Return to Transcripts main page
Quest Means Business
Singapore Summit Returns; President Trump Celebrates Strong Economic Numbers; US Markets Finished The Week On A High Lifted By That Strong Jobs Report; People Trying To Use Visa Cards Are Facing Problems Across Europe; Fiat-Chrysler CEO Announces Overhaul Before Retiring; European Steel Industry Executives Concerned About U.S. Tariffs; Trump Makes Plans to Ban German Car Exports to U.S.; President Trump Questions Why Samantha Bee Hasn`t Been Sacked After Her Derogatory Comments About Ivanka; ABC Considering Reboot for Axed Roseanne Show; Uganda Taxes Social Media Users. Aired: 4-5p ET
Aired June 01, 2018 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: : And it has been triple digit moves every day this week on the Dow and today is no exception. It`s Friday, the first of
June. Tonight, the Singapore summit returns. Donald Trump says he will meet with Kim Jong-un this month.
The White takes heat for teasing the latest jobs report, and you wait all week for one new Prime Minister, then two come along at once. European
stocks rallied to welcome its new leaders. I am Bianna Golodryga and this is "Quest Means Business."
A busy hour ahead where we will have full coverage of Trump administration`s tariff plans. We will hear from President Obama`s top
economic adviser, Jason Furman, the head of Europe`s steel association and Germany`s Chambers of Commerce -- they are all ahead this hour.
First though tonight, Donald Trump announces his historic meeting with North Korea`s leader, Kim Jong-un is back on. The US President says the
landmark summit will go ahead in Singapore on June 12th, warning that it would be a big mistake to do otherwise.
The bombshell statement came a short time ago after the highest level meeting between a US President and North Korea official in 18 years. Mr.
Trump says he is confident not only that the meeting would go ahead, but that it could lead to a transformation of North Korean economy.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I really think you can and I think it`s going to be very successful. They are incredible people. I
think it`s going to be a very great success. So, we`ll see what happens, but we will see you -- we will see you on June 12th, but I am sure we will
see you a little bit before that. In the meantime, how is Sarah doing? Okay?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGIA: Jeremy Diamond is at the White House and Alexandria Field is in the South Korean capital. Jeremy, let`s start with you first. Quite a
stunning change of events there unfolding in the White House with the President announcing that the summit is back on. Talk about what he told
the press.
JEREMY DIAMOND, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, CNN: Absolutely, you know, it`s stunning to go from what happened last week with the President issuing this
public letter to Kim Jong-un to cancel this June 12th summit and then over the last week, to see that summit get back on track, but to still hear the
White House talk about this in terms of planned summit, expected summit, but today, the President could not have been more definitive about this
summit actually taking place.
He said, we will be meeting on June 12th and he talked to the press in that bite that you just heard there about go and flying over to Singapore to
cover this potentially historic summit between the President and the North Korean leader, but what we also heard from the President today of course
was also a lowering of expectations.
In the past, the President has talked about potentially winning a Nobel Peace prize over this meeting, talking about how successful this summit
could be for world peace. Today, the President dampening those expectations a little bit, where he is talking about the fact that this
will be a first meeting in a broader and longer conversation between the US and North Korea, but nonetheless, the President clearly expressing a lot of
optimism, a lot of warmth towards North Korea as far as the possibilities that could come of this summit between himself and Kim Jong-un.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, many people in the administration and advisers to former Presidents said that there had been so much anticipation into the idea of
denuclearization itself, and ratcheting up expectations that that in fact would come out on June 12th or would not, and that a successful meeting
would hinder on that specific issue, it looks like as you mentioned, the President has walked down those expectations, so what if anything aside
from a get to know you meeting, will this be now?
DIAMOND: Yes, that is the big question. You know, the President clearly hopes to achieve something, some kind of a concrete deliverable that he can
tout from this meeting. US officials are very wary of this meeting between the President and Kim Jong-un simply being a photo op which would hand the
North Koreans a huge victory on the world stage.
So, clearly, the United States has been working -- both Secretary Pompeo and his meetings, US officials at the Demilitarized Zone between North and
South Korea and also officials who are in Singapore right now, working out the logistics. They are all working to try and narrow the gap between
these two sides, not only the logistics front, but again, on the substantive issues of how do you achieve this denuclearization and what
kind of sanctions relief would then follow.
The President today making clear once again that there would be that kind of sanctions relief if a deal was achieved, but also saying that South
Korea and Japan and China would really bear more of the financial burden of actually helping North Korea with some of that economic aid that has been
offered up as kind of the carrot to the stick that we have seen in the President`s rhetoric in the past.
GOLODRYGA: And Alex, arguably no country has more at stake from this meeting and from relationships with North Korea than of course, South
Korea. What is the reaction there, obviously President Moon had been a proponent of a summit and of a thawing of tense relations between North
Korea and the world?
ALEXANDRIA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And really, Bianna, it was South Korea that took the lead in working to help to orchestrate this summit.
You will remember that it was the South Korean envoys who went to Washington DC with this offer from Kim Jong-un for a sit down that really
kicked the whole thing off even before we had the news though that President Trump had agreed that the summit was back on, that he denies he
had ever cancelled it.
