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First Move with Julia Chatterley
U.S., UK Withdraw Some Staff from Ukraine Embassies; Six New COVID Cases Connected to Beijing Olympics; Peloton Suffers Another Bad Portrayal in TV Show; Oxfam Report: Richest Prosper while 99 Percent are Worse Off; Colombia Takes Measures to Tackle Fourth COVID-19 Wave; Code Green, World of Women Launch Joint Auction; Woman Finds $3M Winning Lottery Prize in E- mail. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired January 24, 2022 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:15]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Live from New York, I'm Julia Chatterley. This is "FIRST MOVE." And here's your need to know.
Embassy exit. The U.S. and UK withdrawing nonessential staff from Ukraine.
COVID loop crack? The Beijing Olympics suffers more COVID cases.
And Peloton's puncture. The beleaguered bike maker suffers another PR blow.
It's Monday. Let's make a move.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
A warm welcome to "FIRST MOVE." As always, another busy show ahead.
The tensions on the Ukraine border front and center this morning. And I think that's feeding into broader market sentiment too.
Stock market futures currently in a session lows with tech set to fall some 1.5 percent. This after a feeble fight, they saw the Nasdaq tumble 2
percent. Can Microsoft and Apple earnings this week shore up some support for the index, we shall see.
The S&P 500 also suffering its third straight weekly drop as investors monitor those tensions as well as ongoing uncertainty, I think, over
Federal Reserve monetary tightening.
Goldman Sachs analysts are now anticipating at least four rate hikes this year with tightening action a real possibility at every meeting in 2022.
The likelihood of less Fed support helping worsen the ongoing crypto crunch too. It's every way you look.
Bitcoin falling to six-month lows and currently trading below $35,000. But bitcoin significantly below as you can see, $33,220. The current level. The
wider crypto market has lost some $1 trillion in value since November of last year.
Now, speaking of value lost, and I have already mentioned it, Peloton suffering another streaming series blow a billion's character falling ill
after a round of spinning cardio. More on that and activist investor action in Peloton coming up shortly.
And as a soft start to the trading week cross the European markets too. Take a look at the price action then. New data showing eurozone business
activity growing at its slow rate in almost a year as Omicron restrictions weigh. Ukraine, I'll reiterate it once again, clearly impacting sentiment
in the session over there.
Much to discuss and we'll get to the latest there in our drivers.
The United States and the UK have announced the withdrawal of nonessential personnel from their embassies in Ukraine. For the moment, the European
Union is keeping its staff in place. It comes as President Joe Biden mulls boosting troop levels in Eastern Europe too.
We've got John Harwood over in Washington and Matthew Chance joining us from Kyiv too.
Gentlemen, good morning.
John, I'll come to you first. Obviously, we have seen a removal announced of nonessential personnel in the embassy. Just talk us through whether
something specific perhaps is precipitated that despite the State Department and of course the White House saying nothing has.
JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the United States government still believes that Vladimir Putin has not made the
decision as to whether or not he's going to launch another invasion of Ukraine. But the longer he leaves troops bristling on the Ukrainian border,
the more preparations that the United States and its allies feel necessary to do.
And so, the withdrawal of nonessential personnel is part of it, the potential for deploying up to 5,000 U.S. troops in NATO countries in
Eastern Europe is another. You know the -- nobody wants in a situation to simply be standing around on their back foot and waiting for Vladimir Putin
to decide. And so, they are trying to lean forward a little bit and let him know that preparations are being made and reassure allies, particularly the
Ukrainians, that there's going to be a robust response if anything happens.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah. Preempt aggression at this stage.
Matthew, come in here because the Russians are pointing to broader hysteria among NATO and the allies and even the Ukrainian responses seems to be
concerned that this withdrawal of nonessential staff isn't perhaps met with greater defense.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And the Ukrainians aren't particularly happy with it because they think - and this
is the words of the - the foreign ministry spokesperson. He tweeted about this and issued a statement earlier, that the step is premature. And one of
an instance of excessive caution. And so, they point out to the fact that the security situation on the boarder, you know, regards the tens of
thousands of Russian troops that have been gathered there has not deteriorated or even changed significantly in the past several days.
[09:05:04]
And so, they think that this message by the U.S. State Department to allow its nonessential staff to leave voluntarily and to order the families of
diplomats out of the county, you know, sends the message that the country is, you know, on the brink of a Russian invasion. And, of course, it could
well be.
