haidi: welcome to daybreak australia. shery: i'm in new york. sophie: i'm sophie kamaruddin in hong kong. we are counting down to asia's major markets open. ♪ storiesere are the top we are covering in the next hour. u.s. equities rise for the most in six weeks among robust retail sales raising confidence in the economy. boeing sees its biggest fall in 18 years and going concern about the 737 max. fears about global growth.

bloomberg economics is saying it is seeing the weakest conditions since the financial crisis. shery: that get you a quick check of the major adra just -- major averages. u.s. stocks rallying back since the worst week we have seen this year last week. the dow gained 8/10 of 1%. a little under pressure because boeing in this price weighted index actually plunged on news that several of its planes were grounded on that ethiopian airlines crash over the weekend. however, we did see the s&p 500 gain the most in six weeks. every sector in the green. tech also rallied on the back of an apple upgrade. we saw broad positive sentiment across the market for u.s. stocks. flip the board and you can see what is happening with the dow jones transportation average. this had been underperforming the broader markets along with semiconductors but that was not

the case for today as it really halted that losing straight. the longest since 1972 after 11 sessions of losses. it did get a boost in today's session. nvidia did agree to buy a rival. wti prices were higher at the moment. we saw saudi arabia really committing to more production cuts for a second month. herare seeing s&p futures hig at the moment. we will see how we are setting up for trading in asia. sophie: with a lot of money waiting on the sidelines, there might be room for appetite with asian futures hinting at gains after monday's choppy sessions saw chinese stocks outperform. the upper momentum can sustain, we will see whether there is reaction in asia to that deal that nvidia struck to buy mellanox. we will see reaction in gold stocks to news of a joint

venture over the nevada operations. aussie futures going higher ahead of that. 1%.ei adding 4/10 of we have home loan data due from australia this morning. business confidence gauge from that. we will get trade figures from january. singapore retail numbers this afternoon. this evening, india will release inflation and industrial figures that could point to a rate cut from the rbi as soon as next month. haidi: let's get to the first word news with the jessica summers. jessica: thanks. new research by bloomberg economics shows global growth is at its weakest since the financial crisis a decade ago. new gdp tracker puts expansion at 2.1% on a quarter by quarter basis, sharply down from 4% in the middle of 2018. mood,cd adds to the sour saying momentum in the u.s., u.k., canada and euro area are

slowing, although there are signs that china is stabilizing. oil begin the week on the rebound as saudi arabia moved to extend deeper supply curves and a continually nationwide power outage threatening production in venezuela. futures in new york rose after falling last week among u.s. payroll numbers. oil has traded in a tight range after rallying from december lows. however, there are fears a global slowdown might hit demand. ,> if the economics slowdown coming from china from the car space to telephones to construction, if that continues and we see a slowdown from china, this may have impacts on our expectations for this year and maybe beyond. jessica: president trump has presented a budget that sees one of the largest cuts to domestic spending, while boosting defense coffers. adding more than $8 billion for

his border wall. is rising debt of more than $1 trillion until 2022. observers say it is heading for almost certain rejection in congress and could trigger a new government shutdown. strasburg for in more last-minute talks with the eu. her brexit bill facing a crucial vote on tuesday evening. she is meeting jean-claude mood in thethe commons is turning towards accepting the deal. we could go -- a week ago, it seemed like she was facing defeat, but now it might pass. global news 24 hours a day on air and on twitter, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts. i'm jessica summers. this is bloomberg. shery: we have breaking news on brexit. we are hearing from the prime minister's deputy from theresa

may. he is making a statement in parliament right now. theresa may's deputy says the government has to cure changes to the brexit deal. he says the eu has committed that alternative arrangements do not need to replicate the backstop. this would be theresa may's effective deputy saying the government has secured changes to the brexit deal, saying the eu has committed that the alternative arrangements do not need to replicate the backstop. the letter from january will be put on a legal footing. we have seen theresa may had to france for brexit talks with the president of the eu, jean-claude juncker. they are hoping to produce enough for the attorney general to change his legal advice on the deal. now, we're hearing from the prime minister's affected deputy that, who is making a statement right now, that they have in

