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Zelenskyy: Plan Proposes U.S. to Guarantee Ukrainian Security; Blizzard Conditions, Tornadoes Disrupt Travel as Cold Front Moves into Central and Eastern U.S.; Sudan's Humanitarian Crisis; Accident Occurred 10 Days after Joshua Knocked Out Jake Paul in Bout in Miami; Boxing Star Anthony Joshua Injured in Car Crash in Nigeria; Growth Accelerates, But Many Struggle with High Prices. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired December 29, 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: Progress, but no break-through. The U.S. and Ukraine inch closer to a peace deal. But where does Russia

stand? Its 09:00 a.m. in Washington at 06:00 p.m. here in Dubai. I'm Eleni Giokos. This is "Connect the World".

Also coming up as one world leader exits another enters. Benjamin Netanyahu is in the United States to meet President Trump as a complicated phase two

of the Gaza ceasefire appears elusive. And dangerous U.S. storm system is bringing blizzard conditions to some and tornadoes to others.

All right, we're around 30 minutes to go before the start of trade in New York. Let's check in on those market futures. And of course, the S&P 500

all eyes on this INDEX, as there is a lot of hope that will hit the seven- thumb mark by the end of the year. In other words, just in a few days' time for now, though, showing it is down four tenths of a percent. NASDAQ and

DOW also in negative territory.

Still, the question means, will we see the Santa Claus Rally that we see normally in the last five days of the year? A question still to be

answered. We'll check in on those numbers later on.

All right. And I want to begin with new details coming out of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Sunday talks with U.S. President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

The Ukrainian President says the latest peace plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine proposes that the U.S. guarantees Kyiv security for 15 years.

Moscow has made no secret that it wants the Eastern Donbas region, but the issue of land concessions remains a major sticking point. One that Mr.

Zelenskyy says would need to be put to a vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: You know our position, so it's, I mean this, we have to respect our law and our people. We respect the

territory which we control. When we speak about referendum, we spoke that it's one of the key. We can have referendum on any kind of points of this

plan.

I said that we can use referendum, like for the plan, or we cannot use referendum. It's one of the key. We can use. I mean, this possibility of

Parliament to vote according to the law or to have referendum doesn't matter. Is I'm in this referendum, if the plan will be very difficult for

our society, very difficult.

Of course, our society has to choose and has to vote, because it's their land. The land, not of one person, is the land of our nation for a lot of

generous generation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right. President Zelenskyy also says teams from the U.S. and Ukraine could meet, in his words, as early as next week to work out the

remaining points in the peace plan. President Trump, meantime, plans to speak again with Russian Leader Vladimir Putin. CNN's Clare Sebastian is

tracking developments for us.

Clare, good to see you. So, U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, that is the big question. I mean, there's still big process in terms of President

Trump might agree to it, but of course, it needs to pass through Congress. So, what does that mean for Kyiv ultimately?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I think this was a, albeit small, a tangible point of progress that we heard from Presidents Trump and

Zelenskyy on Sunday. Don't forget, it was just about four months ago that the U.S. wasn't even committing to join in with any post war security

guarantees.

Then the verbal assurances came when Trump shifted his position in August. And now we have something in writing, albeit with a too short an expire

date for President Zelenskyy. He says 15 years isn't enough. He'd like to see 30, 40, 50. Don't forget, this war has been going on not only since

2022 but actually since 2014 which is 12 years.

So, you can see why 15 years would ring a little hollow in Ukraine. But it is still something on paper. It does Zelenskyy says need congressional

approval to make it legally a bind, binding. But it is still something, as I said, written down, and a tangible point of progress.

Obviously, we have to hammer home the point number one, that all of this is still hypothetical because we aren't seeing real peace talks as such until

Russia and Ukraine sit down together, and Russia is not moving from its maximalist goals.

We heard from the Kremlin this morning saying that a secession in violence would involve Ukraine withdrawing from the rest of the Donbas region that

it still controls, which is, of course, a somewhat unprecedented demand in terms of peace talks. Russia hasn't been able to take that territory in

four years of war.

