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Russia's War On Ukraine; Taiwan Tensions; Lufthansa Ground Crew Strike; Brittney Griner Testifies For The First Time; U.S. Fed Set To Raise Rates Again. Aired 10-10:45a ET

Aired July 27, 2022 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:00:00]

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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST (voice-over): Turkiye open the center to coordinate shipments of Ukrainian grain amid hopes that a global

food crisis may be averted.

And, Taiwan's military on full display as it showcases its ability to fend off a potential invasion by China.

And WNBA star Brittney Griner takes to the stand for the first time in her drug trial in Russia.

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ANDERSON: It is 3 pm in London. Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson.

Heading into Ukraine, where Russia has began a series of new strikes. The latest to starting a town in Donetsk, in the east. Emergency officials say

a hotel in Bakhmut was partially destroyed by shelling and one person was killed.

Two missiles also hit an industrial district of Kharkiv earlier today. Rescuers there already on site, sorting through the rubble, according to

the city's mayor.

Meanwhile, Ukraine says it carried out several precise strikes on a key bridge in Russian occupied Kherson. Jason Carroll following the latest

developments on the ground from Ukraine's capital -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in the so-called war of attrition what we have been seeing out here in the past is pretty

indicative of what has been going on throughout this conflict.

Basically we have seen small-scale actions on both sides. Take a look at the east, for example, we have Russia putting pressure on the Ukrainians.

In the south, a different situation, where it is the Ukrainians who say they put pressure on the Russians.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): These images, the Ukrainians say, are their strategy at work. Ukrainian long-range rockets struck a bridge in Kherson in the

Russian occupied southern part of the country Tuesday night, targeting Russia's supply lines.

By day the damage done was all too clear. The bridge not destroyed, still cross-able. But the Ukrainian government say it is damaged enough to

prevent Russians from using it to send in more heavy armor and other reinforcements.

The Russians admit the bridge is closed off but downplayed the bombing. Local pro Russian officials saying that the attack will ultimately have no

effect on the outcome of the war.

This as Ukrainian authorities say that Russians are sending additional troops to the south. Analysts say that Russia is preparing for a Ukrainian

counter offensive, which is slowly gathering strength in that part of the country.

But in the eastern Donetsk region, it is the Russians on the front foot. These scenes from the town of Bakhmut, under relentless shelling by Russian

forces. One man recorded the aftermath of strikes on nearby turrets and surveyed the damage.

He says missile attack, everything is completely destroyed.

The state of emergency service in Donetsk says as a result of the Russian shelling, at least one person was killed at a nearby hotel. Russian forces

are trying to push further into the Donetsk region, capturing a power station that had become a battlefield for weeks.

But amid stiff Ukrainian resistance they are making very slow progress.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And, caught in the middle of all of this, there are Ukrainian civilians and thousands upon thousands of them who are in Russian

controlled areas, who are trying to get out but unable to do so. That humanitarian crisis does not appear to have an end to it.

ANDERSON: Jason Carroll is on the ground for you folks in Kyiv.

From silos to ships to supper tables, amid the carnage in Ukraine there may be reason for cautious optimism. A few hours ago Turkiye opened a center to

coordinate the shipping of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain

[10:05:00]

ANDERSON: Kyiv is getting ports in the Black Sea ready and says the first ships could leave this week. Russia and Ukraine agreed on a plan to free up

the grain. Food prices are higher and it's harder for many to get food at all. CNN's Nada Bashir was there. CNN's Nic Robertson is on the ground in

Odessa.

Nada, that center opening to quite some fanfare today.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a point of pride for the Turkish government, negotiated with both Ukraine and Russia to bring them to the

agreement. Today we saw delegations from Turkiye and the U.N., from Ukraine and Russia.

To inaugurate the opening of this center, this was a huge development for the Turkish government, will play a central part in the exporting of grain

from Ukraine's Black Sea ports.

There are concerns around whether or not this is viable after that attack on Odessa just a day after the deal was signed. The Turkish defense

minister said it's set to be in place for 120 days unless the parties request termination earlier.

The head of the U.N.'s delegation here said there are hopes all parties will remain fully committed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: How is the U.N. going to guarantee that Russia commits fully to the terms of this agreement?

