♪ >> welcome to "daybreak: australia." i'm ramy inocencio bloomberg's world headquarters in new york. >> i'm sophie kamaruddin in hong kong. we are counting down to the market open. haidi: here are the top stories we are covering in the next hour. trumps says trade talks were productive as the clock ticks down to friday's tariff deadline. theresa may seeks for concessions on breaks it as she delays the vote again. by insists it can happen

march 29. presidenteeting with trump, the white house praising china's help in supporting these talks. ramy: let's get a check on how markets closed last week on friday as we head into your asia-pacific trading day. these percentages. these are the best performances in the past week for both of these indexes. the nasdaq is actually the highest in nearly two weeks, up by nearly 9/10 of a percent. the u.s.-china trade talks are seeing a little bit of a boost. the chinese delegation saying hey, we will stick around longer to continue the talks. we are down to the wire here in the united states. one more week until the march 1 deadline. we have a lot going on not just with u.s.also in hig and north korean leaders talking. jay powell also on tap to talk

about more dovishness looking ahead. haidi: a big week indeed. see that, wall street could the regional benchmark push higher. we are keeping an eye on australian credit stocks following friday's release of a senate report into credit and financial products. also watching australian coal producers. we will get a pulse check on the industry today with its earnings. we are keeping a close i, the miner posted a rise in profit. morning, we will get more details of course on the best half on record. includingt is right, after the crucial question about where will suppliers come from? they will consider using

brazilian. more of that with bluescope's marketing director. that is at 11:45. 8:40 five out of hong kong. start with the u.k. prime minister theresa may has again delayed a parliamentary vote on her brexit deal. she says it will happen by march 12. it is a little more than two weeks. nation's egypt for the summit. she will again attempt to win concessions. some eu officials say breaks it could be delayed by as much as 21 months. that is if no agreement is reached. venezuela, additional sanctions may be imposed on venezuela with regional leaders meeting in columbia later on monday. it comes as clashes are up that between supporters of nicolas maduro and his rival, juan guaido.

president maduro said it was a cover for a u.s. invasion. juan guaido is due to meet u.s. vice president mike pence at the talks in bogota. okinawa have rejected plans to expand a u.s. marine base. local people were asked to approve the land reclamation scheme that would allow the move to a remote coastal area. polls showingit the question was defeated. the referendum is nonbinding and earlier this month the government said the results would not affect its plan. in the philippines, they are starting to search for a new central bank governor after the previous one. he died at the age of just 60 over the weekend after a long battle with cancer. the deputy governor will be taking the reins.

byraised the interest rate 175 basis points last year after inflation grew to a nine-year high. global news, 24 hours a day on air and on tictoc on twitter. powered by more than 27 hundred journalists and analysts in 120 countries. this is bloomberg. out until theweek march 1 deadline, the u.s. and china are still handling a proposed currency deal as trade talks extended through the weekend. president trump cleated that -- treated -- tweeted about it. tom mackenzie joins us from beijing. we hear of a potential fraying of tensions or rather fraying of the talks between a chinese representative and the president. that footage of the

two and trump undermining his trade representative in the oval of course in front of china's vice premier. in terms of the sticking points around the currency calls, this is a demand from the u.s. for the chinese to keep the currency stable. they are concerned that should a trade deal come to pass, the chinese could if they are threatened with additional tariffs devalue the currency to mitigate the pressure. this has been a long-running gripe anyway for president trump who has argued that the chinese have been manipulating currency. even if the treasury department has failed to label china a currency manipulator since it came into power. this is a question of how this will be enforced in the agreement. they were getting close to a this currency component

of the agreement. we also know the chinese made demands or agreements around buying additional products from the u.s. side. they have made movements around intellectual property. there are major hurdles to be overcome. ramy: how have ethics traders reacted to the potential currency pact? goldman sachs raised the forecast for the u.n. so the dollar calls have been weekend. they have gone to 6.7%. the strategist saying this will be warmly welcomed by the market. many saying this will be a positive for em if they do a come to some agreement. we are waiting for details on that. haidi: we are getting a bit of an update, maybe not so much clarity when it comes to this report that china has banned shipments of australian coal. what do we know?

