Return to Transcripts main page

Quest Means Business

US Markets Higher After Yellen Signals More Aid Ready; Regional Banks Stocks Rise On Yellen`s Signal Of Support; Putin Backs China`s Peace Plan As Basis To Resolve Conflict; Police Clash With Protesters On Paris Streets; NYPD, Capitol Police Ramp Up Security; Google Bard AI Chatbot Available To Public. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired March 21, 2023 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:13]

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: The closing bell is ringing on Wall Street. The Dow rallying as investors hope the worst of the banking crisis

is behind them. As you can see, Dow Jones is up one percent.

Those are the markets and these are the main events: The US Treasury Secretary gives new assurances to customers of smaller US banks hoping to

avert a broader crisis.

A show of unity between Russia and China: President Putin raises Xi`s Ukraine peace plan during talks in Moscow.

And the battle for AI supremacy gets a new contender as Google finally launches its rival to ChatGPT.

Live from Dubai, it is Tuesday, March the 21st. I`m Eleni Giokos. I`m in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

A very good evening, and welcome to the show. Tonight, relief on Wall Street as the US Treasury Secretary signals the government could do more to

support small banks.

All three major US indices closed higher. The NASDAQ was up the best of the day, as you can see rallying one-and-a-half percent rising more than

anticipated.

First Republic recovered parts of the ground that it lost yesterday. Its shares closed up 30 percent after losing almost half of its value on

Monday.

It comes after Janet Yellen told the American Bankers Association, the government is ready to provide more support if smaller banks need it. She

said the Treasury`s efforts would help the entire banking sector. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET YELLEN, US TREASURY SECRETARY: The steps we took were not focused on eating specific banks or classes of banks. Our intervention was

necessary to protect the broader US banking system, and similar actions could be warranted if smaller institutions suffered deposit runs that pose

the risk of contagion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right, we`ve got Matt Egan Joining us now from Washington. Matt, great to have you.

Janet Yellen saying they are committed, they will step in and secure deposits if needed. Banking stocks, rising higher on the back of this. But

is this intervention enough to put a lid on the worries that exist within the sector?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Eleni, I think that`s the trillion dollar question and the truth is, we don`t know yet. I mean, clearly, sentiment on

Wall Street, sentiment about the banking sector has improved. And you know, Janet Yellen is doing her best to try to put this fire out, right?

I mean, US officials, they took extraordinary actions after these bank failures, and now Yellen is sort of relying on the power of her words. I

mean, she is insisting that American banks are strong, that the system is resilient. And that yes, you know, officials in Washington are willing to

come to the rescue again, if that`s what it takes.

In that clip that you just played, she talked about how they could rescue uninsured depositors again, if there is another run on a small bank, and if

they believe there is a risk of contagion, of all of this spreading.

Now Yellen also sought to try to really draw a contrast between what`s happening now in the banking industry and what happened during the Great

Financial Crisis. Listen to what she said about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YELLEN: By saying that, our banking system is sound, even as it has come under some pressure, as I indicated, this is different than 2008.

2008 was a solvency crisis, rather, what we`re seeing are contagious bank runs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EGAN: And Yellen went on to say that the banking regulations after Dodd- Frank that came out in 2010, that that has really forced banks to become healthier.

So she is certainly trying to calm people down and I think we`ll know in the coming days and weeks, as we look at not just bank stocks, but what is

happening with deposit flows. We`ll get a sense for whether or not the worst of this is over.

GIOKOS: Yes, and you said quite well, earlier you said you know, she`s trying to allay fears with words, and we know that sentiment is everything,

but we`ve got the Federal Reserve making a decision on interest rates, projection showing 85 percent chance of a 25-basis-point hike.

[16:05:12]

GIOKOS: But there also seems to be a certain degree of a risk of no move. And the Fed, look, has a mandate to target inflation, but they also have to

ensure they don`t prompt another mini crisis within the banking sector that could get out of hand. It`s a tough one.

EGAN: Eleni, it is a tough one. They are kind of in a no win situation here, right? I mean, if they do nothing, then it looks like they`re just

sort of accepting high inflation even though prices are rising much faster than what they are supposed to be under healthy conditions. But if they

raise interest rates, they risk potentially worsening the pressure in the American banking system and really the worldwide financial system.

It is a difficult balancing act and you know, this was always one of the risks. We know, history shows that when the Fed moves as aggressively as it

has in the past year, it tends to break something. And now with the bank failures, we`ve gotten the sense that they have in fact broken something.

And so, some experts have said that the Feds really should pause here. I mean, former FDIC Chair Sheila Bair, she told me that she thinks the Fed

should sort of take a beat, look around, see how much damage they`ve done.

