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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Pfizer Says COVID Treatment Could Be More Than 90 Percent Effective; Joe Biden Makes Tackling Coronavirus His Top Priority; Andrew Yang Wants To Flip The Senate For The Democrats By Moving South. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired November 09, 2020 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:04:37]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Live from New York, I'm Julia Chatterley. This is FIRST MOVE and here is your need to know.
Vaccine va-va-voom. Pfizer says its COVID treatment could be more than 90 percent effective.
Stocks surge. That news sends global markets soaring.
And the transition team. Joe Biden makes tackling the coronavirus his top priority.
It's Monday. Let's make a move.
[09:05:21]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome once again to FIRST MOVE. Great to be back with you for a special post-presidential election edition of our show today. There is
perhaps though only one thing that could upstage Joe Biden today and that's the announcement of a viable vaccine and that's the momentous news from
Pfizer and BioNTech that are partnered today who said, so far, data on their COVID shot shows that it is more than 90 percent effective in late-
stage trials. We are suddenly looking at the possibility of a post-COVID world.
As you can imagine, investors at this stage, not asking some of the deep questions that we need to ask this morning about the timing of this
vaccine, about supplies of this vaccine, instead, we'll bring you the context.
Meanwhile, global markets are soaring. We are set to open today at record highs for the Dow and for the S&P 500. Look at that. The gains are global
and they are growth-driven. Travel stocks, airlines, all soaring.
Interesting the relative underperformers here today and you can see that on the screen is the tech sector, the sector that has benefitted most from the
work from home shift. Zoom right now down double digits pre-market. We'll look at that in the open.
This is a global market story, however, oil prices also leaping as hopes for a return to some form of global growth build here.
If we take a breath, we're already set. We were already set to add to the bump of seven percent plus gains we saw last week post the presidential
election for the S&P. And we can't forget that either after the best week since April. The best election week gains, in fact, since 1932 when
Franklin Delano Roosevelt won his first term in office.
We were already hitting milestones overseas, too. The Nikkei in Japan, racing to its highest level in almost 30 years. Hopes for reduced trade
tensions under any presidency helping emerging market stocks last week, too.
The MSCI Emerging Markets ETF that exchange traded fund rising some seven percent. That also as you can see in front of you sitting at multiyear
highs. We have long said news of a vaccine outweighs the importance perhaps of presidential elections and stimulus for markets and where they stand
today and today, it's all about vaccine va-va-voom.
Let's get to the drivers. Dr. Anthony Fauci telling CNN the latest news from Pfizer is extraordinarily good news. Our chief medical correspondent,
Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been speaking to Pfizer's CEO, too and Dr. Gupta joins us now.
Sanjay, amazing to have you with us. I'm trying to curb my enthusiasm and failing miserably, but Pfizer reporting that their vaccine is over 90
percent effective. It's huge. Here's what the CEO just said to you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBERT BOURLA, CEO, PFIZER: Ninety percent is a game changer. Ninety percent, now you're hoping to have a tool in your war against the pandemic
that could be significantly effective.
How long this protection will last is something that we don't know right now, but it is part of the objective of the study. We will follow up the
44,000 people that received -- that are part of this study for two years and during this follow-up, obviously, we'll be looking also at the
durability of the immune responses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Okay, so huge news. Sanjay, give us your perspective here on what he was saying about the immunity, but also how effective or
efficacious this vaccine is.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT Yes, no doubt, Julia. It is good news, no matter how you cut at it. But like you, we have to ask,
put a critical eye on these things.
What he is basically saying is that the data has shown and I should point out, it's an interesting process. He hasn't seen the data, even as the
Pfizer CEO. There is this independent committee which is the only committee that can actually un-blind the data and look at it.
They called him Sunday, yesterday at 2:00 and basically said this -- they've had 94 people within the trial become infected and what they find
is that 90 percent of them were in the placebo group and 10 percent were in the vaccinated group. That's where this 90 percent defectiveness sort of
number comes from. These are still small numbers and eventually, Pfizer and the rest of us will get to see the data.
The other question, I think, Julia, again, to your point is preventing 90 percent -- you know having 90 percent effectiveness with regard to
preventing infections is very important. How well does it do at preventing the most serious disease in the most vulnerable patients, right? The
elderly people with preexisting factors. How well does it work for them? Again, that's something we'd want to see.
