Daybreak Weekend: Nvidia Earnings, UK Special Election, Modi Israel Visit

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This is Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend, our global look at the
top stories in the coming week from our Daybreak anchors
all around the world. Straight Ahead on the program, we
look ahead to the Last of the mag seven earnings
with Chip Giant and video reporting. I'm Nathan Hager in Washington.
I'm callin Heppoon, London, where we're delving into the special
election that could redefine the UK's political future.
I'm Doug Prisner, looking ahead to Indian Prime Minister in
Narungramodi's visit to Israel in the coming week.
That's all straight ahead on Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend on Bloomberg
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Good day to you. I'm Nathan Hager. We begin today's
program with earnings from AI Chip Giant Invidia, the last
of the Magnificent Seven, reports its end of year results
after the close of training on Wednesday, for more. We're
joined by Kun John Sabhani, senior semiconductor analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence.
Great to have you with us on the program, Kun John.
Of course, in Vidia has been at the center of
the AI spending story for so long, so where do
you see the bar when it comes to Invidia's results
this time around?
As usual, the expectations will run high. You know, folks
are expecting the usual or if not better than the
mid single digit beaten race that we have gotten used
to with them, which I think is quite possible given
multiple drivers that have gotten better since their last quarterly earnings.
You know, we have heard from the largest customers of Nvidia,
and most of them have increased their CAPEX projection significantly,
some of them forty to fifty percent in case of
Google and Amazon for twenty twenty six, so that really helps.
We have heard of deals being made since last quarter
with these hyperscalers and other customers adopting millions of units
of in Nvidia, which should drive further upside to that
five hundred billion number that Jensen had provided end of
last year regarding the Blackwell and Rubin backlog through twenty
twenty six. So estimates are running higher than that, and
we expect them to give indications that it is going
to run higher than that. And finally, the third key
point will be visibility on resuming the H too or
I should say starting the H two hundred shipments to
China because that continues. Will be a key upside driver
if that happens soon. And we did see AMD start
to ship some of its prior to generation chipmates to
China in this quarter when there is a reported results.
Let's take some of those points in turn. John, you
mentioned the millions of units deployed. I think that was
an allusion to the announcement we heard just a few
days ago from Meta Platforms. Does that sort of raise
the bar when it comes to the outlook that we're
expecting to hear from Jensen in the call this week.
It does raise the bar for the full year. I
don't know if it raises the bar for the next quarter.
Outlook that deal with Meta, you know, it's a long
term deal and the lead times will be longer than
to get the revenue in this quarter, so does raise
the bar for the full earth.
And when it comes to the pipeline for future chips,
we heard Jensen talk about the Ruben semiconductor being on
track for the second half of this year at the
recent conference that Nvidia held. Are we expecting any more
clarity when it comes to some of those next generation
chips video.
I'm sure we will hear some commentary that evaluations are
going well, etc. Remember, this was a very unique time.
Usually at CES, Nvidia in the past has not talked
about their next generation products, which are released at the
end of the year. Usually they saved that for the GtC,
which will be their marquee event happening in March. Them
talking about this this early in the year gives gave
investors confidence that there would be sort of no hiccups
with the Rubin ramp as they're aware with Blackwells, So
that's a good news. We'll definitely hear some update, but
I think most of the big news will be saved
for him to talk about at GtC next month.
And when it comes to the re entry of the
H two hundred ship that you mentioned in China, we've
heard jenst in the past talk about, you know, even
keeping China revenue off the table, they're still going to
put out pretty significant numbers. How important is it though,
for Nvidia to get back into the Chinese market to
keep its momentum going.
I think it is definitely important. Look, most of the
other areas they are dominating, so investors are very aware.
So this is a market which if it does open
up significantly for them, they can go and grab another
significant share, a dominant share. Before the shipment sanctions had
come in and Vidia was a dominant share of that market,
So definitely very important. Could easily, you know, if the
gates get open, you can easily think about adding somewhere
between seven to twelve thirteen billion dollars back, which is
a substantial amount. Yes, we'll not move. I mean if
the company is going to about to be making one
hundred and fifty two hundred billion dollars, you can argue
five to twelve billion is small, but still a significant upside.
Of course, there's been so much discussion within the market
about you know, whether there's too much spending in AI,
whether it's circular spending, and even this AI disruption trade.
