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First Move with Julia Chatterley

Zelenskyy Acknowledges Counteroffensive is "Difficult"; At Least Nine Dead after Fire at Vacation Home; Booking Holdings' Blowout Q2 Highlights Travel Demand; Office Space Firm says Future is Uncertain; Visa Brings Contactless Payments to World Cup; Taylor Swift, Beyonce & Barbie Boost U.S. Economy. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired August 09, 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)

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST, FIRST MOVE: A warm welcome to "First Move". I'm Christina Macfarlane in for Julia Chatterley. Just ahead on today's

show Ukraine strain President Zelenskyy saying his country's counter offensive against Russia is progressing more slowly than hoped the very

latest on the war in Ukraine just ahead.

Plus tracking travel the post pandemic urge to splurge on summer vacations continues demand holding up well even with higher prices. We'll hear from

the CEO of Bookings Holdings which has just reported strong quarterly results.

And currency kick the Women's World Cup has been called the first ever cashless FIFA event. We'll speak to the marketing Chief at Pfizer later in

the show as players gear up for the quarterfinals action.

And a bit of a charge on global markets this Wednesday as U.S. stock set for a mostly higher open Europe seeing solid gains with Italy outperforming

the Italian government today backtracking on a proposed windfall tax on bank profits.

And Chinese stocks finished the session mixed new numbers show Chinese consumer prices falling for the first time in two years. And producer

prices in negative territory as well last month. Well, the new Chinese numbers are shorter raise questions over the effectiveness of Beijing's

stimulus measures so far, especially after Tuesday's dismal trade data.

Well, Marc Stewart is joining me now for more on this. And Marc, we understand that China reporting now to be in de-inflation mode, I mean,

normally lower prices would be a good thing, but not so much in this case.

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Christina so good to see you. And yes, you are completely right. These lower prices are problematic because it is

yet another reflection that Chinese consumers are hesitant to spend money.

So we saw prices drop across the board. We saw declines in transportation, household goods, but what really caught my attention were food prices, in

particular pork. Pork is the key commodity in China; its price went down by 26 percent.

This is a commodity that is a big moneymaker for China. At times it has been the top pork producer in the world to see this kind of decline is an

indication that consumers are very wary. And these are efforts to try to drive up demand. It's not just pork, though. It's also vegetables.

And when we talk about food, these are necessities. Vegetable prices, I think we're down by about 1.5 percent when we see these kinds of declines,

especially on food, the necessities, the basics; it is an indication that people are really cautious and really concerned.

As you mentioned, we saw a decline in exports yesterday. But if we look at the past year, especially over these last few months, we have seen very

little slow growth, if you will in China, these consumer prices, these declines are yet another reflection of this broader issue, Christina?

MACFARLANE: And another really big warning sign today on the Chinese economy are these reports that China's largest property developer Country

Garden (ph) is at risk of defaulting Marc. I mean, this is setting off fears that we could be seeing another China Evergrande here. What more are

you hearing on that?

STEWART: Right, it is late onset payments. There is a 30 day grace period as has been reported. But it is yet another example of this trepidation

facing Chinese consumers especially in the housing market and the property market which had been really booming for quite some time.

But because of COVID lockdowns because of unemployment, especially youth unemployment, there is hesitancy to make an investment in something as big

as a home. We saw the past issues with Evergrande. And this is certainly for good reason raising concern. We have reached out to a Country Garden no

response.

But to see a lack of money moving the economic term our viewers will know is liquidity the fact that there is a slowdown here in such an industry

that has been so instrumental in China's economic success that too along with the consumer price index is all very telling Christina.

MACFARLANE: It really is. We will of course continue to watch these closely to see whether or not it can rebound whether this deflation continues? Marc

Stewart there live for us appreciate you being up. Thank you.

Now in Ukraine, the military are claiming partial success on the southern front as President Zelenskyy acknowledges that the counteroffensive has

been difficult. This after Western officials told CNN they're receiving sobering assessments about Ukraine's progress. Our Nick Paton Walsh joins

us now live from Ukraine.

And Nick, we know there has been huge pressure on this counteroffensive to succeed not just for the fate of Ukraine but of course for their continued

political and military support that they've been receiving from Western allies. So what does this admission from President Zelenskyy signify?

[09:05:00]

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I think it's really a reflection of the reality. This is a long anticipated

counteroffensive. Yes, absolutely. But that anticipation has I think, delivered perhaps, unrealistic expectations.