fact security changes to the brexit deal. we will try to get you more as we get the latest on this. we are hearing from mr. lymington, that negotiations are continuing between prime minister theresa may, as well as president juncker. you can see live pictures of the effective deputy making remarks on securing changes to the , which a vote will happen in parliament tomorrow. aviation regulators say the anticipate mandating changes to aircraft by max april after a second fatal crash in five months. remainssays the plane airworthy and has no intention of following china's lead in grounding. boeing shares fell sharply after the ethiopian airlines crash that killed 157 people. joining us is bloomberg u.s. airlines reporter justin bac

kman. tell us how critical is boeing's business is the 737. justin: it is critical.is what it is what you would call the workhorse of that company. it is by far the best selling model in their lineup. at this point, the market uncertainty is not good for boeing. haidi: array going to see more airlines being forced to respond to passenger concerns? a lot of passengers within the u.s. inquiring as to whether they are on the 737 max's. china has grounded planes, indonesia as well. are we likely to see that on an airline decision basis even if regulators are not taking a stance? justin: it is hard to think that the airlines themselves would create a disruption in their own business absent some kind of new evidence that comes out.

i think they are waiting for the u.s. government to give them some guidance on this issue. you are right as far as the passenger concert is out there. we have seen on social media all day people in the u.s. and canada tweeting at airlines and asking about the max aircraft and safety. it is definitely something top of mind for a lot of passengers. i think airlines are going to be really at this point cautious and waiting to hear more of what comes out of the investigation in africa before they make any type of defendant did -- definitive statement. haidi: justin bachman with the very latest on the boeing saga. in 18 years for boeing. a brexit break could be in the works. we are hearing about a renegotiated package. theresa may making that late dash to strasburg.

shery: still ahead, looking at the fed, the dollar and the wall street rally. this is bloomberg. ♪

haidi: we are counting down to the sydney futures. following the tailwind from u.s. stocks, rebounded after five sessions of losses. i'm haidi stroud-watts in sydney. shery: i'm shery ahn in new york. u.s. stocks jumped the most in six weeks as chipmakers rallied on dealnews and the latest retail data boosted hopes that the economy is not headed for a downturn. joining us now is marvin lowe. thank you for joining us today. as you are coming in, we saw the latest headlines out of brexit as well with prime minister may's deputy saying the government has a cure changes to the deal. they will actually vote on the improved deal tomorrow.

that is happening, but obviously, we still don't see the end of the brexit saga as of yet. this is what happens this week. there is still much more to come on the forum of brexit taking place later this year. ow do you factor -- how do you factor such volatility when we don't know what the headlines will be? marvin: it certainly has been a journey to get us here. i would not necessarily count the plan done at this point.it is certainly a positive we will get a vote. there was a question even as recently as a few hours ago whether or not we would have a vote. i think it is ultimately a positive, but there is still a lot of wood to chop before we figure out what this means for the u.s. economy. i think both the great british ound have been trading like there will be some positive resolution, but where do we go from here? it is hard to see it getting

much stronger given how it has helped in? shery: it seems like the theme this year is external risks, the u.k., european economy and china. yet, the u.s. still seems to be doing pretty solid. retail sales stabilizing after the huge drop in december. we going to continue to see that theme that played out last year on u.s. exceptionalism and how much of that is at risk when you have so much external factors you have to consider? marvin: it is definitely going to be a hard year from that perspective. volatility spikes as data sends mixed signals. today's retail sales was good, but we had a downgrade from last month so it is supposed to look better. last week's employment numbers were ok when you look at it from a three-month perspective, but the headline was a challenge. we are willing to look past it but there are still questions as to whether or not the 180,000 per month job numbers is

correct, or 20 is one of those signals. risk growth does look better than the other developed world at this point. the difference is not as strong as we saw last year, but it is certainly still better and supported by u.s. assets to a certain degree. the dollar is another one of those major asset classes that get support in that type of environment. haidi: that is really the driver, it seems, lacking any fundamentals that should be driving further dollar strength. is it really the best of a bad bunch argument at the moment? marvin: yeah, we have certainly seen investors remain cautious, even as risk assets has done well. the dollar was a great hedge against volatility. we saw the flipside to that today. the yen is another one of those currencies that acts well when there is volatility. there has been interest in the yen to take care of that volatility. for the most part, u.s. rates

are still the highest in the world. if you are worried about volatility, you will get a higher yield and a volatility hedge. that is one of the key things that has kept the dollar at strong it is it has been. haidi: i want to bring up a chart we have been focusing on this week, particularly as we get this assessment from bloomberg economics. analysts suggesting that finance an and economic conditions are the weakest since the global financial crisis. the biggest economic surprise, turning negative. worst levels we have seen since 2013. a lot of this is obviously based on his appointing flurry of numbers we have seen out of china over the past few months and weeks. brexit and trade talks really just distractions and is this really going to the core of what global investors are worried about, which is a cohesive downturn in global growth conditions? marvin: brexit and trade talks certainly go into some of the economic data. to say it is noise, it is not correct.

