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Dow Pushes 23,000 in Final Moments of Trade; Trump Says Fed Chair Decision Coming Soon; Bombardier Teams Up with Airbus; NAFTA Talks to Extend into Next Year; Facebook Snaps Up Teen App "TBH". Aired 4-5p ET
Aired October 17, 2017 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00] ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST: Extra excitement there. National Grid ringing the closing bell. And by the way guys, we knew this day would
come. We did not realize it would come so soon. The Dow did cross 23,000 early this morning about 11:00 a.m. and actually, about five minutes ago I
was literally watching the numbers ever so closely because it crossed 23,000 again and then pulled back ever so slightly.
It is Tuesday, October 17th. Tonight, the Dow is just a hair's breath away from 23,000. We'll be live for you at the New York Stock Exchange with the
latest.
And, you're almost hired. Donald Trump says he's ready to pick the Feds next chair. And the tag team challenges for the aviation crown.
Bombardier gets a lift from Airbus.
Hello everyone, I'm Zain Asher and this my friends is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
All right. Welcome everyone. Tonight, another historical milestone in the Dow's 121-year history. The Dow crossing the 23,000 first milestone for
the time ever. And it actually might still -- might still cross above that historic level. We are just waiting for the numbers to settle but it's
hovering right now at about 29,996. Just four points away from that 23,000 milestone. The market opened with the Dow just 48 points shy of the mark.
And then you had a series of strong earnings. Finally helped bridge that gap, tipped the Dow over the edge around 11 a.m. New York time.
This, by the way my friend, is a market that's rising very, very quickly. We see these milestones more, and more frequently on Wall Street. It's
taken the Dow by the way, just 76 days since August 2 two rise 1,000 points. The last milestone 22,000 was hit on August 2, just two months
ago. Today was its fourth 1,000-point milestone of the year. Some market watchers think stocks have risen far too fast and investors need to prepare
for a big drop. So, the question is, why the meteoric rise? Why the major rally? Firstly, U.S. profits are rising. This earnings season is off to a
very, very good start with positive results from financial, healthcare and pharmaceutical companies.
Second of all, economic fundamentals. The job market is certainly very, very strong. And GDP growth in the U.S. and around the world is solid.
You are seeing positive results from economies from around the world.
And third, the buzz word right now in Washington, tax reform. If there's one thing investors want from the Trump administration, from President
Trump, this is certainly it. They are all talking about tax reform. The president insists corporate tax cuts can still happen by the end of the
year. But some analysts are not so sure.
Let's go now to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Alan Valdes is there. He's the director of the floor trading at DME Securities. Alan,
thank you so much. We're still waiting I believe for the numbers to settle. I'm not quite sure where they are right now. But the last time I
checked -- OK, the last time I checked 29,996. I mean, this is significant. I was standing here August 2 just 76 days ago and we hit
22,000. Now we're on 23,000. Why are these milestones happening more and more frequent? Just walk us through that.
ALAN VALDES, DIRECTOR OF FLOOR YOU 'S TRADING, DME SECURITIES: know, you're right. I had this hat on August 2nd for 22,000, now we're up to
23,000. I'm sure they are printing 24,000 somewhere right now. But to answer your question, you know, the higher we get we also get compressed
percentages. So, it works on itself and it just rises faster. So, you see in that safe place. But overall the economy is doing better than it was
even a year, ago. I mean like you've just mentioned, jobs numbers are better. We are waiting for tax cuts. We hope that happens this year. We
don't know. But even without the tax cuts the earnings have been so strong. I mean right now we've had 35 companies report. It's still early.
But they are up. The top line is up about 87 percent. Bottom line is up about 75 percent. So right now, they're coming in strong.
ASHER: You mentioned various reasons why we are seeing these milestones hit. But of course, you know, one of the big sort of major reasons why
Wall Street is excited right now is the prospect of tax reform. If that does not happen, if that does not happen, Alan, how long can this party,
this excitement, this exuberance on Wall Street really continue for do you think?
VALDES: Yes, that's a good point because lately it is all about the tax cuts and the earnings. But I think if the tax cuts don't come to fruition
will probably sell off a little here. Not big, because again, the earnings have been good. The numbers today from the government, the housing
numbers, industrial production, they've all been strong. So, I don't see a major sell off.
[16:05:00] But the problem traders have, right now the bear/bull ratio is for the bears there's about four. For the bulls there's about seven. So,
there slightly ahead. So, if this turns around you can see more sellers than buyers. So, that's the problem we are looking at.
ASHER: And walk us through your thoughts on the overall trend. Because typically what I've noticed is that each time we hit one of these
milestones, whether it's 21,000, 22,000, 23,000, the market hits these milestones and then pulls back ever so slightly. It's not as if it's going
through these milestones, smashing through them and rising continuously. So, just walk us through the broader trend for this year so far.