[09:10:10]
GUPTA: The point he was making at the end, I think is a very interesting one and it is going to come up again and again. How long does it last?
Right?
I mean, we know people who get infected, we are hearing reports that maybe the immunity lasts several months. It is still an unanswered question. Flu
shot, as you know, Julia, is typically thought of as a yearly shot. Is this going to be the same thing? Because this is going to be a massive, massive
distribution project.
There are football fields full of freezers now in places all over the world that are basically starting to put the vaccine in those freezers. It has to
be stored at a very cold temperature. All of this is ongoing, Julia, but overall, I don't want to dampen the news. I mean, like you said, we always
have to put the critical eye on it, but it is remarkable news that this is 90 percent effective, far more than what the F.D.A. would have accepted,
which is 50 percent.
So that's what we're working with this morning.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, great news and as you said, we want to have a look at the underlying data here and we still have to wait for that. But what can you
tell me as well about potential doses?
Because when I look to some of the numbers that the Pfizer CEO was talking to you about, I was pretty astonished and I know you also talked to him, at
least for Americans about price here, too. So what can you tell us on both of those things?
GUPTA: Yes, you know, Julia, I remember talking to you, I think it was back over the summer about the idea that these companies were going to do at-
risk manufacturing. They still don't have any kind of authorization, yet, they've been manufacturing these vaccines. I did ask Mr. Bourla about it
and here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOURLA: Now, we have millions already manufactured, and we believe that we are in a good situation to have up to 50 million doses this year globally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: And then he went on to say, 1.3 billion doses potentially in 2021. Now, keep in mind, again, it is two shots. So 1.3 billion doses would mean
650 million people globally becoming able to get the vaccine.
We still have got to figure out, Julia, how exactly this is going to be distributed. You know, healthcare workers, people who are at high risk such
as people who are in nursing homes, they're going to be first in line, but sort of where does it go from here? And how do you sort of separate it out
here in the United States from the rest of the world?
Because look, you know, an infection anywhere is an infection everywhere. So there is this global responsibility with regard to this vaccine that
they are going to be talking about.
In the United States, it's expected to be free, okay, which is, I asked him directly, how much will it cost the average person? "Free," he said,
because the government has, again, been purchasing at risk this vaccine through Operation Warp Speed for some time.
So, we'll see how it pans out. We will see what it means for future years. Will it always be free in perpetuity? We don't know, but this could become
a yearly shot. It is represents the largest vaccine distribution we have ever seen in our history of the world and at least in the United States, it
could be free. We'll see what it means for the rest of the world.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I mean, this is a huge and it's an incredible achievement, but I guess, just listening to you, again, talking about the potential
timeline here in terms of doses, even though they are higher than we expect, it's not an excuse not to handle the number, the sheer quantity of
record cases that we are seeing, not just in the United States now, but around the world, too. So still a lot of work to be done here, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Yes. Yes, let me just put a punctuation on that quickly. You're absolutely right. I mean, even if you have tens of millions of doses
available by the end of the year, great news, but no one should look at this as an excuse to stop masking, to stop physical distancing because
those things make such a huge difference.
We're still in an upward climb right now. I love good news, but I'm a doctor as well and that means we can't take our eyes off the ball.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Sanjay, honor to have you on the show this morning. Thank you so much. Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Thank you.
All right, global investors are applauding this potential game changer in the fight against COVID. The S&P and the Dow are set to soar into record
territory at the open. Dow, 30,000 once again in sight.
Christine romans joins me now. Now, I've done it, Christine, oh dear. We've tempted fate with the Dow 30,000. You and I have talked about election
risk, stimulus and the need for that, but this really is a game changer. You can see that playing out in the markets, pre-market this morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And the timing here. Look, Sanjay is absolutely right. You've got these record case counts
here. Hospitalizations going up.
We've got a moment here where we know this virus is running through our lives and our economy in this country and then this -- a shot in the arm,
pun intended, from Pfizer about progress on a vaccine.
The stock market could very well be getting ahead of itself, but it does show you how ripe it was for some good news about finally getting something
into the economy that can be a game changer maybe next year.
