>> 90 people die as bombers strike at the heart of the tourist and shopping district. goldman sachs sees weakness fighting the deepening slowdown and rising volatility. pressure on commodities. oil closes at its lowest in more than 60 years. welcome to first up. coming to you live right here in

hong kong and streaming on your mobile. a bomb in bangkok central shopping district has killed at least 19 people and injured more than 100. the blast is the deadliest attack in the capital in recent memory and the defense minister says it was intended to hurt tourism and damaged the economy. let's go live to our southeast asia correspondent. what more do we know about this? off in the went heart of bangkok in the area where you will find luxury malls and a very popular location for tourists. for those familiar, it is the intersection come a key site for political protests in recent years. protesters filled the intersection and that eventually led to a military crackdown. it is a significant spot. the explosion happened at rush

hour, meaning it was intended for maximum impact. at least 19 dead. about 120 being treated, including foreigners/ . body parts were scattered on the roadways on sidewalks and and office towers several blocks away were rattled. it was an improvised explosive device. ?hat is the government say >> they said investigations are ongoing. the government says it is too early to conclude who was responsible but is urging panic.s to not but they say the explosion was to create unrest. the prime minister says he will monitor situation.

security officials are taking every possible step to secure the area. some political observers say the bombing may lead to more repressive measures by the military government and may prompt further protests. however you look at it, thailand's largest economy is set to get hurt even more and financial institutions will operate as normal today but more than 400 doors and the capital will be close. angie: thank you. let's try to assess the security situation in bangkok. joining us on the line, rojen. thank you so much for joining us. who is responsible? government hast,

not been able to identify the perpetrator. -- there areently currently three organizations the government is looking at. insurgents,thern second, the different political third, thatbangkok, it is an act of international terrorism perpetrated by groups that have been operating overseas. at this point, government has not been able to zero in and say this attack was conducted by a domestic or international terrorist group. angie: let's dig a little deeper on the domestic terrorism front. august 7, there was a similar attack in southern parts of thailand. explain to me little bit about the insurgency that is happening

down there and whether the possibility of migrating into bangkok is a likelihood. an: and the south of thailand, the most violent insurgency in southeast asia is currently raising. -- videography focus geography focus of those attacks have been in the south and not in bangkok. certainly, there have been threats to attack in the capitol, but the seven groups have not shifted their focus as yet. that is why there is some suspicion that maybe it is the groups from the south. but certainly in terms of casualties, this particular attack produced a very significant injury.

is someult, there divergence that this may not be by the seven groups. -- southernn group groups. angie: is this a political or religious group? hindu shrine is very popular. the economic and political angle is that this is in the heart of bangkok's luxury and shopping district. rohan: you are correct. the device exploded in the temple, meaning that the perpetrator specifically targeted the heart of the tourist district but a hindu temple. that is why the government is a very keen to look at whether

there is a dimension to create religious conflict by targeting a shrine of this nature. thank you so much for joining us on the security situation that is ongoing. the investigation continues as the government and officials try to assess exactly who is responsible. you can get more on that story and all of the days top stories at our does not destination, bloomberg business bringing together the best of bloomberg news. on bloomberg.com, jeff bezos contest reports of corporate callousness and a memo to staff, encouraging them to report incidents to hr.

305 documents identified for review by screeners going through hillary clinton of e-mail messages. that is bloomberg.com. check it out. and we are checking in on markets in asia for you. new zealand climbing. check out that new zealand dollars spot at 65 u.s. cents, making do very cheap for a lot of foreign investors and that is putting a pressure on the property market. we are getting done to the opens in australia, and japan. in japan, futures in chicago pointing to a higher open. the dollar yen remains at this level. the pressure is on chinese stocks. here in hong kong, they fell to an eight-month low on monday. investors are worried and about wider economic slowdown.

