>> coming up, the stories that have shaped the week in business around the world. politics dominates the headlines, from berlin to paris, to tokyo to washington dc. >> this is in now or never a moment. >> we are encouraging a tax plan to invest in our country and the future of our country. >> mergers in europe. will they get the right to drive in saudi arabia? and janet yellen speaks and caution is the message. >> this is a topic that we do not understand it all and we may have made mistakes. >> a finance ministers speaking of. >> we are at a turning point.

we have turned a corner. >> and we explain the appeal of trading bitcoin. >> i always tell people i need a story and a chart. >> and exclusive investment in sight. >> call me a cynic, but i think there could be a little disappointment ahead of us. >> all ahead on "bloomberg best." host: welcome. i'm yvonne man. bloomberg best, a weekly review of the most important business news, analysis and interviews from bloomberg television around the world. it was a momentous week in politics and policy across the globe, starting with a closely watched election in germany. angela merkel has won a fourth term as chancellor, but her victory was marred by

support for the populace party and a clear rebuke to her open door policy on refugees. mainne of her mine -- partners now want to be part of the opposition. who will she build a coalition with? >> with the liberals and greens, that is their only choice after the social democrats have said they will no longer participate in the government, but go to the opposition. >> it is untested at the national level, making it more difficult. first of all, you have these two parties you are negotiating with, instead of just one and there are differences between the greens and liberals, so whether they are able to come to a solution and how quickly they can do it remains to be seen. >> it is highly likely that the coalition talks will be difficult, but they will work out. the least likely of scenarios is germany would go for new elections. that is something that would be prevented in the end, but they

probably will not have to do that. >> i do not think it is a bad thing to have the greens. i think it gives you a more balanced view around, or greater disposition -- distribution for angela merkel. it will be harder to come to terms with and get established, but once in place i do not think the outcome is bad for europe at all. defeat, center republican -- senate republicans decided not to hold a vote on the gop's latest attempts to repeal and replace the affordable care law. senator lindsey graham will cosponsor the legislation with bill cassidy, and say the fight is not over. >> we are going to get there. to my republican colleagues, we will fulfill our promise to repeal and replace. to the american people, we will improve health care for you, because at the end of the day that is the only thing that matters. >> the message was they will continue to push on health care.

they have not given up, but it will not be this week. do you see room, a path forward for health care given that the three senators that came out against the bill had a very different reasons to oppose it? atst: i think the dynamic play, the reason it was not able to go further now is you have republican senators on very different sides of the issue. you have susan collins, a relative moderate, who wants more money for medicaid and opposes the fundamental changes to medicaid that the vast majority of republicans support, contrast with the ted cruz who wants far more deregulation and he wants the medicaid reform. i do not see where the two sides reconcile in this discussion. while they say they want to come back to health care, i think it means they want to move onto something else and at some point maybe something changes, they will revisit it. i just do not see it. >> the president and revoke and leaders announcing a tax reform framework promising to cut the

individual rate to 35%, and allowing congress to decide whether to create a higher bracket. >> it is in now or never a moment. the choice is really clear. >> what is left for congress to do based on what we have gotten today? >> it is a tough decision. this is mostly stuff they agree on. the nine page document mostly focuses on lowering tax rates for individuals, including the top rate down to 35%. 25% rate for the pass-through businesses, very steep cut from where they are now. 20% corporate tax rate. these are things they agree on and the relatively easier things to agree on because there are more benefits than taking away, but they must decide which loopholes to close if they want to raise revenue and prevent this from exploding the deficit. >> we will cut taxes for the middle class, make the tax code simpler and more fair for everyday americans, and we are going to bring back the jobs and wealth that have left our

country. >> the president really very much pushing back against democratic criticism. the statement from democrats piling in throughout the speech, saying this is little more than tax breaks and cuts for the wealthy at the expense of middle and low income americans. the president saying that is not the case, pushing back against the that and framing this is a once in a generation opportunity to unleash american growth. >> president donald trump and republicans revealing their tax reform plan yesterday and u.s. stocks going higher into the close, while the dire -- or dollar closes their three-day rally. gains have been incredible. the biggest weekly gain since november 2016. >> to paraphrase chris rock, i do not want to give too much credit for republicans doing what they were supposed to do. yesterday was an important step. over the next few weeks what will be interesting for us and the markets to gauge, is how

