erik: coming up on "bloomberg best," the stories that shaped the week in business around the world. decisions, decisions, decisions. the world was on watch for surprises as central banks made interest rate decisions. >> we learned that janet yellen is the perpetual dove. >> boj is definitely running out of cards. erik: dutch voters put populism on pause while the u.s. comes down hard on hackers. and bruising battles rage on capitol hill. >> this to me is a very shortsighted budget. >> our president said this from day one on the campaign and i am

not surprised. erik: in the midst of political turbulence, business and financial leaders seek out solid ground. >> we need to maintain optional -- option analogy. erik: and positives in new policies for u.s. automakers. >> this is something we can do to be more effective and more efficient, and in the end, i believe it will have a greater impact on the environment and we will be more efficient. erik: it is all straight ahead on "bloomberg best." ♪ erik: hello and welcome. i am erik schatzker. this is "bloomberg best," your weekly review of the most important business news, analysis, and interviews from bloomberg television around the world. many of this week's most important events have been on the calendar for months, notably central-bank policy meetings, but on monday, political surprises were the order of the day. ♪

>> we have some breaking news because the congressional budget office has released its scoring, its assessment of the house gop alternative to obamacare. some of the big headlines, the bill would reduce the federal deficit by $337 billion. however, it would cause a 14 million more people to be uninsured in 2018. what is your snap judgment? >> this is a win, the fact that it is saying it would reduce the federal deficits by $337 billion. that is something the white house will be pushing for. again, the fact that it would increase the number of people who are currently ensured, that is a number the democrats are going to pounce on. without question, the fact that they are saying it would reduce the federal deficit is the takeaway for the white house. >> if you roll back federal

subsidies for health insurance by a lot, as this bill would, there are two natural consequences. one is fewer people have health insurance and the other is the government saves money. in that sense, cbo's estimate should not be surprising to anyone. ♪ >> scotland heading for another vote on independence, opening a new front in the brexit bottle -- battle. >> i will seek the authority of the scottish parliament to agree with the u.k. government, the details of a section 30 order. >> massive deal, medium-sized deal or not so big deal? sturgeon is wanting to call another referendum. >> she is nothing if not a canny politician. she will not make that kind of call unless she is confident she can win this. for may, it will not stop brexit or triggering article 50, but it could complicate things significantly for her. one, it will give the european commission that ammunition to say look at the divisions in your own country.

i think this is a lot more than just an empty threat. ♪ >> the prime minister is preparing to trigger brexit in the last week of march according to two officials familiar with the plans. last night, parliament passed legislation to invoke article 50 of the lisbon treaty. >> we remain on track with the timetable i set forth six months ago. i will return to this house before the end of this month to notify that i have formally triggered article 50. and begun the process there went to the u.k. will leave the european union. >> bloomberg has been told by officials familiar with the plan that the end of the month is still on track and one official said the most likely date between march 27-30. this bill is going through unchanged. it is going through with no amendments because the house of commons rejected the amendment put forward by the house of lords.

>> let's go to kathleen hays at the federal reserve in washington. >> federal reserve raises benchmark to 0.75%. the president in minneapolis said he didn't want to hike the key rate. the median estimate remains three rate hikes. it is a stronger consensus. >> we continue to respect that the ongoing strength of the economy will warrant gradual increases in the federal funds rate to achieve and maintain our objectives. >> what did you learn in the press conference? >> not much. we learned that janet yellen is the perpetual dove, even when conditions are rather hawkish in terms of full employment and employment growth and stock market at an all-time peak. she proceeds in a gradual way. i don't think that is inappropriate, i think because of the higher leverage in the u.s. economy and global economy, the central banks have to proceed in a gradual way. she is a dove and that is why

the markets reacted as they did. >> the bank of japan kept unchanged today. they are maintaining the pace of asset purchases. how much creative can governor kuroda get? he decides to cap at 10 year yields. what does 2017 bring? >> the fact of the matter is that he probably feels that the ball should be in the court of the corporate side, not his side. he is not a magician that can bring out rabbits all the time. although they deny it, i think their deep pocket is not there is much as it used to be. you can see the reaction of the financial market, it is showing signs that boj is running out of cards. >> a record high as the pound declines. we are moments away from the bank of england's monetary