And while much of Ukraine is still under the threat of Russian bomb, and there's a sirens you're hearing behind me as that push south continues to

escalate. There are increasing tolls being brought on the civilian population.

Now Zelenskyy's comments we've been hearing are essentially a reflection of what we know is going on that they are meeting a well-equipped dog in wet,

expectant enemy sat, they're often some of the better Russian paratroopers with minefields and concrete fortifications all around them that has slowed

the pace of advance.

And I think there was some expectation that perhaps there will be a repeat of the overnight collapse in Kharkiv that we saw last year the Russian pull

out after pressure in Kherson that is simply not occurring.

It doesn't necessarily mean that the current gridlock and kilometer by kilometer pushes that we're seeing are going to be it forever. And they

won't see greater ground taken. There are suggestions that there -- near where I'm standing that may be under pressure too. Ground is falling, but

the Russians are a better enemy than they expect.

We've obtained some good footage some fascinating footage of exactly what it's like for Ukrainians who go to those freshly captured positions and

have the gruesome task of retrieving the dead of Ukraine but also of Russia too.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice over): Even saving the dead can be lethal work. It is dawn in freshly overrun Russian positions on the southern front where the assault

is on trench networks spread out in the open. This is rare footage letting us see the point of view of a Ukrainian soldier and body collector.

His unit tasked with bringing back the fallen their own, but also Russian dead too this Ukrainian body seeming to have almost melted into the ground,

the heat speeding up decays another factor in this grim grueling work.

Where they are often guided to their targets by the smell from which the masks aren't protection enough. Russian drone see them and they watch them

back. Anti-drone rifles a modern twist in trench warfare from the last century.

It is exhausting work while troops here focus on survival and taking cover -- and his team must carry these heavy but vital burdens all the way back

to the road where they can then bring closure to the grieving the chance of burial and a goodbye.

A week earlier in another part of the trenches with a fight has clearly been ferocious. They pass Western supplied armor that has been torn apart.

Ukrainian remains found but the shelling is constant.

The search however, in these captured Russian positions is cautious probing each spot for mines. For the men holding the position day and night, body

collectors a welcome relief taking away the reminders of how close the death is.

The Russians still looking for targets here among the men rescuing Russian corpses, this is the work nobody ever wanted to do, out exposed in the open

as Ukraine prays for a breakthrough. Now we finally see -- face in the moment when they know they've survived another dead. The relief they feel

here, nothing compared to the families who may feel some less agony and closure from the cargo they return home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[09:10:00]

WALSH: That's an important piece of context, Christina, when you hear Western officials talking about how they consider Ukraine's progress to be

slower than they would like. The Ukraine's army is being given equipment.

Yes, by NATO, some of it top end, some of it not really that good. But they are essentially being asked to wait for the F-16s they need. To do this

operation without air superiority and so on those frontline trenches repeatedly Russian aircraft are striking, sometimes with half ton bombs,

causing extraordinary destruction, casualties and slowing Ukraine's advanced.

I don't think any NATO military would undertake what Ukraine is doing now in its counteroffensive without air superiority, yet still they are doing

it. And it is an important battle, frankly, for European security at this point. So when you hear those sobering assessments, it's important to

understand that cards that Ukraine have been dealt with Christina.

MACFARLANE: Yes, and the ones that they are continuing to play. Nick Paton Walsh, really great to have your reporting there live from Zaporizhzhia

thanks, Nick.

And meanwhile, in Russia, a massive explosion has taken place at an industrial plant and it's injured at least 45 people near Moscow. For the

latest on this Nic Robertson is joining us. Nic, what can you tell us about the significance of this plant? And is there any indication yet that this

we can attribute this to any sort of drone related incident as we've been seeing so much of in the past weeks?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, the Russians have been very, very quick to launch an investigation into what appears to be

the biggest unexplained explosion close to Moscow since the war began.

And it's notable that it comes on a day, the night into which the Ukrainians sent two drones, it appears towards one of Moscow's main

international airports -- and the Russians say that they shot them down successfully, no injuries or anything reported from that airport.

This comes at a time when as Nick was saying there it's tough for the Ukrainians to crack the front lines, but they're also putting a lot of

energies with drones into cracking Putin's facade, that the war is going well that everything is OK by again and again, trying to hit different

targets or buildings inside Moscow, the airport outside Moscow overnight.