[09:05:00]

And secondly, I think a Russian compromise is made even less likely by the praise that we see heaped on Moscow during the press conference on Sunday

by Trump. He even agreed with Moscow on some points, including potentially on the issue of whether a ceasefire should come before peace talks, which

is something that the Europeans and Ukrainians have been talking about. And then he was asked about the issue of territory. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Think the land you're talking about. Some of that land has been taken. Some of that land

is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months, and are you better off making a deal now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So, that seems to echo a Kremlin argument that we've heard a number of times now, that Ukraine should really agree to territorial

concessions now, otherwise, the land will be taken by force. Now, we do have a bit of an impasse, which is that Ukraine is willing to discuss this,

but says that territorial concessions will very likely need to go to a referendum.

And to do a referendum, they need a ceasefire. Zelenskyy says, lastly, at least 60 days, and Russia is still firmly against any idea of a ceasefire.

So, this is where we are. I think, look, we may well get back on this now, well-worn diplomatic merry go round, going into 2026, but of course, you

can't rule out that something unexpected could happen.

We do, of course, still have U.S. sanctions on Russia's biggest oil giants that are hurting the Russian economy, so that's worth bearing in mind as

well.

GIOKOS: All right. Clare Sebastian, thank you so much for that update. Now, in just a few hours, President Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, they set to discuss the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire. The meeting is also expected to serve as a kick off to Mr.

Netanyahu's 2026 re-election campaign.

With President Trump's support considered key in helping the Prime Minister win re-election, he's scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of State, Marco

Rubio next hour. Paula Hancocks joins me now from Abu Dhabi. I mean, really important meeting. Frankly, the phase two of the agreement should be

implemented early January. So, a lot at stake here. Are we going to see pressure on the prime minister over advancing the ceasefire?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely Eleni. I mean, this is a key thing for the U.S. President. This is his foreign policy success, the fact

that he was able to secure that ceasefire back in October between Hamas and Israel. We have heard both publicly and behind the scenes frustration from

the Trump Administration believing that the Israeli Prime Minister was not moving as quickly as they wanted him to.

So, what we could hear today is more details, if not an announcement about, for example, the board of peace, this is the executive committee that as

well, that is going to be governing Gaza. We also hope to hear more about this stabilization force, which will be boots on the ground from a number

of different countries to keep the peace in Gaza.

But what we've heard from Israel consistently is that part of this phase two, which is that the Israeli military has to withdraw further out of the

Gaza Strip, is simply not going to happen until Hamas disarms. This another key part of this phase two. And at this point, there doesn't appear to be

any indication that Hamas is preparing to disarm.

In fact, the exact opposite. So, what we have here is a number of very complicated -- complicating factors within this phase two, and it will be

interesting to see the timeline of what will happen first, and how that will hopefully create a domino effect that the other issues could take

place.

The Israeli Prime Minister also wants to focus on Iran and Lebanon. We have been hearing concerns about the Iranian rearming, about its missile

program. We know that Benjamin Netanyahu wants to engage President Trump on this issue, and also wanting to engage them on the concerns about Hezbollah

in Southern Lebanon rearming and moving back into position.

It will be interesting to see whether President Trump will be engaged on either of those issues, or whether he wants to focus on the one success

that he has at this point, the fact that that phase one has for the most part been completed.

There is still one these remains of one Israeli hostage that have not been released from Gaza, but the rest of the hostages have. We know that much

more humanitarian aid is getting into Gaza. But again, the U.N. and NGOs unanimously say that needs to increase as well, Eleni.

GIOKOS: All right. Well, all eyes on Mar-a-Lago, and this meeting between Trump and Netanyahu we will be monitoring that as it happens. Paul Hancocks

in Abu Dhabi, thank you so much. All right, China says it is sending a serious warning against any push for Taiwanese independence, announcing

major military drills around Taiwan.