decision. that decision drops now, a decision that leaves rates unchanged at 0.25%, and asset purchase program docketed at $445 billion. kristin forbes votes for a 25 basis point interest rate hike. the bank of england with rates unchanged. >> what i am surprised about from these minutes is the discussion about the survey evidence of activity was almost glossed over. it was almost like there was no evidence. we know there has been. we have seen business investments intentions fallen off sharply. admittedly not as much as we thought they would. i think we are going to see the data start to roll over. ♪ >> historically deep cuts, that is what president trump is proposing in his budget. the president's so-called skinny budget was released overnight

and would touch almost every federal agency and program. >> president trump wants to boost military spending by $54 billion, and he would look to offset that increase by cutting several key agencies. including the epa. >> we are going to move away from some of the domestic priorities and move to protecting us. again, our president said this from day one on the campaign and i'm not surprised. >> this to me is a very shortsighted budget. i heard my friend mick mulvaney talking about how this was taken from president trump's campaign speeches. if that is what he got out of trump's campaign speeches, he ought to be a translator at the united nations because i don't think anyone can get this out of what he campaigned on. ♪ >> president trump and angela merkel are meeting for the first time in washington, d.c.

there is concern about a u.s. shift toward protectionism. >> economic policy and trade agreements. you could not have two more polar opposite global leaders in terms of immigration and global immigration regarding the middle east than angela merkel and president donald trump. a lot of attention focused day on trade policy as well as immigration. >> i think her main message really is, don't look at trade as a zero-sum game. she has said this in various ways in the last few weeks in the buildup, and ever since trump won the election. it is seen in germany as a protectionist agenda. >> i think it is a clever move to bring the ceos of bmw, siemens, and tesla with her. all three of them stand for german companies and investment in the united states that add up to more than 600,000 jobs in the u.s. if you start to impose a border

adjustment tax or any other measures, you are also at risk to lose a good chunk of that tradition. i think that is a language, someone who is constantly bragging about his business skills, would understand. ♪ erik: still ahead as we review the week on "bloomberg best," an election in the netherlands flipped the script on european populism while another candidate stumbles in the french presidential race. plus, axel weber tells us what kind of brexit he is expecting. next, more of the week's top business headlines. autonomous cars are coming down the pipe, and intel pays a premium to enter the fast lane. >> this deal is immediately accretive to our earnings per share. erik: this is bloomberg. ♪

♪ erik: this is "bloomberg best." i am erik schatzker. let's continue our local tour of the week's top business stories with a big deal. one of silicon valley's stalwarts went shopping in israel. >> in a move to dominate the technology for self driving cars, intel in a deal valued at $15 billion. shares are up a whopping 29%. is that reasonable? >> it is insanely expensive. this company is paying $15 billion. it is a profitable company. it is a free cash flowing company, it is no snapchat, but they are paying through the nose for the company because it is the leader in this emerging field of automated driving, self driving cars. it is a very high price tag for this company, but that is what intel thinks it has to do to jump start their efforts here.

>> we knew this was a hot space. gathering up these technologies and building on this platform was important. and also, this deal, although large, is immediately accretive to our earnings per share and our free cash flow. it was a good deal from that perspective for intel. ♪ >> hsbc has named mark tucker as its chairman. he will succeed douglas flint starting from october 1. what has been the latest? what more do we know at this point? >> mark tucker will be the first external hire to take on the role of chairman and hsbc. when hsbc said they were looking for replacements for douglas flint as he approaches the end of his term, they had said there would be an external higher and a nonexecutive role. we knew that was what they were looking for. tucker was aig ceo for several

years. mark tucker comes into this role as chairman, and he will have to find a replacement for the ceo, who is also on the way out. >> we're talking of course about the slew of chatter, the deluge that is coming out of investment and factory investment. >> more surprising from china. the retail sales number increasing 9.5% for the january to february period. the estimates have been 10.6% over that period. missing quite substantially on the retail sales. it is not bad growth, but it compares to double digit growth in previous years. >> do you think we are reaching a peak when it comes to china's growth stabilization? >> not when it comes to the growth story, but when it comes

