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First Move with Julia Chatterley
CNN goes with Ukrainian Forces to Liberated Town; CNN Finds Evidence of a Massacre in Darfur; Brooks: Stablecoins Allow People to Hold Assets in Dollars; U.S. Stocks Higher but Rising Yields a Concern; Williams: We want giving to be Core to Strategy; Viewing Mongolia's Economy: On Horseback. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired August 17, 2023 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNNI ANCHOR: A warm welcome to "First Move", great to have you with us this Thursday for special songs of the summer start to the
program. The "First Move" jukebox firing up the greatest hits to ensure your summer sizzles including the heat is on.
New estimates from the Atlanta Federal Reserve's showing the U.S. economy growing at a hot blooded 5.8 percent annual rate in the current quarter,
the strong outlook helping send benchmark U.S. bond yields to 15 year highs and then throw in Wednesday's minutes of the Federal Reserve's last
meeting.
It shows officials haven't ruled out hiking further. Fed Chair Powell's message to markets, see you in September when the next Central Bank policy
meeting takes place. Also in earnings today, Good Vibrations the largest American retailer Walmart, reporting strong Q2 results and raising its
yearly forecast as U.S. consumers continue to spend.
We've also had tech giants Cisco higher in premarket trade too after positive earnings report from them but a cruel summer for China. As
American growth accelerates China's economy has spluttered with continued calls for more Beijing's based stimulus. JP Morgan and Barclays cutting
their China growth forecasts amid concerns particularly about further weakness in the giant property market there.
China's woes continue to help pressure Asia stocks and modest rise as you can see in SHANGHAI, but the HANG SENG now has fallen for five straight
sessions. It's now down around 7 percent so far this year, and in fact, it's nearing bear market territory. So I'm talking about a 20 percent drop
from its most recent highs.
In the meantime, let me give you a look at what's happening on Wall Street green on the screen pre market after two days in fact of sharp losses
driven in part by those interest rate concerns I think. And China, European shares, however remains near five week lows.
Plenty to get to as always throughout the next hour, but we do begin in Ukraine, where officials say they're not expecting American F-16 fighter
jets to be delivered this year. Ukraine's Air Force says progress is being made with pilot training. But it's not expecting to operate that F-16 this
coming autumn and winter.
Kyiv, of course has repeatedly asked Western allies to provide those jets. And in other developments the Russian missile attack left 10,000 people
without power in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region. And Nick Paton Walsh is there with more. Nick, what can you tell us about that attack?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, another chilling example of Russia's bids to hit infrastructure. But I
think it's important too to put some context around the news about the F- 16's not arriving this year. The hope that they could be expedited to the battlefield was times ambitious.
Certainly it's a big technical challenge to train up Ukrainian technicians to be sure they can provide the extraordinary amount of servicing and
repair that high tech jets like that require, then there was pilot training too, something I'm sure that was feasible. It doesn't seem though, that
NATO has been able to put that together fast enough.
And it is essentially what Ukraine is so deeply lacking on the battlefield here. The counter offensive slowed by the fact Russia has air superiority,
but as we saw yesterday, they are still moving forward taking new ground. And we're on the outskirts of Urozhaine, which yesterday Ukraine announced
had been recaptured.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH (voice over): There may be ruin around them but that direction is forwards. We're with the 35th Ukrainian Marines. The first report is to get
to the outskirts of Urozhaine. Yet another village announced liberated Wednesday. The victories may be small.
But a constant so just down here Urozhaine yet another town taken as the counter offensive does move forward. We were just seeing the neighboring
village taken last week, but they keep moving.
WALSH: That much incoming were getting out of here as quick as we can while they control Urozhaine, the Russians do everything they can to make it a
nightmare, the Ukrainians to be there.
[09:05:00]
WALSH (voice over): The unit showed us the intense fight captured by drone. This their tank advancing, dropping a string of anti-mine explosives behind
it they said which then once it turned detonated. The unit released a video of them in the town Wednesday of how they turned their firepower on what
was once a Russian stronghold that shelled them.
The company commander recalls many more Russians hidden there than he expected. Very many died he says especially when they started to run and
when they held houses. Lots of them died there. But they were caught as they fled the smoke around Russians likely made by cluster munitions.
Ukraine has said it is already using some rounds controversially supplied by the United States. We could not confirm if these fight here with new
American cluster bombs. But the losses suffered were clear. And they say their use is less of an ethical dilemma when you're in this brutal fight.
