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Rising Energy Prices, Bond Yields Rattle Investors; Jerome Powell Expects Elevated Inflation in Months Ahead; Power Shortages Leads to Outages in Northeastern China; Daniel Craig Plays 007 Once More. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 28, 2021 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:01]

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A truly dreadful day on Wall Street. The Dow has been off as much as 600 points and the NASDAQ is doing even

worse. The Dow down 1.2 percent. Those are the markets these are the main events for you.

Tech stocks taking a stumble as inflation Fears take hold in the markets. Janet Yellen says defaulting on U.S. debt will be a self-inflicted wound of

enormous proportions.

And oil prices hit their highest levels in three years.

Live from London, it is Tuesday, September the 28th. I'm Max Foster. And this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

Hello to you. We begin with the selloff on Wall Street then where markets are slumping in the face of multiple challenges. This is how the Dow is

doing right now with around an hour until the end of trading. It was off as much as 600 points earlier in the session.

Skyrocketing global energy prices, as well as concerns over inflation and bond yields are weighing on investors. Let's hone in on the NASDAQ where

the tech stocks have really been taking a battering over those bond yield increases.

Investors have been attracted to tech stocks while interest rates have been low at least, but now the NASDAQ is on track for its worst day since May.

Clare Sebastian in New York with the latest.

It feels like a bit of a perfect storm.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Max, there's a lot going on for these markets right now. And not all of the sort of crosswinds that

we're seeing are easy to interpret. The market is grappling, of course, with the prospect of rising inflation. The Fed Chair Jerome Powell saying

today, he said last week that he doesn't expect it to be quite as transitory as they had initially anticipated.

This is also an economy that where some aspects of it look like they're slightly faltering. Consumer confidence took another dip today, which is,

you know, sort of unnerving for the market and economy, which is driven by consumer spending. So that is something that people are watching.

But the trigger, as you said, for the fall today, according to pretty much everyone that we've spoken to is that rise in bond yields triggered by a

sort of delayed reaction to the Fed's announcement of tapering soon, last week, triggered by the rise in oil and gas prices that we're seeing,

particularly in Europe, but also others are saying to me that these yields have been really very low for a long time, given the prospects and the

reality of rising inflation and the state of the economy and bringing them back to normal might help rein in some of the excesses that we've seen in

the financial markets and that could ultimately be a good thing.

FOSTER: In terms of what people should be looking for ahead on this then because a lot of analysts suggesting that bond yields shouldn't necessarily

wipeout the equity markets, but it is that sort of psychology that connects everyone, isn't it?

SEBASTIAN: Yes, I mean, going forward, like 1.5 percent is roughly around the yield that we're seeing on the 10-year at the moment. That is not very

high by historical standards. So most don't expect that it will have a significant economic impact going forward.

More important to look at the state of inflation and how that goes, look at the health data because, of course, that is as the Fed Chair has said

multiple times, that is one of the key drivers for where the economy and therefore where monetary policy goes, and that has been improving in the

U.S. We've seen a pretty sharp drop in COVID cases over the past couple of weeks as the vaccine mandates have taken effect.

So looking at that, but I think what most feel is that as we approach the final few months of the year, we are going to see a lot of volatility

because when it comes to inflation and the drivers of that, the supply constraints that we've been seeing that have been a key factor of this

recovery, they don't look like they're going to abate anytime soon -- Max.

FOSTER: Okay, Clare Sebastian in New York. Thank you. The head of JPMorgan Chase says his bank has begun preparing for a possible U.S. credit default

as talks to raise the debt limit go down to the wire.

In an interview with Reuters, Jamie Dimon says he doubts it will come to that. Still, he said that if the U.S. fails to pay its debts, the effects

could be potentially catastrophic. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen delivered that warning earlier on Capitol Hill. She told lawmakers a

default could spell national disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET YELLEN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: This would be a manufactured crisis we had imposed on this country, which has been going through a very

difficult period, is on the road to recovery, and it would be a self- inflicted wound of enormous proportions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Let's have a look at things from the U.S. perspective then. Matt Egan is there on this story for us.