How do you expect in Nvidia's results to color some
of that debate on Wall Street?
I don't think. I mean, if anything, a better results
from in media could keep these arguments going forward. I
don't think better results will will help with diminishing these arguments.
In fact, a week result could slow down this argument,
giving people the more validity that these concents are real.
We don't think these concents are real at this point,
and as long as Nvidia keeps doing better and better,
I don't think these arguments will go away anywhere.
Appreciate this, Kun John. Ahead of those earnings from Nvidia,
much appreciated, that is, Kun John Sabhani, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior
Semiconductor Analyst. Let's take a look now at some stocks
making news in the week ahead. I'm Nathan Hager, joined
by Bloomberg Markets Live Managing Editor Christine Akino. I thought
we were almost done with earnings, Christine, but it looks
like we got some pretty big names reporting this week,
including Home Depot. On Tuesday was the holiday quarter, a
time people were thinking about home improvement.
Oh well, Nathan, I think from what we've heard from
Home Depot, things are not looking great. They have implemented
a lot of cost custing cutting measures over the last
couple of months. So this month, for example, the company
said it's making the requirements for bonus payouts to managers
more strict if they're telling eligible employees that they now
have a higher threshold for sales performance metrics to be
able to receive this bonus. And then in January they
also said that they're going to be cutting jobs across
several teams and also requiring corporate staff to return to
the office, and so it really seems like home Depot
is really bracing for a challenging quarter that's probably going
to be reflected in the earnings results that we're going
to be seeing. And so it's just a question of whether,
you know, once investors see them, are they going to
see enough of a silver aligning in those results? You know,
whether it's the cost cutting measures that Home Deep implemented
or anything else that they're doing that would give them
a steadier footing moving forward. That's probably going to be
what's in focus for investors next week.
It is interesting though, I mean, we're still off the
high from September for home Depot, but the stock has
been kind of on a bit of a bounce here
over the last couple of months. So does that mean
the bar is kind of higher for home Depot when
it comes to the earnings.
Yeah, I suppose you could say that just because you know,
it has weathered a lot of storms over the last
few months. They have been warning for quite some time
now about slow down in housing, which is very much
affecting their bottom line. But at the same time, we
have seen, as you mentioned, a resilience in the shares,
and so perhaps there is some of that optimism baked
in already that the company will be able to keep afloat.
It's it's you know, it's it's earnings outlook, it's revenue outlook,
and so you know, if there is some disappointment there,
we'll probably see that in the aftermath of the reaction
to the earnings.
Coming Moving from Home Depot, another stock that starts with
H reports on Tuesday.
HP.
Where are they when it comes to the AI tech story?
Yeah, I mean very interesting when it comes to HP.
Of course, it did get a bit of a boost
when it comes to the AI story, right. It was
very much involved in that trade back in the latter
part of twenty twenty five when it was all about
the expansion of the AI trade to the various companies
involved in implementing the data center build out, and HP
is a part of that supply chain. But you know,
our Analyti Bloomber intelligence really focusing in on margins for
HP here. They are big in the PC space, a
lot of pressure there when it comes to margins, and
and so that's a big question whether they're going to
be able to.
Keep that up.
Also question about you know, their their memory supply. Is
that supply chain again going to be resilient and moving forward,
And you know, it's a big Q question whether they're
going to be able to maintain pricing power given that
the environment at the moment for anything air related is
a little bit more challenging as we've seen in recent
price action.
Is that what we're seeing and reflected in terms of
the kind of steady decline that we've been seeing in
hpiece chart over the last few months.
Yeah, absolutely, Nathan, I mean, I think it is one
of these socks very interesting. You know, it's just kind
of right in the middle of kind of institutional air demand,
right given that it is part of the buildout story.
But then at the same time, a lot of fluctuations
due to its spot when it comes to the consumer space, right,
Like it's PC offering still very much subject to the
whims of the consumer, and as we've been hearing from
a lot of other companies, that is quite a challenge environment.
It's not that consumers are fully scaling back on their purchases,
they're just being more strategic about it. And that may
be where HP's vulnerabilities really maybe.
And on Thursday we hear from one of HP's competitors.
Is it going to be a similar story when it
comes to Dell Computer?
