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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Dozens of Boeing 777s Grounded after a Turbine Failure; Boris Johnson Set to Ease COVID-19 Restrictions; Beijing Pressing Biden to Lift Trade Tariffs and Remove Tech Sanctions. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired February 22, 2021 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:29]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: Live from New York, I am Julia Chatterley. This is FIRST MOVE and here is your need to know.
Engine emergency. Dozens of Boeing 777s grounded after a turbine failure.
Lockdown let up. Boris Johnson set to ease COVID-19 restrictions.
And China's call. Beijing pressing Biden to lift trade tariffs and remove tech sanctions.
It's Monday, let's make a move.
Welcome once again to FIRST MOVE. Great to have you with us this Monday as we await Boris' blueprint. Yes, as I mentioned, the U.K. Prime Minister
Boris Johnson is set to announce plans to ease England's lockdown today as new cases in the United Kingdom fall sharply and the pace of vaccinations
ramps up.
One-third now of British adults have received at least one vaccine dose. A trail blazing rollout, so far. And slower but steady progress in the United
States and recovery, hopes have helped drive stocks to record highs in recent weeks.
Two U.S. business activity rose this month at the fastest pace in almost six years with even the services sector showing improvement, but faster
growth of course brings alternative worries for investors.
Global stocks all pulling back again today as traders eye the swift rise in bond yields, which of course has the potential of raising borrowing costs
and making stocks relatively less attractive by comparison. U.S. 10-year yields, volatile premarket, but still sitting near levels not seen since
the start of the pandemic this time last year.
Australian 10-year yields jumping today to their highest since May of 2019 to 1.6 percent. U.S. benchmark yields, by contrast, to compare it 2.4
percent at that time in 2019. That would be a huge jump from where they're trading currently. Japanese 10-year yields also higher today, as you can
see.
Now, all of these, pressuring tech stocks sensitive to higher rates. The NASDAQ pulling back from records and down some 1.5 percent last week. Apple
is off more than four percent over the past five trading sessions. It's now down some two percent on the year so far. But wow, look at that run up
since February of last year.
Bitcoin following suit this morning, down over nine percent, though it traded above $58,000.00 per bitcoin this weekend. Never shy with his
opinions, recent investor Elon Musk say the current levels seem high.
Wowsers. More on this later on in the show but, first, let's get to our drivers.
Airlines in the United States, South Korea and japan are taking dozens of Boeing 777 jets out of service, it follows a flight which suffered a
dramatic engine failure over the weekend. Debris was showered across a wide area of Denver, Colorado as Dan Simon reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After United Airlines flight 328 experienced problems shortly after takeoff, Saturday, the company is
temporarily removing all 24 of its Boeing 777 airplanes with Pratt & Whitney PW-4000 engines from service out of an abundance of caution.
PILOT: Denver departure. United 328 heavy mayday. Aircraft just experienced engine failure. Need to turn immediately.
SIMON (voice over): The United pilot making a mayday call on the flight heading from Denver to Honolulu, as passengers watched the right engine
fire off flames and pieces of the plane fall off in terror.
BRENDA DOHN, PASSENGER ON UNITED FLIGHT 328: I looked out and I could see some smoke coming and I just knew. You know, like, you know something is
wrong, something is not right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of a sudden, there's a big explosion out my window. My wife and I held hands and just wished our kids -- we would see them
again.
CALLER: Oh, my God.
911 DISPATCH: Hang on one second. We're getting blown up with 911 calls.
SIMON (voice over): And on the ground, the engine malfunction sending a trail of debris raining down in suburban Denver neighborhoods.
TYLER THAL, EYEWITNESS: As I look at it, I actually see fire burst out of the plane, an explosion. So you know, I was kind of in shock at first and
then I start thinking, oh my gosh, is this plane going to go down?
SIMON (voice over): This gigantic piece of metal landing right into this front yard.
KIRBY KLEMENTS, EYEWITNESS: We heard the big crash boom and this big silver piece roll right in front of our picture window there. I'm going
like, what the heck is that?
[09:05:10]
SIMON (voice over): There were no injuries reported for the passengers and crew on the plane or in the Broomfield, Colorado neighborhood where most of
the debris fell.
Boeing now recommending that all 777 airplanes with that engine model should suspend operations while the National Transportation Safety Board
investigates.
This, after the Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency order saying it would step up inspections of Boeing 777 aircraft with the same
engine model that failed Saturday.
