arabia's transformation strategy.n they sold that $17.5 billion mega bond, we did see a lot of demand. is there anything -- any clue that if they tap the debt market it will be as successful as it was in october? >> i think the sense so far, if yolook at the trading around the issue they did last year, it indicates there is still a huge amount of demand their for saudi. -- there for saudi. and the way they place the previous offering, it was placed into the u.s. and europe with asian investors taking a small part of it. we see asian investors, there is a lot of demand there. and this will appeal to a different set of investors from the previous ones. we should still see good demand therefore saudi. shery: up next on the best of bloomberg markets: middle east, we talk about the outlook for middle eastern stocks as the fed looks increasingly likely to raise rates this month. ♪ yousef: welcome back to the best of bloomberg markets: middle eas governor reynard says a rate hikes likely to be appropriate soon. shery: the la

story in saudih arabia is, it is happening because there is complete reform taking place in saudi arabia complete change in mentality taking place. so the plan that is coming forward will transform saudi arabia. we can even see it at the micro level. and last week in saudi arabia, speaking to companies, you can 24,000,going down to and switching off the lights at night when they leave the office. this might sound very small or silly, but this is an indicator of how saudi arabia is transforming. it is becoming more efficient. that means more growth and being on the right track. shery: you mentioned that transformation in saudi arabia, but it is because of the reforms that the economy took a hit in the third and fourth quarter last year. when will we see the benefit of those changes? like any reform, it takes time. it is short-term pain versus long-term gain. it will take time, a few years. it is after -- subsidies are being taken away, which is natural in an economy that is maturing. so it will take four or five years for this to materialize. it is natural. it is on the right's spot. if y

i have a hospital in riyadh in saudi arabia. she said that the salary was the best in riyadh. >> great. >> and she also said, you know, you and gemma will be working together. >> that is brilliant. >> so we had checked every box that we aimed to take. >> okay, thanks, bye, bye, bye. >> i didn't really know a lot about saudi arabia. i knew it was a country in the middle east, but i didn't know anything about it. we received a detail of where we would be living. >> welcome. >> it looked fantastic. it looked like a brochure you would pick up in a travel agent. the white buildings, the swimming pool and tennis courts. so happy days. palm trees, sun. what more can you ask for? it told us a few more interesting facts about saudi arabia like it was a very strict muslim country. alcohol was banned. there was no pubs. there was no clubs. males and females are segregated from an early age, and that you weren't allowed to be seen with a female unless you were married to her. and if you weren't married to her, you could be arrested for it.

the growth story in saudi arabia is happening. is a complete reform taking place in saudi arabia. it is a complete change in mentality. the planet is coming forward will transform saudi arabia. shery: coming up, oil prices have been rising as stockpiles take out the opec supply cut. more on where prices could be heading. ♪ yousef: welcome back to the best of bloomberg markets: middle east. a rise in u.s. stockpiles counter the impact of opec's supply cuts, and it draining global output. here is a look at the oil price for the region. >> opec deal to joint agreement with non-opec countries. $1.8 million per day of supply. -- even though u.s. production is increasing, we do not expected to reach these levels. new supply from the u.s. could be 400,000 barrels to 900,000 barrels a day. we expect opec to rebalance the market. however, there remains a number of headwinds. the higher production from shale anducers as you mentioned, this opec deal is for six months. we believe it will have to be extended for rebalancing to happen. there a

-saudi arabia relationship, they like trump. trump because he does not talk about human rights so they're not going to get that criticism domestically. they like trump because he does not like iran. it is a balancing that happens to a degree under the obama administration. they are not focusing as much on is the fact that people like steve bannon who play an outsize role in the administration believe the problem is global jihad. in that regard, the middle east and gulf arabs are part of the problem, not the solution. russians are more reliable as a near-term ally because they support judeo christianity. god for bid when we have terrorist attacks in this part of the world, you are going to have trump using that for his domestic base. while security here matters to the americans, much more important to the trump administration and how anti-islam plays for his popularity at home. i don't think the gulf in general appreciates that. yousef: let's dig back into our conversation. he is a ceo at capital. you have the geopolitics to cons

