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First Move with Julia Chatterley
McCarthy Continues Battle to become U.S. House Speaker; FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads not Guilty to Charges; Global Crisis set to Weigh on Financial Markets; IATA Criticizes Border Restrictions on Travelers from China; Teammates Rally around NFL Player Damar Hamlin; IMAX CEO: IMAX is Picking up Market Share Quality. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired January 04, 2023 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN HOST: A warm welcome to "First Move", I'm Rahel Solomon in today for Julia Chatterley lots to get to this Wednesday including
Speaker seeker. High drama on Capitol Hill as Republicans failed to elect the next Head of the House of Representatives. All house business
essentially grinding to a halt with a high stakes fight continuing today. We're live in Washington D.C. with the latest.
Also crypto crunched a high profile warning to U.S. banks not to bet on Bitcoin and other volatile crypto assets following the collapse of trading
platform FTX and iPhone grown the market cap of Tech Giant, Apple falling below $2 trillion as recession.
And Fed interest rate fears continue to pressure big cap tech. There is a recession or even a slow session. Yes, a slow session. Don't worry we're
going to explain in a minute pressuring U.S. stocks on the first trading day of 2023 with both the S&P and the NASDAQ falling about half a percent.
The picture meantime today, looking a tad bit brighter, U.S. futures are up across the board. Europe is also higher for second day as well. The global
market outperformer so far this year, though, remains the HANG SENG that is up more than 3 percent a third street higher session on continued hopes for
Chinese economic re-openings.
It's a busy show, as always, but let's begins with the political drama on Capitol Hill. The House of Representatives set to reconvene in three hours
at 12 pm Eastern, as Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy continues his bid to be elected speaker. On Tuesday, he failed to win enough votes three
times.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-KY): I think at the end of the day, we'll get everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: --if you fail three times. How do you possibly pull this off?
MCCARTHY: And you get to 218. You come back you continue what you're doing right now I'm talking to you solve the small problems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: And former U.S. President Donald Trump has reaffirmed his support for McCarthy. Sunlen Serfaty is live for us in Washington. Sunlen, look, I
mean, the question is, how do you do it right? I mean, there appear to be a group of hardliners who have made it very clear they do not want Kevin
McCarthy. So what does the path forward look like here?
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That is the very question, Rahel, on the minds of many people on Capitol Hill this morning, most
notably likely, Kevin McCarthy. At this point, there's very little clarity on how exactly he does get to 218 and the math that exists yesterday most
likely exist this morning, that he simply does not have the votes to get to the number he needs to go on to be the next speaker?
Now the house as you mentioned, we'll come back and reconvene in about three hours from now and it's still an open question exactly what we'll
see, there likely could be two paths.
The first path was that they would come in and reconvene but then quickly adjoin and let this negotiating that's been going on furiously behind the
scenes. Let that continue to play out rather than it playing out in the public sphere on the House floor, as we saw yesterday, which was pretty
messy for many Republicans, or they could vote again at some point, whether it's at noon today, Eastern Time or later in the day.
But the question will be math, will the end result for McCarthy be the same or not? And you of course mentioned that Trump endorsement. They came early
this morning that was at the request. Republican sources tell us of many McCarthy allies who are panicked overnight, when Former President Trump
getting more of a tepid endorsement of McCarthy than they would have liked.
So clearly, a lot of wheeling dealing, negotiating going behind the scenes, McCarthy allies trying to make sure that not only Trump puts out his
endorsement, but that the question is, will that push the needle and the numbers? That's what Kevin McCarthy needs right now and it's not clear if
he can get there.
SOLOMON: And Sunlen, this is something that we really haven't seen in about 100 years, right, since 1923. Walk me through the range of possible
scenarios. I mean, could it be that the name ultimately at the top of House of Representatives is not Kevin McCarthy and someone different altogether?
SERFATY: Yes, that's a good point and that's something that's not happened before. But it's something that right now in this very unusual
circumstance. People are talking about the potential for someone outside of the house to come in and take that role of being Speaker of the House that
is allowed under house rules, but there are many people saying it doesn't have to come to this.
There are other options with them and the Republican Party, but of course at the very focus and important part of this is that Kevin McCarthy has
been defiant and you played that sound to open up your show that last night as he was leaving very late on Capitol Hill.
[09:05:00]
SERFATY: He said look I'm going to stick it out he's digging in. He says he is going to get to 218 but of course as we said many times that's an open
question. So we're talking about plan A, plan B, plan C, Plan D, and even other plans that might need to come to the House of Representatives to
clear up this mess.
As of now everything is at a stalemate on Capitol Hill committees cannot start doing their work. There's a question whether in a few weeks, if this
goes that long, people on the Hill will get paid. And of course, the Speaker of the House has an important role of being the second in line to
the presidency after the Vice President. So there's a lot up in the air right now, as all of these needs to be decided.