MILES O'Brien, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: The question is, how do you properly inspect these fan blades? They're hollow. They are big. Each of them weighs
about 30 pounds and they crack from the inside out.
SIMON (voice over): Now, the N.T.S.B. is investigating why the United aircraft experienced what aviation experts are describing as an uncontained
engine failure.
MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: They are going to want to know if it was a flaw that was embedded for years, sort of a smoking time bomb, if you
will, or if it was something that happened more recently and was missed in inspection. So the N.T.S.B. has a lot to do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Dan Simon reporting there. For more, Richard Quest joins us now. Richard, great to get your expertise on this.
I mean, it is astonishing given what we saw in terms of debris on the ground and damage to the plane engine that we didn't see anyone injured or
any loss of life as a result of this, but it is no surprise that whoever is running these planes is taking no risks.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Completely. And it's the same airline, United, that had the incident back in 2018. So they already had
the awfulness of seeing their aircraft engine blow up once, and they have seen the report that says there needs to be greater inspections and when
you look at the history of that incident and this incident, you see it's virtually identical. The plane -- the engine looks the same.
Look, Julia, these engines are designed to contain any explosion. That's the brown Kevlar that you see at the front of the engine. What has happened
here is with such force -- those blades are spinning at 3,000 revolutions per minute at least when the plane is in the cruise.
And if you think about the force, one of those blades could move a car over several storey building in terms of the force that it expels and when it
was liberated, to use the language, from the engine, that's what you saw.
Two things are a miracle or three things. Firstly, that it didn't remove the wing in the process. Secondly, it didn't rupture the fuselage or
anything, any of the fuel lines. And thirdly, and perhaps, most crucially, once you lose something from a plane, it's going fall to the ground, but
nobody was killed on the ground or injured.
CHATTERLEY: Richard, I have to ask the question, because when this story broke and I saw Boeing's name, my heart clenched. What does this mean for
Boeing?
QUEST: This is a tricky one, Julia, because it is not a Boeing problem, per se.
CHATTERLEY: I know.
QUEST: It is a Boeing problem, it is their plane.
CHATTERLEY: But --
QUEST: It is a Pratt & Whitney engine problem. And remember, there are 777s around the world flying beautifully with GE engines and Rolls Royce
trend. The majority of the fleet are on those other two manufacturers.
However, for Boeing to have to announce its 777s should be grounded and it is Boeing taking the lead, firstly, you've got the 787 where delays have
been halted because of problems in manufacturing. Quality problems with manufacturing on the fuselage.
You've got the 737 MAX only just back in the air, and there are still issues with training. Now you've got the 777 X, which is the new big one
which is delayed until 2023, at least two or three years late.
And now, the 777-200. Remember, United was the launch customer for this plane back in 1996, so it is an old plane, oldie but a goody. It is the
engines that is a problem and Boeing is going to catch the flak.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Richard, great to have you with us. Thank you for that. Richard Quest there.
All right, in just over an hour's time, the British Prime Minister is due to unveil his long awaited road map for England's reopening. The U.K., of
course, has been under a strict extended lockdown since January 4th following the discovery of a new and more infectious COVID-19 variant.
Isa Soares joins us now. Isa, great to have you with us. Great to hear that reopenings are going to take place and we will get details out later on
today. But cautious, given vaccine rollout and variant potentials seems to be the watch word here.
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, indeed. I think it's going to be one of those slow as she goes. Those expecting it to open full throttle will be
highly disappointed, Julia.
The Prime Minister has said along that he will be guided this time by the data and not by the dates. Remember, he has learned his lessons this time.
He does not want to open too quickly.
So what we do know when the Prime Minister speaks to the country at 7:00 p.m. local time, is that he will announce the first phase and the first
phase will be opening schools.
[09:10:08]
SOARES: So parents across the country will be highly relieved that that is about to happen. Of course, they have been home schooling since the
beginning of January.
So March 8th, schools will open, we do not know, Julia, whether this is going to be staggered approach or whether pupils will be in bubbles whether
there will be testing, but they will be open.
Also, on that same day, people -- two people from different households can meet outside for a coffee, let's say. We also know that on that date, we
know in the last 24 hours, that on March 8th, care home residents can receive a visitor for the first time in a long, long time and they will be
able to see each other face-to-face and touch.
The importance of touch. Remember the images of people touching windows, being able to see their loved ones. So that is hugely important.
