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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Moderna, The Coronavirus Vaccine Maker Applies For Emergency Use Authorization Today; Warning Of Higher COVID Spikes As The U.S. Tops 100,000 Cases For 27 Days In A Row; S&P Global Buys A Rival For $44 Billion, The Biggest Deal Of The Year So Far. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired November 30, 2020 - 09:00 ET
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[09:00:09]
ALISON KOSIK, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Live from New York, I'm Alison Kosik. I am in for Julia Chatterley. This is FIRST MOVE and here is your need to
know.
Moderna's move. The coronavirus vaccine maker, applies for Emergency Use Authorization today.
Surge upon surge. Warning of higher COVID spikes as the U.S. tops 100,000 cases for the 27th day in a row.
And data deal. S&P Global buys a rival for $44 billion, the biggest deal of the year so far.
It's Monday. Let's make a move.
Welcome to FIRST MOVE. It's great to have you with us. Let's begin with the check of the global markets.
U.S. futures are pointing to a mostly lower open on this last trading day of November. The S&P is on track to fall from record highs. The Dow is set
to retreat a bit more from the 30,000 milestone that it hit last week.
It's a mixed picture overall in Europe. Asian stocks finished the day in the red, despite encouraging economic news. Japanese retail sales rose over
six percent last month and Chinese factory activity grew at its fastest pace in over three years.
Topping our financial headlines today, the biggest global merger deal of the year. S&P global is buying rival financial data provider HIS Markit for
some $44 billion in stock. Shares of IHS are up more than seven percent in premarket trading right now.
Hopes for COVID vaccine rollouts have been a big driver for markets this past month. Moderna, well, today, asked U.S. and European health officials
for emergency use approval for its vaccine and reports say the U.K. is set to greenlight the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as soon as this week with shots
beginning immediately after.
We're going to have more on vaccines in just a moment, but first, let's get to our drivers.
COVID-19 infections continue to surge here in the U.S., Sunday was the 27th straight day more than 100,000 new cases were reported. Health officials
are warning that infections tied to Thanksgiving celebrations could overwhelm hospitals.
The Transportation Security Administration says it screened 1.7 million people on Sunday and that's the busiest flying day we've seen since March.
Ryan Young has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hospitals on the brink as health experts are predicting a worsening surge after the Thanksgiving
Holiday.
DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: If your family traveled, you have to assume that you were exposed and became
infected and you really need to get tested in the next week and you need to avoid anyone in your family with co-morbidities or over 65.
YOUNG (voice over): The United States has reported more than 100,000 new coronavirus cases for each of the last 27 days. Many health officials fear
the holiday travel and gatherings will cause even higher spikes.
ADMIRAL BRETT GIROIR, H.H.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY: We are at a risky time because of the travel and again, it's not just the travel, but it is
exposing people who have not been sort of in their own pods.
And remember, you can be asymptomatic and still spread the virus and that's what's so dangerous.
YOUNG (voice over): A record more than 93,000 Americans are hospitalized with the coronavirus and 16 states across the country treating a record
number of coronavirus patients.
DR. MEGAN RANNEY, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Without a comprehensive national strategy, it is going to be so difficult for us to adequately take care of
all the patients that are in the hospital right now, much less the ones that we anticipate seeing come to us over the next two to three weeks after
this Thanksgiving surge.
YOUNG (voice over): Dr. Anthony Fauci warning the trajectory could require more drastic mitigation measures.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We don't want to lock down completely, but we might have to if
this -- and I'm talking locally. I'm not talking about nationally.
YOUNG (voice over): In the NFL, six more Baltimore Ravens pulled because of COVID or exposure to it, putting the now twice postponed game against the
Pittsburgh Steelers in jeopardy. The Denver Broncos played on Sunday despite all four of their quarterbacks being quarantined after one of them
tested positive.
And in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announcing that some schools will begin to reopen on December 7th after shutting them down November 19th
when average positivity rates in the city hit three percent.
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: We will begin with elementary schools, K to 5 and our pre-K, 3-K public school centers.
YOUNG (voice over): This, coming after the New York City Sheriff's Office shut down a club on Saturday that hosted nearly 400 people.
FAUCI: Close the bars and keep the schools open is what we really say. The default position should be to try as best as possible within reason to keep
the children in school or to get them back to school. The best way to ensure the safety of the children in school is to get the community level
of spread low.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[09:05:20]
KOSIK: Ryan Young, thank you. Coronavirus cases also surging in East Asia. Japan says more than 2,000 confirmed cases were reported on Sunday.
Neighboring South Korea is also on high alert as COVID-19 infections spike.