I don't understand it he says. That site is using whatever they want. Our people are dying from all this and it's, OK when the other site die it's
not I don't understand. His footage shows how young some in the assault were. He has no time for Western analysts who say this should be moving
faster.
I would say they can always come to me as a guest and fight with me he says. If someone believes that you can fly over the minefield on a broom,
like in Harry Potter, it doesn't happen in a real fight. If you don't understand that, you can sit in your armchair and eat your popcorn.
Yes, it's out here. The last month of advances fill both empty and grueling, littered now with Russian dead. They haven't moved perhaps as far
as it has felt.
WALSH: These just empty farm fields in which many have died to take each kilometer.
WALSH (voice over): The Russians mind so hard here. They use this machine to do it. So much damage done, it's hard to imagine what plans Moscow had
for here at all, had they kept it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH (on camera): Julia, discussion context about Urozhaine, why it's important about two weeks ago Staromaiorske, a village across from
Urozhaine on the other side of the river was taken by the Ukrainians but as they were there, they found themselves constantly hit by the Russian on the
other side of the river, right in Urozhaine, which has now fallen to the Ukrainians.
And so while these villages sound incremental, they are tiny. It is a sign that they continue to fall that Ukraine is making the progress that it
wants. It's incredibly slow. It's incredibly hard. But I think as you heard that Ukrainian soldiers who've been doing that fight themselves find some
of the impatience in the west or faster results unpalatable, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, understandably, Nick Paton Walsh, thank you for that report. Now devastating update to from Hawaii at least 111 people including
children now confirmed to have lost their lives in the massive wildfires on the Island of Maui. Search teams have covered now around 40 percent of the
area impacted.
The Governor estimating more than 1000 people though could still be missing. Gloria Pazmino joins us now. Gloria, it's that uncertainty I think
that's just adding to the heartbreak for people there.
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Julia, you can feel it when you are in Lahaina that people are absolutely devastated by what's happened
here. We are standing at a checkpoint that leads into Lahaina the road is currently closed right now, but it's going to open up in a few hours,
allowing residents, workers and volunteers back into the area.
Now the impact zone, the disaster zone of this fire remains restricted closed off to everyone. And that's because there's a critical mission
underway there to find any possible human remains. Now it is painstaking work. There's a team of about 40 cadaver dogs that is looking through the
scene hoping to find any human remains.
And every official who we have spoken to tells us that the scene is absolutely catastrophic. They've also confirmed to us that there is
evidence of children among the dead. Now 38 percent of the zone has been covered and as that process plays out, the people of Lahaina are looking
for answers.
They want to know why the island's alarm system was not deployed to warn them about the incoming danger.
[09:10:00]
And officials here have frankly been defensive about the bad decision they've set that the alarm system is designed to warn people about incoming
tsunamis and that the protocol for that is to seek higher ground. In this instance, that means it would have sent people right into the mountainside
where the fires were burning.
Now the Governor has ordered an investigation into every decision that was made and into what might have gone wrong here. And in the meantime, aid is
starting to slowly arrive here. The roads have opened back up, allowing Lahaina to be connected to the rest of the island.
And next week on Monday, President Joe Biden and First Lady Joe Biden will visit Lahaina, to get a firsthand look at the devastation for them-selves
and try to bring some comfort to the people of this island, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, tragic images we're showing you there. Gloria, thank you. Gloria Pazmino. OK, turning now to Sudan. And what's been called one of the
worst days in Darfur was genocide-scarred history. Eyewitnesses spoke to CNN about a gruesome massacre that unfolded in West Darfur two months ago.
Our Nima Elbagir has this exclusive report and I must warn you, some of the images that you're about to see are graphic, and the report does also
include distressing descriptions of the conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The streets of El Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region are eerily quiet,
filmed at great risk by survivors. The video shows racist graffiti defacing walls and corpses littering the streets seen here in their own propaganda.
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces RSF occupied Geneina in June after a heavy shelling campaign and fighting in their war for dominance
over Sudan's army. A CNN investigation has now uncovered some of the cost of the RSF victory here in Geneina. Survivors aid workers and body
collectors described to CNN how.
Together with their allies, the RSF gunned down hundreds of civilians in and around Geneina on June 15, in one of the most violent massacres to date
in the recent history of this genocide-scarred Sudanese region. Using satellite images, eyewitness testimony and geo locating what few videos
have made it through the telecommunications blackout, cutting Darfur off from the world.