After that it will be slow, cautious, and phased. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADHIM ZAHAWI. BRITISH VACCINES MINISTER: On the 29th of March, it will be two families or the rule of six meeting outdoors and outdoor sports --
tennis, golf, and other outdoor sports including team sports on the 29th of March will return.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Now, all the dates that we've heard -- from March 8th and March 29th will all be dependent on four conditions, Julia. I think we've got a
graphic to show our viewers.
These are the four factors, the four conditions that the Prime Minister will be looking at before he decides whether he opens up fully. That will
be the rate of infection. That's been dropping. Will it continue to drop? Because that will have an impact on hospitalization.
The vaccination program that has been a huge success in the country, more than 17.5 million people have had their first dose of the vaccine, but also
variants. The variants in the country. He doesn't want to open too quickly because that creates a breeding ground for the variants having an impact,
of course, again on hospitalization as well as on the vaccine.
So all of this will be thought about. He'll be looking at the data to determine whether and when the economy can open up full throttle -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Got to watch the data incredibly carefully and see the impact that it's having. Isa, very quickly, speaking of data, and I know
it's not peer reviewed, so we have to be cautious about it, but what can you tell us briefly about the study that was done in Scotland about the
reduction in hospitalizations even after the first vaccine dose? Something very encouraging about what we are seeing there.
SOARES: Very encouraging, indeed. Like you said, it is early data. It has not been peer reviewed. But it is being welcomed and it is one of many
studies that are being done up and down the country.
But what we have found in the State in Scotland looking at those who had the first dose of the vaccine and those who haven't in the level of
hospitalization. We are looking at hospitalization here and infection rather than transmission here.
This is what they found. Those after the first dose, four weeks after the first dose reduced the risk of infection or hospitalization, I should say,
for those who have had the Pfizer vaccine was reduced to 85 percent, so incredible reduction there, and those with AstraZeneca reduced to 94
percent.
So incredibly encouraging data, one of many data -- one of many research being done at the moment. It doesn't talk about transmission, as you said,
that's important because we don't know if those who have received the vaccine can still catch it and transmit it to others, but highly
encouraging nevertheless, the first time we've seen really the vaccination program is actually having the desired effect of reducing hospitalization -
- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and after just one dose, the critical factor here, too, which is fantastic.
SOARES: Yes.
CHATTERLEY: Early days, to your point, and we will repeat it, but yes, good signs. Isa Soares, great to have you with us. Thank you for that.
All right, remove tariffs and sanctions, that's what the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi said today urging the Biden administration to repair
relations between the two nations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WANG YI, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We hope the U.S. will adjust policies as soon as possible to remove unreasonable tariffs on
Chinese products, to remove unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies and research and scientific institutions, to remove irrational suppression on
China's tech sector's rise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Will Ripley is live in Hong Kong for us. Irrational suppression of China's technological progress, unreasonable tariffs -- I
think the United States begs to differ even under this administration, Will.
What is likely to be the response of the United States? Because very little came out of the G-7 talks and President Biden has made it clear he wants a
consensus on how to handle China going forward.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the signals, Julia, that President Biden is giving, at least in this area of tariffs and
sanctions is not going to be good news for Chinese President Xi Jinping or Foreign Minister Wang Yi who was speaking at that forum in Beijing.
[09:15:10]
RIPLEY: Because the United States is saying, they are going to keep those Trump tariffs and sanctions in place, contingent on lifting them only if
Beijing keeps its commitments made in the trade deal negotiated between the Trump administration and President Xi's administration.
Now, there is no doubt that this has done a lot of economic damage for the dozens of Chinese companies that President Trump sanctioned over the last
three years. Think about Huawei. They were the number one smartphone manufacturer in the world, now, they have dropped to number six.
China wants not only, you know, the easing of those sanctions, but perhaps the pressure eased on those contentious issues like forced technology
transfer, Chinese protection of intellectual property. The State having such a stronghold on the markets inside China.
No indication that Beijing is willing to budge on that or that the U.S. is willing to budge on demanding that.
Now the U.S. is hinting, Julia, they will cooperate on issues of neutral interest like climate change, like global economic recovery, like the
coronavirus pandemic. But the United States under Biden is also saying it is going to put more pressure on China on red line issues such as human
rights here in Hong Kong or Xinjiang, Tibet and even the Taiwan issue.