fierce opposition will be, specifically looking at the mortgage industry and the state that look to have their tax preferences either completely eliminated or materially diluted. >> the reviews from republicans have been positive, they like the corporate tax reduction at 20%, and the push back is really coming from the revenue raisers. that is always the case. they tend to be controversial. the big one in this bill is the state and local tax reduction, targeted for elimination. >> do you expect to do this with democrats? >> i believe there will be democrats voted for the bill. you will see the first phase of tax reform start next week. so the question on whether it will get done this year, we will know by next week. >> we think if we are going to get a manyfold -- meaningful bill passed and have staying power it must be a bipartisan bill. >> there has to be an open

process, they cannot do it through what we call reconciliation where it comes in the dark of night without chances of amendments, etc. host: the dollar rally slowing down today as optimism about tax cuts hit hurdles. >> something investors cannot be sure they will get tax reform this year. >> i would say i have a better chance of court backing the jets in the super bowl, then i do of the package passing in its entirety and designed. >> the red lines are, the business tax rates both on the corporate entities and pass-through entities cannot go higher than in the initial proposal, and if there has to be a tax cut for hard-working middle americans. we are willing to work with this on the other dials we have in the system. >> you must agree, i assume, that this would hurt revenues in the short term. even under the reagan tax plan they lost $200 billion in revenue over the first four years.

>> we are putting incentives in place for companies to spend money in the united states, to bring jobs back to the united states, to bring businesses back, and we are allowing them to spin the money but it will cost them money in the beginning, but like every company ever built in this country, you invest upfront to create greater returns over the long-term. we as a country have to make an investment. we have to invest in ourselves. we are creating a tax plan that encourages you to invest in this country and the future of the country. ♪ host: still ahead as we review the week on bloomberg best, exclusive insight from kick in us founder jim chanos. and explaining why he is bullish on cryptocurrency. plus, inflation baffling central bankers. and more of the week's top business stories. it has been a week of controversy for american football and college basketball. >> i think the fbi is doing

ncaa's dirty work. host: this is bloomberg. ♪

♪ yvonne: this is "bloomberg best." i'm yvonne man. we are continuing our global tour of the top business stories. japan, a political gamble from the prime minister. ♪ >> politics dominated the economic outlook and outlook for equities in japan. the prime minister shinzo abe holding a commanding lead in opinion polls. this with his coalition partners. he is seeking an $18 billion economic package, what are the economists saying it will mean for the japanese economy? >> by historical standards, the headline does not look that big.

you may recall the government announced a year ago a package worth 28 billion yen, 14 times as big as this one. as always, the key is in the details. in this case, the money will go toward the families with small kids to help pay for their education and childcare. we expect to see tax incentives for companies that would encourage wage increases. it is not about building bridges to nowhere, but rather about spawning a virtuous cycle of economic expansion. >> the japanese prime minister betting he can crushed a weak opposition in exmouth's election -- in next month's election. boostnted as all -- to the economy. a big gamble here for the prime ministers. >> it is a gamble. and a lot of things that play. there is the opposition, which is in disarray. also, the big 2 trillion yen stem list package that shinzo

abe announced yesterday. he is taking a gamble, but betting the opposition is in disarray. and the voting public life his stance -- li his stance on north korea. kes >> the french president has laid out the vision of the eu he has set offers the block real sovereignty to defend their interests and projected values in a globalized world. >> only the eurozone with a strong, international currency can offer europe the framework of an economic world power. >> you look at growth. inyou look at the spd germany for example, we had the prime minister saying this was a plea against nationalism in europe. it does look like the split we see in germany and the rest of europe with the rise of nationalism, and with a new kind of spirit between eastern europe and western europe, we have heard from the check prime

