anchor: it is monday, i'm rishaad salamat, and this is "trending business." a nationalou live, isning because lee kuan yew dead. his son says, we won't see the likes of him again. the father of the nation. guiding singapore from colonial trading post to a global success story.

he played a prominent role in politics for more than 50 years. tributes from around the world. he was a unique -- singapore was city state.nt -- china and hong kong markets getting under way. it is singapore getting its session started right now. a slight fall. reporter: fairly clear. the session on friday, a clear lead up over the u.s. overall we are seeing the fifth day of game for the regional. some weak spots in there. let's take a look at singapore. just about flat.

over in japan, really lifting things higher at this point. a six-month high. let me check on the big movers. 20%, the biggest one-day jump since we have cap records going all the way back to 1974. this is on the back of one of its drugs aimed at treating alzheimer's here it --. biogen will likely split the profits with eisai if the drug makes it through. in the meantime, let me leave it there. shares on the way up. rishad: lee kuan yew was 91 and

had been suffering from pneumonia. it is probably no exaggeration to say that he really built the country. reporter: he did. he has been credited for changing the fortunes of singapore. the country mourns its loss. most of the people had just woken up to the news. the death was announced early this morning just after 4:00. social media beginning to be filled with reactions to the death. ky.membering l this will be very difficult for -- to digest for singaporeans. he has been in critical condition for several days. there has been offensive and of unease when he was hospitalized. you can see -- say his illness rally the people together. they rallied behind his son, the

prime minister. if you have been tracking twitter, facebook, you have seen the press and reflections of leak one you -- his immense contributions and leadership. young and old left cards and flowers at the hospital where he was. many people wanting to show their support and appreciation. one thing to note as well, the outpouring is pretty unusual for a country like singapore, hardly showing emotions hourly. a very sad day for the nation. how will singapore manage without such a towering figure? haslinda: i think that is what singaporeans are grappling with. most of us only know of the singapore led by lee kuan yew. as much as the countries looking for change, no one knows exactly

how to get there. they acknowledged that singapore is at an inflection point. the ruling party in power since independence, one by the won by the slimmest margin ever. it is criticized for being out of touch with the people. a new phase for singapore. anchor: thank you. thes have a look at reaction on social media. a lot going on. here is shery ahn. reporter: people on social media have been reacting to his death and his legacy. they are talking about how he created an shaped modern singapore. the current prime minister, his son, is tweeting this morning on the passing of his father, saying that they are deeply grieved. of course world leaders had been reacting as well. the prime minister of new

zealand seeing that he was a man of rare qualities reunified singaporeans as his loss will be deeply felt. president obama has also released a press statement saying that he wants -- was a giant of history. corporations are also talking about his death, calling him a visionary leader. singapore airlines saying that he helped create singapore into an international aviation hub. the public is also grieving his death. one person tweeting that his impact on their lives has been felt every day even when he is gone. we do know that he faced a lot of criticism as well for his iron grip on power. one person saying, we needs a dumb thing that liberty when you can't eat? of course this year is singapore's 50th earth day --

birthday on august 9. this year singapore sg 50 will not be the same anymore. a lot of reaction on social media. haad: please tweet us with your thoughts. another story today, the collapsing commodity prices hitting tech china's sinopec particularly hard. profits are plunging. reporter: it is all to do commodity prices here it oil prices down by more than half in the past year. that is the case in new york and the case in london work crews benchmarked trade. asia andst refiner in its annual profit in 2014 down hurt he percent to $7.5 billion.

take a look at spot prices right now in the market. texas intermediate down by one for 3%. crude in london down. 2015 does not look much better according to analysts. they forecast and 80% drop. if gas stations are doing well like in hong kong and mainland, but the core oil business not holding up to standard. that is why the company's chairman has said sinopec will diversify into alternative energy and renewable in the years ahead. rishaad: thank you. let's get it back to shery ahn with the roundup. reporter: let's begin with china. the country may be the world number one in many things, but it is falling behind in one area. that is the internet market. the excitement about china's internet boom seems to be fading. china's tech stocks are being hit. dot-comshe 14 chinese

are now trading below initial belt prices. that is even when the nasdaq is surging. they are down 3.1% on average. that is compared with a 6.1% gain on nasdaq. dropped 30%a has from the record high. what is behind the slump? investor confidence is being undermined by a wave of poor earnings by tech of the needs -- tech companies. another reason are that investors assigned higher valuations than u.s. peers at the ipos. let's take a look at nissan. u.s. regulators are investigating whether they failed to fix airbag defects despite a massive recall last year. they received 124 related complaints after repairs were

made by the automaker. nissan recalls nearly one million vehicles last year, software may incorrectly classify a passenger seat as empty when it is occupied by an adult. the failure to deploy during a crash can hurt matters. even after repairs, drivers alleged that the flaw persisted. the sun insists that recall remedy was effective -- nissan in fifth the remedy was effective. now to starbucks. the business is sticking with race related efforts even after i faced -- it faced a backlash on social media. the coffee giant said it was an attempt to stimulate conversation and compassion about race in america. it generated mockery and criticism on twitter and prompted a communications executive at starbucks to delete his twitter account.