JAMAL KHAMISS, HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER & EYEWITNESS: I lost 8 members of my family that day during the escape from El Geneina to Chad.
ELBAGIR (voice over): This man says he buried hundreds of victims in Darfur since April. But on that day, he couldn't even reach his slain relatives.
The RSF troops are drawn from Darfuri Arab tribes and together with its leader Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, aka him a deep are implicated in the year's
long genocide in the region against African tribal groupings.
It's unsurprising then that the war between the RSF and Sudan's military for control of the country, took an even more sinister turn here in Darfur.
Mirroring the RSF previous tactics, forcing civilians to flee many were arriving in Geneina. That is until June 14 when the West Darfur Governor
seen here at his arrest by the RSF was executed.
The RSF blamed for the killing denies responsibility. As hundreds attempted to flee they were harassed and threatened. Even children joined in, a lucky
few made it to Chad.
SABRY MOHAMED, FORMER EL GENEINA RESIDENT & EYEWITNESS: They were going into houses killing people. Snipers were everywhere.
ELBAGIR (voice over): Bringing with them stories of ethnic targeting.
MOHAMED: On the road out of the city, we were stopped and searched. They took our phones. Men were separated from the women so they could kill us.
We ran but they shot some of us.
ELBAGIR (voice over): Evidence shows much of the killing occurred here outside the main hospital in Geneina. Then fleeing civilians were ambushed
again in Wadi Kaja. Satellite images show the river which is usually shallow enough for cars to cross had water running high that day.
Scores struggled in the water some shot as they drowned. Survivors say they had gunfire from all directions.
KHAMISS: I saw 17 kids who were shot dead then thrown into the water. This was one of the most surreal scenes I've witnessed.
ELBAGIR (voice over): Even as they fled Geneina for Adre. Across the border in Chad, our evidence shows men, women and children were shot as they fled.
At the MSF hospital in Chad, survivors arrived with gunshot wounds in the back legs and buttocks.
[09:15:00]
The lead doctor told CNN all injuries consistent with being shot from the back. Over 850 people flooded the hospital in Adre between June 15th and
17th according to MSF. More than any other period since fighting began in April. Body collectors say according to their count, around 1000 people
were killed on the day of June 15, buried in dozens of mass graves.
Survivors say the RSF is replicating these same tactics across the region. Even as they're supposed to celebrate in the aftermath of mass killings and
the sweep of escalating ethnically targeted attacks.
ELBAGIR (on camera): A spokesperson for the Rapid Support Forces told CNN that they categorically deny the assertions that we put forward in our
reporting without though denying any of the specifics that we shared with them.
It's also important to note that the RSF have previously denied the findings of an investigation where we uncovered evidence that RSF troops
had engaged in rapes. Before subsequently the leader of the RSF stating that those who had been implicated in violations were to be prosecuted.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: And for more information on how to help Sudanese refugees, you can go to cnn.com/impact to find a list of humanitarian organizations that
are providing aid and then you can help support. Stay with CNN, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move", there's been plenty of headlines over the years, heralding the demise of the U.S. dollars as the world's
reserve currency of choice was certainly an increasing number of countries seeking out and looking at alternatives.
Not to mention of course, the rise of crypto in decentralized coins as they're known that don't rely on governments at all. Now, in 2001, U.S.
dollar assets represented nearly 73 percent of global bank reserves or now that figures fallen to around 58 percent according to RBC Wealth
Management.
Now, some of that are down to diversification into currencies like the euro for example, but also in play here our fears over stability, both political
and economic.
[09:20:00]
And we can also include perhaps the de facto weaponization of the dollar in recent months cutting Russia from the financial system. Well, my next
guest, Brian Brooks advocates a digital dollar backed Stablecoin. He says think of it as a prepaid cash card not tied to a major institution like a
bank.
And in a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, he called for guidelines and regulations. And that's exactly where the U.S. seemed to be headed
until House Democrats suddenly turned their backs on this bipartisan Stablecoin bill. Now, Brian Brooks is a partner at Valor Capital Group.
He was also briefly the CEO of Binance and he joins us now. Brian, fantastic to have you on the show, I want to talk about the op-ed clearly.
But I also want to take a step back for my audience that may be even scratching their heads at this moment, explain what a Stablecoin is? And
why you see benefits above and beyond the cache U.S. dollar?