So back to this unexplained explosion that the Russians are investigating. They're saying variously on their state media that there was an explosion

in a boiler room at the plant that it was at a pyrotechnics factory. This, you know, fireworks type of factory, the explosion that we're looking at

here.

And we've seen a lot of other images video from around the site, including a ring camera video where a woman half a mile or so from the blast is

literally about shaking off her feet so a massive, but singular blast not indicative of a pyrotechnics factory where you would expect there to be

multiple secondary explosions and bursts and flashes that we've seen before when these types of places have exploded.

So far, it seems the Russian explanation is trying to damp out the idea that this could be a drone strike, or could be some subversive action at

this plant. And it's interesting, I think, to note that the Russians are saying that this was a pyrotechnics factory, that until this morning,

everyone understood what happened at that site that it was a military site, producing electronic optical equipment.

This is a sort of equipment that we vital in a war, be it for drones or night vision goggles, or thermal imaging these sorts of things, and thus

would make it a very, very high value target for the Ukrainians to want to hit either by subversive action on the ground or by a drone strike which

the Russian categorically say so far, it's not.

MACFARLANE: Alright, Nic Robertson there, breaking it down for us thanks very much, Nic. Now a tragic morning in Eastern France; nine victims have

been found after a fire broke out at a vacation home early on Wednesday. The blaze happened in the Town of Winston Hymn near the border with

Germany.

A group of people with disabilities were staying at the house during the summer holidays. 17 people were rescued and two people are still missing

and presumed to have died. Jim Bittermann is joining me with this. Jim truly devastating event, what more do we know about those missing people or

indeed how this fire even started?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christina about the cause of the fire we don't know a lot because I think the

investigators are still at the scene trying to figure out what the cause might be. There were about 28 disabled people in this facility this morning

at 6.30 when the fire broke out.

[09:15:00]

And it took the firemen it's a very rural area. It's a town of about 8000 or so people. And it took the fire department about 15 minutes to get

there. By the time they got there 17 of the 28 were already outside the building, 11 were unaccounted for the fire officials say they believe all

have died.

Now they've recovered nine of the 11 bodies. So it is indeed a real tragedy. They've set up a crisis center for the families to go to. These

are some of the families are not right there. These are handicapped people who were in other kind of associated living in other places and had gone to

this facility for a couple of weeks of vacation.

And the Prime Minister took so much to heart, that she is there now visiting with local officials and then going to be at the scene in just the

next few minutes. The President of France sent his condolences. It's really kind of a tragedy for the entire country this morning, Christina.

MACFARLANE: Yes, I was going to say not just the families but the whole country, I'm sure is feeling this really tragic event. Jim Bittermann thank

you. And to another tragedy now in the Mediterranean, more than 40 people believed to have died in a migrant shipwreck off the coast of Italy,

according to the Red Cross.

This comes less than two months after hundreds of migrants were killed when their boat capsized near Greece. Ben Wedeman is across this for us. And as

we know, Ben, these sort of tragic events in the Mediterranean are happening now all too often do we know what caused this vessel to capsize?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christina, these tragedies are happening on an alarming frequency. We understand that what

happened was that this boat left at the Tunisian Port of -- sometime late last week, and just a few hours after leaving the port it was hit by a very

large wave.

And since then the survivors four as we know, they were some of the few who were wearing life jackets. They were able to find a capsized boat, another

boat, and were there for quite some time until merchant vessels arrived and pick them up later transferring them to the Italian coast guard which took

them to the Island of Lampedusa. Now these four people have been interviewed by the Red Cross who tells CNN that according to them, they were originally 45 people on board when it

left the -- among them a three year old child and a pregnant woman.

Now there's -- we understand that they're still looking for survivors or bodies from this incident, but no reports yet have any been found. And now,

this year, what we've seen is a dramatic increase in the number of people according to the Italian authorities reaching Italian shores.

So far as of today, this year, almost 94,000 migrants and refugees have reached Italian shores that is twice the number that arrived last year as

of the 9th of August and three times the number that arrived the year before.

Now they're coming from far away, sometimes as far away as Bangladesh. They're fleeing poverty, war, corruption, and hopelessness. Now the Italian

authorities have been in touch with the Tunisians to try to stop the flow of migrants.

