of doarlls a year. plus, get $150 dollars when you bring in your own phone. its a new kind of network designed to save you money. click, call or visit a store today. guy: coming up on "bloomberg best," the stories that shaped the week in business around the world. a banquet of news from central banks gives markets plenty of decisions to digest. >> they will keep extremely low rates here in place for an extended period of time. >> this is the right decision for the economy given the track it is on. >> the plan for rate increases is being further cemented. guy: there's lots of noise and some aggressive signals around trade and tariffs. >> for all their strident rhetoric, they also said they believe in negotiations. >> don't underestimate president trump's determination of follow-through. guy: earnings season rolls on with another raft of results.

>> we remain extremely disciplined and conservative in our original estimation. >> we adopted a new manufacturing footprint. >> people are pleased. feet on the ground, but people are pleased. guy: a new firm with bold ambitions and high hopes. >> i have a feeling it will be a slow grind and then it will just pop. guy: plus, expert insights on trending topics in business and finance. >> we will see more volatility and we are expecting to increase some pullback. >> i'm not sure if america is really serious in negotiating a trade deal. guy: it is all straight ahead on "bloomberg best." ♪ guy: hello and welcome, i am guy johnson. 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. the previous week posed a selloff in tech stocks and the decline continued on monday. >> tech stocks are falling, sliding after silicon valley favorites including facebook and netflix delivered disappointing results. it looks like the three-day selloff on the nasdaq composite, now 3.8%, the most since march. >> i would describe this as the karma quarter. if you could literally look at the pent-up ill will toward a lot of these names, it almost correlates with the drop. >> tech as a sector probably got a little over its skis and the re was probably some pent-up anger and the market was ready to unleash some fury, specifically on facebook. >> the question here is whether there is a fundamental re-rating

of tech names or if this is a bump in the road. >> it looks to be a fundamental change. not only have you seen this broad-based selloff in tech, but somere also seeing rotation within the tech names as well. this was a crowded trade. we knew that. hedge funds have piled into this, pension funds have piled into this, you had a huge retail set of investors pile into this. when people start heading for the exit, everyone else goes out the door with them as well. >> the bank of japan has left its key interest rates unchanged while announcing policy tweaks. governor kuroda and his colleagues said they will maintain the 10 year bond target at about 0%, but will be more flexible in bond operations. analysts say this is the longest wait since september 2016 when yield curve control was announced. so really, this seems like tweaking around the margins, but what were the important tweaks that we need to pay attention to? >> what they did, the flexibility in bond markets

operations, this is the big debate going in. july 20, all kinds of press reports in tokyo that this debate was underway. they need to allow the 10 year yield to go above maybe even 0.1% because of the negative side effects this was happening on the bond markets, regional banks dealing with a flat yield curve. so that came through. even though there was a big debate, economists said no, governor kuroda is not ready. that is why they had to debate at least an hour longer than they usually do because they had to come to some decision and how to communicate it. very important, as well, they said they would keep this depending on conditions in the economy and markets, but they are going to keep these extremely low rates in place for an extended period of time. that is the forward guidance they added. that is the very federal reserve-like thing may have done , sending the signal that this is a policy that is going to be around for a while. >> apple jumping in extended trade after delivering an earnings beat in the third quarter and a strong sales forecast for high-end iphones and services.

let's start with the good. >> yeah, the good. higher revenue, $53.3 billion, higher iphone revenue specifically up 23% year-over-year. very strong growth in services, and a clear path forward for the services segment for apple. wearables up considerably, 60% year-over-year. very strong all-around. sales, 3.7ws, mac million units -- the lowest unit sales reported by apple since the third quarter of 2010. that is revenue down 5% year-over-year and ipad down 5% year-over-year as well in terms of revenue. >> according to a bloomberg scoop, china and the u.s. are aiming to restart trade discussions after a nearly two-month stopgap, possibly averting a full-blown trade war. this comes as the treasury secretary steven mnuchin and the chinese vice premier held meetings on the matter ahead of the next wave of tariffs set for this week. anything agreed so far?

