paul: i am paul allen in sydney. we are counting down to asia's major market open. kathleen: i am kathleen hays in new york. welcome to "bloomberg markets: asia." jack ma go back to its roots as a simple payment mustder, pboc says ant

rectify [indiscernible] tokyo, nationals and foreign residents are no longer exempt from a 14 day quarantine. democrats plan a house debate monday on bigger covid relief checks pushed by president trump. republicans are unhappy with higher government spending. paul: let's take a look at markets. u.s. futures coming online and we see them ease off a little, as the future of stimulus in the united states hangs in the balance, with president trump refusing to sign that bipartisan bill from congress, over the size of the checks that will go to individuals. futures off .3%. nikkei futures as well. the u.s. dollar catching a bit against the yen. now.8 crude moving to the downside, it off .75% as.23, now

uncertainty swirls around stimulus. kathleen: jack ma's ant group has been halted by regulators and told to return to its roots as a provider of payment services. they have been told to rectify the companies letting come and turns wealth management services. our executive editor joins us now from beijing. john, how do you read this? one of our bloomberg news stories had a benign scenario, regulators just want, as regulars in any country what, rein in the country that has gotten big and has its tentacles and a lot of different businesses now. the worst case scenario is they basically want to break this company up, and teach people, onto printers, a lesson -- entrepreneurs, a lesson. people like jack ma. >> yes, kathleen, the range of

outcomes is large at the moment. inc called ant executives over the weekends to have a talk. we do not have a lot of detail, but in the nightmare scenario, if ant were forced to go back to its original roots of its business, that could see topped off the lending business, which has been a revenue driver. they are lending to half a billion people. it could also see other businesses they run china's largest money market fund at the moment. they sell a lot of mutual funds and other financial products to their customers. if you take those away, it is a much smaller business. ant's reactionis to this? is it is trying to push back at all, or is it clicking it's yells and said, yes sir, let's get on with it. >> publicly, they have been very accommodating. they have said we will study everything the regulars have had to say to us. we will do our best to comply.

behind the scenes i have to imagine the executives where aunt is based -- ant is based are trying to figure out the way out of this scenario, how did they avoid the nightmare scenario where the company gets broken up into its components? obviously, they have to factor in happening at the same time this antimonopoly probe at alibaba, the other pillar of jack ma's sprawling empire. kathleen: to what extent did the remarks jack ma made at a high-profile summit -less than two months ago, the remarks he made about misguided positions by regulators, including in china, when it comes to banking and the industry he is in, which led to them putting the ax down on the ant ipo. how much should this precipitate what is happening now? -- how much did this precipitate

what is happening now? >> jack ma gave a speech in late october, where he criticized financial regulation for stymieing innovation. so, there has been talk about sides. there has been a group of people who said, that precipitated the increased scrutiny, the regulatory crackdown, on ant, and on alibaba. another group of people said actually, jack ma probably knew ahead of time that something was coming down the pike, and this was something he was doing to try to stop that from happening. so if you look at the coordinated way the central banks, the antimonopoly agency, lots of government departments, have, in tandem, taken action the last couple of months, that would seem to suggest this was an idea that was being worked on in the background for a while, before some sort of consensus was reached, that this needed to be done. paul: john, is jack ma being

singled out here? or should some of china's other big tech entrepreneurs and internet giants, be looking over their shoulder? >> i think big tech everywhere is looking over its shoulder at the moment, and for good reason. i will give you one example. regulatorsone of the in china called in alibaba, jd.com, toitwan, talk about rebuying businesses all of them had been introducing recently. and you factor in the facebook, google, amazon, they're all in regular try trouble at the moment. i think this is a trend going forward everybody needs to pay attention to. paul: our greater china executive editor, john liu keeping an eye on the ant story. burst --'s a pride bloomberg subscribers go to

customizeand you can settings so you only get news on the industries and assets you care about. let's get to karina mitchell fore-check of first word headlines. boast: japan is barring foreign arrivals as infection never surge in tokyo and virus variance are reported. the government is stopping entry through january with japanese nationals and foreign residents no longer exempt from a 14 day quarantine. the philippines is banning all flights from the u.k. for at least two weeks. the u.k. is set to approve the astrazeneca vaccine. in the u.s., house democrats plan about monday on bigger covid leave checks pushed by president trump, setting up a class -- clash with republicans unhappy with higher spending. speaker nancy pelosi want to debate onto thousand dollar payments republicans blocked last week. the president treated support for the larger checks but declined to know it was the gop

that halted payment so far. factory gate prices continue to ease, profits rose 15.5% in november, half again in october, with the year-to-date rise up 2.4%. new analysis shows the chinese economy will overtake the u.s. five years earlier than thought, teach with handling of the coronavirus. china is now seen surpassing the u.s. in 2028. ukip prime minister boris johnson admits his brexit deal does not go as far as he wanted, and weekends financial services. business-- weakens financial services. businesses await details, with no equivalents which would allow companies to sell into the sickle market. -- the single market. some are saying there's not enough time to read the deal before about wednesday. global news 24 hours a day on air and at bloomberg quicktake. powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. i am karina mitchell. this is bloomberg. moreeen: still ahead,

insight on market implications of the brexit deal. and the stalling covid relief package and the united states. trading point ceo peter maguire joins us next. this is bloomberg. ♪

paul: millions of americans are at risk of losing unemployment benefits, with the federal government on the verge of a shutdown. president trump fails to sign the relief bill congress passed. threatens a rally sparked by the brexit rate through. -- breakthrough. joining us is trading point ceo peter maguire. how do you trade this? >> good morning, paul. trade i think you have to softness continuing for the u.s.

