abigail: coming up on "bloomberg best," the stories that shaped the week in business around the world. stocks touched record highs as the u.s. and china signal a trade deal could finally becoming. >> it seems to be suggesting both governments are on track for some kind of agreement. abigail: voters in hong kong deliver a message that is crystal clear. >> this is really the people of hong kong talking about the biggest political issues. abigail: investors sift through data to get a handle on global trends. >> we are now in a boom period

in terms of prices in real estate, by any means. >> all of this means slower growth going into the fourth quarter of the year. >> the economy is fairly weak , but the data today shows things moving in the right direction. abigail: alibaba goes public on their home turf. >> the company narrows the valuation gap to amazon. abigail: the u.k. election campaign heads into the home stretch. >> it is very easy to see how we could end up in a hung parliament territory. abigail: m&a madness with a delusion of big deals. >> this is a company that has been on an acquisition spree. >> a lot, but they can deftly do definitely do it. >> the general feeling is they probably will go through, but how long it will take? abigail: a new suite of leaders brings a fresh set of goals to the european commission. >> climate change is existential. but it is a huge opportunity, too. >> every company should contribute. >> indeed, the banking union will be one of the next commission's priorities. abigail: it is all straight ahead on "bloomberg best."

hello and welcome. i'm abigail doolittle. this is "bloomberg best," your weekly review of the most important business news, analysis, and interviews from bloomberg television around the world. world. let's start with a day-by-day look at the top headlines. after months of protests that pitted citizens against the government and police, hong kong stayed calm on sunday as voters turned out for district elections. >> voters pretty much across hong kong overwhelmingly siding with pro-democracy candidates in what many see as a fairly damning referendum. >> record turnout. what does that mean, though?

>> it means the voters here have really woken up to what is going on. you did say after 5, 6 months of these ongoing protests, that this is not a huge surprise. more than 71% turnout on sunday. we have seen the pro democrats look like they are set for big gains this time around, given the backdrop of the highly politicized environment, given the protests. a guest we had on bloomberg earlier on said this is really the people of hong kong talking about the biggest political issues. a vote on the government, a vote on the five demands of the protesters, including an inquiry into the police behavior. labeling protesters as rioters. the demand for genuine universal suffrage. the people have spoken out. the question is -- what will happen next, and what the government will do about it? >> china says it will take action against intellectual property fast to address a major sticking point that has

looming over the u.s. what should be read into the timing of the ip rules? >> we do have a trade deal that looks like it is getting closer to fruition. we have the vice premier of china saying he is cautiously optimistic last week. we had president donald trump saying on friday that we are very close. ip and forced technology transfers have been a key part of the u.s. complete of chinese behavior. so this could pave the way for something to be signed between the two presidents. the other thing i think worth mentioning is china is increasingly developing a lot of its own technology. it has become beneficial for china to protect that on its own. holiday-shortened trading week, and we have the dow, s&p and nasdaq hitting record highs. the s&p closing around 3100 level at 3133. the russell 2000, the clear

performer of the day, up by 2.1%. >> you have the stars aligning between a pathway to a trade deal. there is light at the end of a brexit tunnel. earnings being less bad, and impeachment conviction risks substantially being reduced. a lot of people who have missed now feel empowered they can hop on board. >> 3, 2, 1. >> alibaba surging on its debut here in hong kong. having already risen strongly in the companyket, raising more than $11 billion u.s. and share sales. the stock was heavily oversubscribed. tell us about the price action. >> a decent showing for alibaba in hong kong. not as much as we saw in 2014 when it listed back in new york. shares opened at 187 hong kong dollars, above the ipo price and a slight premium to the new york listed.

