♪ anna: coming up on "bloomberg best," the stories that shape the week in business around the world. bloomberg television is focusing on energy. we hear from the top leaders and opec ministers in vienna who are reaching a deal to cut oil production. >> the market price has a 30% chance of a deal. our view was we expected a deal. one of the key reasons, the butomics, not politics, economics of the deal were compelling. anna: the trump transition continues to hold the world's attention. the latest cabinet picks. from bankers to billionaires. >> our number one priority will be the economy and getting back to 3%-4% growth and focus on

things for the american worker. anna: and how the uncertain political landscape is impacting business, from some of the biggest names in the investment industry and the robin hood investment conference in new york. >> we're moving into a faster growing economy, the pace will determine interest rates. anna: it is all straight ahead on "bloomberg best." ♪ anna: hello, welcome. i am anna edwards. this is "bloomberg best." your weekly review of the most important business news, analysis and interviews from bloomberg television around the world. let's start with a day by day look at the top headlines. we start with market reaction on the opec meeting on oil production cuts in vienna.

>> we start with oil on the rocks, the opec ministers trying to salvage an agreement on production cuts and saw these same they may not get a deal at -- and saudi's saying they may not get a deal at the meeting in vienna. crude is falling below $46 a barrel. >> the most important -- is the saudi oil minister who said, look, it may be that we do not even need a deal, the market could do the job for us. which is clearly his way of signaling to people that you have to play a part in the agreement, saudi arabia we will not do all the work on our own. and we may be willing to work. -- to walk. anna: here's what he told reporters as he arrived in vienna. >> [indiscernible] we will deal with opec and

members. to reach an agreement that is accessible to all. >> where do we see oil trade? >> the impression of the market is this is opec. i'm not saying that is the reality of it, but we can see a sharp correction and i would not be surprised if we see 20's again. not straight away, but i think it will be negative. splitngs are still between the saudis, iraqis and arabians, and until they get on board with it will cut and how much, there will not be a deal. basically right now, this is a high stakes poker game and they are all holding their cards very closely. >> the great divide. one day left until the ministers meet to finalize the production cuts and things looking shaky. russia, kazakhstan not joining talks, and iran resisting calls to cut output and the minister not reaching an accord before leaving. >> bluff has been called and

that may be the case. it was counterintuitive in the first two meetings in september, that the saudis put on the table the notion that they would consider a disproportionate cut, and they were not getting anything at that time. i think that has been read as a sign of weakness. i would not overdo it, however, because nobody within opec wants a dramatically lower price and i think the risk of it going down and staying down is low. >> oil prices off by 3% and the -- 3.5%, right around lows in the session and the s&p is flipping into negative territory for the session. here are the headlines, the irani oil minister says they will not cut productions and saw and theyl only accept are ready to reject the deal if

iran and iraq do not participate. it is weighing on oil and now started to weigh on the equity futures for the u.s. as well. >> it will come down to the saudi position and they are making it clear to everybody that all people in the group have to make some sort of gesture by participating. iran has agreed to freeze production from a theoretical level, above what it has reduced, is not a consolatory -- produced, is not a consolatory gesture. that is the last thing at this point. >> they reached an agreement to cut oil output by 1.2 million barrels a day, taking it to 32.5 million barrels a day. that was the original agreement the algerian oil minister proposed. output by 1.2 cut million barrels of oil a day to 32.5 million barrels a day, oil resuming his crime, $50 a barrel, brent at over 8%. the details need to be sorted out. and if the cut is enough staying

-- to sustain a balanced market for the first half of 2017. you said 30% chance of a deal yesterday, now we get it? did the saudis cave? 30 percent chance of a deal with the market was priced at 30% chance of the deal. our view was we expected a deal and one of the key reasons, the economics of the deal were compelling. aside from the fact that the risks were asymmetric to begin with, the other is they had a point rebalanced market in line of sight. what they had to do was cut production and pull forward an already balanced market. why do they want to do that? the reason is inventory normalization, not price. why do they want that? they want backwardation. backwardation, backwardation. >> i love it. >> our expectations were down into the $43 range, and they would spend the first half of next year around $45 a barrel.