i want to turn to saudi arabia. they meet today, deputy crown prince, with the president of the white house. an interview here with a member of the royal family, interesting development here. >> we are more than ready to cooperate with the united states on countering isis in syria, in iraq, across the region. not just financially but the saudi government offered in the obama administration time to send troops into syria to fight isis. that was not met with enthusiasm by the obama administration. i think the offer remains on the table. >> bret: finances and troops turned down by the obama administration. welcome to five president trump, we are told. >> that sounds like something we have not heard about. this is not about isis. that's not the major issue. the major issue for the saudis, the existential issue, is iran and the way that america appeased it, fattened its economy. given life to hezbollah. apparently they had run out of money but is now flush with money. >> bret: they were fighting the houthis in yemen. >>

saudi arabia has a lot of money to throw around.ke to diversify its own economy and bring some of the expertise it has in oil refining to this region, malaysia and indonesia are producers of crude oil, but they don‘t have that much refining capacity. indonesia in particular has very little. so if saudi arabia can bring some of that expertise to indonesia, and capital... what is crucial about this visit is he is making this multi— stop tour around asia, rather ironically he is not coming to singapore at going just about everywhere else. is this to tie in with the possibility of saudi‘s listing? tie in with the possibility of saudi's listing? absolutely, it is a preview to that, spreading the word about saudi arabia, ling ties to some of the economies of this dynamic region that the saudis have frankly neglected for 50 years —— building ties. it has been 50 years since the saudi king visited japan and indonesia. japan is a potentially large investor in that ipl, and is a significant buyer of oil. all of that makes this a worthwhile tr

will because talk russia and saudi arabia are sending the signal.ys it is too early to discuss a extension while ryad said a rollout is full of uncertainty. before we talk about extensions, let's talk about what has been happening lately. who is doing the heavy lifting in terms of cut? >> it is still saudi that is doing the heavy lifting. saudi arabia has been producing over the amount they have pledged in this opec agreement. we were talking about how saudi arabia increase production from february. it was still below the level they pledged to cut two. russia is not quite there yet, they have made about half the cuts they have pledged to make energy minister saying they will get up to their pledged level of cut later this year and they will hold. of opec agreement says countries need to hit to their target and maintain that every average of six months such rush only gets to that level in a couple of months, still will not be at that average over the six-month. tracey: here's a big picture question for you, we saw oil trend down a little bit last wee

president trump one praise from saudi arabia.ent as far advisor as saying the talks could mark and historic turning point. executive editor for the middle east and north africa. extremelye is glowing. i think it reflects a sense of relief that you have in saudi onbia and the wider golf having the administration. they understand their concerns a bit more. points thatthe sore the saudi's felt like they had with the obama administration. they reference the muslim brotherhood. still percolating. they also reference the issue of the muslim ban, they say they do not feel this is a ban on all muslims or attack against islam. more an internal matter of maintaining internal security. good point. up a including iran, as you mentioned, what did they say about the nuclear deal? , they thinkted out the nuclear deal as it is now is willomething they think maintain peace in the region. that it is dangerous. they were happy that president trump agreed with them on iran's region.n move in the this meeting of minds between trump and saudi arabia o

amazingly, here is one of the problem with experts, none of mentioned the r country of saudi arabia. supposedoreign affairs expert. this is a specific question now, tom. for whatever reason, i am not oing into why saudi arabia would do it, but through the educational system, training is lities overseas and who controlling the sunni philosophy mecca, i want you to go i mean d as an expert, the dots are connectible now that saudi arabia, for whatever reason, is the primary financier jihadist philosophy throughout the middle east and worldwide. think the dots are connectible, tom, you are an expert. guest: first of all, one rule of experts is not to get outside of our own lane. russian-speaking two booksist, my last were on war and on nuclear weapons, so i'm not going to into the territory of arabic speaking middle eastern connect the imply dots because the demand is there to connect the dots. issue on something important, i follow the middle eastern experts, follow that saudi arabia comes up a lot. this notion no one mentions audi arabia, i'm not sure this goes back to the question of

winningdent trump praise from saudi arabia's ruling family.ade news with shares hitting highs on merger talks plus the diplomatic row between turkey and the netherlands escalating. president erdogan steering the controversy by calling the dutch fascists. you can stop our foreign ministers plane all you want. let's see how your plans will come to turkey later on. i am talking about is policy not about citizens traveling. we will evaluate all of these accordingly. they do not know politics or international diplomacy. they are cowardly. these nasi remnants are fascists. >> his relations with the united nations turning for the worst ahead of an april referendum that could give him recoup later powered barely spoke to alastair campbell the former communications chief for the u.k. government. >> i think it is complicated. there is lots and lots of stuff going on. this partly explains donald and brings it. the financial crisis happened. a lot of people felt that those who cause it are carrying on regardless and that the people have paid the price. th