the stock jumped as much as 8%, with turnover of more than 8 billion hong kong dollars, far outpacing tencent, which is down slightly on the day, making alibaba the most actively traded stock. and analysts are bullish on the company. call tok the byuy one. as bloomberg intelligence notes, the share sale could help the company narrow its valuation gap to amazon. alibaba training at 22 times earnings compared to amazon's 46 times. >> the u.s. and china agreed to stay in touch to resolve remaining issues to get to phase one trade deal. this comes after a phone call earlier in which the top negotiators from both sides discussed core concerns. >> another day of incremental news that seems to be suggesting both governments are on track for some kind of trade agreement. the language from the commerce department has been quite positive. a positive spin. from here, the expectation will be how will the u.s. respond? and then, of course, as we head towards the middle of december, will it be sufficient progress

whereby both sides can agree to a trade agreement, or we reach the deadline and the tariff threat, he goes ahead and increases tariffs. there's a lot coming. romaine: u.s. stocks climbing to record highs on renewed trade optimism. president trump telling reporters that the u.s. was in the final throes of a trade deal with china after negotiators spoke by telephone. >> stocks moving higher on the day, and it is easy to forget how big a move 2/10 of a percentage. on the surface, it is not that big, but if you have several days like these put together, they become huge moves very fast. even on a quiet day, this is a very fast-moving market. david: the european parliament voted again on approving the new eu commission today.

the president-elect won the backing of the clear majority of members of the european parliament, allowing her new team to start work on december 2. maria: they are finally getting the green light. they will take office, including the european commission president in december, replacing jean-claude juncker. she has made climate her number one priority. she said she wants to make the european union carbon neutral. climate neutral by 2050. that is cutting down major carbon emissions. that is her number one focus. she also said the european union needs to be much more assertive on the global stage. there's also the idea of brexit. this would still be looming on the european commission, because they would have to renegotiate the trade deal with the u.k., if it manages to leave the european union in january 2020. >> hong kong has found itself at the center of u.s.-china tensions after president trump signed into law a bill in support of the city's protesters. the move will complicate trade talks with beijing as the two sides get close to a phase one deal.

the big question we are asking ourselves is -- what form of retaliation from china might take if it ends up being anything more than words? what signals are we getting on that front today? >> china has basically continued to warn the u.s., first warning the u.s. not to pass the bill. then, president trump not to sign the bill. now, they are saying they should not act on the bill. but there have been threats without specifics at this point. obviously, it comes at an inopportune time for the trade talks but both sides seem to want to move forward. anna: germany is expected to continue ignoring calls for greater fiscal stimulus with lawmakers looking set to with lawmakers looking set to confirm the government's balanced budget for 2020. a potential shakeup in german politics could endanger the future of the ruling grand

coalition. two pairs of candidates face off in a leadership election that could determine the fate of angela merkel's coalition government. what exactly is happening with the spd? what is the politics story? chad: what we have is a face-off of leadership of the spd, the junior coalition partner in merkel's government. we will find out the results of this face-off. the voting has been going on among party members for the last week or so. we will find out tomorrow evening who won. it is really important in terms of the future of the government, , these if olaf schulz finance minister, wins this, it is likely he will push to continue on in this coalition with merkel. the challenger to him for the party leadership has basically said he does not really believe in this grand coalition with merkel and that is hurting the party. it is much more likely the social democrats would consider pulling out of the coalition if the challenger were to win in the vote that will get announced tomorrow. it is the

moment retailers have been preparing for all year long. black friday underway in the u.s. the national retail federation expects more than 165 million black friday shoppers this year, each spending over $1000. >> we are not seeing people line up like they used to. 2007, 2008, you saw people swarm walmart, grabbing tv's and fight over things. that is not what black friday looks like anymore. this has become an online holiday. we saw a lot of these companies rollout promotions back in october. there has been a lot of online shopping. a lot of it has already taken place. something like a quarter of presents have already been bought today. you don't have to wake up and stand in the cold anymore. it is definitely changing out there. romaine: who are people going out to the stores today? jordyn: a lot of young shoppers. the millennial, gen z shoppers seeing this is a social event. that is why stores like american eagle, urban outfitters are benefiting from those young shoppers. also, electronics always benefit. people who want tv's and the big