But the Ukrainians have been, you know, doing whatever they can to try and play that down. And one of the reasons for that is that they believe that
this is having a massively detrimental effect on the investment climate in the country. They are saying that they've lost billions of dollars in
potential foreign investments in the country.
And they are also saying they don't really believe -- and this is sort of privately -- they are saying they don't really believe that Russia would
take that step of coming in again you know when there's all those potential sanctions that would befall it. And you know, occupy you know vast
dissuades of - of the country. They are saying that they think it is a bluff. And that the West and NATO should not give in to it.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah. John, it's interesting, isn't it? In terms of response, do you talk about sanctions rather than perhaps withdrawing personnel so
you're showing an element of strength and that the response is there without actually taking action that looks like you're anticipating some
kind of conflict or broader invasion.
John, I'm asking for your opinion here. Do you think this would have happened, this announcement, this weekend if it weren't perhaps for the
confusion that was created by President Biden that we talked about last week over what the U.S. response would be in the event of some form of
action from Russia.
HARWOOD: I do, Julia. I think the discussion of that confusion has been exaggerated. Yes, the president did both predict that Vladimir Putin will
move in some way, and he talked about the gradation of U.S. responses depending on whether he used the words minor incursion, which did cause
some confusion. But if you step back and remember, that this is what U.S. diplomats, National Security officials have been saying privately. Everyone
understands that there are - there's cyberattacks, there's prevalent territory attacks in addition to direct troop incursions across the border.
So, it is unlikely that Vladimir Putin learned anything from Joe Biden's response that he didn't already know. So, I don't think these were a
response to that.
On Matthew's point about the Ukrainians. It's very interesting, there seems to be a little bit of psychological gamesmanship here because you didn't
also have that report over the weekend from the British saying that the Russians were preparing or have selected a pro-Russian leader for a new
Ukraine if in fact, they seize control of the country. There is clearly an attempt by both sides to indicate to the other what steps they might take
and try to dissuade in the case of U.S. and allies, dissuade Russia from acting by putting all this on the table ahead of time.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, we shall see how this week plays out.
John, Matthew, thank you both for that.
The closed loop cracked. Beijing reports six new COVID cases among people attached to the Winter Olympics and the Olympic Committee says two of them
tested positive inside its closed loop system.
Selina Wang joins us with the latest on this.
Uh-oh would be my response. What more do we know about who tested positive, who they'd been in contact with, and what the authorities' response has
been?
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Julia, the reality is that as we get closer and closer to the games, we're just going to continue to see more
positive COVID cases. They are expecting around 11,000 arrivals in Beijing. So far, less than 4,000 participants have arrived. Of those six new cases
reported on Sunday, one of them was an Olympic athlete or team official and two of them were already inside this closed-loop system, which is this
giant Olympic bubble.
Now these numbers so far are low, but the question is given how transmissible Omicron is, can Beijing continue to stop the infections in
their tracks. The other question is that as we get closer to competition, how many athletes may have to withdraw from competing because of a positive
case. Any participant who is a confirmed positive case has to immediately go into isolation at a facility if they are asymptomatic or at a hospital
if they have symptoms.
But these games, they are going to be held under the strictest COVID-19 counter measures in the world. These rules and restrictions go far beyond
what we saw during the Tokyo Summer Olympics and all participants are going to be inside this closed-loop system that is essentially several bubbles of
Olympic hotels and venues connected by dedicated transport.
[09:10:00]
And the goal here is to keep the Olympic participants completely separate from the rest of the population the entire time.
And, Julia, the rules are so strict. In fact, that Beijing police have told residents not to help if they see Olympic cars involved in a crash in order
to prevent breaching of the bubble. Authorities say, there is a special medical team to handle those accidents.
And the host city right now, not taking any chances outside of that bubble as well. The host city is reporting a handful of cases each day and they
are trying to stamp out every last one. Beijing authorities asking any resident who has purchased cough or fever medication in the past 14 days to
immediately get a COVID-19 test. If they do not do so, it will prevent them from traveling or going to public places. And this is already sparking
outrage on Chinese social media. People saying this is ruining their Lunar New Year plans to see their relatives all because they bought some fever or
cough medicine.
And this, just the latest example of China doubling down on its zero-COVID strategy. So, as we see these Olympic participants arriving, many of them
are going to be quite shocked by the rules and restrictions they see in Beijing, but for many residents in China, that is just the reality they
have been dealing with for the past two years. Julia?