tom: the chinese coming out and saying we have not banned the imports of australian coal. whatever reporting a showing is have been at the very least delayed. the chinese have not denied they have increased spectrum surround what they say are environmental quality concerns. some suggested this may be a quota change. another it out that australia only exports about 2% of its coal. the broader concern of whether this is a backlash or pushback from china over australia's banning telecoms equipment huawei last year. we still need more details. the australians trying to downplay this. our reporting suggests that at the very least imports of australian coal have been delayed. ramy: china correspondent tom mackenzie coming to us live from beijing. don't miss a new look at

bloomberg markets china open with tom live right there from beijing. we will have all of the latest policy lines and some great guests. meantime, president trump says trade talks have been productive but any details remain to be agreed. there is a sign of strain in the administration with the president and his trade representative, robert lighthizer disagree. >> i think it will be very short-term. week -- i don't like mou's. i think you're better off going into a document. i was never a fan of mou. to washington, d.c. to have her own ross kresge. is this something more optical or is this something that gets to a deeper level? >> it is quite interesting.

you played the exchange between president trump and his trade representative. we have pointed out that there is some tension between the two. there is no real suggestion that representative lighthizer is on the bubble. and has been hock all along. trump has known this. at the same time that trump wants to be tariff man and has sent tweets about tariffs and how great they are, he wants to be known as a record stockmarket man. it seems he was really shaken in december by the sharp decline in the u.s. stocks. in 2018. stockmarket he is really putting a lot of pressure on lighthizer and his team to come up with an agreement. week's talkse this have wrapped up. we do not think there will be a statement that is still a possibility today, i think. it seems like there was progress

made on a number of fronts. one thing we have heard interestingly after the exchange was the term mou might be totally out. definitely some tension that trump wants to seep progress and more talks ahead. todi: quite extraordinary see that play out. secretary of state mike pompeo was someone else who contradicted the president this weekend. >> do think north korea remains a nuclear threat? >> yes. >> the president says he doesn't. >> that is not what he said. what he said was the efforts that had been made in singapore, this commitment that chairman kim made had substantially taken down the risk to the american people. to keep the people of america secure, we are aiming to achieve that. tension shiftsl to the second leadership summit, was the comment from pompeo

suggest they are not on the same page at the moment? ros: i don't really think so. the thing mike pompeo was responding to was a very odd comment from president trump after the previous summit in singapore last year. just himself today tweeted the word denuclearization. you would think if there were no threat at this point he would not need to say that in a tweet. most part pompeo and trump are on the same page. one thing we have seen that is kind of notable from the president is he will be going all in on his enticements, a year or two it was the stick, my button is bigger than yours. now he is suggesting that north korea could be on the road to being a major economic power should it go ahead with nuclear weapons. ramy: looking ahead to donald trump and kim jong-un meeting

this week, how's president trump trying to frame expectations? ros: as i was saying, he is offering enticements to him. he is tempting him with economic growth. he seems to be playing into the normalization of kim that bloomberg has written about this weekend. kim's desire to be among normal leaders and get out and about in the world. the idea of faster economic growth for a country whose per capita gdp is way below 200 and the world. it would be quite a positive thing. i think that is kind of how president trump goes into it. pompeo also tried a little bit today to walk back expectations of a major breakthrough at this summit. he also talked about the possibility of a third summit somewhere down the line. in a way, they can always kick the can down the road. that is our bloomberg

editor from washington. another historic week, we will be there live at the summit all week with coverage and in-depth analysis of the second trump-kim summit. we know kim is making his way late to vietnam a leaving saturday afternoon. keep it here on bloomberg television all week with that analysis. still ahead, warren buffett is ofking to spend some berkshire hathaway's cash pile on an elephant-sized acquisition. ramy: we look at the state of corporate australia after a bumper crop of earnings. this is bloomberg. ♪

todi: we are counting down the start of the brand-new trading week in sydney. looking like a modest upside when sydney begins trading later on.

fourth straight week of gains. the nasdaq on a nine week winning streak. trade talks saying to be continuing on sunday with an extension of the chinese delegation staying there. in australia, the earnings season is drawing to a close. about 80% of companies having delivered their results so far. the reporting season has been but shows afeared slowdown in underlying growth. let's cross over to sophie kamaruddin with the latest. a shane oliver describes, it has been a reasonable season for earnings in australia with more talks of rate cuts. particularly for resources players. earnings from energy and material companies have largely been in line or have beaten estimates. citi seeing the upgrade to

stocks in 2019-20 20, helping to see reasonable growth for australia despite likely downgrades in construction and retail. by yearing 6300 points end for the asx 200, given the rally we saw in mining stocks. flipping the chart, it has been a tough season on the other of the spectrum for retailers with a series of disappointing results. , we saw theohl's share price fall eight .5%. 's profits are likely to fall amid spending plans along with the competition we are seeing for that sector. sophie kamaruddin there in hong kong. let's take a look at the weekend have you on.to i want to start off with how the