Paula Hancocks is in Seoul with the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: New restrictions are starting to be put in place in different parts of Asia as coronavirus cases
are really starting to rise. Now, we're seeing resurgence in some of the countries and territories that did particularly well in keeping the
pandemic under control in the past.
First of all, let's look at Hong Kong. They have now said that they are going to have all government employees except for those who are deemed to
be essential workers working from home for the next two weeks.
In addition, when it comes to schools, all schools will be online learning only from Wednesday until the end of the Christmas Holidays. Officials
there hoping that will be able to curtail the rise they have seen in recent days.
Now, here in South Korea, for example, the Health Minister has said that he believes an outbreak could happen at any time in any place. Health
officials have been stressing how different it is this time around, what they are calling the third wave saying that the clusters are far more
numerous and smaller.
There aren't these one or two epicenters they can focus on and of course, that makes it far harder to contact trace and to curtail the rise.
And in Japan, for another day, we are seeing more than 2,000 new coronavirus cases. At this point, there are no new restrictions being put
in place, although, certainly, you should imagine that they are being considered.
Now, there's a few factors between this resurgence that we are seeing, the fact that we are going into winter. Everybody is indoors far more than they
are outdoors. What we're seeing elsewhere in the world as well, what expert is calling pandemic fatigue. People are simply fed up of having these
restrictions put on them and some people becoming complacent.
But officials here and around different areas of Asia really hope that these extra restrictions they're putting in place will put a stop to the
rises that we're seeing.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: Moderna says it is filing an Emergency Use Authorization for its coronavirus vaccine today. It's claiming an efficacy of 94.1 percent and in
severe cases of COVID-19, 100 percent. CNN Health's Elizabeth Cohen joins me live now.
Great to see you. You know, I know you've been covering the various rollouts of these vaccines and their efficacies. What strikes you about
this one?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What strikes me about this one is that it's a much larger data set. We talked a couple of weeks
ago when Moderna came out with the first data set. This data set is twice as large and that gives you more confidence that these numbers are correct,
are the reality. So let's take a look at what those numbers are.
So what Moderna found that their vaccine was 94.1 percent effective in this new larger data set against coronavirus, and it was actually 100 percent
effective against severe disease. In other words, nobody who received this vaccine became severely ill with COVID.
Now, let's think a little bit, Alison, about how they got to these numbers because it is very nerdy and weedy, but it is also very important. So what
Moderna did is they took tens of thousands of people and some of them were given the vaccine and some of them were given a shot of saline, that's a
placebo that does absolutely nothing.
Those hat people that went back to their homes in their own towns and cities and they were told just to live their lives, some of them became
infected with COVID, some of them didn't.
So, let's take a look at the effect that the vaccine had. So what they found is that 11 of the 15,000 people who got the actual real vaccine got
COVID-19. Just 11 out of 15,000, but 185 out of 15,000 people who received the placebo got COVID-19. So 185 people who did not get the vaccine got
COVID-19 and again, nobody in the vaccine group actually got very, very, got severely ill with COVID -- Alison.
KOSIK: What ages were in the groups and also, how many shots are required for this vaccine?
COHEN: Right, so the ages were adults including a group of -- including some elderly people and what's interesting is that the elderly people were
just as protected as younger people. So people who are over age 65 also were protected 94.1 percent. So that's really great because there were some
concerns that this vaccine might work well for younger people, but not as well for older people.
So that is for sure, good news.
[09:10:05]
KOSIK: OK, Elizabeth Cohen, thanks for that rundown of what can be a complicated background of some of these vaccines. Great to talk with you.
Now, later, we are going to be hearing from Chairman of Moderna with more on the progress of their vaccine candidate. Stay with us for that
interview.
Two of the biggest names in the financial data sector are joining forces. S&P Global is buying IHS Markit for some $44 billion in stock, making it
the biggest merger deal this year. Paul la Monica joins me live now.
You know, it's a pandemic, but you know what? Deals are still being made and this is the biggest deal this year. What do you think it says about the
broad M&A market?
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: I think, Alison, that obviously there is more optimism now about the global economy and the prospects for
it in 2021 because of all of the vaccine news and that might be one reason why we have companies now looking to do big deals like this S&P Global-IHS
Markit transaction.
Consolidation in the exchange and financial services sector probably does make sense and with more confidence, you're now going to see more deals
taking place.
KOSIK: And with this particular deal, with S&P Global and IHS, it's basically consolidating a lot of financial information and services and
with the shrinking of the competitive space, are there going to be antitrust issues? Could regulatory scrutiny hold it back from actually
going through?