BRIAN BROOKS, FORMER CEO OF BINANCE OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well Julia, thanks for having me and thanks for the question. You know,
Stablecoins sound funny, because all of the language of the crypto world sounds funny, but the concept is really familiar. I think to most of your
viewers.
The concept is just the modern internet iteration of things from past generations like traveler's checks, or as you say, prepaid cards, that the
concept is the holder of this instrument has something that is a claim on dollars deposited someplace, and that instrument can be traded and used for
payments for goods and services.
And the recipient can redeem that Stablecoin for $1. So if you think back 50 years to when we used to take out traveler's checks if you and I are old
enough for that. The idea was you would purchase a book of traveler's checks, and you could go anywhere in the world.
And those traveler's checks, even though they weren't cash would be accepted as cash because the recipient knew that somewhere American Express
had dollars on deposits. And that was a way that people abroad could access the dollar system. Stablecoins are just different because they're native to
the internet.
They don't require an underlying bank account. And that's why they become so important in countries where dollars themselves are readily accessible.
Dollar equivalents that don't require a U.S. bank account. That's kind of a big idea.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and this is the basic point. And the crux of your op-ed is saying, look, we need to provide guidelines, we need to regulate these
Stablecoins, allow them to flourish. And not only do they provide a benefit to perhaps global citizens around the world that have, for example, high
inflation economies.
And are worried about their, own currencies and the value of them. But it could also be beneficial to the United States at a time where questions are
being asked perhaps about the stability of the U.S. dollar, or at least the behavior perhaps, of policymakers here. Explain that.
BROOKS: Yes, that is exactly right. And I think the world that we live in today you had mentioned, the weaponization of the dollar. Governments
around the world are fighting dollar dominance. And we've all grown up in $1 denominated world since World War Two.
We have a lot of luxuries and benefits that come from that fact lower borrowing costs, cheaper goods and services for people who hold dollars,
and things that Americans enjoy every single day. Governments around the world for political reasons are trying to decouple from the dollar.
The point about Stablecoins is the citizens of some of these other countries don't want to decouple from the dollar, because for all of our
problems, the dollar remains one of the most stable and most widely accepted currencies. So the concept is Stablecoins are a way of allowing
citizens of countries like Russia, India and Brazil.
Those kinds of places, to hold their assets in dollars, and to maintain demand for our currency at a time when other governments don't want to do
that.
CHATTERLEY: I think a great example of this, perhaps, is Brazil and Argentina, because there was looking at signing agreements with the Chinese
government, which is a great example to boost the use of the Chinese Renminbi at the same time, you know, you have the citizens.
And you're talking about separating the decisions of a government from that of citizens that are saying, look, actually, we'd quite like to hold U.S.
dollars. The distinction here between state and citizen is vital.
BROOKS: Yes, I think that's exactly right, Julia. So I've spent some time in Brazil very recently with a group of bankers and a group of FinTech and
Crypto Founders, who all say the same thing. You know, the recent government in Brazil is a more left leaning government with generally more
willingness to engage with China than the prior government.
And you're seeing the kinds of things you're talking about, which never would have been heard of 10 years ago. The idea of doing a Renminbi
denominated trade deal never would have been thought of 10 years ago, but the fact that it's within the realm of discussion today, that's the
problem.
And yet people on the ground in Rio in Sao Paulo, they want to hold dollars. That again, is where Stablecoins come in. It's hard for them to
hold dollars because their banks won't support those kinds of accounts. But Stablecoins make it possible for them to hold dollars in a wallet on the
internet. That's the revolution I'm really talking about.
[09:25:00]
CHATTERLEY: What we also saw in the last couple of weeks was a debt downgrade from the United States by one of the big rating agencies and
barely anything happened and that wouldn't be the case if the United States didn't have the world's deepest most liquid bond market and the U.S. dollar
being the world's reserve currency.
It gives them a protection I think that other countries don't enjoy. You can understand those that might not really understand what's going on and
look at this and say, hang on a second. Developing, providing guidelines, regulating and promoting Stablecoins and other crypto as an example might
detract from the use of the U.S. dollar. Why is that a spurious argument, Brian?
BROOKS: Yes, well, so, Julia, I think there are a couple of reasons. I mean, first of all, it's important that people separate the concept of
Stablecoins, which really just are an internet enabled prepaid card. OK, from things like Bitcoin, which are an entirely different -- altogether,
they have a different valuation framework.