minister -- czech prime minister who said that with that kind of n made will lead lea others to exit the european union. >> saudi arabia, we have a new plan to lift a ban on women driving, ending its status as the only country in the world has these restrictions. the most dramatic move so far in the government, opening up the saudi economy. what impact will it have, allowing half the economy to drive must be a pretty in just an experiment? >> absolutely. first and foremost it is about setting the tone. anybody who had doubts about reforms, including investors if you take a look at valuations, this is the answer. they are serious about reforms and even tackling in issue that has been sensitive and controversial. think along the lines in terms

of a more productive labor force, in terms of perhaps new car purchases, and instead of paying a driver, you keep the money and spend it on other things, so think about consumer confidence. it means going back to the drawing board and almost starting from scratch when you think about investing in the country. >> a major risk developed over the weekend between donald trump and professional sports when he condemned nfl players who kneeled during the national anthem, expressing disappointment over race relations in the country. the president tweeted the issue has nothing to do with race, it is about respect for our country and the national anthem. among his base in particular, in terms of energizing the base and giving them a signal, i am still with you, he thinks it is a winner. >> ford motors issuing a respectt saying we

those who express their views, even if they are not ones that we share. and emphasizing the importance of free speech. >> you will see most of the nfl sponsors try to stay out of this as much as they can. as you see from the nfl, when you get dragged into the fight with the president, you end up losing no matter what you do and if i am a company like pepsi or anheuser-busch i do not want to get into the discussion. i would rather stay out of it. >> college basketball fans crying foul after criminal charges were filed against four basketball coaches and executives with adidas further involvement in a bribery scheme that was designed to steer college stars toward certain agents and endorsing the company. >> i think they are criminalizing regulations, think the fbi is doing the ncaa's dirty work. there have been scandals like this over the years, money has changed hands time and time

again, and coaches have lost their jobs and players have been declared an eligible, and its goals have been fined, but nobody has ever been indicted. adidas, when they give money to a coach to have the players where the sneakers, that is a deal. give the money to a high school kid to where the sneakers, that is a bride. this whole thing is ridiculous. if this goes through, then what you will have done is he will have said, a private organization, the ncaa, is now, their roles will be the law of the land because you can put people in joe for violating them. ♪ >> the federal reserve chair janet yellen is in cleveland where she will deliver an address to the national association of business economists. investors listening closely for any clues she could give after two other officials gave conflicting views yesterday. with the new york fed president saying he supports another rate hike this year and the chicago

fed president saying he wants clear evidence of inflation before taking the next that. overving too quickly risks at policy to head off projected developments that may not come to pass. i gradual approach is particularly appropriate and might of subdued inflation and low interest rates. >> this was janet yellen for the defense. many questions about the decline we saw earlier this year and why they are continuing to raise rates and why they are still calling for another rate move this year. she went right into it and it said it is a controversial topic, we do not necessarily understand at all and we may have made mistakes, so janet yellen making a case for the fed to stay on the course it is on now, but saying they do not have the usual confidence they have had for years in how inflation works. yvonne: president trump and steve mnuchin said to have met a former federal reserve governor to discuss a potential

nomination to the fed chair position. this is following janet yellen's term. >> the contest remains open according to administration officials. >> he is not far from a standard banker, although he has slight differences in policy prescriptions. he does not like policy rules, like the taylor rule, he does not think they are accurate enough. he would go for a range for inflation, rather than a point target, like 2% right now. he thinks that we have been within an acceptable range for the past couple years. the question is, how would he go over at the fed? he has angered some at the fed with a sharp criticism on the way that the board has organized and governed, so it could be an issue. in a lesser power authority in puerto rico -- the electric power authority in puerto rico ravaged by the hurricane, now the entire island without power.

and bonds have been offered that would include a $1 billion loan and in influx of capital when it is needed. >> we have come up with a proposal on lending with the interest rate, providing a substantial chunk of new capital. it is fair to say it is not a market transaction. >> the fiscal authorities thought about it, but did not agree, rejecting the offer this morning. they made it clear that they believe the exchange, the deal, is just -- it would not be good utility andtric they are requesting anybody else who wants to offer any kind of loan or financing to contact them and discuss it with them. ♪