to say we might get a little too worked up over probably is correct especially when there is not some themes out there. trade is solved popular roman market perspective and we see some stability around that economic data, investors will be encouraged. so far not been that aggressive in buying this risk rally even though we were 5% from the high, given all the volatility we saw the end of last year. shery: this chart showing we have really been stuck with the trading range for the s&p 500, between 2600 and 2800, despite the fact earnings are 20% higher than they were a year ago. does this mean we have more upside for the s&p 500? marvin: one of the challenges that investors need to get over needs a resolution on is whether or not this economic downswing is worse than what the data is showing now. the fed taking a step back, the

central banks taking you on what the outlook to the economy is. we need to get past that from an individual company perspective while year-over-year growth has been good when we look at it over the last couple of years. it is expected to decelerate. not growing at the rate we saw last year. that in of itself is different that investors need to absorb. shery: always great having you with us. marvin loh, state street market strategist. plenty more to come. this is bloomberg. ♪

haidi: this is bloomberg technology global link. i'm haidi stroud-watts. emily chang in san francisco. emily: tesla is making a u-turn

on its resell strategy, scrapping plans to close most of its stores and raising prices around 3% as a result. the long promised $35,000 model 3 will not be affected but other buyers have a week to place orders for the rate hike goes into effect. half of the stores they are planning to close will stay open but sticking to plan for all sales to be done online. uber is expanding its food operation, renting a fully equipped kitchens to caterers, selling meals on delivery apps. the move puts uber in direct competition with cloud kitchen, a startup owned by a former amazon cofounder. we have been told he has been hiring former uber employees to make it work. at&t is diving deeper into e-sports. the company is backing a new amateur mobile gaming tournament. at&t will be the founding

sponsor of the esl open. e-sports contestants lay videogames in front of live and online audiences. other big-name sponsors include intel, coca-cola enters 80's bentz. those are the top global stories we're watching. haidi: anticipation building in china for the launch of the shanghai stock exchange's new nasdaq style technology board. scrambling to set up funds targeting new tech listings. bloomberg spoke extensively to dt capital founding partner about the new exchange and his investment strategy. >> china is such a big market for us. we focus on three theme. one, telecom media technology. one, health care. one, hardware. for each of the three themes, we use articles. for health care, we are in the health care device. we're interested in certain pharmaceutical companies, developing certain prm's.

certain testing. very vertical space we are looking at. not everything. we find out that only be focusing, being able to focus on very vertical sectors, then you can capture the right target to make the investment. those are the three main themes. then, very narrow spaces. board the new tcechj they are planning in shanghai. it is good on paper, but how will that succeed? what will make you choose that instead of -- joe: this is a great question because i am sitting on board on one of the companies to be filed for this tech board. as a matter of fact, at the end of this month. we know a lot of the details because it gave you certain insight. companies know which one is

better than the other. we are the ones that get invited. for obvious reasons, everyone wants to file. but the government has already done a lot of homework. they pick and choose where they invite, or other ways to encourage you to be the first batch. fortunately, we are one of the couple of companies being invited and i happen to be sitting on board on one of the companies. according to this current timeline, if you filed by end of this month, it will be probably listed before the end of the second quarter this year. david: when is it launching? joe: end of this month, that is the latest information we got. a couple of companies are trying to get into the first batch. david: i'm sure that also has to do with the state of the market now. it is so good.