SOLOMON: Yes, that's good context, Sunlen and all eyes on 12 pm Eastern, when the political drama, no doubt we'll reconvene, Sunlen Serfaty great to
have you thank you.
SERFATY: Thanks.
SOLOMON: Well turning to the economy, a new buzzword for the U.S. economy in the New Year thanks to Moody's Analytics slow session. Moody said
Tuesday a slow session is when economic growth comes to a near standstill, but never quite slips into reverse. But what does that mean for Investors,
CEOs and consumers?
CNN's Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans joins me now. So Christine, what is behind this more optimistic forecast because every day
there seems to be a new recession warning? So what's behind this forecast?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And I think that's really important Rahel, to point out that we have been on recession watch
for a year now. And this is Mark Zandi of Moody's and his colleagues saying, look that might be overstating it. We don't know if there will be a
recession and there are signs that are pointing to a slow session.
They coined this new word, which is things kind of grind to a halt, but never kind of fall down into negative growth. And here's why Mark Zandi
says the shoppers are the firewall in this economy, between a recessions in an economy that can skirt a downturn. We have seen consumers, shoppers
doing amazingly well resilient, even with high inflation and so much global turmoil and uncertainty and gas prices that first went up, and then went
down.
So what you're hearing from Zandi and this is what we've been hearing from him for some time right? He always said, there's a pathway too was also
called a, you know, a soft landing in the U.S. economy and there are a lot of challenges for 2023 but don't count out the U.S. economy because the
shopper, the consumer, you know, after three years of COVID, wants to spend on experiences, wants to spend on certain kinds of things, and wants to
live their life. And that might be the driver that keeps you from an actual recession.
SOLOMON: Well, here's hoping, Christine, one thing that Mark Zandi also talks about, he's been sort of sounding the alarm about this for quite some
time is the idea that recessions can sometimes be self-fulfilling prophecies, right? This idea that perhaps we become so worried about a
recession that we really pull back any evidence of that pullback just yet or is it still just the narrative that we're all discussing, but you're not
seeing it in the data yet? What are you seeing?
ROMANS: Well, you know, it's interesting, there's somebody at the Chamber of Commerce, an economist, the Chair of the Chamber of Commerce, who call
this I think secondhand pessimism where consumers and people say they feel rotten. They look at headlines they look at uncertainties around the world.
And they say they feel rotten, and then they go out and they spend money.
And they need to buy a new car, because they didn't buy a new car for a year and a half, because you couldn't find them, or the prices were too
high, those prices are coming down. They're going to say the, you know, the world is falling apart, but they're going to buy a new car in 2023. You see
what I mean? So there is how people say they feel and what they do?
And that's what we're watching very, very closely. Another thing that Zandi and others have pointed out is the job market, you know, it's really kind
of hard to fathom a recession, as we know it with the job market. And that is as strong as it is. We're going to get job data later this week.
Well, as you will know, but, you know, can you have this slow session where you have the unemployment rate continue to rise, and you have maybe some
overall job losses, but it's still historically a pretty tight job market that could happen too. And it might be the overall resiliency of the
consumer and the job market, a job market that will soften. But still pretty strong overall that will prevent an overall recession in 2023.
SOLOMON: Pretty strong indeed, Christine, as you pointed out, the unemployment rates still at 3.7 percent, which is not far off from a 50
year low. So we will see this Friday when we get that job support, as you pointed out. Christine Romans, great to have you thank you.
ROMANS: Great to see you, Rahel.
SOLOMON: Right, let's turn to Apple, Apple's market cap falling below $2 trillion, for the first time in about two years. This comes only a year
after the company hit the $3 trillion mark. Paul La Monica joining me now. Paul, look, is this just Apple getting swept up in the larger market
trends? I mean, think about the NASDAQ last year was off 30 percent, so most Tech players had a rough year. Is this just that or are there also
starting to be some concerns about consumer demand for Apple?
PAUL R. LA MONICA, CNN REPORTER: Yes, I think that's a great question, Rahel, it is a mix of both. As you point out you have to really put this
into context. Apple despite this stunning stock price drop in the past year, Apple actually held up a little bit better than the NASDAQ's drop in
2022.
[09:10:00]
MONICA: And of all the "FANG stocks" which may be a misnomer now that Facebook is Meta. Apple stock price was not nearly down as much as Meta,
Amazon, Google owner alphabet, Netflix. So Apple did hold up better but, you know, try telling an Apple investor who seen their stock price dropped
30 percent that, hey, don't worry about it.