♪

welcome back to "bloomberg best." i'm yvonne man. the debate over cryptocurrency has jamie dimon labeled bitcoin a fraud. some calling it a bubble. and some say it is not real. and some disagree. he is starting a $5 million cryptocurrency hedge fund, with a comeback to professional money management. he sat down with erik schatzker to explain why bitcoin is appealing to macro traders. >> in a lot of ways, this is a market like any other market. and you can, you see the psychology of fear and greed and, and the same way that you would see them in the charts of the dollar-yen or treasuries. they are exaggerated because of less liquidity. there is not a good way to

short. so, when they fall, jamie dimon makes a comment or china bans the exchanges and they fall further than they would have, because there is not a short base to cover. so you reach a new level of support and it kind of rebuild your base. >> how do you know when the bonds sell? how do you trade this thing? mike: it is just macro, so you change -- trade the prices. i always tell people, i need a story and a chart. driven andit is -- access to information. one thing i keep trying to do is put myself in the center of the ecosystem. when you're at the center and it is still a relatively small world, you know what is happening. alliancehe theory of got announced, it was well

telegraphed it would get announced, and the price goes way up, so that was an event driven trade. the broad trading of it is macro. you will see many zeniths and 49.80 is, so actually sold bitcoin and then i was trying to buy it in the low three thousands. if you are good at that and you are trading junkie, it is a lot of fun. it does increase your tax bill. so for people to just said, that is a different strategy. >> you are trading bitcoin? jesus coin? mike: not on jesus coin. i am participating on all sides of the ecosystem. i am participating in mining to create new coins. it has been a money loser for us, and in local currency terms, i spent bitcoin to buy bitcoin

line. but you are better off just owning the bitcoins. and in either, you are far better off just owning the ether. >> what are you trading, what platforms? mike: we are fairly large, so we trade at different exchanges and one of the risks in the business right now is, the riskiest money you have in the system is being left on the exchanges. because -- >> self central clearing. mike: they are not well capitalized, so you do not leave that much money on the exchanges. so we trade with lots of them. ♪ yvonne: still to come, a busy week in mna around the world. and straight ahead, compelling conversations on bloomberg television as the italian banking system is back on track or still at risk. >> it is a minor problem, not

affecting the country. yvonne: this is bloomberg. ♪

♪ yvonne: you are watching "bloomberg best." i'm yvonne man. the health of italy's financial sector was discussed this week at the european banking conference in the lawn. -- in milan. we explored the topic in several interviews. we started with the tesla ceo, whose bank recently took over the business of two troubled lenders. fencing: how -- >> how is this energy going and you think we are over the worst? >> if you look at the banks we are already delivering significant results, especially in returning back of deposits

from management, so there is an increase justin three months. so it is very positive. plus, if you look at the cost side, we have received 3000 applications from the people that believe in the organizations, so on revenue and cost side, we are perfectly on track on the plan on synergies and those -- within the end of the year. exploit very good results from these two banks. >> do believe investors focusing so much on the banks, will move ford to look at -- ford to look at -- in general? >> italy is a country in my view there is an overestimation of the negative. all of the strain of negative attitudes towards italy. in my view, today we are completely out from the negative

deriving from the perception of -- increase. you could have a minor problem, but not affecting the strength of the country. with the cost of equity. so with the distribution of equity with the attire banks can be reserved. >> what about political risk? share prices have gone high. do you worry about the upcoming election? >> if you look at germany, they are now voting like italy. not in the sense of strength of the country or structure and conditions, italy more savings, but more public debt, but in any case from a political point of view what we need is a low in order to have more stability. italy is a country with a lot of rich people and rich people generally do not want to take risk or take political sides. in the end, there will be some

compromise at the end of the elections. i am not worried at all for the situation. >> do investors still ask you about the banking system and loans, or is it by and large fixed? >> we are at a turning point. we have actually turned the corner. stocks are declining. as you know, the critical cases have been dealt with, so we are approaching normality which means the banking sector will start funding the real economy. >> with the election of president macron and now with the germany, do you believe we will face a more integration in europe? >> this is what europe needs. there is a rich agenda out there and italy is working hard with other countries, with france, germany and spain to develop an agenda and push it forward appeared >> what does that ford. >> what does brexit mean?