FREDERICK KENNEDY, U.N. JOINT COORDINATION CENTER: I can say that all parties here have expressed their commitment to making this a reality. I

think that's demonstrated by all parties having a very senior person arrive here.

BASHIR: Are you confident Russia will commit?

KENNEDY: I'm confident we'll (INAUDIBLE). (INAUDIBLE) work very hard to make sure (INAUDIBLE).

BASHIR: How is the U.N.'s gulf hold these parties to that, in particular the Russian Federation?

KENNEDY: (INAUDIBLE) to that right now. Right now we're focused on getting this up and running and having it work successfully and safely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: Both Turkish and Ukrainian officials expect first shipments to leave potentially by the end of this week. Also President Erdogan is set to

meet next week with President Putin to discuss technical and military cooperation.

Erdogan said the attack on Odessa was a major cause for concern but reiterated his hope that all parties remain committed to this grain

initiative.

ANDERSON: Nic is in Odessa, a principal port in the export of Ukrainian grain.

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ANDERSON: Let's take a break. Back after this.

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ANDERSON: Right, back with CONNECT THE WORLD. A few hours ago, Turkiye opened a center to coordinate shipping millions of tons of Ukrainian grain.

Kyiv getting ports in the Black Sea ready and says the first ships could leave this week. Russia and Ukraine agreeing on a plan to free up grain for

world markets.

Disruptions, of course, due to the war. Food prices higher, making it frankly difficult for many people around the world to get enough to eat.

CNN's Nic Robertson is in the port of Odessa.

It is a principal port where the grain would be shipped from.

What is going on there, to ensure that this plan will work?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The ships are being prepared. The Ukrainian officials that are connected with getting the ships

safely out to sea, are preparing these first vessels that will go.

We understand that the first vessels will be those that can check the path of navigation. It is believed this path will be marked so that the

Ukrainian pilots aboard these vessels can guide those ships.

The ships are expected to come in convoy. I have to say, there is a little bit of anxiousness here among the shippers we talk to. The boss of one

shipping company, here, he said look, we feel that this is hugely important to get this grain to the needy around the world.

But he says he feels like we are in a bit of an experiment here right now. There is concern on his part about the basic safety of the ships getting

out. There is concern about more ships coming in.

Once these ships that have been stuck here since the beginning of the war get out, will anyone send ships back?

That is a concern. And, of course, that pretends on the safety of these ships but this is a genuine concern of the shippers.

The other concern, is what will Russia do when these ships are no longer important, full of grain?

So there is a concern that Russia might shell the ports, as we saw over the weekend. Russia said at the weekend it was hitting a military target. We

heard from the Kremlin spokesman saying very clearly that the shelling that Russia has done at the port here in no way stops or impacts the grain

operations.

But I think for these grain shippers, it is that perception that it creates, that this is unsafe. And therefore getting other ships coming in

so all of these are worries.

The shipper told me that the ships he had in port are half loaded with grain already, there is equipment on board to make sure that grain has not

gone off and is not a danger to the ship. And they've got grain in the silos at the harbor site. So they are ready to go. And obviously they are

concerned but anxious to see how it progresses.

ANDERSON: This is not just Ukrainian grain that will get onto world markets, of course. It is important to point out, as Antonio Guterres said

when we spoke to him after this plan was inked last Friday, that there is Russian grain and fertilizer involved as well.

ROBERTSON: Yes, the quid pro quo, remember that Russia signed one deal with the U.N. and Ukraine signed another deal with the U.N.

[10:15:00]

ROBERTSON: and the deal that Russia signed with the U.N. was the one that gave them some sanctions relief. They has sanctions because of their

invasions of Ukraine in the past, their annexation of Crimea and their war on Ukraine at the moment.

Russia was going to get some exemptions relief from sanctions so that it could it export some food and also export some fertilizer. Of course,

Russia does have safe shipping access for commercial vessels, through the Black Sea. It initiated this war and it is controlling the events of this

war.

But they have been given this pass by the U.N. to get their shipments out. So this is something that is expected to happen in sequence. We are not

clear on the sequence but Russians have expressed concern that, if those ships are held back and do not get out until after the vessels in the

Ukrainian ports get out, then that is a concern for them.

But all these things seem to be in hand in the joint center in Istanbul. And how that coordination at that center goes, that is really going to

affect the longevity of this whole process. If the hiccups are too bad at the beginning, that is not a good sign for the rest of the process. But so

far, so far, it seems on track, Becky.