dollar, now at .92 for the u.s. dollar index and i feel we will be back in the 89 this week or sooner. i think president trump will stop up and do what he has to do to -- stump up and do what he has to do to get everyone to the $2000 mark. paul: what kind of precedent does the set from the president, though? you have to think yet some say in the negotiations leading up to it. given that, do you anticipate more cast in the final days leading up to his last day of in office generate 20th? >> yes, paul, i do. -- january 20. >> yes, paul, there are some any moving parts. with boris johnson and brexit. the big one is inauguration what is happening between now and then so i think volatility will remain. they will continue to hit records every couple of days and the s&p will be beat up. the u.s. dollar off, equities

up, and the stimulus of a green light to make it happen. brexit, iseter, on there any doubt in your mind this deal, even if imperfect, even if both sides had to give up something, any doubt the house of commons is going to pass it this week? i think it is a toss of the coin. at the moment i am veering on the side they would, but who knows. they have their own certain heart a at the moment with out-of-control covid. that is the number one calling. let's see what happens. that uncertainty remains but i am pretty sure something will happen. kathleen: as you get ready, we are days away from 2021. atn it comes to equities u.s. stocks vis-à-vis the rest of the world, where are you putting your money? >> i would have to say u.s. stocks are still looking fairly favorable.

there is no money in bonds, you have to look at the u.s. equity calling. it is a rally that keeps getting stronger as each month wears on. it has been the greatest year for traders, kathleen. i feel that will continue over the next month or two. i am not sure how it looks in march, with a new president, and other conditions in play. but at the moment, i think it is onward and upward for the dow. paul: some of these valuations are looking rich now, though, particularly big tech is almost acted as a haven. to see more room to move upwards there, or where do you see decent opportunities in terms of good value? >> well, paul, you know that p/e ratio, everything stretched with money the way it is, it is so cheap that that is the realization as far as valuations. the second part, yeah, look, what is full value? if you talk to young people, and have a chat with him about

technology and what their frontier looks like 20 years out, they all think it is relatively cheap. that band to be on and beat up at the moment. there is more upside. and possibly the next couple of months have momentum, to make a dollar out of equities. did mention there's no money and treasuries at the moment, can you see a scenario where the 10 year cracks 1% in 2021? is,aybe, but i think there let's see who is running the fed and what the mood is, how bad covid is, globally. new strains coming out across england, and the impact that is going to have. i do not know whether it is going to be 2021, our seven year. -- our saving year. there are so much uncertainty it could be a longer, protracted where down. weardown, to break that 1%

for the 10 year. kathleen: i'm curious what you make of the u.s. dollar and the aussie dollar. both have been in the spotlight for different reasons as the year comes to a close. >> we are at 76. i think that has the potential to hit the 80 handle 2021, i would not be surprised. i think the momentum to the upside, the china demand picture. as long as they do not play too much more hardball as far as commodities, kathleen, that is a great uncertainty. and if we can contain covid. a breakout in sydney the last week or so. if we can contain that, 2021 is going to be a good year for the aussie and a good year for our economy. as far as the u.s. dollar, i think further softness, 89, 88 handle, for the u.s. dollar index. oil, a lot of investors, what do you see for crude? 50-55, i cannot see, i think

all of that, the shale story will get reengaged as we had 55. i am not sure whether president >> biden is going to be a different -- whether pres ident-elect biden will be a different viewpoint. i still do not think you will get back about 60. you have to have strong potential for growth for oil to be about 60 and i think that will be the handbrake number, over the next matter of months. again, covid, demand destruction, and those inputs. kathleen: so much will depend on covid vaccines and more. up next, u.s. health officials weren't of a post-christmas surge in infections, as data show new cases slowing. this is bloomberg. ♪

kathleen: u.s. health officials weren't of a post-christmas jumping coronavirus infection. latest figures. show new cases slowing. in europe, the first vaccinations are underway despite a setback in germany. our reporter ian fisher joins us with the latest virus developments. the u.s. has been vaccinating people for two weeks and europe has begun now, how is it going? >> mostly, it is going quite well. the logistics of getting the vaccine are going well. well over one million people have been vaccinated so far, mostly old people, people who work with the elderly, frontline health care workers. and the u.s. has to vaccines going. many people know pfizer and moderna.

and europe just charted with the pfizer vaccine. germany started last night on a101- year-old-- a 101-year-old person. paul: we have been hearing about the mutant variant in the united kingdom. has not been contained or have a learned more about it -- has that been contained or have way learned? more >> about it that has not been >> contains. they found cases and england, germany, france, ireland, sweden, norway. in canada, it was traced to a couple who had no connections to travel to the u.k. or any other high-risk behaviors. it has not been seen a great numbers yet. it has not been seen in the u.s.. it has not changed, and that while they believe -- it is believed that the buyers is more contagious -- the virus is more contagious, it is not believed to be more deadly, nor that the

vaccines that are out would not be effective against them. a small bit of breaking news. , theeo of astrazeneca vaccine out of oxford university and astrazeneca, that the u.k. is likely to approve this week, came out it said there vaccine is, in fact, well, in fact, work against the mutation. kathleen: that is certainly good news, important news. in the u.s., never seem to be down somewhat the last few days. is an improvement, holiday quiet? can you give us a sense, we talk about the numbers of infections, but what about deaths? are we getting more infections but fewer people are dying? , both infections and fatalities have gone down. that is to some degree an issue

of reporting. who is in the states, taking the information from the various homes, etc.uneral but there are warnings, that there could be a spike. there certainly was during the two summer holidays. two top u.s. health officials including dr. fauci came on today saying you have to be very, very careful about a spread over christmas and ears. that -- and new year's. there was a fear there would be a giant spike over thanksgiving, and the numbers did go up, but they did not go up as much as people might have thought. and they crested in the midwest of it. paul: all right, ian fisher in new york for us. breaking news for you now, president trump is tweeting that, good news on covid relief bill.