South Korean officials were already expressing what they described as relief simply from the fact that Kim Yong Chol was going to the White House
to deliver this letter, the contents of which had not yet been shared with the world. They have only been described as generally positive content
that were supporting the cause of this summit.
But South Korean officials felt very strongly that this was a positive move, of course, coupled with the fact that Kim Yong Chol had spent the
last couple of days in New York speaking with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo where it has become clear to the Secretary of State, as he put it,
that North Korea was really considering a new way forward.
You`ve got President Trump now saying that he believes that North Korea wants to do it when asked about denuclearization that the country wants to
develop. Look, the ending for South Korea is certainly to ensure the safety of their people. Tension has come to a tipping point in the last
year here in Seoul, when the threats from North Korea mounted. What they wanted more than anything was to see the US and North Korea come to the
table to start dialogue.
You had Jeremy point out, of course, that President Trump seems to be tempering expectations about the deliverables that could come out of a
meeting like this, well, this is a big win for South Korea just to see these two sides begin to talk here.
GOLODRYGA: Arguably a good win for North Korea as well. You mentioned that letter, still not sure whether the President himself has read it. He
said it was a nice letter, only to follow up a few minutes later by saying he has not read it yet. So, a bit of a head scratcher there, nonetheless,
huge development this afternoon.
I want to thank both of you for joining us. Thank you.
Now, of course, all of this comes as President Trump celebrates strong economic numbers while economists and the President`s own Republican
colleagues warned his trade policies could undo it all.
America`s allies have announced their response to US tariffs, a response that economists warned could cost hundreds of thousands of jobs. President
Trump says, America`s economy will win the fight.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have a good chance of doing some great trade deals that will make America great again, right? That`s what we are doing. What America
has picked up, we have made about $8 trillion in values. You know, it doubles the size of the economy of China. We have picked up a lot of
value, a lot of wealth since I have been President.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Economists aren`t quite so optimistic. These are the numbers. The US economy added 223,000 jobs in May. Unemployment is now at its
lowest point in half a century. The US Chamber of Commerce however warns that could change as tariffs go into the effect.
The steel and aluminum tariffs alone could cause 470,000 jobs, combine that with an end to NAFTA, auto tariffs and a trade war with China, and the
Chamber warns 2.6 million Americans could lose their jobs.
Joining me now, Jason Furman, served as President Obama`s top economic adviser. Jason, great to have you on. Thanks so much.
JASON FURMAN, FORMER ECONOMIC ADVISER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thanks for having me.
GOLODRYGA: So, first question, your reaction to this better than expected jobs report for May?
FURMAN: I think it was an excellent jobs report. We saw jobs up, wages up, unemployment down, broader measures of unemployment down. I`d like to
see a lot more like this.
GOLODRYGA: So, this comes amidst trade tension, renewed tensions with just about every trading partner we have in the world, not to mention unrest in
Italy and Spain. You saw a lot of optimism from the President saying that the US economy could withstand it all.
As an economist yourself, are you concerned at all?
FURMAN: I am absolutely concerned. Of course, we can withstand it, it is not going to cause the second great depression, but it is going to make us
poorer. We are going to lose jobs on both ends.
The tariffs we are putting on steel will drive up the price of steel and we will lose jobs in all of the industries, the millions of workers that
depend on steel for their jobs, and then we will lose jobs at the other end. When other countries place tariffs on our exports, it will hurt their
industries and all of this is in service of a goal that I don`t even quite understand at this point what it is.
GOLODRYGA: And of course, the stock market isn`t an indicator that economists turn to right away, but as you surprised at all that given all
of these news that we are getting on a daily basis, whether or not a trade war is on or off, trade tariffs are going to be on or off, the markets have
not reacted the way many would anticipate they would. Why is that?
[16:10:13]
FURMAN: Yes, I mean sometimes when there have been really big surprise announcements, you have seen the market go down. I don`t think yesterday`s
news was a particular surprise. People were really expecting these tariffs to hit the EU, to hit Canada and Mexico given the way we have talked
lately.
I agree with you, you know, I can`t fathom every single move in the market every day. It certainly was a good jobs report and that was the reason for
the market to be pleased. I think what the President should be focused on is the medium, long term health of the economy and I don`t think I can make
of anyone who thinks that this trade war is good for that.
GOLODRYGA: Larry Kudlow, the man who now has your former job says that this is a trade discussion and it shouldn`t be described as a war. Is
there a difference there in your view?
FURMAN: First of all, I think President Trump has used the term "war" before. I think that`s his word, not everyone else`s and you don`t have a
discussion by making the types of unilateral threats we have been making.
There are legitimate issues with Chinese intellectual property, joint ventures, but the way to do that is to get the other countries that suffer
from it also -- Canada, Japan, Europe -- get them on our side, confronting China, instead, we are alienating them by willy-nilly putting tariffs on
all of these countries.
GOLODRYGA: The economy had been growing for many months prior to President Trump`s election victory. The unemployment rate had been going down. Many
of the President`s advisers though and those who support him say that the President should be credited with the latest numbers that we are seeing
because of his impact on deregulation and the corporate tax cuts. Do you think that he deserves that credit for that?
