Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia Edition Daybreak Weekend: Homebuilders Preview, UK Jobs, Lunar New Year
4 snips
Feb 13, 2026 
Shirley Zhao, a Hong Kong-based consumer reporter on Chinese spending and Lunar New Year trends. Alexandra Semenova, an equities reporter previewing corporate earnings and stock movers. They discuss homebuilder outlook and margin pressures. They cover Walmart, DoorDash and Deere earnings watch. They explore Lunar New Year travel, gifting shifts to digital red envelopes, luxury and gold buying, and policy efforts to spur consumption.
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Deere's High Bar Amid Weak Farm Demand
- Deere's rally reflects a sector rotation into cyclical, rate-sensitive names but faces a tough farm demand outlook.
- Alexandra Semenova warns industry sales of large equipment are still forecast to fall through 2026.
UK Jobs Strain From Payroll Tax Hikes
- UK unemployment has risen toward COVID-era levels and may peak near 5.3% this spring.
- Irina Angel links most of the recent job weakness to payroll tax rises and higher minimum wages squeezing hiring.
AI Agents Start Doing Work, Not Just Chatting
- Agentic AI products (AI agents) can carry out tasks, not just answer questions, spooking markets.
- Parmy Olson describes using Claude Co-pilot to automate tasks like creating presentations and answering LinkedIn messages.