information to follow. that is all we have now, president trump tweeting that there is good news on the covid relief bill and more information to follow. futures and positive territory now. former u.s. president clinton and former u.k. prime minister tony blair discussed global response to the pandemic at the bloomberg new economy forum. mean the world recognizes amid the global pandemic, the response to it has been haphazard. actually, the absence of global cooperation has been shocking, really. my view is, if we had cooperated together as a world, we would probably be two or three month ahead of this. so, where we are now. i would have thought, that most globalwould believe that

pandemics may be a thing of the future as well. it is clear from analyses i have seen and discussions i have had with very people in different countries, not just the u.k., also the u.s., europe, china. the danger of pathogens such as this morphing into something that is going to be globally menacing, is significant. sensiblenk it would be if, as a result of this, we now look at how we could improve the global architecture to make ourselves much more effective at dealing with this next time. so we are not scrabbling around for protective equipment, trying to get vaccines, therapeutics, tests. if you just take testing, for example. obviously, everyone is now recognizing that mass testing is an essential part of this. but you think of countries that come together as innovators to get the more rapid tests instead of using the gold standard pcr

tests. more rapid tests at the beginning, we could have developed that months ago instead of them just coming on stream now. think every country will look after its own interests first in something like this, in terms of protecting their people. but it is so obvious as a matter of enlightened self interest you would be much better off if countries came together, when a global pandemics such as this hits. because it is global in nature and everyone is facing the same problem. and i think the question really differences toe global architecture that are necessary? and you think the political will is there to be able to do this? we do not know yet, but i think so. i think the united states expressing its desire, or president elect biden expressing

his desire to immediately shelve the efforts to withdraw from the world health organization. and to reenter the paris climate accord, and do things that will put america back in the business of working with other countries. i think that will help. but i also think are practical things we can do, that should engender widespread support. you know the most important success, arguably, in global investment, in the last 20 years, has been that of broad scale commitment to public health. pepfaresident bush's program, to the global fund on malaria, to gavi, you name it. we ought to have a global network of supply stockpiles, for these emergencies. the big countries, of course, neither own. -- need their own.

kathleen: former u.s. president bill clinton and former u.k. private's are tony blair at the bluebird new economy forum. -- at the bloomberg new economy forum. and up next, you develop into the stimulus package. this is bloomberg. ♪

."rina: this is "daybreak asia jack ma is under increasing pressure in china with regulars telling his ant financial group to go back to its roots. executives were summoned by the pboc to be warned to rectify ands lending, insurance, wealth management services although the central -- it has been ordered to preview event and timeline. chinese state media is attacking hongudicial system in kong. jim ely is charged under the

sweeping national security law in hong kong. the people's daily describes them as notorious an extremely dangerous and says there are grounds for his case to be transferred to the mainland. france is stepping up its investigation into the carlos ghosn affair. it will send investigators to beirut as part of an inquiry into expenses at nissan and reinoehl. he was accused of financial misconduct. french prosecutors are interested in payments linked to a car distributor in oman. carlos ghosn denies any wrongdoing. economic growth expanded in vietnam in the fourth quarter as exports and manufacturing extended their recovery from covid-19. gdp growth rose more than 4.5% compared to a year ago, up from a revised reading in the previous quarter and topping the estimate in a bloomberg survey. the pandemic sent vietnam's growth to its lowest since just after the financial crisis.

indonesia says it will keep its pledge to reduce the budget deficit and return to fiscal deficit in -- this a plaster being -- discipline. progress in stimulating domestic demand in the quarter, implying the economy may shrink on the year. the country's fiscal policy agency says the deficit cap is vital. and 2023, we would like to do -- we would like to explore reforms. how to increase our tax revenue relative to- -- gdp. comparatively, we are also among tax tontries with low gdp ratio. karina: global news, 24 hours a day, on air and on bloomberg quicktake, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. i am karina mitchell. this is bloomberg. kathleen.

kathleen: millions of americans stand to lose unemployment benefits and the federal government risks they shut down after president trump failed to sign the $900 billion bill that congress passed. his inaction has sparked bipartisan anger. >> i understand he wants to be remembered for advocating for big checks, but the danger is he will be remembered for chaos and ery and erraticis behavior. sign this and make the case for subsequent legislation. our editorringing in from washington for the latest. you got that tweet from president trump where he said that there's good news on the covid release bill, information to follow. what are you hearing? we know that president trump

has been at mar-a-lago, his private florida club, and from what we knew, he was going off to dinner tonight. the press pool had assembled to see him off. it's unclear if we will hear anything more tonight but with president trump, it could be five minutes away, it could be some tweet overnight. it's like he's making some kind of a move. we had not heard from him all day. day where lawmakers from across the political spectrum have been telling him, sign this bill. if you feel like you need more stimulus checks, we can talk about that after you signed the bill. and that is kind of where we are at the moment. group of lawmakers came out and said to president trump, if you feel you cannot sign the bill, just veto it now because then, lawmakers can come back in and override that veto so they

have been stuck. looks like this might be a little bit of on sticking but we sticking, but we don't know yet. paul: it could be five minutes, could be longer. there is a deadline on it, isn't there? something has to happen by monday night at the latest, right? ros: absolutely right. whether it's action by trump or vito, something needs to have happened or the federal government will shut down. there's two pieces of legislation intertwined with this, the coronavirus stimulus bill and the ongoing funding of , they are both at risk. congress could pass a measure to keep the government running, but they just have to know, and that has been the problem all day, really, that we have not heard from president trump. still don't know what he's going to do.

programd earlier in the about the millions of americans with supplemental uninsurance benefits basically right away, if nothing is done, a deadline at the end of the year for renters to get relief, evictions, and there's just many billionn this $900 bill, much beyond the direct stimulus checks, but president trump certainly has to be aware of it, and all of those are held up. some of them will just not happen if he does not sign the bill, so that is kind of where the u.s. is at the moment. time as pat chaotic toomey said earlier in the day. kathleen: other republicans have urged the president to pass this package and then if you want to, just push hard for an additional piece of legislation, which would send out $2000 checks. we know the democrats are voting on just such legislation

tomorrow. what would have to happen now -- do you think it's most likely, if it were to go ahead like that, that it could get past? -- passed? could it make everybody happy except maybe the people who don't want it? ros: i have been very skeptical because a republican from mitch mcconnell on down in the senate and leaders of the republican party in the house of representatives really have not been in favor of the higher stimulus checks. they want to not blowout the budget. pat toomey said it's not targeted enough because a lot of the money would go to people who did not lose their jobs due to covid and he just thinks that everything that is paid out by the government basically at this time should be targeted to those who are in most need. mcconnell and the republicans have not -- announced that numerous times so i would be

skeptical. when trump says -- perhaps you know something other people do not. paul: right. bloomberg deputy managing editor ros krasny in washington. larry summers told bloomberg that raising the size of direct checks doesn't make sense. we are better off with stimulus than we are without stimulus. i don't think the $2000 checks make much sense. the real issue is going to be sustaining this expansion. you think about it, the 908 stimulus bill probably would payout 200 to $250 billion a month for the next three months. the level of compensation is running about $30 billion a month below what we would have expected it would. gdp is running about $70 billion a month below what we would have expected it would, so in a way