asian recovery in equities is going so far. we are starting to see a number of markets across the region, whether you're looking at south korea or new zealand as the case may be. asia-pacific is starting to approach that average in terms of perhaps near and overboard territory. momentum is still picking up. how much upside is there? been a tremendous start for the year. if you look at the movement in key markets. china is up 15%. the fear of the fed continuing to hike and we had three hikes going back to the end of last year, we now have one. the u.s. dollar clearly also starting to drop. haidi: the missing puzzle piece because had it been that weakness we were looking for? jason: it is down about half a .ercent

looking back to last year when we all expected the u.s. dollar was going to fade and it didn't in the context of fed hike expectations. what that has done for e.m. and for the asian market has pushed higher. valuations and there is some sense we might see the trade talks improve the picture as well. clearly given the mood so far this year, not as much as there was as we sought the outset of 2019. of it is about the consumer sentiment has been a huge source of concern, is that something you are watching? jason: we saw a retail sales in december plunge. that is always something we take care to look at. sometimes it is in the indicator but the wealth effect in u.s. equity markets, no doubt, that was a big factor. as we look forward, we think the consumer is not in a bad position. we don't just see that weakness continuing. season, the earnings

sophie kamaruddin just told us about 80% of companies already reported. how is that playing out relative to your earlier assessment that earnings growth could be 4.3% for fiscal year 2019. jason: it has been slightly disappointing. we did envision that to the extent that we were looking at more challenging backdrop for the australian equity market at the beginning of the year. even though earnings have disappointed slightly to the hasside, the market actually performed reasonably well in that. that selloff in december, some of the? in early january, that has put the market into valuation territory which has enabled this performance. we are seeing the aussie equity market up nearly 10%. the sectors like staples that wasn't mentioned, that is

battling. others like energy. we think that for-5% growth is achievable. yet the focus on where the dispersion lies and what sectors will underpin the growth where others are struggling to maintain momentum. into one ofdive those sectors, the financial sector. our viewers can look at the terminal library. curious where you think the outlook is for the financials. we got through the royal commission and the fear of the bogeyman. it turned out to be a paper tiger. jason: there was that reaction on the release of the final recommendation which was really a sigh of relief from the jerk cohn he and and negative fears. what we have seen since then, clearly a challenging environment in the retail bank.

as we look at the picture for the banks, we see areas to be positive on such as valuation. we think it will continue to rise. there are undoubtedly structural challenges which are putting pressure on the banks. we are more cautious on the banks for that reason. with an election not far away and already we have seen at this stillg further levies have territories treading lightly. haidi: the u.s. rally has been pretty impressive. volumes have been pretty thin. this, taking a look at the smaller cyclical shares are starting to underperform. is there a lack of conviction? do you find that elsewhere? jason: we really like the u.s. market. there is expectation in how

shallow and narrow it has been. when we look at buybacks, we see a significant support. we still thinks cyclicals continue to move forward. we liked that component of the market. we think there is room for the u.s. to continue to move forward. we see the s&p getting north of 3000. we believe the legs are still therefore this. there is a little fatigued creeping and given it is a fast start to the year. we still see 6% or 7% earnings. tosee that upside starting ratchet into earnings expectations, which is always important. haidi: thank you so much jason. this mondayney morning. lots more to come on "daybreak: australia." this is bloomberg. ♪

a comeback. let's do a quick check with illusionist -- latest business

check headlines. sources say barrick has acquired 1000 shares through a owned subsidiary. we are told they want to lower the amount of shares needed to call a special meeting from 15% to 15%. abouteal said to be worth $5 billion. less than $2 billion to close on friday. the wall street journal says it faces competition from one other bidder. it specialize in gene therapy drugs. kind tohe first of its win food and drug administration approval. launched itshas first folding tablet phone after samsung did it's the same thing. it has a six point six inch screen and opens up to become an eight inch tablet computer. $2600. cost

>> another delay for the deal. we will find out what's next as finala may postpones the vote on her business plan. this bloomberg. ♪ this bloomberg. ♪ ♪

♪ comcast business built the nation's largest gig-speed network. then went beyond. beyond chasing down network problems. to knowing when and where there's an issue. beyond network complexity. to a zero-touch, one-box world. optimizing performance and budget. beyond having questions. to getting answers. "activecore, how's my network?" "all sites are green." all of which helps you do more than your customers thought possible. comcast business. beyond fast.