joe: exactly. david: are you looking forward to bringing your exit plans? joe: absolutely. the current market, there is good sentiment. certain companies -- last year, we saw a little bit or stay put a little bit, but now they are trying to capture the window of the market. i think, my personal belief, is this market will last for a while. again, government has really done a lot of the good work and research. makes sure the tech board and other boards will move on the right direction, unlike before, it is really not too healthy. dt capital was managing partner joe tian speaking to david ingles. apple will be hosting a special event on march 25 where it is expected to introduce an original video programming service and new premium magazine

subscription plan. it is designed to rival offerings from netflix and amazon. let's head to l.a. what are we expecting? this is a sector that is getting very crowded. >> yeah. it is very exciting. apple has kept its video plans under wraps. i'm talking to people in hollywood and they are like how do i get invited? that is a big question. apple has sent out this invite and the theme is it is showtime. as me and my colleagues mark gurman reported first, it is expected to have a lot of tinseltown, hollywood theme around it with some stars, and hopefully showing off the content they have been working on for the past year or more. emily: what were your sources on the ground in hollywood telling you? i have spoken to content creators who say they still look understand apple's strategy or the end goal and what kind of

content apple is trying to create. anousha: we know that apple has been hiring here and there to build a team. they have been buying films and creating tv shows and buying scripts or teams of people to work on things. they are not revealing their direction or how the content will be seen. or for example, if they are buying a film. a big question right now in media generally is how will you see that? will it be in theaters? the question of windows. they are keeping that close to their chest because it is all about the format and technology. emily all right:, anousha, for us in hollywood. you will keep us posted. we will be at the apple event on march 25. shery? shery: looking forward to it. that was bloomberg technology global link. don't miss bloomberg technology 7 a.m. in sydney, 5 p.m. in new

york. next, we will discuss tesla's you turn. why did elon musk change course on his retail strategy? this is bloomberg. ♪ this isn't just any moving day.

this is moving day with the best in-home wifi experience and millions of wifi hotspots to help you stay connected. and this is moving day with reliable service appointments in a two-hour window so you're up and running in no time. show me decorating shows. this is staying connected with xfinity to make moving... simple. easy. awesome. stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and two-hour appointment windows. click, call or visit a store today.

haidi: it is 9:30 a.m. in sydney. markets poised to open in 30 minutes. we are looking at positive opening when we are looking at sydney trading, more than half a percent after u.s. stocks rallied after their first week last week. shery: i'm shery ahn in new york where it is 6:30 p.m. let's get the first word news with jessica summers. jessica: thanks. boeing was the biggest laggard on the s&p 500 while they are tried to deal with their crisis in confidence in its 737 max. the faa says the plane is airworthy despite a second fatal crash in five months. the regulator says it will

demand flight control enhancements by april. some regulators have grounded the plane which is the boeing's best-selling aircraft. u.s. retail sales stabilize in january after a plunge in december that was larger than originally reported. the value of overall purchases rose 2/10 of 1%, compared to a 1.6% drop in december which was the steepest since 2009. sales in the so-called control subset which excludes food services, car dealers and gas stations, was 1%, topping expectations. one of africa's longest-serving leaders is bowing to popular pressure and will not seek reelection. term, butted a fifth mass protests persuaded him to abandon his campaign. the election was set for april 18, but bouteflika says it will be postponed and the government will be replaced.

he also promises a new constitution by the end of the year. this month marks the 30th anniversary of something many have come to take for granted. british89 saw britain's a paper on how digital objects can be identified and retrieved to router software. that vision of universal connectivity is what drives most of the world today. he panted his idea and offered it for free. global news 24 hours a day on air and on twitter, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. i'm jessica summers. this is bloomberg. shery: let's get straight to sophie kamaruddin in hong kong for a check on how markets in asia are shaping up. sophie: asian stocks are headed for games after u.s. shares jumped the most in six weeks on the retail boost. with mma cheer early this morning, u.s. equity futures are pointing higher.

we could see risk appetite return after monday's choppy session that saw chinese stocks outperform. nikkei 225, we could see a gain of .5%. checking on currency moves of note. we do have the pound jumping 6/10 of 1%. the euro falling to a may 2017 low, this coming on news there will not be a delay to the brexit vote. sterling extending gains, climbing as much as 1.1% this morning after rising more than 1% in the overnight session. this as the market increasingly sees it likely a hard brexit will materialize. haidi: let's get more on what we're watching cash trading gets underway in asia. u.s. stocks jumping the most in six weeks. the recovery rally.does it have legs , though, because some of these themes are lacking. >> that is right. there is definitely a big

appetite to grab onto anything that takes this market higher, especially after the worst week for stocks we had last week. you have the big relief in the u.s. there is bad news out there. the global economy is slowing. the dovish turned by the european central bank. it is worth noting that despite the rally, the s&p 500 has struggled to go above the 2800 level. it seems like investors really do want to take this rally further. we've got a chart of now that shows the china emerging markets index recovering about half of the 17% loss in 2018. that is largely on chinese stimulus and some positive optimism about trade. it was against a backdrop gloomy data in asia, as you can see from that chart at the bottom. it looks like investors will

