Return to Transcripts main page
First Move with Julia Chatterley
Hurricane Dorian Kills At Least 20 In The Bahamas; Dorian Forces A Million People In Carolinas To Flee; More Misery For The U.K. Prime Minister Aired 9-10a ET
Aired September 05, 2019 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:18]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome to the show. We begin with Breaking News once again amid the devastation caused by Hurricane
Dorian. The Prime Minister of the Bahamas, calling it "generational." The number of people who have lost their lives has now risen to at least 20,
and that number is expected to rise further.
Authorities continue to carry out rescue and recovery operations on the hardest hit islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama. Patrick Oppmann is in
Freeport on the Island of Grand Bahama for us. Patrick, great to have you with us.
You've been there now surveying the damage for the last couple of days including the main airport there in Grand Bahama, critical to get supplies
in and out of the island. Talk us through the damage because that looks extensive.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you so much, Julia. Yes, we heard the airport was badly damaged. It took us two days to get out there.
The area was just completely flooded. You may remember there was actually a video of waves crashing into the airport during the height of the storm.
And when my team and I arrived there yesterday, all the terminals were badly damaged. One terminal -- a domestic terminal -- was completely
ripped apart. The other terminals had been underwater for days. The main terminal that services flights to and from the United States, we were told
was just too dangerous to enter. We were told by a security guard not to go in there. It was still standing, but you could tell that it had heavy
water damage.
We do have an update, residents told us that after our report, by coincidence or perhaps not, teams were sent out to pick up the debris that
we saw all over the runway, and we're talking about pieces of metal, pieces of concrete, things that would make it impossible for any plane to safely
land on that airport.
Residents who were involved with that cleanup effort contacted me this morning and they tell me -- I've not confirmed this myself -- but they tell
me that the runway is completely clean of any debris, but they do say the airport is not open. There still needs to be a security assessment, a
damage assessment because it would still be very dangerous to land a plane on a runway that was underwater for so many days, and may still have debris
on it.
But they did say that there has been a cleanup effort and that according to these people that the airport now is debris-free or at least the runway.
Other parts of this island are still in just horrible shape. Hundreds of homes flooded.
Yesterday, we saw for the first time, people returning to those homes, many to see the homes that they left behind as they evacuated how they are
destroyed. They've been underwater for days. Those waters have now receded for the most part.
And then tragically, other people we saw were actually going to check up on neighbors and family members and were shocked or heartbroken to find that
people they thought they would find in their homes were not there, and we don't know what happened to those people.
There's so little organization here. There is so little structure to the rescue effort. You can see behind me, the sea now is not choppy at all for
the second day in a row. Boats could come in here, but as far as we know, none have. If they've come, they've come to other parts of the island. It
would be so easy for a boat to come in with food, water -- all of the things that people are running out of here, including us, and that has not
happened.
We are told that it's because there's lots of debris and it's not safe to come in. There needs to be an assessment as well of the harbor, of the
coastline to see where there's debris and have that debris cleared out and they're not letting any private boats come in is what we are told to bring
supplies. So that is slowing things down.
It is understandable that there's a process to this, but I've yet to hear a plane to fly over the island today. I've not seen any helicopters. There
were some yesterday and I can't see any boats bringing any supplies.
So even though it's now two full days since the storm passed, we are still very much on our own -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, incredibly challenging conditions. Patrick, thank you so much for being there and reporting on that for us. Patrick Oppmann in
Freeport then. We'll return there to get another update later on in the show.
For now though, let's bring it back to the United States because more than one million people in North and South Carolina have been ordered to
evacuate their homes as Dorian approaches. It is currently a Category 3 hurricane. Right now, the eye of the storm, around 130 kilometers away
from Charleston, South Carolina. The city already enduring strong winds and flash floods caused by the heavy rain.
All right, we're going to move on now though attend to a separate story. Another big story though, today, trade. Let me talk you through this. The
United States and China announcing they will restart high-level trade negotiations. China saying the talks will begin early October. Beijing
says a phone call -- a phone call that did happen this time it seems between the top level officials went well today and that it hopes for
substantial progress. That's clearly what investors want to hear.
[09:05:21]
CHATTERLEY: We've got U.S. futures higher on the news building on Wednesday's one percent gains. The European stocks, I am just taking a
look at them, generally in the green despite new numbers from Germany revealing the ongoing toll of the trade war and of course, the Brexit
delays.
German industrial orders falling by a greater than expected 2.7 percent in July, that's clearly renewing fears of a more material slowdown there.
Weakness in the FTSE 100, of course. They're crossing my eye, almost like the red face I think of Boris Johnson at this moment.