one part of the campaign is ending. stas will no longer together"rite " race on cups. back to you. rishaad: we will be covering the death of lee kuan yew altered the course of the day. reaction from world leaders. later, hong kong tourism is in trouble and what is needed to be done about it. tweet to me. break,up after the short former u.s. ambassador to singapore on the passing of singapore's first prime minister, lee kuan yew. ♪

reporter: the passing of singapore's founding father,. --lee kuan yew. the former ambassador to singapore joins us now. what is your initial reaction? [indiscernible] , on thelee kuan yew economic side, he led a colony to a first world status. his memoirs were titled from third world to first. he was quite a strong success in decades hert

propelled singapore to the front of the nations economically. haslinda: in a way, the u.s. saw of the region. he had a very intimate understanding of the region. particularly china. how important was that to the united states? guest: he made an effort to cultivate leadership in the u.s. as well as europe and china, and to engage intellectually with all of them. i think was very important for the u.s. to have that kind of a relationship. singapore became known as the think tank of asia for its ability to diagnose issues, look andrade-offs,

understanding. it was a major actor in asia and the u.s.. that, haveaving said u.s. singapore relations changed since he that down from power? he used to visit the u.s. every year. only visited twice since president obama came to power. u.s. singapore relations remain very positive and stable. however, the extent leaders on both sides connect or see each other can have it of zen downs. it can be more or less frequent. i would not over interpret that. there is the finance ministry, foreign ministry, defense ministry. [indiscernible] on the security front, how does the u.s. you singapore?

-- view singapore? is it fair to say it is a symbiotic relationship? guest: that is any healthy relationship. be structured as win-win. i think that is where we are in the relationship, that both the u.s. side uses singapore as a worthy partner for collaboration, and the single side makes also is accused of the u.s. security relationship with things like training and exercises. you were the former u.s. ambassador to singapore. on a personal level, with the remember of -- what do you remember of lee kuan yew? extraordinarily capable and intelligent, and he is also very lucid in his articulation.

from an american political perspective, you would describe him as clinical or austere. american politicians tend to be extroverts, a gladiator you could say. [indiscernible] but he was not a natural left-hander, that he was a very capable political leader. haslinda: where do you see relationships between singapore and the u.s. headed without him? guest: i think we will see a high degree of continuity in the relationship. from the singapore perspective, what is important is that the u.s. always maintains a commitment to asia and makes itself worthy of friendship. that is something that is earned and cultivated, and that burden is on the u.s. and initiatives.

-- for the initiative. thank you so much for joining us. thank you for your perspective. these are stories making headlines around the world. korea, china, and japan have resumed summit meetings three years after they were suspended. the three countries would work together to improve relations. the japan sentiment in korea and china has grown sharply over what they see as japan's attempt to obscure military histories. in nuclear talks enter a potentially decisive week with negotiators saying a deal is achievable. secretary of state john kerry says they are not at the finish line, but they do have the opportunity to get there or it issues include how much atomic capacity iran can keep. when and how quickly sanctions should be lifted.

be part ofhat should any deal, not decided afterwards. president hasnch set the stage for a possible run at the holiday after leading a good performance at the regional elections. far rightd the national front into second place with the socialist coming third. recent surveys put sarkozy ahead of the current president. rishaad: coming up next, the case for the yuan becoming a global reserve currency. details next. ♪

china is campaigning hard for the currency to become a reserve currency. that put the case before the imf. christine highs in beijing. reporter: she was scared to talk about monetary policy. they very successfully steered the discussion for everyone. the nationalization of the yuan.

he was making a case for the yuan to be added to the special joint right basket. it currently has four currencies. china has been pushing for this for a while. was not the imf said it a good candidate because it was not freely usable. they makene how can it more so this time. they will loosen up the qualified for an institutionalized investment program and free up rules for chinese citizens investing overseas. china has also opened up the free-trade sounds -- free-trade zones. have enabled many more financial products to come into the global market. that itsaid in return clearly belongs in the basket, but the timing is something they the imf will and

work with china to make this happen. more a matter of when not it anymore. of course we have the anticorruption drive and structural issues to be tackled in the economy. is it a good time to be talking about this? moreter: it does add one essential thing to the plate. how much longer they plan to stay on. thes a bigger stabilize yuan when china is looking to free up. lagarde had something to say about that. fate of the chinese economy and the fate of the global economy are intertwined. the growth that will be slightly slower than what we have witnessed so far, is perfectly legitimate and can work with of drivingd goal

both in china and in the global economy. it could add to his son asset bubbles. there are still questions about the strength of its financial institutions. we will watch for more. rishaad: thank you for that. next, we look closer thehe man responsible for rapid economic growth. shanghai trading underway for this earth day of the week. two.ing businesses back in ♪

♪ stories,the top ordinary people paying respect, lee kuan yew has died. a week of mourning has been declared ahead of a funeral on sunday. triumph of him a history. asian stocks with the six-month high and japan leaving so far in korea also on the early trade

wellsville yakuza slightly. whilebiggest refinery -- australia is down slightly. crude prices and loss of inventory, very say that things could be worse. let's get to shanghai and hong kong. you mentioned we are looking at a mixed bag because of australia, because of the financials there. the index's searing pressure. everywhere else in asia we are looking at games, the fifth straight day with japan leading the way. shanghai and singapore this 45% in volume -- up .5% and volume up.