ANDERSON: Nic Robertson on the ground in Odessa.

Nic, the Turkish defense minister had this to say a little earlier, at the opening of that center in Istanbul. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HULUSI AKAR, TURKISH DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): In line with the current conditions, it is become necessary's to establish a sea

corridor for the safe delivery of more than 25 million tons of grain, waiting in Ukrainian ports to countries in need, in a short period of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: More on that story as it develops. Nic, thank you.

Taiwan's military might is on full display this week. They are conducting annual military exercises that are focused on showcasing its ability to

fend off a potential invasion by China.

Taiwan says that this week's war games are modeled after lessons learned from studying Russia's invasion of Ukraine but that it is not the only

military activity happening in the area.

The Associated Press says that U.S. officials are preparing to mobilize extra forces to the Pacific in the event that U.S. House Speaker Nancy

Pelosi visits Taiwan. Heightened tensions in the area come as U.S. President Joe Biden is preparing for a phone call with the Chinese leader,

Xi Jinping, on Thursday.

Let's bring in CNN's Selina Wang, who is in Beijing, with more at this point -- Selina.

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what is interesting as well, Becky, is that the response from Taiwan has been muted, despite all of these angry

responses from Beijing.

Actually, Taiwan's ministry of foreign affairs says that it does not have any details on this trip. And very rarely has this story actually made

headlines in the local papers because Taiwan is in a delicate spot, because if Pelosi does go, it bears the brunt of possible retaliation.

If Pelosi does not go, well, that sends a signal that Beijing can be and is emboldened. But this particular vision anchors Beijing on a much bigger

scale than previous visits by U.S. Congress members.

And that is because of her stature. She is the most powerful U.S. official to visit in decades. And China has changed a lot since then. It is

stronger, more powerful, more confident and also increasingly intolerant of anything that it sees as an insult.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WANG (voice-over): Fire and fury from Beijing in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's potential visit to Taiwan. China threatening to take

resolute and powerful measures.

A U.S. official told CNN that China could impose a no-fly zone around Taiwan. A prominent hawkish voice from China said Beijing's reaction would

involve a shocking military response, even suggesting that PLA military aircraft will accompany Pelosi 's plane to enter the island, making a

historic crossing of the island by military aircraft from the mainland.

But the Chinese government has not announced details about how it could retaliate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beijing believes that this uncertainty will lead to deterrence and that Washington and Taipei will effectively talk themselves

out of this. But I do not think Beijing really wants to risk a military conflict.

WANG (voice-over): China sees the self ruled island as a breakaway province that must be reunified with the mainland, even by force, if

necessary. There have been recent U.S. congressional visits.

But if Pelosi goes to Taiwan, she would be the highest ranking U. S. official to travel there, since then House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997.

[10:20:00]

WANG: This potential visit comes at an extremely sensitive time. China's military celebrating its founding anniversary on August 1st. And we are

just months away from a key political meeting when Xi is expected to seek a historic third term.

From Beijing's perspective, a visit by Pelosi to Taiwan would be a reckless act that provokes Beijing at a time that it is supposed to be projecting

strength, control and stability.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think military action on China's part in response to a Pelosi visit is very risky for Xi Jinping.

WANG (voice-over): Officially, Washington and most governments around the world only acknowledge Beijing as a legal government of China. Yet

unofficial ties between Washington and Taipei have been growing closer.

And the U.S. continues to sell weapons to the island. All of that infuriates China. In response, last year, Beijing flew a record number of

warplanes into airspace in Taiwan. For decades the U.S. has been purposefully vague about whether it will defend the island should the

Chinese invade.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That is a commitment we made.

WANG (voice-over): Biden has said several times that the U.S. would intervene militarily, if China were to attack Taiwan.

BIDEN: Yes, we have a commitment to do that.

WANG (voice-over): Only to have the White House walk back those remarks each time.

But as China's military might grows, more are calling for the Biden administration to end the so-called strategic ambiguity. It is impossible

to overstate how important Taiwan is to the Communist Party and its legitimacy.