Yeah? I mean for Dell, it really has been a
rough start to twenty twenty six. Right, We've seen their
shares down more than seven percent. They very much did
get wrapped up in the early twenty twenty six declines
for US equities in general, given all these fears about
AI disruption, and you know, for Bloomer Intelligence, their outlook
really focusing in on the AI server demand that Dell
is enjoying, and so that is a positive for them
and as allow them to have a more broad consumer base.
And you know, our analysts are very much optimistic in
terms of their ability to sustain that momentum through twenty thirty.
So high expectations potentially for this earnings result possibly a
high potential for disappointment as well.
Okay, Well, another busy earnings week on tap. Thanks for this, Christine,
good having your Christina Keino, Managing editor for Bloomberg Markets Live.
Coming up on Bloomberg day Break weekend, we'll look at
the special election that could redefine the UK's political future.
I'm Nathan Hager, and this is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg
day Break Weekend, our global look ahead at the top
stories for investors in the coming week. I'm Nathan Hager
in Washington. Up later in our program we'll look ahead
to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel. But
first in the coming days, a special election in the
UK could highlight the fractured state of British politics. Bookmakers
are predicting a three horse race between Labor and the
insurgents on the right hand left. Gambling odds compiled by
odds Checker suggests the Green Party will edge out Reform,
with the incumbent Labor Party third. For more, let's go
to London and bring in Bloomberg Daybreak Europe banker Caroline Nathan.
In an unassuming and often neglected Manchester suburb, a three
way fight is hotting up between challenger parties Reform UK
and the Green Party, who are vying to pry the
area's parliamentary seat away from the incumbent governing Labor Party,
with a special by election looming in Gordon and Denton
on the twenty sixth of February. The battle is highlighting
the sinking popularity of Prime Minister Kirs Stamer's Labor administration
and the rising fortunes of populist competitors on both the
right and the left. It's an uncertain situation that could
have implications for the UK's politics and economic prospects. Three
Gutchukovin Dan is senior research economists at UK Asset Manager Aberdeen.
She says the instability could prove costly what we're seeing.
I mean, it's been a good week for bomb markets
in the UK and elsewhere, but there is a lot
of premium already in the guilt market.
But I've say a lot of rates investors are cautious.
And I think these key events like the by election
in ten days time, the local elections in May, there
is the acceptance that there could there is likely to
be a leadership change later this year. So obviously we
had a bit of a flash point. Two weeks ago
and Kilts really sold off quite aggressively and that is
an issue for the government. High interest rates are an
issue for the government, so whoever leads the UK later
this year will have to keep that in mind.
So perhaps a challenge to the Prime Minister Kirs Starmer
Sui Kutchu Govin Dan seeing a research economist at UK
Asset Manager Aberdeen speak to me and Stephen Cowell on
Bloomberg Radio. So will the coming local contest between the
government and all its challengers leave Starmer vulnerable or vindicated?
Joining me now to discuss is our Bloomberg UK Economy
reporter Arena and Angel and our UK Politics reporter Lucy
White come to both of you. Thank you for being
with us. Lucy. Should we start with a bit of
the politics. Set the scene. Why is this by election
so crucial for Keir Starmer?
So there's not very often in between general elections that
we get a sort of national vote like this, because
this isn't you know, your kind of usual local politics
kind of election. This is a by election for a
seat in Westminster. So it's the first real test that
we're going to have for an area where they are
electing a new person to Westminster, and this is all
because Andrew gyn has resigned on health grounds, but he
was also caught up in a bit of a scandal.
He's the labor incumbents at the moment around leaked WhatsApp messages,
and this is going to be the first real test
we have of who these people in Gorson and Denton
want as their representative. And as you were saying just then,
you know, there's a real flashpoint at the moment as
to Obviously there's some kind of idiosyncratic reasons why people
are not a fan of laboring in that area, but
there's also this kind of real challenge, real tussle going
on between Reform and the Greens at the moment. And
if this goes badly in for labor in Manchester or
in this particular suburb of Manchester where labor have really
had a sort of strongholder for several years, the implications
for this nationally are are pretty stark.
We really have polling at the moment, but how much
ground might labor have lost in this region. Who are
the front runners, So it's.
Really a three way tie at the moment. We've got
Labor as the incumbents, and then we've got the Green
Party who are really hoping to make gains on the
sort of populist left of politics, and Reform who are
at the polar opposite end of that sort of making
looking to make headway on the populist right. And they're
you know, kind of involved in this three way battle.