there may be a study group formed between japan and saudi arabia. don't think we can look too much of this. the king is visiting. there are agreements announced last night. i don't think we can read too much into this other than the fact that japan is interested in being in a place where they were . it is interesting to note that saudi aramco said it in january on bloomberg that the company was considering listing in cities including new york, london, and hong kong. what they are looking for is liquidity and access to investors. they're going to have to judge tokyo against those other cities. david: you alluded that there is much more going on here. not just in japan. thisondering, apart from one which takes the headlines, are there any other deals signed or eventually -- potentially signed? >> a couple of big things announced over the last few days. saudi aramco is going to make a $7 billion investment in the refinery in malaysia. $16 billion in another facility in indonesia. it helps saudi aramco luck in future demand. that is something that inves

. >>> the operators of the tokyo stock exchange have agreed t to strengthen ties with saudi arabia's stock market. japanese officials are keen for the world's largest oil company to list its shares in tokyo. japanese officials will offer technical advice how a company could list its stocks in multiple exchanges under the terms. >> we see this as the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship that without a doubt opens up new prospects. >> saudi aramco planned to go public next year, and its market cacapitalizationon is estimated around $2 trillion. executives are looking to offer its shares abroad in addition to the exchange in the saudi capital. they are said to be reviewing markets in europe and the u.s. as well as japan. officials in hong kong and singapore have also launched bids. >>> knockoffs of famous brands and other counterfeit products are a growing headache around the world and the middle east is no exception. nhk world's hideki nakayama looks at how authorities there are fighting back. >> reporter: saudi arabia, one of the world's largest exporters of crude oil. larg

asoil is under pressure saudi arabia raises inputs. policyraps up its annual meeting and warns of external threats to the economy. a historic turning point in talks. it is 8:00 across the emirates. welcome to "bloomberg markets middle east." we are seeing some positioning right now. asian markets are largely in the red. take a look at the bloomberg. you can see the last column on equity markets are all in the red right now. the dollar index is reversing. we are seeing currencies across asia are gaining ground. the south korean won is gaining. commodities jumping after an industry report shows u.s. crude inventories decline last week. oil has been pretty volatile and it's been a wild ride for investors. yes, a roller coaster ride in oil markets for sure. we had a falling 2% yesterday after the report about saudi arabia lifting production it has since recovered and is up 1.43% today. a bit of whiplash and commodities markets. east,n the middle speaking of commodities, it is just under two hours away from the opening of the emirates marke

a also have the family, it is gigantic group in saudi arabia.siness in so many different areas. they say they do intend to ipo part of their businesses. that could be a game changer for saud a -- saudi. clearly a lot of excitement about potential deals coming to market. i have to bring in the pessimism. as talk about what could not that optimism. this chart is the tadawul versus oil prices. end, they are starting to move in think while oil was collapsing over the past week or so. oil has since recovered it what could not be optimism here? we cannot forget we are in the middle east. we cannot forget it is all about oil at the end of the day. especially for saudi, which is the biggest stock market here in the region. if we do not see clarity in hows of the price of oil, much of a recovery we can see in the domestic economy this year? what exactly companies are going to consider, in terms of spending and capex along 2017, than the ipo activity when not be as intense as a lot of people are seeing at this moment. considering oil between 50 and 60. th

so confirmation of group b with saudi arabia and japan level on 13 points and australia three pointshance in fourth. staying with football the reigning women's world player of the year, carli lloyd, scored herfirst goal for her new english club manchester city on thursday night. the usa international and world cup winner scored the only goal of the game as city beat fortuna hjorring in the first leg of their european champions league quarter—final in denmark. lloyd joined city last month, initially until the end of super league's spring series in may. now to cricket and with india and australia level at 1—1 in their test series with one match to play, indian batsman cheteshwar pujara has had to step in and defend his captain virat kohli against a barrage of criticism from the australian media. he insists his outspoken skipper is one of the sports great ambassadors. but also says he regrets how the series has been dogged by controversy. the match is set to get under way on saturday as picturesque dharamsala hosts a test match for the first time. i think it's really sad to hear such co