aidi: it is 9:30 a.m. here in sydney. markets open in 30 minutes. futures indicating a modest upside. news outaiting further of the continued trade talks being extended into the weekend. they are set to continue on sunday as the chinese delegation extends its day in washington. as -- i'm haidi stroud-watts here in sydney. past 5:30 p.m.t here on sunday. let's get the first word news with su keenan. su: president trump says the weekend's extended trade talks

have gone well. as the clock ticks down to friday's tariff deadline. he tweeted negotiations had been productive but did not offer any more details. 890 day trade truce is set to expire with 25% duties due today -- do to be exposed on chinese goods. the president hinted he may be pushing the deadline back. urged tok is being lead a mission to japan to to savely ask them honda west of london. least 6000 jobs in the supply chain. the company says it is part of a mobile restructuring and not a result of brexit. north korean leader kim jong and is in the middle of a two day journey to vietnam.

his train has crossed into china but travels fairly slowly due to being heavily fortified. kim is expected to travel by car from the china-vietnam border. it will be the first and half a century. his grandfather visited back in 1964. spain has surpassed italy and risen to the top position in the global table for health. the 2019 addition of the bloomberg healthiest country 160 nine countries across a range of factors that contribute to well-being. spain was in sixth place last year but is now in first place. japan is the happiest -- healthiest nation's asia -- in asia. 30 fifth place. the life expectancy declined due to drug overdoses and suicide. powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more

than 120 countries. i am su keenan. this is bloomberg. ramy: let's get our next check on what is happening in markets with sophie cameroon. looking on the terminal, it looks positive. positive, noow, signs yet of a moody monday. asian stocks push higher despite the trade deal remaining elusive for now. in australia, earnings season is winding down but we have a series of companies reporting today. auescope this morning posting 42% rise in first-half profit. the aussie dollar and steel prices helping support. these earningsng outside the engineering unit with a large number of residential apartments due for completion.

borrow -- have referred its guidance for australian earnings and expect property earnings to come in lower than the previous year. more aset's get a bit trading gets underway here in asia. this new trading week with editor.g's take a look at where we are at with u.s. stocks, four weeks of gains on the s&p and nine weeks on the nasdaq. is there a fatigue settling in? adam: we are hearing that from a lot of investors. so much of the optimism is priced into a lot of markets. you have seen it in the strength of the u.n. against the dollar -- yuan against the dollar. s that have area done well or reaching a fatigue point. the trade negotiations now isn't what can they really come up with that will really sustain further rally and risk assets.

yuancially with the dollar cross, they are saying they cannot put it other ways. they lowered the forecast a little bit for strengthening you might see through year end but there is no outlandish forecast really for what you are seeing in the options market. it does not show any big bets on a near term break out on some kind of resolution. i think that really covers it for the chinese yuan. for equities it gets a little more complicated. this chart shows you how well cyclicals have done through the rally that began in mid-december through the october highs we are reaching on the global index now. it is starting to see cyclicals underperform. you are starting to see a tightness there in the leaders of the rally that were pushing things in the early part of january. another sign that perhaps we

will need another catalyst, something else to really push this rally on. week, the humphrey hawkins testimony from jay powell might be something people cannot latch onto. with the 10 year treasury yield holding at 2.65%, a lot of that same on the global economy from investors. ramy: i am looking at what is happening with the japanese yen, hovering around 110. it is strengthening from where it was a few months ago. how is this affecting asset managers and whether they stay hedged or unhedged. ? adam: i thing it speaks to how much of a significant shift we have had in the dovish tilt from the federal reserve and jay powell. over at to the folks mutual life. they manage about $60 billion worth in at.

they pushed up the foreign holdings ended that largely with a view to unhedged that with any currency exposure. they felt a continuation of tightening in 2019 the u.s. keep that downward pressure on the yen. the swing and change means they now see the yen appreciation as a critical risk on top of their list for 2019. they have to hedge a lot of that exposure now. more and moreng hedges on that. it speaks to the point about how much impact the fed is doing is having across the globe. e them in tokyo, it is a tightly hedged portfolio position. our bloomberg global

markets editor. you can check out our gtp library for some of those charts he just had there. now to brexit and theresa may postpone that deadline for the whole entire overall event. ourave kathleen hays here, bloomberg economic policy editor here. where did the weekend's events a leave us here? kathleen: still waiting to see if theresa may can convince the eu to give more concessions on the deal she made. if she can hold her party together, fight off the opposition, and get something that will be eventually passed. sunday was a very day for brexit because she has now announced vote will be no meaningful on brexit until march 12. that is just 17 days until the march 29 deadline. of course, there still may be a .ote this week on february 27

