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First Move with Julia Chatterley

British Lawmaker David Amess Stabbed, Man Arrested; The French Finance Minister Discusses why Independence is Key for Supply Issues; China Counts Down to a Historic Space Launch While Virgin Galactic Delays its Next Launch Leaving Shares Grounded. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired October 15, 2021 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:20]

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: Live from New York, I'm Julia Chatterley. This is FIRST MOVE, and here is your need-to-know.

Supply solutions. The French Finance Minister will discuss why independence is key.

Beijing's blast off. China counts down to a historic space launch.

And Branson left behind. Virgin Galactic delays its next launch leaving shares grounded.

It's Friday. Let's make a move.

A warm welcome once again to FIRST MOVE and it's a French Friday. Our wide ranging interview with France's Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire in just a

few moments' time, but first, a Friday feast for markets gourmets, too. Stocks rising like delicious French souffles, solid gains for U.S. futures

after the best day for Wall Street since March helped along by a big upside surprise this morning in September U.S. retail sales and some revisions to

the prior months, too.

Europe, also advancing as you can see after a strong handover from the Asia session, too, and positive noises from the Chinese Central Bank. It is

providing assurances that the Evergrande debt crisis won't get ever grander, calling it controllable and not a reflection on the broader

Chinese real estate market.

I have to say I think investors have already looked beyond the challenges, if you look at price action over there, too.

Now, Goldman Sachs taking the earnings gold for the major banks this earnings season, rallying some two percent premarket after a huge third

quarter earnings beat a more than 80 percent rise in investment banking revenues. Great numbers on the equity trading desk, too.

In the meantime, Bitcoin having a blast briefly touching $60,000.00 per Bitcoin on reports that the U.S. will greenlight the first Bitcoin futures

ETF, an exchange traded fund and in the Bitcoin backlog, the bank CEOs, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman says yesterday that crypto does have value

and is no fad. Unlike his JPMorgan counterpart, of course, Jamie Dimon, who said Bitcoin is bad, actually he called it worthless. We shall move on from

that.

All right, news just coming into us at CNN. It is reported a British lawmaker has been stabbed several times. According to PA media,

Conservative MP Sir David Amess was attacked at his surgery in his Southend West constituency. That's where members of the public can meet their MP.

His condition at this moment remains unclear and we will bring you any more on this story as we get it.

For now, let's move on. Computer chip shortages, critical port congestion, a widespread lack of truck drivers and energy prices soaring. The world's

delicate supply chains are under extreme stress, a fact noted by the International Monetary Fund this week lowering its forecasts for world

economic growth. There is clearly much to discuss at the I.M.F. and World Bank meetings now taking place in Washington, D.C., and France's Finance

Minister Bruno Le Maire is there, and he joins us now.

Minister, fantastic to have you on FIRST MOVE. Thank you so much for joining us.

I have to say, one of the things that connects all of these problems and these issues is reliance on other nations. Is greater independence part of

the solution in your mind?

BRUNO LE MAIRE, FRENCH FINANCE MINISTER: Yes, I strongly believe that's the right response to the bottlenecks that we are facing now, and the right

response to the new globalization after the COVID crisis is more independence.

I carefully listened to the speech delivered by President Biden, and when he explained that we need to be less dependent on other nations, this is

the kind of great approach, and I fully agree with that kind of approach.

We need to be more independent. President Macron just announced an investment plan for France of about 30 billion euros with the view of re-

enforcing the French independence on key technologies and on key sectors -- hydrogen, green hydrogen, artificial intelligence, biotechnologies, space,

nuclear, of course, because we strongly believe that nuclear is part of the solution for the fight against climate change.

So independence is clearly the right response to the necessity of reducing those bottlenecks and be more independent from other nations.

[09:05:07]

CHATTERLEY: I mean, there's so much in that and we'll get to your plans, your investment plans, in particular for the climate because that does come

back to, I think, geopolitical independence, and we will discuss that.

But coming into this meetings, too, and I want to hone in on what you were saying there about President Biden, and you've described being an effective

pivot point in the relationship between the E.U. and the United States. And I think at the core of that, as you've described, is a differing of

opinions on how to approach, how to engage China.