FURMAN: I think primarily what is going on is both a continuation of a good trend. This is about the same pace of job growth we had under
President Obama, a huge strengthening of the global economy. In fact, growth rates have picked up even more in Europe and Japan than they have in
the United States.
But finally, I do agree that there has been a large fiscal stimulus this year, $200 billion of tax cuts, a big spending increase and that will help
the economy in the short run, I think what it does though is hurt us over the medium and long run and it not a sustainable way to grow the economy.
GOLODRYGA: You made headlines this morning by taking to Twitter yourself, this was in response to the President hyping up the latest jobs numbers
before they were released -- about an hour before they were released at 7:20, Friday morning, Washington time, the US President said, he was,
"Looking forward to seeing them."
That`s a big no-no in the words of the former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, a former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers says that it
would have been a major scandal for Presidents Obama or Clinton and Jason, you yourself suggested that President Trump should never get the numbers in
advance again. Talk about the significance of this.
Obviously, the President seems to be breaking protocol and norms on many issues. Why is this one important?
FURMAN: Look, do I think this is the single most important one? Probably not. Is this one that I personally spent a lot of time on when I was in my
job? Absolutely, yes. We were very careful with the data that we were entrusted with. We got it a day in advance. It was very market sensitive.
We were very secure about how we transmitted it to the President and to a very, very small number of other people -- the Treasury Secretary, the Fed
Chair and the Director of the National Economic Council and that was because we didn`t want it to leak out for market reasons.
But also, public confidence in the data that the public believes the data is done with integrity and in an non-partisan and serious way, which it is,
because you don`t want to politicize it like this.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, and many people are suggesting that he could have been anticipating a number that Wall Street would react to, right? So, people
are concerned about that as well, though the White House official response has been, "Nothing to see here." So, we will leave it there. Jason
Furman, great to see you. Thanks so much for coming on.
FURMAN: Great to see you.
GOLODRYGA: Well, US markets finished the week on a high lifted by that strong jobs report. The Dow gained more than 200 points following
Thursday`s selloff. Paul La Monica is joining me now. Great day, great week for the Dow.
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was a very volatile, bumpy week for the overall market, but we finished on a high note because this jobs
report really had something for everyone. You had wage growth, taking up a little bit, but not so much that it is going to spook investors and make
them feel that the Federal Reserve is going to end the party by raising rates too aggressively.
[16:15:07]
LA MONICA; Jobs gains better than expected, unemployment rate down. The underemployment rate down, the unemployment rate for blacks is also down
pretty sharply, which is a very encouraging sign, so there is really little to quibble with in this report and I think that`s why Wall Street likes it.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, and not much concern about inflation on the horizon either. Wall Street liked that as well. What are you looking for going
into next week?
LA MONICA: I think next week, we are just going to wait and see probably what more political news goes out. It is going to be a pretty light week
with regards to economic reports and corporate earnings, so there may not be a lot of data that influences the markets, which makes it more
susceptible to things like, I don`t know, President Trump tweets.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, potentially a quiet week, don`t jinx us, right?
LA MONICA: It`s not going to be quiet.
GOLODRYGA: It`s not going to be quiet. You think you can forecast that already. Paul, have a great weekend.
LA MONICA: Thank you, you, too.
GOLODRYGA: Well, people trying to use Visa cards are facing problems across Europe. The card giant says that it is investigating and working on
a fix. Customers have reported that their cards have been declined. Nina dos Santos is in London with the latest. How significant is this glitch?
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, it is pretty significant if you consider that Visa is the largest credit company anywhere in the
world, and it also hosts a number of people`s debit cards, particularly here in the United Kingdom where it is estimated that more than 95% of
debit cards go through the Visa network.
So, this is the problem. Essentially, if you`ve got a credit card like this, a Visa one, you can`t use that, but if you`ve got your current
account or your checking account on this particular card, it is also Visa and that`s not working either, and that`s why people are finding themselves
really in hot waters, ruining people`s holidays and perhaps there is more serious consequences as well.
I am just reading here a tweet from somebody I spotted a couple of hours ago saying, "@Visa, I am on holiday in Sicily, the car hire is messed up,
and Visa is down, that means that my card is being declined. We owe our hosts 350 euros and need to get to Palermo, the capital of Sicily from
Taormina on the other side of the island for a flight. Can anybody please help me." That`s the type of plea that you are seeing out there on the
Tweetersphere, but even anecdotally here in the center of London, we are seeing big retail outlets, shops putting out signs saying, "Cash only."
People having difficulty getting in to subway because also, you use one of these cards to tap in and out of the subway in the UK as well as in other
European capitals.
Now, there is good news here, Bianna, and it is the fact that if you have one of these, an AmEx or a Mastercard in Europe, you`re fine. That system
seems to be working. The Cyber Crime Center in the UK said that they didn`t believe that the Visa outage was thanks to any form of hacking. The
latest statement we have had from Visa, and I was just checking on my mobile phone a moment ago, still dates from four hours ago when they say
that they are aware of a service disruption and that they are working as quickly as possible to fix that.
There are some people who are stranded because they just can`t pay for things at the moment, well that`s not going to help too much because it`s
now about 9:30 p.m. UK time and this still isn`t resolved.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, going in to the weekend, a huge inconvenience, no doubt of course, it may be a bit of a relief at least now, we get the initial
headline that it doesn`t appear to be a nefarious incident. We will leave it there, and of course, we will check back in if there is any breaking
news. Nina, thank you so much.