, it willou -- ppi probably be high enough for the pboc to raise interest rates further but we are not far from that peak. click -- >> let's talk about toshiba. they are considering selling the larger stake. >> they made the announcement to delay the release of third-quarter earnings for a second time. remind us what is causing the delay. >> today was supposed to be the day that the company finally reported its earnings for the quarter ending in december. instead, it said it can't produce those results and sought an extension of a few more weeks to calculate the numbers. at the same time, it's looking to sell a majority stake in westinghouse. toshiba is trying to get around how deep the problems are with

the nuclear unit. it has been struggling to complete nuclear plant construction projects in the united states, years behind schedule right now. the company says it will need to take a write-down of probably about $6 billion, but it could be bigger than that. its auditors will not sign off on the books. the company is investigating whether management at westinghouse exerted undue pressure as they try to cut a deal to buy nuclear construction site. they have problems there trying to get their hands around. ♪ >> bank of england deputy governor charlotte hogg has quit. a parliamentary committee said she did not meet the standards required for the role. lawmakers were concerned that she did not reveal that her brother works at barclays. which of the central bank regulates. give us a sense of how embarrassing this is for the bank of england. >> from a pr perspective, this is quite uncomfortable and embarrassing. this is one of the cases where it is more perception of conflict of interest rather than actual conflict of interest.

lawmakers have said they don't believe she the deliberately misled anyone with the connection to barclays. there has not actually been a conflict of interest while she has been chief operating officer, but now that she is deputy governor, the standards that they expect for that position, she has not met those. that is why they said she did not meet the standards. >> is it because she was essentially his pick that this happened? >> i think it is a case of she was an appointment by mark carney and is seen as being close to mark carney, and he is losing a close and loyal ally. ♪ >> valeant shares are down in the premarket as activist investor bill ackman cuts his losses. he sells his stay in the embattled drugmaker. he is cashing out and makes the challenges faced by the company more difficult than before. we've learned he is sold his entire steak at a loss and is leaving the board. how much of the story is about bill ackman, and how much is it about hedge funds more broadly?

>> i think it is both. i think bill ackman has built up -- he is a polarizing figure, even among activist investors, which is a polarizing category of investors. he makes these very big bets and he is very outspoken and there have been a number of situations where he has been criticized for just holding on too long or letting his ego get in the way and not wanting to give up on something that arguably should've been given up a lot longer go. this could be another one of those situations. ♪ >> the u.s. government is pointing the finger at russia for another high-profile cyber attack. justice department official charged two criminal hackers in a wide-ranging scheme in a 2014 breach at yahoo! >> this is the russia equivalent of what the doj released against china.

-- against the chinese pla hackers. it is their job to paint a picture of how russian intelligence is cooperating with criminal hackers who helped them high intelligence operations but also help them be more effective than they would be on their own. it is a devastating picture of what happened inside yahoo! these guys got access to internal systems that allow them to basically create encrypted cookies that go on machines and access any of the users actual email accounts anytime you wanted over a period of years. ♪ >> president trump's second travel ban has been blocked in a court in hawaii. this is the second, another defeat. tell us what led up to the ruling today. >> the attorney general of hawaii, supported by a number of other agencies across the country, argued that the travel ban is unconstitutional because despite of the revisions to the order, the impetus remains rhetoric from the campaign, where the president called for a muslim ban and registry.

the questions raised by the judge were why he should consider those arguments. justice department was not able to sway him to ignore them, and he ruled to ban the travel ban. ♪ >> let's turn to the g-20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in germany. trade of course top of the agenda. >> for the finance ministers gathered here, trade is not normally central to the agenda, but it has become a sticking point in coming up with a communicator to assure the g-20 is a cohesive group. the u.s. and chinese in particular have faced off over the word fair, whether global trade should be rules spaced or -- rules-based and fair or just

open and free. chinese do not want fair. the u.s. pushing for it. the europeans caught in the middle. others have come up with compromises, but nobody has agreed on anything and it will be a major topic of discussion this afternoon. >> the man who is at the center of everything, steve mnuchin, how is he doing so far? >> he seems to be doing alright at least in public. he has sat on the right things -- has said all the right things and talked about cooperations, getting along with his colleagues. we've heard other finance ministers describe the negotiations between their deputies and u.s. officials as extremely difficult. ♪

erik: welcome back to "bloomberg best." i am erik schatzker. at a meeting with auto executives in michigan this week, president donald trump announced he had ordered a midterm review of industry