Europe wants to engage, perhaps the United States wants to be a little bit more confrontational. That's not going to change. In fact, I think that gap

between the United States and the E.U. is only going to widen. How do you prevent it? And wouldn't the U.S. and the E.U. be better working together

on China, for better and worse?

LE MAIRE: You're right. One of the key question for the next decade is how to deal with China, and we don't want the gap between European countries

and the United States to widen over the next month or over the next years. I strongly believe that a better cooperation between European countries and

the United States is the right response to this question how to deal with China.

And my deepest thought is that we have to build back better between European countries and the United States, so that we can give the same kind

of response to this question, how to deal with China.

So the first step would be once again, through windfalls to ties and the cooperation between the United States and European countries. But let's be

very clear -- on an equal footing. We are not junior partners. And France is not the junior partner of the United States.

All the European countries representing 450 million people with a single market are not junior partners to the United States. We want to be treated

on an equal footing, and I really think that this is clearly in the interest of the United States, in the interest of our American friends, to

have a stronger Europe, and to have a Europe which would be more independent. Then we have to have a look at each issue. The question of the

human rights in China, the question of the Uyghurs, the question of trade, the question of access to market, of intellectual property. So, let's take

each issue so that we can have a look all together the United States and Europe and try to find the best way to deal with China on all those topics.

CHATTERLEY: Your point about the junior partner in the relationship, though, between the United States and the E.U., I think was only

intensified after the -- shall we call it confusion, I think with the canceled submarine contracts sales to Australia.

I think you've characterized it and I'll be careful of the translation here, is misbehavior on the part of the U.S. administration. Is the honest

truth here, actually, that the United States is a less trustworthy trade partner from here going forward as a result?

LE MAIRE: Well, let's consider that this is the past, and that we have to look at the future. You know, we have big challenges to deal with. We have

the question of China, we have the question of the fight against climate change, and we have the question of trade. So, let's focus on the future

and let's build back better between the United States and the E.U. I think it is the right approach.

As far as trade is concerned, I'm deeply convinced that we should get rid of any kind of trade tensions or trade war between European countries and

the United States. We have already succeeded in getting rid of the Boeing and Airbus case. So, we have now four years to definitively fix the issue

between Boeing and Airbus.

But this is a very good example, because who could be the winner of a trade war between Boeing and Airbus? Comac, the Chinese aeronautics constructor,

we don't want Comac to be the winner because of a crisis between Boeing and Airbus, and that is why it is good news that we paved the way for a

compromise between the two companies and between the two continents.

Now, let's do the same on the aluminum and steel issue. We know that there are still tariffs on aluminum and steel, we should get rid of that. We are

working very hard with Katherine Tai and with the European Commission to go out of these tensions and to get rid of the tariffs because I think that we

have much better to do instead of having conflict and difficulties between European and American friends.

CHATTERLEY: And what's the message that you're getting back from the United States on removing those tariffs? And have you warned them that

there will be retaliation if they don't remove them swiftly. The time is now nigh surely?

[09:10:11]

LE MAIRE: That's exactly what we wanted to avoid. The cycle of sanctions and retaliation. Who would be the big winner of a cycle, a new cycle of a

trade war between European countries and American people? With a cycle of trade sanctions, new tariffs, and then retaliation from Europe.

The only winner of that kind of trade war would be China. Do we really want to have China being reinforced by the trade tensions between the U.S. and

E.U.? My response is clearly no. And that's why I will not personally spare my efforts to pave the way for an agreement between the U.S. and the E.U.

on all those tariffs and on all those trade difficulties.

I've had very constructive discussions with both Gina Raimondo and Katherine Tai. I think that there is clearly the possibility of finding a

compromise over the next weeks or over the next month. So let's go this way of an agreement between the two continents.

CHATTERLEY: Speaking of winners, Russia, also seemingly a winner of the current energy price crisis. Are the current tensions and the challenges

for European consumers and for French consumers, too, let's be clear, showing once again that the E.U. is too reliant on Russia for oil and for

natural gas in particular.