CHATTERLEY: Yes, an astonishing level of control, isn't it? And I'm sure a lot of people listening to this will be like, hang on a second. How do they
know that these people have even bought cough medicine in order to force them to have to do a test and to take these extra measures?
Yes, to your broader point now, I think we're going to see more of this as we head closer to the Olympics.
Selina Wang, thank you for that.
Peloton is sweating over a new PR nightmare and investors. Another TV show character has suffered a heart attack while using the embattled company's
exercise bike. Spoiler alert, fans of the show, billions who haven't watched the Season 6 premiere, look away or at least perhaps put your
fingers in your ears.
Paul La Monica is on the story for us.
So, this is not billions now jumping on the story. Bandwagon because they say there seems were filmed first before "The Sex and the City" disaster.
Of course, for Peloton too. But it comes on an awful time, given management's strategy on pricing and manufacturing strategy is being
questioned.
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yeah. This is just another PR headache for a company, Julia, that has had several right now. And it is
amusing as it sounds like they imposed production ad and they referenced to the Mr. Big "Sex and the City" Peloton disaster, if you will.
I think the company is just going to face increased pressure to prove the Wall Street that it can be a viable standalone business and they're
starting to see activist shareholders now coming in and pressing for the company to make big changes. Namely, for the CEO to be fired and for the
company to potentially look at being taken over by a larger entity.
CHATTERLEY: Is it - I mean, this is quite interesting, isn't it? What do we know about the activist investor, Blackwells Capital, because I have to
admit, I had to Google this morning when I saw that they were involved, and don't - the CEO and other insiders have a super majority of voting shares.
So, it's tough for an activist investor really to force change and as things get dramatically worse as far as they are for the stock. And who
might buy them?
LA MONICA: Yeah. These are great questions, Julia. Blackwells Capital has about a 5 percent or so - little less than 5 percent stakes. You're right.
Given the structure of the company, unless Blackwells is able to get a lot more support from other institutional investors, you know, they may not be
able to force the company to make changes.
But if the stock continues to plummet and it does seem like a takeover might make sense, Blackwells is suggesting companies like Apple, Disney,
Sony, Nike, all could be good fit. You know, Apple and Sony, obviously consumer electronics giants. Disney which has ESPN even though that seems
to be you know a trouble spot for the company that there could be a potential fit there on the sports side.
And then obviously, Nike seems to be a no-brainer as athleisure giant because of all the athletic apparel that they sell you know. I'm not sure
any of these will wind up happening, but hey, we have seen with Activision Blizzard selling to Microsoft. Companies in distress usually are on sale
and you will wind up having a buyer come in at the right price.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. I was about to say, if the price is right.
Paul La Monica, thank you so much for that.
OK. Let me bring you up to speed now as some of the other stories making headlines around the world.
Police in Germany say a young man with a gun has wounded several people at the University of Heidelberg. Authorities tell CNN, the suspect is now dead
but it's unclear how he died or how many people were injured. They say it's too early to determine a motive. We will bring you any further reports on
that as we get them.
[09:15:00]
Tehran says China flew 13 warplanes near its airspace on Monday. It happened a day after Beijing sent 39 aircraft toward the island. The
largest exercise of its kind this year.
At the weekend, the U.S. and Japan conducted naval exercises near Taiwan which China regard as part of its territory.
The UAE says it's intercepted two ballistic missiles targeting Abu Dhabi on Monday. It says it also destroyed a missile launch used by Yemen Houthi
rebels. Houthis have claimed responsibility for the assault as well as last week's deadly drone attack on oil assets. The UAE says it will take all
necessary measures to protect itself.
WikiLeaks found that Julian Assange has won the right to try an appeal to the UK's Supreme Court against extradition to the United States. Assange
faces espionage charges in the U.S. for his role in publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables. In December the British high
court said that Assange could be extradited based on assurances from the U.S. about how he would be treated.
Organizers of the Australian Open are defending their decision to stop a small protest over the alleged mistreatment of Chinese player Peng Shuai.
Officials say, they banned the use of banners and T-shirts that asked about Peng's whereabouts because they were political. But they say they are
concerned about the safety of Peng, who then temporarily disappeared last year after accusing a Chinese official of sexual assault.
Still to come here on "FIRST MOVE."
Tackling COVID while shoring up the economy. The president of Colombia joins us to discuss the next critical health care and economic steps for
the nation.
And a very special NFT auction lead by female artists. Two women behind the project joins us to showcase the work.
Stay with us. That's all coming up.
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[09:20:30]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "FIRST MOVE."