They trade more like stocks and bonds and less like cash assets that Stablecoins do. But Cryptocurrency Blockchains are what enables Stablecoins
to be secure and to transact instantly on the internet. That's the first differences. It's really important here.
But the second and more important point, I think, is, you're right when the debt downgrade happened just a couple of weeks ago, not very much happened
in markets, which is why a lot of people might think, who cares? This is not that big of a deal. And my answer to that is, you know, 20 years ago,
when the dollar was 73 percent of all reserve currencies, we had a big buffer.
You know, we were very clearly the asset of choice globally, for any major transaction. We're now at just north of 58 percent. Somewhere between 58
percent and 50 percent is a rapid cliff that we will go over if we're not very careful. And so, yes, at 58 percent, we're still a solid enough
currency to absorb those kinds of shocks.
And you know, with the next fiscal cliff, depending on where it is, maybe we'll have enough buffers to survive that too. But we're getting awfully
close to an edge that we should be worried about. And so anything that makes dollars more attractive, that increases the demand for dollars is
ultimately good for the role of the dollar in the system.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and some fiscal prudency perhaps too, but that's another conversation. OK. So why --
BROOKS: Good luck.
(LAUGHTER)
CHATTERLEY: Yes, good luck with that. OK, so why would the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee. I'm talking about Maxine Waters,
work for a year on a bipartisan bill that was looking to regulate to promote to help guide I think people using Stablecoins.
And then suddenly turn around and go, actually, we're not interested anymore. Brian, what happened?
BROOKS: Yes, it's a great question. I think the answer is orders from above. So I will say, you know, during my year as comptroller of the
currency in the U.S., I worked very closely with Chairwoman Waters, and I found her to be very smart, very hardworking, and she understood the
issues.
The about face is just that it's an about face. And the rumor is that people here are that the White House threatened to veto the bill. So the
real question is not why the Chairwoman or Former Chairwoman Waters abandoned ship, the real question is, why is the administration so opposed
to all of this?
And I think there are a couple of clues. One is its quite clear that this administration believes that the future of the dollar is Central Bank
digital currencies. This is a whole another show that you and I've talked about before we can talk about again. But Central Bank, digital currencies
do compete with private Stablecoins, because they're issued and cleared by the Federal Reserve.
Their issues, why one wouldn't want those kinds of assets to be the dominant asset but right now, there's a competition going on. And the
second thing is Stablecoins sit on top of Blockchains. And for whatever reason, the administration doesn't seem to be excited about Blockchains
because they're permission less.
They're private and they're not controlled by the government in the same way that the current banking and payment system is. And I think that scares
some regulatory officials. So we have to get over that hurdle. There clearly are a number of Democrats who've already done that.
The bill in the House the past two weeks ago out of a committee did have some democratic support. But I think the leadership at the moment is
opposed for the reasons I've just said.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, so basically, it's about better education. It's actually not about recognizing the sort of re-dollarization, as opposed to the de-
dollarization of the global economy is important, but just understanding how each of these things works, and actually that it doesn't have to be
negative. In fact, it can be very positive.
BROOKS: I think that's right. And that was the point of the op-ed was just to connect those dots for people. You know, I think a lot of times people
look at things in isolation, and don't understand how these pieces fit together. But the main point is anything that increases demand for the
dollar is a good thing for the country.
CHATTERLEY: Very quickly, because I've got one minute I can understand in the face of the FTX blow up some of the turbulence, the volatility that
people would go, now's not the time to be doing this, Brian.
[09:30:00]
What is going on in the industry today and that's in post-FTX blowup world?
BROOKS: Well, I mean, look, this is a sector that's had more than its fair share of frauds and scams out there. And those I think are now being
uncovered and litigated, which is a good thing for the sector. But what I keep coming back to is there have been far more failures of public company
scams and U.S. stock promotion scams.
You know, you think back to the era that brought us Dodd-Frank, and Sarbanes-Oxley, the era of things like WorldCom. And, you know, other sort
of frauds of that era, Enron, for example. And nobody thought that we should close the stock market because there was a fair amount of scams
going on inside of the public equities markets.
I think here the issue is people are scared of technology, and things that are new and uncontrolled are things that frighten them. That again, is why
the only way forward is through a credible bipartisan regulatory framework that creates confidence that this business is for real and isn't a bunch of
people of the FTX variety. Until we have that a certain segment of the population will always see this as too new for school and they won't
understand it.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, just got to do more reading and more research and try and understand more. Brian, it's always great to get your perspective and
wisdom. Thank you. Brian Brooks there.