electronics, they are seeing a lot of foot traffic as well. >> our forecast was sales would grow this year between 3.8% and 4.2% over one year ago. we know the consumer confidence levels have been very high. we have low unemployment rates, wages growing. macro conditions are very good. we know just having seen the october retail sales numbers, they are quite strong and consistent with this three-month average of positive momentum in the market. we feel very good about the way we are off to the season. abigail: still ahead, as we review the week on "bloomberg best," an exclusive view of hong kong's financial future from the head of a major bank in singapore. >> our medium-term outlook for hong kong and for the region continues to be positive. abigail: plus, ireland's finance minister speaks exclusively on brexit and other eu issues. and up next, more of the week's top headlines. german business confidence rose slightly in november, but there's still plenty for europe's largest economy to worry about. >> they continue to be concerned about the lack of the trade agreement, but it is not everything. abigail: this is bloomberg.

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abigail: this is "bloomberg best." i am abigail doolittle. let's continue our global tour of the week's top business stories. in the u.k., where political parties sharpen their pitch to voters in advance of the december 12 general election. >> the prime minister, boris johnson, unveiled a safety first program of policies in his party's election manifesto yesterday. the promise? to end the seemingly unending brexit boxset drama. >> this is really about mitigating the risks. and what we've got today is a

series of eye-capturing initiatives where it is meeting the eye. yes, there are tax cuts for some. there is pledges for more nurses and infrastructure. look more deeply and you will see some of these pledges balance out. the tax cut on national insurance is balanced out by increasing tax. the big thing in this manifesto is brexit, and boris johnson makes it clear this is about getting brexit done, getting the deal through parliament, and getting a trade deal by the end of next year, something that many observers suggest will be very difficult. >> two weeks to go until the u.k. election, and a poll out overnight shows a big win for boris johnson. according to yougov, the tories will win 68 seats in the december 12 election. >> you see the labour party starting to squeeze the national polls more, closing the gap. it is very easy how we can end up in a hung parliament territory. not to say we will, but it is very possible. guy: 30 of the seats out of the 68 are very tight. >> yes.

the issue for boris johnson has always been the threat of the brexit party, which has now largely gone away. nigel farage has removed himself from 300 plus seats. for jeremy corbyn, the threat is still liberal democrats and the other remain parties like the green party. that threat is still very much there. still fighting as hard as she can against jeremy corbyn. francine: bloomberg economics says today's eco-survey adds evidence that germany's economic slowdown has reached a bottom. now, business surveys remain consistent with very subdued gdp growth in the fourth quarter. how concerned are german businesses about the lack of a trade agreement between the u.s. and china, and how concerned are they about other things? >> i think they continue to be concerned about the lack of trade agreement. that is one of the risks, but it is not everything. the brexit situation is unresolved.

the uncertainty will continue there. there are domestic issues. the german government needs to do more in the areas of energy policy, infrastructure spending. we still find it difficult to get infrastructure spending. private investment is not ideal. we need a proper tax reform. there is a lot to be done. it is not all about trade. >> turkey is now testing a missile system. the move could escalate the dispute between turkey and the united states. how big a line has been crossed here in turkey? this is something the united states has warned them against. >> right. it has definitely gone past a pretty significant threshold. the s-400 is a russian missile defense system. turkey is still a nato member. and the u.s. and nato allies have warned there will likely be additional sanctions on turkey if they continue to press forward with purchasing and now activating this system. and it looks like they have taken that step.