When you look at the stocks that are up, AMC, the movie theatre chain, up like 63 percent this morning. I mean, airlines, American Airlines up more
than 20 percent pre-market. Anything that was beaten down, any of these businesses and industries that really faced an existential crisis because
of COVID are getting big, big, big pops this morning.
[09:15:20]
CHATTERLEY: A light at the end of the COVID tunnel, potentially, but I like how you instantly said and I was thinking the same, are we getting ahead of
ourselves? It's still going to be a long road, even with this news and investors ability to jump ahead.
Christine, we were already jumping ahead, you and I, and I thought we were going to be talking about the presidential elections. So, we should talk
about that as well. And we were in this sort of tails I win, heads I win type of arrangement with these markets. You and I were saying whatever
happens here, we think that the markets will rally and that's what happened.
Are we getting ahead of ourselves with the belief that this is going to be divided Congress? It all comes down now to a runoff in Georgia that's going
to determine the future path of policy potentially for the entire country.
ROMANS: That's not until January 5th. Those are two seats that if they were to go Democrat, then Kamala Harris, the Vice President would be the
deciding vote.
Look, let's not get ahead of ourselves on that, either, but what's really interesting to me here. You're right, it was a couple weeks ago, there's
going to be a blue wave, stock markets like that. No, there's not a blue wave, stock markets like that.
No matter what, you know, if we get Donald Trump as a President, again, stock markets like that. If we get Joe Biden, stock markets like that. So
there's been sort of this really interesting shifting narrative, explaining gains in the stock market.
You and I both take pains to say though, the stock market is not the economy. And we had a Jobs Report on Friday that showed 638,000 jobs came
back, but we're still down 10 million jobs in a jobs hole and I worry a little bit that urgency over stimulus may be fading a bit. There's no
optimism about a vaccine, an unemployment rate that's below seven percent, but really, you've got a lot of families that are still suffering here
heading to the end of the year.
So we can look at all of these things, I think kind of separately, and then take the big picture and say this is an economy that is still sub, you
know, not doing as well as it should be doing right now and is going to need some help.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, no excuses here for not doing something or coming to the table here to negotiate, no excuses.
Christine Romans, thank you so much for that.
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden named a COVID-19 Taskforce this morning signaling an active transition period ahead of his swearing in on January
20th. President Trump still refusing to concede the election has vowed to mount new legal challenges.
Joe Johns joins us now. Joe, great to have you with us. Let's talk about Joe Biden first. He is being called the President-elect of the United
States, various nations around the world acknowledging that, some a little bit cautious here on potential legal challenges and recounts, but he can't
hang around as far as the COVID crisis is concerned. Transition Team go.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And he is going to name that transition team just today, so it's clear he is trying
to hit the ground running. And also important to say that there is supposed to be a meeting today of the existing Coronavirus Taskforce as well headed
up by the Vice President Mike Pence. All of this within the background, the President of the United States refusing to concede the election to Joe
Biden.
The question of course, how long is the President of the United States going to hold out? But one indication that he is not ready to do anything
yet, is the fact that the General Services administrator who is a Trump appointee so far has not moved to ascertain or acknowledge that Joe Biden
is the apparent winner of the election. That's important, because the GSA holds millions of dollars that need to be unlocked for the transition for
everything from payroll and office space, and travel and other things that people in the transition would have to do and would need money for.
So that's held up. It's not the huge deal it could be if we went 60 days into this, because as you know, the President is supposed to be sworn in
about 72 days from now.
So they're going to have to work that out, but it all begins with President Trump acknowledging the results of the election -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, fascinating to understand that. Because for now, it's not a problem. But the longer this drags on, it increasingly becomes so. Joe
Johns, thank you so much for that context there.
All right, we're going to take a break here on FIRST MOVE, but still to come Georgia on his mind.
Andrew Yang wants to flip the Senate for the Democrats by moving south. The former presidential candidate joins us to discuss the importance of the
Georgia runoffs.
And the pandemic package tour. Booking Holdings betting on a connected trip strategy to survive the coronavirus pandemic. We speak to the CEO. Stay
with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:23:07]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to the FIRST MOVE live from New York. We are seeing major gains for the U.S. stock markets pre-market amid news of a
potential game changer in the fight against COVID-19.