regulations, including fuel standards put in place by the obama administration. bloomberg's david westin discussed the implications with gm chairman mary barra. >> i think it is so important that we look at all the progress that has been made in the last five years in technology, how consumer trends have changed, and look at the whole environment because we can do things that are going to improve the environment, are going to not threaten jobs. i think we can do things that will create jobs and strengthen the economy, but do the right thing for the environment. that is the key thing. this is not at odds. we can be more effective, more efficient and i think it will have a greater impact on the environment. >> this is something you and your colleagues asked for. that is to say let's go back and take another look at this. the regulations go to 2025. which is a long way. at what point, if they had not changed the pack, would gm have to change the way it is doing business? >> what would really happen is

we would not be able to give customers the choice we give them today. they choose if they are going to buy an suv or an electric vehicle. we are full range. we are continuing to invest in the chevrolet volt ev. 238 miles. we are very proud of it and it is doing well. we are making investments to have the right products. there is more change happening right now in the industry than has happened in the last 50 years. when you look at the legislation five years ago, before we were even talking about autonomous the way we talk about it now. to take a pause, be data driven, and look at what are the right standards, how can we improve the environment and the most effective way, i think makes all the sense and is what we agreed to back in 2012. the president also talked a fair amount about trade. -- isaker version of the

there a version of the border adjustment tax that general motors could live with? >> i think your point is, it depends on what exactly is it. we don't know. what we are is a long lead, high capital business so we need to understand what the rules are going to be so we can make smart investments. sometimes the investments we put in place are in 10, 20 years in position. we need to make sure we understand it. we voiced what our concerns are to make sure we can support the environment, our company, and in this new tax environment. there is a lot to be learned yet, and we are waiting to understand it. ♪ erik: coming up on "bloomberg best," more of the week's compelling conversations. axel says european integration is still at risk and a mexican presidential contender is holding nothing back and talking about donald trump. plus as scotland moves toward another vote on independence, a leading politician says the economy should hold well on its own. >> there is an underlying strength in the scottish parliament based on bravery. erik: this is bloomberg. ♪

♪ >> the issue on housing affordability and housing prices in australia is the match between supply and demand. it is not a credit bubble. the real prices and values and what we are working in the government to do is downward pressure on the rising prices by addressing the supply challenges and working with remnants to achieve that. >> what are you doing? in terms of creating the right conditions, where more supply comes on? >> that will be outlined in our budget. what we will be outlining in that budget manages to go right

across the housing affordability spectrum. erik: that was australian treasurer scott morrison talking about stabilizing his nation's red-hot property market. it was an exclusive interview with bloomberg markets: asia appeared now scotland considers a referendum on independence, at economicok success outside the united kingdom. guy johnson discussed that topic this week with former scottish prime minister alex. >> there is an underlying strength in the scottish economy based not just on natural resources, based on brains. scotland has more universities in the world top 200 than any other country. except i think one. reporter: are you certain scotland as an independent country could rejoin the european union? >> yes, i am. i think what you'll find is over the next few months a very distinct perspective for

scotland and europe will open up. i think you will be able to see exactly how scotland can secure its position. it probably faster in the european area, then we will have a friendly reception across europe. scotland has many, many friends in europe. the u.k. has virtually none left. this is a big transformation from 2014. as the spokesperson for the scottish national party, a long with a meeting with jean-claude yunker, i mean there is a total difference a total difference in , attitude towards scotland, because people know scotland is basically pro-european. they are thoroughly exasperated with the government in london which is pursuing such a reckless brexit course. reporter: what did he tell you about whether not scotland could join the euro? >> did not actually discussed scotland joining the euro because we know facts or example, sweden is in the european union but not in the

euro. no the rules are you got to be , an exchange mechanism for two years before you can even apply to join the euro. to begin the exchange rate mechanism is a voluntary act. that is why sweden is not in the euro, and that would apply to scotland as it applies to about nine other countries. reporter: so you would not expect scotland to join the single currency? >> correct. reporter: would it be full membership, transitional membership, would there be a period where you are not a member of either union? >> the logic of having a referendum on the timescale as outlined is you can compare the hard tory brexit plans with what emerges as the perspective for scotland and europe. that is what is going to emerge over the next few months, and i have certain the negotiations about scotland will be a good deal easier than the negotiations in london and brexit. erik: financial leaders from