>> hong kong leader carrie lam called for peaceful dialogue with protesters in her first comments after pro-democracy forces won a landslide in local elections. >> there is nothing new coming from the government. there is no new concessions, no new strategy. she is basically going to be following the pre-existing strategies that was happening before this election, trying to engage in dialogue with residents of the city. there are calls for more rallies. there was a brief standoff yesterday. now we are probably going to see what protesters describe as a return to protest. some pro-democracy lawmakers have also feared that given that no one listened to this vote in government, really, we may see an escalation of protests going forward. >> powell saying the glass is half-full. in a speech last night, the fed chair says, "at this point in a long expansion, i see the glass

as more than half full, but with the right policies, we can fill it further, building on the gains so far and spreading those benefits to all americans." your takeaways? michael: jay powell telling us what we already know, the fed is on hold for an indefinite period as long as, as he put it, the information from the economy remains broadly consistent with our outlook. same old, same old. what is new, or at least what he emphasized as new is keeping the expansion going as benefits beyond trading floors. low rates spread the benefits of the expansion to the economy more broadly, getting more marginally attached americans in the labor force and benefiting from jobs, including minorities, the handicapped, and also the less educated. the one area he did emphasize where there might be some problems -- inflation. not that it is too high, not that it is too low, although they are keeping an eye on that. but he did suggest the fed wants to make sure inflation continues to rise, and he thinks rate cuts are going to do that. here's an interesting statement. look at the conclusion of his speech.

he said, "monetary policy is now well-positioned to support a strong labor market and return inflation decisively to our symmetric 2% objective." jay powell with a little bit stronger view of how inflation is going to develop over the next year. david: this morning, we got a rush of economic data. the u.s. economy expanding 2.1% in the third quarter, better than initially reported 1.9%, while demand for u.s. business equipment unexpectedly increased by the most this year. where do we stand? >> ok, so all this means is slower growth going into the fourth quarter. personal income and spending report indicated decelerated trajectory of personal income growth. david: a little disappointing. yelena: disappointing, absolutely. if growth in personal spending

continues at the same pace, it would imply significant deceleration from 2.9% growth in the third quarter to something like 1.6% in the final quarter of the year, which also implies gdp is not going to be that great in the final quarter of the year. alix: german unemployment dropped unexpectedly amid a slump in manufacturing that seems to be stabilizing and trade tensions easing. a lot of european data this morning. >> generally speaking, good news. the economy remains fairly weak , but the data shows things moving in the right direction. inflation is a big one for the european central bank which accelerated to 1% from 0.7%. if you are going to get inflationary pressure, that will come through wages, which is why you need tight labor markets. still a big discrepancy. german unemployment is just above 3%. spain is 14%. greece at almost 17%. so there are still fractures across the euro area. we need a lot more data. pmi's come out next week. and then the week after that, christine lagarde's first policy

meeting as central bank president. that is one to watch. ♪ that is one to watch. ♪

abigail: you are watching "bloomberg best." i am abigail doolittle. alibaba's mega share sale this week was a much-needed shot in the arm for hong kong amid ongoing political unrest. investors have began weighing other financial hubs with singapore an obvious choice. but the head of singapore bank ocbc says he is not seeing significant inflows from hong kong just yet. the ceo spoke exclusively with bloomberg's juliette saly.

samuel: actually, the amount of capital and wealth flow into singapore from hong kong is not noticeable yet. there are inquiries, there are interests, but we don't see any significant, noticeable flow from hong kong into singapore at this stage. juliette: so you are not seeing any major shift in client investment in terms of inquiries coming from hong kong? correct. i don't see any major inflows. there are interests, there are inquiries. juliette: what kind of contingency plans does the bank have in place should the situation in hong kong escalate? samuel: in terms of hong kong, we do commercial banking interests. we do some treasury business. in terms of the hong kong domestic business, we are pretty well contained in terms of liquidity and things like that , so we are not that worried. in terms of future outlook, i think hong kong's domestic investment will take a few years for them to come back to the previous level. the most important thing is we rely quite a bit on the flow business. we are not talking about flow

per se, but trade flow from china through hong kong into other parts of the world. that may skip hong kong for a while and come directly. in that sense, singapore may benefit as a result of the restructuring of the flow. the supply chain shifting that may happen, but i am not focusing on the wealth flow, per se. juliette: so you're not looking at changing your business strategy in hong kong? samuel: no. we still think hong kong is an event and that event does come and will go at certain point in time. i think after the event, all parties, all stakeholders will probably engage each other more and they will rebuild hong kong. that will take a couple of years for them to rebuild hong kong. but our medium-term outlook for hong kong and for that region continues to be positive. abigail: coming up on "bloomberg best," more of the week's top business news with a cascade of m&a leading the way. plus, more compelling conversations. the u.k. and the eu have set a challenging timetable for working out a trade deal after brexit. ireland's finance ministers says