But very little is being done to stop the original causes for all of these people leaving their homes from so far away. And that is very little is

being done to address war, corruption, hopelessness, and the like, Christina.

MACFARLANE: Yes, as I said so often, Ben, you wouldn't get in the boat if the situation weren't worse at home. But this is pretty tragic and

devastating nonetheless, Ben Wedeman, thank you.

Now mushroom mystery in Australia, three people have died and another is in critical condition after suspected poisoning from mushrooms served at a

family meal. Police say the woman who hosted the lunch is now considered a suspect in a potential homicide, Anna Coren has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Police in Victoria, Australia are investigating the poisoning deaths of three elderly people after they

were served a meal believed to contain extremely poisonous death cap mushrooms. Police are trying to determine if the deaths were homicide.

At the end of last month, two elderly couples went for lunch at the home of 48-year-old Aaron Patterson (ph) in a small Township of Lyon Gafa. She is

the former daughter in law of one of the couples.

[09:20:00]

Police say she is separated from her husband, who has now lost both his parents from the poisoning. Police say that evening the guests began

showing signs of food poisoning and were admitted to hospital.

Days later, 70 year old Gail Patterson and her sister 66 year old Heather Wilkinson died. A day later Gail's 70 year old husband passed away. The

fourth guest Heather's 68 year old husband, a reverend in the local community remains in a critical condition. Police say that Erin Patterson

is a suspect because she cooked the meal, and is the only adult at lunch, which didn't fall ill. She has not been charged in the deaths.

Her two children were also at lunch but did not get sick because they were served different meals. Let's take a listen to what Victoria Police

Homicide Detective Inspector Dean Thomas had to say.

DEAN THOMAS, VICTORIA POLICE HOMICIDE SQUAD: We have to keep an open mind in relation to this. That it could be very innocent. But again, we just

don't know. But it's really interesting. You know that four people turn up and three of them have passed away and with another one critical so we just

need to work through this.

COREN (on camera): In addressing local media outside her home on Monday. A tearful person denied any wrongdoing, saying she was devastated and that

she loved them. While the cause of death has yet to be confirmed, police say the symptoms suffered are consistent with poisoning by death cap

mushrooms.

Toxins in death cap mushroom found in the wild cannot be destroyed by boiling, cooking, freezing or drying. Eating a small portion can lead to

death. Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Quite frightening prospect. Alright, stay with CNN. We'll be back after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Welcome back, booking holdings a leader in the Travel Market is riding high off the back of a blowout second quarter earnings. And despite

booming demand says there's still some way to go in the post pandemic recovery.

Bookings primary consumer brands are Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, Rentalcars.com, KAYAK, and OpenTable are in Q2 revenues rose to $5.5

billion that's up 27 percent compared to the same time a year ago and in the same period travel bookings rose to 15 percent, from 15 percent to

nearly $40 billion.

[09:25:00]

Glenn Fogel is CEO and President of Booking Holdings joining me here, live great to have you with us. These are impressive numbers, Glenn, indication

that travel is rebounding post COVID. But not all of your competitors have been able to match some of the gains that you've been able to. So how have

you done it?

GLENN FOGEL, CEO AND PRESIDENT OF BOOKING HOLDINGS: Well, first of all, thank you very much for having us. And we are very thrilled with how the

second quarter played out for us. It really was an impressive quarter. And certainly some area of the world is doing better than other areas.

So, some of our competitors are focused in some parts of the world that are not recovering it swiftly. But I think a lot of it's just been some really

hard work by our team. You know, we have people working every day to make sure that travel is good for both, traveling consumer and also our

partners, the hotels, the flights, etcetera.

And I'm just thrilled with things are coming back three years at pandemic. It was a hard time for everybody. But we're glad we're coming out.

MACFARLANE: Yes, three years of the pandemic, but now perhaps we face another major challenge, which is climate change. As you may know, we've

just had the hottest July in history. You know, I remember, we've been reporting on images in recent weeks of tourists fainting at the Trevi

Fountain in Italy, the Acropolis having to be shut down in Athens, because of the extreme heat.

I'm just wondering, how that aspect is beginning to influence the travel habits that you're seeing and how you're preparing for that eventuality?

FOGEL: Yes, it's really is unfortunate, the tragedies that we've seen in some parts of the world right now fires, floods, other things, weather

problems that really caused a lot of disruption. Travel is certainly always going to be impacted by these kinds of changes. You know, we haven't seen a

lot of change the way people are booking yet people, you know, they prepared for their summer holidays.