VALDES: Well, you know, a lot of traders and a lot of guys upstairs they look at the market. They get to these levels and they'll say, hey, the
only way we make money is taking money off the table. So, you'll see some selling come in at this level. A lot of people think well maybe were going
to take a rest there and will come in a little. But you will see some selling take place. Nothing major, not a correction, but guys taking money
off the table to make a profit. I mean they've got in at 22,000. They're going to get out right here at 23,000 undoubtedly. And then if it starts
to run again they'll get back in. But basically, you'll see some profit- taking going on.
ASHER: All right, Alan, as you're speaking we are looking at the numbers as they continue to settle, 22,997. Just shy of that milestone. But it
did reach that milestone at about 11 o'clock this morning. Alan, thank you so much, appreciate that.
So, let's look at the headline number and the headline beyond the numbers. Many stocks in the Dow 30 actually fell. Look at all that red here. Many
stocks in the Dow actually fell today. The two biggest gainers UnitedHealth and Johnson & Johnson. Both reported strong earnings before
the markets opened. At the other end Goldman Sachs. Its shares fell sharply even though it's earnings ended up beating expectations. So, let's
talk more about this with Paul. Paul, it was really, I swear, it was just two months ago we were talking about Dow 22,000. It almost feels like
these milestones are happening just so quickly,
PAUL R. LA MONICA, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: They're happening at a much faster clip and get used to it. Because obviously, just the laws of math
every 1000-point move is going to going to take a smaller percentage to happen. But that being said, it's been a whirlwind this year, we just hit
Dell 20,000 earlier this year. And now were already hitting at 23,000.
ASHER: It feels like 10 years ago.
LA MONICA: I know, it feels like ancient history.
ASHER: When you look at the earnings that are really driving this bull market, it's really just a handful of companies when you look at the Dow
that are really causing the Dow to rise further. Just walk us through that.
LA MONICA: Right. Definitely, I mean today as you pointed out on that chart showing all the Dow components, UnitedHealth and Johnson & Johnson
were the stars today. Both of them having solid results. Both in the healthcare business. A lot different parts of healthcare, obviously, but
when UnitedHealth care their earnings are strong because they've already positioned themselves for a potential post-ACA, Obama care world. They
pulled back on a lot of those exchanges. Their optimum unit is doing extremely well, pharmacy benefits management.
With J&J they have a lot of cancer drugs that are doing well. And that's offsetting some of the sluggishness in the consumer part of their business.
Because sales of Tylenol and some of their other big brand names over-the- counter products have actually been sluggish. But Wall Street didn't really care about that today because the overall results and guidance was
pretty solid.
ASHER: I mean, you look at bank stocks. I mean, we talked a little bit about bank stocks overall. I mean, today we got earnings from Morgan
Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs ended up struggle in terms of their shares, even though they beat --
LA MONICA: I'm still surprised that Goldman fell as much as it did. Because even though the trading revenue is down, people expected that.
Their investment banking earnings and revenue was pretty solid. I mean, Morgan Stanley which they may be the new vampire squid if you will, because
their stock has done much better than with rival Goldman Sachs lately. They've had very strong results from their wealth management business.
Because people still need retirement planning and things like that. Even in a market where we're just kind of steadily climbing higher.
ASHER: Yes, who knows, maybe next week I'll be talking to you about 24,000. Who knows, who knows. Anything is possible. Anything is
possible, Paul La Monica, live for us, thank you so much. Have a great evening my friend.
Tonight, a defining moment in the fight against ISIS. U.S. backed forces say they are in control of the Syrian city of Raqqa. This is major news.
A Syrian city of Raqqa after a four-month battle to drive ISIS out. An official announcement that Raqqa is liberated, could come very, very soon.
CNN actually obtained this. Take a look here. This drone video showing victory at last. SDF forces driving armored vehicles around the square in
Raqqa flying their flag, victory at last. You can see the excitement there. And actually, if you look closely you can see that part of the city
has been very badly devastated. A lot of destruction here.
ISIS seize control of Raqqa about three years ago and made it the capital of its self-proclaimed caliphate. Arwa Damon joins us live now from Iraq,
not far from the Syrian border.
[16:10:00] So, Arwa, just in terms of what Raqqa actually looks like now. Just walk us through what is happening there especially in terms of getting
rid of sleeper cells, any sort of remaining ISIS combatants.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, when you look at those exclusive drone images that were obtained by CNN, and you see those
vehicles moving around the roundabout. You see the armored vehicles packed with SDF fighters, essentially celebrating how far they have managed to
calm at this stage. That is the very same roundabout where ISIS carried out some of its more chilling atrocities. The public beheadings, the
crucifixions, the executions. Right now, what we're hearing from SDF commanders is that they are still trying to go through and root out any
remaining potential sleeper cells that may be hiding out in the ruins.