>> nothing agreed so far and i would note that this is also still under discussion within the cabinet in the u.s. so what we are talking about right now is really the logistics of who will talk to who? when will we talk? where will we meet to talk? so nothing has been decided. example, another outstanding question is will the president of the united states and the president of china get involved? because we are at the point where it needs to go to the highest levels if talks are supposed to move forward and avert a full-blown trade war. and these are all the questions that are being discussed within the u.s. cabinet right now as we speak. >> the united states threatening to more than double planned tariffs on $200 billion in chinese imports. china is warning the u.s. to stop blackmailing and pressuring it over trade. >> what a difference a day makes. president trump hitting back against china. now china for its part also

hitting back this morning, saying "if the u.s. takes measures to further escalates the situation, we will surely take countermeasures to uphold our legitimate rights and interests." that is from china's ministry of foreign affairs. they say they will not be "blackmailed. >> interestingly, for all of their strident rhetoric, they say they believe in negotiations and they believe there is a solution if both sides meet on the basis of equal respect. perhaps a hint from china that they are willing to come to the negotiating table. >> we are moments from the fomc decision. there is a lot to chew on for the central bank, including a 4.1% print on gdp in the second quarter. you have the fallout from the ongoing trade war as well as changes, tightening in financial conditions. >> there is no new trade on this one. no change in rates and no change to forward guidance. the phrase monetary policy remains accommodative remains, and there is no reference to

chairman powell's july 17th testimony that gradual rate moves are the plan for now. >> i think the biggest issue for growth is now that it is not just solid, but strong, acknowledging that both consumers and investors are picking up. >> their comments around growth indicate they think things are getting stronger, not weaker. and essentially, what it is telling us is the plan for rate increases is being further cemented. >> the bank of england, presenting a united front. policymakers voted unanimously to raise rates and governor mark carney indicated brexit could eventually lead to policy being adjusted in either direction. it has been interpreted as a dovish height. -- hike. >> i think that is correct. there is a fundamental change in policy. they are starting the slow process of normalizing rates. moreover, they are now starting to focus on the balance sheet. the bank of england's balance sheet and the new normal, and how they actually start the process of unwinding it. this is not going to happen

right now, but it is something they are actively now discussing again. it is a fundamental change from where we were a few months ago. >> the important thing is, this is the right decision for the economy given the track it is on. they're obviously -- there is a wide range of brexit outcomes possible and we all hope that by the end of the year, we will all be much better informed on which path the u.k. and eu are taking. >> golden apple. the iphone maker has just become the first u.s. company with a market cap of over $1 trillion. apple crossed the threshold this morning when its stock passed over $207 per share. >> $1 trillion is a psychologically important number and shows how far apple has come in 40 plus years from a company that look, nearly died in the 1990's to a company that is the most valuable u.s. company, public u.s. company in history. >> hiring cooled in july with 150,000 jobs added last month, less than estimated.

annual wage gains holding steady at 2.7%, the jobless rate 3.9%. >> i don't think there is any reason for alarm when you look at the top line number. private sector is up 170,000, the numbers will be volatile month-to-month. we will have to see a ratcheting down eventually of job growth to around 100,000, 125,000 a month given our demographics, given what we are doing with our immigration policy, given the aging in the workforce. so i think this is a report that is very much in line with the other economic indicators. >> china punching back on trade, announcing plans for tariffs on about $60 billion of u.s. goods. >> the chinese are saying they are going to increase this from anywhere between 5% to 25%. commerce secretary wilbur ross on fox earlier saying "the reason for the tariffs to begin with was to try to convince the chinese to modify their

behavior." instead, they had been retaliating, so the president now feels it is potentially time to put more pressure on. >> i am going to make the case that they are in a weak economic position. that is not a good place for them to be vis-a-vis the trade negotiations, first point. second point, they better not underestimate president trump's determination to follow through on our asks, ip theft, no go. forced transfer technology, no go. nonreciprocal trading on tariffs and nontariff barriers, the president has said many times, no tariffs, no barriers, no subsidies. we want to see trade reforms. china is not delivering. ok? their economy is weak, their currency is weak, people leaving the country. don't underestimate president trump's determination to follow through.