LA MONICA: Yes, I think that is certainly possible, Alison, as you consider that LSE, the London Stock Exchange, the parent company there, they are
looking to buy Refintiv in a smaller deal. That deal was announced in 2019, I believe, it was the summer, August of 2019. The deal still hasn't closed.
It's expected to close in 2021, first quarter, but there are and have been some regulatory antitrust issues in Europe regarding that.
But that being said, I think that a lot of investors wonder who is next because everyone is just still trying to compete with Bloomberg. You have
companies like Vixen and the big index provider, MSCI -- that are both publicly traded as well. Could they be targets for a company like NASDAQ or
the Intercontinental Exchange known as the MYC. I think we could see more deals.
KOSIK: Okay, I have to ask you about one other proposed merger that's having issues here. I am watching the stock of Nikola down 21 percent in
the premarket. Talking about the deal between Nikola GM. It looks like there is a change in the deal.
LA MONICA: Yes, the big issue here, Alison is that GM and Nikola had a ballyhooed announcement a few months ago where GM was going to take a big
equity stake in Nikola, the electric truck company and help develop its Nikola Badger, but Nikola has had a lot of problems, you know, concerns
about just how effective its electric truck is and you know, can it really go on its own power?
There was talk about it, you know, one press announcement just rolling down a hill. So GM is now not, as part of their new partnership, not going to be
taking an equity stake in Nikola and not developing this Nikola Badger car, so the stock is tumbling. Nikola's stock is plunging on this news.
I imagine Elon Musk and Tesla are probably looking at this favorably, because this goes to show how Tesla is the real deal and Nikola, there's
still a lot to be desired, I think, with this company.
KOSIK: We'll have to watch Elon Musk's tweeting today based on what's happening with Nikola stock today. All right, Paul La Monica, thank you so
much. Great to see you.
LA MONICA: Thank you.
KOSIK: And these are the stories making headlines around the world. Funeral services have just been held for Iran's top nuclear scientist. Mohsen
Fakhrizadeh was killed in a brazen assassination outside of Tehran on Friday.
And we are just learning that Iranian media citing an unnamed source says the weapons used made in Israel. Tehran is vowing to retaliate.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has reported extensively from Iran and he joins us live now. Fred, great to see you. I understand you're learning more about
this targeted attack.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right, Alison. It's quite interesting because the Iranians not
only saying apparently, this according to Iranian media that they believe that the weapons that were used were apparently of Israeli make as they put
it.
They are also offering up some new details as to what exactly may have happened to Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Essentially, they are now saying that all
of this was conducted with what they call a radio-controlled machine gun that was mounted on a parked car.
And essentially, semiofficial Iranian media saying that the convoy that he was traveling in was stopped when it was shot at, that apparently, then the
scientist got out to check what was going on and was then shot several times by this remote-controlled machine gun and then the vehicle that the
machine gun was in exploded only a few minutes after that. They say this only took about three minutes.
And only a couple of minutes ago, a top Iranian security official came out and essentially seemed to confirm parts of that story. He was saying that
it was a very complicated pod using radio-controlled equipment and that there was no one at the scene afterwards.
Now, of course, the Iranians, as you've already noted are saying that they blame Israel for this attack and of course, one of the things that's being
hotly debated right now in Iran is a possible retaliation to all this and there's really two camps right now in Iran.
[09:15:31]
PLEITGEN: There's the hard liners who are saying that they want a swift and very harsh retaliation to go forward because they believe that if they
don't do that, then perhaps, there will be similar attacks in the future.
But there's also the moderates around President Hassan Rouhani who are saying, look, we need to really see what we're going to do here next
because they believe that perhaps, they are being baited by Israel to conduct some sort of harsh reaction, but then of course, would make it more
difficult for any sort of negotiations for other powers, for instance the United States in the future with Iran about the situation in the future --
Alison.
KOSIK: Knowing that Rouhani has said that there could be retaliation, that there could be a definite punishment of those responsible, has the U.S.
stepped in to contact Iran?
PLEITGEN: No, and so far from what we've heard, there has been none of that. The U.S. so far, at least from open sources that we've heard has not
done that. And one of the things that the Iranians also believe or at least some in Iran seem to believe that in the end, they think that this targeted
assassination is happening in the final days of the Trump administration to essentially make it more difficult for the Biden administration to start
picking up negotiations with the Iranians once again.
One of the things that Joe Biden has sort of dangled is that there could be possible new negotiations about another future nuclear deal with Iran. Of
course, the U.S. exited the nuclear agreement with Iran during the Trump administration and essentially at this moment there are really no ties
between Iran and the United States.