And of course, it's very hot in the northern hemisphere during the summers, particularly in Europe. What I did see recently was a report by the EU

government came out projecting long term that travel habits may change, you may say, I'm not drunk going to go to Greece in the middle of the summer,

maybe I'll come when it's a cooler time to visit there.

It may be in the summer, we'll go to a part of the world that is not as warm. And in fact, one of the areas they noted was Wales is potentially

getting an increase in travel in the long run. And I could see that happening but we're not seeing it yet.

MACFARLANE: Wales? Well, if someone has gone to university and Wales, I would very much welcome that but whether it's a holiday from Italy or not,

I don't know. I'm listening, how important has sustainability become not for just you as a travel company. But for the traveler now who's aware of

climate change, who wants to take a more conscientious view on the way they travel and the way they do holidays?

FOGEL: Yes, we always want to make sure that we're doing our part at Booking.com. And one of the things that we put out is thing we call our

travel sustainability program. And what that does, it enables properties like hotels or homes that are on platform to do things that are more

sustainable.

And if they do that, we then give them a notification of a leaf, a green leaf. So when somebody is searching for a hotel or a home to stay in, they

see a one leaf or two leaves or three leaves, they know that that's a place you can stay that's sustainable, trying to improve the easiness with which

people can find where a place that are sustainable.

We know people want to go and travel sustainably. But we also know it's sometimes hard to know what does that mean? How will I know we also have

for example, in KAYAK, we have a carbon dioxide counter, a Co2 counter. So people know when you're flying, how much in terms of emissions is that

flight going to do?

And they can choose a flight that has less emission. It's doing our part to be helpful. But obviously, this is a global problem. And it's going to

require a lot of effort by a lot of industries, and very importantly, governments.

MACFARLANE: Yes. And that aspect plays into this new AI trip planner that you launched, I think in June, how much are travelers engaging with that AI

technology right now? And how big a part of your business is that going to be moving forward?

FOGEL: So we just rolled it out. And we've had different types of generative AI products that we've rolled out. So for Booking.com, we rolled

out a thing called trip planner that's at the top of the search funnel, and people are just been discover and explore where they want to travel.

At the same time, our Priceline Company put out with a general AI product they called Penny. And that's at the end of the funnel, as we call it when

people are ready to check out but they may have some questions and using a Chatbot. They can ask questions about a particular property that's much

easier than going back and trying to find it.

Both of them right now very early, very small, but I think general AI is just going to be an enormous change in the way we do everything in life.

Travel, especially is going to be one of them.

MACFARLANE: Yes and there's a lot of skepticism around AI right now, but I can totally see and I think I actually already used your AI technology just

in the last month. I could see how that's certainly going to work in the travel industry. Glenn Fogel CEO and President of Bookings Holdings, great

to have you with us, thank you.

FOGEL: Thank you.

[09:30:00]

MACFARLANE: All right, coming up. The WeWork business model may be unworkable and the once mighty office space firm says its future is in

doubt a victim of the changing post pandemic world, that story just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Welcome back to "First Move", and a bit of a weary Wednesday on Wall Street. The major U.S. averages are trying to bounce back after an

across the board fall in the previous sessions. But flat trading so far as you can see the stock action this week and focus so far has been choppy.

The S&P is down almost 2 percent since the start of the month, Investors bracing for important U.S. consumer inflation data on Thursday, and

Disney's earnings are out after Wednesday's closing bell. Well, in other news WeWork says its business model doesn't work. The company is warning

that it has "substantial doubt" over its abilities to stay in business.

The firm shares already badly beaten down are tumbling in early trading on Wall Street. Clare Duffy is joining me now for more. And Clare, it wasn't

that long ago. We were calling WeWork you know the workplace of the future. It was valued at I think $47 billion. So what's gone wrong here?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: That's exactly right, Christina. This is a company that actually said at its peak was valued at $47 billion. Now

substantial doubt exists about its ability to stay in business over the next year.

[09:35:00]

The company cited its losses it reported a net loss of $397 million in just the second quarter alone as well as its projected cash needs going forward

and member turnover this is not exactly a surprise. This is a company that's never really recovered from its failed IPO attempt in 2019.

The company did go public in 2021, at a valuation of just $9 billion, which is since as you see they're falling even further. And this is an industry

that really took a beating from the pandemic, there is now a glut of open commercial real estate space, there's increased competition in this sort of

co-working industry.

