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First Move with Julia Chatterley

The Jobless Claims Fall In The United States; Joe Biden And Kamala Harris Gave Fiery Speeches On Their First Presentation And Appearance Together; Oil Slumps And The IEA Blames The Virus And The Stalling Air Travel. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired August 13, 2020 - 09:00   ET

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[09:00:19]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR: Live from New York, I'm Richard Quest, sitting in for Julia Chatterley. It is a Thursday, and here's what you

really do need to know.

The jobless numbers. The jobless claims fall in the United States. It's encouraging employment news from the latest data from the United States.

Taking on Trump. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris gave fiery speeches on their first presentation and appearance together.

And oil slumps. The IEA is blaming the virus and the stalling air travel for the fact of what's happening with oil stocks and oil prices.

It is Thursday. This is FIRST MOVE.

A very good day to you. Julia is off this week. I'm Richard Quest sitting in.

The markets and how we're looking before we get under way, the markets open in just -- or the U.S. markets open half an hour from now, and they're on

target for a mostly higher open. The Dow is looking a bit iffy. But if you look at the NASDAQ, the futures are turning higher after encouraging

jobless claims numbers.

Fewer than one million Americans filed for benefits last week. It's the first time the number is below one million since the lockdown began. It's a

drop of more than 200,000 from the previous week at 963,000.

However, the number of people still collecting benefits is still more than 15 million people in the United States, and that is exceptionally highly

elevated, compared to normal.

And the enhanced aid for unemployment has now run out in the United States. That's $600.00 a week that people were able to claim, and there is no sign

that that money or that something similar is going to be replaced in the immediate future as the negotiations and discussions continue.

A new study says three in ten unemployed workers are worried about paying for basics -- basics like food and housing, without the extra assistance.

European stocks are lower. The DAX is falling for the first time in a week as the U.S. keeps its 15 percent tariffs on Airbus in the subsidy dispute

that they announced yesterday. Carlsberg suspending stock buybacks.

Asia, well, as you can see from the numbers, it is a mixed bag. The Nikkei was the best performer, closing at a six-month high with investors looking

ahead to this weekend's trade talks between the U.S. and China. They will discuss a Trade Deal compliance, which remember we still haven't come out

of Phase 1 from the original part of the deal.

And so to the drivers of the day. We start with those U.S. unemployment claims or jobless claims at 963,000, it is 200,000 from -- lower than last

week.

Christine Romans, our chief business correspondent is with me. That is to be welcomed, even though it's at elevated levels. But, Christine, is this

the beginning of a trend lower?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I see the last couple of weeks as the first clear sign that you might have had a

plateau here in layoffs.

You know, Richard, you and I have done this for a long time. I never thought in my career I would say that 963,000 layoffs in one week was a

good thing. But 963,000 is less than a million, and we have not been able to do that for over 21 weeks or so.

So the overall number is still devastating and staggering, the amount of joblessness and the job crisis in America. The direction of the economic

figures, though, is what is welcome here.

Two weeks in a row of declining first-time unemployment claims. The continuing claims number, while historically ugly and high, is now 15.5

million. That's a little less than the past couple of weeks. And the overall number of people getting some sort of jobless aid from the

government is now 28 million. That's down from the low to mid-30 million range.

So all of these numbers are moving in the right direction from a staggeringly devastating jobs picture overall. So getting a little better,

but I caution that every one of those numbers is still a family trying to figure out how to get its finances in order until we get to the other side

of the pandemic.

QUEST: Which, of course, we have to put out that study that shows that most people are about -- awful in this day and age -- food and basics.

But Christine, do we know and can we take any statements on the lockdowns that had to be re-imposed, those parts of the country which tightened up

because they got out of control, have we seen that effect in these jobless and jobless claims numbers yet?

[09:05:30]

ROMANS: I think we haven't, and we're still seeing just -- we are still seeing a lot of layoffs every week, right? But fewer layoffs every week.

One interesting thing about these numbers, the overall number, the 28 million people collecting some sort of a benefit, as the stimulus expires,

you'll have people falling off the rolls simply because those programs don't exist anymore.