So, in the end, the Iranians believe that once a Biden administration takes office, at least the situation could somewhat improve for them. So there
are some who are saying, look, why not wait this out? See what the new Biden administration brings and not retaliate before that. And obviously,
there's others who want quick retaliation and very harsh retaliation as well -- Alison.
KOSIK: All right, Frederik Pleitgen, thank you.
Ethiopia's Prime Minister claims not one person was killed by Federal troops during the Army's three-week offensive in the northern region of
Tigray. His statement contradicts statements by Tigrayan leaders who have said many civilians have died in airstrikes.
The Prime Minister says the regional capital is now under government control.
Still to come on FIRST MOVE, Moderna applies to regulators for approval of its vaccine. The company's Chairman joins me for more on what comes next.
And the latest on the Biden transition. The President-elect receives his first National Security briefing and prepares to introduce his economic
team.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:21:07]
KOSIK: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. I'm Alison Kosik live from New York where U.S. stocks on track for a mixed open this Monday, seeing a bit of a
consolidation here after strong gains of two percent or more last week. That said, the U.S. markets and global stocks as a whole wrapping up a
profitable month.
The best November on Wall Street, in fact, since the 1920s with all the major averages up in the double digits. The small cap Russell 2000 index is
on track for its best month ever.
Oil is mixed. OPEC is meeting today to discuss extending production cuts as global COVID cases rise. Oil is set to wrap up the month with solid gains
of about 20 percent.
Okay, returning to our breaking vaccine news. Moderna planning to request Emergency Use Authorization for its vaccine candidate in the U.S. today.
The company says it's 94.1 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 and 100 percent effective in preventing severe cases.
It says by the end of this year, it expects 20 million vaccine doses will be available in the United States.
Noubar Afeyan is the co-founder and chairman of Moderna and CEO of Flagship Pioneering and he joins me now. Mr. Afeyan, great to have you with us.
NOUBAR AFEYAN, CO-FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, MODERNA: Thanks for having me, Alison.
KOSIK: So I want to start with the reaction from Moderna itself, its Chief Medical Officer told CNN that he actually became emotional when he saw the
data saying, quote, "We have full expectation to change the course of this pandemic." Is this overly optimistic?
AFEYAN: You know, I think that what you're seeing is our feelings vis-a-vis the 10 months of very intense effort that's gone into this process and our
goal all along was to demonstrate the most effective, the safest and the most thoroughly vetted vaccine we could possibly produce, and we put a lot
of effort into it together with lots of collaborators and to be able to get the results that we've seen today certainly is a feeling of both relief and
excitement. Excitement about the impact.
So I think that optimism is something you can judge in hindsight, but the excitement is twofold. One is the impact and the second is, you know,
messenger RNA is a technology that Moderna pioneered some 10 years ago and 10 years of work, several billion dollars in investment have gone into
putting us in a position to be relevant in this important time and that, too, obviously is a feeling that could cause emotions given where we are.
KOSIK: Okay, what everybody wants to know, when will you get approval? When will the first vaccines be ready?
AFEYAN: The pathway available is first a request for Emergency Use Authorization, which we're making, we have announced today with the F.D.A.,
as well as working with E.M.A. and the Europeans and everywhere else that we can.
That Emergency Use Authorization, we expect may be forthcoming if all goes well during December such that the first vaccines will go out and the
people who will receive those will be determined by guidelines set by the C.D.C. as well as their equivalent in other countries.
Thereafter, in the first quarter of next year, we expect to work towards full licensure of the vaccine such that a broader community can receive it
and we said publicly we expect to produce 500 million to one billion doses during 2021 which we fully intend to use across the world to have the
biggest impact we can have.
KOSIK: And just clarifying, is this a one or two-dose shot?
AFEYAN: This is a two-dose vaccine as are most other ones that have been tried so far. I know that there are would like to try a single dose. When a
pandemic of this sort where we're facing an invisible enemy that we have had no experience with, our choice was to try to go for the most effective
vaccine we could come up with, and what we've seen based on our data and others are also seeing is that with two doses, with this technology, we can
produce a very significant increase in the protective effect of the neutralizing antibodies, and so that's why we're using two doses.
[09:25:41]
KOSIK: And just to clarify, I know you said it was up to the C.D.C. how many doses will go out, but how many is Moderna prepared to distribute and
what about those plans to distribute the vaccine?
AFEYAN: So the 20 million is our estimate for the month we'll produce. The C.D.C. will determine how they are distributing. Meaning, who is in the
front of the line and as you know, Operation Warp Speed that has been set up in the U.S. to handle this for the American side as well as the
equivalent in Europe, et cetera, we're working with all of them.