And lots of companies are fighting with their workers over not wanting to go back to the office, you know, full time or even at all. And so this

company WeWork now has a plan to try to turn things around it plans to renegotiate leases to try to lower rent costs. It plans to try to reduce

some of that member turn that it talked about and potentially to fundraise by issuing equity securities or debt.

But I think especially as you look at that 15 cents trading price, this company has a long way to go if it wants to turn things around.

MACFARLANE: Yes, well, we know it has turned things around in the past whether or not we can do that this time, though, remains to be seen. Clare

Duffy, thank you. And it's merged a popular weight loss drug may also cut the risk of heart attack, stroke or health related death by as much as 20

percent.

That's according to a new study from the company that makes the drug called Wegovy. Wegovy, the demand for the drug is skyrocketing. And now, we're

also learning more about the potential side effects and alternative uses. Our Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell is joining us live here.

And Meg, I feel like you know, another week doesn't go by where we don't hear these incredible claims from, you know, yet another weight loss

company. Can you break down those potential health benefits of this drug in particular?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. I mean, we hear a lot about this because this actually is kind of a revolutionary time when

it comes to these new medicines. This new class of drugs is known as GLP 1s and there are actually several medicines in it including Wegovy, but also

Ozempic, which is probably the most famous and Mounjaro.

And Ozempic and Mounjaro are actually approved for type 2 diabetes but are sometimes used off label for weight loss. Wegovy is actually approved for

weight loss itself. And in trials they've shown between 5 and 22 percent weight loss that 22 percent there for Mounjaro is in its obesity trial.

It's a waiting that FDA indication now, and just this week, we are seeing that's sort of landmark new trial. In terms of the heart benefits of these

medicines, Wegovy showing a benefit of a 20 percent risk reduction for a second heart attack or stroke, or heart related death in this trial, with

people who don't have diabetes.

That's the first time we've seen this with a weight loss medicine. And doctors are saying this could really potentially open up the field,

particularly in terms of insurance reimbursement here in the U.S., which is not great yet for these medicines.

MACFARLANE: Yes, I mean, certainly is good news. But there has also been a lot of talk about the potential side effects of these drugs. What can you

tell us about that?

TIRRELL: Well, the most common side effects are really tolerability issues, particularly as people are just starting the medicines. They're things like

nausea and vomiting, and things like that. Doctors say this is intolerable for about 5 to 10 percent of patients, but typically it goes away after

you've been on the drug for a little while.

There are things that are more serious that are included in the drugs label as sort of theoretical risk of thyroid cancer, for example, that's been

seen in rodents, not yet in people, but it's something doctors say should be watched out for kidney problems are another thing that are in the

warning label.

But there are other things that are starting to sort of emerge as questions something called gastroparesis, which is stomach paralysis. We know these

drugs work in part by slowing the emptying of food from the stomach. But there are questions about whether that can get too severe in certain cases,

and CNN has done a lot of reporting on this.

There are also protests going on in the EU and U.K. into the potential risk of suicidal thoughts on these medicines. No proven link but as more and

more people take these, they are deserving of more study experts say.

MACFARLANE: Yes, pretty concerning on the face of it but as you say, good that those studies are ongoing, Meg Tirrell with the latest on that thank

you. And after the break, no cash no problem. We'll discuss Visa as digital payment partnership with FIFA for the Women's World Cup when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

MACFARLANE: Welcome back to "First Move". Now it's one of the most recognized brands in the world and a longtime supporter of women's

football. Visa is an official partner for the Women's World Cup being held right now. And FIFA says the whole event is its first ever cashless

tournament.

Throughout the competition Visa is offering a digital prepaid card that can be used in and outside the stadium. Fans can also redeem a limited number

of match day NFT's. Australia, New Zealand which are hosting the World Cup are among the most advanced in the world when it comes to digital payments.

Joining me now is Frank Cooper. He is the Chief Marketing Officer at Visa Inc. Frank, good to see you. So as I was saying that this has been the

first ever cashless FIFA World Cup. And we know fans have been engaging with the perks that come with that like the unique NFT's and the discounts.

Were midway through the tournament or just a little over midway through the tournament here. What have you learned from this experience so far? And any

plans to roll this out for instance, at the Olympics in Paris next year?