A new report from Oxfam is highlighting just how extreme inequality has become during the pandemic. Finding that the wealth of the world's 10
richest men has doubled while 99 percent of humanity are worse off. According to the report, those 10 men have six times more wealth than the
poorest 3.1 billion people. And if they were to lose, 99.999 percent of their wealth tomorrow, they would still be richer than 99 percent of the
people on the planet.
Joining us now, Gabriela Bucher, the executive director of Oxfam International.
Gabriela, thank you for your time this morning.
We often talk about inequality, particularly at this time of year. But in terms of what we have seen over the last two years as a result of the
pandemic, an incredible accelerant for worse.
GABRIELA BUCHER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OXFAM INTERNATIONAL: Yes. Yes, absolutely. And thanks, Julia, for having me.
Yes, the figures this year are really stark. And, of course, the last 14 years have shown accumulation at the top wealth accumulation of the world's
billionaires. But during the pandemic, this has grown exponentially. And it's -- as we have been calling it a billionaire bonanza. One billionaire
created every 26 hours during the pandemic. While at the other end of the spectrum, of course, we know huge devastation and 99 percent of humanity is
worse off and 160 million, according to the World Bank, unfortunately being pushed into poverty. And a report, the series called "Inequality Kills"
because there is a strong correlation because these extreme levels of inequality and that can be associated with this.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah. And we'll talk more in depth about that. But to your point, is an astonishing statistic. And I think it highlights much of the
distortions created by the government and the Central bank responses to the crisis however important they were at the time. When you're trying to float
some boat or all boats, some float better than others. I also read this week that the nations - the United States biggest givers, they have a total
of $169 billion over the course of their lifetime. It's an incredible amount of money, but to your point, I think, the hope is that people
whoever they are, how wealthy they are, can give more.
BUCHER: Yes. So, it's obviously you know generous and important to recognize donations made.
CHATTERLEY: Right.
BUCHER: And it's traditionally you know philanthropy is normally part of many wealthy individuals' way of life, but philanthropy is really a small
amount and the issue is that it is voluntary and ad hoc. So, it doesn't address some of the systemic issues.
So, as you were saying, when governments gave the rescue packages - the rich governments primarily -- to support the economies, they supported
financial markets and, in the end, because the economy is skewed in such a way, much of that incentives - economic incentives went to line the pockets
of billionaires. Again, their assets grow in value. The stock market boomed. So, because the economy is skewed in that way, even when you know
supporting the general population, it tends to be skewed towards supporting the richest.
CHATTERLEY: And part of this, and you and I were on a panel together last week at the World Economic Forum that was talking about tackling vaccine
inequity. And you're incredibly passionate about the damage that's being done similarly with richer nations and the power they have relative to the
poorer nations. We're in a situation now where some countries are giving out fourth doses and three quarters of health care workers in Africa not
had one dose yet.
BUCHER: Yes, absolutely. So, inequality between countries has grown for the first time in a generation. So, we were going in the opposite direction,
but unfortunately, vaccines have been a major driver. The fact that there's such unequal access for growing inequality between countries. And as you're
saying, Africa as a whole has a 10 percent vaccination rate at the moment on average. Some countries are below 0.5 percent.
So virtually unvaccinated. And at the other end of the spectrum in the rich world, as you were saying, where third or fourth doses. So, the inequities
are huge. And the problem is, this is -- the inequality of the world, but in the case of the pandemic, it's strange that we -- we're not
reconsidering the model when it has been really challenged so strongly because if we continue doing things in this way, clearly, we are
globalized. We're all globalized economy. But when it comes to addressing issues such as a pandemic, there's a sort of reverting back to as if it
wasn't a globalized world.
[09:25:30]
So, the rich world has been hoarding vaccines and also rich governments have been protecting monopoly control over vaccines that are held in - in
companies in the rich world.
CHATTERLEY: You often say that. The monopolies that are restricting vaccine supply. You've pointed to breaking those monopolies as a way perhaps that
we end the pandemic or transition out of this phase of the pandemic.
Gabriela, what do you mean by monopolies and the business model? How do we break the model that we're in as you said that if something like a pandemic
doesn't knock us out of the model that operates globally, what does?
BUCHER: Yes, exactly. So, this is a moment to rethink and we have been part of a group calling for vaccine equity that people's vaccine alliance. So,
thinking of a vaccine as a global good. And this is not new.
For example, the inventor of the polio vaccine, Jon Salk, decided to be remembered in terms of lives saved rather than billions made. So, those are
decisions that have been made. And at times of crisis or war or pandemic, one can rethink.
