flew for a few minutes before flying down to his handlers arm. >> we have been live all morning here in hong kong. time for more with our reporter shery ahn. shery: good morning. i'm here with philip to tanari. thank you for coming. i know you are an expert on chinese art -- is there anything new or anything else that we haven't talked about? >> i think what china has seen
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these last three years is the emergence of a new surge of artists. their lives have been shaped by a china and have no memory of a cultural revolution and are making art that is art for art's sake. shery: how is that affected collectors? philip: in these past 10 years you have seen the emergence of a market for contemporary art. the interesting thing lately has been how many professionals speak english and have studied and traveled abroad, are now getting involved. we are moving away from the old model for the collectors were interested in short-term profit. shery: do you see a change in
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the international perception when it comes to chinese art? philip: absolutely. part of that is on the level of formal language and the other part of it is how well established the field is. i think now even major international museums look at what is happening in china as a way into this incredible society's transformation. shery: you have to deal with censorship that's how does that affect your work? -- censorship -- how does that affect your work? philip: anything that comes into china has to go through the ministry but there is still quite a lot of space to present interesting work and provoke interesting conversation within the scope of what is allowed. i feel our role is to fight to keep that space open because if
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there is not anything, it will close out. shery: you have been here since 2011 -- have you seen any changes in the culture in the environment in china? philip: aside from the increase in pollution? [laughter] since the ascendance of years ago, i think we have all been waiting for cultural signals. we saw a few in november of last year when he convened a roundtable of arts and culture leaders. i think there is a lot on their plate, and art may not be the highest priority, but you could see a situation where the art scene could change drastically because of some government intervention. shery: how is that affecting you? philip: are collecting got through 2008 not unfazed but in a better way. it meant without as many foreign buyers, there was a real impetus
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to up the game of the domestic scene. these days, i think contemporary artist niche in secure enough that it is not in the purview of these anticorruption measures and many of the collectors are not expending funds there. shery: do you see a difference the type of visitors you get here from the previous years? philip: last year we had 850,000 visitors about 670,000 the previous year. these are not collectors, these are ordinary people -- students, sophisticated urbanites people who go to a museum in beijing like they do in london. shery: how do you see art in hong kong developing? philip: i think it is amazing that he was gone in such a short time from a small event to the hub of the market. it is also the portal into this market from people all over the world.
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people coming from brazil, from egypt -- it is really something hugely exciting because in the end, art is art for its on sake but it is also a way of bringing culture together and creating a global sensibility. shery: thank you. back to you. angie: thanks. victoria in victoria -- the designer is in hong kong with plans for a flagship store in asia. after the break we have an exclusive interview. stay with us. ♪
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angie: victorino beckham has chosen asia over the u.s. for her flagship store. the former spice girl says hong kong is the perfect place for her brand expansion. i sat down with her exclusively and asked her about her plans. victoria: i love hong kong, and i wanted my first flagship store -- i have been looking at my options and for me it seems like the natural place to open my second store. i traveled around the world a lot and i have met so many
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incredible chinese women. i wanted to open my next store here so i can really get to know her, and give her what i really do think she wants. angie: when can we expect to see your store open? victoria: i am hoping it will open at the end of this year or the beginning part of next year, if i can find the right space. angie: your first store was in london and your second is in hong kong. where else is next? victoria: the u.s. will be next -- i am not quite sure where. i am in a great position currently and i am doing my research, looking at the different options and opportunities out there. i would say will be the u.s. after hong kong. ng: you have taken the fashion world by storm as a newcomer and really building up your athletic. when you come to asia, do you
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think that aesthetic is going to change the cosi were going to have to appeal to an asian one? victorino: for me, women are women. i have spent a long time working with my retail partners from the very beginning, when i traveled to lots of different territories and i get in the fitting rooms with my customer and i talked to my customer. i want to know what she wants, what she likes about her body, what she doesn't. i can give her what she wants. but i feel pretty confident that i do know my customer. here in asia. i constantly want to better myself and give her what she wants but i am pretty confident that now is the time for my store here in hong kong. i never like to rush anything at all. everything i do, i want to take baby steps, because i don't want to make mistakes. i have done my homework, done my