grab onto any opportunity to take this rally further. they're probably going to see gains today. we do have that chinese data coming out later this week. we have brexit development. we are still waiting for some clarity on those trade negotiations. perhaps while a lot of the negatives are priced in, i think a lot of the outcomes are platform clear. shery: we are also seeing a surge in trading volume in the asia-pacific index this year. southeast asia is playing a bigger role in global benchmarks. is this trend likely to continue? andreea: that is right. trading on the msci asia-pacific index ballooned at the end of february. that is -- that suppress the previous record in 2009. in the last two weeks, it has topped that on several occasions. that is largely because of this

inclusion of a-shares in global benchmarks that will prompt some fund managers going forward to allocate more to their portfolio. some forcethere are remaining. you have that son-in-law is on chinese shares on friday which is a reminder of how volatile that market remains. there is still some regulatory issues surrounding the inclusion of the shares of the global indexes. you cannot underestimate the importance and influence that they will have for investors going forward. in sydney.eea papur you can check out our library for some of those charts she referred to. . on gdtv tesla has been another rebound. shares plunged almost 8% after the company said it would close

most of its stores and shift to online only sales. ramy has the latest. ramy: a u-trun on a u-turn is what we are talking about in the past 10, 11 days. this is a positive one when you take a look at the reaction of the share price. rising 2.4% by the in of the day. this is the highest ever since march 1. its second-best performance for a day ever since february 28. that was the day with a tweet went out, saying that they would turn around and change their strategy. now what is the new strategy? stores will stay open. no actual numbers, but tesla saying it will keep significantly more stores open. with that, prices will not be falling as much because they will need to have stores staying open, they will need to raise prices at an average of 3% higher. you can see the tesla statement, only closing half of their

stores. cost savings only about half as well. there will be those price jumps for a few models, not for the $35,000 model 3, if you are thinking about buying that. this would be the more expensive styles of the model 3, the s, t he x. the price is right now are valid until march 18. you have about a week or so. saying this is a short-term catalyst for some revenue and profit taking. analysts weighing in on the you turn of a u-turn. spontaneous leadership they are seeing does not lend confidence. that is pretty much obvious. evercore says this is amateur hour. no mincing of words. saying this is the right course of action. this is on top of other issues. of course, there is a whistleblower complaint that came out earlier today. tesla's former chief of staff your it saying at the core of those -- chief of security

saying at the core of those claims of taking the company private, folks were talking about that. this person has filed a complaint with the sec. in addition -- we have a full screen quote we can show, basically saying it can go all the way to the end, many were suspects of the purported deal's legitimacy. tesla pushing back against that. mr. guthro's allegations are untrue, sensationalized and only intended to seek the attention of the media. all of this going back and forth. volatility with these complaints, but really at the end of the day, at least for today, investors are ending in positive territory. shery: for today. we have seen new challenges of tesla play out in a public way. at least when it comes to the chinese market, they seem to be making inroads. what is the details on the opening of their plans there? they also want to produce more batteries and supply chain system. ramy: this actually focuses on

batl, china's top producer of batteries. this could be a coup for the company. catla, standing for contemporary everex technology limited. the thing you really need to know is this would put the company on the global map for battery cells. right now, according to people familiar, the companies are talking about specifications for batteries, but right now there is no guarantee. one thing we do know, tesla has said it will start model 3 production in china sometime this year. what you need to make all those cars go, you need batteries. they have confirmed battery production with panasonic.they say they are in talks with other companies and catl could be one of them. shery: thank you so much.coming up next , the u.k. says it has secured an improved brexit deal after theresa may's late-night talks with jean-claude juncker. we are standing by to hear from the two leaders.