Also, much more critically perhaps at this stage, trying to clear the streets, alleyways and buildings of improvised explosive devices. A
spokesman for the U.S. backed coalition said that they at least estimate that at this stage there might be around 100 ISIS fighters or so left
inside the city. The devastation, you see it in these images that have been coming out over the last four months. But also, those more recent
images especially in these drone videos that CNN has been obtaining, the devastation is absolutely astonishing. It seems as if there is not a
single building that has not been scarred by this war. Very hard to even begin to imagine how civilians are going to return to the city.
Bearing in mind that Raqqa was the very first major city that came under ISIS control back into thousand 2013. It is where I was saying ISIS
carried out some of its more horrifying atrocities on a fairly regular basis. It is also where it kept its hostages, western and others. It is
also where a lot of the ISIS top military leadership was based for quite some time. Where they carried out and issued their orders for strikes both
within Syria the region and beyond. The fall of Raqqa at this stage, the fact that ISIS has lost both Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq. Most
certainly is significant territorially speaking a blow to this so-called caliphate that ISIS had established. But when it comes to the ISIS
ideologies let's not go so quick as to assume ISIS as an entity at this point is defeated.
ASHER: Yes, and that brings me to my next question. You know, as you mentioned, defeated in Raqqa and Mosul. They are not defeated as an
entity. Is there a fear that as ISIS comes under more pressure in the Middle East that we will see perhaps more attacks, more sort of lone wolf
attacks in the West?
DAMON: That is yes, of course, a potential concern. We do know that throughout the course of the battles both in Mosul and in Raqqa ISIS has
shown a capability to either directly order or at least inspire some sort of an attack. Especially attacks against Western targets that do get a lot
of attention by the media. We do know that some followers of ISIS have actually been galvanized to a certain degree by the crumbling of part of
the caliphate. Viewing this as being just part of this longer battle that pegs basically ISIS against these Western ideals, the ideals of the
infidels, as they so try to portray it.
And then of course, adding to all of this is what needs to be a very concerted effort to ensure that the factors that allowed an organization
like ISIS to emerge and thrive are eradicated. And that is the sense of corruption that exists among many of these countries within the Middle
East. Disenchantment with governments. The fact that unemployment is incredibly high. A sense of alienation and isolation within significant
segments of populations both within the region but also in the West as well.
And then of course, key, key issue that needs to be addressed is how to move on from this point. You have refugee camps within Syria that are
exploding at the seams without enough food or water. A population that has already suffered through so much. That continues to a certain degree to
feel abandoned. And then of course there's things like getting children back into schools. These are children, the children of Raqqa that have
really only known ISIS for the last four years if not five years or more at this stage. And they need to be shown a counter narrative to the violence.
To try to break the cycle of violence from repeating itself over and over again -- Zain.
ASHER: Yes, the humanitarian crisis out of all of this is really quite shocking. OK, our Arwa Damon live for there. Thank you so much.
[16:15:00] And as Arwa was just mentioning there, ISIS is rapidly seeing its territory disappear and with that the infrastructure and scope for
extortion that keeps its operations running. Just eight months ago ISIS had control of large pockets of territory in both Iraq and Syria. Today,
its territory is shrinking. Certainly, confined to a much smaller area. The focus now moves to Deir Ezzor, south of Raqqa. The region is rich in
oil. One of the last sources of ISIS revenue. Fawaz Gerges is a professor at the London school of economics. He's also the author of "ISIS, a
History." He joins is live now from London. So, when you think about how ISIS makes its money, is through taxing the people that live in its
territory, through extortion, oil revenues, that sort of thing. When you see its territories now began to rapidly shrink, how does it stay afloat
financially?
FAWAZ GERGES, PROFESSOR, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Very hardly. It's a very -- ices now is financially starved. It has been started for quite a
long time. It has not been able to pay salaries for its fighters. It has not been able to basically provide the minimal services. And that's why, I
mean, the defeat, the major defeat in Iraq and Syria in addition to the, I mean trail of money that has been denied for ISIS really presents a turning
point in the struggle against ISIS.
ASHER: So, ISIS as an entity or as a terror group is obviously suffering financially, but the ideological issues that gave way to ISIS is still
there. I mean obviously, young men are being recruited constantly online. How do we combat that as a society then?
GERGES: Well, what we need to remember is that the so-called Islamic state or ISIS is part of really a family, ideological family. Called Selfie
Jihadism. ISIS is not the only organization. Keep in mind Al Qaeda still exists. Al Qaeda has one of the largest bases in the world and Syria. It
has bases in Afghanistan, in Yemen. It's not a mass movement, it's a social movement. In fact, it's expanding ideologically. You have
thousands of young men and women who subscribe to this ideology. It's a counter narrative. It's an ideology that provides young men and women who
have very little in life, it's a kind of utopia. And also, this particular ideology, Selfie Jihadism, Al Qaeda and ISIS, is basically nourished in
conflict zones. That's why whenever you have a war-torn country like Afghanistan, like Iraq, like Syria, like Libya. These particular groups
are basically our nourished in these particular areas because they tend to insert themselves and blend with the population and basically portray
themselves as the defenders of local communities. So, when the civil war in Syria started, ISIS basically told many Syrians that it was defending
the Sunni community in Syria against the dictatorship of Nasib. And the same way in Iraq. ISIS basically depicted itself as the protector and
defender of Sunni Iraqis against the Shia based government in Iraq. So, sadly unless you deactivate this ideological and social minefields, ISIS
and the family of selfie jihadism, Al Qaeda will be with us for many years in the greater Middle East.