that is quite unprecedented, we have stimulus already, much more than filling out a hole. and given that lots of that is on the fact not that people don't want to spend but that they cannot spend, cannot take a flight, cannot go to a restaurant, i don't necessarily think that the priority should be on promoting consumer spending beyond where we are now, so i'm not even sure that i'm so enthusiastic about the $600 checks and i think taking them to $2000 would actually be a pretty serious mistake that would risk a temporary overheat. i would like to see more assistance to state and local governments. i would like to see more money testing, more money put into accelerating of tha vaccin, but david, i think it would be a

real mistake to be going to $2000. kathleen: former treasury secretary larry summers talking about the whole debate over stimulus packages. up next, we will look ahead to japan's industrial production numbers and the economic outlook for 2021 with wisdom true japan ceo yes burkle -- --. jesper cole. this is bloomberg. ♪

paul: we are counting down to asia's first of major market opens this morning. we closed in australia for public holiday but japan futures are looking like this at the moment. kind of flat, really. the futures traded out of singapore. we have the yen at 103 .55 as well and we are waiting on some data out of japan a little later as well, kathleen. kathleen: japan's latest industrial production numbers are out in a moment with bloomberg economics expecting the rising streak to continue. japango to jesper koll in to discuss the economic outlook, and most important, what it means for the markets, particularly japan's market. you are pretty upbeat on the possibility of businesses investing more, really looking past the virus, past a recovery

and creating an economy, creating businesses that would be good to invest in now. what are you seeing? very excitingis a place because number one, we have got the proximity to the people's republic of china, which is the one part of the global economy that is growing 6% and japan is a big beneficiary of that. crisisntly, the covid has become a catalyst for industrial reorganization here in japan. we are seeing a sharp pickup in m&a activity, management buyouts, tender offer bids, restructuring happening now, and that means that the potential for productivity and profit increases is going to be very good in 2021. paul: much like the united states, the bank of japan is a back burner element here. they have done the right thing, all the stimulus they can.

etf's,e still buying assisting banks in lending to small and medium-sized businesses, but the real story now is more in the financial industry, in the investment industry, and how that's going to work out. jesper: it's very exciting. does not lead a lot of the simtech revolution that is going on but you do find the japanese megabanks actually ready to invest globally, to expand their global footprint and i think one of the big surprises of 10 to 21 is going to be a japanese megabanks buying an american bank. we have been hearing from the prime minister of the government recently, talking about the need to have a quiet new year period in japan to get on top of the coronavirus. let's have a listen to mr. suga there. 's japan's medical readiness

needs to survive these hard times until vaccinations arts. that means a quiet holiday period. i would like people to spend the holiday with family and loved ones with a small number of people. the: japan has one of lowest vaccination rates in the world. how important is it that the japanese he'd the prime ministers morning there and get the vaccine when it becomes available? jesper: it's very interesting. japan has a long history of being relatively allergic to vaccines so there is a bit of watchful waiting that's going on here. we shall see for now. theyyou do find is that prefer to save rather than to spend. paul: what sort of pressure is that creating for the economy? is that frustrating for the boj? jesper: for the bank of japan, it's incredibly frustrating because it means consumer demand is weak.

it means deflation is accelerating. the drivers of the japanese economy are not the domestic consumer. the drivers are exports and for investors, the exciting pickup in metabolism of corporate activity, m&a activity, and also a record number of ipo's in the japanese market, so the new energyeneurs adding that to the economy. kathleen: in terms of the virus in japan, people say it's going to need records. but if you look at the size of that country and population, 100 20 million, compared to other countries that size, they still have a very low rate of infection. do you think that is something that makes it harder to get them to jump on board with things like vaccines, they may complain about it. the prime ministers popularity rating might have dropped.

but they have that x factor that so many japanese talk about, whatever it is, that means they just don't get as many cases and not as many of them die from jesper: jesper: it. it'ss exactly right and remarkable because japan is this super aging society so there were a lot of warning lights flashing that japan should be hit very hard by this virus, by this pandemic, but that is not the case, you know, whether it's the x factor, whether it just comes down to better dietary habits, you know, who knows what the final offer will be but you are right, the urgency, oh my god, let's get everybody vaccinated, is simply not as high here in japan because the mortality rate is nowhere near as high as it is in the united states or other western countries. kathleen: diet, exercise, wearing masks long before this virus the planet and other

things helping japan but i want to get back to something you said. you expect this year, a japanese bank, japanese simtech company, to buy a big u.s. bank. you want to conjecture without who might likely do this? jesper: look, i think you have the japanese megabanks, areubishi, mizuho, they sitting on record amounts of cash and they are looking to expand further their international business and this sort of crisis we have in the world right now is a golden opportunity to expand your global reach and global platforms by making an acquisition. it's well known in the m&a of the that at least two three japanese megabanks are actively looking to buy an international bank with a particular focus on the united states and asia. kathleen: people have been talking the last year or so

about the resurgence of japanese stocks. is this -- are we starting an japan, of verse urgent rising japan? significant u.s. banking. it's starting to look like the 80's a little bit. jesper: warren buffett was right. he put on a big japan position earlier this year and japan is attractive from a valuation youpective and you know, have the new generation of actually managers consolidating. in the past, the japanese would just grow for growth's sake. now, they are pinpointing what they want to do. look at the record m&a activity, ipo activity. you can see corporate management that is focused on a credible and profitable future growth expansion rather than growth for

growth's sake. you see that in the fact that the dividend yield of japanese companies continues to be one of the highest in the world so shareholder -- shareholder are being listened to as you have cash flow going back to investors which makes japan very attractive. paul: we are paused for a moment. we are getting industrial production numbers from japan for the month of november coming in a little worse than expected. industrial production on month, -- the expectation was for an expansion of 1.1% and that gives 3.4%,early contraction of somewhat worse than the expected contraction of 2.3% so i know i'm catching on the hop here but i would like to get your initial reaction to those numbers. a bit worse than expected. jesper: a little bit worse and