You didn't do as badly as Amazon, you know, kind of, you know, not exactly great constellation. And I think there are legitimate worries that iPhone
14 demand may not be as strong as hoped for you have concerns not just about production delays in China with Foxconn that might be alleviating,
but also the COVID outbreak in China could dent demand for these phones in that key market for Apple. So there are a lot of headwinds for the company
right now.
SOLOMON: Speaking of another company and other Tech players are also experiencing some headwinds. Paul, Salesforce making some news this morning
saying that it too, will be cutting jobs or it will be cutting jobs. What can you tell us about this?
MONICA: Yes, Salesforce, cutting about 10 percent of its workforce. CEO Marc Benioff, very candid about the fact that Salesforce probably staffed
up overly aggressively during the good times and I think that is a problem that many tech companies are facing right now.
They are dealing with the fact that when demand was good, they added all this talent, all these jobs that they put into place. Now, all of a sudden,
they realize that with their stock prices, plunging and revenue falling, they have to cut costs. And unfortunately, usually when that is something
that needs to be done, you know, workers are the first to, you know, have their jobs cut in order to lower expenses.
SOLOMON: It's a fascinating point, Paul. It's interesting, because you could argue that for the last 10 years or so tech stocks saw their stock
move only in one direction, which was up and so. This is a very different period, I think for tech players and you're starting to see that
correction, as you pointed out. Paul La Monica will leave it here thank you.
Well, as I mentioned earlier in the show a powerful new warning about Cryptocurrency from U.S. financial regulators. They're telling banks that
crypto assets come with a number of risks, including fraud, volatility, that's easy to lease, misrepresentation and faulty risk management.
Their warning came the same day that Former FTX, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, appeared before a judge in New York. CNN's Kara Scannell joins me now,
Kara, look, these are not necessarily new risks but what are these regulators saying?
KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: Right, I mean, I think this is not a new risk. But this is the first joint statement from these three U.S. banking
regulators, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. And they're really warning the banking sector
here to pay attention to the risks of crypto, and make sure that they're insulated from those risks. And among those risks are the potential for
fraud, which is the allegation here at FTX.
Also, the questions of volatility in the market, which we've seen repeatedly over the years kind of going up and down and also the
uncertainty of ownership because of how some of these wallets are structured?
The main point that the Fed and the other two regulators are making is about, you know, they don't want the risk associated with crypto to migrate
into the banking sector. We've seen that sort of thing before risk in credit default swaps risk in subprime mortgages and that impacting the
banking sector.
They're warning to draw a line here and shine a light on this to banks to say, you got to pay attention to this. Now, they're also saying that, you
know, they're not prohibiting any banks from engaging these activities or discouraging them. But they are reviewing proposals by banks that want to
get involved in some of these crypto areas.
And that they live regulators say that they're learning, you know, every day from this, but, you know, this message does come two months after FTX
is collapse. And that collapse was, you know, a result of according to authority's fraud. And also was triggered in part by the volatility in the
market and, you know, a liquidity crisis on the exchange, Rahel.
SOLOMON: And Kara to that point, we know that FTX's Former CEO, SBF has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges against him. What can you tell
us now about what happens? We know this now goes to a trial. What do we know about the trial and what's next?
SCANNELL: Yes, so in this court hearing yesterday was the arraignment SBF had pleaded not guilty to these charges. The judge set the trial date in
this case for October 2, and also laid out a schedule of you know how things will play out from here the prosecutors are going to begin turning
over some of the evidence. They said they would turn over the results of some search warrants this week.
And then over the next coming weeks, they would turn over all the other information that they've obtained so far, in this case, including
information from FTX itself, from regulators and from some customers and Investors. So FTX his legal team will begin to get a sense of the breadth
of the evidence that the government has collected and intend to use against him. And then from there, you know, this will play out in court in a
structured way where there'll be motions and they'll move forward to prepare for the trial.
[09:15:00]
SCANNELL: You know but also tomorrow, is the deadline for FTX excuse me for Bankman-Fried to have two other people sign those bonds that are a part of
the component of his bail is $250 million bail package that's due tomorrow. The judge has agreed for now to redact the names of those individuals at
the request of Bankman-Fried's attorneys who said that they were concerned about their privacy and their safety after Bankman-Fried's parents have
received some threats according to his attorneys, Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yes, that was an interesting development for sure. Kara Scannell, great to have you thank you. Let's turn to Ukraine now, Ukraine claiming
another devastating hit on Russian forces as Moscow appears to blame its own soldiers for a deadly strike and the occupied Eastern Region.
Kyiv says around 500 enemy troops were either killed or wounded on New Year's Eve near Chulakivka. That's a village in the Southern Kherson area.