juliet: yesterday we saw a bit of an exodus coming through these shares. point down byne 1.7%. we saw financial and insurance leave those losses. there estimates the followed from the blast could cost about $1.6 billion. they felt coming through from a lot of the financials as well. we see this exodus. ap see coming through with note saying about $8.8 million had flowed out of the hong kong

and china fund. we do see foreign investors exit out of these shares and that is what we saw this coming through on the index yesterday. angie: important to make the distinction. these are global investors we're talking about. mainland chinese chairs did not see the selloff. juliet: that was mainly led by good games coming through an airline stocks. we saw the chinese industrial production of of estimates. shanghai up by about 7.1%. gains coming through china eastern airlines. another thing helping out, the sentiment, the fact the security regulators said one of the major funds that has been intervening in the chinese chair market is going to pull back the scale. calm comingmore

through for mainland. angie: good news for mainland investors. theysts say this is part of desire for what they call impossible trinity. a coin termed by robert mundell. he is saying and economy can not have a fixed exchange rate and free borders at the same time. china has weakened their interference. setting that more free flow rate. what they're saying is you cannot have it all three ways. goldman sachs coming through yesterday, saying there is some risk in the direction of the weakness. defying the laws of

physics here. thank you so much. checking other headlines for you. cut itss biggest port 2015 target and is embracing for a 7% drop in container volume as a trade with china sell. reporters see a double-digit decline in chinese traffic. india has agreed to set up a $75 million fund to invest in infrastructure. it will support india's expansion of railways, ports, and industrial corridors. trade by 60% in the next five years. they are home to more than 2 million expatriate indian workers.

devicesurer of medical have been warned. manufacturers have not ensure the devices can be cleaned adequately. their scopes are being used in hundreds of thousands of medical procedures each year and there are complaints they are responsible for spreading deadly bacteria, which resulted in outbreaks of superbugs. coming up next, the great debate. our next guest still sees the hike in september and doesn't expect it to stop once it takes off. in two.back ♪

angie: welcome back to "first up ." let's take a look at u.s. markets. sue is here with the latest from new york.

sue: homebuilders leading the advance. lighter volume. started just say no one wants to get in front of the -- there was clarity on what is going on. minutes from the latest meeting, which should give us a clue on whether september is indeed when the fed will pull the trigger. the latest figures show a 46% chance of a september rate hike. meanwhile, we had some economic data that pushed off quite considerably earlier in the session. the manufacturing data tumbled. this is the fed reserve bank of new york reporting. to -14.9 come the lowest level since 2009. 2009.e lowest level since

this can mean contraction. in terms of size and scope, the manufacturer said they're not that big a facture. oils also getting a lot of attention. was --nd lawyer lower was the story. take a listen to this. >> oil prices are below $50 a barrel. we think that is going to $30 a barrel. earnings per share if you were in the u.s. is stuck at $125. will be perhaps 3%, if that. ma among those using their own money to buy back alibaba shares as the company prepares to repurchase more than 4 billion and's dock -- billion

in stock. back to you. angie: interesting. thank you so much. a closer look at the markets with eric, chief investment strategist at russell investments and he joins us from seattle. you know who was driving the bus, the fed. what are we waiting for? >> you're waiting for them to actually do something rather than hint. we believe they are moving in september. they have spent a great deal of communication and political capital getting the market condition for september. the data we see in the last few weeks is supportive of a liftoff. retail sales numbers are strong, you see homebuilder numbers today strong.

you see the economy rick celebrate and it looks like we're getting -- the company eaccelerateate -- r and we think that will cause the fed to move in september. angie: do you think china's fears of exporting deflation to the u.s. is noise that has quieted down now because a lot of people thought perhaps this might force the fed to delay until september -- december. >> generally, we think it is noise. what they're to trying to do. i think there is some believe they're trying to qualify for the imf-fdr. is they'vethe issue had their currency as the strongest currency in the world over the last year.