So I think that's pretty important to keep an eye on as well, that bigger number -- are people getting rehired or are people just falling off the

rolls because we don't have these special short-term programs for gig workers and the like?

I do think there's a lot of risk in sloppy reopenings and with school reopenings as well to getting more layoffs maybe sometime this fall, a

second wave of layoffs. There are some economists who have predicted that.

For the right now, for this most recent picture, you are seeing numbers finally showing signs of plateauing in terms of the damage in the labor

market and now we just have to see what kind of improvement we can try to get.

There is an urgency here still for though, I think, Richard for stimulus. I worry that maybe some in Washington see these numbers starting to slowly

come down and they think there isn't a an urgency for stimulus. There still is.

Most economists and some Fed Presidents are saying unless you get stimulus, you will not get a decent recovery heading into next year.

QUEST: I saw that article in the FT. Don't start me on the stimulus at the moment, Christine. It's a bit too painful, the thought of Washington

arguing amongst itself while people are literally worried about how to put food on the table.

Christine Romans, we do have to talk about stimulus, of course, but not at the moment.

Thank you, Christine. Good to see you.

ROMANS: You, too.

QUEST: Now, these economic issues were at the heart of what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were talking about. Kamala Harris, the new vice presidential

nominee or presumptive, you get the idea, for the Democrats, she slammed President Trump in her first speech as Joe Biden's running mate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: He inherited the longest economic expansion in history from

Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and then, like everything else he inherited, he ran it straight into the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now, the two of them, Biden and Harris, made their first public appearance as the Democratic ticket, both wearing masks. Lots of social

distancing. It gave Harris the chance to criticize the President's handling of the pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: This virus has impacted almost every country, but there's a reason it has hit America worse than any other advanced nation. It's because of

Trump's failure to take it seriously from the start.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Arlette Saenz is with us from Wilmington in Delaware, Biden's home state.

Arlette, the one thing I notice again and again about the way Kamala Harris speaks, it is this prosecutor's forensic, basically analysis, leading to

destruction of others' arguments.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it certainly was drawing on her own prosecutor roots, and you heard both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

forcefully argue against the President's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as they were trying to make this argument that a vote for them as

the Democratic ticket would restore what they see as missing leadership in the White House.

And you heard them criticize the President, saying that the reason that the coronavirus situation is the way that it is, is because they believe he

didn't take it seriously from the beginning, and really placing the blame for that squarely on the President.

Now, one other thing that was interesting about this event, as you heard Kamala Harris use that line about President Trump inheriting an economy

from the Obama-Biden administration and squandering it, that's actually a line that Joe Biden has used for quite some time.

So it's interesting to see, as this partnership, this match-up has developed, how Kamala Harris is now kind of adopting some of that language,

some of those arguments, as she fully becomes part of this campaign.

Now, in a short while, we will see Joe Biden and Kamala Harris here in Wilmington, Delaware, and they're attending a briefing on the COVID-19 from

public health experts. That's the very first thing they're doing after their first full day as running mates together.

And you saw yesterday they entered the event wearing the masks. It was all socially distanced. There wasn't a large rally with thousands of supporters

as you normally see at these vice presidential announcements and rollouts. There wasn't applause because it was reporters. There was no one there to

applaud for them.

So you see them taking those safety protocol precautions in their own events. We've seen Joe Biden doing that for a few months just -- a few

months during the coronavirus pandemic himself, but this is just one of the contrasts that they're trying to present with the President heading into

that General Election.

[09:10:49]

QUEST: Arlette Saenz with us there from Wilmington, Delaware. Thank you.

To Europe and the number of new coronavirus cases is starting to surge. Spain, which has already been a matter of concern until now, is now seeing

its average daily infection rates shoot up. You can see from the graph there, Spain is the one in green.

But it's not just there. There are rising numbers in Germany, which is the pink color, the U.K., slightly less so there, but France and Greece are all

going up as well.