we will bring you those comments live when they start. this is bloomberg. ♪

shery: we have breaking news. let's go live to a joint news conference by theresa may and jean-claude juncker in strasburg, france. let's listen in. june, 2016, the day after the british people decided to leave the union, it was a sad day. sad day for me personally. we have to respect the decision of the british people, the matter how deeply we are against it. as i said back then, the european union has rules to allow a member state to leave. ever since march 29, 2017, when the united kingdom notified his

intention to leave -- its intention to leave, we have negotiated in good spirit. our aim is to ensure that this takes place in an orderly way. we want the rights of citizens on both sides to be protected. we want to preserve peace on the island. these are things any responsible politician cares about. the european union and the united kingdom have a joint responsibility. we have a deal on the table, which does do this. with all the agreements the european union and the government of the united kingdom agreed on have been on the table for 105 days now. the european union is ready and the process is ongoing. i have no doubt it can be concluded on time. however, as we all know,

investment more difficult on the u.k.'s side. that is why the commission has been working actually hard over the past months to provide additional information to get over the finish line. before the first meeting for letterogether, i sent a of the agreement. in particular, on the backstop and commitment to swiftly negotiate our future relationship. since then, the prime minister and myself were very open. we met three times in the space of just one month, including in egypt. asked our negotiation teams to explore that could lead to alternative arrangements, and

additional changes to the declaration related to the future relationship that could be helpful to all of us. met four times in the space of one month. energy, time and commitment to clarify, ensure or explain what the agreement is. we left no stone unturned. our mind has always been open. and wek always creator have always been having outstretched hands. it is in this spirit, today, the prime minister and i have agreed on a joint, legally binding instrument related to the agreement. this instrument revise meaningful clarifications and legal guarantees on the nature of the backstop.

it is an insurance policy. nothing more, nothing less. it is not to be used like an average insurance policy. if it were ever to be used, it should never be a trap. if either side acts in bad fait h, there is a legal way for the other party to exit. the instrument that sets out details, fully respecting the guidelines of the european council. it, let's the withdrawal agreement. my team and i have been in constant contact with her irish friends over the past days and hour. prepared to back this approach in the interest of overall peace. i have just informed the president and asked him to recommend the european council

endorses this joint instrument, subject to the prior positive votes on the agreement. in politics, sometimes you get a second chance. it is what we do with the second chance that counts. because there will be no third chance. there will be no further into rich asian of the interpretations -- interpretation of the interpretations. the vote takes place tomorrow. let us speak clear about the choice. brexit thateal of might not happen at all. faced with this, we have members of the house of commons who have a deep response ability and fundamental choice they make. i was following day after day, sometimes minute after minute, the debates in the house of commons. interesting debates. all the views that were expressed in the debates have to

be respected. i'm convinced that the members rightly so, as convinced that the members of the house long to have good future relationship with the european union. if the withdrawal agreement gets passed, the european union is ready to immediately begin preparations on her future relationship. the european commission's negotiations are in place. our tireless negotiator will be at the head of the team. leaving ourbe hearts and minds. we are bound together by common history and geography. our personal ties, friendships, relationships run deep and this will never change. it is with this in mind that i hope and trust that today's

lead to a -- will meaningful vote tomorrow. a good end. we owe it to history. >> millimeter by millimeter, we have come closer. the agreements we have reached today is the best possible solution. after march 17, we have been negotiating day after day to find an agreement which we found today. it is still a sad day for the european union. but in democracy, we need to respect the choice of the people. today's agreement is there to prove it. >> thank you. last november, after two years

of hard-fought negotiations, i agreed a brexit deal with the eu, that i passionately believe delivers the passion of the british people to leave the european union. over the past four months, i made the case for that deal in westminster and across the u.k. i stand by what that deal achieves for my country. it means we regain control of our laws by ending the jurisdiction of the european court of justice in the u.k. regain control of our borders by ending free movement. regain control over money. the end of the common agricultural policy and fishery policy for british farmers and fishermen. and, the deal sets us on course for a good future relationship with our friends and allies in the eu. a close economic partnership that is good for business, ongoing security cooperation to

keep our people safe. the deal honors the referendum result and is good for both the u.k. and the eu. but, there is clear concern in parliament over one issue in particular, the northern ireland backstop. toing an insurance policy guarantee there will never be a hard border in northern ireland is absolutely right. it honors the u.k.'s solemn commitment in the belfast agreement. if we ever have to use that insurance policy, it cannot become a permanent arrangement and it is not the template for our future relationship. in deal that m.p.'s voted on january was not strong enough to make that clear. legally binding changes were needed. today, we have agreed to. first, the joint instrument with comparable legal weight of the withdrawal agreement will guarantee the eu cannot act with the intent of applying the