30 minutes and you trade. -- into raven. -- rated. trade. shares are up, this comes on the news that one of the drugs aimed b037eating alzheimer's, looking at some of the results, test results, it did show the drug had russian with alzheimer's -- progression with alzheimer's. that will split the drug proceeds if it is successful. china, we have a lot to make it through, a lot came out on and the103 key names

sign of the effect is a big drop in profit, 30% more or less. missed forecast. finally we have an update on automakers, h8. it will finally be introduced for sale nationwide at the shanghai motor show. at 770 -- 17.70. quick look at the earnings coming through, three of the many that are due to report today and securities. let me leave it there. rishaad: back to the top story, singapore's first prime minister and many of his dutch to many

his name is synonymous with the development of the city state. we look back at his life. lee kuan yew is often called shanghai's founding father. he limited through financial uncertainty -- led through financial uncertainty to independence in 1965. three his three decades rule, the position singapore to be one of asia's biggest successes with a simple guiding philosophy. lee: i want to make sure that this place always commands confidence and brings in talent. with investments and talent we will prosper. a lawyer by training, he emphasized pro-business policies and moved the population out of slums, molding them into a workforce and

returning of the nation into a regional business of and one of the world's largest wealth management centers. : in 2010, singapore over to the malaysian economy. the over the malaysian economy. k the malaysian economy. haslinda: despite rapid developments, lee was aware of vulnerability. because theyried are the new leaders of the population of the whole, they do not realize the small base on which it is built undertake liberties with it, it can go down quickly. haslinda: as the economy opened, control of some aspects of life

tightened including freedom of speech. critics accused lee of being overly authoritarian. the people's action party as governor singapore for five decades. singapore for five -- has are governed governed singapore for five decades. asians likened to another key figure, minister mohammed. neighboringof the nations often did not see our july. reporter: he was the number one critic so i said, what do you think of this guy? is small pond and mayor of a tiny city but then he paused and said, he is one of the outstanding political thinkers of our time. haslinda: lee kuan yew,

pragmatists, visionary. rishaad: dallas has haslinda amin. we can get -- that was has haslinda amin. haslinda: there has been reaction coming from across the world. the u.s. is saddened by the death and australia says that singapore has lost the leader that guided it for 30 years and neighboring malaysia since the deepest condolences to the people. the prime minister says his prayers and thoughts are with the country and as a sign of respect, singapore will announce a seven day morning. then -- morning period. the body will then lie in state at parliament house for the public to pay respect untils saturday. the funeral will be on sunday. lee said heago,

would like his ashes to be mixed with those of his wife died three years ago and the ashes placed side-by-side with her at the burial mound. i want to take you to what his son has to say. us, give uspired courage, kept us together, and brought us here. independence -- fought for our independence and made us proud to be singaporeans. we will not see another man like him. too many singaporeans and others lee kuan yew was singapore. haslinda: the country mourns the loss of lee kuan yew. haslinda,he thing is,

his influence went way beyond singapore, didn't it? haslinda: he was known to be a visionary, well respected by peers elsewhere in the world so it is most apprise prize his influence goes well beyond singapore. china, they used singapore as an economic model for china. the cap the expertise to open tapped their- he expertise to open the chinese market and they were close friends. china sends high-ranking officials to singapore for training for various things including learning about the public housing system. singapore moved its people from to public housing, 90% of the population now homeowners. china is one of several countries in the region learning from the experiences of singapore, rish. will have more

reactions throughout the day on bloomberg including a special show coming up midday singapore. we have a special screening of one of the major interviews with 2011, you cann caps off that at 12:30 hong kong singapore time -- catch that 12:30 hong kong and singapore time. this is just one of these sectors facing a downturn, details coming your way next. ♪

reporter: these are the stories making headlines around the world. lee kuan yew has died. he was suffering from pneumonia. was a university trained lawyer who led a singapore from

1959 through independence in 1965. he encouraged foreign investment, attacked corruption, -- his son has been prime minister. yemen is being pushed into a civil war. this came as rebels seized to be third-largest city -- seized the third-largest city. the un's special envoy to yemen warned of a protracted conflict like those that have erupted in iraq and syria. the u.s. has withdrawn all forces from yemen. senator ted cruz will announce his campaign for president later on today, becoming the first major republican to officially join the race. he has set a fundraising goal of as much as $50 million in the primaries.

he is likely to face former governor jeb bush, chris and scott walker. none of them have formally declared yet. rishaad: we had a protest reject over the weekend about so-called parallel traders from china. it happened at a railway station near the border and tensions have been high with the number of chinese people going to hong kong to stock up on supplies like baby formula pushing up prices. china is considering limiting the number of day trips to hong kong to ease tensions. david went to the border to find out about the issues. revolutionumbrella morphing into milk powder mayhem? citizens of the border towns are lashing out at mainland shoppers and parallel importers who go

back over the border, snapping up in demand items like infant formula. is an example it of mainlanders overwhelming infrastructure and driving up the cost of living and claimed the local government turns a blind eye. interview: the conflicts have come to a point of explosion david:. david: even the street corner interview sparked a heated exchange as passersby jumped .nto the debate interview: we cannot just take .ut the chinese no one honors would do this. david: -- on earth would do this. david: chinese visitors are getting the message. interview: all of my friends do not want to come, they are worried it will get attacked. david: and herein lies the