and theresa may giving that speech in florence, was it helpful? >> it is modestly helpful. we will have to see the details. i do hope the brexit and united nations get on a straight course with a clear roadmap, because this is what we need. what we don't need is further uncertainty. >> what does it mean specifically? can this be beneficial because people are moving from london to milan? >> this is an important side effect and milan is an attractive location, so it is a welcome side effect. the point is europe must find new momentum for integration and complete a banking union, but develop other areas and promote a single market. >> monetary policy was also top of -- with janet yellen and other officials speaking

publicly about inflation and the state of the global economy. bloomberg television caught up with some experienced policymakers to get their take on the challenges facing social -- central banks. here is an inclusive appearance on daybreak america's. >> what is going on with inflation. that is the question we keep asking and we keep asking and we're not getting a clear answer out of the fed numbers. >> i think it has been clear for some time that there is not a working model that on a meeting to meeting basis can give any sort of precise guidance to the fed at the were inflation is heading. people understand directionally that the removal of slack from the labor market and economy more generally will start pushing inflation, but how quickly and when is something they have not been able to pin down. for the last few years it has not been that much of an issue, because they were obvious reasons why inflation was not moving up. as the chair indicated

yesterday, now it is about revising what greenspan said a decade ago, it is a conundrum and it will be of importance going forward because this is more of a moment in which you have to make decisions about increases on a meeting to meeting basis. >> if you are a member of the manage priceou stability if you do not have a gps? if you do not have radar you can trust to tell you where inflation is going. >> inflation is observable. as the chair said yesterday, because monetary policy operates with a lag, you cannot wait for things to totally develop before you react. i think you can watch to see what is happening with actual inflation, as opposed to just assuming that it will be moving months in advance. what you have seen is the

predisposition of some of the members of the fomc, almost like a default position that each of them has. in some respects i think the most important thing the chair did yesterday was try to explain as clearly as she could why she has the predisposition she does. so the real answer to your question, david, is i think in a world in which the models are not reliable enough to tell you on a meeting to meeting basis what to do, you need to be exceedingly clear with how you are thinking about inflation and communicated to the markets. >> we have heard from bill dudley saying he thinks a recession is not in the media cards. a lot of central bankers to justin, including mario draghi today, that economies are getting stronger. in 2005 you wrote a famous book talking about things others were not seeing. is there something we are not seeing now? are we overconfident about the economy? said,et and others have

do not die of old age, they die because there are fragility's, but the question is what are they? one could be insufficient inflation come which of course -- inflation, which of course the tightening is meant to ward off. the second could be in the second sector. the problem with long accommodation like the one we have had is leverage builds up. explicit leverage like we have seen in china and other countries like canada, but also implicit leverage, the positions that are hard to unwind. i think what we are seeing now is the possibility that some of these might be sources of fragility, stark clear and present danger. as it is withdrawn, some of them will come to the forefront. >> bubbles in some asset classes? >> some would argue long-term bonds are very strongly priced at this point, because of the

degree of accommodation that has been there, and because of quantitative easing. the point is if accommodation is withdrawn at a measure, a quick pace, it is possible to let the air out of asset prices without causing enormous disruption. of course, if the pace of with drawl needs to be tightened because of contingencies, of course you can get sharper price reactions. yvonne: and another bloomberg chanosve, legendary jim shared his expert perspective. some timea suggestion ago that if they wanted it to be about jobs, why don't they keep the tax rates higher and give a double deduction for employment wages? you know, if you really want to emphasize labor and jobs, why not actually do it through the tax code?