Further north meantime, the Kremlin is now increasing the death toll in the Makiivka attack to 89 and says that the use of cell phones among Russian
soldiers is what allowed Ukraine to track and target them.
Scott McLean joins me now from Kyiv, Scott, good to have you. So I mean, what can you tell us about the reaction to this? Because essentially, what
you have here is the Kremlin blaming its own soldiers for these attacks? And there appears to be some rare dissent, some rare discontent about these
comments. What can you tell us?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right, Rahel. It's a pretty remarkable statement to say that, look, the Russian Military has a
policy has rules against using cell phones too close to enemy lines and that is precisely what happened in this case. I mean, we don't know for
certain how long the cell phones had been on?
If in fact, this is the case, but you can just imagine these Russian troops, perhaps calling their loved ones to wish them happy New Year, since
the strike came literally a minute or two, after midnight. The Russians say that whichever military officers ultimately allowed this to happen will be
held to account.
The Head of the Donetsk People's Republic also says that some Russian soldiers actually managed to escape the blast, the initial blast, get out
of the vocational school that they were inside of and then go back in to help some of their fallen comrades actually get out and they were killed in
the process.
But you mentioned some of the dissent that we are hearing as well. First off, the Russians updated the death toll from 63 to 89. One prominent
Russian Military blogger that is very widely followed and very well respected even by the Kremlin said that his expectation is that that death
toll will continue to climb as they sift through the rubble and as they find and identify more bodies.
He also questioned this assessment from the military that this was simply the use of cell phones, saying that it wasn't convincing and that it was a
blatant attempt to smear blame, saying that look, this also could have been Ukrainian drones that were keeping tabs on the area. It also could have
been an informant on the ground. And the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Military seemed to perhaps agree with that assessment saying that look, of
course, you shouldn't be using your phones near the front line.
But he said that wasn't the reason for all of this happening. He says this was the inability of Russia to covertly deploy its brand new conscripts to
the frontlines and that's ultimately what led to these consequences. And one of the things I mentioned Rahel, and that is the use of the weapon that
the Russian say was used this high Mars.
U.S. supplied high mars mobile artillery system that has allowed the Ukrainians to fire deeper behind enemy lines. One pro-Russian military
blogger says that it is now undeniable that there is a growing body of evidence that the Ukrainians are not just using this system to target
infrastructure and supply lines. They are also now using it more and more often to target barracks and Russian personnel on the ground, Rahel.
SOLOMON: All right, Scott McLean in Kyiv there for us, thank you. And straight ahead, the geopolitical will be critical for the Wall Street goals
in 2023. From Ukraine to China to the upcoming U.S. Presidential race, a lot will be happening in the International Space. Cobra hotspots all
Investors need to keep an eye on, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:00]
SOLOMON: Welcome back to "First Move", taking another look at U.S. markets the Wall Street bulls hoping for a do over after a disappointing start to
2023. U.S. futures are up across the board with the DOW futures up about three tenths of 1 percent, NASDAQ up seven tenths of a percent and the S&P
up about half a percent. Now among the weakest sectors yesterday in the previous sector that was session tech and energy.
And take a look now at oil stocks while they're on track for another lower open today amid another sell off in crude both Brent and U.S. crude falling
more than 4 percent Tuesday. WTI is now off about 2.5 percent and just about the same for the International Benchmark Brent crude there. And
energy market shore to be affected not only by prospects for a global recession, but also by events in Ukraine where the war will soon be coming
up to a year old.
The global challenges of course, don't end there U.S.-China relations and China's ongoing efforts to reboot economic activity that's sure to
influence markets, as well as trends such as the move away from hyper- globalization and the move toward a greener economy. Tina Fordham is closely watching all of these critical investment challenges. She is a
Geopolitical Strategist and the Founder of Fordham Global Foresight. Tina, great to have you today thank you.
TINA FORDHAM, GEOPOLITICAL STRATEGIST: Thank you.
SOLOMON: So you talk of accepting the world as it is rather than how we would like it to be I mean, what are do you think the biggest blind spots
where perhaps we are collectively being a bit too optimistic?
FORDHAM: Well, I mean, first of all, since Putin's invasion or second invasion of Ukraine, February 24 of last year. I think it's forced a
rethink on many of the ideas that Investors assumed were held by world leaders. First of all, that everybody's interested in economic growth and
stability. Turns out power, is still the main driver. And Putin is not the only world leader who's pursuing an agenda that's based on projecting
geopolitical power.
SOLOMON: I think that's interesting. Might you want to elaborate on a few other leaders that you think right now are prioritizing power over economic
growth?
FORDHAM: Well, I think for China, the presumption is that economic power and geopolitical power are intertwined. This is certainly how the U.S. has
approached things. But what I meant to say is that Investors assume the primacy of the economy over power dynamics, and that's not necessarily the
case.