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research, and that was the right time. people ask why hong kong. i love it here, i love the energy, above the women, they understand fashion, they are passionate about fashion they understand luxury and quality. it seems like the natural place for the second store. angie: that was victoria beckham speaking exclusively with us. on to the afternoons business in tokyo. slings and gains as the federal reserve meeting comes this week. the reopening after this short break. ♪
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angie: while is that a six-year low with the stockpile and highest in more than three decades. markets are being let down by energy stocks and investors are hoping for rate cruise. the devastation of the island -- at least eight killed as cyclone hama strikes direct hit. let's get the latest from the markets. japan reopens. zeb: take a look at the numbers. the nikkei looks like a fifth of
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1% above the 19,000 level. we haven't seen 19,000 on the nikkei in 15 years, which tells you how optimistic near-term investors are. let's check one sector under pressure -- wage wars. japan's 766,000 union members in the auto industry are requesting wage increases. toyota is not agreeing to the ¥6,000 increase. they are only offering a ¥4000 increase about 33 u.s. dollars. investors are responding positively to the afternoon session. it will be a fight between labor and management on this. honda spoke today and check out the other automakers -- mastec and mitsubishi setting the trend. look at some of the other big names.
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subaru cars up by 3/10 of 1%. the japanese auto industry -- a projected annual profit of $34 billion and workers demanding their fair share with toyota setting up for a fight with the kenyan members. -- with its union members. rishaad: the consumer protection shell and this year they names are china mobile, all under the microscope. with me to take a look at how damaging this can be -- we were both perplexed by consumer protection day. >> global consumer protection day. china takes this to heart because they have this cctv gallow.
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if you remember a couple years ago, apple was in the crosshairs because of consumer complaints about warranties. two weeks and tim cook finally apologized in china. this goes further than just possible product, reputational damage. they can also be fined and there are some other procedural things. the auto industry is again in focus -- volkswagen and others have had issues in china. this year we have a dealerships of volkswagen and nissan -- they say they take these allegations seriously. vw is also apologizing to consumers for any inconveniences. these are allegations that cctv does not necessarily give companies the chance to rebut. but basically they are alleging that the dealers reportedly
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overstated problems with cars and overcharged for simple fixes. rishaad: we talked earlier this morning -- it seems like it is all foreign brands. but then how come people involved with foreign brands -- that is my argument. >> they are a higher profile name in the automobile industry. they are the ones that did the most complaints. by simple mathematics. but there are big chinese brands like china mobile -- they have also been singled out for allowing fraudsters to use their services for various scams. china mobile is one of the biggest chinese state-run companies. rishaad: clothing brands.
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why have they been also mentioned? >> these are foreign brands>>. you are probably wearing some of them. h&m, gap, american apparel. forever 21. rishaad: that is me. [laughter] >> apparently 23,000 batches of clothing didn't me to guidelines, so you better take back your anklets. rishaad: that is between the end forever 21. [laughter] this is something, isn't it? >> again, it is exposing the consumer complaints in china. the china branded products took a real reputational damage. they amped up on their criticisms of foreign brands
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taking criticism of the government. rishaad: there was a similar show that criticized the government but we won't go there. right. let's have a look at some other headlines. angie: an executive has become the latest target of an anticorruption campaign. she is accused of serious violations of the law according to a government website. the company which partners toyota and volkswagen has not yet commented. they make the country's most expensive vehicle. selling australian and new zealand financial services unit in the largest private equity deals in the region. very partners are among the buyers -- verde partners are
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among the buyers. they are going to be focusing more on industrial businesses that account for 70% of revenue. yahoo! has created a new solution for users who forget their passwords. he will send a text message. they expect the new identification process to improve security. it is now available for u.s. subscribers. there's a good top headlines. angie: blackberry is stepping up the fight against cyber spies teaming up with ibm and samsung to offer a modified tablet that puts sensitive data in a virtual container where it can't be attacked by malware. i am trying to think of exactly how that might work. you are exposing yourself, obviously, to the internet and being online but they say it is going to be secure.
