collusion. popular mobilet --saging service preparing follow me on twitter. don't forget to include the hashtag. >> let me start off with the aussie dollar. a little bit of a miss. contracts and. contractions. that is where the pain is being felt. citing the weakness in the property sector in china. not a lot of reaction there. even with the equities markets,

nothing there. to give you a sense which direction the market is going. taiwan is falling. not surprising. $4.7 billion being pumped in. 1.33. down about japan is doing well. policy begins the meeting today. they are considering upgrading their assessment of the economy. if so, that would be the first upgrade since the summer of 2013. we are on a five-day run for the nikkei to achieve a high. been falling. fourth day now. the japan affect, panasonic for example. doing well in japan. it has not been a good market across the region. what else do we have? australia.

we talked about the currency. up 0.75 percent. it has gone the other way of markets in the region. basically snapping that decline. as we mentioned, some headwinds for that economy. iron ore or, we talk about this. it is coming back now. copper is on the way up. will prices static at this point. anchor: the latest check on the factory shows manufacturing remains sluggish. does this pmi change the picture chinese economy? >> another soft pmi index.

it is continuing to slow. we saw positive signs in the real estate sector. huget the same time, the inventory overhang. not many signs of green shoots in the chinese economy. more policy to see action by the authorities. to keep pushing banks to lend the more red that is vital to keep credit flowing. course, on the other hand, more interest rate cuts and liquidity measures are likely from the people's bank of china. i think we are at a juncture where we are not seeing any traction yet in china's economy.

further policy steps are likely to go forward. think we might see a pickup in china's economy. it remains suspended in hong kong trading, after the value was almost have. for are under investigation market manipulation. we have more details. reporter: no word from them yet. it remains suspended. after plunging 47%. it is worth mentioning, even with the plunge, it is valued at 21 billion dollars. that shows how much it soared in the past. is vigor than mitsubishi. soaring in the past year. there has been a lot of talk

about the business performance. not justifying how much the stock has surged the past year. accounting practices are not have beend, or there questions about their accounting practices. also, we have been hearing that 61% of the sales come from their company. questions there, too. there are reports that it is working with unproven technology. only solar stock that has seen such a bumpy ride. we saw earlier, another green energy company sort of 20% after plunging earlier because of may not be able to pay its debt. solar stocks in china, the

analysts say it suggests how fragile the chinese solar power market is. with the debt load as well as oversupply. back to you. we will have a more detailed look at that story later. we want your opinions. do please, tweet us your thoughts. some of the other stories making headlines today. the five some of inggest names in bank have admitted rigging the markets. they will pay nearly $6 billion in penalties. the governments have granted waivers to allow them to keep operating, even with a thorny plea. one of the key demands. the u.s. banks involved can put the misconduct of behind them. black eye for the

industry, especially as banks plead guilty to criminal conduct. legal experts are warning this could be the tip of the iceberg. so, we saw a muted reaction to financial shares on wednesday's financial trade. the minutes from the fed suggest a rate hike is not imminent but does not rule out the possibility later in the year. several members are skeptical the data will support the need for a hike. there are also concerns among board members for a possible taper tantrum. ad officials have concluded slowdown was unlikely to persist. they are concerned about consumer spending which makes up two thirds of the u.s. economy. as one economist to told bloomberg, it appears they are frustrated with the anemic

performance. janet yellen is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook in rhode island. greece has confirmed it will default in the next two weeks unless they get more bailout funds. athens will not be able to make apayment in early june unless deal is made. they say the government's priority is salaries and pensions rather than the loan to repayment. payments tontinuing the imf. we will keep you posted. rishaad: another story. the hong kong property development testing the city's luxury housing sector. coming up later on, the vision for 2020 committee malaysia preparing to share details of developed nation

status in five years. more on that coming up. plus, spotify taking on video content. could this be a game changer for the music streaming business? ♪

spotify is taking on apple and youtube by adding video content. they had 60 million users. they are looking for video to accelerate ad growth. the new york times said ads provided only 10 percent of their revenue in 2013. >> what is cool about what we are doing is the way the new part complements and extends the core music experience. we believe it will keep music happy and engaged.