So the 20 million number is a December production estimate. The 500 million to a billion is Moderna's estimate for 2021.
In terms of how this is expected to roll out, various countries have already entered into preorders with us. We're working with others today.
We're working with COVAX to ensure that our vaccine to be part of the arsenal of vaccines that are made available to lower and middle income
countries as well.
So we like others who are producing vaccines are doing everything we can to make sure we have as broad an impact as we can recognizing that no single
vaccine will be able to do this, and therefore, there will in fact be a group of them that are deployed.
KOSIK: So it is going to be deployed simultaneously in the U.S. and around the world as well?
AFEYAN: Essentially, yes. I mean, depending on when Emergency Use Authorization is given. In the U.S., we expect, as I said, over the coming
weeks, the same should be the case in Europe and beyond that, different countries will have different approaches to it, but yes, as soon as the
regulators allow it, we will be shipping vaccines.
KOSIK: There's been an acknowledgment that the side effects won't be a walk in the park. Does that mean these are side effects that even the elderly
won't be able to tolerate and how do you know or is it impossible to know what the long-ranging side effects could be?
AFEYAN: Vaccines have been developed for a long time. We've learned a lot about developing vaccines in general and we apply those to the development
of the current pandemic vaccine. We and others have reported reactions to the vaccine administration that are essentially equivalent to what we see
with many other vaccines.
I think that given the intensity of expectation and scrutiny, people are basically describing these tolerance effects, whether it be a reaction site
of pain or some muscle pain for 24 hours that can result. These are things we see with many other vaccines and that's what we've recorded and that is
what others are recording and they have a lot to do with the fact that the vaccine is in fact, immunogenic and it is producing a significant immune
response, which we want to protect those who receive it.
And so, I think that the time will show the level of tolerance, but our data suggests no serious adverse reactions which is what you tend to look
for and in terms of long-term effect, the only way you can see that is actually administering and following which we and others will be doing.
KOSIK: So that's an unknown right there, it is the long ranging side effects. I mean, if you think about it, this vaccine was designed in
literally two days from what I'm hearing. So how can you -- it is almost impossible to know if there are going to be long-term side effects.
AFEYAN: Look, the two days, let me describe to you. There are people who follow this technology and when you realize what the technology is based
on, which is really for the first time, we have the ability to make a molecule in the form of what's called RNA, which is a code and it's codes
for a protein that is what the virus uses on its surface to get into cells and do the damage it does.
So we're able to provide the code for that protein such that when it enters a recipient's body, that code gets converted through their own cells into
the protein. There's no virus administered. There's none of the other aspects of the coronavirus that could be harmful and the immune system sees
the protein and now learns what to stand on guard for, so that when the actual virus shows up, then the immune system is ready to attack it.
So that mechanism is well understood, well evidenced with lots other vaccines. We simply have found a way to do this using a code molecule.
That's what messenger RNA is like DNA, it is effectively an information molecule.
That is why we are able to take the information from the virus and turn around and make the RNA within a few days. That is not at all an indication
of safety and efficacy, et cetera. It's simply in the nature of the technology we've pioneered that we're able to do that.
[09:30:33]
AFEYAN: The testing that we've done for the last 10 months is as rigorous, if not more, certainly larger than other vaccines that have been developed
and we, together with our partners at the N.I.H. and other places absolutely expect as well as other vaccine makers expect that that level of
rigorous testing is what we need to show before we can consider a vaccine.
So that's -- you know, we are following -- there is a sentiment out there that if you go fast, you must be taking corners, at least in our case and I
believe in everyone's case, that is simply not the case.
KOSIK: OK, Noubar Afeyan, co-founder and chairman of Moderna. Pleasure speaking with you today.
AFEYAN: Thank you for having me, Alison.
KOSIK: You're watching FIRST MOVE. The market open is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOSIK: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. I'm Alison Kosik. U.S. stocks are up and running on this last trading day of November. We are seeing some early
session weakness for both the Dow and the S&P, but the NASDAQ is hitting fresh records.
News that Moderna will seek emergency use approval for its COVID vaccine today is lending support to stocks. Moderna shares are up more than 15
percent in early trading.
Investors are also applauding the biggest merger deal of 2020 so far. S&P Global is buying rival financial data firm IHS Markit for some $44 billion.
Investors are hoping to hear more about a flurry of expected year end IPO deals this week. Airbnb and food delivery firm, Doordash are reportedly
kicking off their investor road shows.
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will receive their first National Security briefing today nearly four weeks
after the election. The incoming administration will also unveil its economic team today.