that has made their goods and services more expensive relative to japanese and european many fractures. this gives them some relief and allows them to do some type of stimulus for their economy. we do not think this is the start of a currency war, which is what i think what do the uncertainty last week. angie: if you are going to bet on a liftoff in september, what should you be buying now? u.s.e overweight in the are financial service, typically banks do relatively well in rate increasing marketplaces. it is usually driven by strong, fundamental economic growth. more americans are employed stop they are buying more cars and at a very high rate. in a study today on homebuilders, they are expected to buy more houses. both of those things require

financing. we also like consumer discretionary stocks. consumer spending will be good. a head to that is health care, which we continue to believe will be a resilient sector of the economy. angie: things are usually quite in the summer. what do you do now in advance of what has always historically and traditionally been a very scary october month? it has been in general terms -- last october certainly qualified for that. the first 15 days were very negative. think at this point, toy moved up the risk september. if the fed moves in september, before they move, the market starts discounting uncertainty six weeks before hand. wereld expect that if we

to get the economic numbers we expect out of the u.s. economy, you will not a negative october. the economy is strong. angie: i will hold you to that. thank you so much for joining us from seattle. checking some of the stories making headlines around the world, germany has accepted debt relief from greece but ruled out a haircut. relief aas made debt condition for joining the latest bailouts and current conditions are unsustainable. indonesia has released pictures of the site of the crashed airplane. another pilot spotted the debris on the mountain and recovery teams are on their way. the search was suspended last night amid worsening weather in the area. the flight lot contact with the ground sunday. the president of sri lanka says yesterday's election was the

most peaceful in the country's history. the vote could see the former president making a dramatic return to political life although analysts say his prospects are slim. the head of the central bank entry longer says he will resign if he does succeed. coming up next, a multibillion dollar deal. we are live in sydney for more on the latest australian transport company to follow this takeover trend. you are watching "first up." ♪

angie: ken does brookfield's buying bill and port operator -- canada's -- and almost $9 billion deal. what are the details? this is the largest infrastructure deal in australian history. 8.9 billion australian dollars. ofgives us an implied value $9.15 per share. that is a pretty healthy premium. they will be paying a special dividend of $.90. canada's largest asset manager

for this is their largest higher deal. couldbe seeing a few more. some importante issues to clearing out. it is not rubberstamped just yet. angie: thank you. commodity trader has had a difficult 2013 and has

kong. it is 7:30 in hong a beautiful look at the skyline across the victoria harbors. sun shootsg as the is a brilliant rays across hong kong today. it is going to be a hot one and tooe in the markets argument. away from the opens in japan , australia, and south korea. you are watching "first up."

the top stories this hour -- 19 people have been killed in an explosion in the center of then bangkok.b the cult ministry says chinese and filipino tourists -- chinese ministry says filipino tourists are among the dead. stock markets weakened on monday. goldman sachs has lowered its short and long-term forecast because of the deepening economic slowdown in china. it also expects the weaker currency to the pressure on other emerging-market currencies. commodity prices are slumping again and boosting demand for treasury.

a 13 year low as asset prices fell across the board. oil closed at its lowest level in more than six years in new york. let's check in on markets in asia. two new zealand, we have seen some fractional gains. at the start of the session for new zealand, that remains the case. we're counting down to the opens in australia, japan, and korea. we have teachers in chicago gain.ng to a 40 point we have a weaker yen. singapore listed commodity trader noble group has been on

the defensive for months from a combination of negative research reports and attacks by activists. now they can tell their side of the story. let's get to singapore now. we have this as an exclusive. double has been fighting fires since february when research questioned their accounting policies. stocks were slammed, down 60%. we have the ceo of the company. good to have you with us. you met up with investors yesterday afternoon. stocks continue to slump down 7% on a day when the benchmark was down only 1.5%. >> good morning.

good to be here. i got dozens of feedback from shareholders at the event and afterwards an e-mail where they very much appreciate the five hour session we had yesterday. i do think we address all of the misconceptions. i think this is the first time a company had an event like this, an event open to anybody. it was open to the press, anybody that wanted to attend. and every question was answered. >> but it was something you have to do. investors were losing confidence. the stocks continued. >> if you look at it, we showed in a presentation, you look at our stock performance in the last 18 months and you compare it to other players in the commodity states, it is consistent with the performance of other players. bear marketeen the

and commodities in the last five years and that has had an impact. between the event we did the review andepeate the presentation we put on the goes through every aspect of our business. any balance professional would say we have addressed all of the misconceptions. >> it is not just your investors. take a look at the agencies. they have cut your outlook to negative. surely, that is sending you a message. they're not buying into this. they are concerned about your credit worthiness. ,f you read their announcements movies and s&p affirmed our investment grade rating. put a negative outlook primarily because of the commodity environment. we have been in the situation before and come back. we're the only one of our major competitors that actually is