More misery for the U.K. Prime Minister. The House of Lords set to pass a bill to prevent a no-deal Brexit on Friday. His own brother, Jo Johnson
quitting the government earlier today. Jo Johnson says there's unresolvable tension between family loyalty and the national interest.
Bianca Nobilo joins us on this. Bianca. I mean, this is -- this issue has divided families, I think up and down the country depending on what your
view is. But let's just walk through the timeline here.
We're expected to see this no-deal Brexit bill passed in the House of Lords Friday, what then? Because it's back in front of the House of Commons on
Monday.
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Jacob Rees-Mogg who is the leader of the House of Commons has said, Julia that then the government will table
another motion for a general election on Monday. The thinking being that the chief opposition, the Labour Party had to calling an early election was
that they wanted to make sure that the No Deal Bill had passed.
So by this logic, the Bill would have passed, so there should be no objections, nothing standing in the way of Boris Johnson, then getting his
election on Monday.
Parliament is currently scheduled to be prorogued and suspended sometime between Tuesday and Thursday next week. So there's much to be done in that
space of time.
As far as the election goes, the thinking is, is that the earlier it is called, the more that that will favor Boris Johnson. It will seem like he
is still somewhat in control of the narrative, and his strategy didn't entirely backfire.
But the Labour Party is keen to try and retract this, to stretch it out as much as they possibly can because they see the Conservative Party is
imploding before the nation's eyes and also that the longer that they can ensure that Boris Johnson seems to be reneging on his promise to deliver
Brexit by the 31st of October, if they can secure in law that he cannot do that, they think that will also be electorally disadvantageous.
As for the fact that Boris Johnson's own brother, Jo Johnson has resigned today. He won't be standing in the next election because of his conflict
that he feels between what he feels is right and his family. It is damaging, even though he was actually somebody who resigned under Theresa
May because of issues that he had with her Brexit strategy.
The Conservative Party has been called fratricidal many times. But now we are seeing that literally in a political sense, and it's just something
that Boris Johnson didn't need, given that he is meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu in Downing Street today; Mike Pence, and he is also going to be
giving a crucial speech at this very perilous moment where he will be addressing the nation in Yorkshire later today -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, thank you so much for that, and the protesters there, not losing any energy it seems in the last 24 hours. So Bianca Nobilo in
Westminster. Thank you so much for that.
All right. Let's move on to our next driver, Slack's honeymoon with Wall Street seemingly over. Shares in the business messaging app down almost 14
percent, premarket. This after a disappointing first earnings report.
Paul La Monica joins us now. Revenues are better than expected, but a wider loss than Wall Street were expecting. Are we falling out of love at
this moment with companies that have no anticipated profits anytime in the future it seems, Paul?
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes, Julia, I think that may be the case here. Obviously, Slack is a very popular company, particularly in the
corporate workplace, places like CNN, for example, a lot of people are always on Slack. I would argue, maybe a little too much.
But the issue with Slack right now is that you don't know when they are going to be profitable. They are still losing money and the revenue growth
while very strong is starting to slow, which I think is alarming to a lot of investors because all these unicorns that have gone public, the whole
notion is that you're buying into these great secular growth stories.
So if the sales growth is already starting to decelerate, it begs the question, why do I pay these valuations and, you know, Slack has obviously
got a lot going for it and the lack of competition is one thing that helps it, but don't count out Microsoft yet.
They've got Teams, another collaborative tool, you know, group messaging software that they're hoping could be a Slack killer and it's integrated
obviously in Office 365.
[09:10:10]
CHATTERLEY: Talk to me about how they actually make money here, though, because I was just looking through some of the numbers, 100,000 paid
customers here, but don't the majority of the organizations that they work with actually have a free subscription plan here. So how do the mechanics
of this business actually work?
LA MONICA: Yes, the company really has to do, I think, a better job of getting a lot of these corporate clients to upgrade to these paid packages.
And that really, when you look at Slack, a lot of the money is going to come from licensing, which historically has been a pretty solid business
model for enterprise software companies.
And I think at the end of the day, that's what Slack really is. I mean, you know, I think people think of them really more as a messaging platform,
but it's similar in many respects to SAP and Microsoft and Oracle. They're all really about getting that licensing revenue.
But I think right now, there are just legitimate concerns, as you point out, Julia that maybe not enough corporate customers are upgrading to
premium products and that's what Slack is going to need to generate more revenue and eventually become profitable.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it's such a great point, actually, to your point about CNN as well, I actually don't use slack. I don't know whether that makes
me a slacker or not a slacker at this stage is my take.