i'm just telling you -- i can't speak for the communist party in china. i can speak for our president. do not underestimate his determination to change trading practices on a fair, reciprocal plain. guy: still ahead as we review the week on "bloomberg best," mcnabb a grad -- mike know the d speaks novogra exclusively about his latest venture, a merchant bank focused on cryptocurrencies. plus, the u.s. treasury unveils its refunding strategy for the coming quarter. and up next, more of the week's most interesting earning reports. european banks announce results and top executives explain them. >> compared to a year ago, the context, the economic context is less favorable. guy: this is bloomberg. ♪

guy: this is "bloomberg best."

i am guy johnson. let's continue our tour of the week's top business stories with a focus on corporate earnings. starting with some of europe's biggest bank reports. >> credit suisse's chief executive is giving investors reason to stay with a bank -- the bank through its restructuring process. private banking on the swiss unit compensated for a little bit of trading weakness. >> we are very much focused on [inaudible] -- ultrahigh net worth. more than 60% of our flows come from ultra high net worth, and that is the heart of the strategy. we need to bring institutional like advice and services. we have created ids, which is a joint venture between wealth management. it is up 17%. 11% in the first quarter, 25% in the second and accelerating. that is a good spot for us in these results. >> barclays reporting better than estimated second-quarter results.

the ceo jes staley telling bloomberg his turnaround strategy is paying off. >> one of the best quarters we have had in many years to generate a 12.3% return on tangible equities is a great result. you know, over 1.4 billion pounds of after-tax earnings. but it was across the board. barclays' u.k. consumer business did quite well. our international card business did quite well, and the corporate and the investment bank did well, particularly the market business. guy: socgen's investment bank showing signs of emerging from the doldrums, posting better-than-expected second-quarter earnings with income from financing deals and trading topped estimates. >> there are risks and that is why we might not be that far from the end of the cycle in the u.s. and that is why we remain conservative in our risk-taking , our project origination, and it is actually reflected in our customer risk, which is low across the board.

>> french bank bnp paribas just posted second-quarter profit, beating estimates. but revenue falling 17%. are you disappointed with the performance in the fixed income side of the business? >> if you look at the result, of course, you have to take into effect andegative 4x also compared to a year ago, the economic context is less favorable in particularly in europe. but nevertheless, the bank keeps on continuing its transformation plan, ramping up to 2020 and continuing its sustainable finance as well. >> standard chartered, one of the biggest financiers of global trade, has reported a 34% increase in pretax profits for the first half of the year, that beat analyst estimates. the company's chairman also played down the trade war threat. of course, in a statement, saying its direct exposure to the risks of u.s.-china trade tensions is actually limited.

talk to me about cost. this is what investors are worried about. where will you spend the money in the future? >> i think cost is sort of a second order issue. we are significantly improving the profitability of the business. return equity is up nearly to 7%, which is where we wanted to be. the costs were up about 7% year on year, a little less than the constant foreign exchange basis but that in large part was very deliberate. we brought forward some of the investment we are making to improve some of the systems in the business and for the full year, we would expect to be at a similar level in the first and -- first half in the second half. >> bp reported second-quarter results that beat estimates . the numbers come after the week the oil giant announced it would buy bhp shale assets for $10.5 billion. -- shale assets for $10.5 billion. >> we exceeded results, and were gearing is coming down, gave us the confidence to raise the dividend for the first time in 15 quarters. so we have got momentum and people are pleased. feet on the ground, but people

are pleased. we keep advancing. >> what are you hearing from investors about the deal? >> initially, people were concerned we were off to the races and we would break our financial framework and the way we would structure this and we would stay within the $15 billion to $70 billion capital framework and continue to divest assets to offset part of this deal. we will continue to increase distributions for shareholders. discipline, i think, is the main word and we are still planning the company in the 50 to 65 range rather than these higher prices. >> samsung confirming profit and sales missing, falling short of forecasts for the past quarter. the demand for galaxy devices hit by slowing smartphone demand, and at the same time, you have rivals over in china ramping up competition. why the miss? >> as you rightly pointed out, the galaxy s9 sales missed estimates and other than that in terms of sentiment, samsung cut down the number of models available, probably a way for them to streamline their