Pfizer and partner, BioNTech say their vaccine is more than 90 percent effective in late stage trials. The news as you can see expected to propel
the S&P 500 and the Dow to new records at the open today. Tech stocks, meanwhile, underperforming as investors rotate into stocks that will do
well when economies improve versus ones that have done well during the pandemic like some of the Big Tech stocks. Zoom is a great example.
Shares of airlines. Take a look at that and cruise lines moving, theaters and banks all set to rally when the stock market opens. Shares of both
Pfizer and BioNTech also soaring pre-market as you can see there, too.
Oil also surging on the news. U.S. crude up by more than 10 percent or near. Ten-year bond yields also spiking by some nine basis points. That's
bonds down, yields up. It's all about increased growth potential. Markets have also been trading on the assumption of a divided Congress. So
Democrats hold the House, Republicans hold the Senate. But that may not be the case if the Georgia Senate race goes the Democrats way.
Both the state seats look set for a runoff election in January after neither party won a clear victory. If Democrats can win both seats, they
will then control the Senate, at least for the first two years of the Biden presidency.
Joining us now is Andrew Yang, former 2020 U.S. Democratic presidential candidate. He plans to move to the state to help the Democrats take those
Senate seats. Andrew, great to have you back on the show with us post- election.
You know I was watching like I think the rest of the world, our coverage last week and you instantly zeroed in on Georgia recognizing the potential
for the balance of power in Congress to be won or lost for the Democrats in these seats.
[09:25:07]
ANDREW YANG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We have to give Joe a Senate he can work with, and unfortunately, Julia, we saw Mitch McConnell play the
obstructionist role during the Obama years. That is not what America needs right now.
So you're right, my family is moving to Georgia, the Yang Gang is heading to Georgia, and I'm going to knock on doors and register voters and rally
folks to come out for the Democratic Senate candidates on January 5th.
It's going to be great. It's going to be a continuation of the campaign in many ways.
CHATTERLEY: Can you knock on doors, Andrew, during a pandemic?
YANG: You can knock on doors if you have a mask on and you stand six feet away from the door when they answer.
CHATTERLEY: So that's your game plan.
YANG: You know, so there are protocols in place. But at this stage, there have been campaigns that have been interacting with folks safely from a
distance in various settings.
CHATTERLEY: You know, you also alluded to this in our coverage and I think it's very important that Joe Biden got millions of votes here, a record
number of votes, but Donald Trump and the Republicans also got millions of votes and we have to acknowledge here that for all the concerns about what
the leadership of the Republican Party looked like, there were millions of Americans who still decided that the Republicans' policy choices best
represent them relative to the Democrats.
In order to try and ensure a win in Georgia. Andrew, what policies need to be dropped by the Democrats in your view on what needs to be kept?
YANG: I'm not convinced that it was a policy discussion, Julia, I think that many people unfortunately, have become engaged in politics as a war of
characters or symbols as much as things that are going to improve their lives and I think that's what Democrats need to change.
Democrats need to make clear that here are the things that we want to do that will actually help you and your family and have people believe that.
Unfortunately, many Americans right now, don't believe the promises of politicians, and it is one thing that I think has continued to elevate
Trump's support.
Trumpism is going to be here for quite some time because institutional mistrust will be here for years.
CHATTERLEY: So, you're saying no matter what the Democrats promise here, people don't believe them. What specific policies do the Democrats need to
go into this runoff promoting, Andrew? I guess, I want specifics because there was a lot of confusion about things like court packing for the
Supreme Court, tax rises, and people weren't clear if those tax rises were relevant to them or their small business, for example.
I just feel like in terms of policy, and you kind of made this point, it was so noisy, I'm not sure people really understand what they're getting
here.
YANG: There is a lot of misinformation out of the Republican camp. I mean, Joe's plan was to raise taxes on people who are making over $400,000.00 a
year, which is a very, very small sliver of American taxpayers.
To me, the front and center policy that we should be emphasizing is cash relief, particularly while we're still trying to recover from this
pandemic. There have been tens of millions of Americans who filed for unemployment. And there is deprivation in every community around the
country as small businesses closed. That's what most Americans see around them. That's what they care most about.
And if Democrats were to message, look, we're going to put money into your hands and help shore up the jobs in your community, that to me would be a
winning message.
CHATTERLEY: Okay, and what about some of the more extreme policies, the bold Green New Deal, for example. I've mentioned it already, court packing.