now, it may be a chance for her opponents to put some of their ideas on the table about what needs to be done. it has been a rocky road for theresa may. let's review what happened over the last couple months. january, that vote where her deal was crushed in the house of commons. the worst defeat for any prime minister in recent british history. the average backstop has not been hammered out. u.k. politicians are increasingly worried about a no deal brags it. to say she wants to have a meaningful vote on the deal march 12, that is just negotiating tactic. members of her own party, her cabinet wrote a joint article saying they will have to oppose any kind of deal, and he mentioned that there could be a no deal brags it. she did say in so many words that she will be ready to punish

exits it rebels -- brag rebels. she still hopeful that she will get something, is that likely? kathleen: some interesting developments over the weekend as theresa may flew over to egypt for this summit. when she was on the plane, that is when she told reporters about moving the vote to march 12. what we got from the eu, according to our bloomberg news reporting is they are thinking maybe they will offer the u.k. until 2021.e deal maybe two years. if they accept that, they will have to agree to stay in the eu until the deal is finally passed. pundits experts could say that could really enrage pro brexit lawmakers. we see her now what the european

council president. the fact that they are having a cordial discussion doesn't make it appear that there is support for brexit extension on both sides to avoid a catastrophic no deal scenario. let's look at what he tweeted today. a couple weeks ago he said it sort of offhandedly that there is a special place in hell for people who talk about brexit without a sketch of how it works. today he says there is a difference between common challenges, we have shared interest. to cooperate and not leave it to local powers far from our region. i think it is interesting, on friday the european central bank president, mario draghi, gave an impassioned speech about keeping the eu together. the independence could have problems as well. this adds, it is not just the u.k. getting ready to leave, it is also the problems in italy. i think on the european side it

is very clear that the u.k. might be hurt by a hard brexit but the eu could be hurt as well. kathleen hays there on the latest brags it going down to the wire. warren buffett berkshire hathaway is sitting on a big pile of cash. he said he wants to spend it on a giant acquisition but doesn't see it happening anytime soon. our reporter joins us now. what does this say about the dealmaking outlook that is he have anys potential targets in his sight? -- haidi: we seem to have lost her momentarily. we will try to get her back to talk about warren buffett's dealmaking plans.

up next, a representative from the hoover institution is optimistic about the u.s.-china trade talks. he is only optimistic in the short-term. we will have more discussion on that as well as who he sees as president trump's second leadership meeting with kim jong-un this week. this is bloomberg. ♪

ramy: it is a very big week for geopolitics ahead of the trade talks between the united states and china. --course, the donald trump donald trump in the vice premier meeting this weekend. thes discuss that with representative from the hoover fellowship. donald trump is saying we have made substantial progress in a trade talks with china.

the structural changes we actually really need to get to. wheres is also the area we expected to be the most resistance from the chinese. the open question remains what is the enforcement mechanism? what is the mechanism to make sure whatever agreement is reached is enforced by the chinese? ofre is a great deal optimism in this conversation. we here in the united states believe that president trump wants to get to some type of resolution with the chinese ahead of march 1 or soon thereafter. ramy: how confident are you in a deal by march 1? lanhee: i think it is even odds it happens by march 1. the reality is president trump is incredibly motivated to do a deal. recognizes it is an important piece of his domestic agenda as well. haidi: you mentioned the

enforceability issue, anyone who knows anything really about negotiation -- negotiating these trades would be concerned about. what type of structure could be , is the trustt issue too severe to overcome the hurdle in any deal? i think you keyed in on the problem. there is a deficit of trust. seem to geters along fine. the challenge is when you get into trying to support whatever deal the two leaders might strike, are the right institutions in place to support that deal. party, to go to a third it is not clear that the chinese are the americans would want that either. we need sort of mutually assured compliance with the deal. i think that will be difficult to get to in a short amount of time between now and march 1.