they will also listen to more music as a result. plus, it is awesome content that adds all you to the spotify experience. that adds value to the spotify experience. rishaad: thank you for joining us, andrew. let's start off with a space that is crowded. in the videole business. what makes spotify think they can survive? rishaad: good morning -- andrew: good morning. thank you for having me. et is the inevitabl move of a business that targets subscribers. toy can use video content leverage increased advertising spend. help people to use modified as a service not just to find music

that to find video content. inhaad: what are they doing another sense? are they broadening what they they perhaps look for an set strategy, which means they could be bought out by another company? generalthere is a feeling, and james murdoch has gone on press saying this from a 20th century fox, that all content will be streamed in the future. if you take that as a starting point, spotify which is a content streaming business, felt it was inevitable to go into video. -- the paid model is under some pressure. free subscribers, advertiser funded, generate $.40-$.50 a month. content allowso

them to attract more users and advertising spend. uplift the free aspects a while targeting exclusive deals around content that might entice people to move to the paid platform. ultimately which should generate a higher share of revenue for spotify, the business. creating underlying profitability which goes to making me is just more attractive for an ipo. rishaad: going to video, or they have toaudio, take on the likes of jay-z. also beats from apple, which are likely to be dominant players. title, the jay-z model, is subscription only. are dealsare doing

with artist's for exclusive content. that entices people to pay the premium. apple is relaunching a service in the next few weeks. they have the advantage of the loading and via their operating system onto mobile. in one sense, it is a defensive move for spotify to make sure they are not attracted to other platforms by virtue of a better offering. what about the core user base of spotify? how do you think they will react to this change? rew: they are probably at the moment ambivalent about video, in terms of the core fans, the millenial. spotify also bought 80 data mining business. that plays into what the

announcement focused on. a new user interface. it is essentially that of spotify as a service will follow you during the course of your day, learn what you listen to do, and you want to serve you content that plays to your interests at a given time of a. that is quite clever technology. to enabling better targeted advertising which theates more dollars to business for spotify. a win-win for them in terms of keeping the customer happy and also the advertisers, right? andrew: i think that is right. they have done a huge number of deals, from disney to a&e networks. essentially, the attractiveness for a content owner is, this is get theirform to

content to users, consumers. i think the deals they will be striking around that will be sharing in the advertising revenue. it is a revenue stream for spotify. it is a revenue stream for the content owners. win around, seeing as a win- for brands that like to advertise. they have a new channel for a new user base of spotify consumers. all around, i think this makes sense. done thehave they right deals with content partners? what do they look like? andrew: i do not have the visibility on the underlying deals. are probably confidential, even if i did. ae likely structure is it is win-win for the content partner and spotify. spotify passes through a large percentage, 80%, to the music

industry majors in terms of who content providers are. if they can strike deals with video content providers and that entices people to subscribe, or indeed attract more people, all around it strengthens their this bottle -- business model. rishaad: andrew, thank you very much. are the stories making headlines around the world. havesia and indonesia agreed to offer temporary shelter to vote people fleeing bangladesh. all sides except a humanitarian crisis is unfolding and call on the international community to do more. the philippines was the first country to accept the refugees. it is feared thousands of people are stranded on boats at sea.

ofar has been accused failing to honor promises. there have been extreme restrictions on movement. their legal system limits the ability of workers to complain. hundreds have died there in the last two years. north korea says they have the ability to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile. they say the military has mastered the technology and is upgrading their technology. this came days after they submarine have tested launched missiles. the u.s. cast doubt on the claim, saying it was more likely from an underwater barge. where is the button to

change the channel? we will take a look right after this. ♪

shery having a look at what is trending on social media. reporter: we are following the g e of this guy who flew a

restrictedn airspace. eyewitnesses captured in landing. bywas quickly apprehended capitol police, secret service, and the fbi getting involved. he is facing multiple lateral charges that could land him in jail for nine years. y: nine years in jail for flying this? to call: he was trying attention to government waste. here is what he wrote on twitter. i hear congress is appropriating billion dollars for a giant high-tech flyswatter to be installed on the top of the washington monument.