[09:10:00]

Its army, navy, air and rockets units are involved in the drills, which the self-governing Island rather condemns as military intimidation. But the

message China is sending is not solely aimed at Taiwan, as CNN's Mike Valerio explains.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: China's military says these exercises are aimed at testing combat readiness and the ability of China's armed forces

to, quote, blockade and control key ports and critical areas. So, to that end, we have China's People's Liberation Army the Eastern Theater Command

adding Monday morning that live fire drills are going to happen in five maritime and air space zones around the island.

But what is key here is answering the question of what message China is sending. And in short, analysts agree that Beijing is extremely frustrated

with two recent developments in particular. First, there's the new landmark, $11.1 billion arms deal, advanced weapons that Taiwan is buying

for the United States. That's one.

And then the second thing is Japan's Prime Minister not backing away from comments she made in November suggesting that Japan could militarily

respond if Mainland China were to take Taiwan by force. Now, at the heart of all of this, of course, are the people of Taiwan. Listen to a couple

just a few of the sentiments we heard earlier today, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIN WEI-MING, TEACHER: I think these drills are just meant to scare us, to intimidate us. Similar drills have happened before. As ordinary citizens, I

think all we can do is take care of ourselves, do our jobs well and live our lives well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: Taiwan's Presidential Spokesperson Karen Kuo said the drills, quote, blatantly undermine the security and stability status quo of the

Taiwan Strait and the Indo Pacific region and openly challenge international laws and order.

Xu Yi Spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command, said on Monday, quote, this exercise serves as a serious warning to Taiwan independent separatist

forces and external interfering forces. That is a not so veiled reference to Japan and the United States. Mike Valerio, CNN, Beijing.

GIOKOS: All right, we've got some breaking news for you. British Boxing Star Anthony Joshua has been injured in a car accident in Nigeria. Local

police tell "Reuters" the crash killed two people. Joshua sustained only minor injuries. The former heavyweight champion had returned to the boxing

ring about a week ago, knocking out American Social Media Star Jake Paul in a match in Miami. Now he's expected to fight long-time rival Tyson Fury in

the New Year.

And still to come on, "Connect the World" white out conditions, blizzard warnings and powerful storms, a wild mix of wintry weather hits the United

States. We'll have a complete weather report just ahead. And the EU launches a new humanitarian appeal amid funding cuts and growing

humanitarian crises that's coming up after the break, stay tuned to CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:00]

GIOKOS: Powerful storms are sweeping across the Central and Eastern U.S., affecting millions and bringing a messy mix of snow, wind, thunderstorms

and tornadoes during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. Power outages stretch across the affected areas. And you can see sparks flying in

Indiana after a transformer blue in windy conditions.

Take a look at that in Iowa, ice and snow causing a 14-car-pile-up on Sunday. Blizzard warnings remain in effect in parts of the Mid-West, while

freezing rain was expected in New England today. We have Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joining us from Atlanta.

I'm looking at some of these images. This 14-car-pile-up, absolutely scary. Take us through whether. I mean, my question is, should you be staying at

home in these weather conditions?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, right? If you get this low visibility situation, travel definitely not recommended. This is the nature

of how powerful the storms can get in North America, you've got this very potent, razor, thin cold front that comes through. It drops the

temperatures; it blows the wind around and the snow as well.

And it reduces the visibilities, and unfortunately, that can cause backups and accidents along the highways. Yesterday, in one state across central

parts of the U.S., in Missouri, there was a record high temperature matched, and then four hours later, it was snowing in that same location.

Today, we're nearly 50 degrees colder than where we were this time yesterday in St. Louis, so it just gives you an idea of how powerful this

storm is.

And on the northern side of it, we have significant amount of snow. So not only is it blowing around creating blizzard conditions where you see that

shade of red that's called a blizzard warning, but we're getting this lake effect snow machine starting to kick into high gear, one-to-two-inch snow

fall rates per hour that will pile up very quickly.

But you add in the wind factor, and that's where things get very, very difficult and quite challenging and dangerous on the roadways. Here's

Traverse City, Grand Rapids to South Bend a little bit further eastward, a full-fledged ice storm is unfolding across Northern New England, so not

impacting the major cities along the East Coast.