LA MONICA: God bless you. A slacker who has my adoration.
CHATTERLEY: You can come back. Paul La Monica. I paid him to say that. Paul La Monica, thank you so much for that. All right. Let's move on.
Samsung releasing a Galaxy phone in South Korea on Friday. Its back. The first foldable phone to hit the market retailing at almost $2,000.00
Wowsers. The launch of course was delayed since April of this year over people finding they were breaking too easy.
Kristie Lu Stout joins us on this. Great to have you with us. Kristie, talk us through the return of the fold here. And I know you've also been
doing some investigative work there at Samsung in what the future holds beyond the smartphones as well. So talk us through that.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: That's right. Not that long ago, we were in Suwon, South Korea, the headquarters of Samsung Electronics
and Julia, the fold is interesting because and wowser is right, it is a 2K novelty phone that no one was really clamoring for. But it represents the
kind of crazy innovation that is underway at Samsung.
We recently got this rare and exclusive access to the R&D labs at Samsung Electronics to see inside how it's incubating brand new, crazy ideas to
carve out new and lucrative markets.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT (voice over): This is one of the most secure R&D labs in the entire world, the headquarters of Samsung Electronics.
LU STOUT (on camera): Lots of layers of security.
LU STOUT (voice over): Cameras aren't usually allowed inside. But we got rare access to go behind closed doors to see technology breakthrough still
under wraps from automotive to healthcare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HYUN-SUK KIM, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DIVISION, SAMSUNG: The reason Samsung being successful is the innovation, we are making an
innovative product and to make an innovative product, I think we have to understand what consumer wants.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT (voice over): Today, many Samsung consumers just want smartphones. But with mobile sales declining, this 50-year-old company is
now looking to develop its next big thing -- like maybe an app to help the blind see.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this is kind of simulator glasses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT (voice over): You need opaque glasses to see how it works.
LU STOUT (on camera): It's very blurry, I can't see anything.
LU STOUT (voice over): Then the VR kit paired with the Samsung phone and the app.
LU STOUT (on camera): Oh I see. As soon as I put this headset on top, something that was once just a milky blob has turned into something with
definition. I can go from not seeing to seeing.
LU STOUT (voice over): Samsung also wants to go big in wearables and not just watches. This is the GEMS or Gait Enhancing Motivation System.
LU STOUT (voice over): Oh my goodness. I'm sorry. This sounds weird, but there's a tingling sensation.
LU STOUT (voice over): Those are sensors boosting muscle movement.
LU STOUT (on camera): Oh, goodness, it just kicks up my feet. Wow, that's interesting. I'm feeling a lift at my feet even though this is only here.
LU STOUT (voice over): Samsung sees elderly and disabled customers using this for Physical Therapy. The company may be racing to innovate, but not
to market.
In the wake of failed product launches in the past, analysts say the Korean tech giant has to balance speed and execution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRYAN MA, VICE PRESIDENT OF CLIENT DEVICE RESEARCH, IDC: One thing that Samsung is very good at is they're very, very aggressive, sometimes a bit
overly aggressive. But in the grand scheme of things, it's good because it keeps them on that leading edge of technology.
LU STOUT (on camera): All right, seatbelts on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT (voice over): Whatever it is -- cars, robots or watches -- the race is on as Samsung looks to find its next big thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now Samsung Electronics is already a global force in smartphones, thanks to already 50 years of endless product churn, but
that's not going to stop it from investing billions of dollars into brand new ideas, as you saw just then in robots you could wear, you know, in
automotive technology. And it needs to, Julia, right now, as you know, when it's under pressure on so many fronts. Back to you.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, absolutely. It's going to be fascinating to see all about the ecosystem there, I think, too. And in the short term, at least,
we'll see how the fold does. Kristie Lu Stout, thank you so much for that.
All right. Let me bring you up to speed now with some of the other stories that we're following around the world. The Taliban claimed responsibility
for a suicide attack in the Afghan capital of Kabul. A spokesman said, the bomb killed 12 foreigners and eight members of the Security Forces, but the
Afghan government says no foreigners were killed.
There will be a new Italian government today. Giuseppe Conte will continue as Prime Minister, but at the head of a new coalition. His Five Star
Movement is forming an alliance with the left-wing Democratic Party, after the far right League Party pulled out of its coalition with Mr. Conte.
Today is Princess Charlotte's first day at school, the four-year-old daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge is fourth in line to the
British throne. Ashe was dropped off at Thomas's Battersea in London by her parents. The princess joins her brother George at the fee-paying
school which charges almost $8,000.00 a term. Wow.