LE MAIRE: Yes, the response is clearly, yes. We are too much dependent on Russia. We are too much dependent on foreign countries as far as energy is

concerned. So we have to build even in the field of energy our strategic independence. That's exactly what President Macron proposed to his European

partners. We have to reinforce over the next month, over the next years the E.U. independence, and it will be at the core of the French E.U. presidency

starting at the beginning of 2022, how to re-enforce the European independence.

It means investing in key technologies, in new technologies. Let's take the example of semiconductors and chips. We are all aware that semiconductors

are absolutely strategic for our industries, well, let's put some money, let's invest in the building of new factories to produce our own

semiconductors in Europe.

As far as energy is concerned, the right response to this question of the lack of gas and the lack of energy everywhere in Europe is to have better

storages, to have a new European policy and also to rely on nuclear energy.

I just wanted to insist on the fact that looking at the current situation, nuclear energy is part of the response to the current crisis. If we don't

want to have the electricity prices being too much dependent on the gas prices, it means that you have to rely on nuclear energy. We strongly

believe we should -- President Macron, that nuclear energy, new nuclear plants, new nuclear technologies are part of the response to the current

energy crisis.

CHATTERLEY: And also, it should be classified as such in the French case, of course, the vast majority of your energy I know comes from nuclear

resources, but your people still suffer as a result of the way that energy prices are calculated in Europe, which is something else.

You mentioned France's 2030 Green Plan, and I do want to talk about it because Green Peace criticized the plan, calling it -- and I'm quoting them

-- "a festival of false solutions and wishful thinking." I think there is a lot of concern about the fear that actually there is a lot of policy

suggestions and the implementation is going to be less than we hoped. We're seeing it all around the world.

Why is France's plan different? And why is it necessary to for everyone, not only France, but in Europe to be ramping up renewable spending at this

moment?

LE MAIRE: Well, first of all, I would like to respond to critics against this investment plan and the choice we made for nuclear energy. Coal is

back. Coal is back everywhere in the world and that's bad news for all of us, so we have to fix the issue.

We have to get rid of coal. We have to get rid of coal production and coal factories as soon as possible. It will be very costly, let's be very clear,

and we need alternative energies.

Renewable energies are of course, one big part of the solution and we strongly believe in the necessity of investing more in renewable energies.

We also think that we have to invest in disruptive technologies like green hydrogen, and we will put more than eight billion euros on the building of

factories for green hydrogen in France, together with Germany.

[09:15:14]

LE MAIRE: But then there remains the necessity of having the nuclear plants playing their part during the transition period, so that we could

have a reliable energy at the lowest possible cost emitting less CO2.

So that's why I strongly believe that facing the coming back of coal, we need to reinvest in the nuclear energy. So, we will ensure that this plan

for energy that has been presented by Emmanuel Macron will be effective, quickly implemented, so that we can reduce the price of energy for our

people and for all European citizens.

CHATTERLEY: Yes, and we need to manage prices in the short term in order to get to a greener, medium, longer term. So, I do want to talk to you

about what you've called a transformative deal, and that's the deal on a 15 percent minimum tax rate as well. What do you think is going to be the

greatest impediment to implementation for all the nations that have agreed to this? And for those that are watching who are wondering how long is it

going to take to implement in your mind, are we talking years?

LE MAIRE: We're talking about maximum, two years. I want -- I really want the international agreement on minimum taxation being implemented no later

than 2023 and we want this minimum taxation rate 15 percent being implemented everywhere in the world no later than 2023.

As far as Europe is concerned, I can assure you that we will do our best efforts during the French E.U. presidency to legally implement this

agreement no later than mid-2022, which means that at the end of the French presidency, I hope that we will have a legally binding instrument being

implemented everywhere in Europe within the 27 member states, so that this 15 percent rate will be effective everywhere in Europe no later than mid-

2022.

CHATTERLEY: Wow. I mean, that's light years in policy terms, lightning speed. Thank you so much.

LE MAIRE: In 2022, you need to give the impetus -- France has given the impetus on this new international taxation system from the very beginning,

and now, we want this international taxation and this minimum taxation to be implemented as soon as possible in Europe. I hope that it will give the

impetus for the other nations to do the same no later than 2023.

CHATTERLEY: We shall see. Sir, fantastic to talk to you. Thank you so much for giving us your time today.

