The decline in US shipbuilding and China's global dominance has Washington worried. Last year, the US built just seven commercial vessels, compared to more than 1,000 for China. This has also become a national security issue, with US shipyards struggling to meet the demands of the navy, facing production delays of up to 36 months. In response, President Donald Trump has proposed levying fees on Chinese built ships entering US ports.

These measures likely won't be enough to revive the industry, so what else can the government do? What role can defense allies South Korea and Japan play? And how will these levies impact shipping companies and global trade? Adam Farrar, senior geo-economics analyst at Bloomberg Economics and Kenneth Loh, shipping and logistics analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, join John Lee and Katia Dmitrieva on the Asia Centric podcast.

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Credit spreads, or the difference between yields on corporate debt and government notes, have tightened worldwide. This would usually indicate investors are more confident in the prospects for the private sector but contradicts what's an increasingly risky economic and investment outlook amid erratic US trade policies.

Meanwhile, liquidity remains a constraint and defaults – while low – are on the rise in the US. How does that change the game for a hedge fund that sometimes needs to take on-the-day bets? What surprising regions or industries hold gain for credit investors, and why is Mongolia one of them? And how much longer can the current “goldilocks” period for credit last? Monica Hsiao, co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Triada Capital in Hong Kong, discusses investing in today's world of risk and the lessons learned from China's high-yield debacle. She joins John Lee and Katia Dmitrieva on the Asia Centric podcast.

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Once the preserve of science fiction, humanoid robotics is now in the realm of reality. From Elon Musk's Optimus to Boston Dynamics, companies are pouring money and time into developing these robots for business and commercial use.

We take an in-depth look into this emerging industry with Sean Darby, equity strategist at Mizuho Securities, who compares it to the rise of EVs – what started small quickly gathered steam among consumers. It's shaping up to be a compelling trade for investors, with a basket of humanoid-related stocks in Asia up almost 60% this year, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

Darby joins John Lee and Katia Dmitrieva in Hong Kong to discuss what exactly is a humanoid robot, what can it actually do given the current technology, and what challenges lie ahead? And will they simply help us with household chores – or take all our jobs?

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