:00:00. > :00:19.No early Christmas present on Wall Street as the Dow's rally
:00:20. > :00:27.Plus, an expensive day in court - a Brazilian firm agrees to pay
:00:28. > :00:29.around $3 billion to settle corruption charges, the biggest
:00:30. > :00:42.we look at the man who will head a newly formed White House National
:00:43. > :00:49.Trade Council and what that means for China.
:00:50. > :00:55.But first, we start on Wall Street, where it
:00:56. > :00:59.seems this chap has made an appearance.
:01:00. > :01:02.temporarily at least, stolen Christmas.
:01:03. > :01:06.a 'Santa Rally,' and after a week of record closes investors
:01:07. > :01:08.were expecting to celebrate the Dow Jones Industrial Average
:01:09. > :01:11.hitting 20,000 points for the first time on Wednesday.
:01:12. > :01:13.Instead they got this - the Dow closed down 32
:01:14. > :01:23.It got within 15 points of 20,000 before falling back.
:01:24. > :01:26.Market watchers say investors have been cashing in their profits
:01:27. > :01:28.after what has been the biggest post-election rally in more
:01:29. > :01:31.And the price of oil has rebounded massively -
:01:32. > :01:44.gains for Brent Crude this year are close to 50%.
:01:45. > :01:51.The US dollar has also been soaring against major currencies. It is that
:01:52. > :01:55.a 14 year high against the British pound. It is up over 16%.
:01:56. > :01:58.Some experts are warning though that the US stock market
:01:59. > :02:02.in particular is getting ahead of itself
:02:03. > :02:04.Valuations are looking stretched and stretched with each passing day.
:02:05. > :02:09.We've been thinking for some months that valuations in the US
:02:10. > :02:12.are unattractive, and the rally we've seen since election day
:02:13. > :02:16.So, it's not a negative call, it's not necessarily a bear-ish,
:02:17. > :02:19.look-out-below call, but we think there is going to be
:02:20. > :02:23.tougher yards in 2017 than many people might suspect.
:02:24. > :02:29.Staying in New York, where a Brazilian firm has been hit
:02:30. > :02:36.Job ace Williams is managing director of Milton Asset Management.
:02:37. > :02:41.-- Job ace. So, they didn't get the gift of the 20,000 celebration
:02:42. > :02:45.yesterday on the Dow Jones. Will it come soon? I think there is put your
:02:46. > :02:49.momentum in the markets but we have seen the bond markets beginning to
:02:50. > :02:52.back up, the yields are rising and investors are looking for other
:02:53. > :02:55.assets which might be rising. It is quite an expensive market now
:02:56. > :02:58.because you have the strong dollar, in common nation with the strong
:02:59. > :03:01.market. The combination of those rises together means the rise has
:03:02. > :03:05.been quite significant already. You are quite concerned about the ahead,
:03:06. > :03:08.something you have been focusing on. Give us your take on the sort of
:03:09. > :03:12.rally we have been experiencing, and what might burst the bubble. The
:03:13. > :03:16.whole point is that this is actually about hope, and when we get to the
:03:17. > :03:19.arrival of trumpets may be that reality is more difficult. In
:03:20. > :03:23.particular, evaluations are very high and some companies may be
:03:24. > :03:26.caught out, losing out due to the strong dollar and due to the fact
:03:27. > :03:30.that the overseas companies are actually competing pretty hard at
:03:31. > :03:35.the moment. It is quite interesting, one we look at what the top has been
:03:36. > :03:38.up to, the people he has appointed and the people behind him. Peter
:03:39. > :03:42.Navarro was the latest added to the list. Give us your take on those he
:03:43. > :03:46.is choosing to work with, and the impact that might have? A bit
:03:47. > :03:50.unknown. They look quite combative, and we do not know how that will go.
:03:51. > :03:54.There may be more trade restrictions going forward, which might undermine
:03:55. > :03:57.the valuation of the markets. In terms of what that means for the
:03:58. > :04:01.United States in China, it is quite interesting. Because of course he
:04:02. > :04:04.has had lots of things about naming them as a currency manipulator on
:04:05. > :04:09.day one, unravelling the transpacific partnership, and yet
:04:10. > :04:15.China eight has so far been quite quiet, and is listening. Yes, the
:04:16. > :04:19.Chinese economy has taken world trade from about 4% of world trade
:04:20. > :04:23.to about 12% of world trade over the last 15- 20 years. That has had a
:04:24. > :04:27.big effect on jobs. Jobs going forward will be a big issue for the
:04:28. > :04:30.Donald Trump. What we are seeing is that the Chinese currency is
:04:31. > :04:33.weakening at the moment. The economy is overheating, we're already
:04:34. > :04:39.inflation building up in China. That may be a big issue next year. Sir as
:04:40. > :04:43.we run into the New Year, there are few trading days in between
:04:44. > :04:46.Christmas and New Year. It has historically been called a Santa
:04:47. > :04:50.rally, where we see equity markets going up during that time. But it is
:04:51. > :04:54.quite dangerous, isn't it? It is thin trade, volumes are light, and
:04:55. > :04:57.there could be serious moves on the markets. It is quite interesting,
:04:58. > :05:01.when you look back on the past, the peaking of markets, perhaps in 1990
:05:02. > :05:05.when Japan peaked, it was actually the last day of the year. So you
:05:06. > :05:09.often see this peak towards the end of the year, and the new you can
:05:10. > :05:13.start on a flat in more difficult load. Thank you for your time today.
:05:14. > :05:17.Of course, we will be watching the US today is welcome if they do hit
:05:18. > :05:18.20,000, it could happen later, we will fill you in.