LE MAIRE: Thank you so much.

CHATTERLEY: The French Finance Minister there, Bruno Le Maire. Thank you, sir.

Okay, let's move on. In Lebanon, a day of mourning after at least six people were killed in some of the worst violence the country has seen in a

decade. A bitter dispute about the probe into last year's massive port explosion in Beirut sparked protests that descended into deadly battles.

Nine people have been arrested.

Ben Wedeman joins us now from Beirut. Ben, more families in mourning, and those that were still mourning from lives lost and those who were injured

during the port disaster are still waiting another day on with no answers and no accountability.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, Julia, in fact, really, the current round of tensions has everything to do with the

investigation that's trying to find the answer as to why that blast took place at just after 6:00 p.m. on the fourth of August last year.

In fact, the current round of violence started during a protest that against Tarek Bitar, who is the judge investigating the August 2020 port

blast that these protesters were fired upon by unknown gunmen.

Now, we're very close to that area, and as you can see behind me, the Army has been deployed. These are Lebanese Army Special Forces, and my ears are

still ringing from all the gunfire we just heard a few hours ago, not gunfire from clashes, but rather supporters of those who were killed

yesterday in the fighting, seven people in all at this point, more than 30 people wounded, all of them happened in this area here.

So the situation has calmed down dramatically since yesterday, but certainly, the tension is very high. I can hear in the distance some

gunfire, but I think that is also just being fired in the air not in clashes.

[09:20:02]

WEDEMAN: But as long as the questions remain about who was behind or what was behind, what was the cause of the August 4th, 2020 blast, these

tensions will continue. And it's important to keep in mind if I can just go back further in history that over the decades going back to the 1950s,

there have been a series of high profile assassinations, bombings, and whatnot here in Lebanon, and almost never have investigators gotten to the

bottom of them.

And the expectation is that in this case, they will never come up with the answers as to how that explosion happened last August -- Julia.

CHATTERLEY: Yes, that's part of the problem, broken trust and a lack of accountability. Ben Wedeman, thank you so much for that. Stay safe, please.

You're watching FIRST MOVE. More to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to CNN, and a reminder of our breaking news out from the U.K. The British Conservative lawmaker David Amess has been

stabbed several times. The attack happened in Southern West, the area he represents at a constituency surgery. That's where members of the public

can meet their MPs to talk about matters of concern.

Essex Police say they have arrested a man. Salma Abdelaziz joins us now from London.

Salma, what more do we know?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Very horrific news this hour and details are only just coming in, so be patient with us, Julia, while we try to find

out more from police, from authorities, but here's what we know.

Around 12 o'clock local time today, then is when a surgery, which is essentially open office hours were being held for this Conservative MP in

Essex. So, that's a town just about an hour and a half away from London, a man stabbed the MP several times, we understand.

He is now being treated for those injuries and we understand that Essex Police have arrested this individual. At this time, it seems that this

incident is over, but of course, it's absolutely shocking to this community and a lot of questions being asked now about exactly who this man is and

how it has unfolded.

We do not know any details yet on the suspect. All we know is that Essex Police have arrested this man and that the situation seems to be over at

this time. We do understand, of course, that this MP, David Amess, Sir David Amess is now trying to recover from his injuries.

[09:25:10]

ABDELAZIZ: We also don't know the extent of those injuries, but we've already heard from the head of the Labour Party and several other people

taking to Twitter and of course, extending their concern to this MP and his family and concerns about the area -- Julia.

CHATTERLEY: Yes. And as you said, the Essex Police are saying they do have an individual in custody and they're not looking for anybody else. We wish

him well and we'll wait for further details.

Salma, thank you so much for bringing us up to date with what we know. Salma Abdelaziz there.

Okay, let me bring you up to speed now with some of the other stories making headlines around the world.

Norwegians remain in mourning today following Wednesday's deadly bow and arrow attack in the town of Kongsberg. Five people lost their lives in what

police say could be an act of terrorism. Police also say the suspect, Espen Andersen Brathen is not disputing what happened and he has been charged

with murder.

