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Trump Envoy Witkoff Set to Meet Putin in Moscow Friday; Convicted Cardinal Intends to Vote for new Pope; Havard Asks Judge to Fast-Track Funding Freeze Case; Gold Price on the Rise Again Amid Economic Uncertainty; Liverpool on Brink of Premier League Title. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired April 24, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Welcome to "Connect the World". I'm Eleni Giokos. And we start with more attacks, deaths and injuries in
Ukraine. And what the U.S. President is writing about them, just minutes ago. Donald Trump posting this on his social media websites.
I'm not happy with the Russian strikes on Kyiv, not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP, 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let's get the peace
deal done. That post following night of relentless Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital, more than 200 missiles and drones fired.
Emergency officials report at least 8 people killed and dozens more injured, and it's believed some people are still trapped under the rubble.
Nick Paton Walsh is following developments for us from London. Nick, this tweet by Donald Trump showing his irritation towards Vladimir Putin and
asking him to stop and importantly, saying, this is bad timing.
This should be a time of peace talks. Is there a sense that we're going to see a lot more pressure on Vladimir Putin?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Possibly, after this singular social media posting, but I should point out, literally
12 hours ago, he was critical of the other Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, saying that he had to, quote, get it done in terms of the peace deal,
accusing him of inflammatory remarks about refusing to potentially accept the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory.
It seems Trump was suggesting that the United States might do that this overnight barrage particularly intense though most notable for the use of
ballistic and other types of missiles is 70. A lot of it directed towards the capital and perhaps a bid to detest Kyiv's and Ukraine's beleaguered
air defenses.
We've known they've been struggling with stocks of intercept and missiles for their patriot defense systems. This may be a test on that, but it comes
at a moment of peak diplomacy. You're right. Certainly, a meeting in London yesterday that was supposed to be between top level U.S., U.K. and European
diplomats downgraded to purely an official level.
And it seems, according to President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, that a document emerged from that, that has now gone to the desk of President Donald Trump.
So, this morning, clearly, perhaps Trump responding to some consternation amongst Ukraine's European allies about exactly where this whole peace
process is going, putting the pressure back on Vladimir Putin.
But remarkable, I think that he has to sort of suggest that an attack like this is indeed a bad thing, something that his predecessor would have
immediately condemned, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much for that update. We'll speak to you in the next hour. Meantime, the Trump Administration
Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Moscow Friday, where he'll be presumably meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the second
time this month.
Our Fred Pleitgen is reporting from Moscow today. Fred, good to see you. Ahead of Witkoff's return to Moscow. You've been speaking to a Russian
Senator. What have they been saying?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I certainly have, Eleni. And one of the things that we can still feel here in
Moscow is that there still is actually a good deal of optimism among the Russians that some sort of agreement can be reached. However, one of the
Russia the things that the Russians have been saying is that they are going to put their national interests first.
They say that they are not going to be pressured into any sort of agreement. And the really important for thing for them, of course, is the
question of territories, especially those areas that they are occupying on Ukrainian soil. The Russians, of course, want to keep most of that.
One of the things that the senator told me Andrey Klimov who is in the Russian Federation Council. Is he believing, that the U.S. doesn't have
leverage to pressure the Russians? And that certainly sanctions are not going to put pressure on the Russians either. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREY KLIMOV, RUSSIAN SENATOR: Sanctions cannot change Russian national interests. They are absolutely visible obstacles, artificial obstacles on
the way to cooperation between my country, America and the rest of the world.
PLEITGEN: The Trump Administration has threatened that if there's not quick progress on its diplomatic initiative, that it could walk away from the
process. Do you think Russia feels pressured by this?
KLIMOV: Well, it seems to me that we understand each other, and we try not to be involved in any kind of discussions about the schedule, the timetable
of that events. But we do believe that we have to solve those things as soon as possible. It means, of course, to do that in a proper way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[09:05:00]
PLEITGEN: So, one of the things that the Russian Senator said Is he does believe that the Trump Administration and the Putin Administration see eye
to eye in many ways, as far as the root causes, as the Russians put it, of the Ukraine conflict are concerned. Nevertheless, of course, solving all
that is still a very difficult issue.