investment-grade. many of our competitors are private firms. so we are the exception. we have always said that we are committed to that investment grade and we will do what is required to maintain that. >> you always have maintained your unique. you are about the only company with a credit rating. does it make sense to do that when there is so much transparency needed and given the situation you are in right now, do you want to remain? doesn't make sense to go private? >> there is a debate constantly had. the answer to these he question is it is much easier to manage a private company than it is to manage a public company. but i would say being a public company has served the firm well. when you look at our corporate maturity, governance, risk

management, our corporate sustainability, that is all helped by being a public company. morelic company has many stakeholders that are constantly challenging you, and independent analystsnd investors, that are constantly challenging you to become a better firm. even the environment we have gone through over the last six months, at the end, we will be a better firm for it. to your question about the share price, while our performance is in line with other players, i don't think we have lost credit or done a good enough job of explaining to the market that over the last 3-4 years, everything we have done has been about positioning the company for this environment. about thehink transaction we did, that was more than $800 million.

another released $3.3 billion of cash. if you look at our balance sheet, it is strong and very different than it was three or four years ago. 50% of our streets were exposed. now it is 11%. >> despite everything you have done, investors are still selling the stock. he bought back shares and your stock slumped. you cannot with a pwc report and they slumped. and you're talking about getting strategic investors and they are still slumped. what more can you do? >> are investors are not selling our stock. if you look at our core investors, the top 15 investors, they are pretty much the same investors we had six months ago. six months ago, they own 68% of the company. today, they own 73%. the stock has slumped not

because our core investors are selling but because we had a short seller pack. our core investors, stakeholders like our banks and shareholders and customers, they are the ones who know the firm the best. they are the ones who interact with the firm every day, have the most access and they are the ones who continue to support. >> what if your credit rating does get cut? can you continue to operate? >> that is not something even on the cards. have put a moody's negative outlook, which means they will review the company over the next six months. >> if it is, can you continue to operate? >> every single one of our is nottors investment-grade rated. they're not rated at all. you suggest we cannot survive in an industry by not being rated doesn't make sense and is counterfactual.

we are an exception. management is committed to the investment-grade and we do what is required. but it is not required for business as proven by the fact everyone of our competitors is not rated. it is not surprising that there are strategic investors that know the firm well, the management team well, no a franchise we have built, the value of the business, and are looking at the stock and think it is cheap. the fact we have many options at artist basel is testament to the management team, the board. the fact we have repositioned the business to take advantage of this environment. 42%w years back, china was of our volumes. today, 30%. the u.s. was 12%.

today, 30%. the u.s. is bigger than china. we have diversified to more consumer like economies -- commodities. between our oil, power, and gas they are 60%. traditional businesses are much smaller portions. we have positioned a balance sheet to take advantage of the current environment. the relationship we have with x2, harbor energy, those are partnerships that will take advantage of this difficult market. groups.f noble the shares have slumped 60%. angie: time for a look at some of the corporate stores on the bloomberg terminal. we are watching j

electric vehicles on the hong kong open after shares jumped 25%. yet taken a minority stake in the company, by most of the 800 million shares. the stock has more than doubled this year with growth profit up more than 970%. airbus is developing a new version of the long-haul plane. it is putting the jet on a diet and making changes to the cabin layout. singapore airlines stopped its 19 our direct flight -- 19 h our direct flight to new york in 2013. buyer of bad loans at indian banks is warning the level of stressed assets set to rise even further. they are expecting more failures because of the sluggish economy. it's time to lenders both

reported a rise in bad loans last quarter. those are top corporate headlines this hour. angie: next, according asia. we find -- courting asia. why one nba championship has picked hong kong to launch a new energy drink. stay tuned for that. ♪

poor developments falling the most in six years as the number of victims rose again. kongs sank 14% in hong over worries the traffic through the devastated port they never cover quickly. the blast killed 114 people, many firefighters. tons of sodium cyanide were stored at the port.