Still to come, sweeping political changes in Europe. A Prime Minister ousted in Spain, and the Euro skeptic government takes power in Italy.
Investors, well, they are loving it. and Fiat-Chrysler`s boss goes for a symbolic change of wardrobe to celebrate his company`s freedom from debt.
You`ll never guess what that is, that`s coming up next.
[16:20:00]
GOLODRYGA: European investors are breathing a sigh of relief after two political dramas came to an apparent end. Stocks in Spain and Italy jumped
higher as both countries welcomed new Prime Ministers. Bank shares saw the biggest gains.
In Madrid, lawmakers removed Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy from power following a corruption scandal in his party. He has been replaced by Pedro
Sanchez, the head of the Socialist Workers Party.
In Rome, this swearing in ceremony for the new Prime Minister marked the end of months of political turmoil. There is a technocrat in charge. The
Populist and Euro skeptic parties are expected to wield most of the power.
Peter Ceretti studies European issues for "The Economist Intelligence Unit" and joins us on set. Peter, huge developments in both countries, ending I
guess, on the positive note or I guess, the most positive one could expect given what the early indications and warning signs were. How do you view
the fallout?
PETER CERETTI, ANALYST, THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT: Yes, I think you know, markets are right to be more concerned about Italy than Spain. I
think we should be relieved that a government has taken office in Italy, that a second election wasn`t called. There was a risk of a rerun election
happening because talks had fallen through and it looked like the President might appoint a caretaker Prime Minister who wouldn`t get a confidence vote
in Parliament. That second election could have been very messy.
It could have yielded an even stronger majority for anti-establishment parties that would have been very ugly and we would have seen a summer of
market volatility.
GOLODRYGA: And you say the most important factor in Spain is that the PSOE government is going to be led by a traditional center left party. Why is
that?
CERETTI: That`s right. So, the socialist PSOE, led by Pedro Sanchez, is you know, again, a traditional center left party. They are not anti-Euro,
they are not anti-EU, so there is not going to be any conversation about you know, potentially leaving the currency area as some market participants
had been concerned about, you know, possibly happening in Italy because the government parties there -- they`ve flirted with Euro skeptic ideas in the
past.
The Socialist also had a very tenuous majority in Parliament. They only have something like 84 seats, so that is a minority government, they had to
cobble together a bunch of other parties to oust Mr. Rajoy and to get Mr. Sanchez in, so it is going to be very, very difficult for them to pass as
long as they don`t have the majority to effectively win.
GOLODRYGA: Catalonia is still a huge issue though that the country is going to be bracing. How do you see that affecting this latest news
affecting Catalonia crisis?
CERETTI: It is very interesting because Mr. Sanchez needed the support of two of the Catalon nationalist parties and the National Parliament to get
Mr. Rajoy out, and he did that, and so now, Catalons have a little bit of leverage.
I think what we are going to get from Mr. Sanchez is a more conciliatory approach. Rhetoric is not as tough with respect to the Catalon pro
independence parties, perhaps the direct rule is lifted from Catalonia in a relatively short order, but you know, I think the PSOE stands on Catalonia
is still fairly orthodox. They are not going to allow anything that would look like it might begin to be the road towards independence for Catalonia.
GOLODRYGA: And you mentioned earlier the scandal in Italy and concerns about the country possibly leaving the EU. That seemed to be ratcheted
down a bit now. Not completely off the table though, right?
CERETTI: I would say it`s very, very unlikely that -- it`s not part of my baseline forecast. I think you know, the parties that have come into
office as I have said, they have flirted with the idea about a Euro referendum or you know, in the case of the Northern League, leaving in
secret, they are not going to be able to do that.
You know, it became very clear this week that market pressure would be so strong that if they made the wrong sort of signals, that could be very,
very difficult for the country, the President also forced them to bring in a Finance Minister who is critical of the Euro and he is critical of
Germany`s position in the Euro area, but he said pretty clearly that the country is going to remain in the currency area.
They will continue to test the boundaries. They might put in some fiscal policies that are a bit concerning, but Euro exit and frontal confrontation
with the EU are off the cards for now.
GOLODRYGA: Sigh of relief for the EU, at least for now. Peter, thanks so much for coming in.
CERETTI: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: We appreciate it. Well, the political developments in Italy and Spain push up stocks around Europe. The major markets all closed higher.
Banking shares were some of the biggest gainers. Shares of Deutsche Bank moved higher even as S&P downgraded the bank. We will have more on that
story later in the program.
[16:25:06]
Europe slide back against the new US steel tariffs has begun. The Trade Commissioner for the European Union warns there is no turning back now.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
CECILIA MALMSTROM, TRADE COMMISSIONER, EUROPEAN UNION: Our offer was that you take this gun away from us, we sit together as friends and equals and
we discuss and eventually, this could lead to negotiation. This would of course require a mandate from the member states.
So, we never got this. And now, that door for the moment is closed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The EU and Canada have both now filed complaints with the World Trade Organization. Along with Mexico, the three nations are also planning
to penalize the US over the trade of products such as beer kegs, lamps and peanut butter.