FRANK COOPER III, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER AT VISA INC.: Yes, Christina, great to be here with you. Yes, look, what we've learned so far is that

this has been a steady march with consumers and fans toward cashless transactions. And Australia and New Zealand, as you just mentioned, they're

kind of off the charts in terms of digital payments.

You have 99 percent of Australians and 96 percent of New Zealanders, who already like cashless transactions when they're face to face. So that

number is already baked in. Six of the Australian stadiums are already caches. So that was kind of already happening. What has taught us though is

what the fan experience is when you have this cashless experience?

And you're seeing shorter queues, you're seeing consumers who feel like there's less friction in the payment process, they have the feeling of more

security. And in the merchants are also benefiting from this, you have less friction, you get more transactions. And so we're seeing this as being an

enhancement of the fan experience and an opportunity for merchants to generate more revenue.

MACFARLANE: But as you're saying, I mean, that was already kind of baked into the approach that Australia, New Zealand already taking for somewhere

like Paris, for instance, for the Olympics next year. Would you expect the same ease if you are going to opt for that again?

COOPER: Yes, I think if you look across most regions of the world, in most stadiums, there's a steady progression towards cashless transactions. And

so we expect to expand this in the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, which is simply more convenient for fans.

But more important than that, we think we can deliver a personalized experience to fans by understanding what their preferences are. And so

you'll see us expand this in the Paris Olympics. You'll see us expanded in the FIFA Men's World Cup in 2026.

[09:45:00]

You'll see us expand in the NFL this fall in the United States it's already happening in the stadiums. But for us, it's a great opportunity, because

this is what we do here. We invested over $10 billion in security transactions, that we have historic lows in fraud. And so we think that we

can not only provides security for fans and merchants, but also deliver better experiences.

So you'll definitely see it in Paris. It's uncertain whether it'll be accessed completely, but it certainly will be much more prominent than

you've seen the past Olympics.

MACFARLANE: One of your other innovations that I really liked during this World Cup is linking the Visa player of the match trophy to grants awarded

to women, only small businesses from players of that country's origin. This isn't just an overnight idea. This is backed up by research showing that

partnering with women's sport is actually good for business. Can you just talk us through your findings in that regard?

COOPER: Yes, Christina is one of the things I love most do. I think first of all, we're seeing a renaissance in sports. And that is the recognition

of the quality of play and the talent in women's sports generally. But we've been Visa has been in women's sports for over 20 years that were the

first FIFA global partner with first standalone partner under UEFA.

And we believe in what it's worth, largely for what you just said, if you look at the C suite, 94 percent of women in the C suite say that sports

played a critical role in their success. You know, we have over 80 percent of women who have small business owners who say that sports are critical to

their success.

You know, that Titleist old phrase that we've heard over the past several years, you know, footballs life is true, you know, there is a correlation

that we see between sports, and success outside of sports. And so we want to be incredibly supportive of that.

So we decided to take a different view on the player of the match award this year, and we get that award out 64 times, and it's fantastic. But

we're now attaching it to a grant, to a woman, small business owner, in the home country of the player of the match lender.

And that's been a remarkable thing for us, but also for the women, business owners receiving it. We want to make that connection between sports and

business and we want to expand that connection. So it's one of the things I'm really excited about and proud of.

MACFARLANE: And that is a connection, I think that people are sadly only waking up to that women's sport is good for business. This World Cup is

drawing revenues we haven't seen before viewing figures we haven't seen for before. The Visa has obviously been there in this space already for the

last five World Cups.

So you're ahead of the game as things stand, really great to have your perspective on this. And of course, we look forward to the rest of the

World Cup. What a -- it has been so far. Frank Cooper, thank you.

COOPER: Thank you so much.

MACFARLANE: Alright, still to come on "First Move", who runs the world girls, or at least Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and Barbie, we'll discuss how

these superstars are giving the U.S. economy a fierce boost.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:50:00]

MACFARLANE: It's just in to CNN, an American nurse and her daughter who was kidnapped in Haiti has been released. The Christian humanitarian group that

she works for announced their safe release just moments ago. Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter went missing two weeks ago. They were kidnapped

from the community Ministry of Port-au-Prince where she was working.

Now Swifties in Los Angeles are getting ready to flock to SoFi stadium next Wednesday night for Taylor Swift's final performance of her era's tour

until October. The Shake It Off singers six night California residency has brought in major money for local businesses, a new report from the

California Center for jobs and the economy estimates that the tool will bring $320 million to the city.