I think the Russians right now feel that they are in no rush to get that process going and to move that process forward at the same time, of course,
they do hear the words of the Trump Administration. One interesting thing, Eleni, that we picked up on here last night is there was an interview by
this Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, with a French publication, where he said that peace could be achieved.
As I'm paraphrasing right now, if the Ukrainians withdraw their troops from what the Russians call Novorossiya and the Donbas. Those, of course,
meaning the four regions that the Russians partially occupy, which could indicate that the Russians actually want the Ukrainians to move out of
further territory before a ceasefire agreement can be achieved, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. Fred Pleitgen, good to see you. Thank you. Well, President Trump's so called reciprocal tariffs are apparently back on.
Earlier this month, he said the import levies on most countries were paused for 90 days, but now the president says he could re impose them in as
little as two or three weeks.
The pause applied to everyone except China. This week, Trump striking a softer tone, signaling he could lower tariffs on China. And yesterday, he
told reporters the two governments were talking every day, but the Chinese Foreign Ministry contradicted him this morning, saying there have been no
such discussions.
CNN Business Reporter, Matt Egan is in New York. And Matt Good to see you. What is going on? There's so much flip flopping around tariffs, what they
mean, when will happen? What level? I mean there's just incredible amount of whiplash right now, and it's being manifested in the markets.
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, incredible amount of whiplash, Eleni. And all of this turbulence has done some real damage to the economy and to, of
course, financial markets. I mean tariffs. You think about it, one day, they're paused for 90 days. The next the president says reciprocal tariffs
are coming in the next few weeks.
The Federal Reserve Chair too. One day his job is safe. The next day, the president is criticizing interest rate policy and threatening to call the
Fed Chair. And economists, they say that this uncertainty, that this policy turbulence out of Washington, has really caused some problems for
obviously, investors, but for CEOs and small business owners too, right?
They're in the dark when it comes to policy out of Washington. Wendy Edelberg, she put it this way to my colleague, Allison Morrow. She said,
businesses don't know which end is up. Everyone is holding their breath because they don't know what policy is going to be the law of the land
tomorrow.
And just yesterday, the Federal Reserve put out its Beige Book survey, which is a snapshot of how investors and business owners feel about the
economy. And the word uncertainty came up 80 times in the Beige Book, 80 times. That is extremely high. That is 7 times more than the same survey a
year ago.
And of course, the problem is, when there's that much uncertainty, it sort of paralyzes business owners, right? They don't know if they should hire
workers or fire them. Should they raise prices or should they be cutting them? And one of the biggest concerns that we've seen in the economic data,
of course, is how consumers are feeling.
Because consumer spending is the main driver of the U.S. economy and one of the biggest drivers of the world economy. We've seen consumer confidence
come down very sharply to levels that we've almost never seen in data that goes back 70 years. And if that causes people to actually cut their
spending, of course, that could really do some damage to the economy.
And we're looking at futures, looks like kind of a mixed, flat start today. We have seen a rebound in U.S. stocks in the last few days, but what's
notable is there's been a significant amount of damage that's been done. Despite the rebound in U.S. stocks, we've seen more than $6 trillion in
value erased from the S&P 500, and that's just over the last two months.
And of course, that has an impact on consumer confidence and business confidence as well. So, we can expect to see the markets continue to bounce
around, Eleni, as the trade war and all the other questions about the economy and the fed continue to play out.
GIOKOS: Yeah, and I think you know the word that came up you said 80 times in the Beige Book, uncertainty, and that is being reflected in the markets
right now, S&P futures showing a negative start for the DOW, a mix start for S&P and NASDAQ, and we wait to see Matt, because, you know, not --
another announcement, one certainty. Who knows?
EGAN: Yeah, I haven't looked at my --
GIOKOS: Good to have you on.