It's hard to tell who is doing particularly well at
the moment because there's no sort of you know, kind
of there is. There is polling at a local level,
but none of it, you know, kind of particularly reliable.
The sample sizes just aren't as big. From myself and
Arena when we were on the ground last week in
the area, there's a huge amount of visibility for the
Green Party. This post is everywhere, there's a lot of
campaigners on the ground. For Reform, there's very little visibility,
but you know, kind of local polling does seem to
see them doing quite well. As for Labor, you know,
there's a lot of people who are kind of well,
I've I've voted labors all my life, so I probably will.
But there's an equal number i'd say that we spoke
to of people that we spoke to there who say
whether it's due to the Andrew growing what's up scandal
or whether it's due to Kirstarma just saying I will
never vote labor again in my life.
Arena take us through the economics, then we know that
for a long time, UK wages and incomes really haven't
risen very much. The economy isn't growing very quickly. How
has that manifested in Manchester and how do resident and
there I feel about it?
When Lucy and I went up there, I would say
that the top issue that came up in Gordon and
Denton was at the rising cost of living and you
know you have that, you also have the rise in
the cost of doing business.
There's also you know, other issues related.
To flight tipping, decaying states, drug dealing, and you know,
underneath this you could sense that there is one big issue,
and that issue is that the community is decaying.
But things didn't used to be like this, you know.
So the people of Gordon and Dent and they seem
to be people who take pride and where they come
from and pride and who they are, and there's a
sense that that's now been taken away from them. And
who do they blame for this? They blame the government
and you know labor came in with big promises. There
was real hope that things will change quickly, but they
haven't for you know, many reasons. You know, perhaps some
of the are default of policy. Others are you know,
are just the result of like structural factors which you
know could never be turned around very quickly. And you know,
and the local people also blame their previous MP and Gwynn.
You know, some told us they wrote to him to
complain but they never heard back. So they feel like
things are not getting better and also that they're getting neglected.
I think that's really interesting. So then what do we
know about the economic profile of those who perhaps are
likely to support the challenge of parties, parties like Reform
and the Greens. If you say that, underneath it there's
what sounds like quite a lot of anger, maybe some hopelessness.
Exactly, and Reforming Green voters are actually very similar in a.
Key way they feel.
And this is at the national level, not just in
Gordon and Denton. But it was really interesting to see
it sort of play out there. But these people feel
somehow cheated on by the sort of by the political
economy of the country.
So look thrill from more in common put this very well.
You know he told me that, you know, you ask
people is the system working? And the answer tends to
be no, Then you ask them, okay, can we change
the system them from within to make it work or
do we just burn it all down? And the burn
it all down theres These are the people who either
go to reform or the.
Greens, you know which one. It depends on who they blame.
For the Greens, that tends to be capitalism and big
corporates capturing the economic gains from themselves and leaving everyone
else worse off.
So you have, you know, young university.
Educated people who are a big demographic for them, and
for reform, it's really blaming immigration and migrants putting a
strain on public services.
I'm sure that Labor are putting up a good fight
and trying to make their case for why perhaps they
need more time or the progress that they've made so far,
Lucy in terms of kissed Arma, how much damage could
it do potentially if Labor were to fail to retain
this parliamentary seat.
I think it will be embarrassing for them. But at
the same time, I'm not sure that people within Labor
have a huge amount of hope for it going particularly
well at the moment, I think, you know, it's important
to realize that this is just one area and that
you know, I daresay if I were to be Devil's
advocate for labor, they would say that there are, you know,
some very idiosyncratic issues in this area, for example, the
WhatsApp scandal that Andrew Grimm was involved in. But at
the same time, you know, it is going to be
hugely embarrassing for them if they lose in a seat
where as recently as twenty twenty four they won fifty
point eight percent of the vote, and even more, it's
kind of hard to compare because the boundaries were slightly
different than the general election before that in twenty nineteen,
but it would have been even higher back then. So
I think if Labor are to you know, go from
that level to totally losing the seat, it is a
kind of really worrying sign for them, because you know,
if we're to have you know, this pattern repeated across
the country in areas where labor isn't was never this
this good, then you know, they're really looking at a
kind of potential wipeout at the next election, which is
due to be held by the next general election, which
is due to be held by twenty twenty nine.