CNN`s John Defterios is in London. So, John, what do we know about what the UE is targeting now and what do they have to say about the US strategy
and approach?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR, CNN: Well, Bianna, I think it`s fair to say that the Europeans were trying to take the high road, not get
down and dirty with the United States, but inevitably, we are looking by June 20th a response from the European Union. I thought Ms. Malmstrom`s
response was very measured, but they have compiled the list of some 22 pages in length of 400 products or more to target for the United States.
You have mentioned some of the products there being whiskey and denim and motorcycles, peanut butter, those were expected, but what`s also
interesting there were three pages of steel products targeted as well in retaliation to the 25% and 10% tariffs on steel and aluminum by the United
States at this point.
Malmstrom also suggested that the European Union didn`t take kindly to this very aggressive approach by the United States, I thought the sound bite
that you ran there says it all. They felt like the gun was to their head at this stage and they were getting pressure to bend before they actually
sat at the negotiating table and that is why, at this juncture, she is suggesting that the door is closed.
The other added twist that most didn`t pay attention to, but it stood out for me, they almost put out an olive branch to the Americans suggesting
that China is to blame when it comes to global steel and also supported the US position when it comes to intellectual property rights when it applies
to technology and pharmaceuticals.
So, perhaps, this is the common ground going forward. I thought also, they didn`t take an immediate action because they want to leave this door open
for the next 20 days, even though they said otherwise. There is a chance they can negotiate from this point forward, if they pick a common enemy in
China and see if they can file within the World Trade Organization itself.
GOLODRYGA: And this of course being filed under the auspices of a national security threat to the US, has stunned a lot of our allies including Justin
Trudeau in Canada. One would imagine that the Europeans are equally as puzzled.
DEFTERIOS: In fact, Bianna, Cecilia Malmstrom singled out that very fact suggesting to put this under the guise of national security is in her
words, "flatly wrong," and violates the WTO rules. She said this dates back better than 50 years to 1962 when the US was trying to rebuild its
steel sector after World War II and also the Korean War and that was a national priority, but why are we, transatlantic allies, if you are going
to make a move like that, I think this has the imprint of two very influential people on Donald Trump -- National Security Adviser, John
Bolton; and also the new Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.
The America First in their view, at least, this is how it is interpreted by the Europeans is, we punch you first, and then we bring you to the
negotiation table and see if we can make you bend against your will, but the common theme here -- Mexico, Canada, the European Union -- very upset
with the approach. The Europeans prefer the multilateral approach.
The World Trade Organization, as we know that Donald Trump and his team flatly rejected. They have chosen to pick off their partners unilaterally
each time and the Europeans are no exception.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, the President standing by those tariffs as recently as this afternoon, saying that our trading partners have treated us very
unfairly, so we shall see how this develops. John, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate your insight.
DEFTERIOS: You bet.
GOLODRYGA: And time now for a quick quiz before the break. Which stories do you think belong to these three items? We will be revealing them coming
up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:30:00] GOLODRYGA: Hello, I am Bianna Golodryga, coming up on the next half hour of QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, Deutsche Bank boss says he`s sick and
tired of all the bad news following his company.
And never mind in that neutrality, Uganda wants to put a tax on using social media. First, these are the top news headlines we`re following this
hour. The on again, off again summit between the United States and North Korea is now back on.
Donald Trump made that announcement after meeting with a top aide to Kim Jong-un at the White House. Mr. Trump was given a letter from Kim Jong-un
which the White House says the president has now read. Mr. Trump says the June 12th summit in Singapore will be the beginning of a process,
suggesting there could be more talks to come.
VISA is investigating a problem affecting card users across Europe. Customers have reported debit and credit cards being declined. The scale
of the problem isn`t clear, but Britain`s cybersecurity Thinar(ph) says it doesn`t appear to be a cyber incident.
Pedro Sanchez has become Spain`s new Prime Minister after his predecessor was removed by parliament. It`s the first time that`s happened in Spain`s
recent history. Mariano Rajoy was toppled by a corruption scandal. Prime Minister Sanchez is expected to nominate his cabinet next week.
Meanwhile, Giuseppe Conte has been sworn in as Italy`s new Prime Minister. Mr. Conte is heading up a populist in Eurosceptic government after the far
right in anti-establishment parties formed the coalition. The leaders of both the League and Five Star Movement joined the new government as cabinet
ministers.
Well, there`s plenty of bad news to see in these papers. And the boss of Deutsche Bank, well, he is sick and tired of it. He might mean bad news
like this. The S&P says the banks U.S. business is troubled, that sent stocks lower before recovering. Anna Stewart has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It`s been a rough 24 hours for Deutsche Bank, and as little one that the CEO has said he`s feeling sick and tired,
given all the bad news. In fact, he wrote to employees today in a letter which opened with this, "let`s be straightforward, the new slow is not
good."
Something of an understatement, it`s not, just not good, the news can be much worse. Yesterday, the share price was down over 7 percent, that was
on the news that the bank had been placed on a federal Reserve`s troubled bank list; a secret list.