across the eurozone came together this week at events around the meeting of g-20 finance ministers in baden-baden, and we caught up with several of them. let's start with ubs group axel who spoke exclusively to bloomberg from the iif g-20 conference in frankfurt. >> european integration is challenged at the moment by brexit. that has been the first data point where the market was very concerned. there was a lot of uncertainty and really strong movements and volatility in the market. and that is going to continue. europe is going to be plagued by political uncertainty the entire year. and even greece that is looking for another mission might come back as a problem over the summer. plenty of political risks that might materialize in europe. the market will react with volatility and caution as the data points materialize. and as these elections happen. reporter: hints of early elections in greece now as you bring that up. let's talk about brexit. you mentioned you are thinking

about 1500 jobs moving from london as a result of brexit. are you making an assumption at ubs that we are going to see a hard brexit? >> i think what we need to do is we need to manage risk. we need to manage tail risk. we need to be prepared for every eventuality. in terms of our planning, we need to look at these options. the key for us is not to take a certain decision. the key is to maintain as much as we can, functionality. we do not want to take decisions that we regret, but at the same time we cannot afford to wait with our decisions until all of the political dust has settled. for us, a key point will be the triggering of the article 50, which in that point makes the exit of britain almost an unreversible trajectory for the next few years. and then we are going to look very early on how full -- hopeful we can be that market access to european markets will continue. i think it's not going to

continue on the basis of the old arrangement. britain needs to have completely new arrangement with the e.u. any grandfathering except for a short transition time is not in my expectations. reporter: how likely is it we reach an agreement on the basel iii agreement. when do you expect that to be? >> lots of questions but most importantly, let me state it is my understanding and my feeling that these meetings in basel they go well. we keep on narrowing, we keep on discussing things. all those meetings have progress. it is important that we have a global agreement. it would be good for the banking industry, the banking industry. they want clarity and certainty what they have to face. so i think we as regulators are clearly under pressure to produce over time an agreement.

to have an agreement, you need to compromise, and we need to look for common ground from a german perspective. we are very much looking for common ground with everyone else. so, i am confident we will have the agreement in due course but we are under no time pressure. erik: and as the u.s. and mexico navigate delicate diplomatic challenges, the early front-runner in next year's mexican presidential election has some harsh words for donald trump. lopez obrador and he blasted -- i sat down with andreas manuel lopez obrador and he blasted trump's campaign of hate against mexican immigrants. >> he is very authoritarian, but also strident, confrontational. that policy is not good for the united states, and it is not good for the world. and it is not good for him, because, if he continues like this, he will lose the next election. he will not be reelected.

with that type of president, how can mexico renegotiate the free trade agreement, nafta? >> with clearness, without being disrespectful to the president of the united states, donald trump. acting with independence, with sovereignty because mexico is not a colony of any foreign government. erik: but if president trump insists on imposing tariffs on imports, how should the mexican government respond? >> we have to appeal to the international trade bodies. and pursue complaints. if donald trump continues with

his hate campaign against the mexican migrants -- when those things happen, we will go to the u.n., and we will report the united states government for violation of human rights and racial discrimination. ♪

♪ erik: you are watching "bloomberg best." i'm erik schatzker. britain's brexit negotiations were not the only important political story in europe this week. investors paid close attention to elections in the netherlands, as well as drama in france's presidential campaign. >> let's talk a bit about france. in france, francois fillon was charged with misuse of permanent funds, casting a shadow over his bid to become the next president. he has denied any wrongdoing and

announced the investigation as a plot by his political opponents to undermine his candidacy. is this enough to sink him? >> probably not because we knew this was coming. this news should have broken today. it came out yesterday. about 10 days ago, in a press conference where fillon said he was summoned to be interrogated by the judges in this affair of getting, giving up work -- hiring family members for parliamentary aide, he expected to be charged after the investigation. i think the damage probably has been done. i mean he is already -- he was the front runner several months back in january before the revelations about the affair broke. he has fallen back quite a bit. he is now in third place. it means that he would not make -- as things stand now, he would not make the may 7 run off. he just has the these revelations behind him. it is all we have spoken about the past month is fillon's affairs. >> liberalism it seems has won the day against the populist

vote. a vote for europe, a vote for extremism. 30 parties were here to haggle in the hague. when it comes down to the numbers, you saw a near 80% turn in the polls, and that is very very high relative to 2012, , relative to 2006. so the liberals, they are the victors here. ,rom margaret to -- mark rutte we expect them to start the formation of a government. it could take up to 200 days. that's the longest that it took at one stage. liberals, their vote was up to this, but they still barely half 12% of the vote. the greens did well and nearly quadrupled their seats in their parliament, up to 15. it could be that man is the rainmaker. the question for markets from my perspective is have the dutch , built a firewall? is the prime minister right in terms of the people of the netherlands have drawn a wall up against this populist wave? >> sure, well this dutch