expected but the overall trend is still positive. look for example at the fact that toyota motor corporation in november had the historic high production of cars. there is obviously a little bit of this and that going on, particularly in the consumer discretionary area, but overall, i think when you look at the industrial side of japan, the benefits from being pulled up by the recovery in the people's republic of china is all there and you will see a lot of positive profit surprises in the industrial sector in japan. we are just starting theet some headlines from summary opinions from the bank of japan's last meeting on december 16 and so far, we have one boj member saying policy since march has had positive effects. we will keep sharing these with you and our viewers as we get

that but it seems to me what this one boj member is saying is that the emergency, the bank lending program where they not only -- they subsidized thanksgiving businesses away to make very cheap loans to japanese small and medium-sized businesses. they think it's helping. one member saying it's desirable for the yield curve to steepen moderately and this showed an hands the boj policy content. we know at the meeting that kuroda said he had no intention of making the yield curve without shorter term maturities. some people thought they might try to target the five-year bond. so far, this positive view of the lending program they set up in response to the virus. all, it's timef for 10 in terms of the virus

support. the special lending programs, in coordination with the fiscal authorities, particularly the very efficient -- program that japan now has. it has worked very well to keep the economy on a relatively even keel and to keep bankruptcies from surging here. going forward, you know, the big elephant in the room is the exchange rate because we know the u.s. dollar is weakening. unfortunately, it looks likely that the dollar is going to be weakened further and the real question is what is the bank of japan, the ministry of finance going to do if we get the next round of yen strength. that is the real issue you need to be addressing going forward. ceo: wisdom tree japan jesper koll, thank you for joining us this morning and speaking to the breaking numbers out of japan on industrial production and don't forget, are

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paul: a quick check of the headlines.ness flash elon musk says it would be

impossible to take the company private. he responded to a tweet calling on him to spend more time on innovation. tesla shares have surged eightfold this year and of -- s&p 500, twice the advance of the next best performer on the index. bmw aims to boost production of .25 millions by models with ev's account for 1/5 of total sales numbers. electric vehicle goals make up 8% of bmw sales. an auto company is planning to boost sales by 10% next year following what was expected to be a decline in 2020. it expects full year sales to fall .8% from 2019 levels while overall deliveries and china are seen rising above 27 million next year. let's get a quick check on asian markets as we look ahead to the open at the top of the hour in japan and korea as well. we have nikkei futures pointing a little weaker at the moment.

kospi futures higher by 2.3%. we will have those market opens in seoul and tokyo, next. this is bloomberg. ♪

>> welcome to "daybreak asia." i am kathleen hays. paul: i am paul allen in sydney. asia's major markets have just opened for trade. china raises the heat on jack ma, telling his ant group to go back to its roots as a simple payment provider. the pboc says executives must rectify the current business model. japan imposes its toughest virus

measures so far, firing rivals as infection numbers surge in tokyo. nationals and overseas residents are no longer exempt from quarantine. democrats are planning a house debate later on monday on bigger covid relief checks -- relief checks. republicans are unhappy with higher government spending. a look at the markets now. we are starting with japan just opening now, and in fact, we are going to show you that we have got a positive number here, up .4% on the nikkei. the topix is also rising by .5% and this is in spite of the fact that industrial production numbers came in on the line side although the market had expected flat to down year-over-year. yenan see that the japanese , dollar-yen, is at 103. we heard yesterday told -- jesper koll tell us the yen has

been strengthening. it's basically flat. the 10-year note has fallen a bit so apparently, bonds are recovering a little bit as the coronavirus has certain cases and it weighs on risk sentiment. we are waiting for the bank of japan's monthly bond purchases later in the day, paul. breaking news on alibaba right now. we have been watching this closely. alibaba upsizing its share repurchase program to 10 billion u.s. dollars, announcing a $6 billion share buyback. alibaba executives summoned to a meeting with regulators in china over alleged monopolistic practices. we saw alibaba shares having their worst day ever in the u.s. on friday, falling 13%. we saw shares in hong kong ease as well. that shareizing

repurchase program to 10 billion u.s. dollars. we just had korea open as well and we are seeing positivity for the kospi at the moment. markets are stronger by almost .9% right now samsung leading the way, that stock higher by 2.3% so the kospi building on the decent gains it saw on friday. we also have a pushing higher by .5% and the korean won finding a the moment.gth at south korea holding off on its highest one as well. on new cases reported sunday. that's get some more on the markets now has we start another holiday shortened week. there is plenty to suggest on the stimulus in the u.s., what's going on with the coronavirus, and brexit as well. our editor joins us now from singapore. let's start with president trump. we heard from the president that

there is good news coming on the covid relief package but he's not saying what it is. his refusal to sign that stimulus deal, is it really going to plant to markets today? >> hello, paul. yes, president trump said earlier this morning in a tweet that there was good news and he added that there was more information to follow. investors will be keeping a close eye on what is to come next, given that basically, the stimulus bill has been, you positivetty much a survivor of risk assets over the past month so far so a lot of that has been already priced in know, we don't see any positive news anytime soon,

that could weigh on risk assets overall, but basically over the weekend, president trump failed to sign the bill, basically. it looked initially bearish to risk sentiment. given how much markets have been pinning their hopes on this ust most package, but even so, futures are edging higher early in the morning despite the negative news about the stimulus bill. it could be that there are some expectations that we will be able to see the stimulus bill at some point. still, it remains to be seen how this saga will play out and how intowill affect -- going year-end and beyond, and one thing that we should -- we should keep in mind, we are going to have -- maybe for the rest of this week. investors already waiting for the year-end holiday and that

might exaggerate price moves given the drivers of the markets basically. you know, the pending stimulus bill and concerning news over the weekend on fresh irish restrictions but there are several positive developments including a brexit breakthrough in e.u.rollout of -- countries. kathleen: it was supposed to be christmas weekend in the u.s., keeping things quiet, but lots of news. we have been showing green on the s&p futures and it looks like there was a spike up after president trump put out the tweet about good news coming on the release bill. i want to ask you about one of the many important things you just mentioned and that is right risk curbs in japan across asia. japan.us is up in numbers are very modest if you look at other developed nations. is that going to weigh on sentiment?