dilemma when an economic influx turns into an applet -- anti-chinese reflux. a recent interview shows how conflicted the people are about mainland visitors. the percent of respondents say they are against the protests but on the other hand, 60% said that mainland visitors caused inconvenience. another 66% or two thirds of respondents said they would like to see the individual visits game reduced -- visit scheme reduced. interview: hong kong relies on tourism. people will from china being afraid to come, no one wants that. interview: if the hong kong government is not doing anything, they will be on the streets. they should not be targeting tourists. many of his generation believe the hong kong government is not looking out for their

interests and is merely carrying out the agenda from beijing. interview: they do not want the revolution to happen again. if we do not do something now it will be doomed. here's after the handover, integration seems to be the stiffest challenge yet. spring has sprung in hong kong but as far as china, the outlook is chilly at best. bad because of the campaign against corruption and tourism is looking bad. the head of china research is with me now. parallel trading represents tourism which is something that is the lifeblood of hong kong. wouldn't you agree? the last 10 years, hong kong has been supported by finance and chinese related tourism.

this is 1% gdp growth for hong kong. with all the factors you have mentioned, the slowdown in china and mainland tourists who have been to hong kong wants and want to go to other places, that will be a big difference in the hong kong economy. is, why the question such concern about the outlook for the economy? vincent: i think a key problem is that the manufacturing sector of hong kong only accounts for of gdp.n 2% compared to singapore or shanghai or beijing, the big city economy. the hong kong economy is very hollow, focused on one or two things. one of the major driver is mainland tourism. based on our estimation, one third of growth comes from mainland tourists. rishaad: let's put it this way,

what about manufacturing? this was a sector that relied on manufacturing at one point. vincent: i think from the 70's and 80's onward, manufacturers moved to the mainland. the hong kong government has not to get the high-end manufacturing and hong kong. i do not see manufacturing activities here anymore. rishaad: jensen, there is another aspect to this. you have a lot of people here who own factories. they have outsourced it. vincent: it then has no impact. hong kong it is employment because it is the owner taking the profit back to hong kong. rishaad: they are exported often. vincent: increasingly less. but without a manufacturing base

it is difficult for high-tech research and commercial business, there is no high-tech research in hong kong. in the university they have done a lot but you do not see that in commercial, you do not have manufacturing capacity. you say the economy is hollowed out because of tourism falling and financial services also. vincent: that is better, still in good shape. the concept of rule of law, hong kong is very competitive as a financial capital. rishaad: that is something to be optimistic about. vincent: there is something but it is not enough to drive the economy particularly employment. the financial sector does not employ a lot of people. rishaad: the anticorruption doesaign, what affect that have on tourism as opposed to people being afraid to go there and have the ire of cantonese people.

affects two major areas. number one is macau business and the second is high-end retail and hong kong. you expect a lot of the high-end retailers in hong kong related to people buying gifts for themselves or for their friends in the government. and this has been affected. this is one thing. power traders, effectively, number one, you're right, they are partly affected. you also see a new development. they can actually buy the foreign goods through the internet in china. this is a new development in overtime i think in a few years time, i thinker in a few years time. rishaad: how does that relate -- you are so negative on it all on

hong kong stocks, you look at the shares. is that if you look at the hong kong market, the hong kong stock market. about half of them are chinese stocks. they are globalized hong kong companies. then you have another 25% of property developers, retail landlords who will be affected. beinggaming stocks affected. rishaad: vincent, thank you for coming on the program. .incent from credit sunnis we have to take a brett -- break but we will find out when we come back what online has been saying about singapore's founding father. ♪

20 of reaction to the

death of lee kuan yew on social media. zebrter: i am standing with talking about the reaction, world leaders are talking about it. zeb: from washington to london and foreign ministers weighing in, we have john kerry on twitter and take a look at what he has to say stop deeply , some of theky wisest counsel. the un's secretary-general, ban ki-moon releasing the statement on twitter earlier today, i am .eeply saddened by the death offering condolences to the people of singapore. we have heard this from other leaders as well, new zealand's prime minister this morning. he called lee kuan yew a man of rare qualities unified singaporeans. this is one of the biggest elements of his legacy and his loss will be deeply felt. and finally, david cameron.

singapore and the u.k., the history well known. street,ent from downing lee kuan yew was always a friend to britain if sometimes a critical one. sherry: we are looking at world leader reactions. talking about the legacy he has left behind. one person tweeting that he woke up this morning because of alerts from his cell phone that he had passed away, saying goodbye lky. another person talking about how he was born into when a rut of stability and did not have to go and arrest of stability and did not have to go through what singapore went through. singapore celebrating the 50th birthday of singapore and people saying that they are celebrating but nonetheless he will be missed. it is a pity he could not live to see that through. a lot of reaction from social

media. back to you. foraad: coming up, the case the latest poster to use the reserve currency. --s is "charlie rose "trending business. ♪

rishaad: it is monday, the 23rd of march and this is "trending business." ♪ we are live in singapore. there is a look at what we are watching this morning. ofgapore announcing a week national mourning for lee kuan yew who has been suffering from pneumonia. he was singapore's father and guided them from a colonial trading post to a global success story.