, election was always going to be a good test to see which way the populists winds were blowing in europe. and it was the real test we've first had in 2017 in the region. those populist winds are not quite as strong as we thought they would be. that has filtered into the positioning with the currency. the euro has rebounded quite aggressively. as the political mist clears, as people realize maybe they were a little bit too worried about the risk of populism in europe the euro is likely to , grind higher over the course of this year. we may start seeing ecb tightening in the second half of this year once those political clouds begin to clear, giving more of an uplift to the single currency. >> what do you think as far as the reaction in the bond market? is this a sigh of relief kind of day? >> i certainly think we are seeing a bit of relief honestly on the results in holland. but i think when you try to extrapolate this and transfer it

to france, then the two are very very different. , i think it is a bit of a relief today. the market will really set the focus on france again. i think investors have learned from brexit, from the u.s. election, that the risks are there, and you have to focus on others as well. >> relations between the u.s. and asia were also in the spotlight this week. rex tillerson making his first official trip to japan, south korea, and china. and the rhetoric ramped up using before he touched down. >> president trump's trade pick has been questioned as -- at his confirmation hearing. robert litan hauser said he agreed with the u.s. assertion that he could do better at negotiating deals. he mentioned china as a key issue for the u.s. as well. >> that is right. donald trump's pick had plenty to say about china. the country accounts for more

than half of the u.s.'s $500 billion trade deficit. he shares many similar views about china with trump. he thinks trump can shake things up. this is what he said. >> between now it's time i leave, you will save bob, you were right. he really is going to change the paradigm on china. i believe he's going to change the paradigm on china. and if you look at our problems, china is right up there. >> he also said that the u.s. needs imaginative solutions on trade negotiations. the wto is not set to deal with , and's industrial policy that its steel and aluminum is very troubling. lighthauzer has been called "the hammer" before, a tough negotiator. he is known as an experienced one. if he does not get confirmed to this position, it will be an interesting argument between him and china on how things will pan out in terms of trade. >> with the chinese premier speaking right now at a press

conference in beijing. he is wrapping up two weeks of political pageantry. the parliamentary session is known as the national people's congress. he was speaking about china-u.s. ties, saying china and united states should expand in mutual interest. that they tend to have inevitably agreements and but that there are strong prospects when it comes to building u.s.-china relations. the premier also saying that the one china policy is a foundation of u.s.-china ties. >> it is really interesting that he highlighted the one china policy. i think what he talked about, and as the foundation, it points to this sigh of relief over the phone call between the two presidents where trump did say he would support one china policy after previously of course questioning whether or not that should be part of the bargaining chip for the u.s., a bargaining chip for the u.s. when it -- approaches trade with

china. trump came out and said he will stick to the one china policy. from the chinese perspective, that is the bedrock, and they can work and negotiate and move things forward. >> secretary of state rex tillerson is in tokyo ahead of talks with prime minister shinzo abe. >> right now we are outside the guesthouse which is part of the ministry of foreign affairs where the talks with his japanese counterpart will happen later this afternoon, as well is -- as a meeting with prime minister shinzo abe. north korea will be a top the agenda. also issues with china. but don't forget about the issues with japan because the united states of course is withdrawing from the transpacific partnership. there have been calls by president trump for japan to shoulder a bigger load for its defense bill. defense blanket that the united states provides. >> today in a meeting with japan's finance minister secretary tillerson addressed , the escalation of north korea and how japan can rain that yen.

>> we look to china for them to fulfill their obligations and what the sanctions in the u.n. resolutions. we look for to having further interactions with china. it would behold to bring north korea to a different attitude about its future need for nuclear weapons. >> what is he proposing here? how big a deal how big a change , in tone and policy towards north korea? >> frankly, i do not hear anything different. this is standard u.s. policy. with respect to china and north korea we talk to the chinese a , lot. we pressure the chinese a lot. we think the chinese have the most leverage on north korea, nothing has happened. rishaad: ok, well rex tillerson is on this. we just farmland in south korea -- thought him land in south korea. now, north korea is a major headache for this region. what needs to be done that is different? >> i think the policy options for the united states are very limited other than trying to apply leverage on china.