ASHER: Yes, that's a sobering thought. Fawaz Gerges, live for us there. Thank you so much, appreciate that.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Now two of Boeing's biggest rivals our joining forces to gang up on their common rival. That story next.
[16:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Welcome back everybody. There is a new plane and the aerial battle between Airbus and Boeing. Bombardier, the Canadian playmaker is selling
is selling Airbus a controlling stake in one of its biggest projects. The C series airliner is now effectively and Airbus plane. Boeing was
determined to stop Bombardier's selling it in the United States. And it convinced the U.S. Commerce Department to slap huge import tariffs on it.
Now it's going to be assembled and Airbus factories in Alabama. And that means Boeing's tariffs plan is ruined. Airbus has a new model in its
lineup. And Bombardier's shares soared by around 15 percent. The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already called president Trump to discuss
the deal.
CNN's Paula Newton is following all the developments from Ottawa. So, Paula, let's just backtrack for a second. I want to understand just how
much this row with Boeing, Bombardier, and Airbus have actually affected the relationship between Trudeau and Trump. Just walk us through that.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's been interesting here is that it's been an irritant. Remember that Justin Trudeau said very clearly
a few weeks ago about Boeing's complaint is that we will not -- as in Canada -- will not do business with someone trying to basically put
Bombardier workers out of work. The problem was that then Justin Trudeau retaliated by saying, look, were not going to buy Boeing military planes if
this continues. But really, Zain, what ended up happening in the end everybody understands this was quite a provocative move on the part of
Airbus and believe me, Airbus only has Boeing to thank because Bombardier went rushing into their arms where they would not before.
I mean, think of it, Zain, Airbus did not have to take on any debt or pay one dime for this deal. And all of a sudden, they've got controlling
interest. A little bit more than 50 percent of a C series jet that many people say will absolutely enhance a lot of the routes, not just in North
America, but in Asia and the Middle East. Boeing didn't want that competition and so decided they were going to take matters into their own
hands with a sympathetic Trump administration. I mean, I wager, Zain, that we haven't heard the last of this from in terms of this being a trade
dispute.
But right now, what Bombardier and Airbus have put on the table and said, look, we are building this thing eventually in Mobile, Alabama. You don't
want to hurt those jobs and they will be for all intents and purposes, American planes and will not be subject to tariffs or duties.
ASHER: Certainly, a very shrewd move by Airbus as you just walk through. But the U.K. was also implicated especially when it comes to Bombardier
jobs in Northern Ireland. Just walk us through what's at stake there.
NEWTON: Well, this is, Zain, where you get to the larger picture of, you know, to the death battle between Boeing and Airbus, which were all
familiar with and has been going on for decades. Teresa May was involved in this as well. If the C series jet failed in any way shape or form,
thousands of jobs were on the line in Northern Ireland. You know, Northern Ireland is very crucial right now. They hold the balance of power for
Teresa May in parliament and obviously are a key player in Brexit. And for that reason, Theresa May needed those Bombardier jobs to stay in Northern
Ireland. Those seem to have been secured right now. Airbus believes that they can continue to use their parleys to sell these jets again in the
Middle East and Asia, more of the growing markets. And they believe they now have one over on Boeing. And again, this is just another chapter in a
long continuing saga between Boeing and Airbus and now Bombardier is right in the thick of it.
ASHER: Yes, the rivalry continues. Paula Newton, life for us there. Thank you so much.
Well, Boeing shares have glided lower on Wall Street. The company has announced the Airbus/Bombardier deal. In a statement it said -- let me
read for you here.
This looks like a questionable deal between two heavily state-subsidized competitors to skirt the recent findings of the U.S. government. Our
position remains that everyone should play by the same rules for free and fair trade to work.
[16:25:00] Joining me live now is aerospace expert, Richard Aboulafia. He's vice president of analysis at the Teal Group. So, the loser in all of
this, Richard, is of course, Boeing. I mean, they're the ones really left holding the bag by this very, some might say, smart and shrewd move by
Airbus.
RICHARD ABOULAFIA, VICE PRESIDENT, TEAL GROUP: Yes, I think that's exactly right. At the end of the day there is no way to read this other than
Boeing badly miscalculated. They thought they were doing something clever and it turned out to be extremely ill advised and with consequences that
might reverberate for years. As your reporter said, it basically helped force Bombardier into the arms of Boeing's arch nemesis, Airbus. Giving
Airbus basically a free new jet for its stable of jets to sell against Boeing.
