Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia Edition

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Europe’s fate is intertwined with the US while faulting the continent for what he said was a drift away from their shared Western values.
The double-edged message offered some reassurance to allied leaders gathered at the Munich Security Conference but did little to temper their push for more independence from Washington.
“We want Europe to prosper because we’re interconnected in so many different ways, and because our alliance is so critical,” Rubio told Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait on the sidelines of the conference on Saturday. “But it has to be an alliance of allies that are capable and willing to fight for who they are and what’s important.”
“What is it that binds us together? Ultimately, it’s the fact that we are both heirs to the same civilization, and it’s a great civilization,” he said. “It’s one we should be proud of.”
Rubio’s comments elaborated on a speech he delivered to the event, Europe’s premier annual security gathering, earlier Saturday morning. The speech was the most anticipated of the three-day conference, with fellow leaders eager to hear if he would double down on the contemptuous tone voiced a year earlier by Vice President JD Vance at the same venue.
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Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Host Nathan Hager take a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week.
In the US – a look ahead to what to expect from homebuilders in the months ahead along with a focus on 3 stocks for the week ahead.
In the UK – a look ahead to UK jobs data.
In Asia – a look ahead to the Lunar New Year Holiday in China.
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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.
Asian equities retreated from a record after concerns over the impact of artificial intelligence on various sectors spurred a selloff in US technology stocks. Gold rebounded. For more on what is moving the markets, we turn to Winnie Hsu, Bloomberg's Asia Equities Reporter.
The US and Taiwan finalized a trade agreement to cut tariffs, boost market access for American products in Asia and channel billions of dollars into US energy and technology projects.
Plus - for more broader market perspective on AI concerns, we heard from Julia Wang, Nomura International Wealth Management North Asia CIO. She spoke to Bloomberg's Shery Ahn and Avril Hong on the Asia Trade.
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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.
US payrolls rose in January by the most in more than a year and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell, suggesting the labor market continued to stabilize at the start of 2026. Employers added 130,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate declined to 4.3%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The January data reinforces Federal Reserve officials' inclination to keep interest rates on hold for now, with many traders pushing out their timeline for the next rate cut to July from June. To break down the latest jobs report, we turn to Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist for LPL Financial.
Plus - Japanese stocks gained when trading reopened after a public holiday. For more on the markets, we speak to Charu Chanana, Chief Investment Strategist at Saxo Bank.
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Asian stocks gained in the run-up to the US jobs data after weak retail sales reinforced bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this year. Treasury futures held their gains Wednesday after 10-year bond yields dropped to the lowest in about a month in the US session. There will be no cash trading in Treasuries during the Asian day as Japan is closed for a holiday. Gold, which typically benefits when rates are cut, rose 0.5% as money markets see slightly higher odds of three Fed cuts this year — with two already fully priced in. For more, we speak to David Finnerty, Bloomberg FX and Rates Strategist in Singapore.
Plus - in China, the consumer-price index rose just 0.2% in January from a year earlier — a slowdown caused largely by base effects — after a 0.8% rise in December. Core CPI, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy, climbed 0.8%, its lowest level in six months. We got reaction to the latest reading from Robin Xing, Chief China Economist at Morgan Stanley. He spoke to Bloomberg's David Ingles and Minmin Low.
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