. >>> japan and saudi arabia are building closer ties. japan has agreed to help support the gulf state as it tries to diversify its economy. king salmon is the first saudi monarch to visit japan in 46 years. he met prime minister shinzo abe in tokyo on monday. >> translator: we'd like to promote and strengthen relations with saudi arabia which is a key for stability in the middle east. >> translator: japan is a core partner in the fight against terrorism. we must deepen the concept of promoting serious dialogue between different religions and cultures with the international community. we need to strengthen the spirit of tolerance and coexistence. >> they agreed japanese investment and technical assistance could help reduce saudi arabia's depending on oil exports. abe asked saudi aramco be listed on the tokyo stock exchange. it would be one of the largest public offerings ever. they signed a cooperation deal, japan/saudi vision 2030. >>> good morning. toshiba will postpone its earnings report once again. get us up to speed. >> they are exp

how important is this for saudi arabia, this particular ipo, in terms of getting money in.have a real problem with oil revenues falling. it is very important, not only from the money side but psychologically it is important for sentiment within the saudi economy. a huge change and this is one of the big policy markers, i suppose, this is one of the big policy markers, isuppose, of this is one of the big policy markers, i suppose, of the new system that has been put in place for generating diversify and revenues. let's now talk about the story in the new york times or washington post online. it is pretty much everywhere as well, the situation with regards to devin nunes, who is the republican chairman of the house intelligence committee, now seen to be too close to president trump to be impartial when it comes to the investigation about the election campaign and russian involvement. it is an interesting article, i hadn't realised there are three house intelligence committee it investigations on going into russian involvement and if you are in the trump offers this story is n

. >> oil under pressure as saudi arabia ranges outlooks.ome say the kingdom is losing patience with several producers. >> theresa may will trigger exit this month. but the european union might make her wait for talks. an annual policy meeting wraps up. beijing is tied on its list of problems. let's bring you breaking news out of south korea. the jobs report for february is a miss. unemployment at 4%. the estimate was 3.9%. it raises the question of the youther labor market, unemployment seems to be a trend here. we will see how that plays through when korea open than an hours time. february,ed to last some murky outlook for the labor market. let's see how the rest of asia is performing. wall street ending the day lower ahead of the fed. the dollars slightly lower. kiwi, we did see that deficit billion, stocks down 1/5 of 1%. a wild ride for oil, tensions in the cartel. we did see oil bounceback to $48. really flat at the sydni open, still in a tight range for the aussie dollar. dollar-yen, do not expect too much. it may stay in this two-mon

saudi arabia is driven by supply demand balance. flows,ging investment making sure that global inventories are back to where they should be. in terms of long-term averages. that's where i have my eyes focused on. of course those factors are not ones that can be easily managed. we have to monitor, there are too many variables at play. we are on course, the fundamentals have significantly improved over the last few months. fluctuate up and down. there are other factors like speculators and financial investors. take a long and short. the currency also. think looking at the fundamentals, i am satisfied that we are moving in the right direction. also my colleagues from other producing nations have been cooperating with us quite nicely. i think we are on track. or weekly, fluctuations in price do not get my eye off the board as far as looking at fundamentals. have true that inventories not come down as much as saudi arabia expected? what would be the trigger for you and fail -- fellow oil-producing nations to say, we should cut more? >> w

brings up saudi arabia and maybe he chose not to put saudi arabia on the list because he has hotels there. >> baseless speculation. the whole story as part of the reason the american people are so sick of washington, d.c., in the way it's covered. we had an election. hillary clinton tried to make a big deal out of it and the american people decided they didn't care. and now "abc news" spends 10 minutes today going through the big story of what was in the tax returns when there's really no news. good news for donald trump, not huge good news. let's talk about the real issue issues. >> it's good news because it's the first time the issue has come up. we've gotten a look a real return. it was not only a clean one but a favorable one. it would feed speculation that perhaps it originated with trump. i have no idea. it would be a good idea on their part to have done it. the schumer response was an example of the kind of innuendo festival we are experiencing. the saudi stuff was outrageous. kept it off list because he has hotels there? it's the way to throw the kitchen sink at trump. there's a l

brings up saudi arabia and maybe he chose not to put saudi arabia on the list because he has hotels there>> baseless speculation. the whole story as part of the reason the american people are so sick of washington, d.c., in the way it's covered. we had an election. hillary clinton tried to make a big deal out of it and the american people decided they didn't care. and now "abc news" spends 10 minutes today going through the big story of what was in the tax returns when there's really no news. good news for donald trump, not huge good news. let's talk about the real issue issues. >> it's good news because it's the first time the issue has come up. we've gotten a look a real return. it was not only a clean one but a favorable one. it would feed speculation that perhaps it originated with trump. i have no idea. it would be a good idea on their part to have done it. the schumer response was an example of the kind of innuendo festival we are experiencing. the saudi stuff was outrageous. kept it off list because he has hotels there? it's the way to throw the kitchen sink at trump. there's a lot