But Swift isn't the only female superstar to be giving a big boost to the U.S. economy. Vanessa Yurkevich joins me now with more. And Vanessa, I've

been calling this summer the holy trinity of SBB. Swift, Beyonce, and Barbie of course tell us more.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we cannot forget about Beyonce and Barbie the three women obviously to real one not

but all three of them fueling the economy and really fueling spending by women, millions of women. And not just from one age group across

generations. We are seeing women open up their wallets many for the first time to get in on the summer of girl power.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're waiting to see if we get the tickets.

YURKEVICH (voice over): It would have been a cruel summer if not for this moment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to Taylor Swift.

YURKEVICH (voice over): This group of moms, sisters, sisters in laws and cousins are Swifties.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many of you ladies in the room have been to the Taylor Swift concert?

YURKEVICH (voice over): We also have Barbie fans.

CHELSEA DEUTSCH, TAYLOR SWIFT FAN: I love going with my family. I don't think I would have rather had it any other way.

YURKEVICH (voice over): Women and girls of all ages are flocking to Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Barbie.

YURKEVICH (on camera): These women are resonating with other women in a big, big way.

KRISTINA CHIAPPETTA, EXECUTIVE STRATEGY DIRECTOR AND LANDOR & FITCH: Yes.

YURKEVICH (on camera): What are you seeing in this moment that may be different than other moments with these three women?

CHIAPPETTA: Women are not to be underestimated. They lift up economies and that impact is not to be overlooked. But brands haven't been talking to

them in their language for a really long time.

YURKEVICH (voice over): That language is authenticity and empowerment. Generations of women are sharing these experiences together. The result 1

billion in box office sales for Barbie Beyonce's economy driving tour and extra U.S. dates added later this year for Swift's era's tour to meet

demand.

JEANINE RICHER, TAYLOR SWIFT FAN: It was a gift to me to watch them experience her, right? It was amazing. I remember when Taylor came out, I

was videoing their reaction. And that is something that will live with me forever.

YURKEVICH (voice over): And that feeling bottled up is priceless. It's unleashed the spending power of women, which has always existed, but is now

being harnessed do other fearless women.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was nice to be a part of things that had such a girl positive message, which is definitely not the norm. So hopefully,

maybe this sparks the term. And maybe we get to see some more of that.

YURKEVICH (voice over): Two canceled flights were not going to stop -- from meeting her daughter Julie in Los Angeles.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I met her.

YURKEVICH (voice over): For the final leg of Taylor Swift's tour in LA.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come hell or high water I was going today. So I made it happen.

YURKEVICH (voice over): A last minute first class ticket later to concert tickets, dinners out the outfits and the beads it all adds up

JULIE POLISE, TAYLOR SWIFT FAN: Men go to otter sporting games and spent a lot of money on sporting tickets and that's never like considered observer

over the top like why like for us this is like my Super Bowl.

YURKEVICH (voice over): The -- also has plans to see Barbie together during their self-described girl power weekend.

POLISE: This summer has really been a celebration of like women coming together and like really embracing female friendships and doing things

together like the first time, women my age when my mom's age even like little girls are seeing like femininity and femaleness portrayed in such

like a positive light where you just feel so happy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH: And many of the women and girls in our peace there are going to be repeat customers. The young girls in that family of 10 say that they

want to get the moms who haven't seen Barbie yet to go to the movie.

[09:55:00]

And all of those ladies, the 10 of them want to go to Taylor Swift again in another city when she comes back to the U.S. to finish up her tour here.

But you know, Christina, we can't leave out the men and the young boys who are going to these shows and are going to see Barbie, they end up sometimes

going to support the women and girls.

But end up loving these experiences just as much. And Christina, the message also from these two shows, and the movie ends up resonating with

the men too. So it's really amazing to see what this summer has done in terms of people willing to spend money and really revel in joy in these

experiences. It's definitely turning out to be the summer of girl power, or the trifecta as you call it, Christina.

MACFARLANE: The Super Bowl as that Swifty fan called it and I can tell you that my husband is one of those who have been converted to Barbie. Vanessa,

so you're right in that regard. Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you.

YURKEVICH: Yes.

MACFARLANE: And thank you so much for joining us. So stay tuned, "Connect the World" is coming up quick right. Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

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