So adding Supreme Court judges to those that we already have, Andrew, are things like this -- does Joe Biden need to come out and say, look, I'm not
going to do anything radical on this front. I'm not going to dramatically raise taxes for anyone, quite frankly, in a pandemic. Do you think these
things are important, too?
YANG: You know, if you look at Joe's proposals, Joe is proposing to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure, which most Americans
agree with. I mean, we can see that our roads and schools and bridges are in desperate need of repair. So when you actually get into the substance of
it, most Americans agree with what Joe is proposing.
The problem, Julia is that you have large organizations and political actors spending tens of millions fearmongering like scaring people being
like, oh, he is going to do something that's going to hurt you and your family when if you actually look at the substance of it, that isn't the
case.
So that is a monumental challenge, though, it is that the misinformation environment in the United States is very, very high where everyone is
trying to scare everyone, instead of bringing people together and actually drive towards some kind of solution.
That's why you see the dysfunction in D.C. where they can't get a relief bill passed, too.
[09:25:03]
CHATTERLEY: Yes, this is a great point. I mean, we have to point you're right. We believe more people voted for Joe Biden than for Donald Trump,
but 70 odd million people still voted for Donald Trump and we have to remember that, too, here when we try and unite the country.
Andrew, very quickly, do you worry that the vaccine news will prevent a deal being reached in the short term on more financial aid?
YANG: I certainly hope not. I mean, you're right that that would be a concern where Republicans will say, see things are going back to normal,
but things are not going back to normal for tens of millions of Americans that are right now struggling to keep a roof over their head.
So we need a relief bill just as much today as we did yesterday.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Andrew Yang, great to chat with you, former 2020 presidential candidate. Good luck in Georgia. We shall see.
All right, the market open is next. Stay with us. Bye.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to you FIRST MOVE. U.S. stocks are up and running for the first trading day of the week and there is major excitement I can
tell you on global markets this Monday.
Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90 percent effective in late stage trials. The Dow and the S&P have opened at fresh record highs. Tech
stocks, though, we are still higher, but they are relatively underperforming. It's the kind of data that investors have been waiting
months for and it's giving a huge boost to the economic sensitive stocks that will do well once economies are back up and running and behavior gets
somewhere near back to normal.
The news comes at a grim time in the fight against COVID with new U.S. cases soaring by more than 100,000 cases a day. All this as investors look
ahead to how the Biden presidency will affect the outlook, things like stimulus, taxes and business regulation as we were just discussing.
For more on Wall Street's reaction to Biden's win, today's vaccine news, I am joined by Scott Minerd. He is the Global Chief Investment Officer at
Guggenheim Partners. Bless you, Scott, great to have you with us on the show.
Talk to me about the vaccine first, I didn't intend to talk to you about this first, but that's the news of the morning and investors are clearly
loving it.
SCOTT MINERD, GLOBAL CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, GUGGENHEIM PARTNERS: Well, Julia, I think it's the big news of the day. I mean, obviously the
resolution around the election is important, but this is taking us to a whole new level.
And you know, I was just looking at stocks here before I came on. And you know, based upon what I see here, I would expect that the S&P will be up at
4,200 before this move is over. So very, very constructive for the market.
CHATTERLEY: Are we getting ahead of ourselves, Scott? I mean, we were talking earlier on the show about the potential timeline here. It's still
going to take some time, assuming we get everybody on board. We've got antivaxxers in the United States. There's all sorts of considerations --
distribution, it's going to take some time. Are we perhaps pricing in too much optimism too soon? And it is day one and I'm already saying that?
[09:35:17]
MINERD: Well, Julia, look, I mean, obviously, when we have a big move like we've had over the course of the last week or so, and you get this kind of
a big abrupt move, at the end of a rally, you know, we are going to have to have a period of consolidation. And I think stocks could pull back maybe
five percent from where we are right now.
But, you know, the one thing that I always am reminded of from the work that Danny Kahneman did on behavioral finance, and that is, don't get
yourself absorbed into these short term moves, but look at where the trend is taking you and invest based on that long term trend.
CHATTERLEY: So that's a great point to make, particularly in light of what we saw last week with the presidential election it seems, and you can
correct me if I'm wrong that investors are sort of looking and positioning in the idea that we're going to have divided Congress.