although the business environment in saudi arabia will improve. feel faster, but when we see the headline growth figures, they will be quite low. that is because of the dependence of saudi arabia on oil price --. oil prices are going up, great resentment, great for investment, but at the same time, saudi arabia will be cutting production of oil. cutting oil production as part of the opec agreement. when it comes to real growth, real headline growth, production is much more important than prices. the headline growth figures with a low because of the cut in production, but in actual fact the economy can be doing much better than what those figures would suggest. yousef: we have had quite a few skeptics. some have been skeptical about the execution risks. as you look to the efforts of the kingdom, what is your read on what they're doing right now. is it working? we'll was he the numbers get back up in the next year reduce? >> still the most important aspect will be the oil market .nd how oil prices adjust if we have oil prices adjusting higher than h

arabia raised its oil output from january.terling falling as much as .9 percent earlier, the biggest drop since february. theresa may given the go-ahead to trigger brexit. , the selloff again comes after scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon signal the start of the legal process for an independence referendum. analysts see 121 in the third quarter and 122 in the fourth quarter. implied volatility is interesting. look at the run-up to the comeendum, and plied then an eight-year high, june 14, before the referendum. run-up to the scottish referendum in september 2014. we did see a move up in implied to be, rising to a high on september 9, nine days before the referendum. that is an interesting chart comparing the referendums. incorporate use, the french up a germaneighing utility energy, sending shares of 18.6, a market value billion euros. it says it can in principle sell shares and reduce its stake. shares up 6%. vonnie: thank you. the federal reserve's meeting kicks off in washington dc as that snow storm bears down on th

saudi arabia wasn't on the list. there is speculation. i don't know if it's true or not. he didn't put them on the list because he had hotels there. >> bret: they say that visa checking in saudi arabia is adequate enough. the six countries don't have that. >> why do more terrorists coming from saudi than other countries? >> are you saying they should be on the list? >> every country ought to be vetted. i think they did a poor job of it in general. we should tighten up everywhere. >> bret: you use words when talking about the trump administration, president trump and russia. you used the words collusion and coordination. what you really mean is conspiracy, aiding and abetting, both of which are crimes. are you alleging president trump or his campaign committed a crime? >> what i am saying is that not that there was a conspiracy. there are enough questionable acts. we saw what happened with flynn, to have a full and thorough impartial investigation. putin, in my opinion, is an evil man. he's a bully. if there is potential there was collusion, people should know about it. i'

also weakness inside arabia when it comes to financials.did see some bright spot in some of the banks. down.dawul upside performance from egypt, extending momentum, up 1.5%. let's talk more about the fed. janet yellen left little doubt that the federal reserve will raise rates this month. guest, tonyback our nash at complete intelligence. his the fed moving too fast. is the u.s. economy strong enough to withstand another move in fed rates this month? it is delicate. it is not too early, and there has been a lot of discussion over the last 6-9 months that it might be too late, but it is probably the right time. i don't know if we will hit the four hikes that was stated in one of the meetings recently, but whether it is this meeting or next meeting, i think it is probable, and i think the economy will absorb it in stride and i don't think it will be anything people are surprised by. this puts the interest rate diversions in focus again between europe and between the united states. you can see that in the spread ds andn the two-year bun treasu

to sue the saudi arabia government. president obama veto ad that and coming gress overturned that. >> rockefeller pass away he was 101. david rockefeller was last surviving grabbed some of john d. rockefeller who created america's first billionaire. >> president trump says he's the reason that former 49ers 1/4 being back can't get a job. the president said the free agent has not been signed yet because nfl doesn't want a nasty tweet from him. he took a knee during the national anthem this gear and started protest in august in response to police involved shootings of black men and women when he opted out of contract he said he would stop kneeling during the national anthem. >> and meanwhile, president trump called for de funding which created sesame street. since the 80s mr. trump was depicted as grump a grochowskiy and greedy monster. no word if this is why he want to cut funding. president trulp is not the first president to want tonight eliminate public broadcasting fund. >> and finally it was once lost and now it's f