And clearly, we are now entering the third year of the pandemic. The World Health Organization is saying you know we're not out of it. We each time,
we come out of a variant and we think this is over but in reality, new variants may come and the more unvaccinated people there are, the more
likely this is.
And that's one of the reasons there is also self-interest to doing things differently. So, nobody benefits from this hoarding of vaccines. You may
benefit short-term, but in reality, the risk remains.
So, there is a provision to lift intellectual property rights if the World Trade Organization could agree. So, it is a consensus of all countries to
lift intellectual property rights on vaccines during the pandemic. And it should be for these pandemic and future pandemics so that there can be a
much faster economic recovery because production would be ramped up all over the world.
And there is a lot of experience in vaccine production in developing countries. So, in reality, most vaccines are producing developing
countries. Most other vaccines, the ones used for childhood vaccinations.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, you -- all you need really is an agreement from some of the big pharma's to say we're not going to enforce the patent protections
that we have or the intellectual property rights that we have on these vaccines. And I know Moderna has sort of suggested that they won't do that
with a hub in Africa.
Gabriela, what's the probability? What are the chances that we get some kind of agreement on that to allow vaccines to be produced all over the
world? At least addressing some of the issues that are being faced.
BUCHER: So, one - as you say, pharmaceutical companies could decide to share their recipes, their vaccine technology and the World Health
Organization has set up vaccine technology transfer hubs in South Africa. So, at the moment, they are sort of reverse engineering the Moderna vaccine
because the information hasn't been shared. And it's a bit like the wheel was invented. The wheel that can take us out of the pandemic but we're
letting people reinvent the wheel for however long it takes. So, it doesn't - not -- you know, so commonsense would be let's get out of this together.
So, the pharmaceutical companies could do that, but also governments can force the sharing of intellectual property rights governed by the World
Health Organization to ensure quality and adequate distribution.
At the moment, what we have is COVAX. The mechanism to donate. And so, 1 billion doses have been donated. With all sorts of difficulties also having
bought them at very high prices. And also, unfortunately, donations are sometimes not of the best quality and they arrive near their date of
expiring. So that reduces trust in that system.
So, a system to overhaul and to really consider getting vaccines available to all in this pandemic and any future pandemic because we need to
collaborate and really make it a global common good.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah. I mean, there's so much to address in this pandemic, but you're right, we need the stones in place so that we never operate this way
again.
Gabriela, I appreciate your insights. Thank you so much for joining the show.
Fingers crossed we can improve this year. Thank you.
BUCHER: Yes, let's hope so.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah.
The market opens next. Stay with us.
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[09:33:15]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "FIRST MOVE."
And to Colombia now where the government is taking steps to address the latest COVID challenges, including aiming to vaccinate more than 80 percent
of its population. That's a race to target and tightening up the period between initial shots and boosters.
It's also taking measures to support the economic recovery including a rise in the minimum wage. It all comes as the country is gearing up for a
crucial presidential election in May of this year.
And I'm pleased to say joining us now is Ivan Duque. He is the president of Colombia.
Mr. President, fantastic to have you on the show once again. And Happy New Year.
I want to talk about economic recovery because you're forecasting an incredibly strong growth rate in 2022, resilience in the face of COVID
challenges. Walk me through what you're seeing and forecasting.
IVAN DUQUE, COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT: Thank you so much, Julia, for having me again in your show. It's a great honor.
And let me begin by saying that Colombia has shown the world its resilience as you well said. Last year, we're getting close to 10 percent growth,
which is the largest growth Colombia has ever reached in more than 100 years. That makes us very happy. And we expect this year to grow about 5
percent. We'll be one of the economies that will grow the most in Latin America and the Caribbean.
And the important thing is that we're doing this with massive vaccination. We're reaching 80 percent of the population with one dose. More than 60
percent with double dose. And we already have more than 5 million people that have received the booster shots. So, we expect that by the end of
February, we should be up above 70 percent with double dose. And we want to be growing very fast with the vaccination on booster shots, especially for
the population that are under high risk.
[09:35:02]
And so, you know, we also want to highlight, Julia, is that this growth and this recovery has enabled many sectors. We are having today a revolution in
the energy transition. We're expanding from 28 megawatts to more than 2,800 megawatts. The capacity of nonconventional renewables and we have reached
record highs in sales on low-income housing.
We have also earth reached what is the most important real increase in the minimum wage in Colombia that has helped us to protect the social safety
net. So, we feel very proud that massive vaccination and sustainable recovery are the elements of those growth.