I mean, there's a huge amount of worry, isn't there, in terms of this sort of language? How are lawmakers going to react to this, do you think?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Max. There is a lot of concern right now. October 18th, that's the date that we learned today. Secretary Yellen in a

letter to Congress, she said that if lawmakers do not raise the debt ceiling, then the Federal government is going to run out of cash and run

out of these extraordinary measures by October 18th, it could actually be before that.

[15:05:09]

EGAN: So that sets the stage for what Secretary Yellen says would be, you know, a catastrophic default. And this news just in the last few hours

about JPMorgan is really, really interesting.

Here we have America's largest bank, one of its most well-respected CEOs, Jamie Dimon coming out and saying that the bank is, you know, preparing for

a potential default. He said in this interview with Reuters, he says that, you know, the bank is doing scenario analysis. They are looking at

contracts with clients to see what a default would mean.

Now, this is something JPMorgan has done in the past, when there has been, you know, close calls with the debt ceiling, but it is telling that they

have to do it right now. It is, you know, waste of resources and time if this all gets resolved.

Now, Dimon said that he does think that, you know, Congress will ultimately raise the debt ceiling, but I do think this, you know, conveys a level of

concern from business leaders here in the United States, but probably around the world as well about, you know, how close these negotiations are

getting. And, you know, certainly the clock is ticking here -- Max.

FOSTER: Also Fed Chair Jay Powell speaking to U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill today, he took fire from Elizabeth Warren.

EGAN: Yes, that's right. You know, this was a very big deal. Senator Warren became the highest profile lawmaker yet to publicly oppose Jerome

Powell's re-nomination to lead the Federal Reserve. Now, she really took him to task over regulation. She is arguing that the Fed has weakened

oversight of the big banks.

She said a few different examples, including changes to rules for bank stress tests, liquidity rules, and the Volcker Rule. Now, Chair Powell he

pushed back and he didn't really agree that any of these steps that the Fed and other bank regulators have taken are deregulatory in nature. But

nonetheless, Senator Warren came out and she said, "Your record gives me grave concern." And she called him a very a quote, "dangerous man" to head

up the Fed.

And she said that's why she's going to oppose Powell's re-nomination. Now his term leading the Fed expires in February. We've heard from some

Republicans who are supporting Powell, another four years for Powell, but progressive lawmakers in the House have opposed his re-nomination. And now

we hear from Warren as well that she is against it. No word yet from the White House on whether or not this will change their plans and whether or

not this will perhaps make them you know, consider someone else to replace Powell.

FOSTER: Okay, so watch. Matt, thank you very much indeed.

Now, the lights are out in parts of China. Power outages hit northeast of the country. It's just one of the impacts of rising energy prices around

the world and we'll have more on that view next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:10:50]

FOSTER: Energy prices are heating up as the northern hemisphere braces for winter. Brent crude touched $80.00 a barrel for the first time in three

years, plus the wholesale cost of natural gas is hitting record highs across Europe. Soaring energy prices have contributed to blackouts in parts

of China. More on that from Selina Wang.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The power supply crunch in China is getting worse, triggering blackouts for households and forcing factories to

cut production.

According to state media, the power outage is hitting three northeastern provinces and cities in the southern province of Guangdong, a major

industrial and shipping hub.

The power shortage is making life difficult for residents. Reports of traffic lights that have stopped working leading to severe traffic jams. A

video on social media showed a family trapped in an elevator for 45 minutes.

But the factors leading to this power crunch have been brewing for some time. Consider surging demand for Chinese goods as the global economy

recovers from the pandemic. That increases demand for China's electricity hungry export factories, sending energy prices soaring.

At the same time. China is trying to meet its very ambitious climate goals to be carbon net zero by 2060, hitting peak emissions by 2030. So local

officials are under pressure to limit energy, electricity demand, and reduce the use of coal to generate power.

And economists are cutting China's growth expectations. Goldman Sachs cut its 2021 GDP growth forecast to 7.8 percent from 8.2 percent.

This all also places even further strain on the global supply chain. The cutting of production at factories has raised concerns about a shortage of

goods, especially ahead of the Christmas season.

Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: China offers one example of the strain on the world's energy supplies right now. There are a lot of competing forces at play, a fast and

expected global recovery is leading to a higher demand around the world, pandemic related supply issues make it hard to keep up and carbon emissions

targets by different governments are putting the squeeze on dirty sources of power like coal, whilst cleaner energy is struggling to meet the

shortfall.

We're joined by Helima Croft, she is Managing Director and Global Head of Commodity Strategy and Media Research at RBC Capital Markets. Thank you so

much for joining us. I mean, we've got it right there, those three clear elements that are putting pressure on the system right now.

HELIMA CROFT, MANAGING DIRECTOR AND GLOBAL HEAD OF COMMODITY STRATEGY AND MEDIA RESEARCH, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS: No, it's been a real perfect storm

for energy, and one of the really big factors we've seen is with natural gas. I mean, we've had a perfect storm in terms of, you know, huge surging

demand for natural gas, colder than expected winter we had an Asia, which drew a lot of LNG to Asia. Then we've had issues as you mentioned, in

Europe, they had a colder than expected winter. We have very, very low inventories right now for gas in Europe, and we've had significant supply

problems.

We've had problems with Norwegian Gas. We have had problems with gas in The Netherlands, and Russia, the main supplier of gas into Europe, they have

struggled to meet the demand in Europe as well.

And one of the factors that, you know, hasn't come up enough is that during the COVID crisis, a number of producers, particularly gas producers, cut

their operational budgets. They laid off workers, they were not expecting this huge economic recovery and reopening that we've seen this year, so

they've just been struggling to meet demand this year.

So, it's been a confluence of factors, but the real concern is, if you have a very cold winter, you could see this power crisis accelerate, a real

pressure on consumers.

FOSTER: You were talking there about you know, them being caught out by all of this, but surely the opportunity is there as well because this isn't

necessarily terminal. They just need to get back up to the speed they were pre-pandemic.

CROFT: But here is the issue sort of, you know, how quickly can these markets recover and you know, one of the issues particularly for Europe has

been this new Russian pipeline, Nord Stream 2. It is a very controversial pipeline and Russian energy officials have signaled Nord Stream 2 was just

approved by that German regulator. They could bring these supplies into Europe.

[15:15:14]

CROFT: But a lot of experts are saying that a country like Russia, even if Nord Stream 2 is greenlit tomorrow by the German regulators, they're simply

not going to be able to surge enough gas into the system if there is an especially cold winter. And all of this is happening against a backdrop of

a COP 26 Climate Conference that is just about to start. You know, real debates over what is the optimal energy mix as countries seek to reach

these net zero targets.

And one of the concerns really is, is do you have a sort of populist backlash against these, you know, renewable policies? I mean, we've had

issues with renewables this year, particularly in Europe. There were issues around wind not meeting demand requirements, and problems with nuclear.

But we've seen problems with hydro in Southern China, in Brazil as well. And so the question is, if consumers are facing, you know, skyrocketing

utility prices and power cuts, are they potentially going to demand a return to coal?

FOSTER: So when you talk about the perfect storm, it almost brings in the COP Conference, doesn't it, in Scotland later this year?

CROFT: Yes.

FOSTER: Because somebody is putting pressure on the current system, but it's also putting -- you know, the pressure is going to go the other way,

and people could become less green, certainly, in terms of energy.

CROFT: Well, I mean, this is the real concern about a potential populist backlash. I mean, we had a couple years ago, as you'll remember, the

yellow-jacket protests in France, over you know, rising energy prices.

And, again, if we have a situation with an especially cold winter, if we have a mild winter, we do get some relief. But if we do have an especially

cold winter, you know, you do have consumers facing, you know, power cuts and not able to heat their homes, you could have a resurgence of this

populist movement and people saying, you know, do we need to have all this emphasis on renewables?

We need to be able to have energy access as well, and that's something I think that policymakers are really going to be grappling with in Glasgow

is, how do you ensure a sort of just transition that allows these issues about affordability and access while you try to move your whole energy

system to being based on renewables.