important players but not the likes of saudi arabia and by not the likes of saudi arabia and by no means—— i'm an. what did we expect from the meeting and what did we get? -- oman. it was the second time they met and it was established in january two compliant with the clubs agreed in november and december —— to comply with. the effectiveness and the power of this committee is as yet unclear. discussions had as to whether or not they extend the cuts from the currentjune deadline for another six months. the thinking is they probably will, that was the sentiment we got from the meeting, but it's a consideration at this point that they can't give you any ha rd point that they can't give you any hard responses? absolutely. they look to measure whether or not compliance is being in line with what was anticipated by each of the member states, and they looked at independent sources to verify if people have been keeping in check with what they promised they would deliver —— they look at. as yet it's not certain what power or authority this committee has to really determine the ultimate decision,

the shareholder of course is the government of saudi arabia.o preparing itself for a listed saudi aramco. both processes are on track. happen in set to 2018. course, as some of these milestones are achieved, we will make those announcements. >> how about that listing? can we assume new york will be one of those that is listed? china?ondon? min. al-falih: it is premature. we have not done our evaluation yet. this was a very delicate multifaceted evaluation from very deliberate, and in due course you will know. specifically what do you look for? that seems like a tough decision. what are you seeking when you designed what to list? min. al-falih: we want to optimize the interest of the kingdom of saudi arabia. kathleen: saudi premier estimated the potential of this ipo at $2 trillion. what do you make of that? what do you think it is worth? min. al-falih: the markets will ultimately determine what the real value is of saudi aramco. i can tell you it is a great company. freight -- great company, great resources that many investors would benefit by.

his saudi arabia still in complaints? -- is saudi arabia still in complaints?a: saudi arabia is in compliance. the rest of the world has to look at that and say if the saudis are not going to carry me, do i have to do more? scarlet: four others reversed the production cuts they have made? tina: we have people who are not complying. iraq and russia have not been in hearing to the letter of the agreement, more like the spirit of it so far. this puts more pressure on them to do so. and it sends a message to the markets. this gives a warning that the floor they thought was there may not always be there. joe: looking at the chart on the bloomberg and i think you brought in last time we talked showing this sort of resurgent u.s. production in drilling to the bar chart is the u.s. oil rigs. the yellow chart is crude oil inventory. weakness we are seeing in oil -- is everyone chalking it up to supply? any demand side to the element here? tina: there is a demand side. the president is going to detroit tomorrow and people are talking about him taking off fuel economy sta

arabia says the rating cut was not surprised. we spoke to the global head of the rating seed. here is what he said. >> the primary reason is the lower impact on oil prices. deficit of almost 18% of gdp. and an enormous fiscal challenge dealing with lower oil prices. the government has a plan to deal with that. we think the deficit is going to be lower. a country with the government debt of zero and now it is rising. ask that only has been moved up from stable. >> the outlook is stabilized. >> does this cast more doubts on the reform, cutting state subsidies? or does that plan help improve the long-term -- >> if the plans as we understand them were implemented in full, saudi arabia will be transformed considerably. we think the world be difficult to implement in them in full. be a is going to restructuring of the economy but probably not to the degree the government would like. ambitious agenda. medium to long-term. it cannot be fixed in a year or two vendors. >> is the fundamental still in place? a couplengs are still of steps above s&p. >> we think it is a single-a credit. th

saudi arabia says supply cuts may be extended if necessary.bs will be needed to sustain the stockpiles, that do remain above the five-year average. he thinks markets are not confident on the outlook. it listen. >> our objective in doing what we do is really the fundamentals. saudi arabia is driven by bringing supply and demand and to balance, encouraging investment flows, and making sure that global underpinnings, which had been in a glut situation are back to where they should be in terms of long-term averages. eyesis where i have my focused on. managed, wesily would have to monitor too many variables here. the fundamentals have significantly improved over the last few months. prices will fluctuate up and down. there are other factors into play like speculators and financial investors, currencies. fundamentals, i am quite satisfied we are going in the right direction. also, my colleagues from oil-producing nations have been cooperating with us quite nicely. and i think we are satisfied that we are on track. and a daily or weekly fluctuations

saudi arabia pumping 10 million barrels of oil a day in february.rgan stanley cross asset strategist. this is bloomberg. ♪ >> a possible successor to the governor resigned from the bank of england as theresa may kept the green light to exit the european union. officials begin their two-day meeting despite the snow. hikes over the next three years up for grabs. 14 million without insurance, a 20% rise in premiums. the republican health care plan, republican governors fight back. the u.k.day in parliament as it gave theresa may the authority she sought to begin the brexit process. ,e are joined by anna edwards with someone with a great deal at stake. >> thanks. i'm joined by the mayor of london outside westminster. great to have you on the program. reaction to the vote we saw yesterday? you must be disappointed? disappointed. am i except the vote of the british eu.ic to leave the wet of this is recognizing have got a million londoners from the eu, 3 million brits, and ieed some reassurance was hoping the government would give them the guarantee. i'm l

