2020-03-02 Bloomberg Businessweek Asia Edition

AGENDA

○ Pressureis growingon

AngelaMerkeltofast-track

hersearchfora successor

aschancellorafterher

partysuffereda stinging

defeatin regionalelections

in Hamburg.HerallyArmin

Laschet,whoheads

Germany’s

federalst

hasemerg

asa stron

contender

thejob.

○ HSBC’ssearchfora CEO

suffereda setbackafter

JeanPierreMustier,who

leadsItaly’sUniCredit,said

hedoesn’twanttotake

thehelm.ChairmanMark

Tuckeris underpressureto

reboottheU.K.bankafter

stCEOpicklasted

months.Lastmonth,

nouncedplanstocut

0 jobs.

○ Prudential

Financial has

come in the

cross hairs

of activist

investor

DanLoeb.

○ Billionairefundmanager

KenGriffin

continuedhisreal

estatebuying

bingebysnappingup

anoceanfronthousein

theHamptonsownedby

fashiondesignerCalvin

Klein,accordingtothe

WallStreetJournal. The

propertycouldbeworth

asmuchas$100million,

addingtomorethan

$700millionin high-

endpropertydealsover

thepastfewyearsby

thefinancier.

TheU.K.andtheEU

aresettoofficiallystart

tradetalksonMarch 2

in Brussels.French

PresidentEmmanuel

Macronhasalready

warneda dealmaynot

happenthisyear.

U.S.unemployment

dataforFebruaryis due

onMarch6.Economists

seetherateholdingat

3.6%,stillneara half-

centurylow.

Australia’sreserve

bankholdsitspolicy

meetingonMarch3.

Economistsseeits

interestratedroppingto

0.5%bytheendofthe

secondquarteramida

slowdownin China.

TheGeneva

InternationalMotor

Showkicksoffon

March5 for 10 days.

AttendancefromAsia

is expectedtobe

lowbecauseofthe

virusepidemic.

OPECmeetsin

ViennaonMarch5 to

decidewhethertocut

oiloutputquotasas

thecoronavirusbatters

theglobaleconomy

andthreatensdemand

forcrude.

Israelreturnstothe

ballotboxonMarch 2

foritsthirdgeneral

electionin almosta year

aftertheprevioustwo

runsfailedtoproducea

newgovernment.

SuperTuesdayonMarch3 willprovidea clearerpicture

ofwhomightbecometheDemocraticParty’spresidential

nominee.Afterearlywinsin NevadaandNewHampshire,

it’sVermontSenatorBernieSanders’sracetolose.

A RacetoNetDelegates

ILLUSTRATION

BY

AHAOK.

MAHATHIR:

MOHD

SAMSUL

MOHD

SAID/GETTY

IMAGES.

MERKEL:

ZICK

JOCHEN/GETTY

IMAGES.

GRIFFIN:

JOSHUA

ROBERTS/BLOOMBERG.

DATA:

COMPILED

BY

BLOOMBERG

6

Bloomberg Businessweek March 2, 2020

 IN BRIEF

○ A court gave

Tesla permission

to clear a forest

near Berlin where

it plans to build

a factory.

○ Finnish tech giant Nokia

is working with advisers

to consider potential

asset sales and mergers,

according to people familiar

with the matter. Fierce

competition is putting

pressure on the network

company’s earnings.

○ Gold has risen sharply

this year as concerns

about the impact of the

coronavirus boost demand

for safe-haven investments.

Prices on Feb. 24 hit $1,

an ounce, the highest since

January 2013.

The electric car pioneer’s first

European outpost has faced

resistance from environmental

activists who oppose the felling

and fear the giant facility will deplete

local water reservoirs.

His Third Point hedge fund, which has

built a stake of just under 5%, wants the

U.K. insurer to break up by separating

its U.S. and Asian businesses.

○ Malaysian Prime Minister

Mahathir Mohamad,

94, who has ruled

the country for

almost a quarter century,

resigned. Now he and

longtime rival Anwar

Ibrahim are vying to form

a majority in the 222-seat

parliament and form the

next government.

$1,

1/

$1,

2/

Price per ounce

most o ulous his

8