Essentially meaning that the bank had to curtail risk-taking last year. Then we found out this morning, the S&P had downgraded it and straight off
the back of that that it was facing criminal cartel charges in Australia along with Citigroup, and I have to say both banks do deny those charges.
But all this is a really difficult time for the bank and for the CEO. The new CEO has been in that position now in less than 2 months. He faces huge
pressure from shareholders to ramp up the restructuring plans, more so given the fact that the last CEO failed to do so and was ousted.
[16:35:00] Now part of these plans involves moving away from the investment banking arm, retreating on that, particularly in the U.S., cutting some
7,000 jobs by the end of next year and moving some offices away from major city centers, all that to reduce cost.
And there`s some light at the end of the tunnel. The share price was up today and they have some backing from some investors. The major investment
group, the HNA Group, they said they are committed to the bank`s long-term success and look forward to working with the management team to achieve
that.
Plus, "Reuters" were reporting that the ECB had approved the plans. So perhaps, there`s hope yet with this turnaround. Anna Stewart, CnnMoney,
London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: And from newspapers to the gas can. The CEO of Petrobras Pedro Parente quits Friday following nationwide truck strikes that forced the
government to lower diesel prices. He says Petrobras` pricing has been under intense questioning.
And finally, from the gas can, well, to the neck tie, which was worn today by the CEO of Fiat-Chrysler. Why is this important? Well, until now,
Sergio Marchionne had been sticking to sweaters until the company moved out of the debt.
Now, he says Fiat will be back on the block from the end of the quarter, that is good news. This as he severs his ties with the company and steps
down next year. He signaled a move to make more electric cars.
Auto expert Lauren Fix who is known as the car coach joins me now. So how big of an accomplishment is this for Sergio? I mean, he set this out
himself, right? I`m not going to wear a tie --
LAUREN FIX, AUTOMOTIVE EXPERT: That`s good --
GOLODRYGA: Until we`re out of debt. The company is out of debt, how did they get so far?
FIX: Well, as long as we`ve known Sergio, he`s never worn a tie, even to the White House, which is quite unusual. But for him to do that, that`s a
big statement. But he`s also said he`s going to step down multiple times - -
GOLODRYGA: And you don`t believe it.
FIX: I don`t believe it --
GOLODRYGA: You`ll believe it when you see it --
FIX: I`ll believe it when I see it. I mean, if you look at what he`s done for the company, he saved by using Fiat, and again FCA Fiat-Chrysler, he`s
now saved the company and he`s continuing to build the brand and he`s spun off Ferrari as its own corporation which did deplete some of the equity
value of FCA, but now we`re seeing some more changes.
GOLODRYGA: And now customers are going back to demanding bigger cars, right? Are we seeing that Chrysler is going along with that demand?
FIX: You know, Chrysler is not, I mean, they got rid of the 200 last year which I actually liked. Keeping the 300 which was larger. Consumers are
buying SUVs and Crossovers and Pickup trucks, and that`s why the jeep brand is their number one, that is their big equity brand.
And then followed by Ram and then Dodge and another -- great to keep Alfa Romeo which I`m a huge fan of, and Alfa Romeo has just invested just
yesterday, announced they`re going to be doing even more products and Maserati because that`s a luxury line and that`s a great place to be.
GOLODRYGA: The fuel efficiency though is still front and center for both customers and automakers, Chrysler as well --
FIX: Right --
GOLODRYGA: Right, and that`s why everyone is offering an electric vehicle option or a hybrid option in order to sell in the state of California
because the tail is wagging the dog in this case, they`re creating the demand and consumers are asking for it and not just that, the country has
to, they`re raising the fuel economy standards.
So there`s going to be a lot of changes in that, also with the EPA and that`s coming down the road. So you have to be ready for that change. And
if he`s going to sell this company off potentially down the road or pass it down to someone else, you want to give them something that`s got great
brand equity and they can take it to the next level.
You don`t want to give them a company that has a lot of problems, it will make it very difficult to sell.
GOLODRYGA: Chrysler also investing in autonomous technology as well.
FIX: Right, FCA is, but we`re going to see how that rolls out because right now, we`ve got a lot of other issues from some accidents that have
happened, a lot of concerns from consumers, and if you look at what analysts and servers are saying, about 90 percent of people think it`s
cool, but they`re not going to ride in one because it`s an amusement ride.
GOLODRYGA: So Sergio and other auto leaders and their executives, what`s their reaction been thus far? Did the president sort of unexpected
announcement that he`s going to impose tariffs on imported cars.
FIX: Well, I think the reason that the president does, and I`m not him nor do I communicate with him, is that I think the idea is to get them to lower
the tariff on both. And most manufacturers do build here in the U.S., Volvo is opening a factory next month to actually produce cars here.
BMW produces cars that are here, Kia does or Honda, Toyota, so you`re watching these brands start to build bases here so they won`t be involved
with that tariff. The German brands don`t all build here in the U.S., so that would mostly be Audi who builds in Mexico.
So that could make the cost of a car get more expensive, but their buyers are also more affluent, so they`re probably more likely not to even see the
difference.
GOLODRYGA: They do, we`re going to see them investing in more ties now?
FIX: I think -- I am really shocked to see that. We were all actually talking about that on the internet, saying oh, my gosh.