A spokesman for Bill Clinton says the former U.S. President is quote, "on the mend" after being admitted to a hospital in California Tuesday. He was

treated for a urinary tract infection that spreads to his bloodstream. Doctors say Clinton is responding well to antibiotics and hopefully will go

home soon.

Great Britain's Queen Elizabeth says the lack of political action on the climate crisis is irritating. The Queen's private comment was captured on

video while she was at the opening of the Welsh Parliament on Thursday. She was talking with the Duchess of Cornwall and the Parliament's presiding

officer.

Yes, well, we all know what the Queen thinks. There we go.

Stay with us. The market open is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:03]

CHATTERLEY: Nice to see cheers and smiles there at the New York Stock Exchange. Welcome back to FIRST MOVE.

In the next half an hour, music to our ears, a new song from Adele. Virgin Galactic shareholders are feeling the need to sell and William Shatner

happy to fly and tell, but first, Wall Street's opening bell as you can see there. U.S. stocks higher in early trade and also up on the week, a fond

farewell to the volatility of just a few weeks ago, at least for now. We're not tempting fate.

Helping the bullish case this Friday, new evidence that the U.S. consumer remains in fine fettle. U.S. retail sales rising seven-tenths of a percent

last month. We were expecting a modest fall in sales in fact and August's data was revised higher, too, so a strong performance from the U.S.

consumer.

Goldman Sachs also good as gold. Shares of the U.S. financial giant rallying after a much better than expected Q3 earnings report. Overall

profits surging 60 percent driven by a more than 20 percent rise in revenues and robust deal making, too.

Now speaking of finance, promoting financial inclusion by targeting the unbanked is something we like to watch closely here on FIRST MOVE. But how

do you provide cash to customers without bank accounts, any credit history, and little if any collateral? Well, Tala is doing just that, basing lending

decisions on smartphone data. They provide loans of up to $500.00 to customers in Mexico, Kenya, India, and the Philippines, and after a fund

raising round -- my apologies -- and a partnership with Visa, Teller is now adding crypto to what it can offer.

Shivani Siroya is CEO and founder of Tala, and he joins us now. Great to have you with us on the show. I want to talk about the fundraising round,

but I actually want to start with you because your background is in finance. You've also done spells at the U.N. You're in a perfect position,

I think, to understand the challenges, but also the benefits of microfinance in some of these countries. Just talk us through it.

SHIVANI SIROYA, CEO AND FOUNDER, TALA: Sure, and thank you again, for having me on. In terms of you know how Tala is approaching the problem,

you're totally right in that, you know, we have teams all over the world. We're over 350 people at Tala at this point, and we have offices in each

one of our markets, in Kenya, in the Philippines, in Mexico, and in India. And our teams are close to our customers, and we really believe in

designing from the person up.

In addition to that, what we've done is really build a global infrastructure that can really be locally customized. And so, really

allowing our teams to have the power to actually build for their own markets, but really be a part of a really sound global infrastructure.

CHATTERLEY: It makes sense to me, and I mentioned that loans range from $10.00 up to $500.00, they last, I believe, up to 90 days. What is the cost

of taking out one of these loans?

SIROYA: So for us, we really don't believe in the traditional model of credit. We really believe that it should really be something that's

flexible, and customized again to each individual. And so what we do is we dynamically price based on our assessment of the capacity of each

individual, as well as a product that they're taking out.

But what it really resembles is a transaction fee, rather than a traditional interest rate product that compounds, or in some ways actually

hurts the customer more. And so for us, we've made it really simple, and it's a fee-based structure that is completely flat, and so I would say on

average, it can range anywhere between five percent to about 15 percent.

CHATTERLEY: Okay, and my understanding as well is that if someone is late making a payment, then it's another flat fee, it's eight percent. So, worst

case scenario, someone borrows $100.00 and they pay 15 percent, and then they call you and say look, I'm going to be late paying, they have to pay

at some point in the future $123.00 back, and that's it, no matter when they pay.

SIROYA: Exactly. And actually that late fee that you're talking about, it's a one-time fee, and it's actually on the remaining balance. So, if you

think about it, again, it's really putting the power in the customer's hands to say, I'm looking for an extension, right? It's not that I can't

pay back this entire amount maybe now, but I'm really able to pay back this, and then yes, I need more time for that remaining amount.