Al Goodman is in Spain. What has gone wrong? It started off, Al, in the northern part of the country, around Barcelona. Now, it's starting to

spread elsewhere. What is happening?

AL GOODMAN, JOURNALIST: Hi, Richard, what's happening is that six weeks after lifting the nationwide state of emergency, which effectively did hold

back and got down the coronavirus cases throughout the spring, now it's up to the regional governments, all 17 of them.

I'm here in Northwest Spain. They have a government, Barcelona, the Catalans, Madrid, all of them are dealing with it their own ways.

And so, there's a hodgepodge, that's what the critics say, there's a hodgepodge approach to it. There is not a standard way of trying to battle

this coronavirus, and you're seeing the cases surge.

Also there's an admission that really, there aren't enough contact tracers throughout the country, especially in the hardest hit areas, Madrid and

Barcelona -- Richard.

QUEST: Quickly, Al, is there a feeling that they've lost control of this spike, that they're going to find it very difficult to get it back under

control?

GOODMAN: Well, one of the top health experts from the government has said a few days ago that, no, this isn't a second wave. They still can get it

under control, but you're seeing these kinds of piecemeal things.

So if the wearing of masks, mandatory in public spaces, even if you can social distance, that was not rolled out across the country at the same

time since June when the emergency was lifted. It came region by region by region.

Now, this region, Galicia, Northwest Spain has just said it's going to ban smoking in public places if you can't be socially distanced, two meters or

six feet apart. Now, we're seeing that just went into effect this day. We've already seen police officers talking to people smoking.

The idea is that if the mask is off, you're smoking and you are asymptomatic, you can be blowing this virus towards someone else.

Now, we're seeing that several other regions, Madrid, Anda Lucia and others are starting doing something similar.

So, you're seeing that's the way that they are trying to handle this. There's no unified approach right now and that could be part of the problem

-- Richard.

QUEST: Al Goodman, who is in Spain there. Al, thank you.

The pandemic is being blamed for the slump in oil, according to the latest numbers. Rising COVID cases and cuts in or freezes in air travel are taking

a toll. Clare Sebastian is with me.

We saw in U.S. numbers yesterday, Clare, the way in which the price of oil has shifted in terms of petrol and gasoline as part of U.S. inflation.

The driving season is under way in the U.S., but elsewhere it's an opposite story.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Richard, this is new information from the International Energy Agency, the body which advises

global governments on energy policy, and they have downgraded their forecast for demand for this year. They come after OPEC doing the same

thing yesterday.

They say they now expect 99.1 million barrels per day in 2020. That's 8.1 million per day less than last year and it's a downgrade of 140,000 from

their last estimate a couple of months ago. So clearly they are concerned.

They say the reasons are that recent mobility data shows that the recovery in many regions has in their words, "plateaued," that is of course

accepting Europe at the moment. They say that Europe is still pretty strong in terms of transportation.

But the biggest reason, Richard, is air travel. They say that the number of kilometers traveled was down 80 percent in April. It's still down 67

percent in July. That's two-third down in the busiest season of the year for flying compared to last year.

So that is really affecting demand for jet fuel and that is affecting their forecast for the year. Not a good sign for the global economy and the

recovery.

[09:15:17]

QUEST: Clare Sebastian. Clare, thank you. Now we shall check in with other news stories making news around the world.

For the first time since the deadly blast in Beirut, Lebanon's Parliament has met under heavy security. They're approving a state of emergency that

was imposed last week, which allows the Army to prevent protesting and threats to national security. Of course, the entire Cabinet resigned under

public pressure and that took place on Monday.

Taiwan's Foreign Minister says China is trying to turn Taiwan into the next Hong Kong. CNN's Paula Hancocks spoke exclusively to Joseph Wu who talked

about the recent visit to Taiwan by the U.S. Health Secretary, Alex Azar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSEPH WU, TAIWAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN MINISTER: The message was very clear. It was a show of support by the U.S. government to Taiwan, not only

to Taiwan being successful in dealing with the pandemic, but also to Taiwan as a whole.

