>> coming up on bloomberg west, best, the ecb reaches in its toolbox again. >> they are doing everything again. the oneso is not holding the gun. we choose the best from a week confrontation. on international women's day, reflection on progress and

unfinished business. >> it is not getting better. it is getting better, but not quickly enough. >> opportunities earlier to leave. plus, washington mourns the inspirational figure. it is all ahead on bloomberg best. hello and welcome. this is bloomberg best, a weekly review of the most important business news, analysis, and interviews from around the world. our day-to-day look of the top headlines begins with a vigorous monday and commodities. >> crude now at the highest, above $39 a barrel. talk to us about the latest developments. >> less than a month ago, i was getting these alerts, telling me that prices are down.

i may have to change that now. there are a few reasons this is happening. in the united states, they have rigseast number of active out there. u.s. oil production is down at about a 16 month low. you have the possibility of members meeting with russia. as oil prices have been gathering momentum, some they will get on board instead. there are bets that oil prices will fall. i suppose a specter of $20 per vanished. banish

>> iron ore soaring more than ever. one analyst in china saying the market has gone berserk. copper is up following three straight weeks of gains. >> prices are definitely surging . we have not seen any data that justifies the level. china, in february, the entire country goes on holiday. during the month of february, we don't have a lot of data. it is hard to read what is going on. i mind to china daily, but have not seen any evidence. cutting in overcapacity in would you'd think that curb -- what is going on? >> it must be me being here at bloomberg to cause iron ore to jump. no. there has been a disconnect in

the market between the fundamentals on the ground and the trading in the day-to-day basis. this is not an anomaly. this has been a week of strong gains in the market. it is a lot of training on rhetoric, but when it comes to reality, reality has not justified the high prices yet. >> we had a dismal trade day out of china, showing experts felt -- exports fell to the lowest level since 2009. >> the latest figure out of china, yes, there are distortions, but a significant .umber down we were expecting a median estimate of 4.5% down. worse.ignificantly this is the 18th significant falling.fol

part ofexport numbers -- the base effect is also skewed. last year, the lunar new year holiday was the end of february. there was a rush for trade before the holidays. this year, he came at the start of the month. all of that said, when you push aside the holiday, the numbers t challengehe ahead. it will embolden those who call for a depreciation. it would take really significant evaluation for china to get any bang for the buck. in the near term, when you consider the official commentary from the authorities, i think if you look for more on the stimulus side, from the central

bank, they are not going to get much of a shot in the arm in the near term. >> it was a big night for bernie sanders and politics. when ind a surprise michigan. in the race for delegates, he is .till behind hillary clinton on the republican side, donald trump picked up delegates and michigan, mississippi, and hawaii. ted cruz pulled out a win and i/o -- in idaho. let's begin with bernie sanders' surprise win. back deftly gives them momentum. what we will be looking at is how much he can carry this into ohio, which is voting next week. michigan and ohio are very similar, heavily white. he did very well with working-class voters, he did very well with young voters,

which has been key for him. significantly, he did better with african-american voters in michigan. if he continues to perform well with those voters, he still has a huge lead. trump won in mississippi, in michigan. does the stress the ability of of differentcrop areas across distinctly different demographics? won in all areas of the u.s. he has stitched together broader support level the people have expected. realnight, he showed resilience. i think the establishment will be looking at that. the ecb has cut all of its

interest rates. they have increased the assets available to buy, to include non-bank corporate debt. >> the way i read it is the following, it has been about expanding the balance sheet to weaken the currency. this is changing now. going straight out into trying to help that sector. there are negative traits. this has changed to a truly domestic demand lending game. this is important. underlyingabout the economy and getting bones out to individuals. >> it is exactly what they should have done going into

this. i think they did the right thing. it is targeted as now as possible. biggest investment you haveutsche bank -- heard them talking about this again and again. ofi do not think it is much a surprise. a lever percent for the investment banking division. that is not as severe as some may have expected. there was talk of maybe even cutting up by 30%. this is certainly not unexpected. the company will be underpaying as they work through some legal issues. >> how does he think he will keep people in their seats

their? >> historically, they have the reputation of paying pretty well. there will be a transition there. on.ink he is hoping to hold trading will be down in 2016 given the rough start to the year. there are not made places on big hiring sprees. there is not a lot of competition out there for hiring right now. it is more keeping your job. reactioning up, more to the latest monetary moves and the roundup of company news from around the world. ♪

ramy: welcome back to bloomberg best. thursday's ecb meeting was the centerpiece of a dramatic week in european business as well as politics. there was plenty to discuss and analyze on bloomberg television. bank of england governor is

testifying before you give lawmakers today on the economic and international cost of a potential brexit. he says they will avoid telling people how to vote in the upcoming june referendum. >> nothing we say should be interpreted as making any recommendation with respect to that decision. >> can the bank of england really avoid swaying voters? >> without thinking they will sway voters, what he does not want to be seen as doing is saying brexit will be a disaster. he is trying to elegantly avoid the situation, but he almost lost his patience a couple of minutes ago, actually answering to one of the more conservative members of the committee. he said, you have a selective .emory, there is risk he is talking about brexit, without going further.