ASHER: So then, how does Boeing start up his game after this somewhat embarrassing setback I would say?
ABOULAFIA: I would suggest that they take a look at the statement they issued earlier and bury it and not do another one like that. And instead
say, OK, look, we're going to try this another way. We are going to become, again, resume our efforts to be a true multinational corporation.
Not one that relies upon unilateral trade mechanisms to keep competitors out of our home market. And instead, there are a whole bunch of things
they can do in response, not the least of which is to go do some kind of alliance with Bombardier's own arch nemesis Embraer of Brazil. There are
many other things they can do including accelerating their development efforts for a new midsize jet that goes against Airbus in the 200 to 250
seat segments. There's a whole host of things to do, but I would urge them to not dwell on this, because this is a battle they don't appear to be able
to win.
ASHER: Yes, and it's interesting, because when you look at the trend overall, the trend is towards a more sort of global or rather globalization
of the aerospace and defense industry. So, what you're saying is that Boeing really has to sort of change his game plan in order to keep up.
ABOULAFIA: I think it's been sort of a 10-month period of stepping backwards for Boeing. They were terrified, understandably, when Trump came
in. Because he appeared to be so against their agenda on so many different levels. And all of a sudden, they found their ways of working with him.
The problem is those ways of working with him very often involved pandering to the economic nationalism and protection base of the Republican Party.
That is ill advised for a company that gets 85 percent of its commercial jetliner revenue from export markets. But nevertheless, it seems
seductive. And they went down that path. I would strongly urge them to rethink and instead follow Airbus and become again, a global thinker.
ASHER: Interesting thought. Again, Richard Aboulafia, thank you so much. Appreciate you joining us.
ABOULAFIA: Pleasure.
ASHER: All right, time for a quick break here on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. When we come back the politician who once said, Donald Trump stands for
evil ideas, actually gets to meet him. But it looks like the Greek Prime Minister is warming to Mr. Trump now that they have come face-to-face.
We'll explain the details after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:30:20] ASHER: Hello everyone. I'm Zain Asher. Coming up in the next half hour of QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, Canada and Mexico are putting their foot
down over NAFTA negotiations. I'll speak to the head of Canada's Chamber of Commerce.
And three little letters with a very big price tag. Facebook is buying TBH.
First though, these are the top headlines we are following for you at this hour.
U.S. back forces celebrated in the Syrian city of Raqqa after liberating it from the ISIS terror group. Official say major military operations are
over. The troops are clearing any remaining sleeper cells and mines. ISIS declared Raqqa the capital of its self-proclaimed caliphate in 2014.
A federal judge has blocked the U.S. presidents revised travel ban saying it plainly discriminates based on nationality. This at least temporarily,
foils the Trump administration's third attempt at pushing it through. The revised band was set to going to effect on Wednesday.
The son of an investigative journalist killed in an apparent car bombing in Malta says his mother was assassinated. He said Daphne Caruana Galizia was
targeted because of her work uncovering corruption. She had been investigating alleged corruption within political circles in Malta.
And after being fired from his own company, disgraced movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein is now officially off his Board of Directors. He apparently
resigned from the position, according to a source. The board is in talks to sell the Weinstein Company to a private equity firm.
All right, let's get you caught up to speed on the latest political news. President Trump appeared to have one over the Greek Prime Minister when he
met Alexis Tsipras in Washington a few hours ago. Mr. Tsipras who actually once called Trump's ideas evil, evil. Changed his tune when he spoke after
their get together at the White House. The prime minister said he'd moved on and was ready to work with the United States. Mr. Trump was asked to
he'll choose as chair of the Federal Reserve. The short list includes Kevin, Warsh, Jerome Powell, John Taylor, Gary Cohn, in the incumbent Janet
Yellen as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I would say within those five you'll probably get the answer. And I'll be making the decision over the next fairly short period of time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you say who your favorite is at this point?
TRUMP: Honestly, I like them all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
Trump: I do. I have a great respect for all of them, but I'll make a decision over the next very short period of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Honestly, I like them all. And that certainly narrows it down. The visit comes as President Trump's approval rating remains steady. The
more Americans think he's headed in the wrong direction. In fact, the CNN poll reveals an approval rating of 37 percent, with 57 percent say they
disapprove. CNN political director, David Chalian, joint is live now from Washington. So, David, 37 percent approval rating. Yes, it remains
steady, but it's still embarrassing low. Especially when you compare him to recent predecessors. Does it matter to Trump do you think?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN, POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Oh, of course it matters to Trump. I remember, Zain, I'm sure you do too --
ASHER: But it's not going to change. It's knocking to change his path. It's knocking to change what he does. What are your thoughts on that?
CHALIAN: Well, that certainly has been proven true. As he's president he hasn't sort of adjusted in any kind of way with his policy or political
outreach in some way that suggests he looking to grow beyond where he is. I think that certainly true. But we know how much he loves looking at his
report card. And from the campaign trail he used to, you remember, he used to take a piece of paper of his pocket and would read his poll numbers at
every rally. He doesn't do that anymore.