so this trip i am afraid we are , not going to see any significant breakthroughs. this is a fact-finding mission. he will be cautious, he will be careful, and try to establish parameters of the u.s.-china relationship. >> u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson got a look at north korean today and had a warning for kim jong-un's regime. he visited the world's most heavily armed border, the so-called demilitarized zone between north and south korea. tillerson said the u.s. is all alternative -- considering all alternatives to north korea. he did not rule out a preemptive strike. >> all of our options on the table. certainly we do not want to -- for things to get to a military conflict. we are quite clear in that in our communications. but obviously, if north korea takes actions that threatens the south korean forces or our forces, then that will be met with an appropriate response. ♪

♪ >> let's talk about the weather. you know what is pretty cool? the bloomberg has all kind of different tools to examine the weather, including whut . it gives you all kinds of fancy weather maps right from the noaa. you can toggle between temperature, it is going to be really called, precipitation, there is going to be a lot of it in our area. all kinds of different ways of exploring these massive storms. if you're stuck at home or the office, and you are going to be sleeping under your desk, you want to see what is going on with the weather, just type it in. erik: there are about 30,000 functions on the bloomberg. and we always enjoy showing you our favorites on bloomberg television. maybe they will become your favorites. here is another function you will find useful, quic . it takes you to our quick packs, where you can get important

insight into timely topics. this week's quick peck examines the republican proposal to replace obamacare. president trump: it is an unbelievably complex subject. nobody knew that health care could be so complicated. ♪ >> president donald trump and the republican controlled congress rolled in on day one with an imperative to repeal and replace the affordable care act, or, as the rest of us call it, obamacare. 45 days in to the new administration the house , republicans took their first stab at a new health care plan. they call it the american health care act. >> this is the american health care act. >> or the world's greatest health care plan of 2017. while house speaker paul ryan certainly expected the bill to cause a rift with the democrats, he is experiencing one with republicans as well. here's the situation. the affordable care act was signed into law in 2010 into -- and took full effect in late 2013. under obamacare, 20 million gained coverage with the largest

addition coming through the expansion of medicaid. the uninsured rate fell by about half and the number of people signing up to the exchanges keeps growing. it was not until trump took office and republicans moved to repeal it that obamacare became more popular than not in america. but many conservatives, ryan's act is looking less like repeal and replace. more like revise. the bill keeps the popular under 26 provision and pre-existing conditions policies. certain republicans are livid that it continues giving tax credit to make insurance more affordable although, they would , be based on age and income. they leave medicaid expansion place in for democrats object to 2020. any rollback. they say it would be out of reach for poor people. >> millions of americans don't like what they see. >> the granddaddy measure of them all is the repeal of obamacare's least popular provision, the individual mandates. >> we are doing away with the penalty. this tax has been such a burden

on many americans. >> here is the argument. a main pillar of obamacare, the individual mandate, requires every individual, sick and healthy alike, to qualifying health coverage or face taxes. the new plan would do away with the individual mandate and replace it with continuous coverage rolls. people can choose not to buy insurance and set up a higher premiums if they choose to buy it later. >> we are in the midst of a rescue mission to save the families were getting caught up in the deaths viral that has become -- death spiral that obamacare said. >> by eliminating the individual mandate, it can produce a very death spiral health care that many republicans feared. an insurance death spiral is when the healthiest people are permitted to drop out, and they leave behind a slightly sicker population that is more expensive to care for. the premiums would force out the next year of healthy people, making the remaining population even sicker. the nonpartisan congressional budget office does not predict a death spiral but still estimates that 24 million americans would lose health insurance by the end of a decade. and $37 billion would be trimmed

from the deficit. many obstacles remain in the passage of the aca. trump has urged wayward conservatives and moderates in the party to get in line for what is likely to be a bitter fight for approval. president trump: it is a complicated process, but actually it is more simple. it is called "good health care." ♪ erik: that was just one of the many quick picks you can find on the bloomberg. you can find them at bloomberg.com along with the latest business news and analysis 24 hours a day. that will be all for "bloomberg best." thank you for watching. i'm erik schatzker. this is bloomberg. ♪

♪ >> china and the u.s. look ahead to toxic and rising tensions over protectionism and north korea. is off the agenda as finance ministers meet, but the u.s. yet to explain why america first will work. >> uber takes a new direction, the president said to quit among eight slew of controversies with the company. >> the battle with traditional cars is over, and suv has