So Former Ambassador to Russia was saying earlier that when he spoke to the Heads of U.S. multinationals working in Russia. This is certainly true of
Investors that I was talking to at the time, they said Putin will never invade, it would be bad for the economy, Putin was warned that Russia would
be isolated. All of those things have happened, and yet none of it deterred Putin from taking that step.
[09:25:00]
FORDHAM: President Xi Jinping and China has been very clear about his vision of reunifying with Taiwan. We should really take him at face value
there that it's a question of when and not if? And yet still for business people and market participants. The assumption is that the leaders will
take risks if it undermines their economy. They're hoping to do both.
SOLOMON: And so for Business Leaders and Investors, the theme I think, for 2023 is a term you say fire walking, explain to me what exactly fire
walking is? Because when I hear that I think of, I don't know, spiritual gurus walking over coal. So what exactly do you mean, and what are the
practical applications of that?
FORDHAM: But that's exactly what I mean. It's, you know, it is very much drawing upon that idea of people who are able to walk over hot coals
without what happening without getting burned. And what I'm really trying to communicate is that we can't swerve geopolitical risk in the decade
ahead, to be frank.
We're going to have to learn to walk through the fire. It's actually a quote from the American poet, Charles Bukowski, who said, what matters most
is how well we do it. And I think this is what Investors need to do, instead of being in denial, projecting our own values, we need to get used
to the fact that we've got a number of hotspots. And also we've under invested quite frankly, in, you know, whether it's diplomacy or our own
understanding about the way the world works.
SOLOMON: Looking ahead to 2024, there are several significant elections. We have, of course, our elections here in the U.S., but we also have India,
Russia, Ukraine and the U.K. I'm curious, though, how significant do you think the division that we're currently watching in Washington will
ultimately be?
I mean, we are used to certainly seeing a certain level of political gridlock between the two parties. But seeing this level of division within
one party does seem to be quite rare. How significant do you think that is, if at all?
FORDHAM: Well, it's hugely significant. I mean, it is a blessing really, that given all the turmoil that we're talking about, as well as the
possibility of a recession and other economic policy issues that in 2023, we don't have very many systemically significant elections. Every time a
U.S. election comes around people like me say, well, this is the most important U.S. election of our lifetimes. Well, guess what? We're going to
be saying that, again, because so much is at stake.
I can tell you from where I am in London, talking to mainly non U.S. Investors, though, that the world breathe a massive sigh of relief, after
U.S. midterms, not, especially because Democrats did better than expected but because the election deniers and more extreme candidates didn't do
well. So the idea that U.S. institutions respect for the Constitution remains is of enormous importance. But also, given how high the stakes are,
who's in the White House really matters.
Most people are genuinely mystified by U.S. politics at the moment. And so who ends up winning the Republican primary whether Biden announces he's
going to run again, these will be hugely important questions, as well as Americans engagement in the world. U.S. leadership is important, given the
extent of the geopolitical turmoil that we have.
SOLOMON: Yes, as you point out lots of questions ahead and also lots of questions even today, such as who will lead the House of Representatives
here in the U.S. Tina Fordham great to have you thank you. She is the head of Fordham Global Foresight and coming up on "First Move", growing concerns
over COVID in China new reactions to travel restrictions on passengers arriving from China, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:30:00]
SOLOMON: Welcome back! The Head of the International Air Transport Association criticizing new border restrictions on travelers from China
calling the moves extremely disappointing, more than a dozen countries including the U.S., UK, Japan and South Korea impose entry restrictions
after China's scrapped its Zero COVID policy.
Ivan Watson joins us from Hong Kong. Ivan, great to have you! So what can you tell us about the reaction here? Because I mean, we're even hearing
from certain public health agencies in Europe who are saying that a lot of the variants that are spreading in China right now much of the West and the
rest of the world have already been exposed to and so I think there's a bit of a question about whether this is even necessary.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, there's a debate here, do you - China has decided to end nearly three years
of self-imposed isolation, just as COVID is kind of raging through the world's most populous country?
So governments have a choice. Do they view this as a potential tourism windfall as Chinese travelers get back in the air? Or do they view this as
a potential public health threat? And the European Union held a meeting on Tuesday and said it's considering measures such as demanding pre-departure
COVID tests from travelers from China.
And testing wastewater, on planes potentially, and additional measures they haven't quite decided yet but we showed the map before there is a growing
number of countries that are imposing different levels, ranging from again, pre-departure tests such as what the U.S. is requiring to Morocco, which is
completely closing its borders to any travelers from China.