>> possibly. as you said, on the virus front, in this region, things are worsening in japan in particular. as you know, tokyo reported a record number of new virus cases and the japanese government says entry to foreigners through the end of january 2 contain the spread of the virus. there is ongoing concern about the spread of the virus as well as concerns about virus mutations which could potentially weigh on risk sentiments across the region, but still, it depends on what is to come out of the u.s. in terms of the stimulus package. it remains to be seen basically, and broadly, the next step on the stimulus bill and any potential government lockdown might also drive markets today whateyond and in terms of

indexes we need to look at and to watch out for, it includes the dollar index. if you look at the dollar spot index, it is running at that level at the moment and a break below the level should be positive for asian equity markets. and it's on the back foot as providethat could also some sort of relief or comfort to risk assets as well. editor keeping an eye on a very busy news flow and you can follow more on this story and all of the day's trading on our markets live blog, bloomberg at mliv and you can get a market rundown in one click and there's commentary and analysis from bloomberg's expert editors. you can find out what is affecting your investments right now. just a few minutes ago, we have

breaking news about alibaba's buyback program. asia investing editor ruth chen -- lulu chen joins us now. what else do we know so far? >> it represents 1% of the company's fair market value. alibaba's shares have taken a hit over the last week because of the anti-monopolistic crackdowns in china and also because of -- the affiliate is under pressure right now, seeing real crackdown pressures from financial regulators. all in all, the companies lost more than $200 billion in market value so the company is taking a good opportunity to buy back shares and that would potentially support investor confidence and steady the shares. kathleen: what about jack ma's ant group?

chinese regulators ordering it to return to its roots as a straightforward provider of payments. what does this mean? >> that sentence in itself is actual a signal than an literal dictate for and going back into being just a payments business because the regulators also said they wanted the company to overhaul its other financial businesses including wealth management and credit lending. now, the notice issued on sunday was quite short on detail speculation ofe what it actually means down the road and one possibility people are talking about is that the regulators might require a and t to break up the company, offloading its financial businesses apart from the financial business, not part of payments into a financial holding company and regulators could regulate that section of

the business more and more like a bank. kathleen: thank you so much to bloomberg's asia investing editor, lulu chen. still ahead, more on japan's new virus measures amid a wave of restrictions in the region. we will have all the details. up next, counting down to the final brexit split as boris johnson admits his deal does not go quite far enough. we discussed with jacob kierkegaard. this is bloomberg. ♪ are you frustrated with your weight and health? it's time for aerotrainer, a more effective total body fitness solution. (announcer) aerotrainer's ergodynamic design and four patented air chambers create maximum muscle activation for better results in less time, all while maintaining safe, correct form and allows for over 20 exercises. do the aerotrainer super crunch. the pre-stretch works your abs even harder, engaging the entire core. then it's the back extension, super rock, and lower back traction stretch to take the pressure off your spine and stretch muscles.

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>> i'm very pleased to tell you we have completed the biggest trade deal yet. >> we have finally found an agreement. >> this is a free-trade deal. >> this agreement is in the united kingdom's interest. jobsdeal that will protect across this country, a deal that will allow u.k. goods and

components to be sold without tariffs and quotas. deal and itnce to is the responsible thing to do for both sides. >> for the first time since 1973, we will be an independent coastal state with full control of our waters. >> it will set a solid withation for a new start a long-term friend. cracks are not going to claim this is a -- treaty. it is, i believe, what the country needs at this time. >> we can finally put brexit behind us. yucaipa minister boris johnson and european commission president urszula von der leyen, announcing the historic brexit trade deal. joining us now for more on this deal is jacob kierkegaard, senior fellow at the peterson institute for international economics. applauded his

historic deal, and this agreement gives free trade one day and the next day, he said it does not go far enough, particularly not for banks. what is the message here from boris johnson? >> the message is he would like to get a lot of credit for trying to solve a problem he byated himself, namely setting the u.k. on a course towards a -- but it is still a very hard brexit. and in many ways, the deal he has struck really focuses only on the minority part -- a small share of the economy. manufacturing, agriculture, but leaves out the vast services sector. ways,my opinion, in many

it's the 20th century agreement more than it is a 21st-century agreement, and what he is alluding to buy saying, well, we would like to have gone further in financial services, is the fact that if you think that this is the end of the brexit negotiations, you are sorely mistaken. there is going to be probably a never ending negotiating process the u.k.,e e.u. and trying to address and negotiate and agree on what is still the vast majority of the tradition european economies and services and other more important growth areas for the 21st century. >> will this brexit deal get approved in the house of commons next week? i think it will. boris johnson has a very large majority in the labour party

appears to be willing to back this deal as well so i find it extremely unlikely that this deal will not be approved. some unity in parliament over this. the u.k. chancellor of the exchequer said reaching this deal is an enormously unifying moment for the u.k. as a whole. is he right or does that sound like a politician trying to head off a scottish separatist movement? i think the chancellor is right in the sense that this is better than no deal but again, this is still a very hard brexit and i think no matter what happens, we should envision, given the incredibly short period of preparation that u.k. businesses and european business ruleso figure out how the

and custom procedures and the likes are going to work. we will have to factor in quite a lot of chaos at the borders of the u.k. after january 1. people traveling from the u.k. to the rest of europe are going to find themselves subject to new restrictions and lines at the airports and all of that and there's almost certainly going to be a lot of people saying, wait a minute, this is not what we voted for. that is obviously a sentiment that the scottish nationalists are going to say, we need to become independent and rejoin europe. thatain, the reality is the political debate about the magnifications of brexit on the british economy and the british tote itself is only going continue after this. >> we of course got a preview of potential border trouble last week over the coronavirus outbreak, but we must remember

the other inconvenient border and that is the one in northern ireland. how does not get sorted out? i guessis an area where i am more optimistic because we did see in the last couple of weeks before christmas that the so-called -- between the british government and european commission, which was not michel barnier or david frost, it was another group of people that reached an agreement on the implementation of the northern left --otocol, so i'm less concerned actually about chaos on that board because it does seem as if it will basically remain open. what will happen on the various administrative checks that will now have to take place between northern ireland and the rest of great britain, that, i think, remains to be seen, but there is

no doubt, for instance, that i would say this is an area where the election of joe biden has probably made a big difference because i think it is quite striking that, you know, only a few weeks after joe biden was elected and very clearly sent unambiguous signal that if there was any, you know, sort of -- a border in ireland, it would have bad prospects on the u.k.-u.s. relationship. there was a deal struck between this.k. and the e.u., so is an area where i am less concerned, where i think this will be sorted out. let's look at this from the other side of the deal. ambassadors are meeting monday to discuss the trade deal. you're a skeptic lawyers continuing to examine the fine print. what kind of deal does the e.u.