The United States understands that Taiwan is under threat, either military threat or diplomatic threat and the United States is a very close partner

of Taiwan.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, tensions in the region have been increasing in recent months. China has been carrying

out more military drills. Taiwan has been carrying out more military drills. I mean, where does this lead?

WU: I'm worried about the situation. It's not just the Taiwan Strait. If you look at East China Sea, our Japanese friends are very concerned about

the Chinese sending vessels to the disputed waters all the time, so the tension is also running high in East China Sea.

And look at the situation in Hong Kong, the international community is trying to figure out a way to help the people in Hong Kong.

And look at the South China Sea, the militarization in the South China Sea is also a spot for concern, and there was also a border dispute in between

India and China.

So along the Chinese borders, there are plenty of issues for us to worry about.

HANCOCKS: Now, you have said that you worry Taiwan will become the next Hong Kong. Can you explain that?

WU: I think they will try to impose what they say, the one country, two system model on Taiwan, and that is turning Taiwan into the next Hong Kong

when China is facing domestic difficulties.

They might want to divert their domestic attention by creating a crisis outside China and sometimes we worry that Taiwan might become a scapegoat

of China's own problems. And in order to prevent China from taking Taiwan over or initiating any kind of force against Taiwan, we need to handle

cross relations in a very prudent manner.

HANCOCKS: There is an election coming up in November. You have had very strong support from the Trump administration. Do you believe you will have

that if Vice President Biden takes the White House? Do you think that strong support would continue?

WU: We have support from both sides of the aisle and I'm very confident that Taiwan-U.S. relations will remain strong and sound, whatever happens

in Washington, D.C.

And of course the defense of Taiwan is our responsibility and we'll continue to strengthen our own defense capabilities and to show to the

international community our determination to defend ourselves, but at the same time, we can count on the U.S. support either in security type of

cooperation or in the sale of necessary weapons for Taiwan to be able to defend itself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: In just a moment, when we come back, driving in a pandemic. We'll hear from the CEO of Vroom. It's launched and IPO'ed -- and now, we're

getting the first numbers about who is buying and selling cars in the middle of a pandemic.

And the robots helping COVID patients in Rwanda. Tech giving the country a lift.

It's FIRST MOVE.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:17:15]

QUEST: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. We are moments away from the beginning of trade about to get under way, and before we get there, let's go to one

of our top stories.

Of course Joe Biden and Kamala Harris made their public debut as running mates in the 2020 presidential election. With me is David Gergen, CNN's

senior political analyst and Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School.

I read your article, David. Interesting, you point out one important point, that you think is the most significant about Kamala Harris, and that's the

U.S. Constitution.

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

QUEST: And for the benefit for our viewers, allow me to remind you. It says, "In the case of the removal of the President from office or his

death, resignation or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President," so says Article

2, Section 1, Clause 6 of the Constitution.

Tell me why that is the most significant where Harris is concerned.

GERGEN: Well, we have in Joe Biden a man who is now already 77. He would be 78 upon inauguration, the oldest President we've ever had.

And he seems in very good health. He is spry. But at that age, you never know what's going to happen.

So, I think it's particularly important -- it is important in every election, the most important decision the presidential candidate makes is

the selection of Vice President, but I think in this case, it's particularly important.

One thing to add to that, Richard, if you go back in history to the Vice Presidents since World War II, we've had 15 Vice Presidents since World War

II. Five of them have gone on to be President in one way or another.

In other words, Kamala Harris has about a one in three chance to become President of the United States one day, one way or the other.

QUEST: And bearing that in mind, the abilities that she brings forth, I mean, she's had a certain amount of executive power as Attorney General of

California, but never run anything of size.

So I wonder, what is it that you find most appealing about her policies, her personality, that you believe does make her suitable to be a heartbeat

away?

GERGEN: I think it's the range of experiences that she has had. Coming out of California in particular, that is our biggest state. That has been a

proving ground for lots of people as governor to go on to be President of the United States, most notably Ronald Reagan recently.