All right. Coming up on FIRST MOVE, a family divided. Boris Johnson's brother quits as the British Prime Minister searches in vain for unity
within his own party. Never mind the country.
And generational damage. We will go back to the Bahamas as rescue efforts continue following Hurricane Dorian. Stay with CNN. More to come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. Let me give you a look of what we're seeing for U.S. futures at this moment. Ready to rally. I think
that's the message as Washington and China confirm fresh high level trade talks coming in October time, 13th time a charm, I believe. I think that
will be 13 so far, can more do something better.
It will be their first face-to-face negotiations in fact since July. It does follow a choppy August though. Now, the tone in September has been
better at least for stocks. U.S. majors rising well over one percent over the past five sessions, something else that continues to rise and we'll
talk this through later in the show.
The U.K. pound now trading at one month highs as efforts continue in Parliament to rule out that no-deal Brexit. So bottom line, there's a lot
going on. Julian Emanuel, Managing Director at BTIG joins us now.
Great to have you with us.
JULIAN EMANUEL, CHIEF EQUITY AND DERIVATIVES STRATEGIST, BTIG: Great to be here.
CHATTERLEY: There's a lot going on.
EMANUEL: My, is there a lot going on. It's been one continuous day since yesterday evening.
CHATTERLEY: Okay, so there's a few things. One, it seems like U.K. Parliament making efforts to rule out a no-deal Brexit, at least in the
short term. Trade talks back on. Sentiment kind of improving here more broadly? There's other things -- Iran as well, perhaps softening, too.
EMANUEL: So this is one of these rare times where the news flow is almost uniformly positive. But actually, I think there's a lot of memories of
last September, when the market started a head faked everyone by rallying early. And then obviously, we had that major top and terrible fourth
quarter.
People are positioned defensively in general. So from that point of view, the fact that people are not as committed to stocks as they might normally
be that is certainly going to help fuel upside, we think.
CHATTERLEY: Talk to me about the data that we've had, though, because if you -- I mean, we were talking about this early on in the week, the
expectations gap for U.S. consumers, perhaps a little bit of nervousness feeding into some of the sentiment numbers here, the manufacturing numbers,
the factory orders have been weaker.
Wherever you look, there is perhaps sentiment reasons to worry about a slowdown here for the U.S. economy. How focused should we be on that?
EMANUEL: We should be very focused on it. And obviously, when we look at this morning, we're going to get another piece of data at 10 o'clock, the
ISM Non-Manufacturing, and then of course, employment tomorrow.
But the bottom line is, it's more than coincidence that we're potentially restarting talks with China this morning, in the wake of bad consumer data,
because the Fed knows, the President knows and China knows that when you think about how the U.S. economy works, the one commonality before every
recession is it turned down into consumer confidence. And that's what we're looking to forestall.
CHATTERLEY: And it's such an important part. It's by far the lion's share of the of the United States economy here. I mean, 70 percent, whether its
services, whether it's the U.S. consumer, if you let that weaken, you've got a far bigger problem even if we fixate more perhaps on the
manufacturing sector when we're talking about trade.
EMANUEL: Yes, absolutely. So when there was volatility in early 2016, it was very much a function of the manufacturing sector in isolation, you
know, having a bit of its own recession. That's what you're seeing now. The difference being that that was oil related back then.
Now, because of the tariffs, there's the potential for it to be permeating throughout the economy. And again, that's what we want to forestall. And
that's what we think the markets are telling us that we're in the process of forestalling now.
CHATTERLEY: You have also been incredibly accurate this year on judging what the Federal Reserve is going to do. And again, you're out of
consensus, because you're saying that they go half a percentage point in September, they cut by half a percentage point. Talk me through that,
because that would be a real delight, I think for investors here.
EMANUEL: Well, the first thing is, is that we have to disabuse ourselves of the notion that, you know, there's political connections here.
Obviously, there's ebbs and flows to all of this. The Fed is responsible for two things -- full employment and stable prices. And in 2019, stable
prices had been trying to get more inflation.
And so from that perspective, we think that they could really surprise markets positively by doing 50, and look, given the fact that consumer
sentiment is so important, we go back to that day several weeks ago, when the ten-two yield curve first inverted, and the Dow was down 800 points.
CHATTERLEY: Yes.
EMANUEL: The Fed knows that that is probably the linchpin and so therefore, we think they could surprise again.
CHATTERLEY: To your point about politics, though, you don't think they're worried about perhaps looking like they're in danger of doing or
reinforcing, perhaps some of the pressure that's coming from the White House here. It's an argument perhaps to go for a quarter of a point rather
than half a point here?