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>> what they are trying to do is parcel off the sensitive data into a separate area that is cordoned off that malware cannot touch because it is encrypted. in this way, blackberry is working with a lot of its competitors. the same songsung s10 tablet using ibm software with a secure microsd. this basically means that it is working -- blackberry is trying to move more into this field to improve. what it will do is say that it is putting this information away so you can use the device on more than one thing you can use it for secure purposes and
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personal use, other applications that you may need. 63% of government officials need to access their sensitive data on their mobile devices and are given in encrypted devices but they are not very popular because you have to only use that device for getting access to sensitive information. you can't make phone calls very easily. they aren't very popular because you can't just have one device only for this and have to use other devices for personal life or other things. this is what blackberry is trying to get into and they think it might be quite popular. angie: it's an interesting strategy. it's what blackberry was known for, but it has been a troubled company as of late. they had an interesting
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relationship with samsung. is this part of blackberries move away from hardware? >> exactly, it is. in the past they haven't been doing well or have been able to compete with smartphone makers so now it is moving to try to work with competitors to make their offerings more secure offering itself as an encrypted, secure provider. it bought a unit last year that will help do this. this is one of the devices it is putting out. it is saying it is expecting to ship more than 10,000 devices next year with this encryption the secure tablet. it says it will ship at least 10 to angela merkel.
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so the german government is looking at this device to see whether it will be useful for them for classified information. it could take off, especially if you are a company that needs confidential information or if you are a government official. angie: angela merkel is very angry with the nsa allegations. so for a canadian and korean company to come together -- it is interesting. rishaad: up next, the race of central banks struggling to outdo each other. "asia edge" is back in two. ♪
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rishaad: a check on some stories making headlines around the world. ng: a state of emergency in the south pacific after it received
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a direct hit from cyclone pam will stop eight people have died. it drove a storm surge eight meters high. the number of victims is expected to rise. the president says it is the worst disaster in its history. rishaad: hundreds of thousands rallying in brazil against the president over corruption focusing on kickbacks from the oil company. hundreds of millions was paid in bribes to the biggest construction and engineering companies in exchange for inflated contract. angie: vladimir putin has revealed he was ready to use nuclear forces last year over the annexation of crimea. speaking in a tv documentary, he said he warned the u.s. and europe not to get involved. crimea provoked the worst
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confrontation since the cold war, prompting sanctions that severely weakened the russian economy. rishaad: could it join us. we're talking about this currency war, this race to the bottom. it feels like a rat race. >> resolve the central banks moving in asia last week. not really surprised in terms of direction, but the timing was early and i think the market is expecting to be taken by surprise. a lot of that plays into what you just spoke of -- nobody wants to be left with a higher-yielding currency in asia when the u.s. dollar strengthening so much. everybody wants to keep in line with their neighbors. >> isn't that just a cycle downward, a salsa filling
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prophecy? >> ultimately you have to question how effective it is. when you look at the state of these economies, the pickup from using monetary policies -- they are already quite easy. consumers will not tend towards spending in thailand or korea. it does speak to the fact that there is a bit of a currency aspect. you have loose monetary conditions. >> they were talking about how -- the first time we heard that the euro weakness has impacted their exports, more so than the yen. >> actually, when you think about it, it is a euro driven move. a lot of that is predicated on the fact that -- >> we have a long way to go down.