Because as you noted if you look historically how this matches up to all his modern era predecessors, he's at the very bottom at 37 percent. His
next closest predecessor at this point, October of the first year, you see there was Bill Clinton at 47 percent. He was even 10 points higher where
President Trump is now.
[16:35:00] So, yes, it is low. But as you noted, it is consistently low. I would say he's been hovering between 37 and 40 percent approval for the
last four or five months.
ASHER: What I found out interesting about this poll specifically was that only 38 percent actually believe that what he is working on right now in
terms of tax reform, healthcare is actually going to bring about positive change. I'm curious just given the political environment what message do
you think that sense to congressional Republicans?
CHALIAN: Well, the congressional Republicans are solely focused on having an actual legislative accomplishment most likely here with tax reform they
hope, that the president can sign that they can then go into the election year with next year, showing their voters that they actually delivered on
some promise. Because they have not been able to do that as you know on healthcare. They need a big-ticket item and here is the poll number that
Republicans are talking about today. It is President Trump's trust to handle major issues versus Republicans in Congress trusted to handle major
issues, and, Zain, among Republican voters they trust the president far more than they trust Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and their members in
Congress to handle the major issues.
ASHER: Overall though, we've got three years to go to the next election, when you look at these numbers 37 percent, even though it's steady,
steadily low, can he continue that in 2020?
CHALIAN: That would be a hard number two to get reelected with, if you still down at 37 percent approval even in the electoral college, it may be
tough to find his path to 270 electoral votes. But Donald Trump has broken many rules in politics and so before we even get to 2020, as we head into
2018 next year, for the midterm elections which is going to be a big referendum on the Trump presidency, everything in history tells us where
the president stands dictates how his party will do in those midterm elections. We will see if Donald Trump is able to defy those rules next
year as well.
ASHER: Right, David Chalian live for us there, thank you.
We've got some breaking news to bring you. It just came in to CNN, Roy Price the man you see here, who is the head of Amazon Studios and global
content, Amazon Video, has resigned. He has resigned and stepped down, Amazon had actually put him on leave of absence after reports that the
executive made an obscene comment to a TV producer.
Isa Hackett a producer of Amazon series "The Man in the high Castle" claims that price actually repeatedly, repeatedly made lewd comments to her
despite her rebuffs. Brian Stelter joins us live now on the line, Roy Price stepping down, really proving Brian this Weinstein-ian scandal
continues to reverberate throughout Hollywood.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: This it is exactly that, it is a domino effect from the Harvey Weinstein scandal. Remember this
incident is alleged by Roy Price in 2015, a story about it first came out months ago. The only difference now is of course the Harvey Weinstein
scandal, which inspired this producer Isa Hackett speak on the record about the alleged harassment.
She says that Price said disturbing things to her in 2015, but they continued working together on Amazon. When the story came out last week,
Amazon put him on a leave of absence, and now in the past few minutes Amazon tells me he has officially resigned. Obviously, he is resigning
under pressure, whether he actually jumped or he was pushed out, it is a shakeup for Amazon Studios which is trying really hard to battle Netflix,
HBO and other content makers. It is terrible timing for Amazon but it is also deeply embarrassing for Amazon, and most importantly it is a moment of
justice for the accuser.
ASHER: That is right, we are saying with the hashtag me too, I could not believe how many me too's there were on Twitter this week, so many women
coming forward and speaking out because of this, Brian Stelter, we have to leave it there, thank you.
Canada and Mexico have rejected two key U.S. demands for the North American Free Trade Agreement. According to one government source from each
country, U.S. proposals on the origins of imports, and on the duration of the deal itself, both met with opposition. The fourth round of
renegotiation talks concluded without a breakthrough, a top U.S. trade official it left him unsatisfied.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT LIGHTHIZER, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: Frankly, I am surprised and disappointed by the resistance to change from our negotiating partners on
both fronts. We had made some headway on the first objective, even here we have some time seeing their refusal to accept what is clearly the best text
available.
[16:40:00] In spite of the countries having agreed to it in the past.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right, Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, he joins us live now from Washington. Thank you so much for
being with us.
PERRIN BEATTY, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CANADIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Glad to be here.
ASHER: Are you optimistic that a deal is going to be reached
BEATTY: Certainly, less optimistic today than I was previously, but we will continue to work at it.
ASHER: How are you preparing just in case the eventuality that Trump decides to pull the plug on this?
BEATTY: I think the first thing is we want to focus on making this a success, Mexico and Canada are coming to the table in good faith. We want
to see a deal. There are plenty of areas in which NAFTA can be modernized and improved, we all are in favor of that. The real issue here is whether
or not the U.S. administration wants to have a deal at all and wants to have an agreement that all.
ASHER: Give us specifics. When you say obviously, NAFTA has been around for 25 years just under 25 years, the economies of all three countries
involved a very different back then. Just give us some specifics of areas that you think this deal can be modernized?