by speeding up the process, they take the $43 and $45 and turn it into a $55 price environment. that is better for revenue, but more important, it speeds up the process of going into backwardation which allows them to pursue the market share strategy and takes away the ability for producers. >> goldman sachs says oil prices may break above $60 a barrel if opec and russia fully adhere to their promises. and banks have forecast 30% to the deal happening. >> who are the winners? >> anyone of these will be benefiting from high dollar oil. iran a winner, and they are not only cutting, but they are benefiting from much higher prices. everybody outside opec, think about china, a big winner. they are independent producers

and shale producers in the united states are some of the biggest winners right here. >> when you look more closely at it, it is a 14 player game. the prisoner's dilemma. they have to adhere to it. and there are some things that would give you concern if you are a skeptic. there are the countries that are carved out. opec itself saying they will cut 2.5 million barrels a day, but there is not a 600,000 for non-opec. most of that russia. russia has not indicated what benchmark they will adhere to. it is unclear if opec and non-opec will be able to follow-through. >> the fed rate hike trade is on, 178,000 jobs created but get this -- the unemployment rate falls to 4.6%, that is the lowest since august of 2007. tom: it certainly is better with a 4.6% unemployment rate, but it is not all clear for the american labor economy, is it?

phil: no, i don't -- bill: no, i don't think so. 4.6% is the headline grabbing number. getting as close to the lowest numbers we saw in the early part of the century, so that would be the headline. but we are not out of the clear. when i saw the -.1 number and revision coming down from 2.8% to 2.5%, it is not as hunky-dory as the stock market thinks it is. anna: still ahead, a week's worth of opinions on the opec deal reached in vienna. we hear from top oil executives as bloomberg focuses on energy. and investors ranging from stern -- starwood's to girls playing. up next, more of the week's biggest headlines. the biggest spending day of the year. this is bloomberg. ♪

♪ anna: this is "bloomberg best." i'm anna edwards. let's continue our global tour of the week's top business stories. there was buzz around retail at the beginning of the week. and the rise of cyber monday. david: the holiday shopping season has officially begun with black friday leading into cyber monday today. the question is, how much the american consumer will be stepping up this year and what it will mean for the economy? what do we know about what happened over the weekend? >> fewer people were not the stores, or that is the luminary reports. -- preliminary reports. traffic was down on black friday, but it was up on thanksgiving, so maybe more people had that post-turkey hit the mall rush. we know that spending was huge online, so prices are down and

people are savvy, they can check prices online, get the best deal, and they are not necessarily interested in going to the stores and potentially getting trampled. david: we are just beginning the holiday season, what are your numbers showing you so far? >> our volume over the weekend, we came in where we planned, obviously higher than last year. we look forward to another record-setting peak season, which we think we will see. >> it has been a tepid kickoff, spending less than average on black friday, but could cyber monday turn things around? we have the ceo of wayfarer. -- wayfair. >> we were nervous based on things we were hearing, but frankly i think what happened was a shift online. incredible results so far this holiday. i think the consumer is doing fine. i think the consumer is shifting more to online, more than expected. >> and looking at the candidates for the election in france.

the former prime minister defeated the rival in the second 67% ofunoff, claiming the votes, pledging to slash taxes. >> [indiscernible] as we have seen, we half to be careful. this victory of marine le pen of becoming the next president because of course, some of those who may have been tempted by a vote for marine le pen, they had been worried that some of her views on france in leaving the eu or the eurozone might actually look better now that she is a nominee. the program of francois fillon, who is considered conservative, right-wing programs may be instead of less extreme views on social issues with the european union.