EMANUEL: Well, I think Chair Powell and his colleagues have grown a very thick skin over the last year --
CHATTERLEY: Earmuffs.
EMANUEL: Whether it is from the President, from past colleagues, from the markets, whatever, they are committed to doing what's right based on their
mandate.
CHATTERLEY: So what drives markets higher here -- stock markets -- because a lot of the focus has been on the pullback, the fall in in bond yields.
Talk about the interplay between these two things and how that perhaps then helps fuel a stock market rally into yearend.
[09:25:19]
EMANUEL: So when we talk about confidence, the biggest measure of confidence globally is bond yields, and the message has been unequivocally
bad. You know, and we see terrible German data this morning. You know, the rest of the global economy is clearly softening. The U.S. potentially
succumbing to that, although again, we don't think so. But bond yields are the barometer.
And so from our point of view, many years ago, people were thinking we'd have this great rotation out of bonds and into stocks, we think further
upside is going to be a result of bond yields moving higher, creating a better sense of confidence globally, and more interest in the cyclical
areas, and less in the defensives, which have been really the reason that the market has been where it has.
CHATTERLEY: And there is a sweet spot there because to some degree, higher yields, higher financing costs is not necessarily a good thing. But you're
saying in this case, we've got so concerned and so cautious, actually seeing bond yields high would be taken as a positive thing.
EMANUEL: Right. We have, and we would say one thing, if there's one trade that people should be thinking about, if they have an opportunity to
refinance their mortgage now, go do it. These levels will not be here for long.
CHATTERLEY: Refinance your mortgage. That's the trade of the day.
EMANUEL: That it is.
CHATTERLEY: Julian, fantastic to have you with us. Julian Emanuel, is Managing Director at BTIG. All right, we're counting down to the market
open this morning and we're going to be talking more about Brexit, too and back to the Bahamas as well to assess the damage from Hurricane Dorian.
Lots to come on the show. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:30:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE and the opening bell in the session this morning. The opening bell rung this morning by members of the
American Red Cross. A great reminder here to help people affected right now by Hurricane Dorian, donate today at redcross.org, a great reminder, I
think, at this moment.
All right, U.S. markets are higher as anticipated -- a solidly higher open in fact on hopes, as we were just discussing there of future U.S.-China
trade talks set to begin early in October. China saying it would like to see substantial progress.
The agenda here, and of course, it is the 13th set of trade talks already past. The Chinese President emphasizing in his speech this week that China
will not make concessions over quote, "core issues." Yes. Nothing really has changed.
We also did go in the positive side to get strong a read on the U.S. payroll numbers. Private employers adding almost 200,000 jobs last month,
well above estimates. That's a positive sign ahead of non-farm payrolls here in the United States tomorrow.
U.S. bond yields are tracking higher amid all of this. Ten-year yields currently sitting at 1.53 percent and higher right now than the two-year
yield, an important sign again as we are keeping an eye on that. One note, of course, as we were talking with Julian Emanuel, ISM Non-Manufacturing
numbers, so a real survey data outside of the manufacturing sector coming up around 10:00 a.m. Eastern this morning. And Fed Chair Jay Powell set to
speak tomorrow, too. So lots to watch over the next 48 hours.
What about our global movers in the session today? Well, shares of workplace that productivity company, Slack tumbling this morning, out with
their first earnings report since going public. The results, at least on the revenue side did beat expectations, but they warned that sales growth
will slow in the second half of this year. Another troubled IPO as well.
Lyft, those stock share price trading higher in the session. Deutsche Bank initiating coverage of the stock this morning with a buy rating. Shares of
both Lyft and Uber sinking to record lows this week, amid pessimism over their business model and future profit prospects.
Shares of retailer, Land also higher. The company reporting a narrower than expected loss in the quarter and better than expected sales.
So those are the stocks we're watching right now. But let's bring it back to Brexit. Boris Johnson's Brexit strategy unraveling it seems before our
very eyes. Can it get any worse for the Prime Minister? His own brother, Jo Johnson quitting the government this morning and the Bill intended to
block a no-deal exit is now progressing through Parliament, too.
Let's talk this through. We're joined by Jack Dromey from Westminster. He is a member of the Labour Party, an MP for the British Labour Party. Jack,
fantastic to have you on the show. Thank you for joining us, is the passing of this Bill that's expected to be enshrined on Monday if it's in
the best interest in your view of the U.K.?
JACK DROMEY, BRITISH MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, LABOUR PARTY: Yes, it is. There's no question of it, but that a no-deal Brexit would be absolutely
catastrophic for our country and for our economy.
I have the Jaguar plant in my constituency. It is at the heart of the successful automotive industry. But the automotive industry production
fell by 10 percent last month. There are growing concerns over what will happen at the next stages.