EGAN: I haven't looked at my phone 90 seconds or so.
GIOKOS: Thanks Matt. All right.
EGAN: So, it's possible, and another tire reversal was announced, you never know.
[09:10:00]
GIOKOS: Yeah, every second counts. Every second counts. All right. Matt Egan for us in New York. Now moving on, and relations between Pakistan and
India are cratering after a gunman killed 26 tourists in the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir. A little-known militant group called the
Resistance Front came responsibility for the attack, which occurred in an area controlled by India.
Indian authorities are still investigating and searching for the gunman, but they took quick action against neighboring Pakistan, including
suspending a critical water treaty. India has long accused Pakistan of harboring militant groups in the region. Pakistan is denying any connection
to the attack, and is now suspending trade with India and closing its air space.
Both sides are canceling the visas of the other nationals. And we'll look much more closely at the rising tension in the next hour on "Connect the
World". We'll bring you a deeper dive on this story. And right now, in Vatican City, thousands of mourners continue to line up to pay their
respects to Pope Francis, the late pontiff now lying in state for a second day ahead of his funeral on Saturday.
Observers say the mood inside St. Peter's Basilica is somber and quiet, and this is despite the large crowds that you can see there. CNN's Ben Wedeman
joining us now live from Rome. Ben, good to have you on. What more can you tell us that's all about Saturday's funeral plans? What can we expect?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that there was a third congregation of cardinals since the passing of Pope
Francis to discuss the preparations for that funeral. It appears that, basically, they're naming who is going to say, what, prayers, when.
But otherwise, we don't know at this point about when the conclave will happen, but we have seen is certainly, over the last 24 hours or more,
people continuing to file through St. Peter's Basilica. Just a few moments ago, the Vatican Press Office put out an announcement that between 11:00
a.m. yesterday and 01:00 p.m. today, more than 61,000 people have filed through the basilica.
Now the initial plans were that, for instance, yesterday, it would be open. The basilica would be open to the public between 11:00 a.m. and midnight.
They extended those hours, so basically between 06:00 and 07:00 a.m. the basilica was closed for a quick clean and now it's open again.
We do know, however, probably around midnight on Friday, they're going to have to shut down the basilica again in preparation for the funeral of Pope
Francis, that is set to take place at 10 o'clock in the morning local time on Saturday, Eleni.
GIOKOS: Another issue that -- has a lot of people asking questions is the fact that the cardinal that was convicted of financial crimes by the
Vatican is claiming that he can take part in the forthcoming conclave, and that's despite being listed as a non-elector. What more are you learning
about this?
WEDEMAN: Yeah. This is a very awkward story coming out at this time. This relates to Giovanni Angelo Becciu. He is -- was, it's not clear, a cardinal
from the Italian Island of Sardinia who, in 2023 was convicted of fraud and embezzlement in the Vatican court sentenced to 5.5 years in prison.
However, he is appealing that sentence, so he is still free, living in an apartment in the Vatican City.
Now back in 2020, as this scandal was coming to the surface, Pope Francis ordered him to resign his privilege and rights as a cardinal. But this
individual, Mr. Becciu, I guess I don't -- maybe I don't know if I could even call him a cardinal, has recently told a newspaper here that no one
ever provided him with a written explicit bar in his anything barring him from acting as a cardinal or being a cardinal.
And therefore, he's not barred from pre-conclave discussions about the future pope, and he is still within the eligible age range so he can
participate. So, it really is up to Senior Vatican Officials to lay down the law and say, no, you cannot participate in the contract. But that
hasn't happened yet.
So, Vatican officials are clearly in a position where they're kind of waiting for a decision on this individual, because certainly the fact that
you have a cardinal, an ex-cardinal.
[09:15:00]
I'm not quite sure how we describe it, convicted in a Vatican court, participating in the vote to select the next pope, is uncomfortable, Eleni.