GOLODRYGA: Never say never --
FIX: Where`s the sweater? He wears the team`s sweater everywhere.
GOLODRYGA: Well, he`s got a lot of them --
FIX: Yes --
GOLODRYGA: Now, hopefully at least for his company`s sake, he`s going to have a lot more ties.
FIX: I hope so.
GOLODRYGA: Lauren, great to have you on, thanks so much, nice to meet you in person --
FIX: Nice to meet you too.
[16:40:00] GOLODRYGA: Well, the head of Europe Steel Association says the U.S. tariffs could have an enormous impact on his industry. Our Maggie
Lake spoke to Alex Eggert earlier on "QUEST EXPRESS".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX EGGERT, DIRECTOR, EUROPE STEEL ASSOCIATION: The exporter on the multi-million tons of steel to the U.S. every year was around about 6
billion euros. So when we expect that at least half of that will not have entrance to the U.S. market in the future.
And the other half may come back on the EU market competing with those products put on the EU market as well deflected 16 trade flows from
countries such as Turkey, Iran or South Korea which can also -- restrictions for the U.S. market.
So this all together will lead to millions of tons of steels coming on the EU market, jeopardizing this market for the steel industry. So we can well
see ourselves back in the situation where it happened few years ago with fallen prices below production cost.
MAGGIE LAKE, CNN: Are you worried that this is just the beginning and that European cars may be next. I mean, are we on a brink of a trade war?
EGGERT: It looks as if we are at the front door of a trade war, but I wouldn`t go so far yet. I believe that negotiations, discussions between
the EU and the U.S. have to continue so that we can maybe find solutions, so where we can then also or the U.S. can also lift the 25 percent tariff
on the EU steel imports.
So I believe there`s room for negotiation and I believe also Wilbur Ross made it clear that the door is still open for solutions and everyone should
work on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: At the front door of a trade war. Well, up next, America`s allies are fighting back against U.S. tariffs. We`ll hear from Germany`s
Chamber of Commerce which warrants that it may have no choice but to return fire.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: We are in a trade conflict, not a trade war. That`s the view of the Association of the German Chamber of Commerce. Its vice president
told Maggie Lake that trade tensions with the U.S. could be much worse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLKER TREIER, VICE PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF GERMAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: We are very annoyed about the decision of imposing this tariffs on steel
and aluminum. We do think that violating WTO rules, so we all do not want any escalation of this conflict.
We also do not know what is the U.S. administration aiming for, because the certification for this new tariff is supposed to be -- threaten off
national security issues of the U.S., so we can understand that.
[16:45:00] But we have to come to an -- yes, own European standpoint and so that could include retaliatory measures instrument, new tariffs on some
U.S. imported goods.
LAKE: What specifically would you like the German government and EU officials to do? What would you like their response to be?
TREIER: First, we would wish that there`s an elimination of these new tariffs and that we can come back to negotiate about and comprehensive free
trade agreement with the U.S. where all the points of obstacles in order to step in different markets come on the table.
But now it`s going the other way round, and that also means that we have to stop the USA by imposing another tariff for instance on car exports from
Europe to the U.S. which is now under investigation and are looming.
So and that means unfortunately that we have to show also our instruments and that we have to prove whether to take in place or not the re-balancing
measures which are according to WTO rules and that means tariff also on U.S. imported goods to Europe like orange juice, like peanut butter and
motorcycle.
LAKE: Do you fear that we are headed for a trade war?
TREIER: We are in a trade conflict, I wouldn`t go so far to speak about a trade war, this could be when the U.S.-China conflict is really evolving,
then I would say we are -- and we have to do anything in order to avoid trade war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Another last warning that it could get much worse. When we return, the pay by the day for Twitter and Facebook. Uganda imposes
charges on using social media and critics call it a tax on gossip.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: President Trump wants to know why Samantha Bee hasn`t been fired yet after the comedienne used an obscene word to describe his
daughter Ivanka on her show on TBS earlier this week.
TBS is owned by Cnn`s parent company Time Warner. Mr. Trump compared her treatment to that of Roseanne Barr who was dumped by ABC over a racist
remark.
[16:50:00] The president tweeted "why aren`t they firing no-talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used during her low-rating show? A total
double standard, but that`s OK, we are winning and we will be doing so for a long time."
Brian Stelter, you have been covering this story from the bump. You are joining us, now I don`t think you`ve had an hour for sleep, I don`t know
how you do it --
BRIAN STELTER, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: There`s been so many media scandals this weekend --
GOLODRYGA: But it`s been a busy week, does the president have a point?
STELTER: He does not have a point. I think we have to take each of these cases individually. As tempting as it is, a lump in Roseanne Barr with
Samantha Bee. There are different cases, Roseanne Barr tweeted something racist, it was part of a history of inappropriate post, Samantha Bee said
something idiotic and hateful and sincerely apologized for it.
And I think we`re seeing TBS; the network that employs Bee, supporting her, standing by her because she necessarily doesn`t have that history that Barr
had, that`s part of why ABC cut Barr loose.
So you`ve got to but separate the two, but Trump is playing into this idea of victimhood or breeding(ph) politics by connecting the two, and by
saying, why hasn`t Bee been fired?