Because right now, you still have significant problems with intermittency with renewables. What happens when the wind doesn't blow? When you don't

have the sun? When you have unseasonably warm summers, and don't have enough water? How do you deal with these intermittency issues?

And you have, you know, oil and gas producers, saying right now, you need to still have investment in these fossil fuels in order to meet demand

until you truly have a transition situation.

FOSTER: How concerned are you that the system is, you know, so consolidated now that certain countries have control over gas supplies over

-- well, gas supplies in Europe if we're talking about Europe -- and they can perhaps use that as leverage over other countries and some countries

will lose out as a result of that when it comes to the crunch.

CROFT: I mean, that has been the whole debate over Nord Stream 2, a particularly strong debate in the United States with a number of Members of

Congress on both sides of the aisle, really pushing for the project to be sanctioned in order to stop it, because they pointed out that this is a

pipeline that will completely circumvent Ukraine, potentially a Russian influence project to sort of deepen Russia's dependence.

I mean, Europe's dependence on Russian gas, while at the same time denying Ukraine of a vital source of transport revenue. And so you have this, you

know, a real debate over whether this pipeline should even go forward. Well, the pipeline is going forward. It's been held up a bit by the German

regulator, but certainly there's no indication right now that Russia is going to go away to fire into Europe.

And there had been hope that the U.S. LNG would be the sort of savior in this situation. But U.S. LNG has increasingly gone to Asia. There has been

this tremendous pull into Asia because of higher prices in Asia. I mentioned that unseasonably cold winter in Asia, and that was one of the

initial catalysts for the situation that we're in right now, it drew a lot of supplies of LNG into Asia away from Europe.

And you've also had issues in Latin America again, with hydro having problems in Brazil, Brazilian demand for LNG has also been rising. So in a

sense, Europe has been left out in the cold and ever more dependent on Russian gas.

FOSTER: If we take the country I'm in the U.K., there's a big debate as well about this energy price cap. It makes energy affordable for consumers,

but it creates real problems for the companies involved here. The government has got a duty obviously to keep everyone warm, and homes warm,

but companies can't survive if they're losing money at the same time. Is that going to be a growing issue in various Western economies as well?

[15:20:08]

CROFT: I mean, again, the hope is that we get a milder winter, and so we don't have this sort of exacerbation of the current crisis. We're

essentially having to make choices between, you know, providing power to consumers and providing power to energy intensive industries.

And, again, there's not probably enough gas in the system right now to be able to alleviate such shortages if we get an unseasonably cold winter. So,

what we're seeing right now could be the shape of things that come.

Now, you can have government's getting together and thinking about better ways to improve supply going forward about what you can do in terms of

reducing demand, in terms of greater energy efficiency.

But if we think about that, the winter that we're heading into, right now, it doesn't seem like there's enough that can be done to alleviate a crisis

again, if we have an unseasonably cold winter.

FOSTER: Okay, Helima Croft, appreciate your time and your insight on this issue, which is going to be a big one, as you say, if it's a cold winter.

U.S. auto giant, Ford, plans to invest $7 billion for new plants to build electric vehicles. One will assemble electric pickup trucks, three others

will produce EV batteries in partnership with South Korea's SK Innovation, which is investing a further $4 billion.

Julia Chatterley spoke to Ford CEO, Jim Farley earlier on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM FARLEY, CEO, FORD: Well, this is a really big moment for Ford. We're really excited. This is the biggest investment we've ever made in the

history of the company. We're the number one automaker in the U.S. in employment.

We're going to have four sites, a new assembly plant that is six miles, the largest plant we've ever built. It will be zero -- carbon neutral. It is

going to have zero landfill and 100 percent recycling water.

We have three battery plants, one in Tennessee and two in Kentucky. They're very large, 43 gigawatt each. That means we'll have about a million

vehicles worth of batteries just for Ford in a couple of years from now.

So, this means we're scaling at very large -- very large levels that only Ford can do, and really taking the lead in clean manufacturing of

automobiles, these electric digital automobiles in America.

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: Yes, there's a huge focus on sustainability, I know in what you're building here, but also room

for suppliers as well, which I think points to everything the auto industry and beyond quite frankly have been through and witnessed in the last year

and a half or so and that is shoring up the supply chain.