In addition to that, right, what we do is we ensure that we're not over indebting our customers, so we're not just letting them roll into another

loan and another loan. And so this is really within that one product that they take out with us.

CHATTERLEY: And also they know how much they owe. To your point, it's not forever building in terms of the size of the debt and the interest payments

on the debt. Can I ask what proportion of your loans are delinquent or default? Because it goes back to -- and you said it, it's a dynamic model

of pricing this. These are not normal customers. You have to use mobile phone data, how are they paying their mobile phone bills, the frequency.

How on time they are making their bills, these are the kinds of things you use to price the risk of each borrower.

[09:35:28]

SIROYA: Exactly. So we're always looking for features that allow us to really understand the context of their daily lives. So as you mentioned,

we're looking for consistency of bill payments. We're trying to understand their employment history. We're trying to understand their responsibility

or financial anxiety.

And essentially, it's that information that allows us to understand it at the first time, but then it's also their tenor with Tala and also their --

essentially their payment and their behavior with us. So how often are they actually accessing our financial education tools? How often are they

talking to our customer service teams?

Essentially, it's really that we are building a relationship with them. And so that's why we're not thinking of this as a one-time product, but rather

really thinking of it as something that, you know, we're looking at in in the long term. And so to your question, in terms of our repayment rates,

our global rates are above 94 percent.

CHATTERLEY: Wow. That's people paying on time.

SIROYA: Exactly.

CHATTERLEY: Okay, and I believe you've got around six million customers across the four markets that I mentioned, and have dispersed over $2.7

billion worth of credit since you began just to give our viewers a sense of the scale of what we're seeing here. Are you profitable?

SIROYA: So our portfolio at this point is profitable.

CHATTERLEY: Interesting. Okay, so talk to me about raising the money. And you've also brought on some interesting investment partners as well. And

you're opening up into the crypto space. What does crypto represent to Tala and to your customers? What's the opportunity? And what's the ambition?

SIROYA: So crypto for us is, it's really about how can we leverage new technology and infrastructure? So that Tala doesn't necessarily have to

build everything, but we hold this amazing trust and this relationship with over six million individuals in emerging markets. And so we can really take

all that knowledge and that trust and build more customized products for them.

But there are existing composition blocks, as I would say, within the crypto ecosystem that we can leverage on the back end to help us accelerate

our roadmaps.

CHATTERLEY: Put that in English. What does that mean? What's the benefit of using crypto or crypto technology to facilitate getting payments out to

people, for example, or making these loans? Why crypto other than just the buzzword?

SIROYA: So for us, it's really that crypto may allow us and this is what we're working on, it is essentially making the movement of money much more

efficient for our customers. So, as we think about, you know, global transfers, and the fact that Tala is currently working across, you know,

four of the largest remittance corridors around the world.

And so one, the movement of money becomes much more seamless, it becomes much more efficient, it becomes almost potentially a 50 percent cost

reduction for our customers, because we're removing a lot of the leakage that currently exists in the industry.

CHATTERLEY: So if crypto helps make you more efficient, will you pass that saving on to the customers and perhaps lower your rates? As you've said,

you're already profitable.

SIROYA: A hundred percent. I mean, because what we're looking to do is really become that primary financial partner to them where they can save

their money, they can use their money, and they can grow their money. And so any cost savings, it allows us to actually help them better manage their

money.

CHATTERLEY: Fantastic. Come back and speak to us soon please, and we will track your progress. Shivani Siroya there, the CEO and founder of Tala.

Thank you.

Okay, a reminder of our breaking news this hour. The British Conservative lawmaker David Amess has been stabbed several times. The attack happened in

Southend West, the area he representative at his constituency's surgery. That as I've described, where members of the public can meet their Member

of Parliament to discuss various concerns.

Essex Police say they have made an arrest.

Stay with us. More to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:20]

CHATTERLEY: Welcome back. Let me remind you once again of our breaking news at this hour. The British Conservative lawmaker, Sir David Amess has

been attacked. As I've mentioned, the attack happened in his constituency of Southend West. Police say they have made an arrest.

Salma Abdelaziz has the latest from London. Salma, do you know any more in the last 20 minutes or so?