Beijing is against any move that appears to acknowledge Taiwan as an independent country or makes the U.S. relationship more formal. And a visit

from one of America's most powerful politicians does just that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WANG: But other experts say this is undeniably a dangerous moment and that this timing could increase the chances that Beijing, that Xi Jinping could

make a rash overreaction to avoid looking weak at this critical moment.

The concern is that Xi Jinping will see this visit by Pelosi, if it happens, as a humiliation, a humiliation to his leadership. Thus he needs

to take strong action to look powerful at home. Becky.

ANDERSON: Selina Wang is on the story for you folks, thank you.

More than 130,000 air passengers in and out of Germany are looking for other flights. That is because of a one-day national strike of Lufthansa

ground crew. The airline is canceling nearly all of its flights out of Munich and Frankfurt. Its union wants a 9.5 percent pay rise, adding that

crews are overworked due to staff shortages, inflation and a wage freeze.

It is a familiar story this summer from airlines and some train operators. Anna Stewart joining us now with the details.

It has been a summer of hell, hasn't it, particularly for Lufthansa?

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A summer of discontent. For travel particularly. You can understand where staff are coming from. They are

overworked. They are understaffed. And they feel increasingly like they are being severely underpaid. They want more money.

We have covered strikes from different airports and airlines. Today is just another. But this is a massive. One. For the Lufthansa crowds staff in

Germany, this is covering some 100,000 flights so 130,000 passengers, who now have to figure out how to get home, how to get on their holidays, how

to get their business trips, with capacity so tight.

Normally if an airline has to cancel a flight last minute, they say don't worry, we will book you on to a flight tomorrow or later today. Perhaps

even look to other airlines. But it will be really hard for people to do that.

We have been listening to people's reactions as they are stranded. One of the biggest problems is finding somebody to tell you what to do next. Take

a listen to somebody was stranded at Frankfurt today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem, I cannot travel I arrive for Africa now. I have to go to Paris. The flight was canceled. And they say that's tomorrow

you will be booked. But nobody was here when we arrived in order to say, what we have to, do where we have to, go where we have to sleep.

So we are looking for some Lufthansa people that can help us. But when we ask, it will be very hard to find someone from Lufthansa to (INAUDIBLE). So

we don't know what to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: This is the story we have been hearing in airports all over the world. People who are facing disruption from airlines are then struggling

to know what to do next. That is why you see people sleeping on the floor. They are not sure whether they will get compensated if they go put

themselves somewhere else.

They don't know whether they need to be near the airport to get onto another flight. There is so much confusion. I think with a strike like,

this impacting 130,000 people, for the airline to try to deal with that, if they weren't on, strike would be hard.

[10:25:00]

ANDERSON: A month or so ago you were in Doha at a huge get together of the transport and airline industry. And the airlines were warning, weren't

they, at the time, that this was going to be a difficult summer.

You and I talk, Richard Quest, our colleague, was there as well. We were discussing whether the airline industry should not have just done better.

But I know that you both had some sympathy for the airlines.

The question is, how should consumers, how should you and I, with our kids, have any confidence about traveling through these airports this summer?

And should we?

Is there any light at the end of the tunnel, here, as it were?

STEWART: The simple fact, it is and it is a bleak one, sorry to say. But right now the confidence levels, if you have a flight, you are not going to

feel confident right now. Hopefully flights that were due to be canceled already have in terms of capacity issues.

Heathrow telling airlines to cut down on capacity, that should already have happened. Strikes, this one was only announced on Monday. So people would

not have had time to try to make other plans with that. In terms of confidence, I would say there is not much people can do.

Whose fault is it?

There has been so much finger pointing between the airlines and the airports. And frankly from the consumers to absolutely everyone, this

demand could be seen, a long time ago. But it is hard to get staff.

Did they recruit enough?

Or is the issue that they don't want people to work in this sector?

It is not well paid. There are plenty of other jobs and during the pandemic people have shifted. Perhaps that is not anybody's fault.

ANDERSON: Those are all really good points. Thank you.

Does not make anybody who is trying to travel on Lufthansa feel any better today. But you make some really good points, thank you very much.

Let's go to stories on our radar right now.

A powerful earthquake has claimed at least four lives in the northern Philippines. A 7.0 magnitude quake struck near the Philippine's most

populous island. The earthquake also caused landslides and destroyed at least three bridges.