GIOKOS: Yeah, and it certainly has a lot of people asking questions and watching that side of the story very closely. Ben Wedeman, always good to
see you. Thank you so much. And still to come on CNN, a nation pauses in remembrance 80 years since the Holocaust. Israel pays tribute to the
millions of Jews killed at the hands of the 90s. We'll bring you an update on that story right after this. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: A somber ceremony as Israel marks Holocaust Remembrance Day. Hostages freed by Hamas joining the annual March of the living through the
Former Auschwitz death camp. Earlier, Israelis paused for two minutes when a siren sounded around the country to pay tribute to the millions of Jews
murdered by the Nazis in World War Two.
The Harvard University is asking a federal judge to fast track its challenge to the Trump Administration's decision to freeze over $2 billion
in funding. It comes as the administration sets up a new task force, purportedly to combat antisemitism. Harvard insists that an issue it is
already committed to fighting.
And in a separate executive order, the president is targeting the college accreditation process. The order calls on federal officials to deny funding
to schools where civil rights laws aren't supplied in the way the White House demands. Betsy Klein is following the story for us.
Betsy, good to have you with us. Talk us through what this new task force entails and how they plan to enforce the demands of the White House?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Yeah. So, look, we are seeing the Trump Administration take aggressive aim at Harvard University and
other elite academic institutions. And we are getting a clearer picture of what this task force to combat antisemitism, led by the Justice Department,
really is, to get a sense of the scope of its work.
Earlier this month, this is the task force that sent that list of demands for policy changes to Harvard, something that the university ultimately
rejected. And then weeks later, the unit -- the task force, is the one that was responsible for that $2.2 billion freeze in federal grants. But who is
on it?
It is led by a man named Leo Terrell. He is a Former Fox News personality and a Civil Rights Attorney. It includes representatives across the federal
government, from the Department of Justice to Treasury to the Department of Homeland Security and education.
[09:20:00]
And the policy here has really been driven by Stephen Miller, the President's Deputy Chief of Staff, of course, really underscoring the power
and influence that Miller has a mask as he's trying to implement some of the president's agenda here. So, this task force has an initial target
list.
So, in addition to Harvard University, it is taking aim at Columbia University as well as Northwestern Cornell University and the University of
Michigan, but a White House official tells me no university is off limits here. Now this is ostensibly about cracking down on antisemitism.
This is something that Harvard President Alan Garber says that Harvard has work to do on and is taking steps toward rectifying. But the White House
also acknowledges that this is serving a broader political purpose. Now, Harvard has indicated it is not interested in negotiating with the Trump
Administration.
But the White House says that President Trump would like to make a deal here, and wants Harvard to come to the table and correct course.
GIOKOS: So, what is the latest thing in the Harvard's battle to try and get federal funding restored?
KLEIN: Yeah, so Harvard, overnight asked a federal judge to fast track its challenge to the Trump Administration's decision to freeze that $2.2
billion in federal funding. Harvard is arguing here that the Trump Administration's move is threatening critical medical, scientific and other
research efforts.
And while the Trump Administration says that it is cracking down on antisemitism, this new motion Harvard says is really about its First
Amendment Rights. Now, through this process, really speeds up when we could get a ruling, we could see action on this in the coming weeks, instead of
months.
GIOKOS: Right. Betsy Klein, great to have you with us. Thank you.
KLEIN: Thanks.
GIOKOS: The Trump Administration has now revoked student visas in nearly every corner of the country as part of a vast immigration crackdown, and
few universities know why. By CNN counts more than 1500 international students, recent graduates and universities have had their visas or
statuses terminated so far this year.
That number includes more than 200 colleges and institutions. The reasons for why so many visas are being revoked remain murky. But the U.S. state,
U.S. Secretary of State has said that some behavior, including participating in protests, will not be tolerated. It is unclear if the
students whose visas have been terminated must leave the country immediately, or if they can stay to continue their education.
A Palestinian student who has been a legal permanent resident of the United States for the past 10 years will remain in detention in Vermont until a
new hearing next week. Mohsen Mahdawi, who was born in the West Bank and was arrested just before his final citizenship interview.