Last night, they announced their senior communications line-up and CNN's Jessica Dean joins me live from Washington. Jessica, great to see you.
JESSICA DEAN, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT Good morning. Thanks for having me.
KOSIK: Great to see you, so tell me more about today's briefing.
DEAN: Right. So today's President's Daily Briefing will be a first for Joe Biden as President-elect. Of course, he got these when he was Vice
President under Barack Obama. It's been held up because President Trump refused to concede and it is given at his discretion. So he just relented
on that last week which means, Joe Biden will be receiving this along with as you mentioned Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
This is a collection of classified Intelligence from across the Intelligence Agencies within the U.S. government. It's going to give them
short-term and long-term threats, what is going on, topline, about national security. We know that Joe Biden is a voracious reader of this type of
information. That he likes these Intelligence briefings and really delves into them. Quite the contrast to President Trump who often preferred an
oral briefing, if one at all.
And also, it gets to pass this kind of odd point where Harris was actually had privy to more classified information than Biden because she is a
sitting member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
So again, they will be getting those first briefing today and of course, that will continue during this transition process.
[09:35:25]
DEAN: Alison, you also mentioned that we are expecting them to formally announce their economic team. These are women, a lot of women in this team
that will be tasked with putting this economy back together after it has been decimated by the pandemic.
That will include Janet Yellen being announced as a nominee for Treasury Secretary; if confirmed, she would be the first woman to hold that job. We
also, as you mentioned, got a peek at the new communications team for the White House and this made history as well because it is all women to be the
senior staff of the White House communications team.
It's a lot of familiar faces from people who follow the campaign, people like Kate Bedingfield, Jen Psaki, Symone Sanders, they all have roles
within this new communications team, but Alison, as you can tell, the Biden team moving full steam ahead with their transition.
We are also getting word that they have announced the leadership for their inauguration committee. That committee, of course, tasked with planning an
inauguration in unprecedented times during this pandemic trying to figure out how will they do this and how will it be socially distanced? How will
it make sure they don't spread the virus while honoring such a historic moment in American history, Alison. So, it is quite a task before them.
And also, we should note over the weekend, if you see President-elect Joe Biden in a walking boot, that's because he fractured his foot. He has
hairline fractures in the top of his foot after playing in the backyard with one of his dogs, Major.
What was interesting in this situation was that we were actually given briefings and updated information about his medical condition yesterday as
it started with just a look by a doctor and then going through the various scans to ascertain exactly what happened there, but that stands in stark
contrast to President Trump. We still don't know why he went to Walter Reed Medical Center a year ago -- Alison.
KOSIK: And you said it exactly. Jessica Dean, thanks very much.
And we are learning more about the assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist as the country's leaders vow to take revenge.
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was given a military funeral in Tehran today. Iranian media say he was shot by a remote-controlled machine gun operating out of
another car as he was traveling near the capital, Friday. Press TV says the weapons were made in Israel. The Israeli government has no comment.
I'm joined now by Robert Jordan, a former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and he is a diplomat in residence at Southern Methodist University in
Dallas, Texas. Great to see you.
ROBERT JORDAN, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SAUDI ARABIA: Good morning.
KOSIK: So let's talk about how Iran has come to the conclusion with certainty that Israel is responsible because what about the U.S.? What
about the possibility Of Saudi Arabia's role in it as well?
JORDAN: Israel has shown that they have the trade craft and the capacity to engage in these kinds of assassinations. They took out an al Qaeda leader
several months ago on the streets of Tehran. They managed a very bold raid in 2018 to secure documents about Iran's nuclear program.
So, over the years, they have carried out these assassinations around the world. They clearly have a highly elevated trade craft here that I think it
has many of the hallmarks of an Israeli operation.
They also, by the way, have not denied it, which I think is quite significant.
KOSIK: The likelihood though that the U.S. or Saudi Arabia had a role?
JORDAN: Very likely, I think. Secretary Pompeo, of course, was in the western City of Neom in Saudi Arabia last week, conferring with both Prime
Minister Netanyahu and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, according to our reports.
So I think you have to assume that there was certainly prior knowledge, if not instigation by these other parties as well.
KOSIK: What is the motive here? I know Biden has made it clear that he wants to rejoin the nuclear deal. We see who his nominee for Secretary of
State is, Anthony Blinken, a staunch supporter of the deal. So with that in mind, what is the motive here and what is the reaction from Iran going to
be?
JORDAN: My guess is there are several motives. First of all, Iran, because of the American withdrawal from the nuclear deal, has increased their
enriched uranium 12 times the level that they had prior to the exit by the Americans.