instead, they are emphasizing capital formation, which may or may not lead to more jobs. >> it is hard to find in argument that is a boost to the middle class. it does not seem like it is particularly oriented toward jobs. who is actually winning here? >> go one step further and look at the elephant in the room from wall street's perspective, they are talking about in the outline, talking about limiting the interest reductions for corporations on basically new debt going forward. so existing debt with interest would be grandfathered. that would devastate the private equity and commercial real estate businesses. do we really think that will happen? >> surprising given the background of donald trump. >> so there is another big $1 trillion over 10 years they are hoping to collect that probably will go right out the window. >> does anybody care? they will have 3% plus growth. we are not worried about that,

we do not care about the deficit anymore. >> you have wall street people in the white house that start with the best case scenario as the base. and hope you do not disappoint. what ever happened to underpromise and overdeliver? you start with 3% and work from there, call me a cynic but i think there could be a little bit of disappointment ahead of us. >> and it is tough to even ascertain that, but what do you think the net effect in this framework so far is? windfall, even the administration says very typical family it is $1000 and i do not even think it is that. you are looking at eliminating the estate tax, roughly $11 million, it is not small mom and pop farms. this will be a great tax bill for hedge fund managers in florida and you know, the

descendents of a very wealthy people. it will be good for them. everybody else, not so sure. >> will it get done in 2017? >> i do not think this bill is getting done. ♪

♪ yvonne: this is "bloomberg best." i'm yvonne man. looking back at some of the top business stories. a busy week in mna with european tieups making major news. fordham has offered to buy legacy fossil fuel. and what could turn out to be the biggest utility acquisition in more than five years. >> they have signed an agreement give theirill holding in 2018 it will make the offer a 22 euros a share for all units and investors.

and the ceo has said that they want to remain independent. how are you going to persuade uniper management to agree to the deal, and how important is that? >> it is important to have a constructive dialogue with the uniper management. and they said that they would be going to a similar stake. we approached the management in july and suggested discussions. they said they want to stay independent and we respect that. but that the stake was available in the market and we decided to take that instead and we are now looking forward to becoming a constructive shareholder in the company. for that we will need a dialogue with management. >> the green summer and real businesses for you to better the former archrivals from germany and france. it will create transportation giant aimed at countering comp edition from china. >> we agreed because we thought

it was the best logic in the sector. politicalh about the sort of spring of a new european spirit, but we happily support that by putting our actions together. >> you have made commitments to the french government, preserving jobs in france, what other commitments having made around the particular tie up? >> absolutely. i think the first thing we need atsay as this deal is aiming the values for our employees. if we took commitments, it is because we know that this can e e anxiety for our employees, so we think it is worth it. both in france and germany, by the way, so there is no difference between the commitments between france and

germany and we will not be closing any sites for the next four years. >> after angela merkel's underwhelming performance in the german election, focus has now shifted to who will be getting the top job in her new goshen -- in her new coalition. what does this mean for sch aeuble moving from finance minister to the head of the lower half of parliament? >> i think it will be in important position, because for the first time in a long time there will be six parties represented in the german parliament, and now the ranges represented. the far left all the way to the right wing, actually the first time we have had the broad debate in the bundestag and it requires a very experienced percent to sort of run the show -- experience person to run the show and keep it under control because we can expect controversy in the bundestag.

it is an important role for him. and he has just turned 75, said he is senior enough and respected enough to hold the position. >> a major shakeup at equifax. the ceo has resigned over uproar over a data breach that impacted 143 million americans. namedy veterans, one interim ceo, he was president of the asian operations. i suppose it is no surprise the ceo has resigned. analystsof folks, putting out notes now saying they wish he had weathered the storm, but there is public outcry and lawmakers pushing for the change, so it could go either way. i think investors under richard smith, the stock has done well, up until the last few weeks. i think there was tension on whether or not he would go. >> what does the new person