as the president has said, maybe it will extend by a few days. any deal we have seen is likely to be a pretty short on those issues. the longer term discussions will center on whether there can be resolution on things like ip theft and compliance regarding forced technology transfer. haidi: we also saw this pretty extraordinary tense exchange between the president and robert all of thisnd playing out in front of the chinese vice premier. lanhee: it was very awkward without a doubt. i think more than anything else, it reflects president trump's views of memorandum of understanding from his time in real estate. he spent a lot of time during his career before the presidency negotiating, involved in, he

doesn't think that highly of the memorandum of understanding. the reality is robert lighthizer, more than anybody else in this administration, is closer to the president natural views on trade than anybody else. i think there is a decent amount of harming between the two -- harmony between the two of them. i don't think it alters the projection of what robert lighthizer is trying to do. ramy: he is known to be a hawk on china. and i want toity hop into the bloomberg terminal. this is the future of the yuan. is alreadye yuan weaker than forecasts here. what mechanism do you think might be agreeable to both sides? beijing has promised it won't appreciate the yuan. lanhee: apparently they have reached some kind of resolution.

there have been discussions in the past regarding devaluation along a similar line. the question will be is there may be some mechanism tied to other elements of the deal? or is it again some kind of external enforcement mechanism that will kick in here. if we are talking about u.s. and china trying to work with one another specifically on this issue, i don't have a great deal of confidence that it will not break down. let you go, your thoughts on north korea as kim jong-un and donald trump meet, what should we be watching for? lanhee: i wouldn't expect too much. the president has tried to dial back expectations regarding agreements on the freeze denuclearization -- phrase denuclearization. to get as possible you will see the president try to come out with a splashy declaration, like the singapore declaration. there was not a lot of substance in that declaration. i would not expect too much out

of the conference. always great to have you. we are getting the latest out of donald trump saying he is pleased to report the u.s. has made substantial progress in our trade talks with china. he goes on to tweet that the results are very productive talks and as a result i will be delaying the increase in tariffs now scheduled for march 1. assuring both sides make progress. they are planning a summit at mar-a-lago to conclude an agreement. president trump finishing that tweet with a very good weekend for the u.s. and china. the tariff deadline will be delayed to allow more time for additional progress on a trade deal leading up to a leadership seal the final

deal. lots more to come. this is bloomberg. ♪

i'm howdy stroud-watts in sydney. ramy: you are watching "daybreak: australia." let's get a recap of the headlines. donald trump says he will delay the u.s. tariff increases set for march 1. that is crossing the bloomberg terminal front and center. you can see on your screen the tweet that just went around. i am pleased to report the u.s. has made substantial progress in our trade talks with china on the structural issues. including intellectual property theft,ion, ip technological transfer, agricultural services, currency, and many other issues.

withd trump plans to meet president xi jinping assuming progress has been made. he says it will happen at mar-a-lago. those of the main terminal headlines crossing the terminal right now. we will continue to get you more if and when donald trump continues to tweet. we can look at the bloomberg dollar spot. over the past few days it is possibly taking a leg up. meantime, it's bring it on over to you. fori: we will be watching the asian futures and market reaction where trade has come online. certainly a positive development here for those watching the outcome of the u.s.-china trade talks. let's look at warren buffett's berkshire hathaway, sitting on a big pile of cash. the ceo says he wants to spend on a giant acquisition. he does not see that happening anytime soon.

our reporter covers berkshire hathaway for bloomberg. say about the outlook and what he plans to do with his $112 billion cash reserve. are there any targets at the moment? prettyletters took a pessimistic tone to the dealmaking environment. he acknowledged it has been hard to find an elephant-sized acquisition. it has been really hard for them to find a sized deals. they did less than half of the deals they did in 2017 last year. they are struggling to find acquisitions. they spendat means more money on securities and buying common stocks instead of doing a large acquisition until a large one comes their way. ramy: succession plans, was there any talk? katherine: if you are looking for explicit directives when wayett resigns or finds his out of berkshire, there was not

too many details. what we did see was buffett taking a lot of the letter to explain how it fits together and why it fits together. he made a huge point that berkshire is better together than the sum of its parts. i think he is really trying to lay out a path so the successor can argue for any activist that might come along. again, i think that will give his successor a little more flexibility. is our finance reporter with the latest on berkshire hathaway and warren buffett's plans. ending on a high note, we are getting trading in new zealand underway. we are a few minutes out from that. a real pop in the aussie dollar in reaction to president tweet. the tweet says he could be delaying that march 1 deadline

on chinese tariffs. we are seeing reaction when it comes to how asia will open up higher today likely. this is bloomberg. ♪

haidi: a very good morning. i am haidi stroud-watts in sydney, where australian markets have opened. ramy: i am ramy inocencio in new york. sophie: and i am sophie kamaruddin in hong kong. welcome to daybreak asia. our top story this monday, tariffs are on hold. president trump says he is delaying additional duties on chinese goods that were due on friday. theresa may seeks more concessions on brexit as she