So the democrats keeping the House, the Republicans potentially holding the Senate, and yet we have this runoff vote in Georgia, where effectively the
entire balance of power of Congress will be decided. Is that another risk that we're perhaps overlooking at this stage? Scott, what's your view
there?
MINERD: I think so, Julia. I mean, the Senate is not resolved by any means. However, you know, if it did turn into a blue sweep, that'll probably be
good for the economy because the Democrats are more prepared to spend money on stimulus than the Republicans.
The question really becomes a longer term issue, which is, you know, how sustainable will these deficits be? And also, you know, what will happen
with interest rates? Meaning if the government suddenly has a massive increase in its borrowing needs, it's going to push long term rates up
more, which is going to bring the Federal Reserve back into play.
CHATTERLEY: That's a phenomenal point to make as well, because I was just looking at the global bond market reaction to the news we got this morning,
and I guess one way you could look at this is perhaps suggest that the belief is that the United States will recover quicker once we get a vaccine
than Europe will.
Do you agree with that, just based on even today, what we're looking at in terms of the COVID crisis and the differing reactions in terms of stimulus
response?
MINERD: Well, I think that, you know, in terms of rates, the market is getting ahead of itself, and, you know, it doesn't mean that the increase
in rates is going to stop right here. But, you know, at some point, there is some level of long term rates, which will just not be acceptable to the
Federal Reserve and other Central Banks.
And, you know, they've made it very clear to us that they are very focused on inflation. They are very focused on keeping rates down, and trying to
get us back to full employment as fast as possible.
And, you know, given even with the vaccine, it is great news. It's awesome news. But the bottom line is right now, that's not going to put restaurant
workers back into their jobs or people that are in small or medium sized enterprise.
CHATTERLEY: Couldn't agree more. Do you think this changes the calculus with regards hope that a financial aid deal can be agreed? Because to your
point, and I couldn't agree more with you, it's still needed?
MINERD: Right. Well, I think that this is going to embolden the Republicans even further. There are many of them on the right, who believe that we
don't need more stimulus, and so you know, as long as the Republicans retain control of the Senate, they are going to be a big roadblock for
anything other than reducing taxes and probably infrastructure spending, and maybe, you know, some sort of a short term return of unemployment
benefits.
But they are not going to be in favor of the $3 trillion plan that that Speaker Pelosi was proposing.
CHATTERLEY: No. Scott, what should investors be doing today in light of all the things we've discussed and the still many ongoing uncertainties?
MINERD: Well, you know, first off, you know, the first thing I'll do after this is I'll pop a bottle of champagne and celebrate around.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. I am with you.
MINERD: But after that, you know, I'll probably take a more sober look at what's going on and, you know, try to figure out what the next rebalancing
for our portfolios is, but the bottom line is, people should have more confidence I think in the stock market right now and not worry too much
about interest rates.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Big sigh of relief. Thank you. Scott, great to chat with you as always. Scott Minerd there, the Global Chief Investment Officer at
Guggenheim Partners. Stay well.
All right coming up here on FIRST MOVE, the oil market is also hot this morning as the world hopes for the coronavirus vaccine arriving soon. We'll
take you to the Middle East to get the latest. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:43:08]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. Oil prices soaring at this moment on optimism for a coronavirus vaccine after Pfizer said early data shows
its vaccine is more than 90 percent effective against COVID-19. John Defterios joins us now. John, great to have you with us. Hopes for a
resurgence of global growth and some return to normality. We may be jumping ahead, but investors don't care. Oil higher.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: No, they really are. They are pushing oil prices up what -- nine to ten percent on this session
here. This is the biggest gain since May.
But if you look at one area that's been hit hard by the pandemic, it is oil for jet fuel, for cars, trucks, you name it in transportation, Julia, and
because we froze up, we saw a drop of better than 40 percent since the start of the year until we've seen the spike up today.
Interesting language that came out also from a panel I was chairing virtually at the ADIPEC here in Abu Dhabi. We had the Minister of Energy
for Saudi Arabia, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman saying that they want to remain flexible. This is as the news was crossing on Pfizer and progress on
the vaccine, saying that the cuts of 7.7 million barrels a day that we see right now, they may be flexible and not phase them out in the first quarter
of 2021. They would extend if necessary.