Talk to me about securing the future supply chain and the circularity, I think that you're trying to ensure through recycling going forward.

FARLEY: It's such an important point, you're bringing up. About 70 percent of our bill of material for these battery electric vehicles are key

electronic components, like silicon and semiconductors, and battery components, as well as electric components, and we're going to insource

most of that.

This is really going back to Henry Ford's first principles at the Rouge plant where he insourced and vertically integrated. We're doing the same

thing at Ford. Not only we're going to have battery on site, as we talked about, we're going to have red wood materials, hopefully, we're going to do

all the recycling, end of use, and also our scrap from our manufacturing.

We will have a lot of other partners, even potentially key electronic components suppliers on site. This is our way of going back to our roots

and vertically integrating so we can control the supply and not be vulnerable like we are today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: CEO of Ford speaking to Julia earlier on.

Teenage climate activist, Greta Thunberg isn't convinced by the pledges from some of the world's biggest carbon emitters. Listen to what she told a

crowd at the Youth Climate Conference in Milan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRETA THUNBERG, CLIMATE ACTIVIST: There is no Planet B. There is no Planet blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

This is not about some expensive, politically correct green at the bunny hugging or blah, blah, blah.

Build back better, blah, blah, blah. Green economy, blah, blah, blah. Net zero by 2050, blah, blah, blah. Net zero by 2050, blah, blah, blah. Net

zero blah, blah, blah. Climate neutral, blah, blah, blah.

This is all we hear from our so-called leaders. Words. Words that sound great, but so far, has led to no action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Climate is a central issue in Germany. The Green Party is now one of the kingmakers in the quest to form a new government following last

weekend's election. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more for us from Berlin.

[15:25:04]

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After the election here in Germany, it is now down to business for the political

parties as they try to form governing coalitions to see who will become the next Chancellor here in Germany.

At the moment, firmly in the driver's seat appears to be Olaf Scholz from the Social Democrats. They of course, won the largest part of the vote in

Sunday's election. Scholz himself went on German public television, and he said he believes that he is in a position to form a governing coalition and

he also says he wants to do that as fast as possible.

Now, the Social Democrats parliamentary group in German Parliament has said that they want to start negotiations, at least preliminary ones as early as

sometime this week.

Now, the main parties that they want to form a coalition with are the Green Party and also the Liberal Democratic Party, both of those parties did

manage to increase their share of the vote in the recent election. In fact, the head of the Green Party's parliamentary group, he said he believes that

the so-called traffic light coalition, which is a coalition of the Social Democrats, the Liberal Democrats, and the greens would be the most likely

option for Germany going forward.

At the same time, of course, you still have the conservative bloc with Armin Laschet who was their candidate, also saying they want to form a

coalition, but that's looking increasingly less likely as Laschet is facing some public criticism after that very bad showing by the conservative bloc,

of course, the party of Angela Merkel not doing well at all in Germany's recent election.

One of the things that is definitely becoming clear that it is going to be the Green Party and the Liberal Party that are going to be the kingmakers

in this election. They of course, both saw pretty good gains in the election and they especially managed to mobilize a lot of young voters as

well.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The Prime Minister of Haiti says he understands why the United States is deporting thousands of Haitian migrants from the Texas border. In

a CNN exclusive interview, the interim leader also says the country's elections will be pushed back to 2022.

Melissa Bell reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Since the migrant crisis and the deportation of thousands of Haitians, the man now in charge of Haiti

gives an exclusive interview to CNN.

ARIEL HENRY, HAITIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We saw some of the mistreatment that these Haitians suffering, and it struck us a lot.

What we are saying is that as long as there are countries that are better off than others, there will always be an appeal to those wealthier places.

BELL (voice over): But despite the migrant crisis, Prime Minister Ariel Henry says that Haitian cooperation with the United States is good, and

that he means it to remain so.

Henry took office just two weeks after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, elections had been due in September, they've now been pushed

back.

HENRY (through translator): The train has derailed for some time in Haiti. We have no more elected officials, only 10 senators who cannot pass a law

because there aren't enough of them. We want to move as quickly as possible to the restoration of democracy through elections.