vonnie: turning to president-elect donald trump's latest cabinet picks. tom price is slated to be the next secretary of health and human services. price could possibly oversee the repeal of the affordable care act next year, one of the top legislative or days for republicans. >> this is a congressman that was also a supporter of donald trump. he did appear at the gettysburg address of sorts, with vice president elect pence as well as trump. i'm sorry, outside of philadelphia. they talked about repealing obama care. and obamacare was a big reason why many midwestern states went for donald trump. david: breaking news, the president-elect's cabinet is coming together. steve and wilbur ross confirmed for the cabinet. joining us now from washington for an update on the transition is our bloomberg political reporter. >> they are being put in place

as we get an idea of how the trump administration is going to be treating foreign trade deals and how they will be treating china, whether or not they will be labeling them a currency manipulator. it is not clear, but that is the kind of thing that they will be in charge of. david: what does that tell us about the treasury? >> i think one thing it tells us is that goldman has a lock on the treasury. he has been a chameleon on policies, more tightlipped. we know if trump is going to be doing this expensive infrastructure program, we know it is going to be mnuchin who will be in charge of issuing the debt, making sure they are properly funded. he will serve the budget of the president. he will be issuing trump's marching orders. he was the national finance chairman, so he has been inside for a long time and he has a good feel for the team. he is a loyalist and i think he will be somebody that is

definitely following the lead from the white house, maybe not bringing so much policy of his own, but following donald trump. vonnie: can i get your thoughts on the latest appointments? steve mnuchin for treasury and wilbur ross commerce. >> i think that wilbur ross has a record of favoring investment tax credits for infrastructure construction. i believe that these kinds of giveaways or special tax breaks offer less than a full solution to the challenges we face and building more roads and bridges and airports. there should be public funding, a public and private partnership, so we may have a disagreement on how to fund and invest in the structures of that -- on the infrastructures that we do agree is absolutely necessary. ♪ >> donald trump set to give his first major speech since being elected.

the president-elect is an indiana, along with his indiana governor and vice president elect mike pence, to announce that carrier is keeping jobs in the hoosier state. is this good economics for the government for the president-elect to intervene at such a microlevel? >> i've not found anybody that has said this is sound economics. the principles we usually accept is you have the same rules and tax incentives for every company no matter what. that said, this is small potatoes as far as what states do. i looked into the data, this is not even the biggest deal in indiana this year. >> isn't there a moral hazard created here in that other companies that want tax concessions can threaten to move jobs to mexico as well? brenna >> yes, but you can resoe that by having consistency around it, saying you do this and it has consequences for your products coming back in.

or we may amend nafta, so when you try to export them out of mexico somewhere else and back in, that will be not allowed or favored. frankly, the parent company, i think it is i.t. or u.t. -- >> u.t. >> they have a lot of business with the federal government, so we must do this appropriately. the suggestion that you want to cannibalize your air-conditioning business in the u.s., we will not look into it favorably when you want to do business with the u.s. and i think i'd is there is wante -- fair as long as it is done ethically. >> companies are not going to leave the united states anymore without consequences. not going to happen. >> we have breaking news, starbucks making the announcement that howard schultz is stepping down as ceo. he will be named executive chairman and kevin johnson will now be the ceo to succeed him. starbucks shares in the after-hours plummeting on the announcement.

it fell 11.5% post-market and then quickly pared those losses, being down now 5.5%. do we know what howard will be doing? yes, he will remain as chairman of the board but where is his focus going to be? >> speculation right away will go to politics. he is active in democratic circles. when you hear him talk, he talks like a politician, somebody -- the rates matters conversation he did -- so he has bigger ambitions. people have thrown him around as maybe a vp in the last cycle. i would not be shocked if he did something in politics. >> kevin johnson, then you ceo, -- the new ceo, we see the market reacting slightly negatively to this news, probably on the uncertainty of the transition. what is the key thing to know about the new ceo? about the new ceo? >> the key thing when you think about kevin johnson is he has the operational focus that is

needed to sustain starbucks growth trajectory. he is an operations guy and he has been involved for several years, he has been on the board for several years. he should be able to continue to guide starbucks in their path they are on and in maintaining operational excellence. ♪