:05:19. > :05:21.Staying in New York, where a Brazilian firm has been hit
:05:22. > :05:23.by the biggest bribery fine in history.
:05:24. > :05:25.Odebrecht, which is the largest engineering firm in Latin America,
:05:26. > :05:27.and its affiliate Braskem, were before a court
:05:28. > :05:32.These are their lawyers, who agreed to pay more than $3
:05:33. > :05:33.billion to settle charges under the US
:05:34. > :05:37.They have admitted paying out hundreds of millions of dollars
:05:38. > :05:40.to Brazilian state oil firm Petrobras and others to secure
:05:41. > :05:49.From New York, here's Samira Hussain.
:05:50. > :05:56.In a New York court on Wednesday, Odebrecht agreed to pay at least
:05:57. > :06:01.$2.6 billion to US, Swiss and Brazilian authorities, making this
:06:02. > :06:06.the largest foreign bribery case in history. But this is a Brazilian
:06:07. > :06:10.company, so why is this case happening here in the United States?
:06:11. > :06:14.Well, it is because the company was found guilty of violating the US
:06:15. > :06:18.foreign corrupt practices act. American laws are so vast and wide
:06:19. > :06:22.sweeping that as soon as a company has any dealings that tie it to the
:06:23. > :06:28.United States, they are subject to these rules. The trouble. Brazilian
:06:29. > :06:33.firms may not end here. The sources that I have here in Brazil, who were
:06:34. > :06:36.directly involved in the negotiations for this, this leniency
:06:37. > :06:42.for this plea deal that we saw play out today, they have told me that
:06:43. > :06:49.literally up to 100 new investigations could come from this,
:06:50. > :06:55.still. The reason for that is because Odebrecht agreeing to pay
:06:56. > :07:01.this enormous fine, a historic fine, the flipside of that is that of
:07:02. > :07:06.their executives have turned state witness and they are now giving
:07:07. > :07:11.testimony to Brazilian prosecutors about, well, it is anybody's yes as
:07:12. > :07:15.to what other crimes they have committed. It is expected that up to
:07:16. > :07:20.200 Brazilian politicians could be duplicated in the case. Earlier in
:07:21. > :07:23.the year, the Odebrecht chief executive was jailed in Brazil for
:07:24. > :07:28.paying bribes to executives at Brazil's state-run oil firm,
:07:29. > :07:31.Petrobras, which has been under investigation for corruption and
:07:32. > :07:35.bribery that has entangled Brazil's Vidigal officials.
:07:36. > :07:38.Staying in the US, and as you have been hearing,
:07:39. > :07:41.US President-elect Donald Trump has named this man,
:07:42. > :07:43.Peter Navarro, to head a newly formed White House National Trade
:07:44. > :07:46.He's an academic and former investment adviser.
:07:47. > :07:49.He's also the author of a book called Death by China,
:07:50. > :07:52.about what he sees as the Chinese threat to the US economy.
:07:53. > :08:01.So how is this going to go down in Asia?
:08:02. > :08:10.Let's go to Rico Hizon, in our Asia business hub. Nice to see you. Just
:08:11. > :08:16.tell us your thoughts on this Peter Navarro appointment, and how that
:08:17. > :08:20.will be received in Asia? Well, Navarro's appointment may not go
:08:21. > :08:28.down positively in the region in 2017, Sally. Mr Trump made trade ace
:08:29. > :08:31.-- made trade centrepiece of his positional campaign and railed
:08:32. > :08:35.against what he called bad deals the US had made with other countries,
:08:36. > :08:40.particularly, he threatens to hit Mexico and China with high tariffs
:08:41. > :08:43.once he takes office on January 20. He could also, potentially, brand
:08:44. > :08:53.the mainland as a currency manipulator. If Navarro years, as a
:08:54. > :08:56.-- if Navarro is as advertised, this could send a serious signal that the
:08:57. > :09:04.trumpet administration means business and will engage Beijing on
:09:05. > :09:07.trade and politics. Navarro has described what it calls America's
:09:08. > :09:12.losing economic war with the mainland, and has also brought
:09:13. > :09:17.attention to concerns over in by mental issues with China's imports
:09:18. > :09:20.and intellectual policies. Navarro would develop policies which would
:09:21. > :09:23.shrink the trade deficit and help stop the exodus of jobs from US
:09:24. > :09:25.shores full top thank you, Rico Hizon.
:09:26. > :09:28.Billionaire investor Carl Icahn will serve as a special adviser
:09:29. > :09:30.to president-elect Donald Trump, focusing on regulatory reform.
:09:31. > :09:32.Mr Icahn has criticized what he called "excessive
:09:33. > :09:36.He is a major shareholder in companies including insurer
:09:37. > :09:47.American International Group and oil refiner CVR Energy.
:09:48. > :09:50.Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is back on the US's "notorious
:09:51. > :09:51.markets" list over counterfeit goods sales.
:09:52. > :09:54.Alibaba was taken off the list four years ago,
:09:55. > :09:57.but US authorities say the firm's online platform Taobao is used
:09:58. > :10:01.The company has rejected the allegations, insisting it
:10:02. > :10:11.polices its market place better than in the past.
:10:12. > :10:17.While we are talking markets, here is how things are going in Asia.
:10:18. > :10:23.Interesting trade as we head towards the end of the year. Japan is down
:10:24. > :10:26.by 0.5%. In the United States, and reminder of how the Dow ended.
:10:27. > :10:30.Whether we are going to hit that 20,000 today, we will see later.
:10:31. > :10:32.That is all from me for now. See you later.