So in terms of what's going on with the demographics
in the constituency, I think that's also quite interesting and
there's been quite a lot of focus on that in
terms of the economic challenges, worries, complaints or hopes that
people have for that tell us about the demographics arena.
So the Gorton and Denton has been called the Frankenstein
constituency because it's made up of very different parts. You know,
you have Gorton and crucially this is where two thirds
of the population lives, and Gordon is very ethnically diverse.
Forty percent of residents identify as Muslim.
You know.
One of the main places we visited there is the
Alongside Market, this big open air market reminiscent of Istanbul bazaars,
and it also has a Gorton has a large share
of students and university graduates and a larger share of these.
People than Denton.
So Gordon is fertile ground you know for labor and
the Greens both have their headquarters there and as Lucy said,
you know, we saw lots of Green posters, but not
that many Labor, I would say when we visited last week.
And then you know, then there's Denton and as soon
as you cross into Dent and you can almost tell
the difference because the houses are bigger somehow, and you know,
Reform has set up it's HQ there and it's in
a large, sort of sleek warehouse. And you know, regardless
whether you're from Gorton or Dent. And I think all
voters seem to agree on one thing. You know, they
won't vote Labor again. But not many people have made
up their mind about whether they go to the Greens
or Reforms. So you know, Reform seems to be alienating
voters and the ethnically diverse Gorton with its anti immigration message,
and you know, some residents said they won't vote for
them because they're racist. However, you know, the Greens similarly
are putting off other voters. For example, there was this
this resident we spoke to who said, you know, I
don't like Labor. I will vote for Reform even though
I don't with their stands on immigration. But I won't
vote for the Greenes because I don't like their stands
on prebritty blockers. So it's really really up in the
air sort of who will win?
Okay, thank you to both of you for your reporting
on the ground and for being with me here today.
My thanks to Bloomberg's economics reporter Arena Angel and to
our politics reporter Lucy White.
Thank you.
Now I want to read out a full list of
the candidates, of course, who are running for this by
election in Gordon and Denton. Nick Buckley Advanced UK, Charlotte
Cadden Conservative Party, Dan Clark Libertarian Party, Matt Goodwin Reform UK,
Sebastian Moore Social Democratic Party, Joseph o'meecher Rejoin EU Party,
Jackie Pearcy Liberal Democrats, Hannah Spencer, Green Party, Angeliki Soogia
Labor Party, Sir einke Loot the Official Monster Raving Looney Party,
Hugo Wills Communist League.
I'm Carol, yep.
Get here in London. You can catch us every weekday
morning here for Bloomberg Daybreak. You are beginning at six
am in London. That's at one am on woll Street. Nathan.
Thanks Caroline, and coming up on Bloomberg day Break weekend.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set for a two
day visit to Israel. We'll look at what to expect next.
I'm Nathan Hagar, and this is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg
day Break Weekend, our global look ahead at the top
stories for investors in the coming week. I'm Nathan Hagar
and Washington. Indian Prime Minister Narendromodi is set for a
two day visit to Israel in the week ahead. For
a preview, let's get to Doug Krisner, hosted the Bloomberg
Daybreak Asia podcast.
Thanks Nathan. This will be Mody's second visit to Israel
in eight years. Back in July twenty seventeen, he became
the first Indian Prime minister to travel to Israel with
a goal of elevating tide. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Knyahu
has said there is a tremendous alliance between these two countries.
For a closer look, I'm joined by Bloomberg's Rosalind Matheson.
She is Chief Asia correspondent. Roz joins from our studio
in Singapore. Thank you for being here. From what I've read,
NATANYAHUU and Modi are expected to discuss various forms of cooperation.
Do you have a sense of which areas might be prioritized.
Two key areas really probably with their conversation. One is
momentum towards a free trade agreement. I mean, India tends
to move very slowly on trade deals over many years,
but they're suddenly in this environment of diversify or die
around the world on trade, They're rushing to get trade
deals done. I mean they just did significant trade deals
with the EU and also with the US, So there
is movement here on the Israeli front, and their significant
trade relationship already between the two countries. I mean, Israel's
a significant buyer of refined petroleum products from India, diamonds
as well. India is Israel's second biggest trading partner in Asia.
I think bilateral trade last year was around five billion dollars.