BEATTY: Let give you one, in the terms of the ability of companies to move people across borders, increasingly services are important, you need to be
able to move expert personnel in from one country to another to service contracts that you have. Many instances the professions that are listed in
the list attached to NAFTA, those are old professions, the ones that we have today did not even exist 20 years ago. It makes sense to update what
we are doing.
The same with the whole area of e-commerce, 20 years ago it was nothing like what we see today. There are a whole range of areas where we can make
improvements, but the issue is to he wants to approve it or do we want to blow it up?
ASHER: If Donald Trump ends up pulling the plug on NAFTA, is a focus then for Canada to arrange some kind of deal with just Canada and the U.S.
without Mexico? Would that be the next step?
BEATTY: Our goal is the trilateral deal, we have been very clear, the business communities in all three countries have been very clear for a long
time on this, now we have had hundreds of billions of dollars invested by the three countries to build supply lines that run right across North
America. And it is important that we preserve NAFTA as it is and to build upon.
If what Mr. Trump has in mind is a hub and spoke relationship with a series of bilateral agreements where he dictates the terms, that is not the basis
in which you do business.
ASHER: We have been talking a lot the Airbus Bombardier deal in the issue with Boeing as well, how do you think all of that, that whole malarkey
impacts trade relations between the U.S. and Canada?
BEATTY: I think the important thing here was we felt that what Boeing was doing was an abuse of process to begin with. Than what you had was the
U.S. Commerce Department giving them much more than what they had asked for. The net impact of values they are now faced with a far tougher
opponent than they had before, because the deal that has been done now between Bombardier and Airbus. It would've been far better to have worked
together and reached an agreement as opposed to the sort of abuse of process.
ASHER: Obviously, a priority for Mr. Trump is jobs, jobs, jobs. Just walk us through, if Trump ends up pulling out of NAFTA, just walk us through
what sort of impact that would have on Canadian jobs?
BEATTY: For all three countries, it would cost jobs, the fact is we have efficiencies today that are the result of what we have done to build these
supply lines. If suddenly we are putting tariffs back on, we will have to rebuild supply lines, and what we will be doing is purchasing goods that
are more expensive from abroad. Our input costs will be going up. And the costs of the products that we produce will be going up. There will be
fewer jobs in each of our three countries. And consumers will feel the impact as well as prices go up.
ASHER: Perrin Beatty live for us there, thank you, I appreciate that.
All right, when we come back, the app for teens is taking the market by storm. Naturally, it has been snapped up by Facebook which wants it to be
hip with kids again. We will have details after the break.
[16:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: TBH is an acronym for to be honest, and is also the name of a red- hot app that has just been snapped up by Facebook. It is designed to let friends take part in anonymous polls and questionnaires and actually offer
feedback to their buddies, and news of the takeover actually drove Facebook shares to an all-time high today.
Samuel Burke is in London with the details.
Samuel, it's so hard to know what is going to catch on with teenagers. But one of the reasons why I love this app, had not heard about it until today,
but one of the reasons I loved it, it is because it's just so positive. It's so uplifting. And actually, Facebook really needs younger eyeballs,
it needs teenagers and that is one of the reason why I presume snapped this up just like that.
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN MONEY TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Facebook needs a positive uplifting story to counteract the fact that they are
losing young people possibly to the tune of 80 million teens leaving the Facebook platform this year alone, according to E marketer. One place that
a lot of these teens go to our these anonymous apps, but you and I have talked so much about the negativity surrounding anonymity. How bullying
can happen when people don't use their real name. So, most of the apps really a no go for Facebook or any mainstream social media company, they
already have enough bullying to deal with.
But to your point here about this being a positive app, basically what this means polling between friends, anonymous polling, means you can actually
just go on and say with the person that makes you laugh the most. And I can click Zain Asher and it will send Zain a message to let her know, it is
actually the designers of these apps that they set the topics. They are the only ones who can decide, OK, Samuel can talk about who is funniest,
not who is ugliest, who is meanest, those type of negative things.
This is taken off like wildfire with teens in the United States over 5 million downloads in just a few weeks only on the market nine weeks, and
now some reports from TechCrunch saying that Facebook paid less than hundred million dollars. Which probably means somewhere close to $100
million. I love it $100 million means it's a bargain for investors and clearly investors like what they saw with the stock hitting an all-time
high today.
ASHER: I can basically go on and say, which reporter makes me laugh the most, when I am on air as well, and I can say Samuel Burke in London. But
here's the thing though, it's interesting because typically rather Facebook has often been accused of copying, stealing, cloning. That is what
happened with Snapchat, but this time he chose to actually buy this out rather than be accused of that.
BURKE: They will do everything that they can, Facebook is vicious on this front, they tried to buy Snapchat, they can't get it, they tried to make
their own. Now they say Instagram story the future very similar to Snapchat is more popular than Snapchat. They will try and fail many times
but they will spend a lot of money.