European Union's foreign policy chief says that he is proposing a new draft text to revive the Iran nuclear deal. Josep Borrell says that it is needed

after 15 months of negotiations which have failed to produce additional compromises.

Iran says that it will offer its own ideas. U.S. says it is reviewing the draft.

A British U.S.-Iranian citizen has been released from an Iranian jail again but remains under house arrest. Morad Tahbaz was originally released back

in March along with two other U.K. Iranian citizens who were allowed to return to England.

But Morad Tahbaz was sent back to prison two days later. He was arrested in 2018 for working with an environmental group, accused by Iran's government

of espionage.

And while we are in the region, let's give you a reminder to subscribe to CNN's "Meanwhile in the Middle East" newsletter. You will get an inside

look at the biggest stories and trends and the region and what they mean for all of us around the world. That is three days a, week in today's

edition how Israel is scrambling to avoid a diplomatic crisis with Russia. And at the heart of it a spike in Jewish emigrates leaving Russia.

You can find more about that at cnn.com/mideastnewsletter. Regular viewers of the show, you will know that we are normally broadcasting from our

Middle East programming hub in Abu Dhabi.

Up next, Brittney Griner. For the first, time laying up her side of what happened when she was detained at a Russian airport. How she was treated

when she was ushered into detention in February. That is after this.

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[10:30:00]

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Welcome back. I am Becky Anderson in London for you where, the time is half past three. You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD.

Ukrainian grain exports are one step closer to reality today. Just a few hours ago Turkiye officially opened a joint coordination center in Istanbul

to oversee the maritime exports. It will be staffed by representatives from Turkiye, Russia, Ukraine and from the U.N.

The center will monitor departures from three Ukrainian ports and check incoming ships for weapons. All vessels will pass through Turkish waters.

The first shipments could leave this week.

We are hearing some stunning testimony from Brittney Griner today, herself the WNBA star has testified today for the first time since her Russian drug

smuggling charges began.

Griner, seen here, was detained in February with little explanation, no lawyer and had to sign documents she didn't understand. Fred Pleitgen

following the trial every step of the way. He joins me, live.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Becky, it was really an extended testimony from Brittney Griner. She was

led through the court in early hours of Moscow and almost immediately went on the stand.

It was interesting, because she asked on the judge if could sit down for the testimony because she is so tall she barely fits into the enclosure

that they put prisoners into for the court hearings.

She said that when you got to the airport and her things were searched that she was not read her rights. She said was presented documents to sign that

she did not understand. She did not have a lawyer present. She had to use Google Translate to try to make some sense of the documents, which

obviously is very difficult.

She said at one point her phone was taken away and later she was handcuffed and taken away as well. She was asked, by her own defense lawyers, whether

she intentionally brought the cartridges that had CBD oil in them, whether she intentionally brought those to Russia.

She says to this day she did not understand how those got into her luggage. She said she was coming from a flight that came from the United States. She

packed in an extreme hurry and that she was extremely tired, as well, but she wanted to get to her team in Russia very quickly.

She said it must have been an accident for those cartridges to end up in her luggage. She said she was aware of the fact that it is illegal to bring

those to Russia. All of this obviously really feeds into the strategy that we have been seeing from Brittney Griner's defense, saying that this -- she

realized that it was illegal to bring cartridges to Russia.

She has already pleaded guilty but to say it was an honest mistake. She wanted to get to her team quickly and obviously is someone who is extremely

important, not just to women's basketball but international basketball. She has done a lot for the sport of basketball, specifically in Russia.

ANDERSON: The first time that we have heard from Brittney Griner, although, of course, we have seen her a number of times now since the trial

has continued.

What happened next?

We know how long we can expect this to go on and what the likely outcome could be at this point?

PLEITGEN: Yes. We have literally just gotten information a few minutes ago. The trial for today has stopped. So we do understand that she is

questioned by the prosecutors as well, we will get details on that.

We know that the next trial date is set for August 2nd, that is next Tuesday. It is unclear whether or not that will be the last one. When we

can expect a sentence, we have heard from her lawyers that it could be in the early stages of August.

[10:35:00]

PLEITGEN: But it really is unclear how much longer this could still go on.

The likely outcome, that is difficult as well. The defense team still believes that there are serious grounds for leniency, because of all of the

things that they have mentioned, because she has pleaded guilty, because of mitigating circumstances, they believe that this was for medicinal use.