The Chinese government doesn't like this at all. It finds this insulting, but its finding supporters for instance, the aviation industry, the Head of
the International Air Transport Association, Willie Walsh who came out blasting these restrictions, calling them extremely disappointing to see
this knee jerk reinstatement of measures that are proven ineffective?
We have the tools to manage COVID-19 without resorting to ineffective measures that cut off international connectivity, damage economies and
destroy jobs. And he goes on to say governments must base their decisions on science facts, rather than science politics. Another government that has
opted against restricting Chinese travel is New Zealand. Take a listen to what the New Zealand Health Minister said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AYESHA VERRALL, NEW ZEALAND'S COVID-19 RESPONSE MINISTER: As part of the public health risk assessment officials also worked through scenarios of
potential case numbers traveling from China, using our predicted arrivals over the next few weeks. And this analysis confirmed that visitors won't
contribute significantly to our COVID case numbers, meaning entry restrictions and required are justified.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: One of the concerns is about criticism of a lack of transparency from Chinese health authorities on the scale of the outbreak within
Mainland China. And that's been echoed somewhat diplomatically by the World Health Organization which invited Chinese officials to a meeting on Tuesday
where it was asking for more genome sequencing there?
[09:35:00]
WATSON: We are expecting a press conference as I speak from the W. H. O. hoping to reveal whether or not Chinese officials delivered on those
requests, Rahel.
SOLOMON: A lot more to come here. Ivan Watson, thank you! And stay with "First Move" more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: The American Actor Jeremy Renner is said to be making positive progress in the hospital as he recovers from a snowplowing accident. The
51-year-old shared this picture on social media saying I'm too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all.
He remains in intensive care. Chloe Melas is following his progress. So Chloe, we're learning much more about how this all happened? I mean, it
sounds like he's lucky to be alive. I mean, what can you tell us about how this happened?
CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Well. So finally, we got those details Rahel after days of speculation from fans wondering how this could
have happened. So there was a press conference that took place last night by the Washoe County Sheriff's Department in Nevada.
And they detailed what happened and that this snow cat that's a snowplow that Jeremy owns, that's over 14,000 pounds rolled over on him in what
looks to be just a freak accident. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARIN BALAAM, WASHOE COUNTRY, NEVADA SHERIFF: After successfully towing his personal vehicle from its stuck location, Mr. Renner got out of his piston
bully to speak to his family member.
At this point is observed that the piston bully started to roll in an effort to stop the rolling piston bully Mr. Renner attempts to get back
into the driver's seat of the piston bully. Based on our investigation it's at this point that Mr. Renner is run over by the piston bully.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MELAS: All right, so here is what we know after listening to the sheriff Rahel is that the power had gone out at Jeremy Renner's home there had been
record snowfall. There was about three feet of snow in his immediate area. He has this long driveway and a family member of his as you just heard, was
stuck in Jeremy's car one of his cars in the snow. So Jeremy gets in the snow cat this massive snow plow like I said it's over 14,000 pounds.
Tows the car successfully gets off the snowplow to talk to his family member and as this is happening, the snowplow begins to roll. Jeremy
attempted to get back into the snowplow to stop it but somehow he fell off and then that's when he was crushed.
[09:40:00]
MELAS: Luckily though, as you saw on Instagram, he looks like he's going to make a full recovery. I spoke to a representative for him who told me
yesterday that yes, he's in the ICU, and he's still in critical but stable condition.
And he experienced that blunt force chest trauma and injuries to his arms and legs. But that, you know, he's going to be OK, he's recovering. He's
awake, he's talking. And, you know, they're still hoping for prayers and thankful for all the well wishes. But let's be honest, he's lucky to be
alive.
SOLOMON: Absolutely and incredible to hear all of those details Chloe, as you pointed out there. Can you tell us a bit more about what he's saying to
his fans? We know I think he posted on IG it was really thank you because fans, what else is he saying?
MELAS: Well, so I mean, it was much unexpected, right? As this press conference is happening, he posts this selfies from his hospital bed. And
you can see the bruising and the swelling and his eyes are bloodshot, but he says thank you for the kind words. I'm too messed up to type right now.
But he just wanted to show people and thank them, I think in about just about 30 minutes, Rahel, there were over a million likes flooded with
comments, and people are just so happy. And like I said, I spoke to his publicist Samantha last night, right after he posted this picture on
Instagram.
And she said that he's alert, he's talking. He's in good spirits. He's surrounded by his family. He's getting great care, and that he is just
thankful. So I mean, look, it could have been much worse. And I was talking to Don Lemon this morning on CNN "This Morning" and he said, look, maybe
all of that snowfall actually could have saved his life even because maybe it sort of softens the impact but hopefully we'll learn more.
And I also just want to point out that the Sheriff's Department they are launching an investigation into potential mechanical issues with that snow
cat but they said that he was not under any sort of influence of anything and that there was no foul play involved.