he played a prominent role in politics for more than 50 years. china saying he was a unique statesman and we will not be seeing his like again. follow me on twitter. do not forget to include the .trendingbusiness we will have over to jakarta but here is david with a look at what is going on. games we are looking at across the board with the exception of australia with property seeing pressure pulling down that index. being said, it is a rally across the mark, an extension of wall street on friday. jakarta getting underway. 5%, philippines .4%. shanghai a strong session. hong kong and shanghai or big movers. .- our big movers

what we saw on friday was the biggest single day drop in the dollar index in several months. it did a few things. analysts are pointing to volatility is markets perhaps continue -- as markets perhaps continue to price in a gradual normalization in interest rates in the u.s.. we see it at 97.92. received a bit of the reverse. most are giving against the dollar but the philippines worsened, a big drop. the biggest weekly drop in a year. this is on the back of slowing growth in the overseas. the overseas filipino workers.

the pace was slowing. strength,are seeing .4%. we will leave it there. rishaad: the top story, the death of lee kuan yew. haslinda amin joins us there. the tributes are pulling -- pouring in. they are coming in from all across the world. from the prime minister of australia and even malaysia. he has come out to say that thoughts and prayers are with the country. lee kuan yew passed on, he was 91, and here is what his son, the current prime minister has to say. : singapore was his abiding passion, he gave of himself in

full measure. as he himself did towards the end of the slot -- put it towards the end of his life, and i quote "i have spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. there is nothing else i need to do. at the end of the day, what have i got? a successful singapore. what have i given up? my life." haslinda: i am joined by the ceo and founder. thank you for joining us. it is such a deep loss for the country. guest: the sands of soberness, you can really feel in singapore. -- sense of soberness, you can really feel it in singapore will stop -- singapore. haslinda: is it surprising? the young people that were never under the policies of lee kuan

yew. ho: it is revealing because it is hard to know what young people will feel because in social media they are more critical of government and have very little personal connection with lee kuan yew. but i think in the hole following of his failing -- whole following of his failing health and passing away, there is a true sense that singapore has lost someone that made singaporeans proud of who they were. there is truly a sense of salamis across the country. across thess country. haslinda: it was a political giant, what is the legacy? : the legacy will be examined in many ways and it was not lee himself, it was the generation of pioneers but he was the leader and giant of them. is an economic issues

and local governance but more than anything else, and why young people feel the sense of loss, is because, and i think someone said it well. you can be a singaporean today anywhere in the world and you are respected. when you mention your singaporean, they may make fun of the anti-religion laws, this or that, but you are never derided, you are always respected. because they know singapore is what it is today. so that sense of pride in being singaporean is what has resulted in the sense of loss. this is a man that made all of us proud of we are. haslinda: singapore has transformed from the early days into a first world economy. you would expect singapore to change forever with the passing -- do you expect singapore to change again with the passing?

ho: i think the values he has left will carry singapore for a long time. i think many aspects will change, the singapore of his generation and mine and my but the's must change foundations i do not think will change because it is not only the has built an edifice that will collapse after him. buildings can collapse and economies can go down but the sense of values that i think very few of us recognize were really what he instilled in all singaporeans, these values are seeing in my children and my children's friend. i do not think that will go away. haslinda: the current prime minister is the son of lee kuan yew. do you think you have stepped out of the shadow? ho: yes, i think he has. i think he has enormous respect

and likability among younger people. clearly people respect him for the fact that he has devoted his .ntire life to public service in his life is a totally open book. i think he has stepped out of his father's shadow. that collectively, singaporeans have stepped out of his father's shadow and it is the sense that we are on our way towards our own journey that sensely has added to the of respect and loss. it is not as if mr. lee kuan yew is still very telling us what to do, it is because he has done so much to tell us what to do in his prime that we have learned it. collectively, students who have gone beyond the teacher. children who have grown beyond the parent. it is when you have grown beyond it that you look back and you

feel that sense of gratitude, pride, and loss. haslinda: you are a businessman and you were once a journalist and student activist. you had a brush with authorities. looking back in your experiences with lee kuan yew in your -- and his government, what are your thoughts? my thoughts are that you can have disagreements with lee kuan yew. the one thing that you can never be in doubt about is his total selfless devotion to singapore. and that devotion can result in policies one may disagree with but that passion that he has, people talk about the pragmatism of lee kuan yew but i think that would be actually giving insufficient praise to the man as if he was just pragmatic.

i think this man was incredibly idealistic, incredibly passionate, and incredibly emotional. it is just in the implementation of policies, he took a very pragmatic approach. i think his passion, his idealism, is so overwhelmingly felt that you may be a critic of his policies but you can only deeply respect the man for everything he has done. and the personal sacrifices in terms of a happy and simple life . the sacrifices he has made i isnk for the nation something that everyone, including current opposition party people, are totally grateful for. in that sense, he is truly the founder of the nation. not just the head of a political party, he founded modern singapore as we know it and he gave a deep and abiding sense of identity to all of us in

singapore. whennda: the himself said asked what he was achieved that he has achieved a successful singapore. and what he sacrificed was his lifetime and there was nothing else he could do. because he had given it all. can this singapore go through the challenges in the next 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 years? ho i: for 1 am absolutely confident that we can. ho: i for one am absolutely confident that we can. i think we will succeed because we will follow his dictum, we will be paranoid. we will not stand on our supers and complacency -- hubris and complacency and think with mr. lee's success in building

singapore, life is easy. you will find so many singaporeans of my generation telling children about how horrible singapore is. one of the honorable singapore is. one of the lessons is -- singapore is. one of the lessons is that we in fact are very vulnerable. abilitysense of wonder which brings up -- it is the sense of vulnerability that brings us together. haslinda: thank you for your insights. rish, a nation in mourning. detailed look at the story across the breadth of the show. we do want your opinions, please take us your thoughts. include #trendingbusiness as well. we have the roundup.