All of the voices of the world of work and industry say the same thing. Other than we have a deal that protects the British national interest, we
will end up a poorer country for years to come.
CHATTERLEY: So in that vein, and you make a great point, I think that the ongoing uncertainty has been detrimental particularly for the business
community in the U.K. What about the prospects of an election here?
Jeremy Corbyn has suggested that once the idea of ruling out a no-deal exit is enshrined in law that will pave the way to an election. Are you in
favor of a short term election hereto, a general election?
DROMEY: The Bill quite rightly driven through on a cross party basis stops Boris Johnson from taking us over the cliff of a no-deal Brexit. We have
to be absolutely confident at the next stages, not just as the Bill turned into law, but that also he abides by the law.
And what that means is the next step in the national interest, not in Boris Johnson's interest, the next step in the national interest is he has got to
negotiate in earnest to seek to get a good deal that protects the British national interest. And that's what Parliament has said to him this week
because thus far, there's been derisory attempts at negotiation.
There's no serious proposals put in forward, indeed Cummings, Johnson's man has talked about it all being a charade. Well, that is simply not good
enough.
So next, to see that legislation implemented, those negotiations have got to commence and he is then have got to come back to Parliament.
[09:35:30]
CHATTERLEY: You see, I have some sympathy for the Prime Minister, because he is saying, look, we should go to the election, I need a mandate, a firm
mandate here. You know, if I look at where you stand, your constituency voted to leave the E.U.
You voted remain in the 2016 referendum, three times you voted against Theresa May's deal for the U.K. to leave the E.U. So are you now in favor
of that deal? Because we've been there and we've negotiated with the E.U. and we got a deal. Are you now in favor of that deal, if that's what it
takes to get the U.K. out of the E.U. here?
DROMEY: I respect the decision of the British people, and I've been working to secure the best possible deal with others that protects the
interests of the British people as we leave the European Union. And that remains the case.
In terms of the Theresa May proposals, to be frank, they did not go far enough. But in the end, ultimately, the plug was pulled on those
negotiations, not by us, but by her side. Because what happened was there was a move against her and she stood down as Prime Minister.
So the problem has not been the Labour Party. The problem has been the unreconstructed elements, the sort of new -- the new Nigel Farage's. He is
not in Parliament, but there are many people in Parliament like him. And they've got this ideological view that a no-deal Brexit is good for
Britain.
That is absolutely wrong, not least because in my constituency, and I'm proud of the people of Erdington, no one voted to make themselves poorer.
And also, no one of those advocating leave in the referendum campaign actually said, "Let's leave on a no deal basis."
There was a fraudulent prospectus put to the British people, but we've still got to observe the decision of the British people. And crucially
now, it's about negotiations to secure a deal that is to protect the British national interest.
CHATTERLEY: So let me understand, what is the Labour Party now representing? Are they remain or are they leave? I know you are saying
that you want Boris Johnson to continue to negotiate here? Or should we go to a fresh election and see if Jeremy Corbyn can do a better job here?
What do you stand for at this moment? And what is the best way to get the E.U. out -- get the U.K. out of the E.U. as fast as possible?
DROMEY: The idea with a matter of days left before the 31st of October, that what we do is stop and have a general election, rather than focusing
on the British national interest to secure the deal that will protect the British national interest is completely wrong. It is completely wrong.
And that's why we are right to stop Boris Johnson, to say to him, "No Prime Minister, you cannot take us over the cliff. No." It is then about him
discharging his responsibilities. We propose on a cross party basis, that that's precisely what should happen at the next stages, that he would go
back to the European Union, negotiate this time in earnest, not to play city games playing to an internal gallery within the Conservative Party, to
negotiate in the national interest and to come back to Parliament.
And what we will do is to obviously judge the outcome by what he achieves. But that's what we've got to do. We have got to try and including, by the
way, we've got to try across party, because the stakes are too serious for our country to ever play political games. He is playing political games,
we will not.
CHATTERLEY: Jack, just very quickly, what incentive has the E.U. got here to offer a better deal, particularly when a no-deal Brexit and the threat
of a worst case scenario here has been taken off the table? What incentive do they have to change here? I see none.
DROMEY: I was a negotiator all my life, and I have to say, I never believed in an approach whereby you walk to the edge of a cliff, and you
say, "Do what I want. Otherwise, I'll jump." It's crazy. It's absolutely crazy.
Now, I do think that there is something of a common interest in trying to reach an agreement because we're a very important economy within Europe.