But as this cold front races eastward, we'll get some rain Boston, New York to Philadelphia, that I 95 Corridor. It will quickly come to an end by this

afternoon, but then the winds pick up. And we know that wind and air travel don't mix well together. You get rain in there as well. It's going to be

quite challenging.

So, we have these wind alerts for millions of Americans across the Northeast. Still gust over 60 kilometers per hour at times. So, a

challenging travel day amongst a very busy holiday period right now. So not only on the roads, but also in the skies. Look at the sharp contrast in our

temperatures.

You see the greens and the yellows, that's where the warmth is still located, but behind it, that's where temperatures drop off considerably.

And when you factor in the wind chill, it is well, well below zero across this part of the country. So, Eleni, quite stark difference in our

temperatures here across U.S.

GIOKOS: Yeah, absolutely you stay warm. Kind of makes me feel happy. I'm in Dubai into what we call fake winter. So, you know, 18 degrees celsius and

we put on a jacket.

DAM: Enjoy. Send some of that --

GIOKOS: Yeah, all right. Derek Van Dam, always good to see you, my friend.

DAM: Me too.

GIOKOS: And in the meantime, and we know this, I mean, we've been covering these stories 2025 has been a tumultuous year of humanitarian groups global

crises like Sudan and moving on to Gaza that took center stage and massive cuts to funding have made it difficult for aid groups to reach the worlds

vulnerable.

More than 300 million people globally require urgent assistance, a number that has almost doubled over the last five years. Earlier this month, the

United Nations launched its 2026 Global Humanitarian Appeal in an effort to help all those in need. My colleague Becky Anderson spoke with the United

Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, alongside Reem Al Hashimy, the UAE's Minister of State for International Cooperation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FLECTHER, U.N. UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS: Well, the needs are enormous. Hundreds of millions of people need support right

now, and because of the funding crisis that we've faced, we're making these brutal choices. These are literally life and death choices about which

programs to stop, which programs to preserve.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: You've talked about the tough and brutal choices that the U.N. needs to make. The needs are massive. Funding is woefully

short. And the Trump Administration is responsible for some of the deepest cut backs, though, the U.S. is by no means alone. What's been the

consequence? What happens when funding dries up, Tom?

[09:20:00]

FLECTHER: Well, let's be clear. I mean, the Americans and other donors have saved hundreds of millions of lives now over many, many years, but the

current funding environment is really, really tough for us. We're probably down about 40 percent on where we were a couple of years ago, and that

means we're taking enormous chunks out of the sector.

We're stopping so many programs for those that we serve. So, in response, I've launched this plan that is hyper prioritized. We're looking at, can we

save 87 million lives next year at the cost of $23 billion so rather than just thinking this is overwhelming, we're daunted by the scale of the

challenge. We're thinking, what can we do next year that our grandchildren would be proud of?

ANDERSON: Reem, the UAE has announced a substantial pledge of some $550 million to this effort. Can you just lay out the UAE's approach when making

that sort of commitment?

REEM AL HASHIMY, UAE MINISTER OF STATE FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION: Now the UAE, as you know, is a very generous donor. Has done a lot over the

years and decades, and is really committed to ensuring that communities close to us but also far from us receive the necessary support.

But we also want to do it in innovative ways. We want to integrate the private sector the MDBs, and I think in our conversations with Tom, we've

seen that there is an appetite right now to really look at aid disbursement and bringing this appeal by also rallying up all of the humanitarian

stakeholders and the INGO community together, gives them the type of bandwidth that they would need to be able to secure the necessary and

achievable results.

ANDERSON: Let's focus very specifically on two files. If we can headline in this plan, Gaza and Sudan. Gaza and the West Bank a top priority. What

needs to happen next Tom?

FLECTHER: So, we've got to continue to scale up the aid that goes in. We're getting almost 300 trucks of U.N. humanitarian aid in every day. That's

making a massive difference. We're getting the starvation levels down. We're getting in tens of thousands of tents. Vital at the moment, with

winter already on us, and we're seeing the impact of winter so far.