reporter: we are taking a look at three different companies that are facing some challenges. scrapped the plan to branch out into solar power. the company said that the current timing is immature to enter into solar power. sherry: they say that no funds have been spent on the business. the company specialized as real estate and gary and local media ry and they reported that the company was going to vote projects in the northern city. data shows that the projects would have been 20% of china's total installed solar capacity at the end of 2014. another company facing challenges, noble, asia's largest commodity traders starting legal action against a itself research

for the latest report that it calls it accurate and misleading. they alleged accounting irregularities at noble, hitting shares which have dropped wiping one $5 billion in stock market value. noble says it will begin legal action in the hong kong high court for conspiracy. let's take a look at nissan because u.s. regulators are investigating if nissan failed despiteerobatic defects a recall. --y received 124 complaints airbag defects despite a recall will stop they received 124 complaints. lead to a failure of the airbag to deploy during a crash. back to you. rishaad: later on the program, a

massive overhaul at india's central bank. we had to mumbai for the potential changes. coming up after the break, crude realities, posting the lowest profit since the lehman collapse. details when we return phone call -- return. ♪

rishaad: the story we are following, the collapsing commodity prices in china. why profits are plunging at asia's biggest refiner. nothing like this since lehman. have not seen those since the financial crisis. annual profits down 30% last year and it could get worse. zeb: analysts say that profits

could plunge 80% due to the decline in oil prices. in new york and london, down by half since last year. big impact on companies like sijnnopec, unable to withstand forces used up -- forces. the benchmark trading. this is a sharp decline from a year ago and is playing out directly in the earnings of the largest oil producers. as ofairman of sinopec the company will shift the focus to sustainable sources of energy and renewable resources as the volatility in the market continues. s --rice -- one break one bright spot, prices at the pump in the united states and china will be helped.

rishaad: china is campaigning to become theuan reserve currency. let's get it over to beijing, christine. they were not scheduled to talk about this, or that? -- were they? christine: he was meant to talk about monetary policy but it was a discussion as to why he wanted to talk about the internationalization of the yuan. he wants the imf to include the yuan in a basket which includes four currencies. dollar, euro, japanese yen, and pound sterling. in 2010 the imf said the yuan was not a viable currency because it was not freely usable. so we talked about making it more so.

he talked about making a convertible by the end of the year. institutional investment programs. and freeing up investments overseas. china has since opened up free-trade zones and the stock market, and there are many more yuan denominated stocks on the global market. in return they say that the comments are welcome and the yuan clearly belongs to the bankers. it is a five-year plan for china and the imf. rishaad: thank you indeed for that, christine in beijing. reporter: these are stories making headlines across the world. the united nations say that yemen is headed for civil war. sherry: this is the latest blow to the embattled president who fled the capital last month and set up an interim capital. the special envoy warned of a

protected conflict like those in iran and syria and libya. the u.s. has withdrawn forces from yemen. texas senator ted cruz will announce a campaign for president later today, becoming the first major republican joining the race. he has set a fundraising goal to as much as $50 million in the primaries. he will face former florida governor jeb bush, new jersey's chris christie. they are all expected to run have not formally declared yet. singapore's founding father lee kuan yew has died at the age of 91. he has been suffering from pneumonia and his condition worsened over the weekend. he was a lawyer who love singapore from 1959 through independence in 1965 until standing down in 1990. he encouraged foreign investment and attacked corruption.

his eldest son has been prime minister since 2004. rishaad: next week week get reaction to the death of lee kuan yew, see what people are saying about the passing of singapore's founding father. ♪

rishaad: a look at what is happening on social media to see

what is popular. zeb andi am here with we are taking a look at how social media is reacting to the death of lee kuan yew. zeb: leaders from around the world weighing in on the death of singapore's first premier. he transformed the company to an economic miracle and provided counsel to leaders like john kerry, the u.s. secretary of state, seeing some of the wisest counsel he received came from lee kuan yew himself. the un's secretary-general, through a spokesman, become one thing he is deeply saddened. the prime minister, he called him a man of rare qualities reunify the singaporeans, a lasting element of his legacy. and finally, a singapore member

of the commonwealth, and david cameron with a statement from number 10 downing street, he was always a friend to britain if sometimes a critical one and many british prime minister's benefited from his wise advice. margaret thatcher one of his admirers. the generals also public expressing grief, not just in singapore but people who used to live in singapore, one person saying that they live there in the 90's and marble at what was accomplished in a marvel at what was accomplished in a generation. to the death,g wondering what singapore will be without mr. to the death, wondering what singapore will be without mr. lee. they have doubts about how singapore will move forward, another person tweeting that the city will have to reinvent itself. but of course this year is the 50th birthday of singapore so people are expected to celebrate over a four-day weekend so

people have been saying they will be looking forward to the that without lee kuan yew that will be a challenge -- but without lee kuan yew that will be a challenge. lee kuan yew faced criticism during his tenure, also talking about that and singapore 50, celebrations, and how it will be without mr. lee there. that is a look at what was trending today. back to you. rishaad: let's tell you what we have after the right. looking at nissan, facing a new investigation into faulty airbags. we do over to tokyo and get the latest. ♪ -- go over to tokyo and get the latest ♪.

