:00:00. > :00:12.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:13. > :00:21.The bell for 2017. Where should you put your money this year, and will
:00:22. > :00:25.economists or fortunetellers have the upper hand on predictions? And
:00:26. > :00:30.remember when the latest technology looked a little like this? We take a
:00:31. > :00:40.look back at 50 years of the world's biggest Consumer Electronics Show.
:00:41. > :00:45.Hello, and welcome to Asia Business Report. 2016 was a mixed year for
:00:46. > :00:52.the global economy, and for the markets as well. The Dow Jones is at
:00:53. > :00:57.record highs, approaching 20,000, and the US dollar is very strong.
:00:58. > :01:01.The British pound on the other hand took a beating after the country
:01:02. > :01:06.voted in a referendum to leave the EU. Now, in this region it was the
:01:07. > :01:12.Chinese markets that actually ended up underperforming in 2016, while
:01:13. > :01:18.Thailand's stock exchange was the standout, closing at around 20%
:01:19. > :01:22.higher despite economic uncertainty there. Now, most markets are
:01:23. > :01:28.reopening for the new year today. So what should we expect, and where
:01:29. > :01:34.should we put our money in 2017? Earlier I spoke to Mike McCarthy of
:01:35. > :01:37.CMC Markets in Sydney and asked whether we will see the US rally
:01:38. > :01:42.this year. Certainly in the short term that seems likely and ahead of
:01:43. > :01:45.the inauguration in January it looks like markets are likely take a
:01:46. > :01:48.positive trajectory. They have been very cautious although we saw some
:01:49. > :01:54.enthusiasm and buying toward the year end. Last day of trading was a
:01:55. > :01:57.bit of a visit for most markets and that restrained positioning gives us
:01:58. > :02:03.confidence that we will hold ground or go ahead in the short term.
:02:04. > :02:07.Longer term, potential for policy changes in the US are of concern, we
:02:08. > :02:12.are expecting extreme volatility this year. Do you think that
:02:13. > :02:17.volatility will extend it to this region as well? Rather unusually we
:02:18. > :02:22.saw markets like Thailand and Indonesia performing well. Will they
:02:23. > :02:25.continue to do so? It seems quite likely, in particular Indonesia
:02:26. > :02:28.where we have seen narrowing account deficits and improvements in
:02:29. > :02:33.interest-rate environment. It seems the settings are right for further
:02:34. > :02:37.gains for the sharemarket. There is less participation in the Thai
:02:38. > :02:40.market, but nonetheless coming from a very modest base after many years
:02:41. > :02:44.of political uncertainty, and there is once again potential for further
:02:45. > :02:48.gains. They might not be the regions again this year but there is no
:02:49. > :02:54.reason to think they will give up their gains -- might not lead the
:02:55. > :02:57.region again. And another market with strong international
:02:58. > :03:01.participation is the Chinese market, we saw them going gangbusters in
:03:02. > :03:06.25th team but that wasn't the case in 2016. It wasn't, and there was a
:03:07. > :03:09.bit of a diverges from the steadying we saw in the overall economy
:03:10. > :03:13.against what was a weak performance from the sharemarket but as many
:03:14. > :03:17.pundits will point out the economy is not the markets and the markets
:03:18. > :03:21.it are not the economy. Over the long-term we expect the two to move
:03:22. > :03:24.in rhythm. So we see some catch up on Chinese markets, as investors on
:03:25. > :03:27.the ground in China recognise that they have been underperforming, and
:03:28. > :03:32.that there might be a case for higher share prices in China itself.
:03:33. > :03:41.That is the view of the markets in the year ahead. What of global
:03:42. > :03:44.economic events? After all the surprises of 2016, Asia business
:03:45. > :03:49.correspondent has been trying to find out who might have the best
:03:50. > :03:53.predictions. It is that time of year when many Asians head to the temples
:03:54. > :03:56.to pray for good luck and figure out what is in store in the year ahead.
:03:57. > :04:01.Neither financial forecasters nor fortunetellers accurately predicted
:04:02. > :04:06.what happened in 2016, so if everyone is guessing, who is to say
:04:07. > :04:10.what is going to happen in 2017? Well, this area is filled with
:04:11. > :04:17.fortunetellers and numerology, and I am here to meet one of them. Master
:04:18. > :04:24.Alex. As well as an economist at a private bank, I will be talking to.