europe will give it their best shot. >> the european commission and the european union will be ambitious. we will work on negotiations as soon as possible. abigail: this is bloomberg. ♪

abigail: welcome back to "bloomberg best." i am abigail doolittle. amid a slew of data this week, housing stood out as a positive surprise. home prices in 20 u.s. cities rose more than forecasted from a year earlier. this according to s&p core logic case schiller index property values. yale university professor robert shiller spoke with bloomberg about these numbers and the larger economy. shiller: we

are not in a boom period in terms of prices in real estate, by any means. it is not driving like before the last recession. that enthusiasm suddenly turned. i prefer having the stable level of modest enthusiasm we have now. whether we will have a recession is a big if. according to my new book, "the narrative economics," it depends on how the narratives change and how our ideas change. that is hard to predict. scarlet: right now, what is the single most significant economic narrative out there that has you concerned? prof. shiller: there are a lot of them out there.

if you ask for the single most prominent, that would have to be the impeachment hearings, the instability we see by the polarization in politics does diminish business somewhat. it has not affected us that much. it is like we are preoccupied with the impeachment hearings and are postponing important decisions in business until a later date. it is quite possible we will make it through november 2020 without any recession. that would be good for trump. abigail: to europe now, and an exclusive conversation with ireland's finance minister on on "bloomberg, daybreak: americas" to discuss the future of europe after brexit. the u.k. and eu aim to hammer out a new trade agreement within a year, and he agreed that is a tall order. ohoe: it is a very demanding timeline to have such significant and complex work done by then. the european commission and european union will be ambitious, and we will look to get the work done on negotiation as soon as possible.

in terms of all of this, it will be first whether the withdrawal agreement is passed by the 31st of january, and that will depend on who has the majority in the house of commons. the next phase will be an extension of the transition period if required. the deadline for that is a decision by the summer, with the current anticipated deadline being the end of next year. there are different posts we need to move through. i believe the european union will be ambitious in looking to reach agreements. michael: the european parliament tomorrow is supposed to confirm the new members of the european commission. what do you expect? how are things going to change if at all? minister donohoe: i think we are going to see some significant changes under the new president. i think there are three in particular that i think will be very important for the future of europe. the first one is the new president is looking to put in place a conference to have a discussion over a period of time, regarding the future role of europe, regarding how all of the member states of the european union engage with each other. the second area that i think will be important, and i expect

to see progress on this as soon as next week, in our monthly meeting of finance ministers, is accelerate the progress for the banking union, try to come up with a roadmap to a deposit scheme, to ensure a scheme for deposits, and using that as a building block toward completion of the banking union. this is a vulnerability at the moment inside our currency union at the moment of the euro. and i believe more progress will be made on that. and then finally, i think there is a big debate underway in relation to future industrial policy for the european union, how we should be championing the development of more large european companies. there are lots of views on that in europe, and i think you will see a very lively debate in relation to that as well. abigail: on wednesday, the eu parliament voted to approve the new leadership of the european commission. president-elect ursula von der won the backing of a clear

majority. several members of her team spoke with bloomberg about the path ahead for the european union. ms. von der leyen: climate change is existential. there is a huge opportunity in it, too, because at the moment being we are the european front-runner fighting climate change and new technologies and green financing. we have 40% of the renewable energy worldwide. so if we do well, it is not only good for the planet and the people, but it will also be good for the european economy, because we will be the exporter of knowledge and technology. we will be the front-runner then. >> when you look at the friction we have seen between germany and france, macron said it was brain-dead and angela merkel said it was too drastic. do you see a bigger role for the eu within nato? do you believe maybe it is time to consider a bigger european army? ms. von der leyen: well, nato will always be collective