BROOKS: Thank you so much.
CHATTERLEY: Thank you, we're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move". U.S. stocks are up and running with the bulls hoping for a turnaround Thursday across the board games in
early trade after back to back losses for the major averages for the past couple of days. News that Wal-Mart is upping its full year guidance is
certainly helping the market mood.
[09:35:00]
But of course fears that interest rates must remain higher for longer due to inflationary pressures also continues as a dominant market theme. The
yield on the benchmark U.S. 10 year bond is nearing 4.3 percent. That's levels not seen in well over a decade.
U.S. borrowing costs likewise are raising, as the latest Fed minutes shows some Central Bank officials are still in favor of hiking interest rates if
necessary. Now the world's largest economy may be showing renewed signs of strength, but the outlook for the globe second largest economy yes, I'm
talking China remains far from certain.
In Beijing this week, citizens have staged rare protests outside one of the country's largest shadow banks. They say the financial institution is on
wrong international trust owes the money on investment products that have now matured and have made a profit. They say the bank assured them they
were putting money into safe investments.
The reality might be that those investments are tied to troubled real estate holdings that at least are according to Bloomberg. Remember, the
property sector represents around 28 percent of the economy in China. And the fear is that recent shadow bank defaults could have a negative ripple
effect across the broader economy.
Now new trouble for X the platform formerly known as Twitter, at least two brands say they will suspend advertising after their ads and those of other
companies were run on an account promoting fascism. A watchdog sees ads for several mainstream brands ran on the account, which also shared content
celebrating Hitler and the Nazis.
Clare Duffy is joining us now Clare, can you explain exactly what happened here? And doesn't X have safety measures, limitations, keyword searches
that should prevent advertising being pushed or promoted on these kinds of platforms?
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, Julia. So this media watchdog put out this report yesterday that showed ads for numerous mainstream brands
running on this page for this account promoting really blatantly promoting the Nazi party celebrating Hitler. And so, we looked into this ourselves
and also found ads for brands like Adobe, the pharmaceutical company, Gilead Sciences, the Internet and Television Association, NYU Langone
hospital running on this page.
Now, it's important to know the ads on X are placed via automated software. And as you said, this platform has been urging advertisers to return
promoting the safety controls that it says it has that are meant to avoid ads landing on just this kind of objectionable content.
Just last week, its CEO Linda Yaccarino was, again promoting the safety controls thing that many advertisers have returned to the platform. But
there are still clearly issues. The brands that we reached out to about having their ads show up on this page were shocked that their ads had been
placed next to this kind of content.
And the Internet and Television Association and Gilead Sciences, that they both immediately pause their ad spending on Twitter X, after we had alerted
this, alerted them to this problem. The Internet and Television Association also said that they had actually been using some of the safety controls
that are meant to avoid just this kind of thing happening.
They told their spokesperson told me that brand safety will remain an utmost priority, which means suspending advertising on Twitter acts for the
foreseeable future and heavily limiting the brand's organic presence on the platform.
Now Twitter did not respond to a request for comment from CNN. But it did about midday yesterday suspend this account from the platform, which I
think really underscores the fact that this company was running advertisements, was placing advertisements next to content that violated
its rules and effort to then suspend his account from the platform, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it's really hard to get a relative measure and the data to compare before Elon Musk and after Elon Musk and if we would have noticed
this at all had this watchdog not raise the flag. But the point is, I here think that advertisers certainly have to be aware and we have to place the
internet ourselves. Clare Duffy, thank you.
OK, coming up, -- is a new type of disaster fueled, in part at least by climate change. My next guest says business can help at the cost of just 1
percent of their annual sales, we'll discuss next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move". And returning to one of our top stories today, the agonizing search for victims continues in Hawaii, after
the Island of Maui was ravaged by an unprecedented wind driven wildfire.
Governor Josh Green stressed the role of climate change in the disaster, saying, "That that level of destruction and a fire hurricane is something
new to us in this age of global warming was the ultimate reason that so many people perished". It's a devastating statement that underscores the
mission of non-profit 1 percent For The Planet.