operation and at the same time, beat rising competition from the chinese headsets. that is why, in terms of both shipments and also asp-wise, second quarter is quite a disappointment. >> baidu posted a strong set of results despite a string of recent executive departures. walk us through these figures. >> well, it looks like things have basically matched or beaten expectations on the top line and the bottom line. that is good news for baidu, because it lost its chief operating officer and group president not long ago. he quit after less than two years on the job. baidu is a company that remains in transition. it has only recently started shedding units that don't make any money, such as food delivery, and really concentrated on its core, which is technology, using things like artificial intelligence to try and make money. i think there is still plenty of

uncertainty for baidu to come, but this set of results is a good sign things are still on progress. >> volkswagen was a rare bright spot in july u.s. auto sales, jumping 13% for a seventh straight month of growth. but the ceo herbert deeds said the carmaker needs a titanic effort to meet global delivery targets this year amid trade tensions and stricter emissions rules. >> to adopt new trade policies, to adopt new manufacturing footprint for us is hugely costly. so i would really be very happy if trade and tariffs could remain on the same level and i am really thankful that those negotiating partners are really looking for a solution. >> tesla shares surging in late trading after second-quarter results missed analyst estimates, but revenue beat expectations. the electric carmaker burned through $740 million in the

period, but that was less than the $900 million analysts predicted. the headline seems to be the words about sustainable profitability and cash flow positive, but is it possible? >> yeah, absolutely. the big question on profitability is when will they start making investments in these future products? elon musk has talked about a n suv, a smaller suv than the model x and a pickup truck, a semi, a chinese factory. all of those things will cost huge amounts of money, but it appears the big expenses aren't going to come until next year. so maybe he will be able to swing it. ♪

guy: you are watching "bloomberg best." i am guy johnson. cryptocurrency merchant bank galaxy digital traded on wednesday on toronto's venture exchange. it could be a milestone moment for the industry and for the company's founder. the former goldman sachs partner discussed his plans for the business when he talked to bloomberg's erik schatzker in toronto. >> our real purpose in the long run will be to help raise capital for people in the system. the world -- you know, the crypto revolution, this decentralized movement will not fulfill its destiny with $300 billion of market cap. it is going to need lots of capital and we want to be the credentializer who raises capital. >> what about the asset management business? >> asset management is doing great. we have $450 million under management. >> not external capital? >> external capital. we have a $325 million venture account that operates around the eeoc ecosystem.

so it was a specific mandate. we have a cash management account and we have our bloomberg galaxy crypto index fund, which tracks the index we set up with bloomberg. >> so a year from now, how much will you have in aum? >> i hope a lot more than we have now. >> of course you hope, but i i am trying to get a sense of what the ramp looks like. >> we will not raise another venture fund because we have venture on our own balance sheet and we have this eeoc venture fund. i think the bloomberg galaxy index is going to be one of those things where you are grinding in money and it hits an inflection. we are spending tons of time educating institutional investors watching about the space and we are hoping that all that hard elbow grease and education comes back when they start buying. this is a really good product for institutional investors. i laugh -- i have 3, 4 sales

guys, i call it the boiler room. they are on the phone, traveling all around the country and the globe, sitting with people and saying hey, this is how it works. this is why you should invest. this is your first step in. and so we have raised more money this month than last month and i have a feeling it will be a slow grind and then it will just pop . so if it got guy: that was galaxy digital founder and ceo mike speaking to bloomberg's erik schatzker. bloomberg lp owns and operates the bloomberg galaxy crypto index in partnership with galaxy digital. coming up, more of the weeks compelling conversations. if you are having trouble figuring out where markets are headed, you are not alone. ubs investment bank's chief says there is plenty to be confused about. >> how do you price trade wars? how do you price brexit? how do you price protectionism?

guy: this is bloomberg. ♪

guy: welcome back to "bloomberg best." i'm guy johnson. throughout the week on bloomberg television, leaders in business and finance have offered their perspectives on the most important issues facing the global economy and financial markets. let's begin our roundup with top interviews with the president of ubs's investment bank. francine lacqua asked about his outlook for the second half of the year. >> we're going to see more volatility, we expect to see some pullback, but to finish the year up. francine: but you are not predicting a recession, that would be the end of the cycle coupled with the central bank or anything like that?