CHATTERLEY: There's so much to discuss there. Very quickly, when do you see an end to the current peak in terms of COVID? And how quickly do you think
you can get 80 percent of the population vaccinated?
DUQUE: Well, we spend around maybe the double dose, 80 percent maybe by the end of March.
CHATTERLEY: Wow.
DUQUE: And the -- because it's a big country. And we have a very diverse country in a big territory. We have more than 1 million square kilometers.
But we're accelerating this path. And I think people are being conscient enough that through massive vaccination, we can keep on handling the
economic recovery.
We're now facing the challenges of the Omicron and we know that this challenge is big. But I think although we have seen some increase in
lethality rates in recent days, the lethality rate is pretty much below what we saw in the third peak.
So why is this happening? I think it's happening because we have reached massive vaccination. And something that is also very important. We decided
was important by the end of last year to expand the booster shots. Especially when we saw people that are under elements of higher risk that
should receive the booster in order to minimize lethality rates at the beginning of 2022.
So, I think that strategy worked. We have already reached 5 million people with the booster shot. We expect to get to 10 million people with the
booster shot in matter of eight weeks. And I think that is also an additional protection.
And this is helping us to keep on motivating investment, keep on motivating the expansion of labor force in a country and I think this goes hand in
hand with the idea that this year we will have maybe the biggest economy in Latin America in terms of economic growth.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah. It's fascinating, isn't it? And your aim with investment and you're encouraging them of them was investment makes you an outlier, I
know in the region.
Let's talk about inflation and some of the risks though potentially that economic outlook because the Central Bank is concerned perhaps that as good
as raising minimum -- the minimum wage is, it's good for people in the formal sector. Obviously, it doesn't benefit many people who work in the
informal sector. And it could add to some of the inflation concerns. And people already obviously facing rising food prices and energy prices among
other things.
How concerned are you about perhaps some of the risks to the growth outlook from the Central Bank has to do just to tamper down on rising prices?
DUQUE: Let me begin by saying that the inflation phenomenon at this moment is a global phenomenon. I think it has been affected by some of the damage
that have been produced in global value chains and the cost of logistics and also in the availability of containers. You know this is a global
phenomenon.
Nevertheless, what is important is that Colombia had one of the lowest inflations in Latin America last year. Although it was high compared to
recent years. Our inflation rate was around 5.6, but our economic growth was above 9.7 percent. And it could be getting close to 10 percent. That
puts us in a much better shape than other countries that had a growth that was below 5 percent. But they had inflation rates about 6 or 7.
The second point that I'm wanting to highlight is that in terms of real interest rates. Today, the interest rate is below the inflation rate. That
also makes Colombia very attractive country and helps to have that dynamize credit especially in sectors that have an aggregated value like the housing
sector.
We expect the Central Bank to keep on having the policy of inflation target. But I think we have to consider that since this is an extraordinary
phenomenon, the increase of interest rates has to be done in a way that it doesn't limit or affect the dynamism of economic growth. So, we have to
balance two things.
And one thing that you mentioned about the minimum wage increase. We have the biggest real increase in real terms last year was around 10 percent.
But the inflation rate was 5.6. So, it was about 4 percent.
Why is this so important socially speaking? Because the working class, we're behind this economic growth. We have to get a share. And especially
consider that they were badly affected in 2020.
[09:40:02]
And I think that the social safety net that we have created in Colombia has made us expand from less than 4 million beneficiaries of the subsidies
program to almost 10 million people. This has kept the lowest income communities having the possibility to buy and to dynamize the economy. And
we're also having this policy this year.
So, yes, we're conscious about the inflation phenomenon, but I think we have been able to have it with a very robust and transparent technical
policy approach.
CHATTERLEY: President Duque, I know you want to talk about environmental policy and some of the focus that you have done on that, which I'm going to
talk to you about. But I also want to talk to you about the presidential elections and I'm running out of time. So, you have to promise to come on
and speak to me before the end of your term. And then we'll talk about environmental policies.
I know you have just passed the climate action bill. There's obviously a reliance on your country on the oil sector. And you have been critical, I
think, in fostering aim with investment to the sector. How do you balance that and the reliant of government receipts on tax revenues with a push to
be cleaner and some of your targets on the environment front? Because I know it's a delicate balance. And you're trying to achieve it.
DUQUE: Well, I think there are three very important elements, Julia. And I'll try to mention them very quickly.