And it was all about the widespread distribution of the vaccine, not just the United States, but also in the emerging markets around the world. So I
think to your point, Julia and what we were talking about with Scott there, we may be putting the cart before the horse here.'
This is a knee jerk reaction and an oversold market right now, but also with an OPEC Plus group that's willing to keep the cuts it sounds like if
necessary, depending on the development of the vaccine.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, absolutely. And I do want to talk about the presidential election, what was initially part of our plan, JD, talk to me about the
different drivers here. What does a Biden presidency mean for the energy market and the region specifically?
[09:45:06]
DEFTERIOS: Yes, it is -- it is the key question. In fact they were trying to sort that out in the panel today. I would put it under the umbrella,
Julia, of re-engagement of Joseph Biden, number one, it could be here in the Middle East with Iran. I don't think he is going to sprint to do so.
There will be a tougher package than put forward by the Obama administration. But it could allow up to three and a half million barrels
of production for Iran over time.
Saudi Arabia said they would deal with it when necessary, but they kind of got the same spirit.
U.S.-China trade, I think, also, you're not going to hear the bellicose language of Donald Trump banging away on tariffs all the time. He has to
look tough on jobs, he being Joe Biden, and protect the American worker, but I would imagine multilateral discussions not bilateral in trying to get
China to come their way on that front.
And finally $2 trillion pledged to renewables in the energy transition and rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement. The OPEC Secretary General who said
it has been very beneficial to have U.S. oil and gas producers in a dialogue with OPEC. What happens under Joe Biden, here's the view of OPEC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMAD SANUSI BARKINDO, OPEC SECRETARY GENERAL: We look forward to continuing this dialogue in the months and years to come because the U.S.
has a special place on the table in the global energy transition.
And this global conversation would be incomplete, as we both found out in the last four years, without the U.S. taking its rightful position in these
discussions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: I tell you, in the last 12 months, Julia, from ADIPEC and this big oil conference in Abu Dhabi, the narrative has changed radically about
the energy transition. So you even hear OPEC saying the same thing. But there's been a washout of the oil and gas producers in the Permian for
example, 500 companies have gone bankrupt, $300 billion of debt.
They are saying look, let's not abandon the hydrocarbons. Let's make it a transition to work together.
I don't know of Joe Biden is going to be the same with Donald Trump engaging with OPEC all the time. But you heard the words from OPEC now,
they're willing to do so.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, John Defterios, thank you so much for that. It's going to be a fascinating period of time to watch.
All right, so let me give you a quick look at what we're seeing for U.S. stocks once more. The Dow and the S&P are in record territory, bumper gains
here on vaccine hopes led of course by travel and tourism stocks, some of those the most beaten up stocks that we've seen over the past few months.
Music to the ears of our next guest, perhaps, the CEO of online travel firm booking.com, up next, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. Kamala Harris has made history as the first female and the first black and South Asian Vice President-elect.
CNNs Kyung Lah looks at why this moment means so much to women and to girls across the country and the world.
[09:50:07]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Wearing the color of the women's right to vote movement a century ago, Vice President-
Elect Kamala Harris showed the world what the future now holds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibility.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH (voice-over): The audience mirroring her message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now we know that we have hope to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH (voice-over): From those who saw her in person --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a refugee myself that I came here 11 years ago, I'm really excited to see her in the office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH (voice-over): To those who spilled into city streets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE GRAY, CELEBRATING BIDEN WIN: Today was a monumental day. I didn't wake up this morning expecting for this to be one of the best days of my
life, but it really is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A woman made history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH (voice-over): To posts across social media.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
LAH (voice-over): Women and girls, especially those of color, celebrating themselves, finally reflected in one of the most powerful positions in the
country.
Paving the path has been a passion for Harris. The daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, a mission instilled in her by her late mother, as she
told me during her own presidential run.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: When I see those little girls in particular, I mean, I see myself, right? And I see the children of my family and I see the children of our
country. And I see the promise of our country. My mother had many sayings and one of them is, you may be the first to do many things, make sure
you're not the last.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH (voice-over): A dream now realized.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH (on camera): And it's not just with future generations that Harris hopes to have an impact, it is with women right now as we saw it during her
presidential run and also her time as a senator, she hires a diverse staff leaning on women of color, and not just in numbers of staff, but in placing
those women in decision making roles.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Scottsdale, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: All right, let's bring it back to our top story now and that's Pfizer's vaccine hopes and the news we got this morning. One massive
beneficiary from today's positive news of course, travel and tourism.