But the idea that what we do is to cut ourselves off on the one hand, and the idea that on the other hand, there's no interest in arriving at a deal
on the part of the other member states in the European Union, I think that's wrong.
Of course, it will be a tough negotiation, I'll stress again, I was a negotiator all my life. Of course, it'll be a tough negotiation. But
that's what we should do. Seek to negotiate in good faith the best possible deal for Britain.
CHATTERLEY: Jack, fantastic to have you on the show. Thank you so much for giving us your perspective. Jack Dromey there, the Shadow Minister for
Work and Pensions.
DROMEY: Thank you.
[09:40:05]
CHATTERLEY: All right. We're going to take a quick break here on FIRST MOVE, but after this, we will take you back to the Bahamas again to talk
about what businesses there can do in the wake of Hurricane Dorian. Getting back on their feet. Stay with us, we're back in two.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to the show, and back to our top story, the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. The Prime Minister of the
Bahamas has called it "generational." The number of people who've lost their lives has now risen to at least 20, though that is expected to rise
further. Let's talk more about this now.
Jeffrey Beckles is the CEO of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation. He joins us via Skype from the capital, Nassau, which of
course was spared the worst of the storm.
Jeffrey, fantastic to have you with us. Thank you so much for joining us. Just give us a sense of what you've heard from your business community,
from members of the Chamber here about the scale of the damage here?
JEFFREY BECKLES, CEO, BAHAMAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND EMPLOYERS CONFEDERATION (via Skype): Oh, good morning. Thank you. It's great to be
with you. I'll just share with you a little bit more of what I've actually seen. I've had an opportunity to go to Abaco yesterday, and the situation
is dire. We've suffered massive destruction in Abaco in particular and we will be heading to Grand Bahama first thing tomorrow morning for an
assessment there.
But the impact on business has been dramatic. It's devastating. And it's going to take some time for us to get back on our feet. But from a
business standpoint, many of the businesses in Abaco and many in Grand Bahama have suffered significant loss.
CHATTERLEY: We were showing pictures on the show earlier of the main airport there in Grand Bahama, too, and that was in a really terrible
state, too, difficult to get supplies in and out. And what's the situation as far as just things like basic food and getting that in to those areas as
well, because that's still a huge challenge, I'm sure.
[09:45:15]
BECKLES: Well, the good thing is, both in Abaco -- and let me address Grand Bahama in particular, the port actually opened today. And so we are
able to get -- we're able to get ships into the port because the port didn't suffer any damage.
The airport is actually open while the infrastructure there, the buildings and so forth were damaged severely. The airport are open and receiving
cargo flights. We've had tremendous support from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs Border Patrol, and the local Defense Forces here have been
active and on the ground in the last 24 hours.
So supplies are now actually getting to Grand Bahama. We've actually done the same thing in Abaco with the help of the Coast Guard -- U.S. Coast
Guard, we've been able to begin to drop supplies in there and on the ground. So we do have boots on the ground in both places.
But as I said earlier, it is going to be a significant challenge for us. But thankfully, progress is being made in terms of getting much needed
supplies on the ground, and in Abaco, we are now evacuating people to the Capital City of Nassau. That is already underway as well.
CHATTERLEY: That's great to hear. Some positive news here. I mean, you've made the comments before that the islands are no stranger to storms,
this one clearly devastating and an unprecedented in terms of size, but you've had to recover before, people have pulled together. You've worked
back.
Just in terms of the skills involved and the challenges involved, what are people saying to you? And do you have any sense of timing here of how long
it will take to get back on your feet here given the importance of tourism in particular for the islands?
BECKLES: Well, I'll tell you, the process of getting back is going to take some time. Abaco and Grand Bahama represents the second and third largest
contributors to our GDP, and so they the absence of them, obviously we will feel that, but it's important to also know that the rest of the islands of
the Bahamas are open for business.
Eleuthera, Exuma, Andros, Nassau, Bimini, San Salvador, Cat Island are all open and up and running. It will take us a while, as I said, but the key
is, we, at the chamber are working with the government, and all of our stakeholders to address the issue of how we deal with hurricanes going
forward.
As you know, the storms are getting more violent as it were. And so we are beginning the process of changing the whole narrative, one of how we
prepare for storms from an early age in school so that it becomes a natural part of our lives.
And then of course, we have to take a look at how we build and where we build because water now and sea surging has become the second most
dangerous part of the storm. So in addition to wind, which we add up to 200 miles, so this particular -- miles per hour -- with this particular
storm, we now are seeing that surges with a lot more recent storms are becoming a major part of our challenge.
So in one case, one of our friends in Grand Bahama had 22 feet of water in his two-story house and that was before the eye of the storm even got to
ground in the City of Freeport.