CHATTERLEY: Funny that you mentioned those. I don't think there is any surprise actually on what the Foreign Minister said about tariffs and about
sanctions. Eye brows will be raised however, about what he said with regards to "progress in areas" like Xinjiang. Just listen to what he had to
say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YI (through translator): Xinjiang, Tibet and other areas where ethnic minorities live are even more important examples of human rights progress
in China. Over the past 60 years, Xinjiang's economic aggregate has increased by more than 200 times. The per capita GDP has increased by
nearly 40 times and the average life expectancy has increased from 30 to 72 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: The economics is one thing, the human rights is a completely separate issue here, I think, Will, and for people who have been very
critical of what is going on in that area, these comments are inflammatory, to say the least. What do you make of it?
RIPLEY: It gives us some real insight, Julia, into Beijing's definition of human rights. According to the Communist Party of China, human rights
means, you know, improving those things like the economic aggregate, the per capita GDP, the life expectancy.
But human rights advocates and the United States, and its allies would say the cost that these Muslim minority groups, particularly the Uighurs have
paid is atrocious by any standard.
When you have accusations of one million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities imprisoned in these labor camps that China calls vocational
training institutes that China acknowledges they feel are necessary to prevent terrorism and extremism inside their borders, it really is just
appalling for people who are trying to -- gain for more for these groups in terms of their freedoms and stop their culture from being erased because
that's exactly what China has been accused of doing.
So, they can point to the numbers, but these survivors of these camps who have told the horrifying stories, including recently to our Ivan Watson
claiming that she was raped by guards inside these camps. This just underscores the real huge chiasm that exists between the United States and
its allies and China on this key issue and a lot of analysts believe, Julia, that this could be a major stumbling block for any progress economic
or otherwise between the West and China.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Improved economic at what cost? Will, thank you for that. Will Ripley.
RIPLEY: Yes.
CHATTERLEY: All right, still to come here on FIRST MOVE, sun, sea and bio bubbles. Sri Lanka reopens to tourists under the condition that they don't
mingle with the locals.
And locked out of the vaccine rollout, 130 nations have yet to administer a single COVID vaccine dose. We're joined by UNICEF's COVID coordinator who
is attempting to level the playing field. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:22:08]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. Finding ways to safely welcome tourists remain a struggle for many countries around the world. For more
than a month now, Sri Lanka in South Asia has been avoiding strict quarantine lockdowns.
Travelers, though, must stay in approved hotels for the first two weeks. They must travel independently, be tested and crucially, they can't mingle
with the locals.
Hotel staff, drivers, and tour guides follow their own quarantine rules.
Kimarli Fernando is Chair of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and joins us now. Kimarli, great to have you with us. It's an innovative
way of revitalizing the tourism industry. Just explain to us further how the bio bubbles work.
KIMARLI FERNANDO, CHAIR, SRI LANKA TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY: Thank you. Thank you for having me. So basically, the bio bubble works is that we
have certified hotels as safe and secure. We have the KPMG and Ernst & Young certifying them. It's quite a strict protocol.
The hotels are certified and the guides, drivers, as well, are certified. So everyone is trained in the hotel tourism sector. There are about 200
hotels that have opened up based on that all over the island and how it works is that you book your airline ticket. You can book directly to the
hotel or the travel agents or through the OTA.
You visit Sri Lanka. You have an itinerary, whatever the itinerary you wish to have. You can visit about up to 20 sites in Sri Lanka all over the
island, including the heritage sites that is Sigiriya, the ancient city of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa. You can go whale watching.
So lots of sites are available and you would go to those sites without mingling with the local community. So it's not a strict quarantine at all.
There is no minimum mandatory stay requirement. So you can stay as many days or as little days as you would like.
You can use all of the facilities of the hotel. You can go to the beach because the beaches are all demarcated for you. So you can use all of the
facilities of the hotels, so it is not a strict quarantine, and you would proceed in a bio bubble.
So actually, what we have done for the last one year or so is that the country took immediate action when we had -- before actually we had the
first patient of COVID, so the quarantine centers were set, so early action was taken and by May of last year, we actually opened up for domestic
tourism.
So this year, in January 21st, we opened the airports again, of course, the airports were never closed but opened the airports for international
tourists on the 21st of January.
[09:25:01]
CHATTERLEY: So, it is early days clearly, but what kind of reception have you had in terms of bookings, even just compared to what we were seeing
perhaps this time last year?
Are people actually booking or is it just the case of people trying to understand how exactly it is going to work and what freedoms they are going
to have and how safe they are?
FERNANDO: Actually, people are already booking. There are particular markets we found the GCC, you know, Dubai-Emirates, that region, in Russia,
that region as well. Ukraine, Kazakhstan and so on.