We've got to get more crossings open. We've got to get the NGOs operating alongside us, and we need the world to respond with more generosity so we

can keep that pipeline of food and medicine going.

ANDERSON: The UAE, Reem has committed more than $2.5 billion to Gaza since 2023. How important is it that there are clear, tangible steps, a

commitment to phase two to ease the massive crisis on the ground.

HASHIMY: It's just so critical Becky. The scale that we've seen since the war broke out on October 7th has been, I think, has haunted all of us. The

UAE is one of the top donors to Gaza. In fact, over 50 percent of all of the aid going in comes from the United Arab Emirates.

And whether in health care or in securing food that goes in, whether its air drops or it's our Floating Hospital, the evacuation of personnel or of

patients who need treatment in the UAE, we are constantly and consistently, I think the key word here is consistently there for our Palestinian

brothers and sisters.

ANDERSON: Sudan, as you rightly have pointed out both of you. Sudan faces the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world. You are just back Tom from

your most recent trip, not your first trip this year, but your most recent trip. Can you just describe what you witnessed and what your key sort of

take outs? And that sounds, you know, horribly sort of dehumanizing. I don't mean it to sound like that, but you know, what have you taken away

from that recent trip?

FLECTHER: You know, so many people in need of basic support, life-saving assistance, but also protection. I'm worried about the last atrocities, but

also the next atrocities, and that's why it's so important we get behind the efforts towards the ceasefire. You know, Sudan right now doesn't need

more guns and bullets, it needs food and medicine and peace.

ANDERSON: For the tens of thousands who have either lost their lives, been raped, tortured. I mean, it is actually too late, and we all, we all have

to admit to that. But the needs, as you rightly point out, are massive. Some 20 million people acutely food insecure by some accounts, 6 million in

starvation. Why is aid not reaching the civilians who need it most?

FLECTHER: That's the key question. It's the right question to ask. A lot of it is about the cross-line access. So, some of it is about lack of funding.

We're about 32 percent funded on our Sudan appeal this year. But a lot of it is about the difficulty of crossing through those checkpoints.

I went through 40 checkpoints to get to Tawila and Korma, just right near Al Fasher. And these are all man many by child soldiers, by different

militias, different factions, and you've got to negotiate your way all the way along.

[09:25:00]

It was a two-and-a-half-day drive for our convoy. Along the way there was an air strike on one of the convoys nearby. So, there's danger, there's

these logistical challenges, and there's a lack of funding, but also, it's just the shifting nature of the battle lines.

ASNERSON: Reem, Sudan's Justice Minister insisting that the obstacle to peace in Sudan is external support for armed groups and mercenaries, and he

points the finger squarely at the UAE. The UAE has repeatedly rejected accusations that it has provided military support for the RSF since this

conflict began.

Before the conflict started, the UAE had a recent history of sort of military and security cooperation with Sudan forces. The same actors are in

control today on both sides. What added pressure or influence and influence can the UAE bring is the UAE bringing to bear to stop the fighting and

enable humanitarian relief?

HASHIMY: We believe in what President Trump has led on with the quad framework. The UAE, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, under the U.S.

leadership is the only credible mediation plan right now to stop the war. These allegations have been constant. I'd rather they point a finger to

themselves and their responsibility towards their own Sudanese brethren.

But unfortunately, we're in a situation where military rule, military power, and a civil war that has broken out between generals has led to the

catastrophic, catastrophic human atrocities that we're seeing, that you have physically witnessed. And to what the U.N. is actually saying is

probably the worst humanitarian disaster since World War Two.

Right now, it's very clear what we need. We need a humanitarian truce. We need a ceasefire, and we will need, we need a return to civilian

government, and we need accountability. Accountability to those who've perpetrated the most heinous of crimes that needs to take place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: All right, coming up on the show, what kind of economy can Americans expect next year? We'll take a look at what the data is telling

us. Stick with CNN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back to "Connect the World". And we have live pictures as always, from the New York Stock Exchange. And ringing the opening bell

today is Third Street Music School. It was founded in 1894. It is the longest running community music school in the United States.