♪ anna: you are watching "bloomberg best." i am anna edwards. we turn to mexico city where bloomberg's erik schatzker sat down with carlos slim from the forum, mexico the year ahead, 2017. erik: the conventional wisdom, as you know, is that the donald trump presidency will be bad if not terrible for mexico, what do you say? >> i do not think so.

first, what will be the reality of what he says is different than the candidate. he is talking about issues that are positive for mexico, like that he will create 25 million jobs. that is too many. that he will try to grow 4%. and it will be $1 trillion in 10 years. that is $100 billion a year. i think all of these issues are important for, if it happens, at least a stock, will be good for mexico. he has talked about bringing down the taxes for middle-class, 35%, that will be good for mexico. erik: middle-class americans. carlos: middle-class americans. he is focusing on consumption.

and investment in the u.s., and the consumption is good for mexico. also, if he is going to create these jobs and do these kinds of things, at least in part, they need many mexicans to do the jobs. the most qualified people to do many of the services are mexicans. mexicans and hispanics, from central america and other countries. erik: what about trade? he has taken an aggressive position on trade with mexico. he wants to renegotiate nafta. and get a better deal for the americans. carlos: i do not think that renegotiating is an issue. i think it can be best for both.

erik: how? carlos: first, i think the u.s. should protect some of their strategic deals and goods that aggregate value. i do not understand how can be produced low products with the high wages, wages of $30 an hour. that is what they pay against $15 a day. that is a big difference. i think that these issues will not be competitive and they tried to do that. the cost for the american people will be too high and the consumer will pay too much for everything and i do not think

300 million people be happy paying so much and having a big inflation. one of the things that is the priority of the united states, is the interest of the people. and the interest of the people is to have good jobs but also to have good prices on the things they are buying. erik: your attitude toward of the trump presidency is perhaps more optimistic than some people might have thought. does his election -- carlos: i would be more worried as an american. david: -- erik: more worried as an american and mexican? really? why do you say that? carlos: he is going to close the economy, that is bad. if he is going out of nafta and other international deals, he could lose international leadership of the united states. ♪ anna: there is much more to come on "bloomberg best." straight ahead, global leaders

and investors weigh in on the changing political landscape. this is bloomberg. ♪

♪ anna: this is "bloomberg best." i'm anna edwards. time to revisit some of the week's most interesting interviews. from brexit to president-elect donald trump, the decision-makers weigh in on what is next for global economy. >> you are like everybody else in the industry, and perhaps all of industry is trying to figure out what a trump presidency means for business. >> it is a change. the republican senate and republican house and a president that wants to do things against the structure of spending.

we are moving into a faster growing economy and it is the pace that will determine interest rates. and the question, how much freewheeling hope is there in the senate with the tea party candidate that will let us increase the deficit before we actually say things we can tax? that is the regulator on donald trump's fuel on the economic fire. we were going to do fine. i was bullish on the economy with either president, because unemployment and you saw the wage increase. companies like walmart increasing wages for their employees and you are beginning to see companies pass the profit onto workers listening to the rhetoric of the nation. andill get wage increases, that leads to more spending and we will see higher interest rates regardless. now we will have a spending bill with a 4.8% unemployment rate. we don't have skilled workers. there are not guys to build

roads, tunnels and bridges. i wouldn't article about the mississippi river. it is going to take more time in the market than they think, but the direction is clear. rates are going higher and will real estate keep up? will the rents rise with interest rates? that is more important than the rates rising. if rates are rising because wages are going up, that is good for real estate value. also, replacement cost is going up because everything is more expensive to build. good for existing real estate. erik: you were bullish with either hillary clinton or donald trump? bailey: i -- barry: i was positively sloped. but now i am worried about too much kerosene on the already good fire. erik: you are cautious, almost as much as any point in your career. why? i am not uber bearish and not