SOLOMON: Well, good to know and certainly good to see that he is recovering and posting from the hospital room. Chloe Melas, great to have you thank
you!
MELAS: Thank you.
SOLOMON: Also an incredible story. Meanwhile, teammates of American Football Star Damar Hamlin describing the horrific accident which has left
the Buffalo Bills player fighting for his life after making the tackle the 24 year old suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during Monday night's
game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DION DAWKINS, DAMAR HAMLIN'S TEAMMATE: In that moment, like you kind of just realized, like you really can't take anything for granted and looking
at teammate a brother. Like on the ground. It's just a drastic state to see a brother laying down and everyone else just kind of just, you know, just
come on, come on, come on, get up get up and all of those drastic emotions like that are pouring out just seeing him not one second of our life as
promised.
And with this play, it is showing that one play later it has taken the Damar 24-year-old man to into his knee and he's fighting and for everybody
that thinks that oh, it's about a fantasy point or, you know, my draft whatever. Like it's just like this is real life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Isn't really shocking people around the world? CNN's Adrienne Broaddus is in Cincinnati with the latest. Adrienne, great to have you! I
mean, reaction continues to pour in. What can you tell us about his status? Are we hearing from the hospital at all? I mean, how's he doing?
ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have not heard from doctors here at the hospital. But I did speak with Damar's Uncle Dorian on camera last
night and then at length off camera and his uncle told me the next step is that doctors want Damar to start breathing on his own. As you know, he's
still in the intensive care unit here listed in critical condition.
He's on a ventilator and he is sedated this after suffering a cardiac arrest. The news was surprising as fans watched but his family was also
stunned and they've been with him at his bedside here in the hospital. I want to share with you what his uncle told me listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DORRIAN GLENN, DAMAR HAMLIN'S UNCLE: Well, this heart had went out so they had to resuscitate him twice they resuscitate him on the field before they
brought him in the hospital. And then they resuscitated him a second time when he got to the hospital. So I just want to show my gratitude for the
medical staff that was on hand because it's not for them my nephew probably wouldn't even be here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROADDUS: And here we are Damar still fighting to live. On the field he wears number three and there is what I like to call the "Get Well Soon
Corner" out inside of the hospital there are balloons with messages of hope.
[09:45:00]
BROADDUS: One balloon says "Get Well Soon" but there's also a single golden balloon. And it is the number three, the number he wore on the field, but
he is number one to his family. And for those of you who believe in the power of prayer, so does this family. And if you believe in positivity and
good vibes, this family is asking for all of that and more as they wait for news from the doctors, Rahel.
SOLOMON: And so many people waiting, Adrienne. And speaking of those good vibes talk to me a bit if you might about one of his fundraising efforts,
GoFundMe, I mean really exceeding its goal as people really pour in to try to support him in any way they can?
BROADDUS: At last check, it was topping $6 million. This is just a sign of that outpouring of support and love. This community here in Cincinnati and
beyond really across the nation has wrapped their arms around this family.
And his uncle told me they can feel that support. The charity, I do want to talk a little about that. It speaks to who Damar is. He has a heart for a
community. And we're talking a lot about his heart. We know that his heart stopped twice.
But his heart was in giving back and helping people especially in his hometown of Pittsburgh. His goal was to make it to the NFL. He made it but
he was the sixth round draft pick. And the day he found out he was going to be playing for the Bills.
He said we still have a lot of work to do and I'm paraphrasing. And part of the work that he enjoys doing is giving back and helping people filling the
gaps for young folks who may need a mentor outside of the football field. He aspires to inspire others back to you.
SOLOMON: That's a great point Adrienne that these men are not just football players they are not just athletes but they are real people who clearly
give back in any way they can. Adrienne Broaddus it's great to have you, great reporting thank you! Well, we have more "First Move" after this stay
with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back to "First Move"! We are about 20 minutes into this session on this Wednesday the second day of the trading year. You can see
the DOW and NASDAQ and the S&P all solidly higher. DOW is up about three tenths of 1 percent the S&P half a percent and the NASDAQ about four tenths
of 1 percent there.
Investors hoping that the second time is the charm in 2023. U.S. stocks as I said currently up across the board after a soft start to the New Year.
Yesterday market challenges will be coming fast and furious over the next few days.
We have a key look at U.S. job openings which will be released ahead of Friday's all important jobs report. The Federal releases the minutes of its
latest policy meeting later today as well. And this will give investors new insight into just how hawkish policymakers are on the future of rate hikes?
Long suffering Tesla - seeing a bit of green on the screen after shares of the EV maker tumbled more than 12 percent Tuesday on demand periods you can
see Tesla shares are now up closer to about 2.6 percent.