>> is this just political theater? >> it is a bit of political theater, by think people are trying to understand what the implications of a brexit would be. >> what is the dynamic you see in london? you see people playing on frustration and anger. people play on it. you see what is happening in this country, the same thing is happening in europe. >> free movement across borders in europe was essential to eu. let me give you some numbers. trillions of dollars moved across europe without interference. 7000 people a day moved across borders without interference. this is the slowdown that will come from any enforcement.

it is not just affect refugees, .t affects daily commerce my guess is that will take a couple tenths of a point off eu growth. today pushing beyond expectations with the release of more stimulus. is it fair to say that he brought out the bazooka? >> he certainly split a few ruptures through the market. you are right. one of the key focuses of the press conference is that neednt, saying we don't it. things could change.

>> this phase of using interest rates as one of the jewels has effectively come to an end. what about the decision to buy corporate debt? not predicted by many. has that taken you back? is that a game changer to some extent? >> we are not surprised. it came a bit soon. logicalht it is a extension of placing the -- closing the gap on interest rates. i would push back a little bit on this view that monetary policy is running out of ammunition. there is a lot that can be done in the credit easing space. once you start purchasing bonds,

it is not a far step to go in equities in the future, if that were to ever be needed. pushing aario girardi panic button or putting pressure to spend? >> i think it represents a very tailored approach to the problems facing europe. the real issue is getting credit drawn through to borrowers. that is what is essential to get your back on track. he has done that by this matching of negative to positive rates. that is what is necessary to get europe growing again. of course, we all know, and have said, he cannot do it alone. >> i want to show you a quote from one of our columnist

yesterday. money afterying big that. you do not believe that. >> he is not firing blanks. obviously, look at the market. he also is not only one who should be holding the gun. >> are we getting closer to the becomehere the policies ineffective? >> we are looking at the credit thenels, quite clear in news conference, that is where he was to focus now. do you think it may take a lot more time? it does take more time. it could be like pushing on a string. while he is pressing the accelerator, the regulars are also pressing the brakes. that is why you don't get the impact that you would expect. the u.s. is lucky because it has

other forms of growth. europe doesn't. affects clear it could monetary policy p could it affect the man? but not possible plausible. we have decoupled the ability to spend. second, and more portly, we are lacking a number of structural reforms that key people confident. notdly, companies are responding. this is another attempt, good for him, good for the ecb. i hope that we are close to make it clear to the politicians that we are coming to the end. ♪

ramy: you are watching bloomberg best. let's take a look back at the week's most important company news, starting with the deal that unites a pair of giants. shares have dipped in sydney after the announcement of an agreement with the world's largest iron ore producers. tell us about this decision. >> this is a memorandum of understanding for the two companies to work together and explore opportunities for

long-term value. the first part of those is lending of the oars together to meet the market needs for our customers in china that will to the supply chain. state onis a potential markets, a minority interest. that will be at their discretion. >> tell us more about this decision and the benefits of all of this. to have are able long-term relationship, it relates opportunity to our cost, and better match our product to the customer's needs in china. >> dick's sporting goods say

they are interested in sports authority real estate which fired for bankruptcy last week. >> they say that about a hundred stores overlap with their stores . maybe there are 40 that are at potential play for them. >> do you have any ideas or modeling? >> we have done a bunch of work. i think it is going to be five-10, nothing. i think the stores that are closing our closing for a reason -- lousy locations, and so on. i think there is more to come with sports authority. if they survive, they will get sold. by the end of april, if they don't figure it out, it could go way completely. u.s. authorities are turning

their focus to the former head, and whether funds were misappropriated. how was goldman involved? >> they were essentially the conduit that helped this fund raise money. it was supposed to be for infrastructure and investment projects. they were the investment bank on this. he was the investment banker. they raised over $6 billion in bonds. the key question is if any of wasmoney went back, if it embezzled or used for illegal purposes, moved around without permission. >> what does this mean for goldman sachs? is this a return of the reputation? >> this is something that goldman will deal with. firmhired an outside law

that is looking into it. you see this with thanks a lot that work in emerging markets. sometimes they have issues with their clients. i think it is important to note that it is not clear at this point if it is goldman. pacific has announced a jump of over 90%. that beat estimates. give me a sense of the position from now on. hatchinge have some by $7 billionown hong kong. on the whole, the business has benefited. a strong contribution to

companies contravening -- contributing to a better result. >> to you what figures that make your models easier for risk management, or do you think the price of oil may go back up? >> we take positions to protect the viability of operations and owning stabilities. we do take those two issues. be will take gains when enterprise is high. we would rather to have losses because business benefits. >> a showdown is underway at continental. they have nominated six directors for the company. among the names, the former continental ceo that is credited with turning around continental after bankruptcy. >> apparently some investors the upset, it did not think

company was doing the things it needed to do to turn around. they thought gordon, with his history, could shake up a bit. >> what goals do these activists hope to call this? -- to accomplish? >> they have been more talking about the problems that united had, rather than what they want to see going forward. what they said about united in the past is the company has had a languishing stock price. it has not performed as well as delta or american. they want to shake things up. they want some new blood on the board. rising 40%. profitability may be the real concern. what do you think about failed growth here combined with the

lack of profitability? >> they had a huge quarter. a group 60%. they are clearly firing on all cylinders on that front. also expanding into other they are categories. square capital division is something investors are looking at. they have offered loans to 70,000 merchants in about $400 million of loans in the first year. that is an exciting opportunity to expand the relationships they have. >> how strong is their product pipeline? >> it's amazing for the ecosystem, it will accelerate the use of mobile payments, which the actual places you can use your apple pay or android they are quite limited. to think of them rolling it out to the 2 million merchants they use is a great development overall for consumers. >> bridgwater has hired john rubinstein as co-ceo. the current co-ceo is set to tuis