Secondly, I think it allows the Israelis to create facts on the ground to make it more difficult for President-elect Biden once he takes office to
return to the nuclear deal. It throws some sand in the ears because it obviously strengthens the hard liners in Tehran.
I think it makes it much more difficult for them to be willing to come to the table. It also, I think, in some ways, baits the Iranians. Baits them
into perhaps a significant response which were then perhaps encouraged the Trump administration to launch a more significant attack before Trump
leaves office.
So I think we've got a number of moving parts here, all of which can be pretty dangerous.
[09:40:34]
KOSIK: What does retaliation by Iran look like and do you think they're going to go ahead and retaliation sooner rather than later? I mean, if you
think about it, they've also got an election, Iran does, coming up next June.
JORDAN: They do have the election coming up and I think they are really on the horns of a dilemma here. Do they wait out Trump and then hope that they
can manage a deal with the Biden administration? Or do they respond risking, again, a fierce retaliation by the Trump administration?
There has been some commentary out of Tehran that they want to engage in strategic patience which means holding their powder and seeing what might
happen with the new administration. But I do think there's a great chance either rogue or proxy attacks against Israeli and American interests,
perhaps something attacking the American Embassy in Baghdad, as we've seen in the past.
There may be also further attacks by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia. They've recently attacked near Jeddah against an Aramco facility. So we may
see sporadic attacks like that, but nothing that would perhaps be as consequential as a full blown attack by Iran itself.
KOSIK: Okay, Robert Jordan, former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Great getting your perspective today. Thank you.
JORDAN: Thank you for having me.
KOSIK: And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:09]
KOSIK: Welcome back. Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows retailers of any size to build an online store. And through it, shops can
sell directly to their consumers. When COVID-19 restrictions hit in the second quarter and shopping moved almost completely online, the company saw
a 71 percent jump in new stores.
On Black Friday, it saw record sales of $2.4 billion, a 75 percent increase on last year's number. Joining me is Harley Finkelstein, he is the
President of Shopify. Great to see you.
HARLEY FINKELSTEIN, PRESIDENT, SHOPIFY: Hey, Alison. Thanks for having me.
KOSIK: Great to have you with us. You know, I was out at one of New York metro's second biggest shopping malls for Black Friday on Black Friday. It
was empty. So it looks like shoppers skipped the lines and stayed home to score Black Friday deals online and I know you have tracking data. What are
you seeing? What are people buying? How much are they spending?
FINKELSTEIN: Yes, so first, at a high level, I think with more consumers than ever before shopping online this year, we anticipate that this four-
day weekend, which we're in the final day of right now will be one of the biggest e-commerce and frankly, commerce events in history.
Consumers are voting with their wallets to support independent brands and direct to consumer businesses that they absolutely love. And so, a couple
of things that we are unequivocally seeing. First is, the Black Friday and Cyber Monday event is no longer a North American event, it is now a global
event.
We've seen triple digit GMV growth in key geographies like Germany, which have 188 percent growth over the last year, Italy at 189 percent and U.K.
at 116 percent and Japan, almost 400 percent growth. And so that is why you're seeing us announce deals around the world like our Alipay
integration so that our million or more merchants can sell easily in China.
But the second thing that I think is really important is that Black Friday and Cyber Monday is no longer a weekend, it is now a season and we are
seeing it start earlier and I think this is going to be the blueprint for what retail will look like well into the future.
KOSIK: Yes, it looks like the coronavirus has really accelerated the trend that's already been there with Black Friday kind of waning, happening in
stores, more online and more of a longer event. Good point there.
And you actually cater to small and medium businesses. That is your clientele. How important is that support now when so many smaller
businesses are struggling during this pandemic?
FINKELSTEIN: One of the things we are seeing in Shopify and this has happened almost at the onset of the pandemic is that we saw two types of
retailers emerge in the market. We saw a lot of these more resistant retailers who did not pivot or adapt very quickly.
But for the most part, the millions stores on Shopify, they were a lot more resilient. They quickly pivoted. We saw a ton of our brick and mortar
stores turn their physical locations into fulfillment warehouses and began focusing more on their online channel.
And I think what we are really seeing here is that, it is a shift and a change that we've anticipated for a very long time. The center of gravity
for retail has completely shifted from in store to online and what we're seeing right now is not an anomaly.
As I mentioned, it will be the blueprint for what we'll see long into the future, but the resilient retailers who are embracing this omni-channel
model and all of the resources at their disposal to leverage and reach more customers, they are going to be the ones that absolutely succeed and that's
the reason why you saw, as you said earlier, record-setting Black Friday sales, $2.4 billion, up 75 percent from last year.