[09:25:05]

GERGEN: When someone is active and successful in a big, big state, that usually gives them the kind of executive experience that they need to be

President. And she not only was an effective Attorney General, she was spotted even as Attorney General in California as a future star of the

Democratic Party, she went on to win the Senate seat, of course, from California.

So if you look at -- I think if you look at the range, it's at least what we have had in previous Presidents, and of course compared to our current

President who have no background in running anything in public life. He wasn't as well-prepared as he might have been.

People have come out of smaller states and tend to be -- you know, Bill Clinton at first had trouble. He came out of a smaller state. So did Jimmy

Carter.

But Kamala Harris comes out of a big state, a rough and tumble place, and she's got a tough skin.

All of that said, Richard, the thing right now that is on people's minds is that yesterday was a buffo performance for both Kamala Harris and for Joe

Biden. She did as the word has widely spread now in the political community, she brought spark to the Biden campaign.

He's been down in that basement. We haven't seen much of him. But there was a lot of flourish with her and they seem to have a warm relationship. Both

gave good speeches.

QUEST: David Gergen, thank you. I appreciate it. David Gergen.

GERGEN: Thank you, Richard. Good to talk to you again.

QUEST: Thank you. And always, as always.

Now, the markets open shortly, the Thursday session. We'll see what happens when trading gets under way.

This is FIRST MOVE.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:02]

QUEST: We are off to the races. The opening bell is ringing on Wall Street. The trading day in New York begins.

A very warm welcome to you. It is a Thursday. Interesting to see whether or not or how the day pans out in the markets, bearing in mind what we saw on

the mid-week session.

Mixed to begin with. Very bullish, strong NASDAQ, up two percent. So that takes to the records. I beg your pardon, there we go, now you see the way.

It was yesterday's churning through.

Yesterday's latest jobless claims report that we've had this morning, fewer than a million people filed last week. It's the first time since March that

we've seen that number under a million. Still very high at 963,000.

No new aid on the horizon for the unemployed and the fear is that the new stimulus won't come until next month, which creates its own range of vast

problems.

AMC shares are rallying on track to reopen two-thirds of its movie houses.

Now, the online car dealer, Vroom, had one of the most successful IPOs this year. Now, the stock is down after the first earnings report that it's

done. The company reported bigger than expected losses due to the pandemic.

Its outlook for the next quarter is down beat. Paul Hennessy, the CEO of Vroom is with me. Paul, I can't sort of say I blame -- I mean, I fully

understand, in the middle of a pandemic, buying and selling cars is not the first thing that most people would do. Therefore, you would have had a very

difficult time.

PAUL HENNESSY, CEO, VROOM: Well, Richard, first of all, good morning, and thanks for having me on the show. We're actually quite pleased with our

results in the second quarter. We were able to actually fundamentally sell more cars than we were expecting to sell and deliver more gross profit than

we were expecting to deliver.

We were able to drive 74 percent year-over-year increase in e-commerce sales, and so, what's happening is customers are turning to Vroom to buy

cars in a contact-free way, given the COVID backdrop, and they're also selling cars to us because of the contact-free environment that we offer

both on the buying side and the selling side.

QUEST: So what's the market telling us this morning in your view? Look, the price is down some 20-odd percent. What is the market -- what message

are you taking from this reaction to your earnings?

HENNESSY: Yes, I can't speak to the stock price, but here's what I can tell you. The real change in our business, because of COVID, was that now

customers are purchasing average selling price of cars significantly lower than they were in prior periods for us, so think about that as about a

$5,000.00 drop into the low $20,000.00 range.

And so, while we have ascending monthly sequential unit growth that we gave guidance for, as well as ascending gross profit per unit growth, it is

possible that the adjustment to revenue is what the street is reacting to. I think that's the message.

I think as they start to dissect the long-term prospects for the business, which are quite sound, even quarter to quarter, I think that that will

balance itself out.

QUEST: I mean, I question, are they? I mean in the sense that I don't doubt that online is the future. But if this goes on for another six months

or so, where there are various forms of restrictions, how will you accommodate that? I mean, you've already done contact-less delivery. What

more can you now do to stimulate demand in sales?