We have visitors from Germany, particularly for our weather. So we have had visitors and actually, it has been a few weeks only, but, you know, the
COVID positive guests were like four or five out of several thousands.
So we are seeing a lot of traction and what is really encouraging is that the airlines have increased their scheduled flights. In fact, new airlines,
five or six new airlines already have committed and started flying already to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka being an island, we are connected with -- flight
connectivity of course is really important.
CHATTERLEY: Yes.
FERNANDO: And we are really encouraged with that.
CHATTERLEY: And I know you have the hotels running at 75 percent capacity. So for those individuals that do test positive, they can actually
quarantine in these hotels if they don't have symptoms or a hospital.
What about things like health insurance? Do you demand that people have health insurance? Because if someone does come and they are sick and they
need help or they need support in your country, then they have to pay for it. Are you demanding that? That they buy that in Sri Lanka or they come
with that?
FERNANDO: Yes, actually, what we are making mandatory is that you buy an insurance with us for $12.00. That would give you $50,000.00 insurance
coverage for one month.
We have been commended for that because actually the $12.00 you pay covers everything in the case you are COVID positive.
As you correctly said, if you are COVID positive and non-symptomatic, you will remain in your hotel, however you will not be able to use the
facilities of the hotel. Right?
But if you are COVID positive, from the moment the insurance will kick in, from the ambulance to the hospital to even the intensive care or any -- all
the tests or laundry, everything will be covered. So our guests should not worry.
When you pay the $12.00, everything is taken care of, even in the very unfortunate event if there even is a death, all of that is taken care of.
So we are making -- we have made that mandatory. I think it's useful to our international tourists because they don't have to then worry about
anything.
CHATTERLEY: A hundred percent. Very quickly, I know the nation also just started to vaccinate people with a focus on the tourism industry. Obviously
in this case, once those tourists, that batch of tourists leave, there's a two-week quarantine. How quickly are you anticipating getting people that
work in this industry vaccinated? Do you have any sort of sense of timing?
Because this clearly is crucial, not only for the workers to be able to continue working consistently, but also for their protection and safety.
FERNANDO: Absolutely. Already, the data of all the certified hotels have been sent to Health. The tour guides, travel agents, the drivers. So the
data is already collected and within the next few weeks, we will be vaccinating all of the tourism industry.
CHATTERLEY: Fantastic. Well, we applaud your innovation. We'll see how well it goes. I have to say, watching that video makes me want to go to on
holiday. I just want to travel again.
Good luck with it. Thank you so much for sharing what you're doing there. Kimarli Fernando, Chair of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.
Great to chat with you.
All right. The market opens next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:32:03]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. U.S. stocks are up and running as we begin the last trading week of February. Spring is just around the
corner. Spring temperatures across Europe this weekend, too, but certainly no spring in the step of Wall Street investors.
The majors pulling further from records after last week's losses. Interest rate sensitive tech stocks once again taking the biggest hit, as you can
see, the NASDAQ is down 1.2 percent in early trade.
But optimism over economic reflations remains alive and well in the metals market. Copper is sitting at fresh nine-year highs on concerns that
supplies won't keep up with rising demand. Silver also trading at eight- year highs.
The one to watch today, as well, Boeing opening lower after an engine on the 777 jet suffered a catastrophic failure this week, as Richard was
telling us earlier. The F.A.A. is demanding emergency inspections of 777s with the same engine made by Raytheon's Pratt & Whitney unit.
The U.K. has also just announced that it is banning certain 777s from entering its air space. Raytheon also lower in early trading, as you can
see.
To Washington now in the confirmation hearing for Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland is underway in the Senate as we speak. Judge Garland was
President Obama's pick for the Supreme Court five years ago, but he was blocked by a Republican-controlled Senate at that time.
And as the Attorney General pick makes his case in the Senate, President Biden preparing to hold a candle lightening ceremony to mark a tragic
milestone: 500,000 lives lost to coronavirus in the United States.
John Harwood joins us now. John, shocking number and a tragic thing to have to mark. But also laced with degrees of hope, I think, as we continue to
see more and more people get vaccinated in the United States.
JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The latest signs, Julia, are that the pandemic situation is heading in the right direction. Cases are
down substantially over the last several weeks. Hospitalizations are down. Deaths are coming down, as well.
But Joe Biden is one who is not going to let past the milestone, 500,000 lives lost to coronavirus. It's one of the contrasts between the new
President and the previous President Donald Trump.
