05/01/2018 Asia Business Report

Now on BBC News, all the latest

business news live from Singapore.

Surging new peaks. The Dow hits

25000 and other nations follow its

lead, how long will it last?

Shakespeare wrote to be or not to be

over 400 years ago but those words

are still good advice for today's

corporate leaders. Hello everyone.

Good morning HR. Great to have you

with us. -- Asia. We kick off the

programme with the markets and it is

an other record run on Wall Street.

The Dow soaring past 25,000 for the

first time overnight and the other

major industries also scaling new,

with the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 at

lifetime highs. Propelled by strong

economic reports wrote in the United

States and overseas. In Asia, we saw

the Tokyo stocks begin trading on

Thursday with the Nikkei trading at

a 26 year high. It is one hour into

the new trading day and it is up

0.6%, more than 100 points. We are

at new 26 year high. Share prices in

Hong Kong jumping for a third

straight day as well. Are we in the

middle or the end of a bull run on?

Joshua Crabb says it depends where

you are looking.

I think obviously

the US has a pretty fully valued

here but we still think we are still

probably about halfway the Asia run.

What are the risks you see going

forward for these market to pull

back?

If we look at the Asian

market, we are sitting at about 1.7

price to book versus our range of

1.3 over the last 20 years or so. We

have seen a start of a turn in the

earnings cycle and that is a key

thing to monitor. As long as

earnings come through and the

economy can be strong, with reason

why Asian market don't continue to

close that valuation gap with the

US. One of the other risks is if the

US market falls it will be difficult

for Asian markets to do well but if

you look at the backdrop we have in

the US, the market is fully valued

and you shouldn't see a rerating

from here. Between potential for tax

cuts, the weak dollar, that will be

a tailwind for US earnings.

Obviously more of the earnings

coming from offshore and eight

positive delta occurring in those

offshore markets, it should mean

that that market stays fairly well

aired and in that environment we

think Asian markets will continue to

do well.

Will this be the year when

America finally gets a pay raise?

Although the economy is enjoying one

of its longest ever periods of

growth, wages have barely gone up in

the past decades, economists are

closely watching the jobs report

released later today. Evidence that

at last America's recovery showing

up in pay packets. Eight states out

of the 50 have started the year with

a rise in minimum ways. -- and wage.

-- minimum wage. Bullish on Herbert

has three kids, two of which will

live with her in a shelter. As a

fast food worker in New York, she

just got a pay raise. She is

planning to move out of the shelter

by February.

The extra money will go

towards more rent or more food,

whatever I need to pay for my kids.

Maybe a couple of new outfits for my

kid, it is that for them.

Americans

have been praying and fighting for a

raised since the end of the GST. The

Federal minimum wage hasn't gone up

since 2009, so US states are taking

the lead. The unemployment rate is

record lows but wages are not going

up. A conundrum even America's chief

Central banker has been struggling

to explain.

Generally, in a strong

labour market many firms are having

difficulty finding qualified

workers. We would expect just

through normal demand and supply,

channels to see some upward pressure

on wage growth over time. As the

labour market is tightened, we have

seen some very gradual drift upward

in wage gains.

A tight labour market

should mean that employers have to

pay more to get the best work of.

But that has not been the case and

many economists are try to figure

out why. Met one reason could be

that workers have less bargaining

power, they are not as mobile, and

increased use of technology and the

decline of labour unions. Pot for

workers who do get an increase, it

is like changing.

It is a lot to me

because I remember when we were

getting paid $7 50. $13 50 is a real

jump nowadays to have that type of

money to be up there with an average

person to try and take care of your

family and do what you need to do

for your kids.

Talks are meant to

get off in Washington, DC between

the United and Korea to renegotiate

the biological, bilateral free-trade

agreement. There will be discussions

at out a trade imbalance which leans

in South Korea's favour, with more I

enjoying with my colleague fresh

from the airport. So Sharon, it is

also called chorus, is there a

harmony between both sides?

It is

hardly harmonious. You would ink

most talks between the US and Korea

would be about the north, but

believe it or not barely the first

week of the new year is out and

these officials are getting down to

business, talking in Washington, DC

today to renegotiate this free-trade

agreement that was signed between

the US and South Korea and it came

into being during the previous

Administration of President Obama.

Resident Trump has said that he has

never been a fan, they want to

renegotiate this and say that

essentially since this FTA came into

effect in March 2013 the US deficit

with South Korea has doubled and in

fact, president Trump speaking last

year in June during the US South

Korea Summit called it a rough deal.

He said he would push for South

Korea to open up the slack

automobile market and if we take a

look at this graphic sequence and

crunch the numbers. From 2016 $144

billion of goods and services were

traded between the two and the US

deficit with South Korea stood at

about $47 billion. That is 2016,

presumably the numbers have grown

now. All of this is crucial because

South Korea is the sixth largest

trading partner with the US and the

South Koreans have not been happy

about this. They have been saying

they didn't want to renegotiate and

that potentially this could scupper

talks about North Korea, which is

crucial about their nuclear

missiles.

Fingers crossed that when

all this is said and done there will

be an agreement between the two

countries. Thank you so much my

colleague, Sharon. In other news,

China is making it easier to get

work permits for foreign

professionals and high school

workers in a way to bridge the

talent gap. Ten year free geysers --

ten year free visas are being

offered to sign this, maybe a Nobel

prize winner or two. Spouses and

minor children is the applicants

would also gain the same Visa. They

can get confirmations of

qualifications in five working days.

We know him by many names, William

and to some the greatest ever

English writer. But can we add

management guru to his title? A top

recruitment firm is using

Shakespeare's plays to teach top

executives key leadership lessons,

including Julius Caesar, Richard III

and Henry V. I asked what are the

three key leadership lessons

business leaders can learn from

Shakespeare?

To be effective culture

change people they need to be

purposeful leaders, they have got a

purpose and know what they are

doing. They also need to be aware of

personal change and able to adjust

their behaviour is and change. And

you have got to get engagement, all

of the team around you and you have

got to be inclusive and you got to

build a team and lastly, you have

got to develop a legacy. You have

got to be able to pass the culture

onto the next generation. There was

another play we did, Julius Caesar.

Some other learnings, Julius Caesar

had his conspirators and what we try

to show that as a board of directors

if you have your own agendas than

you are going to fail. The season

thing became a dysfunctional board

and the need for a chairman to bring

them together.

You mentioned Julius

Caesar, Henry V, Richard III, so

many place from William Shakespeare,

38 in total. From all of these

plays, who was the worst leader and

the best leader?

Shakespeare never

really made any judgements, he put

on the table all of the issues he

wanted to say about leaders but left

the audience to make that decision.

Some of his best those plays are

tragedies, Macbeth, King Lear and

fellow. What can a tragedy like the

best teach us about leadership? --

like Mac.

Lady Macbeth shows us the

power of influence, she comes from a

sad background, lost a child and so

she is highly strung and try to do

this.

Perhaps don't listen to your

wife then?

That is one conclusion

but that doesn't do things wisely

either because he was in the witches

and so I think the lessons we get

from that is yes, influence people

but do it with a calm mind. On the

other side, you must take personal

responsibility for your actions.

That was David Humphreys. Thank you

so much for investing your time with

us. Sports Day is up next.