The most important is that Colombia is having the fastest energy transition in Latin America. When my administration began, we only had 28 megawatts of
nonconventional renewables. Today, we are having 2,800 megawatts by the end of this year. That's 100 times more than we had when my administration
began. And that will put us in a situation where we have an energy matrix that is more than 85 percent renewable. So, that makes Colombia the leader
of the energy transition in Latin America.
The second element that is very important is that we approved the energy bill that increases these nonconventional renewable energies that goes hand
in hand with the climate action bill and we have said that we want to be carbon neutral by 2050, reduce by 51 percent our CO2 emissions in 2030, and
something that is very important, Julia.
This year, we're not waiting until 2030. This year we will have 30 percent of the Colombian soil and that the Colombian maritime areas being declared
a protected area. So, this puts us also in the leadership role in the global pled for nature.
So, Colombia is taking the lead of being carbon neutral, nature positive country. And I think we're doing this in the balance that is also to keep
them using regular energy by making the transition. This has to be not used by ideology or politics. This has to be based on science.
And I think this transition is making a strong sense in Colombia. People feel very proud about this advance. And I think also the international
community seeing Colombia not only as a leader in the energy transition, but also as the country that's going to be the number one producer of green
hydrogen in the years to come.
CHATTERLEY: President Duque, you mentioned it there. Critical the political outlook for the country to beyond your time as president. Please come back
and speak to us in the next couple of months and we'll talk about that too. Vitaly important. And thank you for your time once again today.
DUQUE: My pleasure, Julia. Happy New Year for you.
CHATTERLEY: Thank you. The president of Colombia there.
Thank you, sir.
OK. Coming up on the show.
Empowering women to NFTs. We speak to two female artists and activists who are trying to pry a notoriously male dominated industry wide open. And
succeeding. After this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:46:10]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "FIRST MOVE."
And we talked about problems. How about some solutions? Tackling the climate emergency and promoting gender equity through NFTs. Code Green is a
tech nonprofit that explores ways in which blockchain technology, creative arts and NFTs or non-fungible tokens can contribute to helping protect the
environment and society. And another challenge that the NFT's faith faces is the lack of female artists.
Well, that's where women of - world of women comes in. In a small team behind the highest selling women led NFT collection in the world, we're
talking generating $40 million in a space of two weeks. And fans include Reese Witherspoon and Eva Longoria, among others.
Well, now Code Green and World of Women are teaming up for an NFT auction featuring 12 very special female artists. And two of them join now.
Joining us co-founder of women of - World of Women - I keep getting that back to front - an NFT artist, Yam Karkai. And Inna Modja, Malian-French
musician, climate activist and co-founder of Code Green.
Ladies, welcome. I'm so excited. I keep stumbling over my words.
And I'm going to come to you first. Hugely important. You're launching the NFT auction today. And I think the key part of this is 70 percent of the
proceeds are going to go to charities that you specifically have identified as needy. Talk me through why this is so important.
INNA MODJA, CO-FOUNDER, CODE GREEN: Hi, Julia. Thank you so much for having us.
It was really important to give back to climate solutions. And we decided to give it to women-led solutions all along The Great Green Wall. And our
auction is going to be carbon net negative. So that's something that's really important to us and it's going to be hosted on Superior. For us,
being involved in climate activism for the past decade to me is really important to harness the power of creativity and the NFT space and give the
tools and empower people in the space to become leaders in sustainability.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah. And as I mentioned in the introduction, women are desperately underrepresented in this space, but that is changing.
Yam, come in here, because I think you need to explain what the people who haven't seen this or have not read about it, what World of Women is. And
you can explain why being part of this now is so important. Because this is the first time you said, look, we're going to give money away from the
proceeds of this and tying up with charities.
YAM KARKAI, CO-FOUNDER, WORLD OF WOMEN: Of course. Yeah. So, World of Women was born specifically because of this problem that we are seeing in this
space where there's not enough representativity in females put in the spotlight. And so, we started as a collectible project of 10,000 art pieces
representing diverse women from different backgrounds.
And now we have really become a community of like-minded people that share the same values and want the same objectives to be achieved in this space,
but also the world. Which is why from the beginning, we have been allocating money from initial sales to support causes for women and girls.
But we never had the opportunity until now to do something for the environment. And this is something we have always wanted to do not just
because we're NFT company, but because we think that all companies should be doing moves for the environment whenever they can.
So, for us, it's super exciting to be having this first activation with Inna and Code Green to be such an impactful collaboration in the beautiful
fusion of art curation and environmental causes. So, we're super happy.