HENNESSY: Yes, it's interesting, Richard. First of all, stimulating demand in our business is not our problem. It's actually keeping inventory on our

shelves.

We sold off a lot of our inventory very quickly when the pandemic first hit and we did that strategically really to protect the company and protect our

balance sheet.

And then as we saw demand come back, we started aggressively buying inventory. So we've now got the high-brow problem of keeping up with

demand. The demand is absolutely there, and again, it's because of the entire sales process and the delivery process is contact-free.

So this is just -- it's fundamentally a better way to buy and sell a car.

[09:35:05]

QUEST: Paul, I'm fascinated by now, the differences that you can see, the similarities, if indeed there are any differences from Booking Holdings

through Priceline, travel and all of that sort of stuff, to the very nitty- gritty of large capital items like automobiles online where you've physically got to deliver a very large, heavy item.

Is there a difference in the way these transmission mechanisms online work?

HENNESSY: Yes, I think fundamentally, the e-commerce models are very similar and we've got a lot of pattern recognition between online travel

and now online car retailing.

Consumers want a great experience online. They want to be able to reach into their pocket and buy or sell their car. They can do that with Vroom,

and they want the convenience of having the vehicle brought directly to their driveway. Again, customers love that from Vroom.

So there are a lot of parallels. We're clearly -- both sets of e-commerce companies, we're disrupting the status quo in travel, we are disrupting

traditional travel agents and clearly in car retailing. We're disrupting traditional car dealerships.

QUEST: Right --

HENNESSY: And customers didn't like that model anyway, and so the fact that they can also buy a large item like a car and have it delivered,

customers love it. And we see structural changes in that behavior.

QUEST: Okay. Paul, one thought does occur to me. I was looking online at your protection promise and you can keep the car for seven days and then

hand it back if you don't like it, et cetera, et cetera.

How many people actually do return a car after seven -- or within the first seven days, saying, no, not for me.

HENNESSY: Yes, it's about five percent to six percent. But what's really interesting about that, Richard, is that about 20 percent to 25 percent of

those customers actually select another car that suits them better.

And if you think about what the test drive does, it allows the consumers to actually exercise the vehicle in their normal habitat. They can drive the

car to work, they can take the family out to dinner. They can see if it suits them well.

And so it just is a far superior test drive than driving around the dealership, around the block with a stranger in the car.

So, you know, we offer that as a way for our customers to do that.

QUEST: I'm not sure I would be brave enough to make the call and say take it back. Paul, it is good to see you. Thank you for joining us, Paul. The

CEO of Vroom.

HENNESSY: Thank you.

QUEST: Now, it is FIRST MOVE" on a Thursday. The market is open. It has been for some seven odd minutes ago.

And the movers, the global movers. Cisco's earnings have beat expectations. It is the fourth straight revenue jump, but weak guidance -- at least we're

getting some guidance -- weak guidance on the future and the stock is off 10 percent.

Lyft is seeing a 61 percent revenue decline. Ridership improved in July. However, it says it might suspend operations in California over the court

ruling, if the courts uphold the ruling drivers are employees. Uber said the same.

3M is higher, seeing broad-based improvement in sales again, at least we're getting some guidance.

And Tapestry is higher. Narrower than expected. It's the parent company, you'll remember of Coach and Kate Spade. Tapestry, always weird. I never

really understood that one. Strong online sales, though, and Tapestry is just off the nose.

After the break on FIRST MOVE, robots, drones and the high-tech world of Rwanda, a country that is well placed to deal with the COVID epidemic.

We'll have the I.T. Minister after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:04]

QUEST: One and a half million people are in lockdown in New Zealand as the country tries to stamp out an outbreak of COVID, having been free of any

form of local transmission over the last three months. Now, there has been a resurgence and the country is taking drastic action.

Fourteen new cases have been reported in Auckland. As a result, bars, restaurants and many shops forced to close.