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75 or thereabouts? >> i want to bring it back to this region. where is china's debt served? on the export front, sure, they would like to see a weakening -- but not too much weakening. >> the euro selloff puts them in a tough situation. i would say i am more constructive than the consensus -- there is less weakening ahead than what we have seen but they are in the top spot because as the euro sells off that will affect the exchange rate. it increases pretty rapidly. they are a very significant export destination. >>having said that, the economic growth they get for weakening is
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not going to provide them enough of an offset for any kind of financial stability concerns or even what it does against their long-term goals. >> which is another issue that came up. they want to be in, the imf basket, internationalized. i guess continued weakening will not -- and for the bankruptcies in general. >> and as you look at the data what they are doing with their money we know what happens when a central bank looks like it has the intention of using policy and undermining its currency. allocations come off and they will continue to come off. china i don't think wants to get themselves in that situation. >> when are we going to see hong kong trend?
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>> that could be a long time off you. >> i was thinking in the next couple years. >> i think hong kong can continue to function under any currency and wants. it runs a currency board. as long as it as an effective system and all the domestic policies are consistent rate can do it. if you want to think about when will you replace the hong kong dollar -- look around in the streets. when that becomes extremely common, that could be a signal that something is going to change. >> and forever 21, your favorite store.
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>> five old navy. -- i'm old navy. [laughter] what is a good bet? >> positioning is getting quite stretched, which doesn't mean the trend is wrong. there is going to be a sensitivity to things the ecb says or what the fed does. i look for relative value. the taiwan dollar has not kept up with the weakening in asia since mid-january. i think there is a bit of the dislocation. i think they are going to allow that to play catch-up. particularly with what they see with implied yields. >> winter we hit parity? -- when do we hit parity?
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they are talking about an inflation. >> it is even less than you apply. -- then you implied. when you look at the fundamental trend, it will probably bounce around a few times and then finally go through. on the yen, i think it is reasonable that we are looking for mid to high one1120's. they will have an issue hitting their inflation targets. >> thank you for joining us. still to come -- >> the oil bank in hong kong.
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>> after the break, meet an artist -- this is "asia edge" back in a moment. ♪
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angie. : at -- rishaad: shery takes a look at a series that involved elaborate sets, extras, and a full production scene. shery: dramatic and colorful scenes are the hallmarks of his work. this first solo exhibition brings it to art lovers here. >> the point of them is to feel a little bit stereotypical in the way they are staged so that it kind of rings true with something they feel the stall took about.
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i think everyone is familiar with the world of hollywood. shery: building on this concept of familiarity takes work from organizing the display of a few pieces -- >> the cooler blue in the sky, i thought it was a nice narrative. the strike in the bus there and the jacket. shery: -- to pulling together a short film in just four days. >> that was probably the hardest part. i knew there were about 350 people waiting for me and my direction. shery: it explores the notion of a shared cultural memory among crowds and the psychological experiences of the individuals. >> deciding that i wanted to make a series on crowds was a very strange thing when the
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crowds can be very scary for me. shery: and if you are looking to explore crowds, what better place to go to then hong kong? she says hong kong has an aura of reminiscent -- an aura reminiscent of "blade runner." >> i see myself taking away different aspect and possibly finding something here into creating something with the people that are here that i might not be able to find in los angeles. shery: whether it is here or in a way she says talkies are her next project. she has yet to introduce dialogue as she prefers ambiguity which can be interpreted by the viewer. angie: if she wants to explore
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crowds, hong kong is perfect for her artistic expression. you can get more on our digital destination, including how chefs are inspired by the artwork. rishaad: also we are looking at one another story -- bankers giving up seven-figure salaries for new careers in tech which paid quite literally nothing. angie: interesting. and there is disney's fairy tale weekend at the box office as the live-action remake of "cinderella" beasley in these into the top. -- beats liam neeson to the top. rishaad: the eagle flying around the burj khalifa and going down to land. angie: are you afraid of heights? rishaad: absolutely. [laughter]
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angie: what happened? rishaad: a lot of things happened -- where did it all go wrong? we will see you
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