The organization requires members to contribute at least 1 percent of their annual revenue to environmental causes. And joining us now is the CEO of 1
percent For The Planet, Kate Williams, Kate, great to have you on the show. I know there's a little bit more flexibility around that 1 percent. But
we'll get to it. Just start by explaining the premise behind your organization.
KATE WILLIAMS, CEO, 1 percent FOR THE PLANET: Sure, yes. The idea is that businesses and non-profits connected together can drive really powerful
impact. So the way our model works is that each business and we have small businesses at the grassroots. We have large businesses that are at global
at scale, who each is giving 1 percent to environmental partners, environmental non-profits, that are driving change in all sorts of areas,
including climate change.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and it's 1 percent of revenues, just to be clear, it's not 1 percent of profits. So I guess the higher margin business, the better
because they've got room to maneuver. But they can also provide 1 percent of the revenues of this specific brand if they want to or a specific
product. So and then that gets the 1 percent For The Planet seal of approval effectively.
WILLIAMS: That's correct. And really the thinking behind that is it's important that it's a high bar. And our belief and what our community joins
around is that, you know, really that 1 percent it's like making a commitment, you pay your staff, you pay your rent, and you pay the planet.
And, you know, as we can see with what's going on now that's only increasingly important.
CHATTERLEY: OK, so let's say it's a company that has revenues of $100 million. I guess they show you what their annual revenues are. And then
they say, right, so that gives us $1 million now to play, with what happens to that money? Do you control some of that? Do they pay some of that to
you? What happens?
WILLIAMS: Yes, it's a great question. So it's, it's a simple model. And the way it works is that there's a small dues fee, that's part of that 1
percent that's paid to us. And then the rest of the 1 percent, we coordinate with that company; we work very closely with them to help them
to figure out what's their strategy.
How do they want to allocate that giving? How do they want to move giving from, you know, being a kind of end of the year extra to being something
that's really core to their strategy that helps them to solve issues along their supply chain to address operational challenges to engage their
employees.
You know, there are many different ways that giving can be part of the strategy and we help them to figure that out. And then our environmental
partners team that's non-profits. And so, we're able to then offer up a set of non-profits that meet that strategy of that company. And then they give
directly, we really believe in those direct partnerships.
[09:45:00]
And then at the end of each year, we have a certification process that involves us getting the documentation on that giving as well as on the
revenues from each member.
CHATTERLEY: So part of what you do as an organization is you vet where the money's going. And you build a sort of portfolio for some of these
companies to say, look, if this is what you want to be doing with your money, then these are perhaps the best options for you. Is that the key?
WILLIAMS: Exactly, you know, our expertise is in environmental philanthropy, and each company has an expertise in, you know, what they're
delivering as a product or a service. So we really step into that space in between the business and the non-profit sector to provide our expertise to
help companies to be able to drive impact by allocating their resources into the non-profit sector.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it makes perfect sense. It just said that I'm clear. Can you tell me what your fears for that? And how much of that, then is plowed
back into the organization?
WILLIAMS: Yes, we, our fees are quite small; actually, when it comes down to it, they're graded by different levels across the different non-profit,
or excuse me, across the different member budget sizes. So it's really a small percentage of the 1 percent depending a little bit on the size of the
company.
CHATTERLEY: OK, and as a percentage of the amount that that is then used to do the research and do the analysis. Can you give me that percent?
WILLIAMS: Yes, so we get about, and I can give you sort of a ratio that might be helpful.
CHATTERLEY: Yes.
WILLIAMS: We got about 5 million in the last year, we got about 5 million and dues. And that equated to close to 100 million in giving going out to
our environmental partners. So you know that gives you a sense of the ratio, most of the funds. And that's very much our focus, and its part of
why we have that direct giving model. Most of our funds are going right out to those environmental partners.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it is important, because I think people are more, more sensitive to this. Because there's so many causes out there that people
want to provide to. Do you have members from the gas and oil sector; by the way, would they be welcome? Banks is another great example that has
exposure, perhaps to the fossil fuel industry?
Are you willing to accept them as part of the deal? Because it gets sort of complicated in terms of, I guess, morals, ethics, what they're willing to
provide? Where do you stand on those?
WILLIAMS: Yes, it's a terrific question. And, you know, we have our approach generally, is to have a really big tent, we, we believe in
progress, not perfection. And our goal is to have members at every stage of the journey. So some of whom their 1 percent commitment might be the first
time they're stepping into taking environmental action.