david: saudi arabia -- yousef: saudi arabia's credit rating has been cut by one level. the kingdom's rating was reduced to a plus on par with moody's rating. >> the primary reason is the impact on finances on oil prices. you look at the fiscal balance, there was a deficit of almost 18% gdp. an enormous fiscal challenge. the government has a plan to address that. we think the deficit will be much lower this year, less than 10% of gdp. is risingment debt with the deterioration of us -- of oil prices. the outlook is now stable. does this cast more doubts on the reform agenda? cutting state subsidies, cutting state spending, or does that plan help improve the long-term? >> if the plans as we understand them were implemented in full, saudi arabia would be transformed considerably. there will be difficulty implementing them in full. there is going to be a restructuring of the economy, probably not to the degree the government would like. an ambitious agenda. it is a medium to long-term agenda, not something that can be fixed in a year, two years. generate rabbit sector employ

expect tomight we saudi arabia in terms of foreign military sales from the u.s. in the coming year or two? what do you expect them to request? biggest now the two request in the pipeline are the upgrades or the additional labs and those two new brigades. at the end, complete, by november, 2018, when the last 150 vehicles will arrive, we'll have 1900 labs, which i think is the largest concentration for mission of labs in the world, and the next piece is aviation. ultimately, when aviation is complete in 2023, we will have 106 aircrafts in the formation of echoes, mikes and the i's. jen: let's dive into the training for the fleet of these helicopters --i would imagine that as a challenge. can you describe how you do that over the next couple of years and what that takes? >> we are can partnership with four rucker seo we and the major general's team, and we have been able to promote and program management, right now we have 41 aviators from noncommissioned officers, sworn officers, and commissioned officers that are embedded, all the way down, helping the saudi nati

does have influence over saudi arabia come and not just over saudi arabia, but also the continuationf this war for the weapons that it sells to them and to the adjustable support against the saudi-led coalition in the terms of refueling and targets as well. peopleorrying for those and campaigners who have been trying to prevent the cell -- sale of weapons. there are indications those weapons may be sold under commercial terms rather than under military, which also been does not attach the same and use issues with them. there is not so much scrutiny with the use of those weapons in a warlike yemen. that is also deeply concerning. we are now at a stage where the attempt should be made to deescalate the conflict, all indications are now that the war in yemen will be escalated by the activities of u.s. government. nermeen: one last, very quickly, as we said in our introduction, there have been more airstrikes carried out since the start of 2017 then there were in all of 2016. but you pointed out in a recent interview there were more run strikes in yemen over the space were inurs then the

saudi arabia has been shouldering most of the cuts.ed to look at compliance levels from the other members. 91% according to the iea when it comes to opec. arguably a decent report card. and thee becomes russia non-opec group. that is only 41%. possibly as high as 67%. backdropat against the where you have more oil coming into the market. look at what is happening with u.s. crude inventories. this tells the story. one is u.s. crude inventory. still at the highest seasonal level in over three decades. countering the oil, the other line that opec is trying to get out of the market. there's a lot at stake. oil bulls are not looking for any silver linings. they are looking for hard, tangible, meaningful data that actually says this plan is working. matt: what might an extension look like here, yousef? that decision is going to come in may. the work here is going to lay the groundwork for that. one issue is going to be the russian pledge to live up to its commitment. saudi arabia publicly prodded russia for not doing that. before the deal wa

comments out of saudi arabia giving support to the oil price.g moving to the upside as well, one dissenting voice is ready tohe doe raise interest rates, but it is the cologneafter after that fed rate hike has dissipated. haidi: that's right. unwound,tement being yields pushed back up again. a bit of aia, catalyst as we go into the end of the week. we are 30 minutes away from the open. sophia is taking a look at how the markets are tracking. we are seeing gains in markets such as taiwan, japanese do have stocks and dragging on the region, the nikkei 225 falling by .3%, away to down by automakers as the yen heads for its steepest advance in three weeks and we await the outcome of the g-20 talks today. korea, theocus on kospi up .1%, extending gains for a second day. cosmetics, duty-free store operators, and other china-link consumer stocks are in a relief rally as tensions between south korea and china over the missile issue are seen to have peaked. -- of the climbers today profit-taking. region,at the wider energy stocks leading gains in asia. t