>> at this point in time, absolutely not. francine: what do your clients ask of you? andrea: i think it's the difference between an economy and a background that is very buoyant, and markets which are a lot more volatile, and how do you navigate that? specifically in europe and in the u.k., events that are keeping this bloc behind the u.s. in the emerging markets. francine: if you look at m&a in europe, how is that going? andrea: it is going quite well. people can extract synergies call that synergies, reposition their portfolio, improve their prospects, become more efficient by merging and taking out cost or refocusing the way they do business. that has been quite good, and actually, we are set to have a record year this year. europe in particular is driving that trend. so i do think the fundamentals are quite good. it's just that, day after day,

the market environment is quite volatile and filled with uncertainties that we don't know how to price. how do you price trade wars? how do you price brexit? how do you price protectionism? how do you price events in italy over the budget? you try to price them, but it's difficult to forecast and adapt to. sorte trade war is a to it sword. dged first of all, if it is only between the u.s. and china, i don't worry that much. i think trade is a very rational thing, there's a lot of room to negotiate. as far as nontariffs, who knows what they are. in the end, china may be ahead. on the tariffs, i believe they will be very happy to give and make donald trump look good, but what about all the non-tariff stuf? who is winning? who knows? i think it is just between the

u.s. and china is manageable, but what i do worry is donald trump is picking on everybody, mexico, europe. and when that happens, it can disrupt the supply chain in the world, and that is dangerous. it reminds me of 1920's. that is how the great depression came about. i think it's important that donald trump knows how to stop, and don't just pick on everybody. >> do you think this is going to continue through the midterm elections in terms of election posturing, or do you think there will be some push and pull to a real agreement? ronnie: well, first of all, i don't think donald trump wants an agreement. all he cares about is the midterm election. after the midterm election, it is his own reelection. -- his own reelection two years down the road. i'm not sure if america is really serious in negotiating a trade deal. they're so much domestic politics getting in the way. the rest of the world just suffers because of domestic policies in america.

>> when you are looking at the oil market, what are you looking at? what do you think is firmer? >> i think it used to be political -- geopolitical uncertainty was not priced in. i think everybody is watching this now. you look at the uncertainty in the iran sanctions, what that means for the market. venezuela is a human tragedy unfolding, and that will affect the oil market. you have outages in nigeria from time to time. and you've got tensions coming out of the persian gulf. on the other side of it, demand is keeping up, production is keeping up. u.s. production will rise, it is bit bottlenecked in the permian basin. there are offsetting factors here. but it just feels like it's firmer rather than softer for the rest of the year. jonathan out of all the : executives that i speak to, you have a really unique insight into what's going on with china. when we first met you, you were

building up a multibillion-dollar trade with the country. a lot of people trying to understand what's going on, and i'm wondering what your insight is. >> it is clear that the economy is slowing down, as expected, as forecast. at the same time, you saw a few weeks ago, the chinese government deciding to put in a similar system. today, when i look at the other books in china i do not , have any concerns whatsoever. the chinese situation, as far as we see it, is pretty good. my personal experience of it is i go there three or four times a year. last time i went with the chairman who controls most of it in china, he was pretty clear in his discussion that the restructuring of the industries , of the aluminum is here to stay, which means that china will continue to buy high-quality products. it is a great piece of news for rio tinto. jonathan do you see them hitting : an inflection point, where they