if you look at what other people are writing, one of the charges he has been hauled in is using a instrument.l he mounted a postal service logo on the back of his copter. he has been charged with using the postal service's logo and identity falsely. y: that is another charge he is facing. reporter: that is the sony. -- that is a felony. shery: pretty lighthearted for such charges. i am taking a look at the new wallpaper television. woman is holding it up. paper thin. look at that. less than one millimeter. 0.97 millimeters, to be exact. 55 inches diagonally.

it is so light, it can be held up with magnets. this is new technology. it is much pricier than that of technology we are seeing today. we don't know when it will become available to the public. people are saying, in a few years, this could be the future. tony starksaying, has several in his garage bathroom. isn't it great we are going to face a future where we are dealing with ironman technology? another person saying, we are already in the future. lg tv practically wallpaper. these were thought high-tech. y: not anymore. people are going to be holding televisions in front of us when we are broadcasting. pretty cool. eporter: fascinating what

people talk about on twitter. been: this article has shared thousands of times. twitter has been buzzing with this. we are going to take a break. tell you what is coming up next. therating solar power when sun goes down. a special report from italy. the implications of the latest reading on chinese manufacturing. innding business is back two. ♪

[beeping] ooo come on everybody, i think this is my grandson. [lip syncing] ♪little girl you look so lonesome oh my goodness. ♪i see you are feeling blue ♪come on over to my place

♪hey girl ♪we're having a party happy birthday, grandma! ♪we'll be swinging ♪dancing and singing ♪baby come on over tonight rishaad: the top stories. manufacturing activities showing another month of contraction. 49 .1. the low estimates. the tepid response of the government's response to cushion the slowdown. a no-show yesterday. the stock plunged before being suspended. this came as shares tumbled 47%,

out billions of dollars in market capital. they became the world's largest solar company. guilty topleading currency manipulation. ubs admitted a charge and was granted immunity because they the first to cooperate. they have been fined to just under $6 billion. we just got the close-out for the morning session in tokyo. here is david. david: thank you. as we head into the lunch break in tokyo, 20,282 is the level for the neck a. -- nikkei. get toy luck, we will the peak of 1989 or 1990.

bubble burstpre- beat. the glass is either half full or half m.d.. -- half empty. you are getting a lot of good forecast out of japan. five acts and so forth, special dividends. 16% up. the story here is fairly interesting. forecasts, they are looking to get back into yen. butn't of the details, perhaps we are looking at non-core business gains. realized assets, so on and so forth. precision, the newspaper reporting the engine maker got a big order. ¥5 billion from rolls-royce.

up in tokyo, 4%. ¥2100 a share. we believe it there. rishaad: a battle between bowls and bears. chineseorner are investors pumping big money into the market. on the other side are short-sellers. how has this been working? rise ine are seeing a short interest and a lot of the popular stocks in hong kong. we have a situation where on one hand, we see mainland investors highly into the stocks. at the same time, we see them betting the shares will drop. rishaad: why is that happening? guest: there is a difference between the investors. the shares look reasonable for

mainland investors. a lot of the dualistic companies are trading -- for foreign investors focused on fundamentals, for some of them it is hard to justify paying such high valuations. rishaad: tell us who is winning out. at the moment, mainland investors are the clear winners. we have seen a lot of the companies, the shares keep on rising even with the interest built up which means investors might have to buy them back. morests say they are momentum driven. some of the companies that foreign investors might find pricey might go up higher. rishaad: thank you for that. the latest on the short-sellers.