BELL (voice over): But since taking over, Henry been accused of hampering the investigation into the late President's murder, by firing the

prosecutor and the Justice Minister.

BELL (on camera): How can people have faith in the investigation when the executive is meddling in the Judiciary?

HENRY (through translator): The prosecutor was dismissed for breaking the law. The Minister of Justice was dismissed for breaking the law as well. It

is important for us that President Jovenel Moise has justice. It is fundamental for us and we are going to do everything so that justice is

done.

BELL (voice over): The prosecutor had wanted to see charges brought against Henry over alleged phone calls that were made in the hours after

the assassination with one of the main suspects, Joseph Badio who is still on the run.

BELL (on camera): The questions that the prosecutor had were about phone calls that you'd received from one of the main suspects. What is your

relationship with Joseph Felix Badio?

HENRY (through translator): I have no recollection of this telephone call or if it took place. I have no interest in being associated with these

people, and I have never been and never will be.

BELL (voice over): Despite the controversy that has surrounded him so far, Henry says that he is determined to bring stability to Haiti by taking on

the gangs that control so much at the country.

HENRY (through translator): We have asked friendly countries for help in supporting our police to fight these bandits and get them out of public

life so that the economy can pick up, so that our children can go about their normal lives.

BELL (voice over): Little comfort to the deportees returning to a country more violent and politically unstable than the one they left.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Port-au-Prince.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now, 007 is back. The new "James Bond" film was supposed to premiere more than a year ago and it is finally happening now. A look at

the very lucrative film franchise, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:04]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

FOSTER: The latest James Bond film, "No Time to Die," is premiering right now here in London at the Royal Albert Hall. But getting this movie on the

big screen seemed more like "Mission: Impossible."

The premiere was originally supposed to happen nearly two years ago, before the pandemic shut theaters down. Its opening has been delayed three times.

It's now been six years since the last Bond film, "Spectre."

"No Time to Die" will be Daniel Craig's last outing as agent 007, for real this time. The actor has been able to transform the iconic character over

the years; maybe for good, as we're about to see.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER (voice-over): It may be "No Time to Die," but, for actor Daniel Craig, it's a good time to move on from the blockbuster movie franchise

that made him an international star.

Craig's last bow as the smoothest operator in British intelligence is long overdue in theaters, pushed back several times from its initial release

date in April 2020 because of the pandemic.

And there were reports the star was reluctant to reprise the role after injuring himself on the movie "Spectre" six years ago. But in the spirit of

never saying never again, Craig is back as James Bond for a fifth and final time.

DANIEL CRAIG, ACTOR: I'm so happy that I got the chance to come and do this one and we've tied up lots of loose ends. And we've try to tell one

story with all my Bond movies. It's sort of that they're all connected in some way and this one just sort of -- it has capped it off.

FOSTER (voice-over): Craig made a dramatic entrance as James Bond in 200, riding up the Thames in a speedboat, in a press stunt that ended

speculation over who would take over the role from Pierce Brosnan.

[15:35:00]

CRAIG: I would like to thank the Royal Marines for bringing me in like that and scaring the (INAUDIBLE) out of me. But apart from that, it was

something else. I can't tell you really. I'm a bit speechless.

FOSTER (voice-over): But Craig quickly found his voice as 007 and the movies were a huge success. "Skyfall," released in 2012, is the most

lucrative of all the Bond films, earning more than $1 billion at the global box office.

And the character under Craig became a more modern take on the poker playing, gadget loving spy of the past. This one was fitter, grittier and

could even fall in love.

CRAIG: It changed my life and my life will never be the same again. And it's just amazing -- a wonderful, wonderful thing.

FOSTER (voice-over): Many actors have been rumored to be in the running to take over from Craig with some fans saying, it's time for a Black actor or

a woman to step into the iconic role. But producers say that they won't discuss a replacement until next year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Media reporter Frank Pallotta joins us now live with his thoughts on this.

It was delayed so many times. Explain why it was important for this film to be released for the industry in the big premiere we're seeing tonight.