Mahdawi helped lead protests over the Gaza war at Columbia University, has not been charged with any crime. CBS interviewed Mahdawi on April 13. That
was the day before he was detained, and voiced his fears, even then, that he was about to be arrested.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHSEN MAHDAWI, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I've been waiting for this for more than a year, and the other feeling is like, wait a minute. Is this a
honey trap? I want people to know that my compassion extended beyond the Palestinian people. My compassion is also for the Jewish people and for the
Israelis as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Meanwhile, in the Middle East, the Palestinian Authority President is demanding Hamas disarm and release the remaining Israeli hostages in
Gaza. In a fiery speech, Mahmoud Abbas laid out his vision for a unified Palestinian state and strongly criticized Hamas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRESIDENT: Stop the Israeli genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, this really must stop. Every day there are hundreds
of deaths. Why don't they want to hand over the American hostage? You sons of dogs, just hand over the hostages and let's get out of this mess. Block
their excuses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: In response, Hamas rejected the claims from Abbas and questioned his competence. And this comes amid a renewed push for a cease fire between
Israel and Hamas, with Egypt also floating the idea of Hamas disarming. And still to come, President Trump's mixed messages on tariffs injecting a new
dose of uncertainty.
Into the markets, U.S. stocks have had two updates, and we're keeping a close eye on Wall Street with the opening bell just a few minutes away.
We'll bring you an update right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:25:00]
GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi, and you are watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines. U.S. President Donald Trump
is condemning the latest Russian attacks on Kyiv, posting on his social media website last hour that he is not happy with them, and calling on
Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop them.
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he was hampering efforts to end the war. Those strikes on the
Ukrainian capital killed at least 8 people and injured dozens more, who some people believe trapped under the rubble.
President Zelenskyy cut short a trip to South Africa to return to Ukraine after the attack. Mourners continue to make their way to the Vatican to pay
their final respects to the man, often called the people's pope. The late Pope Francis lying in state for his second day at St. Peter's Basilica
ahead of his funeral on Saturday.
The pope died on Monday, after 12 years of leading the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. Harvard University is asking a federal judge to fast track its
challenge to the Trump Administration's decision to freeze over $2 billion in funding. It comes as the administration sets up a new task force,
purportedly to combat antisemitism.
Harvard insists that's an issue it is already committed to fighting. Right, it appears the gold rush has returned. The price of the precious metal is
on the rise once again amid economic uncertainty. Has been spurred by President Trump's trade war. What is typically considered a safe haven
asset for investors has set several new records in recent weeks.
Let's take a look to see what it's doing right now. It is up 1.4 percent. Take a look at that $3,340 of fine ounce. That is a phenomenal rise of
gold, especially if you look at it over the longer term. Now we're joined by Andrew Naylor. He is the Head of Middle East and Public Policy at the
World Gold Council to give us a little bit of a preview on what is going on with gold?
I mean, it's hedge against inflation, it's the currency of last resort. People flock to gold when there's any uncertainty. And let me tell you,
this global environment is completely primed for a rush into gold.
[09:30:00]
So, take us through what is -- I guess, what's fundamental about what we've been seeing. Not only over the last few months, but I guess since the end
of last year.
ANDREW NAYLOR, HEAD OF MIDDLE EAST & PUBLIC POLICY AT THE WORLD GOLD COUNCIL: Yes, it's a record time for gold. We've seen over 25 all-time
highs so far this year, we saw 40 last year. The price last year was up 26 percent this year so far, it's up 28 percent. And all of the elements you
spoke about concerns about inflation, geo political risk, the impact of tariffs, the redrawing of geo political alliances.
All of this uncertainty is feeding into investment interest in gold. And investment interest in gold is because gold is unique.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
NAYLOR: It performs -- differently to other assets.