but the look at our top stories. ordinary people are paying respect to singapore's founding father. a week of national mourning has been declared. yew adent obama called lee true giant. asian stocks starting the week higher. extending a index six-month high. hong kong and shanghai also

gaining while the us trillion afx is the only regional -- a ustralian and the only one to dip slightly. facts something for the -- >> something for the bulls to put their hats on. finding itself in the red. financials on the way down. the currency is up. you have yields coming up. the tenure on the way down. on to japan, i want to point out three stocks for you. good news out of test results for the drug aimed at treating alzheimer's.

biogen will likely be splitting if the drug is successful. talks they might stick with the 9% stake. the stocks fell. there is a report this morning high -- hont han hai will be proposing this as early as next month. a spokeswoman for sharp they thickly saying if foxconn wants forestart talks investment at 550 in a share, startre prepared to talking. they have received a formal request.

it's up to you. last, we look at three holdings. we are up 5.5%. dividends, buybacks, and they are racing the for your dividends from five into seven yen. away from japan, two in taiwan and one in south korea, reflective of what is happening. 6%.top a record high for the second straight day. analysts,cross 29 overwhelming by. -- buy. pou chen a drop in profit. in south korea dropped. that is according to one analyst

covering the stock. back to you. >> we're going to have a look. singapore's first prime minister. for many the name is synonymous with the birth and development of the city state. kuan yew is often called singapore's founding father. during his more than three singaporee, he helped become one of the biggest economic successes with a single guiding philosophy. >> i want to make sure it brings in talent. with investments and talent we will prosper.

>> the emphasized pro-business policy. he molded population into a well-educated workforce, driving the small nation to become a regional business hub and one of the largest foreign exchange and wealth management centers. >> in 2010, singapore actually the malaysian economy. this is quite an achievement when we think about not only the size of singapore but the fact that when malaysia separated from singapore, the idea was we back on theirome terms. >> despite singapore's rapid development, he was always acutely aware of its vulnerabilities. because if they are the new leaders of the notlation as a whole, we do realize the small base on which this is built, and they take

liberties so they can go down quickly. >> as the economy opens, controls of some aspects of life tightened, from family planning to freedom of speech. critics accused lee of being overly authoritarian. the people's action party has governed singapore for more than five decades. after stepping down as prime minister, his influence continued. lee served as senior minister after being appointed in the cabinet of his son. lee was often likened to another of asia's key figures. malaysia's former prime minister, and the leaders of the neighboring nations often did not see eye to eye. dr.he number one critic was m, so i went up and said, what

do you think of this guy? a small pondish in and mayor of this tiny city. i looked at him and said, he is one of the outstanding figures of our time. , visionary.yew >> the city state's beginning a week of national mourning for the men seen as the founding father. southeasto our correspondent. tributes are pouring in from around the world. haslinda: from australia to malaysia, but also from its own people. remember that lee kuan yew he govern for 30 years. however you look at lee kuan yew , how worse a critic are you? you have to acknowledgment the

contribution he has made. >> in 50 years, singapore's per capita income has increased 100 fold. he took a fishing village and made it one of the most open societies on earth. a very strong institution and a asia.model to the rest of i think part of his legacy is the influence on the rest of the region. haslinda: is there a sense singapore might not be transforming fast enough? that's a good question. he said, we have gotten this far. stage is going to require something different, and are we moving fast enough to get there? that is still an open question. haslinda: has singapore prepared for a future without lee kuan yew?

>> they know what they need to do. they have a program putting money into research and development and trying to revamp the education system, to make it more creative. they need to be bolder about where they are going. haslinda: that is economically. it's also challenging politically. , no longeroutspoken politically apathetic. exactly. that is something they have to deal with. they were shocked by the election results. it would be a mistake for them to underestimate that. younger singaporeans have new demands. they are much more open than the rest of the world. they are not going to put up with the same systems their parents did. saying there some ruling party will continue to lose support?

is that the sense you are getting? nisid: i think it's inevitable. haslinda: it will lose its dominance? >> i'm not sure it will lose its dominance. it wouldn't be the worst ring in the world for the party to come back and revitalize. powery who has been in this long it gets stagnant. you need to be challenge from outside. haslinda: singapore gained prominence partly because of lee kuan yew. will its importance diminished? nisid: the international profile may diminish. be justlyat and will celebrated all week, but it's been half a century. singapore needs to write a new chapter. that is good to be up to his successors. haslinda: a nation in mourning.

days in mourning starting today, right through sunday, when the funeral will be held. back thanks very much for that. more reaction to the death of lee kuan yew throughout the day, including a special show at midday hong kong time. then we have a special screening of one of his last major interviews with charlie rose. you can catch that half an hour later. a quick look at some of the other stories we are watching. disclosed annual profit. net income missing estimates, down almost 30% to $7.5 billion, amid the collapse in crude oil prices. this is asia's biggest oil refinery. up innot expected to pick the quarter. it is inspecting a significant decrease in profit if euro crisis and inventory costs. the national chemical

corporation is closing in. china has agreed to buy of p irelli's major investor. italy has been looking to china for investment as it suffers with the second largest debt in europe. will remain face in italy after the field. say the5% of economists japanese economy is extending from the previous survey. most respondents cited the weekend. none of the 145 surveyed said they felt the economy was worsening. u.s. regulators are looking into whether nissan failed to fix a flaw in its airbags. let's go to craig in tokyo. what is the problem this time?