This was packed accidentally and she has no other history of offenses in Russia or as a professional athlete. That is something she was asked as

well. Of course, we have to point out, this is really important.

Russian courts are not known for leniency. A lot of people who end up in Russian courts end up convicted by Russian courts. Certainly, in many ways,

we can see that the odds are definitely stacked against Brittney Griner, even though her defense team believes they have some chance for leniency,

Becky.

ANDERSON: On the case today out of Berlin, for you, Fred, thank you.

On this show, a landmark victory for England's women at Euro 2022. What they did in the semifinals that, frankly, had the whole country buzzing.

And investors appear to be buzzing over Microsoft shares, up even though it missed its earnings. Explained, after this.

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ANDERSON: It's Fed decision day. The U.S. Federal Reserve, the central bank, expected to announce another supersized interest rate hike in the

coming hours. As the central bank tries to get ahead of inflation, two tech giants are swinging into view in a big week for earnings.

Shares of Microsoft and Google's parent, Alphabet, are on the up, even though their headline results, frankly, didn't do the business. More on

that in a moment.

Looming all over all of this the IMF slashing its global forecast, projecting major slowdowns in the world's biggest economies. For more on

the recession obsession, Rahel Solomon is live from New York.

It is becoming somewhat a recession obsession at present. Central banks, not just the Federal Reserve in the U.S. but around the world, certainly

those in Europe, the ECB in Europe, as well, they are really struggling to work out what to do with monetary policy in what is a really odd period, an

odd juncture with these enormous economies.

Just explain what is going on at this point.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think you are safe to say that central bankers around the world are scrambling in terms of how to manage

inflation but not so aggressively in terms of rate hikes. It really slows economic growth.

The IMF now joining the chorus of voices providing grim forecasts, these days.

[10:40:00]

SOLOMON: The IMF amending its global forecast, saying, yes, it expects global growth to hit 3.2 percent. That certainly is a decline from last

year.

The forecast, even, for the following year, Becky, lower, 2.9 percent. To put that in perspective, we are teetering very close to what the IMF

considers a global recession. 2.5 percent. This is sort of expecting that everything remains the same.

If we see any more wildcards, we know they will likely continue to revise downwards. But this comes, this forecast, comes amidst what is an

incredibly active, busy week for economic data, for corporate earnings.

We've heard from tech heavyweights like Microsoft and Google's parent, Alphabet. Both are reporting a slowing in advertising business. Google

actually still coming in at $56 billion , not chump change. That is increased, Becky, about 11.6 percent from a quarter a year ago.

What matters, however, is a significant slowdown. Microsoft saying something similar. That it saw a revenue decline of about $100 million

because of less advertising spent on LinkedIn business.

The reason this matters is because we are hearing from smaller advertising social media companies, social media companies that are dependent on

advertising spend, that they are seeing a slowdown.

So heading into this report, when are we going to hear from the tech heavyweights?

The reason why, however, shares are still higher is because we expected this, right?

We knew that this was likely coming. And you can argue -- some analysts have argued, in fact, Becky, that the best prepared and equipped to weather

the storm are going to be the tech heavyweights like a Microsoft, like a Google.

This all, of course, comes amidst a challenging operating environment for major corporations and companies like Microsoft and Google, because

inflation is so high globally. And because central bankers are scrambling to handle it.

As we all sort of wrestle with this fear of a recession, one person who is key to that debate and whatever happens on the other side of this, is

Jerome Powell. All eyes on about four hours from now, when we hear the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman as a part of their July meeting, the expectation

is largely that we will see a rate hike of 0.75 percent. We saw a rate hike of the same magnitude at the last meeting.

To put that in perspective, that is massive. Before June, we hadn't seen a rate hike of that magnitude since 1994. So it really gives you an idea of

how aggressive the Fed feels, like it has to play to catch up, to get a handle on inflation.

To your point, Becky, it is not just in the U.S. It is around the world that central bankers are scrambling to put a lid on prices.

ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Thank you very much, indeed.

Keeping your eyes focused, then on the Fed today, 75 basis points is the expectation. If it is less than that, you should expect those markets to

take off -- if it is less than that, people might think the central bank is behind the curve and might see a sell-off.

But I'm telling you is that it is very unclear what will happen next. That is very unusual.

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