GIOKOS: So, Andrew, I'm going to interject there. Let's listen to the opening bell. Oh, we've missed it. We just missed the opening bell in New
York. We love to listen to the ring, but we've got the U.S. markets open now. DOW JONES negative S&P and NASDAQ was a bit of a positive bias, but
DOW JONES down around four-tenths of a percent.
And I guess this flip flopping by President Trump on tariffs is really just injecting so much uncertainty. And the Beige Book, which is released by the
fed, the word uncertainty, I think, was mentioned around 80 times. And when people are feeling uncertain, they don't want to spend, you don't want to
invest, you don't want to put yourself at any risk.
So, gold just seems to be -- and frankly, precious metals as a whole, is just one place where you can park your money and you can feel safe, because
at the end of the day, you can sell it for something because it's physical.
NAYLOR: Yeah, that's right, it's a physical asset. When you own it, there's no counter party risk you own it out, right? But it's also unique because
of the way it performs as a financial asset. It performs very differently to other asset classes, and it particularly performs well in times of
uncertainty.
So, when the geopolitical risk index, for example, is up by 100 basis points, gold historically has added another 2.5 percent to a portfolio's
performance. So, the financials around gold make it very unique, and because of that uniqueness, it's considered an effective diversifier.
So, in times of stress, geopolitical or economic, that's when you see interest in gold and the flip flopping around tariffs that has had an
impact this year. I mean, the story of this year, or gold story, has really been a story about the tariffs, the initial impact when people were trying
to beat the tariffs, potential tariffs, then we found that gold wasn't going to be subject to tariffs, so some of those positions were unwound.
But then, now people are turning to the long-term implications of tariffs and trade war, the drag down on economic growth, the likely inflationary
nature of tariffs and one of role gold, many roles is a hedge against inflation. So that's certainly driving long term investment interest in
gold, and we see that persisting for the future.
Especially as we're still talking about rate cuts this year, which was a big catalyst for gold's performance last year.
GIOKOS: Yeah, gold loves rate cuts because that means you don't pay interest on holding physical at least. You know, that's one of the -- I
remember I was actually looking at during the 2008 financial crisis. I remember gold shot up from $650 of finance to I think, $1,600 of finance.
And to think how well gold has performed through the years is unbelievable, but it's in a different environment right now. We've got geopolitics at
play as well. You've got so much uncertainty. But the one thing that is sort of really surprising is this inverse relationship with the U.S.
treasury bills that's kind of been broken.
And please explain why that relationship is important, and what it tells us about the true risk premium that we're seeing playing out at a global
level.
NAYLOR: Yeah, that's right, because actually last year that was that big story, you know, has that relationship de coupled somewhat, I think we
perhaps moved beyond that now, but it's really to do with the U.S. dollar and the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar, and the inverse relationship
between the dollars' performance, because gold is priced in U.S. dollars, don't forget, and the performance of gold, there's an inverse relationship
there.
And we're seeing downward drag pressure on the U.S. dollar. And again, that is something that is leading to renewed interest in gold. The interest rate
scenario, which is linked to that. As you said, it's all about the opportunity cost, because gold isn't a yield bearing income, bearing asset.
So, when interest rates are high, other asset classes, particularly fixed income, of course, tend to perform better. So, interest rates, or high-
interest rate environment, has always been a head wind for gold. And gold started to take off again around about August last year, and the big
catalyst for that was the U.S., the ECB and other large central banks.
[09:35:00]
But in particular the U.S. starting to cut interest rates, and we saw renewed investment, or institutional investment, interest in gold, and the
big indicator of that is exchange traded funds gold backed ETFs. We saw significant outflows from ETFs over the last few years.
GIOKOS: Yes. Yeah.
NAYLOR: But about halfway through last year, we stopped --
GIOKOS: Let me ask you this -- So let me ask you this, Andrew, because I think it's quite important. JP Morgan says that gold's next stop is $4,000
an ounce. So, I think a lot of people are looking at this and saying, dang it, you know, I've missed it. I should have bought gold, you know, a year
ago, two years ago.