On "Quest Means Business," Andy Foster, the Mayor of Wellington, explained why these draconian measures were necessary.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAYOR ANDY FOSTER, WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND: I think New Zealand's approach has been to go hard, go early, and the fact that we've had up until now,

102 days actually free of COVID in our community meant we were able to do an extraordinary number of thing which most other parts of the world

weren't able to do safely.

So, we had crowds of 30,000 to 40,000 people at rugby matches. We had concerts and those sorts of things, with live audiences, which people were

able to do safely and business being able to get up and going again.

I think the clear message from our perspective is that you can't have -- you can't sacrifice health and hope to have your economy going well.

QUEST: Right. But, Mayor, the -- New Zealand has had several cases over the last 102 days of, if you like, imported COVID where you've tested

people at airports on arrival. They have been found to have it and had to go into quarantine.

This is the first case of community transmission. Do you know how this family -- because it is all one family -- and they hadn't travelled. Is it

known how they got it?

FOSTER: No. This is one of the things that the health authorities and the government are looking into at the moment. They've said that they will get

some answers to us within about 72 hours of the announcements which were made, our time 9:00 a day and a half ago.

And is he we should have some clearer answers about that very soon.

QUEST: But for somebody in your position, I mean, at best, you are going to be chasing your tail on this, because if your goal is eradication, then

it only takes one or two cases like this to require total lockdown with the devastating impact -- now, I know -- we discussed this on this program many

times, the balance between -- you know, you don't put economies first, so to speak. It is not a zero sum game.

But I don't know how you balance that.

FOSTER: Well, I think that there are a number of different elements to this. One of the key ones is contact tracing. So good contact tracing. I've

got to say we probably have been a bit slack when we got to -- we've got a four level system.

So, Level 4 is essentially a complete lookdown except for the very essential going out and getting food and medical supplies and the services

that provide those key thing.

Level 1 is basically everything is fine with the exception of the border. And the guide here is in theory, we should have been contact tracing at

that point.

If you do good contact tracing, ultimately, you can check if somebody is diagnosed with COVID, then you can check who they have been in contact with

very, very quickly and you can isolate all of those people rather than isolate the entire economy.

[09:45:29]

QUEST: The Mayor of Wellington joining me there. New Zealand is a population of some five million.

The African nation of Rwanda has a population more than twice the size, 12 million and it's been praised for its strict contact tracing program.

It's using technology left, right and center, both in the hospitals, including robots donated by the U.N., taking temperatures, monitoring of

patients. And it is pioneering the use of drones to deliver medical supplies and the increasing smartphone ownership owe it all to the digital

economy.

None of which should be a surprise if you know anything about the way in which Rwanda has turned itself into the tech hub, if you like, the tech

infrastructure hub of Africa.

Paula Ingabire is the Minister of Information and Communications Technology and Innovation. The Minister joins me now.

Minister, firstly, on the sheer numbers, Rwanda's are extremely low, even though you're doing lots of testing. So it begs the question, I mean, are

these numbers from Rwanda, are they reliable?

PAULA INGABIRE, RWANDA'S MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION: Thanks, Richard. The numbers are very reliable

and I think that one thing that gives you the statistics that you're seeing, one is the social contract that the government of Rwanda has with

its people, who definitely as a government put in place different measures to contain the pandemic.

But also that wouldn't have been possible if we weren't working with the population that is willing and trusting the government to put in place the

right interventions.

QUEST: Okay, so, Minister, the idea of Rwanda, I've seen numerous stories about Yaba, the new tech -- the Silicon Valley, to use the cliche -- of

Africa. How are you going to be able to continue that level of innovation during this pandemic, when government resources will be needed elsewhere?

INGABIRE: I think it's a question of understanding the complementarity between some of the technology solutions that we are putting to use as we

contain the pandemic.

So an example is the drones that today we are using one to broadcast the different prevention measures that the population needs to adhere to, but

also the ability to monitor and make sure that you have the population responding to these measures that we're putting in place.

For example, social distancing, wearing masks, and so the alternative would be to have actual humans on the road in the communities trying to do that.