So there's a lot to talk about on the trade front,
and there's a lot to talk about on the defense front,
because India is obviously also moving away from Russia in
terms of weapons that it buys. It's still its biggest market,
but it is moving to buy more weapons from the US,
from France and from Israel, and so there'll be a
lot of discussion around the potential there around defense, but
also as part of that technology sharing when it comes
to defense, and so can they produce stuff together, but
can they share that technology when they do so.
So, India, as I understand, is also engaged in more
outreach to the Arab world. Last month, India hosted the
second India Arab Foreign Ministers Meeting. And I'm wondering whether
that necessity fairly complicates in some way Modi's mission.
Well, yes and no.
I mean India has been a strong supporter of Israel.
There's a clear relationship between Urendromod and Benjamin Netanyahu. I
mean they speak on the phone every couple of months,
if not each month. And India has supplied Israel with
drones and been quite a supporter when it comes to
their actions in Gaza. But also they don't recognize Jerusalem
as Israel's capital. There are some underlying issues that because
India above all is trying to maintain this idea still
a strategic autonomy which they've always tried to walk a
line on which is to have a balance of relationships.
And so that does mean do they look to have
outreach relationships with the Arab world as well? And is
Iran potentially a factor in all of this because obviously
there are serious tensions between Israel and Iran. There's the
specter potentially of US and Israeli intervention again in Ira.
So what's going to be Mody's message to be be
about that?
What about Modi's aim to try to bring in some
capital from Israel into various sectors of the Indian economy.
Are there any industries that come to mind.
Well, certainly there is further opportunity for India around stuff
like diamonds are already exporting a lot of that to Israel,
and refined petroleum products that don't sell raw crude to Israel,
but obviously there's a significant relationship there. So those will
be the two key things. But obviously they just also
want to set the table a bit around the parameters
of this FTA. Doesn't involve services, for example, I mean,
that's always a thorny issue for India in trade deals
is services. But it's really going to be probably at
a higher level around broader understandings when it comes to
trade and defense.
Modi is expected to address the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset.
Do we have a sense of the issues that Modi
may speak two.
At this stage, we do not, but we're expecting him
to talk broadly about fundamental ties and to do so
with again with some affection, particularly towards Benjamin Netanyahu. I mean,
BB says that Modi is popular in Israel. They talk
again on the phone quite often, so there'll be an
overarching sense of the relationship in that address. If it
happens to the Kanesset, to the Israeli Parliament. Modi will
probably want to steer clear of talking about things like
the West Bank. For example. India's tried not to get
involved in the issues regarding the West Bank and Israel's
policies there, so he'll probably steer away from that one.
He might talk more broadly around the prospects for a
longer term peace in Gaza and his desire to see
that happen. Of course, there's a ceasefar in Gaza, but
there's big questions about how you go from that to
a more fundamental, long term peace in Gaza and what
it means in terms of the disarmament of Hamas. For example,
probably walk a pretty clear line there about not going
into particularly tricky issues around the West Bank.
What about the relationship that both India and Israel have
with the United States and particularly President Trump.
Well, it's one of those things. We're in this period
where again, relationships are shifting pretty quickly. Power balances around
the world are shifting pretty quickly, and again we're seeing
that in things like trade deals getting done that were
you know, on hiatus essentially for many years. This idea
that you have to have a diversification of your relationships,
and some of that is spurred by the administration of
Donald Trump. Certainly there have been tensions between the US
and India. We saw that, really the trade deal went
into the freezer for some months as a result, you know,
Donald Trump really pushing India over its purchases of Russian
energy and singling India out in that and that was really,
you know, something that Modi couldn't publicly tolerate for his
prestige at home. That said, the US and India will
always have a relationship. Modi's just simply about having you know,
that diversification strategy going. And obviously, you know, Israel and
the US, BB and Trump have generally a strong relationship.
The occasional tussle over certain aspects of the Middle East
but it's a strong relationship, so you can imagine that,
you know, BB and Modi will talk quite generally in
warm terms about the US during this trip.
What do we know about Modi's popularity in Israel? Is
he a widely popular politician?
Well?
Yes, according to BB, the Israeli leader, I mean, Mody
was the first India Prime minister to visit Israel back
in twenty seventeen. I think he had a flower named
after him as a chrysanthemum at the time. So there
is this kind of strong history of cooperation. They've had
full diplomatic ties between the countries for some decades, and
Mody is quite popular in Israel as a result, and
seen as someone who you know, hasn't been overtly critical
of Israel over its actions in Gaza, the conflict in Gaza.