predicting -- barry: i'm not uber bearish and not predicting calamity, but my portfolio, but i am sitting on a lot of cash. almost 60% of cash. there are reasons for it. number one, going about my business of finding good stocks to buy it a handful are short. i am finding it a lot of longs. that bottoms up tells me something i think about the market. from the top down i see all the major industries at or near all-time highs, complacency at low levels, yet an uncertain world with a wide range of outcomes. i predict not calamity, but i am certain there will be more volatility in the world. as a stock picker, i welcome that. that is how i make money. erik: what are some of the factors in your mind that lend to this feeling or forecast of uncertainty? barry: i think there are a number of things, interest rates, we have been in a declining environment for two decades. erik: four of them really.

barry: since july, interest rates have moved up sharply, so that would be one area i would point to. a second would be brexit and what is going on in europe. is it orderly or disorderly and could other companies followed britain out of the eu? could they break up? the general rise of populism isund the world and how it threatening the world order that has governed since world war ii. and i would point to exhibit a, the surprise election of donald trump. ♪ >> over the past few days, there is a softening in the british tone and elements of movement and the british seem to be saying, can we grab some of this for exchange of things. do you think it is possible to cherry pick the european union and the british seem now to want to move? >> i think it is important to remark here that the process for britain exiting the european

union will not commence until article 50 is triggered. prime minister may said she would not do this before the end of that was a formal letter to march 2017. the commission. after that, negotiations will start in earnest. all the comments made and speculation and rumors are only that until such time there is clarity about further horizons, you cannot decide with certainty as to what the outcome will be. >> you must have some kind of principle, you would not want the european union to be cherry picked? >> certainly not. that has been made clear by many european leaders. one of the principles of discipline in the european union is if you want access in the planet, that is the single market and you must cater to those freedoms, and one of those is movement of people. there will be no concession given from europe in that regard. >> you said that two years

probably is not enough, if you had to make a guess about what the eventual date of the british leaving would be, what would it be? >> it is impossible to say. nobody has left the european union before. this is the first time. you have 50 years of regulations and legislation, dealing with the relationship between europe and the united kingdom. we joined on the same day. so to end that in a two-year period is probably impossible. ♪ asked how he could leave the central bank, just as a era in theng trump united states is about to begin. >> i would say two things. first of all, inc. of mexico is mexico is a very strong institution and it has strong human capital. we work in an environment of the board of governors, my vote

counts the same as my other four colleagues. i am the face of the bank, so that gives me certainly more presence, but when it is time to vote, my vote counts the same as others. communications are established by consensus. obviously, that gives me tranquility that the bank will be in good hands when i leave. >> is the bank prepared to raise rates? should inflation expectations continue to read about target? >> absolutely. >> because that is the mandate? >> yes. also because we have the conviction that the best way that the bank of mexico can continue to grow is by keeping financial stability and inflation expectations in line. erik: what do you think about

the prospects for a significant rollback of price regulation in the united states, under the trump administration? augustin: from what i have heard, and from what i heard from the secretary of treasury elect, if you allow me that expression. exactly. what he mentions, he stressed in many of his interviews, he is stressing on the complexity of the relation. on the fact that he has many institutions that do not even understand. i am also pro-simplicity. there is a certain amount -- i

mean, you have to make sure that the potential levers you want our with regulation. even if we can simplify the regulation and enhance compliance, i'm all for it. ♪