Take for example, Booking Holdings. Its brands include hotels, airline tickets and car hires, a short time ago, its stock was up some 16 percent.
As you can see, it comes as the United States approaching 10 million COVID cases with 237,000 victims.
In Europe, nearly 1.3 million people have lost their lives and there are more than 50 million cases. According to Booking Holdings in the third
quarter, room nights were down 43 percent year over year, but that's an improvement on the 87 percent drop during Q2.
Glenn Fogel is CEO and President of Booking Holdings and joins us now. Glenn, fantastic to have you with us. Lots of current challenges to
discuss, but you must be very relieved to hear the positive news on the vaccine.
GLENN FOGEL, CEO AND PRESIDENT, BOOKING HOLDINGS: Well, thank you for having me. Absolutely. This is just wonderful news.
Of course, we all have been hoping for it and be heard the Phase 1 trials going well, Phase 2 trials going well. But as we all know, Phase 3 is a
critical thing and you hear this news, it is just fantastic. And well, it won't be a change overnight. It certainly, I think makes everybody feel
that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Crucial distinction, the short term, we've still got escalating cases all over the world. Talk to me about what you're seeing
now in terms of bookings, whether that's in Europe or in the United States to ongoing hotspots.
FOGEL: Well, it's gone south very badly in many parts of the world, Europe, particularly. You know, we talked about how we had a very nice summer where
there's a real rebound from the spring lockdowns, but things started going bad in October and I talked last week in our earnings call how in the seven
days preceding my earnings call, the new room night bookings were down 70 percent versus the year earlier and that was just a significant drop.
You know, as the virus infections go up, governments start putting in more restrictions. People are concerned about traveling and travel business just
goes down very sharply.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, sentiment surely more even than the lockdowns at this stage, people will simply get frightened to either get on planes or move
around too much and risk being quarantined the other side, it's a number of different factors.
FOGEL: Absolutely. And unfortunately, it's going into the winter where in the summer at least you could take a drive trip to somewhere, a little
holiday and say, we'll drive somewhere. We'll be outside. It would be wonderful and nice.
In the northern hemisphere. It's getting cold and dark and winter is not a good time for many, many vacations to just be out by a lake. Sure there are
ski holidays, but even those are very restricted because people don't want to get close to anybody else. So maybe out on the slopes, it's okay. But
you don't want to be crowded in a lift line, you certainly don't want to be crowded in the lodge.
So unfortunately, we still see a significant amount of trouble in the travel industry, even with this wonderful news for some time.
[09:55:35]
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it's going to take time. So Glenn, you wrote an op-ed that was the reason initially that I wanted to talk to you because you do argue
and continue to argue that businesses like your own continue to need support at this stage.
Glenn, what hopes do you have in light of the presidential election result that that hope will be coming or do you still see it as challenged?
FOGEL: Well, we absolutely have -- congratulations to President-elect Biden, and, you know, I'm very pleased that we are moving forward past this
election time to actually start producing things that are necessary for our industry, which is aid.
We need a new -- in the U.S., we need a new package of aid for the travel industry. You know, we've seen this work actually in Japan where it's safe
to travel or countries like Thailand, where it's safe to travel. Both governments there put together packages to help stimulate the travel
industry. We work with them and we saw that stimulus and we saw people getting incentivized to travel and people did travel.
So when travel gets to be safe again, we need governments around the world, particularly the U.S. to put together a big package, a package that will
drive people to want to travel right away so we can bring back employment, all the people who have lost their jobs, we need to get that going.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, a package to support the tourism sector, but it also requires significant control of the virus itself in order to give people
the confidence still to travel, whether it's international or domestic.
Glenn, keep in touch with us, please. We'll see how it goes. Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings there. Great to chat with you.
All right, a quick look at the markets. We have to be very quick though because the show is well and truly over. We are at record highs for the Dow
and the S&P 500. There is the snapshot and that's it for the show.
I'm Julia Chatterley. Stay safe. We'll see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:00]
END