He can expect to have a very warm welcome, including
by the Parliament.
I'm wondering whether China will come up as a part
of these discussions as well.
Yeah, certainly. Again, China is like China, the US other
great powers are always in the backdrop in these conversations
at the moment in terms of how you're balancing your
relationships and India again trying for this idea of strategic autonomy.
I mean, relationships between India and China go up and
they go can go down quite a bit, but they've
been on a warmer track in the past year or so,
driven in part by the tensions that India's had separately
with the US. So there's a pragmatism that comes into
all these relationships, including with China, and the sense of
what's China going to be doing around the Middle East,
developing its own business and trade ties, including with Arab nations,
and what does that lead to. So certainly it's in
the atmosphere these conversations, but there is a sense from
both Israel and a India in a way that these
things need to be done in a very pragmatic fashion.
What about the area of agriculture. Is there much in
the way of trade exchange between these two countries where
agricultural products are involved?
Not a ton, And agriculture is just a very thorny
issue for India again, like other countries, You've got in
a way this kind of mythical image of the India farmer,
and they are a very powerful voting block in India,
and you can see that Modi being very cautious about
moving away from subsidies for farm products in India or
trade deals that might disadvantage the farmers of his country,
and he's very achuned to that and his own popularity.
So they've tended to be quite protective, i would say,
of the India agricultural market, so very cautious about doing
deals as a result.
So from what I understand, Riz and Israeli delegation will
be leaving for New Delhi on Monday of next week
for a first round of kind of trade agreement talks.
So it seems like both sides are working at trying
to achieve something. Is there, in your mind a timeline
here as to when something needs to be kind of
agreed upon or is this going to be a kind
of a protracted, longer term project.
Well, there is a sense that things are picking up.
You had ministerial delegations going back and forth last year,
as you say this, an Israeli delegation due and New
Delhi in the coming week that's supposed to be sort
of technical talks, and it's the first round of those
technical talks. There was a framework agreement that was signed
last November, but it's a framework and there's a lot
of work to be done here as a result, but
you really do get the sense of momentum on both sides,
and some of the officials are saying that they're aiming
for a deal potentially at some point this year.
ROS will leave it there. Thank you so much for
helping us preview Prime Minister Modi's visit to Israel. That
is Bloomberg's Rasal and Matheson, our chief Asia correspondent, joining
us from Singapore. In the last week, India hosted an
artificial intelligence summit. It was there that Prime Minister Modi
said the event offered further proof that India is progressing
rapidly in the fields of science and technology. At the summit,
Bloomberg spoke with Arthur Mensch of the French firm mistral Ai,
and he addressed the Indian market for artificial intelligence.
So what we see is that on the infrastructure side,
India has taken a strong stance on the sovereignty and
so that's a place where we can play an important
role because the platform we bring is something that every
state we work with can actually customize. So in that aspect,
I believe there are a lot of synergies in between
what we can provide and what India already has. They
have taken some step in training models themselves as well. Again,
this is a place where the open source media that
we can provide can play because they can be used
as a basis to make models better at certain languages.
This is something that we actively do with certain states,
that we've done with Singapore, that we are doing with Morocco.
We've released a model last year called miss Calsaba which
is specifically good at Indian languages in texts, and so
that's something that we can improve through partnerships with Indian
companies that have access to more data. The audio models
that we've released, Vauxcral in particular, is very strong at
Indian language. We see audio as a big way in
which the consumer market in India engage with technology, and
so again that's a place where partnerships can actually take
us much further because we can provide the technology and
the training stack and the GPUs and the people that
know how to train models. But what we could benefit
from and what we could partner on is access to data,
access to the consumer market so that we can make
that technology better and give it put it in the
hands of, for instance, the Indian government.
That was Arthur Mensch from the French firm mistral Ai,
speaking to Bloomberg at the inn AI Impact Summit in
New Delhi. I'm Doug Prisner. You can catch us weekdays
for the Daybreak Asia podcast. It's available wherever you get
your podcast.
Nathan, Thanks Doug, and that does it for this edition
of Bloomberg day Break Weekend. Join us again Monday morning
at five am Wall Street Time for the latest on
markets overseas and the news you need to start your day.
I'm Nathan Hager.
Stay with us.
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