[09:30:00]

And the opening bell just about a ring as we head towards the end of 2025 there you have it. All right, so we've got three days left to 2025 and the

big question is, what are markets going to do as we head to the first of January? And remember, always in the fast last five days of the year we

have a Santa Claus Rally.

Are we going to get this year? Well, market is not looking very strong today. DOW is down two tenth of a percent. NASDAQ also flat, but with a

negative bias and S&P, we're hoping it's going to hit that 7000 marks, but it is down four tenths of a percent. Will bring you an update on those

numbers a little later.

I now want to turn back to breaking news that we brought you earlier today. It's that car crash in Nigeria that injured British Boxing Star Anthony

Joshua. Local police tell "Reuters" the crash killed two people. Joshua sustained only minor injuries.

The former heavyweight champion had returned to the boxing ring just 10 days ago, knocking out American Social Media Star Jake Paul that was in a

match in Miami. We've got CNN World Sports Patrick Snell joining us now. Patrick, good to have you on the story for us. And we heard of this car

crash. What more do we know in terms of what transpired?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORTS: Yeah, Eleni, just as you said, this is very much a developing story. We're still there's so much we need to learn

and find out about this. But British Former Heavy Weight Boxing Champ Anthony Joshua, this I want to stress, according to local police there on

the ground in Nigeria, sustaining minor injuries when his vehicle collided with another car earlier today.

Joshua himself reportedly in hospital at this time. He was in the back seat of his car at the time, we understand. And the car accident taking place in

Nigeria's Ogun State. Tragically, it did. It did, sadly claim two lives as well. Police at this hour are investigating the cause of the accident.

Now, just to give global context around Anthony Joshua, born in England to British Nigerian parents. He does have, according to reports, family roots

in that part of Nigeria, which would likely explain why he's in the country at the moment. He's just a massive name in the world of boxing, albeit now

at the age of 36, years of age.

Certainly regarded, we were just debating this in the office earlier, earlier certainly regarded in my book as one of the best British heavy

weights in the sports history. He is a former two-time unified world champion. He's got an Olympic Gold Medal as well to his name. And just in

the build up to Christmas, just a shoot a few days shy of Christmas, he was involved in that bout with YouTuber turned boxer, Jake Paul.

And he won that one rather convincingly in the sixth round of a heavyweight clash in the Sunshine State. It was all very one sided for Joshua, a

mismatch, really. AJ, much heavier, much taller, Paul suffering a double fracture to the jaw. But Anthony Joshua is this is all part of his what he

hopes will be his renaissance has come back to the sport.

As I mentioned, he's 36 years of age right now, definitely one of the sports elite punches. And that fight against Paul, as I say, trying to get

him back, get his career back on track. It was his first bout, if we go back to late last year, his first bout since Daniel Dubois actually knocked

him out in five rounds in in September, I believe it was of last year.

And trying to get his career back on track, and with the goal potentially on another clash against Tyson Fury next year, a fight that many fans have

been calling for. But remember Joshua, you know, it wasn't that long ago it was four or five years ago, he was still flying very much, very high at the

top of his fort, dominating the top of his sport, the heavyweight division.

He won his world titles back off Andy Reid Jr., the year before, and retaining them as well in a really one-sided affair when he came up against

the Bulgarian Challenger Kubrat Poolev. But a lot has changed since then, hence why he got back into the ring in Miami against Paul and he spoke

about as well as a big opportunity for him, as well building the brand globally, more so globally, especially in the United States.

But right now, we are, as I say, just bringing it back to the accident in Nigeria. We are awaiting a lot more details, and hopefully we'll be hearing

from Anthony Joshua himself at some point during the day. As we said earlier, he is reportedly right now in hospital at this hour, but we will

you can be sure, Eleni, stay across all the very latest on this developing story.

[09:35:00]

GIOKOS: Absolutely Patrick, well, thank you so much for that update. As we said, Anthony Joshua staining minor injuries in a car crash in Nigeria. As

we get those details, we will bring them to you. Patrick Snell, for us from World Sport. All right, you're watching "Connect the World". There's more

news ahead. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: All right, the U.S. economy is growing at its fastest pace in two years, but two million of Americans it doesn't feel that way. Although last

week's data showing consumer spending was up in the third quarter, economists say high income earnings likely accounted for most of that,

while people on low wages are struggling to stay afloat.