Goldman Sachs predicted just the other day that the Fed will in fact hold steady and keep interest rates where they are at this meeting, but as you

mentioned, investor sentiment seems to be coalescing around the idea that the Fed is going to go ahead and raise interest rates despite the situation

in the banking sector, more than 80 percent chance priced in by the futures market of a quarter point rate hike tomorrow.

And I think the thinking here is that the Fed wants to make clear that it still cares deeply about getting inflation under control, that maybe the

situation in the banking industry has stabilized a bit.

But Eleni, the last point is that the Fed has got to be worried that if they don`t do anything at all, that`s actually going to freak out investors

even more, because a lot of them would immediately jump to the conclusion that the Fed knows something that everyone else doesn`t.

GIOKOS: Yes, exactly. And the Fed might be worried. That`s the thing. It doesn`t matter what they do. Either way, it`ll come with consequences.

Matt Egan, always great to see you. Thank you so much for breaking it down for us.

EGAN: Thanks.

GIOKOS: All right, with worries continuing to surface in new parts of the banking industry, authorities are working them as they come to light. It`s

a bit like a game of whack-a-mole. First, officials guaranteed to make good all deposits at Silicon Valley and Signature Banks after the two collapsed.

Then over the weekend, the Swiss government arranged for UBS to take over Credit Suisse, that was meant to put an end to the troubled bank`s

problems.

Now, US officials are saying they`re ready to give more help to midsize lenders like First Republic. They`re hoping it will be enough to prevent a

new crisis, particularly if the Fed continues to raise rates.

Gerard Cassidy is head of US Bank Equity Strategy at RBC Capital Markets. He joins me now from Maine. Great to see you, Gerard.

I have to say, you know, we`re all eyes on the Fed. And as Matt just said, regardless of what the Fed does, it could have repercussions. If they don`t

hike rates, it might mean that the Fed is worried about the impact higher rates will have; if they do hike rates that could also have an impact.

What are you reading into what the Fed should be doing on the back of what we`ve just heard from Janet Yellen.

GERARD CASSIDY, HEAD OF US BANK EQUITY STRATEGY, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS: What I anticipate is that as they take a look at the deposit flight that we

saw, because of the Silicon Valley and Signature failures two weekends ago, they see the Federal Reserve discount window borrowings, and they were sent

a broker record last Thursday, over $150 billion, more than during the financial crisis.

They saw that those borrowings were driven by the San Francisco Fed and the New York Fed, which is where those two banks are headquartered along with

First Republic.

So when we look at the numbers carefully, the contagion appears to have been contained already and so that is obviously a relief to the Fed, since

they`re really stuck between a rock and a hard place where they are fighting inflation, which is one of their mandates, but their other

mandate, which is the reason they were created back in the early 1900s is to provide financial stability.

So it`s a tough position they`re in. It wouldn`t surprise us if they go 25. Once again, they will get a real pulse on what`s going on with deposits

through tomorrow to get a sense on whether that would really rock the market. I don`t think -- the bank deposit market, I really don`t believe it

will.

GIOKOS: Yes. I have been looking at what banking stocks have been doing and when are we worried about regional banks. We saw what happened with SVB

and Signature Bank.

[16:10:10]

GIOKOS: You know, in terms of the risk of contagion, sort of a week on from what we saw, a mini crisis playing out, do you believe at this point

that there is a risk of contagion?

CASSIDY: No, I do not. And the reason being is twofold. First, the actions taken by the Fed two Sundays ago, to provide a line of credit to

any bank that needs to borrow money to pay off depositors that are leaving the bank and they don`t want to sell their bond portfolio because they

would incur losses, which is what happened to Silicon Valley.

But second, and more important, Silicon Valley and Signature Banks and First Republic to some extent, they have a real outliers. Silicon Valley

and Signature had approximately 90 percent of their funding deposits that were in excess of the insurance limit of $250,000.00.

Your typical mainstream regional bank or even our big money center banks, that number is much, much lower. And in fact, that deposits under

$250,000.00, for many of our regionals, whether it`s Fifth Third or Regions, or KeyCorp, it is close to that 50 percent.

So the funding mix is entirely different than what those two banks had, and once you know, the Twittersphere, hit the -- you know, pull your money out

of the bank, it really forced that run to accelerate on that Thursday.

GIOKOS: Absolutely. You know, looking at what Janet Yellen was saying that, look, we are ready to intervene if and when needed, and I wonder what

the consequence of that is? Do you view it as protection safety net for depositors? Or do you think that this might open a window for the banks to

become a lot more risky? And we know that there are rules that govern the banks right now, but I wonder what you`re reading into a new safety net,

like this one would mean.