except for itself? -- accept for itself? a damageis is mitigation process, an act of coming apart. it will economically hurt both sides. i think it will be undoubtedly more painful for the u.k., but it's going to hurt the e.u. as well. there's always going to be local elections which will matter a lot, especially in france, next year, so -- and what kind of relationship does the e.u. want with the u.k. going forward? they had clearly not succeeded in keeping them in the internal market, very close in their economic orbit, but at the same time, they signaled they are willing to use their economic weight to put pressure on the

divergeernment cannot very significantly from the existing rules because that's basically what the deal is, namely, the agreement by the vergehat the u.k. can be whatever it wants and also the acceptance by the u.k. government that if the u.k. diverges, then the e.u. will have the right to impose barriers, tariffs, and other retaliatory measures for access to the internal market. but ultimately, you know, the e.u. used this as a damage mitigation exercise, and they have avoided a no-deal, but that does not mean they like the deal that they have. kierkegaard, senior fellow, thank you so much for joining us. let's check in for you on the performance of the japanese airlines on that he can't them

moment. we have japan airlines and ana both falling after the announcement on sunday of a band in japan for most foreigners in order to fight the virus has coronavirus cases in japan reach for record highs and confirmed their first case of that new, more infectious covid strain. japan airlines off 2.5% on news of that band to entry of foreigners, and a off 2%. that is to remain in place until the end of january. let's get over to karina mitchell now for a check of the first word headlines. karina: just a few more details. japan is banning most foreign arrivals as infection numbers served in tokyo and more iris variants are reported. the government stopping entry through january with japanese nationals and foreign residents no longer exempt from a 14 day quarantine. the philippines is banning all flights from the united kingdom for at least two weeks while u.k. is set to approve the astrazeneca vaccine.

in other news, china's industrial profits grew at a slower pace last month as factory gate prices continued to ease. in november,15.5% half again in october, with the year-to-date rise up 2.4%. a new analysis shows the chinese economy will not overtake the u.s. -- will now overtake the u.s. five years earlier due to its handling of the virus. china surpassing the u.s. in 2028. economic growth expanded in vietnam. experts and manufacturing extended their recovery. gdp growth rose more than 4.5%, up from a revised reading in the previous quarter and topping the mean estimate in a bloomberg survey. the pandemic has sent vietnam's growth to its lowest since just after the financial crisis. it expectsays visitor numbers and tourism revenue to remain weak through next year with leisure travel continuing to be limited by

border restrictions. arrivals fell 83% in the first 10 months of this year, down 70%. the tourism board says it will ramp up travel initiatives by adopting new technologies and sustainable business models. global news, 24 hours a day, on air and on bloomberg quicktake, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. i am karina mitchell. this is bloomberg. kathleen. kathleen: don't forget to catch daybreak asia on bloomberg radio as well as tv. bryan curtis and juliette saly anchoring from hong kong and singapore. you can see them on your screen and you can find in-depth analysis of the days big newsmakers. check out the app, radio plus, or bloombergradio.com. this is bloomberg. ♪ wanna lose weight and be healthier? it's time for aerotrainer. a more effective total body fitness solution. (announcer) aerotrainer's ergodynamic design and four patented air chambers create maximum muscle activation for better results in less time.

it allows for over 20 exercises. do the aerotrainer super crunch, push ups, aero squat. it inflates in 30 seconds. aerotrainer is tested to support over 500 pounds. lose weight, look great, and be healthy. go to aerotrainer.com. that's a-e-r-o trainer.com. the we have to find just nosomething else.it. good luck! what does that mean? we are doomed. [laughter] that's it. i figured it out! we're going to give togetherness. that sounds dumb. we're going to take all those family moments and package them. hmm. [laughing] that works.

kathleen: breaking news for you from japan. the prime minister, mr. suga,

saying he wants to submit his virus special measure law to the parliament soon. he's also saying they will be tackling the mutated virus in the same way as before, the same way they have dealt with the virus up until now. keep it here. this is bloomberg. ♪

>> this is daybreak asia. jack mall is under increasing pressure with regulators telling him to go back to the roots. rectify the services. the central bank stopped short of demanding a breakup of the current -- company. meanwhile, attacking the judicial system. charged under the sweeping

national security law in hong kong, accused of colluding. the people's daily describes him as victorious and extremely dangerous. there are grounds for his case to be transferred to the mainland. to fiscalwill return discipline after being forced to raise the cap amid the pandemic. implying that the economy may shrink by more than 3% on the year. fiscal policy agency says it is vital. >> in 2022 and 2023, we would reforms.xplore increase that tax revenue. comparatively, we are also among to countries went though tax

gdp ratio. >> global news, 24 hours a day, on air and on quicktake by bloomberg, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in over 120 countries. i'm karina mitchell. this is bloomberg. kathleen: we now want to share some breaking news with you. the washington post is now reporting that president trump has indicated that he will sign the stimulus bill into law. he was objected to it because he said $600 in stimulus checks is not big enough. $75,000 or less should be getting $2000. he tweeted out earlier -- we are showing you that there has been a big move up and down a bit. affectedures are being after the president tweeted out .he good news

washington post also reminding us after talking to two people briefed on the plan. his mind before about changing the bill. post fillingngton out the tweet. so, moving on, looking at the federal reserve. we could be looking at a run for asian currency that could exceed 20% next year. are the key themes and drivers for asian currencies next year that support this very bullish scenario? >> thank you for having me. the drivers b virus development

and macro recovery. before a covid vaccine came out with applications around the exit,and with universal the picture will not change of my. china and other .conomies it is the working assumption across intelligence. i know the market might be a little bit hyped up about the news, but i am skeptical on that. it could be side effects in the u.k. we saw a news talking about that as well. are the people willing to take

risks? we think that there will be need for more support, going forward. is competitive. of support be a lot for the asian currencies. [indiscernible] people were talking about a rate hike. that is a key detail. when you are looking at emerging-market currencies, which one would you expect to

outperform? ones will be the weakest? -- which ones will be the weakest? >> it is more about the virus right now. [indiscernible] the chinese you had is favored. conditioning right now -- it is that it might rise more rapidly. why.is our least favorite currency is the hong kong dollar.