FRANK PALLOTTA, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: I think it's a symbol of what is going on and how Hollywood has changed over the pandemic.

The first movie to be delayed by the coronavirus pandemic was "No Time to Die." It's been moved other times since then. Other big blockbusters have

gone to streaming or hybrid.

This movie, they wanted to keep exclusively to theaters. So they keep moving it. To have this finally open is kind of -- it's not only about the

financial aspects of it. Obviously, this is a multi-billion dollar franchise.

It's also about the symbol of it, saying that theaters have no time to die themselves. They haven't gone anywhere, they're not going anywhere and

they're going to survive the pandemic and come back with one of the greatest characters in movie history.

FOSTER: It could become an essential part of that resurgence of moviegoing, right?

Isn't that the theory, people will go and see Bond in the cinemas and be reminded of why they went there in the first place?

PALLOTTA: Yes, October, this month coming up, is one of the biggest months since the pandemic for the movie theater industry. We have "Venom," we

have "Dune," "Halloween Kills."

But James Bond is the international franchise. You can't go anywhere in the world without people talking about James Bond. It comes at a time when

Amazon has bought MGM, which owns James Bond.

It's the beginning and end of an era with Craig leaving. And how it does at the box office will say a lot about the health, current and future, of

movie theaters as we head into the rest of this year and 2022.

FOSTER: He has been a critical and commercial success, Daniel Craig, an incredibly hard thing to find. So huge pressure on his replacement.

And Daniel Craig in his pink jacket out tonight. But many people are talking about a replacement and want someone that looks completely

different from the stereo stereotypical James Bond.

PALLOTTA: Yes, for years, people have said that Idris Elba could be a perfect James Bond. And we could see a person of color or a woman take the

role, because James Bond is more than just the men's role. It's a feeling and a style.

And that doesn't hold any gender or race. It belongs to everybody, especially considering how important the character is to pop culture and to

the movie industry at large.

FOSTER: What about the film?

We haven't talked about it.

Is it any good?

PALLOTTA: I haven't seen it yet. But it's my number one film I'm looking forward to seeing. It's 163 minutes long, one of the longest James Bond

films ever. I've been a huge fan of Daniel Craig's run and the last two films have made $1 billion.

So I'm really curious to see how it will be. I'm excited to see it on the biggest screen possible and to see how they wrap up Craig's run as 007.

FOSTER: Is he your favorite Bond?

[15:40:00]

PALLOTTA: See, now that's a tough question.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

PALLOTTA: He is but Connery, for me, will always be the quintessential James Bond. And I grew up with Pierce Brosnan. So it's very interesting. I

would say, as someone who read the Bond books, he's the closest to what Ian Fleming's Bond is.

But I would say, in terms of quintessential Bond, you can't beat Sean Connery.

FOSTER: I'm with you.

That is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Thank you so much for that, Frank.

I'll be back at the top of the hour as we make a dash to the closing bell. Up next, "LIVING GOLF."

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(LIVING GOLF)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. Let's take you on a dash to the closing bell with just two minutes away. U.S. markets are in the red, owing to a number of

concerns. The Dow is close to session lows.

The late afternoon rally appears to have lost steam. It's down 1.5 percent. Rising global energy prices, inflation and bond yields are all weighing on

investors.

Helima Croft is head of global strategy for RBC Capital. She said rising energies could threaten environmental goals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HELIMA CROFT, MANAGING DIRECTOR, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS: One of the concerns really is, do you have a populist backlash against these renewable

policies?

We've had issues with renewables this year, particularly in Europe; there were issues around wind not meeting demand requirements and problems with

nuclear. But we've seen problems with hydro in southern China and Brazil as well.

So if consumers are facing skyrocketing utility prices and power cuts, will they potentially demand a return to coal?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Let's look at the Dow components for you. Chevron, one of the few winners today, along with Caterpillar. Microsoft at the bottom, along with

Goldman Sachs. Tech has been the hardest-hit sector of the day, with the Nasdaq off almost 3 percent now. That is your dash to the bell. I'm Max

Foster. The closing bell about to ring on Wall Street. After that, you'll see Jake Tapper, starting next.

[16:00:00]

END