CHATTERLEY: Inna, come in here. Just give us a sense of who is going to benefit? What are we talking about in terms of communities and the
charities that this will support? Because if people are going to buy this art and they need to know that 70 percent of the proceeds are going to go
to these charities, who specifically is going to benefit?
[09:50:06]
MODJA: So, the people who are going to benefit are women-led solutions all along The Great Green Wall. And we chose three networks. 1T.org, UpLink
challenge, and Great Green Wall from (INAUDIBLE) and the Global Alliance. And for us, it was really important because we need to empower women and
girls because they are the most vulnerable people in the world in general. But in places where people are living on the front line of climate change,
we really need to give them support and also financial support to be independent and make a living.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah. And some of this artwork is just incredibly beautiful.
Yeah. And there will be people watching this going, how does it feel to have stars like Eva Longoria, Shonda Rimes, buying your art, showing your
art. And I believe in the beginning, you were selling these things for $200, $300. And some of them are now going for hundreds of thousands of
dollars. And you weren't sort of crypto savvy before you began doing this. This was about artists and changing the economics, I think, for artists and
for yourself as well as both of you as artists being represented in this sale. How does that feel, Yam?
KARKAI: You know, it feels really unrealistic. I think that is the definition of how you feel when these things happen. But it is also very
exciting because you know celebrities and powerful women have this power to get their communities involved in things that they believe in. And by them
supporting us, it means that they are also supporting the change that we want to see in this is space. And so, we are just promoting more and more
people to get interested in NFTs and the technology behind it and what we're trying to achieve. So, it's really incredible.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, it's astonishing. Inna, come in here too. Because there's a lot of talk in the crypto space that the NFTs or non-fungible
tokens are in a bubble. That perhaps some of the value that's being created here is not real.
How do you feel about some of those criticisms and is - I guess the pushback on that look many people are going to benefit from these sales
irrespective of where you see value or not.
Yeah.
MODJA: Well, I hear it. I hear it and I understand it, but I really believe that NFTs are here to stay. To me, the feeling of being in the NFT space is
like being at the beginning of Internet even though it was really young at that time. It is something that is super new. And a lot of people don't
believe in them.
But I think this is something that we are going to see become more and more mainstream. And also, it's the first time that I see so many artists really
thriving. And also getting royalties for their work. Because as a musician, I'm used to having royalties on my music, but as a visual artist, that's
something that's completely new. So, I think this is something that is going to become a revolution for artists.
CHATTERLEY: This is such a great point. Ladies, come back and talk soon. And good luck with the auction. And fingers crossed that people are as
excited about this as they are about World of Women.
Inna Modja, Yam Karkai, ladies, thank you so much for what you're doing.
KARKAI: Thank you.
MODJA: Thank you for having us.
CHATTERLEY: Thank you.
Stay with "FIRST MOVE." You'll be back.
KARKAI: Thank you so much for having us.
CHATTERLEY: Thank you. More to come. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:55:30]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "FIRST MOVE."
The stocks markets selloff is deepening on Wall Street.
Let me give you a look on what we're seeing. The S&P 500 briefly falling into correction territory. So, that's down 10 percent from recent highs.
The Nasdaq currently down well over 2.2 percent. As you can see, it's falling some 17 percent, in fact, from most recent highs.
Market weakness today ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting as well as scoring nervousness, I think, in the West over Russia's troop buildup
near Ukraine.
The dollar denominated Russian RTS stock index falling 8 percent in recent trade too.
Energy markets responding to the growing European tensions as well. Natural gas prices currently up more than 4 percent. So that just gives you a sense
of the broader tensions and concerns that we're seeing.
And finally, on "FIRST MOVE."
Next time you're checking your e-mails, before you automatically empty your spam folder, you might want to check it first.
A Michigan woman is $3 million richer because she did. Laura Spears purchased a mega millions ticket online to the lottery website. And while
searching for an e-mail a few days later, low and behold, she found a stray message from the Michigan lottery informing her that she was a winner.
Spears says, she plans to share the winnings with her family and retire early.
I have to say, if I saw an e-mail saying I won a lottery, I probably - definitely will be in spam but, hey, always best to check.
That's it for the show. If you've missed any of our interviews today, they will be on my Twitter and Instagram pages. As always, you can search for
@jchatterleycnn.
In the meantime, stay safe. "Connect the World" with Larry Madowo is next. And I'll see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:00]
END