ABDELAZIZ: We're still waiting for more information from the police, but we understand that this conservative lawmaker, David Amess is now

recovering from multiple stab wounds. He is a longstanding lawmaker elected to office in the 1980s. He was hosting open office hours and around noon

local time today at his office in the Essex area, it is a city about an hour and a half away from London, a man apparently police say, did stab

this MP multiple times.

Now, police say, they do have this man, this suspect in custody. They are not looking for anyone else at this time. But it absolutely sent shockwaves

across the country.

The last time a similar incident happened was about five years ago just before the vote for Brexit that was Jo Cox, an MP who was attacked then by

a right-wing man. So, concerns now about whether or not this is politically motivated. Again, we're not speculating, we are still waiting on police

information here, but you can imagine how the attack in broad daylight on a lawmaker has this country absolutely reeling -- Julia.

CHATTERLEY: Absolutely. And again, we reiterate the police say they have made an arrest. They're not looking for anybody else. But now, our hearts

are with him of course and his family and friends and we wait more news.

Salma, thank you for joining us once again. Salma Abdelaziz there.

You're watching FIRST MOVE. More to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:46:18]

CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE and the global space race is on. China is launching three astronauts into space on Saturday. Beijing's Space

Agency says the crew will spend six months at the nation's space station, which is still being built.

CNN's David Culver tells us it is yet more evidence of the increasingly vigorous space race between China and the United States. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Ninety-year-old "Star Trek" actor William Shatner blasted into space becoming the oldest man to reach

such heights amid great fanfare in the U.S.

WILLIAM SHATNER, ACTOR: Oh wow.

CULVER (on camera): Thousands of miles away here in the Gobi Desert, China's latest space mission won't set any records, but it is a major step

forward in this country's fast growing and increasingly ambitious space program.

CULVER (voice over): CNN gaining rare access to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwestern China. Shenzhou 13 carrying three Chinese

astronauts to the country's soon to be completed space station called Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace.

China has touted their space station as next generation, an alternative to the International Space Station. But the 15-country ISS has already been

occupied for more than 20 years. The U.S. passed a law barring China from participating, leading some experts to question --

DAVID BURBACH, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, U.S. NAVAL WAR COLLEGE: If we had brought China in to work with us on ISS, would China have felt as compelled

to develop their own fully independent program as rapidly as they have?

CULVER (voice over): It is Hollywood's portrayal coming to reality, Sandra Bullock's character in "Gravity" saved by a Chinese space station on her

way back to Earth.

Wang Yaping told us in 2015, it is her favorite film. She is one of three Chinese astronauts on this mission. The crew also includes a newcomer to

space travel, 41-year-old, Ye Guangfu, who took part in cave training with astronauts from five countries in 2016.

YE GUANGFU, CHINESE ASTRONAUT (through translator): I hope one day, I can fly with other international astronauts in space and welcome them to visit

China's Space Station.

CULVER (voice over): But Western astronauts will need to study up first. These operation interfaces are in Chinese and China's state media reports

that European astronauts are already taking language courses so they can visit the Chinese Space Station.

Despite a late start in the space race, China is rapidly catching up. It has returned samples from the moon and like the U.S., put a rover on Mars,

all within the last year. It's also got big plans for commercial ventures and for deep space exploration, including to build a base on the moon with

Russia and send humans to Mars in the 2030s.

From launching billionaires to cosmic explorations, the U.S. is still leading with plenty of headline grabbing launches, and a long history of

success, putting 12 men on the moon.

But the more pressing challenge, prioritizing the multibillions in funding needed for the U.S. to hold on to that lead. Some experts believe, the

added competition from China might fuel more innovation.

BURBACH: If you're somebody who wants to see humans land on Mars and more scientific probes throughout the solar system, geopolitical competition is

probably not the worst thing in the world.

CULVER (voice over): While Captain Kirk is helping capture us imaginations to propel the U.S. forward in this tightening space race, China's three

astronauts now embarking on a six-month mission, the country's longest yet to secure their footing out of this world.