bring to the job? he has been there forever as well. it is not like new blood coming in to fix the hacking situation. >> he will be an interim ceo. he has been with the company for seven years. he spent time running their largest unit, the largest american information's unit, so very experienced in the company. in a release this morning the company said they would be looking internally and externally for his permanent replacement. banks scrapping withdrawal -- as they salvage reputation after a series of scandals. the charge will go for next month while the, what bank and others will be acting immediately. it is a win for consumers, but how will it impact the banks? >> it is how much they cut through. in terms of the overall amount of money, the revenue that they may, it is small. but the one thing that continues

is the charge to access their own money, so it is a pr win after months of problems. >> we have had a wave of data and observation on china this morning, some optimistic, some less, with the surge last month jumping the most in four years. the takeaway is it means the company's can pay down debt, should they choose to. and this looking at oil and steel and electric sectors, so that is the payoff for benefit for them, drawing down on the debt. it is not all pointing in one direction. we had early data out for example, small, medium enterprise index put out by standard chartered. that has softened slightly. there is concern about credit and the cost of more material. and small managers index, marginally less confident as well. on the flipside, satellite index looking at the manufacturing in

china, that has picked up. and international investment confidence in china has also gone up in august. it is a mixed picture it is hard to define exactly what is going on, but the industrial profit number is positive going into this political party congress that happens on october 18. >> japan's latest figures sending mixed signals when it comes to the state of recovery. inflation rising by 7/10 of a percent, still far below the central bank's 2% target. what does it tell you about the economy? >> it is a key number. if we take a look at how inflation was last year, we are actually in negative territory. if we look at core inflation for japan, we see a pretty steady upward trend since then. if you look at the numbers come energy costs pushing up a lot. we do not see enough pushing inflation in terms of continue to spending or any terms of wage

rising, it is something we need to see more of. but the trend is in the right direction. >> opening 16% higher in free trade, that is 69 hong kong dollars a share. and good timing and big names, could not get bigger in terms of the cornerstones behind this. >> they are about to have their ceremonial glass of champagne as trading begins at 9:30 a.m. this is the first and largest online consumer ensure, back by some of the biggest names in china and they happen to be all named mao. 10.4% stake, and peter mau, the third-largest cornerstone investor, and there is also softbank with a 5% stake. big names, good timing, and

index up about 26% year to date. again, this is going to be testing the appetite for the online consumer in china, which of course has been paying dividends for a number of years. just ask alibaba. ♪

♪ a historic victory for

chancellor merkel winning a fourth term. heren see the breakdown and how the parties won different parts of the vote. >> there are about 30,000 functions on the bloomberg and we always enjoyed showing you are favorite on bloomberg television. maybe they will become years. here is another function you might find useful. it will lead you to our quick page, where you can get important context and fast insight into important topics. here is a quick take from this week. >> it functions as the textbook cartel. the 14 members of the organization of petroleum exporting countries produce 40% of the oil we use every day, given the group strong influence over the global economy. it like a champion boxer who has dominated the ring for decades. it is more than half a century in existence, opec has fought challenges from new technology

and competition from discoveries outside of their domain. but the group is against the ropes now as the u.s. produces record supplies of shale and the planet begins to embrace renewable entry -- energy. to stave off the presses, they cut output. will it work? here is the situation, production cuts by opec and allies give prices a quick boost when they were agreed upon in november 2016, but it did not last. the real question is whether opec can pop up the prices while the continued production from u.s. continues. here is the article opec's agreement to cut out several countries which it should help them gain control over crude oil and prices. some forecasts suggest that lincoln center will continue to rise in the next 20 years, which seemingly would benefit opec and allies. however, it is clear that opec strategy is now working as

planned, even after the production peaked, prices failed to rise. plus, with increased innovation in renewable energy, oil consumption could peak sooner than expected. and that would leave opec knocked with no chance of getting back up. ♪ yvonne: that was just one of the many quick takes you can find on the bloomberg. you can also sign up at bloomberg.com, along with all the latest business news and analysis, 24 hours a day. that will be all for "bloomberg best." thank you for watching. i'm yvonne man. this is bloomberg. ♪

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