defense, article five, without any question. nato is the strongest military alliance with the world. the european union has a different role. of course we have many european member states that are also members in the nato alliance. and as europeans, i feel we do not need nato, but the european union is called upon. therefore, we are building up the european defense union within three years, knowing that it will be complementary to nato. this will leave the european union with a huge toolbox we have from development, investment, to diplomacy to servicemen and servicewomen, so that we are able to act when called upon. >> we just heard from president von der leyen. be muchope needs to the global stage.r on

what does that mean versus the u.s. and china? >> to promote what we have going for ourselves already. in the business-to-business environment, you find a lot of impressive tech. you find engineers, you find research, and you find an impressive start up environment. and the willingness to balance all the possibilities and to claim the downsides. maria: you are talking about innovation, but we do here from hear from u.s. companies that the reason you are so focused on taxation is because we have not seen any real innovation in europe. do you agree with that? is that fair? no, that iser: absolutely not fair. what is fair is to say to the many businesses that pay their taxes in europe that not just some should contribute, but every company should contribute where they do excellent business. that is the bottom line in europe. you do very good business. maria: is that something you would still think by the end of 2020 if there is no

international agreement for taxation it would be fair for the eu to go alone? comm. vestager: of course it would. we are strong believers in a global agreement. i am happy to see the progress made by the oecd. there is a very strong push, and there is a positive feedback on the first draft. that would be the best solution, but if that cannot be met, when you look at all the businesses that pay their taxes, it would only be fair if we picked it up again if a global solution is not possible. david: one thing that has been talked about much is the move towards a banking union. will you be taking that up? is that achievable within the next six months or a year? >> well, as regards a banking union, this is an ongoing initiative. already, we have two out of

three pillars of the banking union up and running. we talk about single supervision and single resolution. next monday, we will be concentrating to finalize the work on the third pillar of the banking union, which is the european deposit insurance scheme. indeed, the banking union is going to be one of the next european commission priorities. david: we have minister scholz of germany out with a proposal on that subject. is that something you can work with? mr. dombrovskis: this is a welcome opening. the european deposit insurance scheme has been moving slowly in discussions among member states. germany had a certain reservation. this position by german finance minister schulz is a welcome opening. we hope it will facilitate discussions and agreement on european deposit insurance scheme. ♪

abigail: this is "bloomberg best."

i am abigail doolittle. let's resume our roundup of business, finance, and politics, with a sudden rush in m&a. francine: so lvmh bought tiffany for more than $16 billion. the french luxury goods giant will pay for the biggest luxury goods deal ever. it will raise the jewelry profile and give more access to the u.s. consumer. $16 billion is quite a figure. can they afford it? >> they definitely can. lvmh has a market cap of $200 billion plus. they have plenty of firepower. this is an all cash deal. when they came out, everyone knew they were going to have to bump. some analysts were expecting 140 plus. the reality is, it is a lot of money, but for lvmh, they can definitely do it. abigail: it is a multibillion-dollar deal that will reshape the retail brokerage business. charles schwab agreeing to buy td ameritrade.

the all-stock transaction is valued at about $26 billion. schwab is capitalizing on the industry shock it created last month by cutting commissions on u.s. stock trading to zero. >> this is the first foray in the discount brokerage industry space. the general feeling is that it probably will go through. the question is how long it will take. some analysts speculate that it could go into the third quarter of next year. the other potential hurdle is that there is a growing sentiment that is anti-mega large business, whether in finance or technology. this kind of straddles the line of both of them. it is a big question of whether there will be appetite for a behemoth in the industry and whether this merger will go through. >> novartis is buying medicine s co. for an equity value of $8.6 billion. it is the latest in a string of acquisitions for the drugmaker.

indeed, they are buying this for close to $10 billion. if you throw in all the additional stock options and so on. why does it make sense? novartis has been on an acquisition spree under the new ceo. this helps them expand into an area where they had a gap. it is a cholesterol drug that they have, and it complements some other areas they have like heart disease and so on. this continues the trend of making more acquisitions. romaine: another day, another deal. ebay selling its ticket marketplace stubhub to a european rival. $4 billion in cash. the deal expected to close next year. what is the impetus behind making this deal? is this a business decision or gogo, or isvia go this something more personal?