David Culver, CNN, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[09:50:05]

CHATTERLEY: And the first female Chinese astronaut there, too. And from China to the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHATNER: Flabbergasted. I was sobbing, and I couldn't control it because I was overwhelmed. It was looking at death and life. It was -- I couldn't

control it for several minutes afterwards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHATTERLEY: We saw it and that's actor William Shatner struggling to find the words on CNN's Cuomo last night. The 90-year-old still overwhelmed by

his Blue Origin flight on Wednesday.

No. Nothing to celebrate, though over at Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson and crew delaying the stance of commercial space flights until late next

year for technical reasons. Some shareholders are pushing the eject button as a result. The stock currently off by over 15 percent and Clare Sebastian

joins me on this.

Clare, great to have you with us. The reaction of the share price clearly extreme disappointment here. And I guess you have to wonder whether Branson

should have brought forward the test flight that he did when Jeff Bezos announced just to be the first, it does raise some big questions.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a delay on top of many delays that we've seen from Virgin Galactic, Julia. And I think

that's one of the reasons behind the big drop in the share price today.

Many people do think, though, that it's an overreaction, because it's not a big delay, it's simply pushing it from the end of the third quarter of next

year into the fourth quarter. But it's not just about the delays. This, as you say, sort of flags a potential safety issue. The company is saying that

as a result of routine tests they were doing on the materials used in their sort of mothership launcher and the rocket plane itself, they found what

they called a possible reduction in the strength margins of certain materials. That's why they're now embarking on what they call enhancement

programs actually refurbishment before they undertake their next test flight.

And this is important because, of course, until they start full commercial service, they're not really generating any revenue. And that test flight

was going to be revenue generation. So, this pushes out further revenue.

And on top of that, don't forget, Julia, this is a race with those headlines around Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin this week, with Elon Musk

having just that completed his first full sort of amateur tourist only flight in September. This is not a good look for Virgin Galactic and a down

day with on a very jumpy stock already.

CHATTERLEY: Yes, and it also highlights that Branson and Virgin Galactic are a public company, and they're at the mercy of investors, and they need

the money for it, whereas, obviously SpaceX and Blue Origin remain private, and their owners have far deeper pockets than Richard Branson -- personal

pockets.

SEBASTIAN: Yes, look, this is testing the patience of investors when it comes to how long they're willing to wait for revenue here. This is a

company that made $571,000.00. So, this is a half a million dollars in revenue in the last quarter with losses of $94 million.

Now look, they have now restarted ticket sales at a cost of $450,000.00 upwards. So they are, you know, trailing revenue in the future. But with

these delays, and with this potential safety issue, and now the enhancement program, taking longer than expected, it is really sort of putting the onus

on investors as to whether they're going to stick around to see what happens.

And I think what the stock shows us today, and if you look at the past year as well, it is that this is very risky. It takes almost a strong stomach,

Julia, to invest in the stock as it does to fly on one of those rockets.

CHATTERLEY: Maybe a little bit more at times. Clare, yes, but actually there's a lack of available options, which also plays in their favor, too.

If you want to get access in the public markets to space technology.

Clare, speaking of launching rockets and escaping these climbs, you're leaving New York after eight years and you're heading back to the U.K. How

does this moment feel? We're going to miss you like mad here in New York. But how does it feel to be going home?

SEBASTIAN: Well, I think you know, this is an appropriate story to end on because it's been a wild ride. But I think that you know, at some point in

life, you have to come back to Earth and you have to go home, so this is the right time.

CHATTERLEY: Yes, we'll miss you and we adore you and we wish you a safe trip. Big hug. Clare Sebastian there.

All right, once again, a repeat of our breaking news today. More details are emerging about an attack on a British lawmaker at a public meeting

today. Sixty-nine-year-old David Amess was stabbed multiple times at a meeting at a Methodist Church at his constituency to the east of London.

Essex Police say a man has been taken into custody. A knife was also recovered from the area.

The leader of the main opposition party Keir Starmer reacted to the news on Twitter writing horrific and deeply shocking news.

Thinking of David, his family, and his staff. We will have far more updates for you throughout the programming here on CNN.

So stay with us for that for now.

That's it for FIRST MOVE. Stay safe.

"Connect the World" with Becky Anderson is up next.

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[10:00:00]

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