UK Recession Fears; Musk Defends Federal Job Cuts; China Mulls Vanke Debt Plan | Bloomberg The Pulse

The UK economy may have shrunk in the fourth quarter, putting Britain back on the brink of recession and piling more pressure on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and her promise to turbo-charge growth. In the US, President Donald Trump directed agencies to work with Elon Musk’s government cost-cutting effort to slash their workforces, according to a White House official. Meanwhile in China, authorities are working on a proposal to help China Vanke Co. plug a funding gap of about 50 billion yuan ($6.8 billion) this year, according to people familiar with the matter, highlighting the government’s support for the distressed property developer. Today's guests: Andrea Orcel; UniCredit CEO; Elise Badoy, Citigroup -------- "The Pulse With Francine Lacqua" is all about conversations with high profile guests in the beating heart of global business, economics, finance and politics. Based in London, we go wherever the story is, bringing you exclusive interviews and market-moving scoops. Chapters: 00:00:00 - The Pulse with Francine Lacqua 00:01:15 - Donald Trump directs federal job cuts 00:02:59 - Bessent to visit Kyiv as Trump seeks minerals 00:07:09 - Andrea Orcel, UniCredit CEO 00:19:50 - Headlines 00:21:24 - Elise Badoy, Citigroup 00:28:21 - US, UK decline to sign AI summit communique 00:32:42 - EU trade ministers to meet amid Trump tariffs 00:38:10 - UK recession fears mount -------- More on Bloomberg Television and Markets Like this video? Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss any videos from Bloomberg Markets & Finance: https://tinyurl.com/ysu5b8a9 Visit http://www.bloomberg.com for business news & analysis, up-to-the-minute market data, features, profiles and more. Connect with Bloomberg Television on: X: https://twitter.com/BloombergTV Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BloombergTelevision Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloombergtv/ Connect with Bloomberg Business on: X: https://twitter.com/business Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bloombergbusiness Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloombergbusiness/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bloombergbusiness?lang=en Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/bloomberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bloomberg-news/ More from Bloomberg: Bloomberg Radio: https://twitter.com/BloombergRadio Bloomberg Surveillance: https://twitter.com/bsurveillance Bloomberg Politics: https://twitter.com/bpolitics Bloomberg Originals: https://twitter.com/bbgoriginals Watch more on YouTube: Bloomberg Technology: https://www.youtube.com/@BloombergTechnology Bloomberg Originals: https://www.youtube.com/@business Bloomberg Quicktake: https://www.youtube.com/@BloombergQuicktake Bloomberg Espanol: https://www.youtube.com/@bloomberg_espanol Bloomberg Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/@BloombergPodcasts