it will benefit least. [indiscernible] what other ethics strategies you think traders and investors will be putting on, based on your outlook? timing.ey thing is the that, it is really just waiting. . way to benefit it benefits us. we added on the currencies.

we like the chinese yuan. those are really tourism heavy. in favor after the adoption. we can see that current account in china shifting back to the original economy. example, both being tech savvy economies. the current government has stated that they will try catching up in terms of technology. finally --

still to come, japan with new tough restrictions through the end of january. the details on that, next. ♪

kathleen: japan is imposing

tough new measures on inbound travelers as cases which new highs. most travelers are banned from entering the country until the end of january. japan banning the entry of most foreigners until the end of next month. what is behind that decision? the situation has steadily become more challenging. , making japanese and those with permanent residency they go into quarantine if they have been out of the country is a reflection of that. they are concerned about this new, mutated strain coming out of the u.k., popping up in other places. japan has seen a bit of a challenge to their approach.

managed to keep the but winterd check has challenged that approach. right thing in terms of social distancing and gathering. new amount ofcord cases. ways regarded as the best to determine. worrying sign. a number of countries are seeing their virus situations on the engine of a nice. in asia isation nowhere as bad as it is in the u.s. and europe. a lot of them are successful in

this part of the world and are being challenged as the pandemic wears on. pursuing korea are these less destructive approaches with people doing the right thing. that is becoming harder the longer this pandemic wears on. just becomes a lot more likely. places like china, new zealand, australia pursuing the elimination method, snuffing out every case that gets a. challenging,quite though largely successful.

it really does show that while this is a successful strategy, it is not a totally foolproof one. flareups inen various parts of the country, including in beijing. they are deploying a tried and true method. mass testing and very intense contact tracing. kathleen: where is it making progress? it has been given approval to be rolled out of the european union, which is a huge move for that region, a pretty terrible second wave. expect u.k., which

has been at the forefront of vaccine approval, to authorize the astrazeneca vaccine. we are expecting that as soon as this week. tom: emma o'brien there. staying on the covid impact on asia. the recovery is seeing against .he threat extraordinary measures cannot continue indefinitely. >> i have no concern for what has been done. how are we going to unwind and get out of this? we had to do this very carefully. >> how do we do it? months before, you said it is not the right time.

one needs to be in place before that happened? recognizewe have to that the worst of the crisis is most likely behind us. we had to proceed on that basis that this is the time to start gently tapering the level of support. effectl avoid a cliff later on. you have to start doing this gradually. there are no hard and fast rules. quickly,ll back too that might undermine the recovery. if you do not pull out -- pullback enough, when that levels are high, you forced to pullback suddenly, which might be too sharp they fall to take. >> there is optimism that we

will have enough vaccine by the summer for everybody. will that change expectations for a recovery? >> it is the level that matters. 2020 or 2021ll be where we go back to pre-covid levels. i think a vaccine is a major part of that. respect the expectation that we will see by the middle of next year, rather optimistic. economy willlobal continue to recovery. it will take quite longer than what the market seems to be thinking about when we look at

the vaccine. >> what risks remain for the economy? >> if there is a renewed lockdown of the same scale and severity, that would paralyze economic activity again. effectsthat will have that will be long-lasting. balance, if you withdraw to quickly, we might have a double-digit session next year. from the debt accumulation will be a major challenge because the central banks cannot keep buying the debt. the private sector needs to come in. a challenge for many countries, especially the emerging-market economies. response, given

the unprecedented support, do you see their ability to respond to the next crisis being limited? >> not quite. in terms of interest rate, probably. that was pretty much exhausted the last crisis, when interest ands seemed closer to zero remained there for a long time. purchases.ted to it flattened yield curve. hopefully stimulating consumption and investment. central still room for banks to deal more at this. tom: the central bank chief speaking to haslinda amin. , the first quarterly

report. we hear about results and competition in the market. this is bloomberg. ♪

tom: a quick check of the latest headlines. sales next boost year following but is expected

to be a decline in deliveries. fallencts sales to have while overall deliveries were seen rising next year. ben musk says it would impossible to take the company private. the shares ahead of its debut on the 500. a likely ipo candidate once its revenue growth becomes predictable. rose moree ev maker than 300%. about the outlook for the company and industry. >> is a company, we do not really offer what the stock price is. shareholder that

has received good value and that the stock has performed well. we have not really been operating the company. generally, in the last few months, we have seen significant pickup in terms of momentum and flares for those who are really focused, they are getting the benefit back. that is one of the reasons we are looking at this movement for the sector. is neomegrown competitor . so did you manage -- manage quickly opposed to mio? you offer year vehicles at a lower price point then you -- mio -- neo. >> i attribute it to a number of

factors. lynched -- launched sedan is selling very well. secondly, overall, given the increase of the vehicles, our production cost and labor costs has been reduced. also, contributing to growth at this time. tom: tesla is a car that competes. the price of the car competes. how problematic will that be? tesla is definitely a competitor. veryodel three is doing

well in china, particularly after the model three that would their prices. it turbo charged the market .evelopment switchingrs are because of education provided by tesla and other players. products to be available in china. has certain advantages over the competition. product willbetter catalyze the conversion much more quickly. carmakers what most say about tesla. he still have to make the car is.

profitsstill get these you have to deliver two new models of the next two years? ? already living in the environment where tesla has lowered their prices. announced, when tesla the price cut in the beginning that wasr, i think pressured. absorbed it and now we look back, october was a record month for sales. november was a month that would be -- beat october. the competition is very exciting. tom: breaking news. president trump indicating that he will sign the stimulus bill

that he criticized. positive reaction in the markets. the president confirming that he will sign the stimulus bill. more reaction in a moment. standby for bloomberg markets, china open. ♪

rishaad: this is bloomberg markets china open. we are counting down to the start of the trading day right here in hong kong. debatets running a house on the biggest covid checks. indicationsd need that he will be