Joe Biden is somebody who, in ways large and small, is given to displays of empathy. He feels empathy.
Over the weekend, he went and visited, an announced trip that the White House later confirmed to see his old friend, the Republican Senate Leader
Bob Dole who is ill with cancer. He went over to his residence.
Tonight, in the Cross Hall of the White House, he is going to have a candle light vigil, a moment of silence for those coronavirus victims, at the same
time that he is pushing very aggressively to have Congress pass this $1.9 trillion COVID Relief Bill through the house this week, through the Senate
subsequent to that, if they can keep all of those Democratic votes together.
The Biden administration thinks this is critical for their attempt to get completely past the pandemic, to scale up testing and vaccinations to try
to achieve the kind of immunity that would let American life get BAKER: to normal later this year.
[09:35:22]
CHATTERLEY: It would mean an incredibly busy week as ever. John Harwood, great to have you with us, thank you so much for that.
All right, up next what will it take to vaccinate the world's poorest nations? We're joined by someone leading that effort. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Breaking news into CNN just now. The Supreme Court is allowing the release of President Trump's -- former President Trump's tax returns to
the New York prosecutor.
This is a massive loss to President Trump -- for former President Trump who has fiercely fought to shield his financial papers from prosecutors. The
documents now then will be subject to a grand jury secrecy rules that restrict their public release, but just to reiterate, the Supreme Court has
allowed the release of those tax returns to the New York prosecutor.
Any further information on this, we will bring it to you and analysis. But for now, just the headline, once again, the Supreme Court allowing the
release of those Trump tax returns to the New York prosecutor.
All right. Let's move on. More than 130 of the world's poorest countries, home to 2.5 billion people have yet to administer a single COVID-19 vaccine
dose. That's according to the United Nations.
It is a statistic that underlines the challenges facing the global initiative, COVAX which was created to ensure fair and equal access to
coronavirus vaccines.
COVAX hope is to vaccinate at least 20 percent of the population of 92 of the world's poorest nations by yearend.
Joining us now is Benjamin Schreiber. He is Deputy Chief of the Global Immunization Program at UNICEF and the organization's COVAX coordinator.
[09:40:06]
CHATTERLEY: Benjamin, great to have you on the show. It's a bold ambition. How is progress so far?
BENJAMIN SCHREIBER, DEPUTY CHIEF OF THE GLOBAL IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM AT UNICEF: Well, you already mentioned it, it's in the moment, if you look at
this world and you look at the map, it looks very inequitable, you know. A lot of doses are going in the moment to the high income countries and upper
middle income countries and most of the poorer countries haven't started the vaccination.
You know, in a moment, we also have like these high income countries have done these advanced purchase commitments with manufacturers they bought
last year's -- last year, they bought doses at risk without knowing the efficacy of these vaccines.
And in the moment, 16 percent of the world's population have secured up to 60 percent of the world's supplies. So it is something we need to address.
It is something we care very deeply about.
We need to make sure that vaccines are starting to rollout and I think COVAX was established for this work of doing this. They have secured doses
and we as UNICEF are the leading procurer on behalf of COVAX and I think it's -- we're going to have some good news because in the coming week and
next weeks, we are going to have the rollout of these first doses from COVAX to the world's poorest countries with these first doses arrive with a
lot of hope in these countries.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. I know.
SCHREIBER: And we are going to change this map of inequity.
CHATTERLEY: We're going to talk about this again, Benjamin. We will get you back.
I have to thank you there and leave this conversation because I do need to get back to that breaking news. But we will have this conversation again. I
promise.
Benjamin Schreiber there. I just want to go back and reiterate the breaking news that I mentioned to you earlier. The Supreme Court allowing the
release of former President Trump's tax returns.
John Harwood is in Washington with more. John, explain the implications of this now.
HARWOOD: Well, one of the things that President Trump benefitted from while in office was the ability to forestall potential prosecution at the
Federal level, but also make it more difficult for local jurisdictions that might have been looking into his affairs to obtain records.
And so Cy Vance, the Manhattan prosecutor has been conducting an investigation that involves the Trump Organization. He requested access to
the Trump tax returns and extended litigation followed that, of course, went all the way up to the Supreme Court.
Now, Donald Trump is not President anymore. The Supreme Court, without comment allowed those tax returns to go to the New York prosecutor, Cy
Vance, upholding a lower court decision to do so.