start to boost demand by shifting toward the stimulus and pulling away from deleveraging? is that a scenario you can see playing out? jean-sebastian: yeah, i think it could happen. it could happen, absolutely. they are managing the debt in a pretty good way. i am one of the most optimistic persons on this program. i have been saying it on this program a few times in the past. i've not concerned about their ability to manage that at all. the economy keeps growing full. 6.7%, if you look at it by any other standards, it is a massive number. >> talk to me a little bit about some of the market reaction today. the pound is down. are they skeptical about your ability to raise rates, or should we not read too much into it? >> i think many in the market ignites this, certainly the bank of england that the equilibrium interest rate globally is lower than it was previously. there is also, in the view of the mpc, there is a wedge between the overall level of the

equilibrium rates and where it is in the u.k. a lot of that is caused by the uncertainty around brexit, which -- you look at what's happening to business investment in this country right now, it should be on fire. it's just moving very tentatively. take away that uncertainty, one would expect using business as an example that they would adjust quickly to the new realities. investment comes in, you start to move up between the equilibrium level and global rates. so that's the other element. if you're sitting in the market, you have to make a judgment. do i agree with that framework? i would suggest that -- the crucial thing is, what do i think will happen with brexit and that uncertainty and the impact of the economy? in fairness, a lot of the risk premium that exists in the u.k.

assets and a lot of the shorter term moves in markets are being determined by different views on where the crucial negotiations will go. ♪

guy: this is "bloomberg best." i'm guy johnson. turning back to our review of the week's most important business headlines, there was plenty of important economic data for investors to analyze. lead by manufacture numbers from china, that came in somewhat soft. >> china's official factory gauge weakened this month amid tightening credit conditions and continuing trade tensions. what can we glean from today's data? >> the manufacturing pmi for july came in at 51.2%, down from 51.5% in june.

the forecasts had been 51.3%. nonmanufacturing, but also softened to 54% from 55%. that's the construction and services sector of the economy. it seems there is pressure now on the factory sector in china, again domestically and externally. you have this the deleveraging campaign in the first half of the year, really aggressively attacking the shadow banking sector and of course you have the ongoing trade tensions of the u.s. raymond young thinks we will see a gradual slowdown in the second half. that really comes into line with the views of many economists, it seems. >> a lot of data out of europe this morning. we were a little higher than expected on inflation, a little lower than expected on growth. the markets didn't react too much service. -- too much to this. there are some positive numbers. >> i think it was a hit and miss in terms of the economic growth, but it wasn't a miss in terms of the ecb's expectations.

if you look at the staff projections earlier in the year, it was half a percentage point, quarter on quarter. something like that. so for the ecb, it is reasonable news. same thing for the inflation data as well. a lot of the strength we see in inflation coming through in energy prices, the ecb had been telegraphing that. not a ton that was unexpected. >> turkey trading sharply to the andside again this morning, european stocks are once again and focus. -- in focus. this follows what happened in the united states. yesterday, washington following through on threats to impose sanctions. this after the detention of an american pastor. >> the lira is hitting a record low against the dollar. istanbul is down more than 2.5%, and the worry of investors is that this is the first step, and there will be more sanctions to come. because what the u.s. wants is for the u.s. pastor to be released, but

ankara is refusing to do so. what more is there to come? investors are already concerned about the central bank's independence, and they are not doing enough to rein in inflation. now they have the worries of sanctions as well. >> the u.s. treasury has unveiled its latest refunding plan, with a total of $78 billion in sales. the move is sending the 10 year treasury yield above 3% for the first time since mid-june. this is the third consecutive quarterly increase. give us some details. >> what the treasury decided to do was issue $3 billion more in two-year notes and three-year notes, and that will over time probably have the effect of flattening the curve a little bit. there's going to be more short issuance. the other interesting thing was definitively come october, the beginning of the new fiscal year, they will