As for inflation, it stayed stubbornly high in 2025 even if it didn't skyrocket as many had feared after Donald Trump's import tariffs took

effect. Brian Moynihan, the Chief Executive of Bank of America, says that he's optimistic for the year ahead. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN MOYNIHAN, CEO, BANK OF AMERICA: At the end of day, people are spending they have good credit quality. They are employed, and wait, we can

see wages growing in as people's paychecks come in at a 3 percent clip. So, it's pretty solid right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right. Sam Stovall is the Chief Investment Strategist at CFRA Research. Sam, good to see you. You know, we're wrapping up 2025 and what a

year it has been? I mean, I think that beginning of the year, we're really worried about what Trump tariffs would mean for the overall global economy,

for the U.S. economy?

We were really worried it was going to spell havoc for everyone. I think markets were pricing in a very different story. So too were economists. So

net, net, what is your, you know, overview, looking at back in hindsight of the way 2025 responded to some of these policies.

SAM STOVALL, CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, CFRA RESEARCH: Well Eleni, good to talk to you. I think essentially, the market concluded very quickly that

these tariffs, possibly because of them on again, off again status, were not going to lead to a recession, either in the U.S. or globally.

And I like to say that bull markets don't die of old age they die of fright. And what they're most afraid of is recession. And it was concluded

that a recession was not the most likely outcome.

GIOKOS: Yeah. OK, so we perhaps out of the woods in terms of recession fears. But I have to ask you this. I mean in terms of what we should be

expecting in the next? And I was looking at the numbers. The S&P was up 18 percent over the year. NASDAQ 22 percent, the DOW up almost 15 percent in

2025.

[09:40:00]

What is the potential for the stock markets to continue moving to the upside, and what is going to give them that boost?

STOVALL: Well, I think the potential for an upside move is still very high. However, as we say in the states, the S&P, will have recorded a three peat,

or three successive years of double-digit gains. And I don't anticipate a four peat, because that has very rarely happened, going back to World War

Two, only one time a four peat and one time a five peat.

Also, we are in a midterm election year, which is by far the most challenging of the four-year presidential cycle, gaining less than 4

percent on average in price performance of a gain being no better than a coin toss at about 55 percent. And also, the average draw down, or intra

year decline has been 18 percent. So, there is a lot of volatility potentially that consumers and investors will have to deal with.

GIOKOS: Yeah. So, I'm just curious in terms of this AI bubble concern gaining momentum, and what you're irritating out of and what are you going

into in the New Year, and what sectors you most excited about?

STOVALL: Well, I, being a historian, realize that if the S&P 500 were in negative territory in 2025 you're better off buying last year's losers in

the New Year. However, because the S&P was in positive territory, you're better off sticking with the winners.

And the winners were communication services, where you would find Meta and Google technology, where AI is dominant, and also industrial so implying

that an economic growth is likely to continue in the year ahead.

GIOKOS: Yeah. Well, since you're in historian the Santa Claus Rally taking place since 1950 in the last five days of the year. Are we going to see it

again this year? And also, do you believe the Fed will still remain independent come 2026?

STOVALL: Well, I think that there's a good possibility for a Santa Claus Rally, and that would give us sort of a positive leaning toward the

beginning of the New Year. I believe more in what's called the January barometer. As goes January, so goes the year.

I think, as it relates to the Fed, yes, there will be additional pressure from the administration to cut interest rates. The new Fed Chair will

likely be one of the two choices, the two Kevins, and there could be pressure to lower interest rates. But there are only one out of majority of

Fed members who are going to be focusing on the data and responding there.

GIOKOS: Yeah. Well, Sam, I wish you a Happy Santa Claus Rally, as well as Happy New Year. We'll see you soon. We're going to short break. World

Sports with Patrick Snell is right after this.

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[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORTS)

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