craig: we talked about airbags last year. that mostly had to do with a problem with the inflator in the air bag. this is related to a software flaw that will eventually detect there is no one in the passenger seat when in fact there may be someone in that seat and therefore lead to the airbag failing to deploy. that's obviously a big problem if you are in an accident. this is a most one million vehicles nissan recalled last year that the regulator is looking into to determine whether or not they need to do more to fix this flaw. rishaad: why have they started this investigation? craig: they say they have 124 complaints from owners of the vehicles who are saying even

after going into have the dealer make this fix to the software flaw, problem still persists. there is one complaint in particular on the website where the owner is very upset with the fact that his wife sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle he owns still fails to knowledge his wife is in the seat and essentially complaining that puts her at risk in the event of an accident, so nhtsa has real band a sort of -- we reope a look into this. a break. have to take up next, anger in hong kong over these protests.

>> foreign ministers said three countries would work together to improve relations. anti-japan sentiment in korea and china have grown sharply over what they see as japan's attempts to obscure military history. enter anuclear talks explosive week. john kerry said they are not at the finish line, but they have the opportunity to get there. the issues include how much atomic capacity i ran can keep, inspections, and when and how quickly sanction should be lifted. sarkozy has set the stage for a possible run after leading a

it iserformance. suggested the allies pushed the national front into second place with socialists coming third. recent surveys have put sarkozy ahead of francois hollande. the second round of votes will be held on sunday. outaad: a protest broke about parallel traders from china. railwaypened near a station. feelings have been running high about people who come to stock up on supplies and pushing up prices. china is considering limiting the number of tourists to hong kong to ease tensions on both sides. engle went to find out about the issues behind the protest. stephen: is the umbrella revolution morphing into milk powder they hem? and activists in the border towns -- milk powder mayhem?

the activists in the border towns cracking down on those who snap up in demand items like infant formula. protesters say it is another example of mainlanders overwhelming infrastructure and driving up the cost of living in hong kong. governmentthe local turns a blind eye. but they have come to the point of explosion at a critical point. a exchange.view >> we cannot kick out the chinese. he is are getting the message. >> they are worried they will .et beaten

i have to come to get powder for my baby. dilemma herein lies the when the influx turns into a reflux. a recent survey shows how conflicted the people are about mainland visitors. on the one hand about 50% of responded said they heard against the protest. said mainland visitors cause inconvenience to their lives. another 66% or two thirds of respondents said they would like to see the individuals reduced. >> i am against the protests. economy relies on tourism. visitors are afraid to come. >> the responsibility goes to government. if the hong kong government is , they willnything take to the streets. everyone thinks people of hong

kong are not welcoming tourists. >> many believe the hong kong government is not looking out for their interest in that they are nearly -- merely hurrying out the long-term agenda from beijing. >> they don't want the revolution to happen again. we felix we don't do anything we don't feel that if do something now it is going to be brutal. stephen: it seems to be the stiffest challenge. rishaad:, we had to mumbai. -- we head to mumbai. ♪

>> india's central bank is set to release the biggest overhaul in an 18 year history including a rate commission.

very good morning to you. what do we know about this exactly? changes ishe biggest the agreement reached between the finance ministry as well as the bank of india. lower inflation to 6%. of the r.b.i. will be in charge of monetary policy and shall determine a monetary rate as well as any other measures. betweenment was signed the government and the r.b.i., where they were required to make public statements and a document explaining inflation. the overhaul also seeks to establish an executive likely to be made responsible with

executing the central banks reform agenda. going to bee is called the monetary policy committee. government appointed committee suggested a seven-member team likely to be used in the rarest of rare cases hasile an r.b.i. committee been suggested as a five-member team. we will have to wait and see how this plays out, but a lot of reforms being tried. you, sunanda. >> all eyes were on singapore following the death of its leader, lee kuan yew. there has been an outpouring on social media with people talking about the nationstate.

have been sending out their condolences. tweeting heki-moon is deeply saddened by the death of lee kuan yew. u.s. secretary of state john kerry also expressing condolences he is deeply for its role in the world, saying he provided some of the wisest counsel he ever received. president obama paid tribute through a white house press statement, calling him a giant of history. there has been reaction from the general public, one person saying he is an admirable statesman, trans forming prime minister of the nationstate. people are talking about his legacy, about the system he created in singapore. one other person talking about how the system worked because singapore is a small nationstate. back to you. rishaad: that's it for this edition. asia edge is going to be next. we will be recapping the big

stories of the day. the top one is the passing of lee kuan yew, the man who guided singapore's transformation. the scene as people continue to commemorate his life. ♪

haslinda: singapore remembers lee kuan yew. the man who built a nation has of 91. the age ♪ lee was success story, as the height of singapore politics for 30 years. his son announced a week of national mourning. he said, we won't see lee's like again.

>> having a look at the other main stories, the regional for a sixthsing straight day. the top anchor surprising the imf for -- with a direct repeal for the yuan to become a global currency. on this leadership of "asia edge." >> the run continues for five days for the asia-pacific benchmark. we back to the levels of early september last year. if you put these five days together that's the biggest five-day jump, going back to february of 2014. it may have