We're also seeing that average cart sizes are larger. Average cart sizes have been between $88.00 and $90.00 over the last few days. That's an
increase of over 10 percent from last year. So consumers are choosing to buy direct from great brands and retailers and they are also looking for
retailers and brands whose values reflect their own.
It feels almost like 2020 is the year of the conscious consumer and 57 percent of shoppers that we polled told us that they are looking to seek
out independent local businesses to support.
KOSIK: Harley, very quickly, what's next for Shopify? I know that you guys have Shopify Capital providing loans. You've got a new app called Shop. Is
there a marketplace brewing here for consumers kind of like a mini Amazon in the works?
FINKELSTEIN: So what I think you're seeing with Shopify is a shift. Shopify is best known around the world for being the best place to build an online
store and what you are seeing over the last couple of years is a shift for us being the world's first retail operating system.
We want brands and entrepreneurs and businesses to come to us to run the entirety of their commerce operations, whether they sell online or offline
or cross sell in marketplaces or social media. If they need capital or they need payment rates or they need shipping opportunities, we can provide that
to them.
And you mentioned sort of marketplace. We're not a marketplace, but if you were to pretend for a minute that we were, we'd be the second largest
retailer in America online, which means that we can give those economies a scale to small businesses and better level the playing field making Shopify
the entrepreneurship company.
[09:50:00]
KOSIK: All right, Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify, great talking with you.
FINKELSTEIN: Thanks so much, Alison.
KOSIK: And you're watching FIRST MOVE. More to come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:52:11]
KOSIK: The coronavirus pandemic has wiped out millions of jobs and accelerated cultural changes in the global job market. In today's Think
Big, LinkedIn's Ali Matar discusses reskilling for the jobs of tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI MATAR, HEAD OF EMEA EMERGING MARKETS, LINKEDIN: The biggest idea that I've experienced and I have seen over the last few months is the
exploration of the digitization and that's something we are seeing across segments, across industries, be it in the government, semi-government,
private sector, be it in the retail or be it in healthcare. I think that's what's going to drive the workforce moving forward.
We see members focusing on really gaining skills that allow them to go into those future jobs, specifically around the artificial intelligence. The
reality of 3D printing, and in addition to that, digital skills and things with financial forecasting, which is what we're seeing as that five top in
demand skills.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: I was looking at the recent World Economic Forum Jobs Report and chaired the Summit, in fact,
they talk about job destruction of 85 million over five years but recreating nearly 100 million in five years, so where does the recreation
come from and the skills that are needed to get people back into the job?
MATAR: Every time we think of the future of work, it is coming from two main places. Digitization and technology. Things related to digital
marketer, data analyst, inside analyst. In the past, we probably were focusing on people who knows technology, purely technology like the coders
and the programmers.
Today, we look at business and someone who is able to generate the end SaaS, but able to explain from a business point of view. And definitely as
per LinkedIn, what we see like in the coming five years, the technology sector can get up to 150 million new jobs.
DEFTERIOS: There is this worry about job destruction outpacing job creation, but you don't think it's a lasting phenomenon, we can snap out?
MATAR: We've seen the majority of the people who got new jobs, what we call the jobs of the future where people who were in traditional jobs in the
past. So they managed to reskill themselves. They managed to jump on opportunities. They had to go through different learning curves. But then
they made sure they landed jobs of the future because they invested in themselves.
What you're seeing at LinkedIn, for example, if you compare August 2019 with August 2020, you will see that the consumption content related to
learning has tripled, which is exactly talking to that point. People are investing in themselves and that is very much evident everywhere.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: And we have some breaking news. President-elect Joe Biden has just confirmed his economic team. This includes a long awaited nomination of
Janet Yellen as his Treasury Secretary. Women will also fill two other top roles in the team.
Neera Tanden will lead the Office of Management and Budget. Cecelia Rouse will head up the Council of Advisers.
[09:55:20]
KOSIK: And finally, here is Cher cheering up a lonely elephant the best way she can.
[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]
KOSIK: Well, he looks happy now. But Kaavan, the elephant spent decades languishing in a zoo in Pakistan, mostly on his own. When Cher found out,
the singer joined a huge social media effort to find him a new home.
Now, Kaavan is being transported to an animal sanctuary in Cambodia where he will shake off his title as the world's loneliest elephant, oh, yes, but
I'm sure if Cher could turn back time, she would. I had to say it.
That's it for the show. I'm Alison Kosik. You've been watching FIRST MOVE. Stay safe.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:00]
END