♪ anna: you are watching "bloomberg best." i'm anna edwards. all this week, bloomberg is focusing on energy and hearing from top executives about the future of their industry. >> the market has been conditioned to expect something positive to come out of this meeting after two months of strong guidance. and sort of back channel and when you look at it, you are right. if you look at the cut, half a million a day, 600,000 barrels a

day, we are talking about effectively getting back to what it was for the first half of the year. really, it is tantamount to a breeze. to really cut and make a difference in the market, you need to see something north of one million barrels a day. i doubt we will see that. >> even if we only go to a freeze, is that something that is viable? what do you make of the latest comments of the saudis digesting -- talking about the demand story and suggesting things have changed in the u.s. and the demand story is picking up? if you look at maybe they have expectations around growth based on donald trump being president. does that suggest they are having a change of heart? >> the u.s. story is encouraging but remains to be seen. oil demand has been anemic. it is declining. the real story for growth has been india and emerging countries. it is early to jump to conclusions about growth and demand. i think what will be more interesting to see is from

algiers to today, they have added about a half a million barrels a day. that is similar to the number they are going to be cutting. if you look at that, one might be tempted to ask, what would you be cutting exactly the amount that was added between november and september? anna: all this week we are focusing on energy. the iea has said if all -- if opec cuts production, u.s. shale will put more rigs to work and flood the market with more oil. the ceo of continental resources is known for being a wild character. expanding at any cost, but this time, he says it is different. i sat down with the continental headquarters in oklahoma and asked how the company plans to stay disciplined if we get a world of $60 a barrel oil? >> we would have no intention of going in and pulling a lot more rigs.

at $60 oil, so we are fairly active and we have been active through the downturn. we went 56 rigs down to 19. alix: so at 65, you're not adding 10 rigs? do you know what you are doing at 65? harold: there comes a point you would add one rig or two, but certainly, at 65, you would band, 55 toat that alix: what about the uncompleted 65. wells? when you add that back? harold: we wanted to do a couple of things. we were doing that. and that is when supply and demand balance. that balanced in the second quarter of this year. at the end of the second quarter in 2016, as we predicted.

you could see it coming and we calculated it out. so it balanced. that balance is there. we know that more stable prices and better prices are going to be a result of that. there is an inventory overhang, but we have seen that come down drastically, about 15% in the world so far. so that is coming down somewhat faster than people thought. so, we said when the balance occurred, we would follow up. alix: i once outlined how much lng has been loaded in the last year alone and where has it been going? >> it is going all around the world. what we have found is a secular shift into cleaner burning natural gas from other sources, mostly from power generation. we seem to be displacing oil and

fire power generation and coal power generation worldwide. alix: you would have thought that a lot of the lng would be going to latin america, it is easy to get to, but a lot of it is going to asia. can you talk about economics of the two regions? >> i mean, america is blessed with well over 100 years of natural gas supply, so we are very cost competitive around the world with any other sources of natural gas or liquefied natural gas, so the asians have a huge appetite and demand for power generation and we are seeing our products going to china and japan specifically. alix: when did the economics of the shipping to europe workout? you have been there a few times as ceo, but shipments do not ramp up as much. why not? >> they do not because of the

competition from the russian natural gas, they have lowered their cost to europe because of the threat of u.s. lng. it is a worldwide market and we have to compete. >> i think the strategy will remain very much focused on being in tune with the market. with the announcement this morning of opec cuts is near-term positive. we will wait how -- wait to see how it plays out. we are in a good position. i think in the antarctic basin, there is a lot of economic resiliency and good returns , frankly $50 and below, so as you move up in price curve and you get more confident outlook, we will be able to add activity. >> a big part of that is what it does to the curve. take a look, we have the orange line as the current curve into the green line at what it was a

month ago. nowre looking at $53 oil for 2017 and 2018. you can see the whole lean at the front and of the curve. what do you do with that information? how does that change how many rigs you are adding? >> i would say at this point we are already adding rig activity for preparation for the 2017 program. we will continue to watch and monitor the actual actions opec takes. and the impacts on the market. termsou look at the regenerate in the basin of $50, you have strong 40% rate of return, clearly is the product price goes up $55 to $60, the returns improve. additional cash flows will translate to incremental activity. we will wait to make sure that we see that development. ♪ >> this headline just crossing,