nothing new around reunion island after nothing new that could be found from the missing flight. malaysia says a wing part found on reunion last month is from the missing plane but investigators have not been so definite. andkorean businessman former presidential candidate says he wants the top job in world soccer. honorary vice president. he says what they need now is common sense. the current president will step down in february. miller was rookie of the year in 2001 and has won back-to-back championships with the miami heat but he is never

satisfied and is building a career after basketball. his energy drink is on the shelves in the u.s. and being launched today in hong kong. a very tall mike miller joining us in the studio this morning. 6'8", i am so glad we are sitting down. tell us about this drink. what does it stand for? it is aspirational. we feel it connects to the youth culture, basketball, skateboarding, fashion, lifestyle. we are excited about being here. angie: it is a very saturated market in the u.s. when it comes to youth culture and these types of drinks. why are you bringing it to asia? >> i think it is a gateway.

that is step one. the energy drink market mimics the popularity in the nba. are over 300 million chinese playing basketball here. that is the population of the u.s. mimics thethe growth popularity of basketball . angie: this sounds like something from your business school days from the university of florida. very interested in how you are transcending your. verye trying to join a who has looked into the business side of things and how to use the brand to build a business. >> i think it is easy. the best thing about business and basketball is about building the culture.

i was able to team up with leb ron. you find the right people to team up with who put you in the best position to be successful. did he actually taste one of your drinks? >> let's hope so. very asia recipe is specific. what is different about the taste for this market versus the u.s.? >> that is something we will always do, listen to the streets. different inl be the philippines than it is here. it is centered around what they like. angie: i notice it is not too sweet, which is very good for the agent palette. >> i have a great team behind me. our team has been fantastic.

angie: why'd you think the kids will drink this? >> we will relate to them. we relate to youth culture. we are a cool brand who will bring that to them. angie: what is your goal for market shares here and ultimately in china and in this region? the philippines love the nba and a lot of growth in this region. >> i think being here has been a blast. we are expected to grow here as well but we eventually will go china.land it is a gateway, a great place to be a premium brand so we are excited about the growth. miami afterust left 15 years. congratulations to you. say yous perhaps some wrapping up an incredible career. for a lot of athletes at your level, how tough is it to make

that transition? it is tough. you have to be forward thinking. you don't want to be done and find out what you want to do. while you were playing, you find out what you want to do. and i did that. i have a passion for this and it is a project i am excited about. it helps me segue. angie: what else for you? >> drinks for now. we partnered with a great team. we are announcing we partnered with shaquille o'neal today. a lot more coming down the pipeline. hopefully i will be sitting at your set soon. angie: you are always welcome. it is very easy to pick you out from a crowd. you will never get lost. mike miller, thank you for joining us and good luck with your drink. next, troubling

results for japanese retailer could be bad news for the company's stocks. reporters pick the days potential market movers when "first up" returns. ♪

angie: welcome to the stock exchange. we're taking a look ahead of opens in japan, australia, and south korea. >> have we heard of this? angie: this is where sherry buys all of her tickets. [laughter] angie: wonder girls is her favorite. zeb: ok. they sell concert tickets. they have an online retail presence and are getting into the banking space. they say they will be linking up with fk telecom.

not confirmed but certainly want to watch as his popular consumer brand there. et: this is a clothing maker. that a mail order business targets women and her 20's to monos,0's to sell ki household goods, jewelry. they said they will cut 120 jobs. obviously has not done well in your to date. expecting it to fall again today. angie: a very specific market.

zeb: my mind is still in korea. what is the name of the korean won? -- korean won? angie: two we'll figure it out. that is the verdict from the stock exchange. back in an hour to see how the stocks we have have done. looking ahead, we head back to bangkok to see how the city is reacting to the deadly bomb attack in we are counting down to the opens in australia, japan, and korea. this is "first up." ♪

mark: with all due respect to the presidential candidates, there's only one sure way to get to the top. [laughter] ♪ welcome to the iowa state fair, where john and i have been in the state since thursday to talk to voters here and around the state. there is no substitute for talking on the ground. let's talk about what we have learned.