So the challenges with water are also making a significant change in the way we think, design and approach for dealing with storms going forward.
CHATTERLEY: It is such a great point. It's not just about addressing the challenges of today. It's also about being better prepared in the future.
Jeffrey, fantastic to have you on the show. We wish you well and your family safe, too. Jeffrey Beckles there.
BECKLES: Thank you very much.
CHATTERLEY: From the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce. If you would like to help the victims of Hurricane Dorian, you can head to our website. You'll
find a list of vetted charities and ways that you can contribute. That's at cnn.com/impact. That's if you want to help.
All right. We're going to take a quick break here. But still to come on FIRST MOVE, users exposed on Facebook phone numbers found in an unprotected
database -- all the details, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:51:29]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE with a look at today's "Boardroom Brief." Media reports say an internal probe by automaker Nissan found that
senior executives including its CEO took improper compensation. The CEO, Hiroto Saikawa said the excess bonuses he received came from a share based
reward scheme designed under the ousted Chairman Carlos Ghosn. He said he would hand back any improperly paid funds.
Millions of Facebook users' phone numbers have been found in an unprotected online database. It stems from a feature that was shut down last year
where the social network allowed users to find one another using their phone numbers. Facebook says there's no evidence that any accounts were
compromised.
Donie O'Sullivan joins us now. Donie, forgive me, this is where I do a massive eye roll. So the feature was shut down in the wake of the
Cambridge Analytica scandal, and yet hundreds of millions of phone numbers just sitting out there waiting to be collected.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes, Julia, this very much is an instance of Facebook closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. The
horse in this case, being Facebook user data.
So after Cambridge Analytica, as you mentioned, Facebook sort of took a look around to see, well, how could bad actors or malicious actors as they
described it, at the time, be using our services in ways to capture data? And what they did do is two weeks after the Cambridge Analytica scandal
broke, they shut down this feature where it would have allowed, as they call them, malicious actors to pull phone numbers from millions of users'
Facebook accounts.
And it turned out that they were right. This was happening. And a researcher recently found hundreds of millions, they say, Facebook users'
phone numbers tied to their Facebook ID just lying there on an open database on the web that anybody could have accessed.
CHATTERLEY: Wow, is all I can say, yes, dramatic pause for those bolting horses as you quite rightly puts it. This is not the bigger issue for me
actually -- privacy isn't -- we need to take greater responsibility. What does worry me here is election -- election interference. And we've had
warnings from the security forces here in the United States that interference from foreign actors has continued unabated.
There was a meeting yesterday, talk us through it. What happened at that meeting?
O'SULLIVAN: Yesterday, we learned that Facebook actually hosted a meeting at its California headquarters in Menlo Park. And officials from all
across the U.S. Intelligence and law enforcement community came there. There was the representatives from the Director of National Intelligence,
Department of Homeland Security and the F.B.I.
Also in attendance were Microsoft, Twitter, and Google. And they all sat down -- it was about what? Fourteen months, I guess to the 2020 election
and they tried to figure out, how can we all work together better to prevent what happened in 2016?
And, you know, we frankly, don't know a lot of what was discussed in that meeting. But I guess it is a positive sign that they are meeting and
talking in this way. We know from 2016 there was all this stuff going on that some of which Facebook knew what was happening, some of which the
Intelligence community knew, but they never seem to talk to each other.
So the fact that these conversations are happening is probably a good thing. Whether it is just for show and you know them trying to make it
look like they're being proactive, I guess time will tell.
I think the biggest challenge of all, though, is that, you know, this very much is an arms race. It's now run -- as well as Russia, we've seen
evidence of Iran and even China, sort of planting information on social media targeted at the U.S. It is an arms race. And I think -- I think the
big challenge for the likes of Facebook is to say, "Well, how do we -- how can we figure out what these bad actors, malicious actors are doing now?
They're not going to be using the same playbook as 2016."
And so how do they keep ahead of that I think is going to be the real challenge. And it's going to be a fascinating you know, few months leading
up to the election in 2020 and all throughout the primaries to see how the Intelligence community works with Silicon Valley to tackle this.
[09:55:42]
CHATTERLEY: We should have been doing this three years ago, post 2016. There are wild horses everywhere on FIRST MOVE today, I think. Donie
O'Sullivan, thank you so much for that update there.
That's it for the show. I can give you a quick look at what we're seeing, but we are green across the board right now for U.S. majors. As you can
see, look at that, one and a half percent higher. Trade news is good news today.
That's it for FIRST MOVE, time to go make yours. We will see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:00]
END