be issuing new two-moth t-bills, another instrument to raise more money given how high deficits are. >> facebook says it has identified an ongoing effort to influence the u.s. midterm elections. the company has shut down a number of inauthentic accounts while the investigation continues. what's the latest on this? how extensive is this effort that facebook has identified? >> we are being let in on this effort in the very early stages. this is earlier than they would bring people in from the public, but they have been informing congress, the fbi, they have been trying to work with the government to figure out who's doing this. i think the biggest question is what was the actor behind this? we don't know enough yet, or at least facebook tells us they don't know enough, to say whether this was russia. of course, a lot of congresspeople and senators are saying they believe this is russia. >> the trump administration rejected canada's bid to join

high-level nafta talks with the u.s. and mexico this week. the country's attempts to join the negotiation were either ignored or spurned by the u.s. trade representatives. president trump has suggested he might go for a bilateral trade deal with mexico before turning to canada. so what's happening? is it a bilateral or trilateral? >> if we got a deal by august, it would be a bilateral with mexico. it is probably not going to be a full deal, it might be an agreement in principle. the mexican government is in a transition period with a new president that takes office december 1. the old administration would like to get it off their play. the new administration would like to not deal with it when they come into office. there is motivation to get something done with the mexicans, but there isn't with canada at this point. the u.s. feels canada hasn't done enough to come to its position, and if they can strike a deal of mexico, they feel it will put pressure on canada to make some concessions.

>> will cbs sideline its chief executive? the board is meeting today to discuss the future of les mooves -- les moonves following sexual allegations posted in the new yorker. what are we expecting out of today's meeting, and how long does les moonves have had the -- at the company? >> sherry redstone has said she wants there to be a thorough and open investigation. she's not calling for him to be sacked right away. we expect they will hire an independent law firm to carry out the investigation, and also appoint specific members of the board who will be in charge of the investigation. >> the cbs board met today, decided at this point it is not going to make a decision, and is exploring hiring a counsel to head up an independent investigation. but for him monetarily, what could he stand to lose if indeed he would be let go? >> there's a lot on the line for les moonves.

he has -- just last year, he signed a new employment agreement that spans through mid- 2021. if it were that he steps down tomorrow, or if the board decides to fire him for cause, he could lose out on as much as $300 million. >> the china tower has become the second high-profile company in a month to price its hong kong ipo at the low end of the range, with the sale set to raise $6.9 billion usd. it looks like china tower following the footsteps of xiaomi a little bit. is this a softening trend? >> it has definitely been receiving a lukewarm receipt in terms of the mega ipo's posted in the last month. it's highly unusual that two deals of this size priced in july and august -- but compared to deals priced like six or eight

months ago, like china literature, like good doctor, the reception has definitely wind down a lot. >> starbucks is teaming up with alibaba to strengthen its position in china. they are working to improve food and coffee delivery, and starbucks is hoping the tie up will help stem a rare sales declined last quarter in its second-largest market. >> we are in a phase of growth in china where it is about store builds. as we build 600 new stores per year and expand the portfolio, that is where we are growing our reach. really i think this enabling of weaving and leaving -- this digital experience, this virtual starbucks store, in every alibaba property, that really opens the aperture to reach 500 million active, registered users of alibaba and bring the starbucks experience to them. >> in february 2016, a travel brands shipped its first suitcase. since then, they have sold over 300,000 pieces of luggage.

and with $31 million in venture funding, it is poised for more growth. the cofounders describe their journey small to big. ,♪ >> it's a global travel brand that exists to make travel more seamless and more enjoyable, and we started by selling luggage. with our first product, we wanted something that would make packing and prepping for your trip a lot easier, to empower you to focus on the travel. we interviewed hundreds of people to get their feedback on how they pack, get to the airport, what they do at the airport. what to do when they arrived. that research turned into product design, manufacturing. within a year, we shipped our first suitcase. >> we started with the carry-on, which was one suitcase in four different colors. >> we started with the carry-on, we went really narrow with the

product, and over time we went to different sizes, more colors, limited edition collaborations. >> the first production line, we made 4000 carry-ons. we thought at the time it would not be enough. we were totally sold out within a week. the first year of the business was basically a recurring theme of us underestimating what the demand was an selling out and rushing to get more. we have gotten better at that. >> we are definitely born online and online first, but we found out early on that people really wanted to interact with the brand and the product off-line, and that is how our retail strategy was born. right now, we currently have four stores in new york, san francisco, l.a. and austin. all of our stores are standalone, it's great brand awareness and great marketing. because of the experience, we also sell a lot of suitcases. >> faa issued a new regulation earlier this year that lithium-ion batteries can't be in check bags. our carry-ons all come with