iranian oil minister says he thinks prices will be firmly above $50 after the opec cuts. what would it mean for shale sellers? >> we would think by the end of the year we would add 500,000 barrels a day. i think opec has acclimated itself to the fact that the u.s. has shale as part of the game. they expect shale to come back as part of the mix, which is a different perspective from 2014. i would use that number, 300,000 to 500,000 if they are in the $55 range by the end of 2017. >> money was already put to work , but what about the brown field projects deepwater? , what about the big international companies? do they change the game now? >> those will be much more

cautious. companies have prioritized those projects. in a way, that was the surprise that in 2014, degrom the opec, that would be the end of shale and they saw the u.s. as a resilient. it has had a big impact on those deepwater, complex projects, and those will be slower to come back. >> thank you so much for joining bloomberg for this interview. congratulations on this deal, the first cut in eight years. the first joined accord with nonmembers since the turn of the millennium. people do not think this would happen. how did you bring people together? >> thank you for having me. i agree with you, this is a n historic landmark decision. we have come a long way and i think this voyage that commenced and stopped in algiers, and

finally docked in vienna yesterday. it was a successful voyage. it was a successful voyage. a lot of consultations at a high political level, technical level, and very productive and constructive dialogue that went into it. we can say we were laterally responsible for this historic moment. ♪

>> ♪ >> the future of italy's government rattling investors. nzi will miss the key referendum is on sunday and it will bring an end to a three-week rally in european

shares. at the bloomberg, there is eu go, which allows you to check on news and data on italy before the referendum. there are headlines. renzi says i hope italians will vote. if it is approved, italy will be stronger, he says. there is also research by analysts on italy and europe, charts on eu inflation diversions, on the eurozone pmi and bank performances as well. i want to go to the bottom because we are talking about political risk. the conditions of the different countries, interesting because if you look at youth unemployment, you can sort it out. italy has the third highest youth unemployment at 37% after greece and spain. in terms of banking, nonperforming loans, you expect to see them high. they are the third highest, 18% of nonperforming loans. only cyprus and greece are higher. these are things to keep in mind as we head toward the referendum. >> there are about 30,000 functions on the bloomberg and

we enjoy showing you are favorites on bloomberg television. another function you might find -- where it will take you to our quick takes where you can get fast insight into timely topics. hear the quick takes from this week. >> all of these businesses have something in common. they are now owned, part owned, or about to be owned by chinese companies. chinese dealmakers have been buying up american and european companies at a record rate. for the first time, china is running neck and neck with the u.s. as the biggest buyer of overseas companies. that is making some lawmakers very nervous. here is the situation. in 2016, chinese companies more than doubled the record $106 billion record deals they amassed in 2015, putting them

close to the u.s. but the most overseas deals. among the main concerns is whether chinese firms and their close ties to the government can pose a national security threat. american regulators charged with monitoring these matters are paying attention to technology deals. this involvement led to the collapse of chinese investments in western digital. europe became the more popular target than the u.s. for chinese deals in 2015-2016. the chinese have been snapping up german companies at the rate of one in every two weeks. the german economy minister is demanding the european union strengthen powers to next deals or -- mix deals or impose conditions on outside companies. there are the arguments. free-market proponents say it is difficult for the chinese regulations and make it harder for foreign companies to buy chinese firms, but the chinese companies are much more free to shop around in other countries. they argue that china gains an unfair advantage on economic you see financing, provided by

government-backed banks. the other argument is chinese firms have saved companies from bankruptcy in the united states. a study in germany drew similar conclusions. they warned that chinese overseas investments could turn into a trojan horse, and that introduces the politics and values of the country. critics respond that is a cold war mentality. now chinese companies face a new uncertainty. donald trump. >> they take our money, they take our jobs. and we owe them $1.6 trillion. >> u.s. regulators will be headed by the donald trump secretary. anna: that was just one of the many quick takes you can find on the bloomberg. you can also find them at bloomberg.com, along with the latest business news and analysis 24 hours a day.

that is all for "bloomberg best." i'm anna edwards. thank you for watching bloomberg television. ♪

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