What we should we be looking at? You know, physical gold, gold jewelry, bars, anything gold, ETFs, should we be buying in gold mining companies and
getting exposure on that front? What's the best way? And do you think we've missed it, if you -- for those of you who've missed the boat and haven't
bought gold yet or have any exposure, what's the best way to get in? And do you think it's still a good time to buy gold?
NAYLOR: Yeah, it's a very good question. I mean, we see gold as a long-term strategic asset, so a core part of an investment portfolio. So, the longer-
term fundamentals for gold are still very, very strong. Central Bank buying for gold is very robust. They account for about 20 percent demand for gold.
Investment interest in gold is robust. There's also technology demand, which is about 7 percent of demand. It's used in high end electronics
chips, semiconductors and so on. The AI revolution in particular is leading to increased technology demand for gold. So those longer-term fundamentals
are strong.
I think the advice that I would be thinking about is look at the longer term and perhaps accumulate in, you know, in steps, if you like, drip feed
into the market. There's lots of new in retail markets, for example, like China gold accumulation plans. Your question, though, is about the form of
gold.
Physical gold is very different to other potential exposures to gold. You can have paper exposures. You have gold mining equities. They're very
different. Physical gold is a considered a safe haven asset, because it's a physical asset, and because you can own it outright.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
NAYLOR: And it's also very liquid.
GIOKOS: Yeah. So --
NAYLOR: In the introduction, you were talking about, well-being a universal currency. It's understood in many markets across the world, and liquids --
for investors and also the retail community --
GIOKOS: Yeah. It has. And let me tell you, Andrew, my grandmother always said, have gold coins hidden somewhere in your home, so she was right.
Andrew Naylor, good to have you with us. Right, moving on and a big weekend ahead when one of the Cup of the Tea trophies in European football is
handed out.
The stage is set for Liverpool to come away with another Premier League title. More in "World Sport" that's coming up. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
GIOKOS: Did Pope Francis send a god wink to fellow members of his beloved Argentine soccer club as the most famous Argentinian, he became the most
famous member of Lorenzo de Almagro soccer club in Buenos Aires. Morning is passing the club's chapel caretakers shared something quite remarkable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OSCAR LUCCHINI, SAN LORENZO DE ALMAGRO SOCCER CLUB CHAPEL CARETAKER: The day we gave him his membership card. He said he would accept it, but at it,
I'll pay the fee. He said he paid his membership fees for the San Lorenzo club religiously. We handed him the card in person, and it had the
membership number 88235, now he has passed away at the age of 88 at 02:35 in the morning Argentina time. So, we don't know if it's a blessing, a
coincidence or something he sent us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Definitely a blessing. What about that special commemorative jerseys will be worn for Saturday's match against Rosario Central. This is
also the day of Francis' funeral. Now, Liverpool again poised to be crown champions of the English Premier League, and there's still a month of the
season left to go, and the reds only need one point when they play Tottenham on Sunday to win the title.
It's all pointing to a memorable occasion on Merseyside. Amanda Davies joins us now with more on that. And what we should be expecting on Sunday,
which should be a funday of football, right, Amanda?
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, Eleni, it could all have been over last night had Arsenal fall into defeat against Crystal Palace.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
DAVIES: But you have to say, you suspect Liverpool will quite like the fact that the draw last night means they still need one point. So, they can
clinch it by taking to the pitch at their home ground, the iconic Anfield, they need just the point. So, a draw, at least against Tottenham.
Tottenham a club that's struggling, as we know at the moment, but it has been quite a remarkable first season in charge, for Arne Slot, hasn't it,
since he took over from Jurgen Klopp leading this side to what would be victory with four games of the season left to play.
We've got more on what he's done, how he's done it. And the Dutch connection coming up in just a couple of minutes in "World Sport". So, hope
everyone can join us then.
GIOKOS: Looking forward to it, Amanda. We'll see you after this. And I'll be back at the top of the hour. Stay with CNN.
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