going long in china as well. let's get a check on some of the other stories we are following. agreeing to pay 25 dollars to u.s. regulators. they bought for foreign government for the 2008 beijing olympics. to sec said they had failed train itself about anti-bribery legislation. 62 million dollars less than thought for burberry. int is due to slowing sales hong kong as well as mainland shoppers pending less on luxury. the lowest in almost seven months. expansion into china, they are opening the first store

in shanghai. it features a castle and hourly films show. a 5.5re set to open billion or theme park in shanghai next year. the most popular mobile vice isng ser planning a dual listing. news --ng in bloomberg bring in bloomberg news is''s t. then: they put it on ice. we are hearing they restarted work and are aiming to get it of the door. they are concerns about them conflicting with japan post. to listy are planning it later in the year. they may soak up as much as 2 trillion yen selling shares to investors.

want to ask the same people for money when there are such a highly anticipated offering career they want to get them out the door. that brings us to the appetite for ipos. the appetite in china is voracious. ben: a different story in japan. there were a couple of big ipos. a $3 billion deal earlier in the wentfor a company which poorly. dealshave not been major sense then. these will be a test about whether things have recovered. rishaad: what about the company? do they do it anything different? ben: i think facebook's acquisition of whatsapp made people realize the value of

these companies. companies partnering with them, offering fortune telling services. cute teddy bear stickers that you can send to your friends. this is different than committees just about messaging. rishaad: ben, thank you very much for that. ipo in newe dual york and tokyo. value almost have, the solar power maker staging a no-show. that absence came as shares tumbled. rgy had taken off in the previous six months, making their market cap bigger than sony. energy, there have always been trade-offs with this

technology. is difficult to generate solar power without the sunday red but anti-in company is trying to tackle this. reporter: sand and sun. this italian company has other ideas. energy. within wind farms, you only have energy when it is windy. with solar, only when it is sunny. with the technology, you can cut straight it into one receiver and use it when the sun does not shine. this has the ability to save it in sand for went it is dark. energy is captured to a receiver. the receiver contains sand needed to a high temperature. turnrn, producing steam to a turbine. it remains hot enough to turn a

turban for six hours after the sun goes down. tons of sand inside. as soon as the sun goes down, it can keep producing steam for six hours. reporter: it can produce enough ower a small town. it is still only in its early stages. production is not set to start until late summer of 2015. with italy -- but producing more solar energy than anywhere else in europe, the investment could well be worth it. next, a man with a plan. earn malaysia developed nation status by 2020. kuala lumpur, after the break. ♪

makinge are the stories headlines around the world. fighters from the so-called reportedlyte have taken control of the myra -- palmyra. theontains the ruins of 2000 euros city that was one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world. the islamic state has already destroyed several agents sites in iraq. has be towednyahu his defense minister's plan to segregate passengers on west bank buses. critics say this is akin to apartheid and would damage israel's international standing. the defense minister says he is determined to enact a plan for security reasons.

a japanese grandfather has been jailed for drug smuggling in indonesia after customs found more than two kilograms of crystal let. -- meth. had been deceived. he checked the bag and found nothing suspicious. it was only after he was arrested that he realized it was carrying drugs. later today, malaysia will out light plans -- outline plans to achieve developed nation status by 2020. his government has been losing support over the rising cost of living. reports from kuala them poor. reporter: -- kuala lumpur. reporter: the prime minister five yearve the last

plan. in increase in per capita income. a ramping up of private investment in an economy that sees a great deal of participation from government linked companies. the prime minister is also on a fiscal consolidation drive to trim the budget deficit, which lashhis administration s fuel subsidies. it is likely the government will cut more and try to reduce spending by other means. they are grappling with reduced revenue streams. the pressure has been mounting. -- the count ry's credit rating will likely be a ungraded.