>> the business logic was just so obvious to us. i founded both companies. viagogo is an international leader. stubhub is number one in the u.s., so you put the two together, and you allow fans to buy a ticket anywhere in the world in their home currency. alix: uber stock down 3%. london's transit authority refused to grant uber a new license. the reason, rider safety. it is still concerned that unauthorized drivers can manipulate the app to carry passengers. what is the possibility that uber gets taken off the street? >> it would be difficult to put a number against that, but it is pretty low that anything is going to change in the near future. uber has 21 days to appeal the decision. it said that it will. last time this happened, it was months before that appeal was initially heard in the court, and even if it lost that, it could take that to the supreme

court, and then potential years before this gets fully resolved. all that time, it is able to accept new rides and operate on the street. paul: the embattled leadership of west bank is in the sites of australian regulators some 23 million times. can you give us a flavor of what this involved? >> there are a number of moving parts in this. the first is international money transfers. regulators in australia want to know about them, because they want to track the potential for money to be transferred to countries it is not meant to be. , such as those under sanctions and looking at money laundering, terrorist financing, etc. potentially the more explosive allegation from a domestic perspective is that west failed to adequately monitor for child exploitation risk. it has identified 12 separate customers where it believes these risks were not adequately mitigated. in one case, there were payments made from australia to someone

who was later found guilty of child exploitation. >> westpac will change this money laundering scandal this year. out, resigning over allegations the bank committed the biggest violation of financial laws in australian history. hartzer is out, and we have a list of possible contenders to replace brian hart zer at the helm of australia's second-biggest bank. no obvious candidates, but a few names out there. a chairman spent the last few days talking to institutional investors, to proxy advisors, ahead of what was a real crunch for the bank on december 12. the fear was that a voter backlash against this money laundering scandal could precipitate a vote against the bank's remuneration package for executives. that could then have

precipitated a motion to call for the entire board to step down. the hope within westpac is that the resignation of hartzer, his own announcement that he will step down in 2020, will alleviate that pressure and save the rest of the board. romaine: best buy reported strong earnings this morning as it prepares for the holiday season. the retailer raised its full-year outlook and posted same-store sales to beat analyst expectations. they seemed to defy expectations every quarter here. >> they really do. although their last quarter, their second quarter was a little bit of a stumble. they talked about uncertainty over the back half of the year, tariff related. so that people a little bit spooked. they come out in the third quarter with the proverbial beat and raise, just like their partners in minneapolis, target did last week.

, things are looking pretty good for them going into the holiday season. it is not just about selling tv's and nintendo switches for them. it is about pushing into new services and areas like health care, where they see an opportunity. david: john deere was out with results this morning. shares actually fell as the company beat on earnings. >> analysts were braced for those fourth-quarter numbers to not be great, given the dynamic in the u.s. in the agricultural sector, in particular this year given difficult planting conditions. that 2020 outlook, people were expecting an uptick in agricultural demand. that has to do with stimulus from the trump administration flowing down to the farmers. optimism that we may see a trade deal. deere is not being optimistic. they are being conservative and calling for a 5% to 10% decline in sales in that sector in 2020. >> morgan stanley has placed on leave at least four traders over and alleged mismarking of securities. they are has learned suspected of concealing losses of $140 million. how serious is this? >> that type of loss is not not

an ordinary day of business. it is still an allegation. was there a mismarking? who spotted it? how quickly was it dealt with? this will help understand just how serious this event is. scarlet: activity across trading desks is slowing as we approach the thanksgiving day holiday, giving everyone time to think about bonuses. according to new analysis, some of the hottest trading professionals will see smaller bonuses this year, with equity traders set to fare the worst. we saw that the first half was pretty slow, had faded and things were picking up in the third quarter. is that not the case? >> well you have to step back and look at the bigger lens here. lower risk, smaller payouts, that is the unfortunate mantra for the big banks. when you have that trend going, when you have that feeling that trading is in a secular slump, the same expectations will flow through into the bonus pool.