And so, what is the most efficient way to do it? If technology gives us that solution, then I think we achieved that objective.

And so we've had extensive discussions across the government trying to see what's the most effective and efficient way to respond to this, and in many

ways, technology has been our response to that.

Another example that I could share is with the robots. Again, as you might -- as you already know, all our frontline health workers are at risk when

they're dealing with the pandemic. So the easier we can reduce that, the better off we are as a population, but also our doctor-patient ratio is

still very high.

So if we're able to make sure the doctors are focusing on the critical work and then the routine work is done by robots, I think it's a gain for us.

QUEST: Minister, thank you for joining us. I appreciate it. Thank you.

Now, in a moment, the coronavirus outbreak has thrown -- well, the difficulties of getting major league sports up and running again. After the

break, we'll hear from the CEO of the Boston Red Sox.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:51:36]

QUEST: The question of how to get major sports up and running again in a safe way is one that is bedeviling all countries.

In the United States, a variety of methods is being used. For example, the NBA is keeping -- the NBA is keeping players in a so-called protective

bubble. Everybody playing in one place, locked off almost from the rest of the world.

But in cases of pro baseball in the United States, a different way is being adopted. The season is in full swing and more than two dozen cities, as you

can see on the map, are being used.

There have been outbreaks, marginal outbreaks among the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals. However, can this continue to work? A question for

the Boston Red Sox CEO.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAM KENNEDY, CEO, BOSTON RED SOX: So far, it's going well. We have had a few hiccups, as you know. You mentioned Miami and St. Louis and it could

happen to anyone given the contagious nature of this disease.

But so far, we've had less than half of one percent positivity rates since July 1st in terms of the testing. So as long as we all follow the protocols

in terms of health and safety, we should be able to get through our regular season and on to the postseason and it's been fantastic to have baseball

back during the summer months here as we all grapple with this terrible pandemic that is affecting so many of us around the globe.

QUEST: Now, on the commercial front, I mean, not playing in front of crowds, I was surprised to learn that 50 percent of revenue does come from

ticket sales. I thought it would be a lot less. I thought maybe it was sponsorship. But I was surprised that the crowd actually is a significant

part of the revenue.

So if you haven't got that revenue, you can't make ends meet. Therefore, what does that do to the finances of the company and the club?

KENNEDY: It's a great question. It's very, very difficult, as you point out. We're about a $10 billion industry at major league baseball and you

said, more than 50 percent of our revenues come from our fans and supporters coming through the gates each and every year.

Obviously, we play every day from April through the end of September, and then postseason play, and so we have so much of our revenue tied up in our

fans support.

Our revenues have been decimated. Each major league baseball club owner will be suffering losses well over $100 million, each club, so there's been

a lot of debt capacity that's been drawn upon and we're financing our way, hopefully, to the other side.

Of course, our ownership group is involved with Liverpool Football Club and we've had to play behind closed doors over there.

So it is devastating on a short-term basis, but we're all in this for the long haul. We see light at the end of the tunnel and we hope to welcome

fans and supporters back into our venues when the elected officials tell us that it's safe to do so.

QUEST: We're a business program and, as much as we like the sort of the sport on the field, we need to know the hard bottom lines, so to speak.

When you talk about Liverpool and Anfield and you talk about yourselves, the Boston Red Sox, how long do you think you can keep it going without

fans?

[09:55:14]

KENNEDY: Great question. Our hope, obviously, the virus will determine the answer to that question, the good news for supporters of Liverpool and fans

of the Red Sox, John Henry and Tom Warner and the Fenway Sports Group partnership are well capitalized and have the ability to keep going.

So as I said, we're in this for the long haul. But realistically, we're hopeful to have fans and supporters back at Anfield and at Fenway Park as

soon as humanly possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: There we are. That's the way it rumbles. The markets are open. The New York markets are doing business.

And that is FIRST MOVE for today. I'm Richard Quest. I will have "Quest Means Business" for you in a few hours from now. You can work out the time

yourself.

[10:00:00]

END