-- downgraded. joining us from kuala lumpur. let's get more from the deputy at a university in malaysia. he joins us via webcam. thank you for joining us. the 2020k at whether goal is achievable in your view. guest: i think it is. the lastsia plan is five year plan to take malaysia to the developed country status. be of the key things will the type of support to make malaysian industries more competitive. is under the see five-year plan, there is going help a lot of support to the bottom 40%. that is very important.

includes supporting and developing education, training, and infrastructure development which is critical. is critical for a country such as malaysia trying to bring in the best technology. rmb to spur economic growth, particularly for malaysian industries. that is going to be critical. the next five-year plan should be able to set the pace for new sectors to come in and help the bottom 40% to increase their income levels. rishaad: the prime minister is doing this against the background of sites wiping from his assessor. guest: the issues surrounding today, they are not new. they had been there for the last three decades. this is not the first financial

going through.is i believe it is a blessing in disguise. it shows the maturing of institutions of corporate governance. there is greater transparency addressing the issues from all parties. from the ruling to the opposition parties. industry, media, other stakeholders. what does it mean for the institutions? i think they are playing a bigger role. in the short term, i reckon they will be -- there will be uncertainties. in the medium and longer-term, it is good for the government and country. it is part of maturing to be a developed economy. we have weathered this over the last three decades. impact thet long-term economic growth. is essentially how

the institutions of corporate governance and still better governance within the system in bring in better investor confidence. hisaad: how precarious is position as the head of the party? as prime minister? publicly, his opponent is asking him to step down. accusing him of corruption. guest: his position is much stronger than his predecessor. it all depends very much on how he delivers the next five-year plan. addressing the bottom 40%. many of malaysians are concerned about the economy, job, education. that is where his focus is going to be.

i think he will be able to weather the political uncertainties. are in aition disarray, too. it strengthens the ruling government's position. everybody is watching the five-year plan. how the plan will be executed on the ground. briefly, we have fitch reviewing their status for malaysia. an economy which has felt the pinch is from weaker oil prices and seeing their finances interior eight. this is not a secure -- deteriorate. this is not a secure economic position. global climate, yes, it is a blip on the economy. with all the investment strategies, the corridor development, i believe in the

midterm to longer-term, the prospects will be much better. the details are in the five-year plan. i believe the rating agencies we will be looking at. sorry, we just ran out of time. joining us from kuala lumpur. coming up, a message. to figure outbai what is on corporate india's wish list. ♪

just 50 minutes from the mumbai session. modi road to power in india on a wave of optimism. more.find out

what does business want modi to do? reporter: win some, lose some for prime minister modi since he took office. benchmarks rising 16% since he took office, making indian markets some of the better performing. the rupee one of the best performing currencies. but he has not delivered on a lot of the promises delivered. they want him to boost investments and growth. one of the biggest conglomerates, speaking to bloomberg, arguing for a spend of $16 billion on infrastructure. this will ease some of the nonperforming or bad loans at india's banks.

which are likely to hit 14 year highs going forward. havetments as well as -- remain stalled. the recent session of parliament tried to pass a national sales tax bill as well as a land development bill. it remains stalled in the upper house of parliament, where the party lacks the majority. bigtroactive tax has been a problem for the government. it has been a very mixed bag on modi completing the first year in power. back to you. rishaad: joining us from mumbai. what is trending today? reporter: we are taking a look nergy story.y -- ha

the chairman not showing up for the general meeting. shares plummeting. china'sion, he was richest man. writing, the briefest richest man in china. nergyto imagine ha surviving this. the other big story, gyro copter. this man landing his copter on the lawn of the capital, which by the way it is legal. indicted and faces multiple federal charges. as much as nine years in prison. that is being discussed today. of finally, the television the future. you've got your tv could not get dinner? thinner?t

this is as thin as wallpaper. will he will be a bestseller. rishaad: that is it for "trending business." edge" next."asia ♪ john: i am john heilemann.

mark: and i am mark halperin. with all due respect to the late-night hosts, it will be impossible to fill david letterman's shoes. ♪ mark: on the show tonight, mary matalin throws some shade. plus, we will unveil a look at our focus groups -- the ohio democrats, -- iowa democrats, but first, the wall street journal. here is a headline that hit brooklyn in the gut. hillary clinton's staff kept a tight rein on records, and keystone li