For others, it might be much farther along the path. And so, we don't have any outright prohibitions against any particular types of companies. That
said, we do on a case by case basis, determine if a company joining would be brand damaging.
So at this point, we don't have any companies in the oil and gas industry. I think if they were to approach us, we would have the conversation. And
then we would see if we could be part of meaningful change and make a determination from there. Because one of the really important things for us
is that, you know, seeing what's happening in the world right now, it's going to take all players, there's no one, you know, one agent who can make
all the change happen.
So it's truly collective action. And so, the more we can stay in the conversation with grassroots non-profits, with local government, with the
big multinational companies and everything in between, the better, we can create that community of change makers, who are really seeing that we have
to come together to create a resilient future.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I strongly agree with you on that, no one can be excluded from this conversation. And I also get your point about not letting
perfection get in the way of progress. But it's always that dangerous balance, I think of allowing green washing in that process.
So it's interesting to hear you say that. I just wanted to ask about Maui, do you have charities that support the efforts there or anyone that's
working there? Because obviously, this is just the latest sort of devastating situation that we're seeing, and obviously officials there in
some part, are suggesting this is tied to climate change?
WILLIAMS: Yes, we absolutely do. And one of the things that we're able to do, because we have such a strong global network that shows up really
locally is, when there are disasters like this, we are able to, you know, pretty quickly pull together a set of local non-profits that people can
give to you, because that's, it's a very human response for people to want to be able to provide help.
So, you know, for this particular tragedy in Maui, we have identified a number of non-profits that we've shared across our network and publicly,
and I'm happy to list those here if you'd like.
CHATTERLEY: We will save it for our next conversation because I'm out of time.
WILLIAMS: OK.
CHATTERLEY: Kate, great to have you on, thank you so much for explaining what you and your guys are doing the CEO there of 1 percent For The Planet.
[09:50:00]
OK, coming up after the break, Richard Quest on a horse. We really what more do we need to know, my intrepid friend explores the Mongolian economy
and the way only Richard couldn't hand, that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Now on CNN later today, Quest Means Business comes live from Mongolia. It's a vast country in East Asia with just two neighbors. And a
complicated geopolitical landscape to the north is Russia, to the South China. Now the economy is forecast to see accelerating growth this year to
5.2 percent. That's according to the World Bank.
And while progress has been made in reducing poverty, growth is sometimes uneven and has slowed in recent years. And now for some trivia, there are
more horses than people in Mongolia. And that's got Richard Quest name all over it. Perhaps we should call him Richard Equestrian. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: So where are we going?
JARGALSAIKHAN DAMBADARJAA, JOURNALIST & POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We go down.
QUEST: OK. All right, fine. I get the feeling that the guy doesn't trust me. So I'm sort of tethered to him whilst you're roaming free. Come, let's
catch you up.
DAMBADARJAA: This Mongolian horse right there most strong horses. During the Second World War, Mongolian horses were the best horses in the fight
against the Germans.
QUEST: This is gorgeous. Look at those mountain crags right ahead of me and the scenery. I mean, it doesn't get much better than this. There's only one
of us that's in charge. And it's not the -- and its' the way just stop told me. It's not me either. Why do you keep wondering to stop? Go.
You hear about Mongolia and just how beautiful the natural country is. But you've really got to see it to believe it and even then, it doesn't fully
do it justice. It's truly remarkable. And I've only seen a small part. Alright, we're going back because he is starting to realize that food is
that direction. And if it comes to a battle between me and this beast, I'm going to lose.
[09:55:00]
Is the big risk that Mongolia screws it all up the environment, the geopolitical, it's got everything. It's beautiful, its people are charming
and delightful. And I just wonder is the risk that you managed to mess it all up?
DAMBADARJAA: I think down the road, we will be fine, we will, because it's a country where, like any democratic country where we can freely discuss
the problem, then we can solve. If you don't discuss the problem or the problem is solved by one guy, there is a risk. That's why I strongly
believe that, we will not bring my country to that point.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: I'll admit, I've got to go and watch it again because I was too busy watching Richard on the horse. Plenty more from Mongolia though in
Quest Means Business tonight. To the CEO of Mongolian Stock Exchange, the Chairman of Parliament and the Executive Chair of ARD, all coming up at 8
pm Thursday in London and an eye watering 3 a.m. Friday in Mongolia, don't worry, I'm sure they'll be watching. That's it for the show. "Connect the
World: is up next, I'll see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:00]
END