And the President is now -- former President Trump is now vulnerable. Vance is looking at potential tax fraud involving the Trump Organization. The
idea that Donald Trump kept two sets of books. One more optimistic in terms of presenting the more robust financial fixture for purposes of obtaining
loans, and a different financial picture, much grimmer financial picture for the purpose of keeping his taxes as low as possible. Vance is looking
into that.
This is something that Michael Cohen, the President's former personal attorney has talked about publicly in the past in testimony on Capitol
Hill. And now, we're going to see whether Cy Vance who just recently brought on board an experienced white collar prosecutor, which suggested
that his inquiry is getting to a more serious level. We'll see whether he decides to bring charges.
There's also a pending criminal case -- criminal investigation in the State of Georgia related to the Fulton County prosecutor who is looking at the
President's attempt to influence the outcome of the election. That phone call -- that recorded phone call with Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia
Secretary of State where former President Trump said I just need to find another 11,000 and some votes to try to overcome Joe Biden's lead.
So there's a lot of vulnerability by the President and we're just going to have to see how serious these local prosecutions get.
CHATTERLEY: And you expect Trump's legal team to continue to dispute this I assume and to appeal, and there are two separate things and I mentioned
this earlier, this allows New York prosecutors to delve into the details which is what former President Trump was trying to avoid.
But it still doesn't mean that any of this information will be disclosed to the public.
HARWOOD: That's right. It's going to the grand jury. But, of course, if Cy Vance, the Manhattan prosecutor brings a case, then that evidence will come
into court. So there's no more appeal for the President.
Once the Supreme Court turns him down, he is going to have to turn over those records and we'll see what Cy Vance does with them.
It's very clear. You know, we've talked a lot since Donald Trump left the white house about his political future. He is going to be speaking at CPAC,
the Conservative Political Action Conference later this week.
[09:45:23]
HARWOOD: Talk about his continued grip over the Republican Party, but he has got legal exposure, the cases in Georgia, and the cases in New York.
There is investigation by the New York State Attorney General, Letitia James. You also have got potential investigation going on with the Southern
District of New York at the Federal level. That's the district that prosecuted Michael Cohen for those hush money payments for Stormy Daniels,
the former actress who was paid to keep quiet about what she alleges was an affair with Donald Trump.
So all of that have is on the table. All the potential legal liability for Donald Trump, as he is just one month into the post presidency.
CHATTERLEY: I was going to ask you about any sense of timing on this. I mean, the different issues here are so numerous. But, obviously, throughout
the Russia investigation, what they found that didn't relate to Russia or specifically to the investigation was believed to be handed over to the
Southern District of New York, for them to accumulate information and to investigate.
I mean, that's been a long while now. Any sense of -- in any of these issues, John, how soon we might see something.
HARWOOD: I think most people are watching most closely the Manhattan District Attorney's investigation. That is the one that seems to be ripest.
That seems likeliest to produce a case, if one is going to be produced and the hiring of that experienced white collar prosecutor was another sign of
that.
Turning over those tax records is a critical evidentiary piece if there is a case to be made. So I think that is the one, clearly Fulton County --
that's at the outset of the investigation, the case in Georgia involving the election.
Cy Vance is a lot further along and ultimately, he has got to make the decision, does he have the evidence to bring a case? But we are getting
closer and closer to that decision point for him.
CHATTERLEY: And, john, a quick one here, but I am not being facetious. I am asking honestly, who is Donald Trump's legal team at this stage? I just
realized and I suggested the legal team will be appealing, but who is it right now?
HARWOOD: Well, it's very difficult to know exactly who his legal team is. You know, he had a certain legal team for his first impeachment case and
those were people who were experienced in Constitutional Law.
You had a different set of people for this last impeachment who were not experienced constitutional lawyers. You had people like Rudy Giuliani and
Powell -- the woman in North Carolina -- Sidney Powell, the lawyer in North Carolina who were contriving all of these theories about the election.
That's a whole different case from a criminal lawyer defending the President, if that's what he ends up needing. I suspect it's going to be
somebody who hasn't been involved in any of this so far. But we don't know if there's going to be a case yet.
CHATTERLEY: Just a lot of legal bills, quite frankly, whether or not it comes. John Harwood, great to have your context. Thank you so much.
HARWOOD: You bet.
CHATTERLEY: John Harwood in Washington there. All right, we are back after this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:50:31]
CHATTERLEY: Dubai-based ride hailing company, Careem launching the Middle East first super app, this as app giants around the world are investing
heavily to offer users a single digital place for all of their needs. Anna Stewart has the story in today's Think Big.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER (voice over): In a world where nearly nine million mobile applications exist to populate our phones, a new kind of app
is gaining momentum.