saudi arabia may be throwing in the towel and cutting the oil output. if so, tts latest in a long string of headaches for oil. saudi arabia indicated to opec that its production had increased to just over 10 million barrels per day in february. that was a little more than in january but the saudis said, it was in its agreement with opec. the market brushed the comments aside. and oil barely budged. so the market clearly believes there are cracks in the saudi commitment to cut oil production. now, that adds to the long list of crude's troubles. it is a growing number of u.s. rigs drilling for oil. we have higher crude oil and now prospect of a rate like might take it higher. that would almost certainly hurt oil prices. so oil stocks are getting hit hard again. exxonmobil hit a 52-week low. much is prigtd on oil trading closer to $60, not $47 where it is now. another headache for the saudis and that's aramco. they want to take it public next year. that may be the biggest ipo ever. they were expecting it to be worth more than $2 trillion. with oil dropping

what has saudi arabia done to stop the threat of isis? >> saudi arabia has done a lot.e been the target of isis, one of the countries isis has over the last three years targeted the most, working with the united states over the last two years and will continue to work further with the united states and other countries around the world to truly eradicate isis and end what they have been doing in the region but also around the world. maria: what about your colleagues in the middle east, who is funding isis right now? >> an interesting question. they do receive funding from various sources. we have been working along with the united states and other countries to stop any funding going to isis. we believe with the us and other countries been successful and more with the united states to end what is going on. maria: important to hear from you the public wants to know what kind of relationship the us and saudi arabia are looking to have. what about the qatari's, are they funding isis? >> don't know if they are funding isis. i don't believe there are. and other countries on, a

saudi arabia's oil output gaining in february over january levels.alling as down, much as 8/10 of 1%, the biggest drop since february -- in february. prime minister may cannot trigger brexit. she is on target to trigger it by the end of the month. game thate guessing takes place. has a 115 call for the second quarter, as does hsbc and rbc. investor confidence survey rising less than it -- less than anticipated. political uncertainty weighing on europe's biggest economy, ahead of the dutch election, and the french election, rising risks causing uncertainty among investors. predicted to pick up in the rest of 2017, as slumping factory orders in january highlight the risk to the outlook for the economy. while shares of european companies have been shooting up this year, the euro stocks 50 climbing to a 15 month high on friday, wages on dividends have been lagging behind. futures betting on the euro stocks 50 index payout for trading at the lowest level since january the 20 -- january relative to the benchmark. this is what this chart tells us dividendsn

right out. >>> leading the news, hundreds of families of 9/11 victims filed a lawsuit against saudi arabia seeking monetary damages. they claim the saudi government paid for funding through al qaeda camps and transport weapons, people and money around the world. this type of lawsuit was prohibited until congress passed a new law. >> president obama vetoed the law, he let americans sue saudi arabia fearing it would open the door for foreigners to sue the u.s. >>> asking for the public's help in finding an allegedly kidnapped student who hasn't been seen in a week. they released the last known image of her prior to her disappearance. they believe she was kidnapped by her 50-year-old teacher, tad cummings. the girl's father, pleading for her safe return. >> please come back. we can't live without you. >> police are saying it's rare for a whole week to go by after an amber alert without credible sightings. they are asking the public to check campgrounds for them. >>> the mystery behind the super bowl jerseys belonging to tom brady. it's been solved. >>> plus, the details of this plane crash an

yousef: we have fresh economic indicators out of saudi arabia. in :00 a.m. across the emirates.n hong david ingles kong. closing up for the run stake. -- lunch break. traders will head back to the desks and 30 minutes. have a look at this chart.

northern saudi arabia intojordan will stop some thunder have developed and some flooding in places.thwards into iraq, potentially kuwait, but things turning a little bit dry in northern saudi arabia. some high pressure in the mediterranean, bringing fine weather here. heavy rain and very strong winds on the british isles and into ireland as well. more of that to come towards the end of the week. back home on thursday, pretty rough to start off with. strong winds across the country, early rain across england and wales. gradually, the rain will clear away through the afternoon. we should see plenty of sunshine, and strong winds will make it feel quite cool. you can see a full uk weather forecast right here in about half an hour. hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. francois fillon is one of the main contenders in the frencch presidential election. today he said he'll be placed under investigation by a frenchjudge — but that he won't stand down. translation: i will not give up, i will not withdraw, take you to the end. it is democracy being challenged. a special extended repo