backstop indefinitely. if they do, it can be challenged through arbitration. if they are found to be in breach, the u.k. can defend the backstop. the joint instrument gives legal commitment that whatever replaces the backstop does not need to replicate it. it in trenches in legally binding form the commitments made to the exchange of letters with presidents tusk and juncker in january. the u.k. and eu have made joint statement in position -- it sets up a number of negotiations and bringing into force the future relationship. it makes legal commitment that the u.k. and eu will begin work immediately to replace the backstop with alternative arrangements by the end of december 2020. there will be a specific negotiating track on alternative arrangements through the start of the next phase of negotiation. it will consider facilitation's

and technologies currently ready and emerging. the u.k.'s position will be informed by the three domestic groups announced. the technical experts, mp's, and business and trade unions. alongside the joint instrument on the joint agreement, the united kingdom government will make a unilateral declaration that if the backstop comes in to use and discussions of our future relationship breakdown so there is no prospect of subsequent agreement, the position of the united kingdom is there will be nothing to prevent the u.k. of implementing measures that would supply the backstop. unilateral declarations are commonly used by states alongside the ratification of treaties. the attorney general set out a legal analysis the meeting of the joint instrument and declarations of parliament. tomorrow, the house of commons will debate the improved deal that these legal changes have greeted. i will speak in more detail about the when i open that

debate. mp's were clear that legal changes were needed to the backstop. today, we have secured legal changes. now is the time to come together to back this improved brexit deal and to deliver on the instruction of the british people. >> we have time for a few questions. >> thanks very much. adam fleming from the bbc. prime minister, having secured a time limit to the backstop or unilateral exit mechanism to the backstop?president juncker, does any of this change the contents of the deal at all? >> what we have secured is legally binding changes which is what parliament asked us to secure. what we have secured very clearly is the backstop cannot be indefinite. it cannot become permanent.it is only temporary . if it is the case we were ever to get into the backstop. when we also secured and what

parliament was very clear that it wanted was that alternative arrangements could replace the backstop. and as i have said, there is a timetable to that such that alternative arrangements would be in place of the end of december 2020. if it was necessary to use the insurance policy, it would not be necessary to use the backstop. there will be alternative arrangements that could replace the backstop, as parliament requested. >> the influence we agreed upon is respecting in the spirit of bilateral conclusions that counc il has agreed to years ago. this deal, this instrument, this arrangement we have agreed upon today is complementary with all the agreements we have. >> mark. >> prime minister, mr. president

a to you, prime minister, has single word of the withdrawal agreement changed as a result of your meeting tonight? and has the attorney general told you people therefore change his legal advice? to you, mr. juncker, do you believe this will go through tomorrow? if it doesn't, are you clear that that is it? no deal, no further changes? >> the legal instrument we have agreed is in addition to the withdrawal agreement.it has the seem equal status . the withdrawal agreement is legally binding. that is what parliament asked us to secure and that is what we have secured. the attorney general is independent. he will come to his decision and publishes legal decision for parliament before vote tomorrow. >> i think i was rather clear

moments ago. there will be no new negotiations. it is this. minister,ul the prime despite the difficulties, the determined way she and i were able to meet. thank you. >> last question. yes? >> what are the implications of the unilateral withdrawal mechanism on the backstop? can the u.k. decide it no longer wants to be a part of the backstop? does it diminish the backstop in any way? is it legally operable as before? unilateral declaration, the u.k.'s position in certain circumstances. let's be clear about, we have both described the backstop as an insurance policy. it is the intention of both

sides that that insurance policy should never need to be used. if it were the case, if it were necessary to use the insurance policy, it could take various forms. crucially, one of the requests that parliament has, parliament came together and had a majority vote for was it should be possible to replace the backstop with alternative arrangements. we hope to secure this timetable that enables the backstop as defined currently to be replaced with alternative arrangements. the intent of both sides is there a clear. we want a good future relationship between the u.k. in the eu. we will work hard to ensure that that future relationship has been negotiated, agreed by the end of december 2020, such that the backstop need never come into place. >> this concludes our press conference. thank you all. good night. that is the u.k. prime minister theresa along with the european commission president

jean-claude juncker at a joint press conference after discussions taking place in strasburg, france. they have come to a conclusion that resulted in joint, legally binding instrument to do the withdrawal agreement on brexit. essentially taking a look at the irish backstop, the legal obligations and the insurance nature of the backstop. theresa may say it is an insurance policy but it it can be replaced by something else and both parties have legal ways to get out of it if one party decides to use it as a threat. lots of questions still remain. let's go to analysis. , a lot of skepticism in the chamber when they were going through this proposed instrument being