:04:25. > :04:27.The US and China, what kind of relationship will these countries
:04:28. > :04:31.have in 2017? It will be interesting to say the least, you are talking
:04:32. > :04:36.about the two largest economies in the world. You are talking about
:04:37. > :04:40.China, who is ascending in terms of looking to play a larger role in
:04:41. > :04:45.global politics, and global trade. So how it will play out really all
:04:46. > :04:49.depends on how Mr Trump is going to deal with some of his contentious
:04:50. > :04:55.campaign pledges, especially targeting towards China. As you
:04:56. > :04:59.know, next year is a fire Rooster. From the fire risk you will have a
:05:00. > :05:03.lot of problems that are going on. That means you will find that this
:05:04. > :05:08.will give a lot of problems, which means to say that there will still
:05:09. > :05:12.be hiccups between the US and China. So I think Trump has to put in a lot
:05:13. > :05:16.of effort to make it work. What about the biggest driver of growth,
:05:17. > :05:20.though? What are they going to be next year? Looks like maybe next
:05:21. > :05:24.year the driver will be the recovery in consumer demand, on the back of
:05:25. > :05:28.recovery and jobs. That could translate into investment recovery,
:05:29. > :05:38.perhaps with a later lag towards the end of the year. Five years is 1.0,
:05:39. > :05:42.1.3, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7. So next year is the last year of the five-year
:05:43. > :05:46.cycle. So on the first half you will see things still on a downside,
:05:47. > :05:51.before it picks up. What are the big surprise in 2017? The risk will be
:05:52. > :05:57.one we are mindful of, coming from popular push back against
:05:58. > :06:01.antiestablishment itself. The Rooster is never a good year, to be
:06:02. > :06:04.very frank with you. There are a lot of troubles between families,
:06:05. > :06:09.between companies, even between couples. Well, that doesn't bode
:06:10. > :06:13.particularly well for any of us. I think it is time for me to get my
:06:14. > :06:23.fortune taken for the many 17. Take it away, Master Alex. -- 2017. In
:06:24. > :06:27.other business news, for the first time in more than half a century,
:06:28. > :06:37.Sweden's is selling car of the year was not a model by the country's
:06:38. > :06:42.owned Volvo Rand, instead it was the VW golf. The last time this happened
:06:43. > :06:46.was years ago, when the Beetle was the top-selling car. The Swedish car
:06:47. > :06:53.manufacturer is owned by a Chinese automaker. China's 63,000,000-dollar
:06:54. > :06:57.football player Oscar arrived to cheering fans in Shanghai as he
:06:58. > :07:02.starts playing in the Chinese Super League. Chinese football clubs have
:07:03. > :07:07.been paying record fees to lure top talent to China. The former
:07:08. > :07:13.Manchester United player Carlos Teves recently signed with a rival
:07:14. > :07:17.club in a deal worth $86 million, making Carlos Teves the highest paid
:07:18. > :07:20.footballer in the world. In the Consumer Electronics Show, getting
:07:21. > :07:26.under way in Las Vegas later this week, we will be sure to see a whole
:07:27. > :07:30.number of new mobile devices, gaming consoles and lots of other gadgets
:07:31. > :07:34.being unveiled. It is an annual fixed for most major tech companies
:07:35. > :07:39.and it is now in its 50th year, would you believe -- annual fixture.
:07:40. > :08:03.It is a different show that it was when it all started back in 1967.
:08:04. > :08:09.Enriching the lives of Orion, education and entertainment at a
:08:10. > :08:14.very, very reasonable price -- enriching the lives of everyone. It
:08:15. > :08:21.is phenomenal. It is absolutely show.
:08:22. > :08:33.It is an event called the National Association of music merchants, the
:08:34. > :08:36.NAMM show, and we attended the consumer electronics portion, and
:08:37. > :08:38.the guy who hired me said that is really unacceptable, and he
:08:39. > :08:43.convinced the board of this non-profit trade association that
:08:44. > :08:50.they should launch the show, and they did in 1967 in New York, called
:08:51. > :08:54.the Consumer Electronics Show. It was successful, at its launch it had
:08:55. > :08:59.70,000 people and 100,000 square feet and it generated a lot of news.
:09:00. > :09:01.There were only really three main products, TVs, radios and
:09:02. > :09:23.photographs. -- phonographs. I do believe that the human touch,
:09:24. > :09:27.the live experience of being with a real person, is something that will
:09:28. > :09:32.not be replaced in 50 years. And as long as we will take honeymoons with
:09:33. > :09:36.our loved ones, live, there will be opportunities for business events
:09:37. > :09:39.like CES where you actually physically are with other people and
:09:40. > :09:53.get to know them on a personal basis. And you can catch more of our
:09:54. > :09:57.CES coverage online. A very quick look at the markets now. Amongst
:09:58. > :10:01.those that have opened here in Asia we can see that the All Ordinaries
:10:02. > :10:05.over in Australia, that has been doing pretty well. It is pretty much
:10:06. > :10:09.taking its cues from European markets, which mostly rose on Monday
:10:10. > :10:13.after stronger GDP data from the likes of Italy. Speaking of GDP
:10:14. > :10:17.data, I should tell you a little bit about Singapore because it has come
:10:18. > :10:24.out with its annualised GDP at 3.7% forecast, while GDP on the quarter
:10:25. > :10:28.rose 91% so that may give the markets here a little bit of
:10:29. > :10:29.positivity. That is it for this edition of Asia Business Report.
:10:30. > :10:35.Thank you for watching. The top stories this hour: Turkish
:10:36. > :10:38.police say this is the suspect they are hunting over the deadly
:10:39. > :10:41.Istanbul nightclub attack. So-called Islamic State says
:10:42. > :10:46.he is one of its followers.