[09:50:00]
SOLOMON: The stock though extremely volatile and early trading up about 2.65 percent at this point. Tesla meantime was the worst performing stock
on the S&P 500 in the previous session, it shares have fallen some 70 percent this past year.
Meantime, 2022 saw the return of the blockbuster leading the pack was the highly anticipated "Avatar: The Way of Water". IMAX announced that the film
directed by James Cameron is now the fourth highest grossing IMAX release of all time with a global box office of $160 million the success of the
Sci-Fi sequel, really helping lift the company to nearly $850 million in the global box office for 2022.
That is up 33 percent over 2021 and with an impressive list of movies set to be released from the Super Mario Brothers Movie to another installment
and the Mission Impossible Franchise and four Marvel movies.
IMAX is hoping that movie goers will dive headfirst into another impressive year and bring box office receipts back to pre-pandemic levels. Joining me
now is Rich Gelfond he is the CEO of IMAX. Rich, great to have you!
RICH GELFOND, CEO, IMAX: Great to be here Rahel. How are you this morning?
SOLOMON: I'm doing great so excited to talk to you. Avatar II it's now been out for about three weeks. I know you say that, you know in terms of
Avatar, it's a marathon, not a sprint? What can you tell us about how the movie is performing so far?
GELFOND: I mean, you know, as you said, it's tough for a movie of all time, only three weeks and to the run a little bit less. The rest of the world
outside North America passed $100 million over the weekend it's only the third time that's ever happened in IMAX's 50 year plus history.
You know, the word of mouth is extremely good. This third weekend in North America was up from the second weekend in North America. The first one and
I'm not predicting that for Avatar II but had actually better months for IMAX in January and February than it had in December.
I don't think that phenomenal happen. But I think people are going to be surprised by the durability of this thing and how long it's going to play
for?
SOLOMON: Is it safe to say that the international markets perhaps are performing a bit better than here in the U.S.? I mean, what can you tell us
about how strong this at least Avatar is doing the international markets?
GELFOND: Well, I think both markets are doing extremely well. But I think your observation is correct. Outside the U.S. it's just, you know, blowing
away many other movies. We've so far, after less than three weeks set records in 18 countries, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, South
Korea, a lot of other places, India for the best IMAX release of all time.
And that I am somewhat surprised and encouraged by that. I think part of the reason is 13 years ago, when the first Avatar came out. It was an
unknown piece of IP. And I think it was so good. And people were so much looking forward to the sequel.
And also the fact that IMAX and Avatar became sort of synonymous it's an event movie, it's something you feel like you really need to see in IMAX.
And I think as a result of that one reason the international is so strong.
SOLOMON: Do you think we are post pandemic in the movie industry? Or have we not reached 2019 levels yet?
GELFOND: Well, I mean, to be clear, IMAX if you take away China, we were very close to 2019 and 2022. So we're picking up market share globally. And
I think a premium experience and a way to see movies differently there on your couch.
I think people are kind of tired of that. For us I think, you know, we're more out of it than traditional exhibition. I think in terms of the
industry as a whole. I think we're - there's really been a dramatic change in the last couple of months.
And you know we feel it in terms of inquiries for new IMAX theaters in terms of insider activity at the end of the year. I should turn back to
China, where it's about 1/3 of our global revenue traditionally. And I think the fact that they've reopened and they got through kind of a
psychological change that government had really instilled in them.
You know, COVID is something you could die from. You're going to go to the hospital. But now that there's been so many cases and they're developing so
much more immunity. You see that starting to turn around. I mean for us for IMAX some our performance in Avatar II was the fourth best we've ever had
in China and that's kind of remarkable when you consider where they are in the COVID curve.
[09:55:00]
GELFOND: So my answer would be if 10 are fully out of it. In the world, I think most of the world is kind of around, you know, a seven, eight, China
is probably a six and headed towards a seven or an eight.
SOLOMON: And Rich, we don't have much time left. But I do want to ask heading into 2023 what is the biggest risk factor for IMAX? Is it a global
recession? Is it the fear of streaming? I mean, what's the biggest concern for you in about 30 seconds or less, please?
GELFOND: Alright. 30 seconds or less streaming has proven it doesn't work without a theatrical window so not really worried about that. Movies have
proven to be one of the best recession proof businesses in the world and inflation proof as well. So if you ask me what worries me, I'd say it's
probably the continued reopening and just not having any setbacks in the area of COVID.
SOLOMON: Also indeed. Rich Gelfond it's been great having you! CEO of IMAX thank you!
GELFOND: Thank you so much.
SOLOMON: And that is it for the show. I'm Rahel Solomon. "Connect the World" is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