a lithium-ion battery in them. luckily, we made a design change about a year ago that our batteries popped up easily from the outside but the earliest , versions were removed from the inside. we came up with a way to convert all of those early suitcases into having injectable batteries. we have been able to offer the whole program at no cost to customers, and the response has been overwhelming. they appreciate that we are refitting their suitcases for free so they can continue to travel seamlessly. >> since the business has exceeded our expectations in every way possible, there were four of us, and now there are close to 150 people. >> in the next year or two, we are really focused on a few things. we are listening to our customers to expand our product line into the perfect version of everything they need to travel seamlessly. we are also focused on expanding geography. a third thing is expanding our retail footprint. >> what excites us more about the future is the potential to

change a lot of things in the travel industry. there are so many things wrong in somebody points, from change a lot of things in the lg , to where you stay at how you get there there is a lot of , opportunity for us to go into different spaces of travel. >> we want to be the biggest travel brand in the world. if there's any part of travel we can make more seamless and enjoyable for people we will do , that. ♪

>> check out gtv on bloomberg, where you will find all the exciting charts we highlight here at bloomberg. for example if you want to check , out the magnitude of the drop in the faang stocks, you can check this out. it is just unbelievable. guy: 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. now, let's wrap up this edition of "bloomberg best" by noting a business master. -- milestone. this week, apple became the first publicly traded u.s. company to reach a market cap of $1 trillion. bloomberg technology's mark gurman explores what that means. ♪ mark: after months of waiting, it has finally happened. apple has become the first u.s. publicly traded company to hit a $1 trillion valuation, leaving the likes of amazon, alphabet, and microsoft in its wake, but not far behind. apple's milestone is significant and a testament to the rapid growth spurred by the success of its product like the iphone and ipad, as well as tim cook's leadership after taking over for

the visionary cofounder steve jobs in 2011. steve jobs we are calling it : iphone. mark: but let's not forget that what is now the world's most valuable company was on the brink of bankruptcy as recently as the late 1990's. that was until cofounder steve jobs returned to the fold. since then, it was one success after another. in the seven years since his death, cook is steered the company to new heights by launching new devices like the apple watch and iphone x. he has also pushed the company deeper into new services, like apple music. which is now a key revenue. and cook and his team aren't stopping there. they are keeping apple on the technological edge. delving into self serving cars, augmented reality and health care. what does he think of apple's latest milestone? "i don't think about it, that's the truth.

i still view apple as a pretty small company the way that we operate. i know it's not numerically, but the way we function is very much like that." to grow beyond $1 trillion, apple has to keep churning out cutting-edge smartphones while still finding its next big hit and growing the digital services businesses. a larger version of the iphone x, and a cheaper model with many of the x's features is on the way. beyond that, it could revolutionize personal computing once again, by late day online video pushes coming soon to an apple screen near you. guy: bloomberg technology's mark gurman on apple attaining a market cap of $1 trillion. you can follow this story and find out more business news and analysis 24 hours a day at bloomberg.com. that will be all for "bloomberg best" this week. thanks for watching. i'm guy johnson. this is bloomberg. ♪

david: where did the name virgin come from? richard: one of the girls laughed and said, are you a virgin at business? david: did she get a finder's fee for that idea or not? you begin building other companies. richard: the only reason we would go into a new sector is if we felt it was being badly run. david: is there something in your life you have not achieved? richard: we are finally on the verge of fulfilling that dream, the virgin galactic spaceship and going to space. david: now you are a sir, you were knighted. richard: i was slightly nervous. they would have been a slice at the head rather than a tap on the shoulder. >> would you fix your tie, please? david: well, people wouldn't recognize me if my tie was fixed, but ok. just leave it this way. alright. ♪