GOLODRYGA: And what about it?
STELTER: He`s alluding to Barr, yes, so what about it, it`s what about it 101? It works really well for him, America has denied it`s not effective
for the president or for other political leaders, but I think it misses the nuance that`s involved in this story.
GOLODRYGA: And let`s not forget that the president has yet to speak out and condemn Roseanne Barr`s comments. Remember Sarah Huckabee Sanders said
that he doesn`t have time to be focusing on this, he`s focusing on North Korea a few hours after we hear about Samantha Bee, there you go, tweet
from the president.
You do have some news though to report along the lines of Roseanne Barr and the show itself within ABC. Obviously, there have been speculation what`s
going to happen to these other actors and other cast members and people behind the scenes who through no fault of their own now lost their job,
obviously this is a very popular show as well.
STELTER: Right, more than 200 people are going to be out of work as a result of this cancellation, and at the moment, they are, they are out of
work. But right away, there`s talk about possibly bringing the show back in some form without Roseanne Barr.
A source said to me a day later, when the time is right we`ll have some conversations about that. Well, it turns out, the time is already right.
TMZ is reporting today and I confirm that the talks are already underway with ABC about maybe bringing back the show without Roseanne, maybe they`ll
be called the Connors or something else.
It will be a way to keep a lot of the cast members and crew members together, and we employed, but one of the key issues here will be Roseanne
Barr`s relationship to the show. She owns a piece of the show I believe, she has a creator title, so she probably had to be bought out or something.
There had to be some way to remove her -- because look, ABC is not going to bring the show back if it`s going to help her make money. Obviously, the
network would know that would be a public relations nightmare.
So it`ll be interesting to see if ABC can salvage at least part of this show --
GOLODRYGA: And circumvent --
(CROSSTALK)
STELTER: It would be an interesting ending to this story.
GOLODRYGA: And circumvent Roseanne Barr while doing so. The president --
STELTER: Right --
GOLODRYGA: Let`s not forget also tweeted about Bob Iger --
STELTER: Yes --
GOLODRYGA: And asked where his apology was. Bob Iger chose not to respond --
STELTER: Yes, you know, what that has in common with? Samantha Bee. There actually is a connection here. ABC and TBS have ignored the president,
they think it`s a really interesting corporate strategy not to engage, just to wait for him to move on to the next target, and maybe it worked.
GOLODRYGA: Inevitably, there will probably be --
STELTER: Right --
GOLODRYGA: Another target for the president to focus on.
STELTER: Yes --
GOLODRYGA: A busy week, I hope you get some rest this weekend --
STELTER: Thanks --
GOLODRYGA: You`re going to be working, I know on reliable sources, but nonetheless --
STELTER: Thanks a lot --
GOLODRYGA: I hope they repeat tonight. Brian, great to see you, thanks. Well, at the time when social media giants are looking to monetize their
services, Uganda has decided to tax them. Users will be charged the equivalent of 5 cents a day to access Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.
Critics say it`s a way to stifle criticism of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Lydia Namubiru is a Ugandan journalist. Lydia, thank you for
joining us. This is quite a controversial move, some people say highly politicized and taking away the liberty of your citizens. Talk about why
you`ve decided to make this move and why the country itself has decided to make this move?
LYDIA NAMUBIRU, UGANDAN JOURNALIST: Well, less (INAUDIBLE) to say it, well, of course our country does need revenue, the country does need tax
revenue, but that`s not really what I or a lot of people think this is about.
We think this is more about stifling free speech because over the past two, three years, social media has become a much stronger space for political
speech. And that`s why I said at the beginning, 2016, when we had a presidential election, social media was shut down.
But this thing growing stronger and stronger as a place for political speech. The time the president first floated this idea of a levy on social
media was exactly a year from the time his government charged a university academic for -- with cyber harassment for having used a Facebook page to
hold him accountable for relegating on a campaign promise.
[16:55:00] So just a year after that, Kemananze(ph) said that the president -- but the president can access, he wants to charge a levy on social media
use. But remember in the year before still, a young politician from the ghetto had risen to join parliament through a campaign that was electrified
by social media.
So when the president take -- when he first floated the idea, he said it was to curtail gossip on social media. In fact, what is happening is
there`s a lot of political speech online and it`s political speech that`s also having an impact in the real world, sending people to parliament,
holding him accountable.
So as I said and a lot of others said, this is really just a -- this is clearly disputes --
(CROSSTALK)
GOLODRYGA: That`s how it stands if you`re describing it, censorship perhaps a personal vendetta, it`s clear the country does need new sources
of revenue, one would think though they would go to other outlets to find that revenue, than charging for social --
NAMUBIRU: Yes --
GOLODRYGA: Media users. Lydia --
NAMUBIRU: Yes --
GOLODRYGA: We would love to follow up on this conversation, unfortunately, we`re out of time for tonight, but we will continue this story and please
stay in touch with us and keep us posted. We appreciate your time.
And we just have time now for a quick reminder of how markets ended the week. U.S. stocks rose after a jobs report that beat analysts`
expectations. The Dow closed up 219 points, and that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, I am Bianna Golodryga, the news continues here on Cnn, have a
wonderful weekend, thanks so much for watching.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