Look at WhatsApp they are still not making any money from it but they paid $20 billion more or less in the end, so they're willing to do everything
that they can especially when it comes to this demographic, these young teenagers becoming more and more elusive for advertisers. So, this is
incredibly important but take a look at that stock price, I mean at one point, it was even below $21 and one point, $176, why did we buy and why
didn't we buy more?
ASHER: I know, but in terms of this app, it only launched in August, and yet this app TBH has taken off so quickly, I read something like 5 million
users in just the last two months, what was a strategy there? It is not even available in every single state, I did manage to grow that quickly?
[16:50:00] BURKE: I think because of the positivity, now that doesn't mean that it's going to last, because this is something that was positive as
opposed to all those other negative anonymous apps that are out there, it provided something new. So, I think it is great since we've been talking
about the success of all these really negative apps I have so much anonymity that finally someone came around and did it kind of Oprah style,
let's be really positive about something. Now they are reaping the rewards for it.
ASHER: I like that. A nice app that makes you feel good about yourself. I might actually download it. Samuel Burke live for us there, thank you so
much.
And we will have more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment, don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Welcome back everybody, more breaking news this hour and a CNN exclusive as well. We are learning a little bit more about Russian
interference in last year's United States presidential election. U.S. investigators believe one possible of funding was a company owned by a
Russian oligarch dubbed "The Chef" who has very close connections to Vladimir Putin. Multiple officials briefed on the investigation tell CNN
the company financed a Russian troll factory to spread fake news during the 2016 election. Jim Sciutto, CNN's chief national security correspondent.
Jim, just walk us through who was exactly behind a troll forms?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It is a fascinating trail, we reviewed dozens of documents to substantiate this.
CNN learning that the company of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch dubbed "Chef" to President. Putin by the Russian press, financed troll
factory that use social media to spread fake news during the 2016 United States presidential campaign. This according to multiple officials briefed
on the investigation.
Prigozhin who owns several companies is one of the Kremlin's inner circle, Putin even had him cater birthday parties and visits by U.S. President
George W. Bush to Russia. His company is believed to be the main backer of the Saint Petersburg based Internet Research Agency or IRA, a secretive
technology firm that created and distributed fake news.
Prigozhin was sentenced by the U.S. Treasury Department or sanctioned rather by the Treasury Department in December 2016 for providing financial
support for Russia's military occupation of Ukraine, in one of his companies, including that catering business where it was also censured by
Treasury earlier this year.
ASHER: Just walk us through how exactly you have established this connection?
SCIUTTO: My colleague Tim Lister, Mary Ilyushina and I, we examine scores of documents leaked from inside Prigozhin's companies. One contract
provided IRA with ways to monitor social media in quote, a system of automized promotion in search engines. Other documents show that the
monthly budget for IRA was around $1 million in 2013, that is every month split between departments that included Russian language operations, in the
use of social media in English.
[01655:00] One part of the factory had a really intriguing name, it was called department of provocations dedicated to sewing fake news and so
social divisions in the West. This according to internal documents obtained by CNN, and its mission as stated in those documents was quote,
how do we create news items to achieve our goals? We should note that several e-mails and calls from CNN to Concord Consulting, that is his firm.
They went unanswered. We should also note that the IRA no longer exists since the United States election. A declassified assessment by the U.S.
intelligence community published in January of this year concluded quote, the likely financier of the so-called Internet Research Agency of
professional trolls located in St. Petersburg is a close Putin ally with ties to Russian intelligence.
That did not name Prigozhin but reviewed the documents here and I have spoken with sources aware of the details of the investigation, and they say
all signs point to him, very close friend of Vladimir Putin.
ASHER: Fascinating stuff, thank you for your reporting, Jim Sciutto live for us.
Europe's stock markets closed lower on Tuesday even though they had been positive for much of the day in London. Let's take a look here.
You can see they are all down there in Europe. In London Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said inflation has not reached its peak yet after it
rose to a five-year high of 3 percent.
And before we forget, how could we forget? It was a record breaking day on Wall Street. This is what Wall Street is talking about, the Dow actually
crossed the 23,000 mark for the first time. It ended just a few points away from 23,000. Markets opened with the Dow just 48 points shy of the
mark. They had a series of strong earnings. Finally helped tip the Dow over the edge, bridge that gap.
This is a market that is rising very, very quickly. It has taken the Dow just a little over two months, 76 days to rise 1000 points. The last
milestone was August 2, 22,000. And today was its fourth 1000-point milestone just this year, Justin 2017.
The two biggest gainers, United Health and Johnson & Johnson as well. Both reported strong earnings before the market opened. At the other end,
Goldman Sachs its shares actually fell sharply even though it's earnings beat expectations. Goldman shares finished around 2 percent lower.
And that is my friend quest means business, I'm Zain Asher in New York, I will be in again for Richard tomorrow. See you then.
END