One offering many services to customers in a single place: the Super App.
THOMAS SCHUMACHER, LEADER OF MEDIA PRACTICE, MCKINSEY & COMPANY: The ride hailing that is paying food, that is e-groceries and they facilitate
payments and make the transactions but more easily.
STEWART (voice over): Super apps could reach $500 billion in total revenues by 2025 according to McKinsey with growth in Asia and the emerging
markets.
One company in Dubai is already tapping into that growth.
MUDASSIR SHEIKHA, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, CAREEM: We see Careem as the leading super app in all the countries in the Middle East.
STEWART (voice over): Established as a website based ride hailing service in 2012, and acquired by Uber in 2020, Careem now offers restaurant and
grocery delivery, intercity travel, and digital transactions to its customers across more than 100 cities.
SHEIKHA: We launched one service. We launched another service. We launched a third service on the super app and then very quickly, you create reasons
for people to use multiple services through you.
STEWART (voice over): The company started super app services gradually when the COVID-19 pandemic hit his core business last spring. Since then,
Careem says users skyrocketed by 900 percent, reaching 48 million.
While in Asia, the super app market is already mature with giants like WeChat, Alipay and Grab dominating the market. In the Middle East, the
competition is still low and Careem has seized that advantage to expand.
SCHUMACHER: They realized there is an opportunity around the wallet and around the payment facility to enable more transactions.
STEWART (voice over): To be competitive globally, Schumacher says, super apps need to add more options like bill payment and digital banking to
attract more users.
SCHUMACHER: Think through all the other services that you consume on your cellphone even your telecommunication bill might follow.
STEWART (voice over): It is by focusing on these services and on a higher user frequency that Careem aims to strengthen its position as one of the
leading super apps of the Middle East.
Anna Stewart, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Talk about thinking big, Bitcoin has seen fresh records over the weekend. Its market cap surpassing $1 trillion. The leading
cryptocurrency pulling back today, as you can see, it is down some eight percent.
Elon Musk now suggesting that investors may have a bit of -- may have bit off more than they can chew. I my goodness, I can't read today. I'm giving
up. Paul La Monica, quick, save me.
Investors may have bitten off more than they can chew, in English. Wow. $58,000.00 per Bitcoin hit over the weekend.
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes, and now we pull back a little bit. We have had obviously, a lot of volatility with Bitcoin. It is an
asset that has had very big price swings in both directions, although lately, it has been mostly up and I think you know, one of the reasons, you
know, investors probably taking some profits naturally given that you know, at $58,000.00 level, you're looking at almost doubling for Bitcoin this
year, which is an amazing run for just a little less than two months.
Even Elon Musk, you know, a lot of people have attributed this most recent Bitcoin rise to Tesla's decision to put some of its corporate cash in
Bitcoin. You know, he tempered a little bit the enthusiasm with a couple of tweets in the past couple of days about Bitcoin, at one point, saying that
it is, you know, not as, you know, BS, so to speak, as fiat government money, but it is almost, you know, that's not exactly the most ringing of
endorsements.
CHATTERLEY: No. I know, and I should mention as well, it is not just Bitcoin, Ether, which is the second largest coin or digital currency after
Bitcoin also up 150 percent year-to-date, and also hit a record high.
[09:55:04]
CHATTERLEY: Dan Ives who is a regular on this show made a great comment over the weekend and he said unrealized gains, because, obviously, we
assume he is still holding these, Tesla or Elon Musk holding these Bitcoin, they've made a billion dollars in paper profit. That's more than they've
made selling cars last time.
LA MONICA: Yes, it is a staggering amount that Ives pointed out there, and obviously, I mean, Elon Musk himself, you know, noting that the reason why
Tesla has made this decision is that if you want to generate returns on corporate cash, you're not really going to be doing it with the dollar or
other physical currencies or, you know, government bonds right now given how low things are, even though rates have started to creep higher and
freak out the broader stock market.
So Bitcoin is a bit of the diversification in a corporate portfolio you know, might make some sense.
CHATTERLEY: In Elon Musk's tweet records, it's simply a less dumb form of liquidity than cash. Wow. Paul La Monica, thank you so much.
That's it for the show. If you have missed any of our interviews today, they'll be on my Twitter and Instagram pages later. You can search for
@jchatterleyCNN. For now, stay safe. "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:00]
END