and that is why you are in the situation where most of the groups within the trading units are going to see a decline. as options group points out, flat is the new up. you are expecting a similar bonus payout. that is probably the best it is going to get. ♪

>> you can get a roundup of the stories you need to know to get your day going in today's edition of "daybreak." bloomberg subscribers, go to dayb on your terminals, also available on the mobile app. you can customize your settings so you only get the news on the industries and assets you care about. there are about 30,000 functions on the bloomberg. we enjoy showing you our favorites on bloomberg

television. maybe they will become your favorite. here is another function you will find useful. quic . it will take you to our quick take, where you can get important information and insight into topics. here is a quick take from this week. >> chances are you're not a vegan, but you may have had an almond latte this week and even en,r at least tofu or ram and even though only a small number of people identify as vegan, vegan products are flying off supermarket shelves. that is because more of us are now substituting meat and dairy products with plant-based items. >> i told my friends i would become a vegan and live that plant-based diet. >> so i became a vegan. >> i have been vegan practically my whole life. >> i am vegan! >> is it a fad, like so many food trends, or is it the start of something much bigger? this is your "bloomberg quicktake" on the vegan economy.

the vegan society was founded in 1944 to discuss nondairy and vegetarian lifestyles and diets. >> they say you've got to eat vegetables. too much meat is bad. >> it began and remained a small community for decades. the animal alternative industry is now expected to grow to $140 billion in the next decade. there is something out there for anyone wants to replace any amount of animal product in their diet, from cheese and yogurt to bloody veggie burgers. only 6% of americans describe themselves as vegan. this growth is coming from outside that community. our meat heavy diet does not just harm animals, it is killing our planet, too. livestock farming produces 14.5% of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions. cows are the biggest offender. research from oxford university claims a vegan diet is probably

the single biggest way to reduce your impact on the planet. concern for the planet is one motivation. but over half of u.s. adults who eat plant-based protein said the main reason was taste. , beating concerns over animal protection, environment, and health. vegan products are no longer the weird packages hidden in the back of health food shelves. they are being delivered to the mainstream by huge brands, like mcdonald's and burger king. there is even vegan beer, because, as it turns out, brewers use fish guts for filtration. the obsession with oat milk has led to shortages in the u.s., causing hysteria across the country. well, mainly brooklyn. investors are now getting in on the action. shares of beyond meat surged 600% in the three months after its ipo. another plant-based burger maker, impossible foods, raised $300 million in the same month. what can hold this burgeoning vegan economy back? officials are questioning the

health credentials of some of processed-meat alternatives. the impossible whopper includes 35 grams of fat and 1080 milligrams of sodium. that is almost half your daily recommended intake of sodium. others warned that genetic engineers need more research to determine their safety. despite the concerns, there are bullish signs. traditional meat and dairy companies, like tyson and dean foods, have invested in plant-based products. with supposed benefits for health, moving to a vegetarian and vegan diet could produce savings of up to $1 trillion a year on health care and lost working days. like it or not, humans are going to have to shift their diets to stem the tide of climate change. with our planet's population growing, the vegan economy will need to win over even more of us if it is to have a substantial impact. abigail: that was just one of the many quick takes you can find on the bloomberg. you can find them at bloomberg.com, along with all the latest business news and analysis 24 hours a day.

that will be all for "bloomberg best" this week. thanks for watching. i am abigail doolittle. this is bloomberg. ♪

taylor: i am taylor riggs, and for emily chang, and this is the "best of bloomberg technology." where we bring you all of our top interviews from the week in tech. coming up, thpump the brakes. london's transit authority refuses to renew uber's license. they vow to appeal. plus,. my head,