CASSIDY: I think she said what she did, because she wants to alleviate any crisis. She wants to make sure that depositors, investors, bank

employees recognize that the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the FDIC stand there to provide the lifelines should they need it like they did two

Sundays ago.

But in no way, in my opinion, we`ll have a new view of this, and I think it`s temporary. In no way will it make banks take on more risk, because you

might remember, our biggest banks go through an annual stress test every June or it is going through right now, the results is coming out in June.

And the regulators, the Federal Reserve, stressed their balance sheets for a very severe downturn and because of this stress test, it has pushed a lot

of risk outside the banking system because the banks want to pass the test.

So I don`t see that at all as a reason for banks to take more risk because of what she said. I think she said it just to make sure everybody knows

that there is not a panic. There is no real contagion, and they want to ensure that people know that.

GIOKOS: Yes, it is all about sentiment it feels at this point in time.

Gerard Cassidy, thank you so much for your time. Great to have you on the show.

CASSIDY: You`re very welcome.

GIOKOS: In the last hour, China`s Xi Jinping and Russia`s Vladimir Putin have wrapped up a State Dinner on Day 2 of the Chinese leaders visit to

Moscow. Today, they pledged to deepen ties, called on other countries to end actions that prolong Russia`s invasion in Ukraine, while Putin backed

China`s peace plan as a basis to resolve the conflict, all of that coming up after the short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:16:35]

GIOKOS: Russia`s Vladimir Putin says China`s 23-point peace plan could be the basis to end his war on Ukraine. On the second day of Xi Jinping`s

State Visit to Moscow, the two leaders also signed a Declaration to deepen ties between their countries.

Here is what the Russian President said afterwards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Of course, we did not ignore the situation around Ukraine. We believe that many of the points

on the peace plan put forward by China are consistent with Russian approaches, and can be taken as the basis of a peaceful settlement when the

West and Kyiv are ready for it, but this readiness is not observed on their side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Nic Robertson is in London for us. This 12-point peace plan. I have it. I was reading through some of these points. Number one on the list

is respecting sovereignty of all countries, and then point three is ending hostilities. I have to say that it`s actually up to interpretation

depending on which side you`re on. This ahead, of course of Xi wanting to engage with Zelenskyy for the first time. Give me a sense of how you expect

this to play out.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, I suspect if you`re sitting in President Zelenskyy`s shoes, you`re going to feel that

this was a rather inverted logic that was being applied by both President Putin and President Xi. Why because President Xi said his peace plan

upholds the central tenets of the UN Charter, but nowhere does he recognize that Russia illegally and without provocation massively invaded Ukraine

with over 100,000 troops, no mention of that.

So how he thinks, President Xi thinks that comports with the UN Charter is unclear and President Putin echoed it. He said Russia and China are the

ones that are being violated. Russia and China are the ones that are sort of trying to set out and uphold the real democratic values and principles

around the world.

So I think if you are in President Zelenskyy`s when his shoes, when you get the call from President Xi, if it happens, you`re not going to be

incredibly disposed to feel that he`s going to tell you something that is going to radically alter the battlefield at the moment. Obviously, you`re

going to listen.

President Xi has a huge amount of influence over Russia, and is essentially by improving these trade deals as they are helping Russia finance the war

in the face of Western sanctions, but it does seem to be a stretch really, to understand how Russia and China think that they`re upholding the UN

values when ostensibly Russia has completely upended them.

GIOKOS: But, Nic, I have to say this also is interesting. These are two countries, they have economic ties, they are allies, together with other

emerging markets that created their own alliances. To what ends does Xi Jinping want to get involved in this? I mean, I think it`s fascinating to

see him dive into this more so than ever before since the start of the war.

ROBERTSON: It is. I mean, he is really putting out his case for standing beside Putin. I think you could certainly see that President Xi understands

that he is in a contest of global power with the United States and if the United States and NATO`s willingness to get into conflict is weakened by an

extended war in Ukraine then that lessens or reduces the chance of an immediate confrontation with the United States perhaps over the issue of

Taiwan and its sovereignty.

[16:20:10]

ROBERTSON: So, you know, there is something in there for President Xi, but also, let`s remember as well, that when President Xi has met with

President Putin, at times when President Putin is in need, and remembering Russia is the smaller, weaker nation here, Russia, China, much bigger, much

stronger back in 2015-2016, when she met with Putin after he faced the first round of international sanctions over his first invasion of Ukraine,

Xi got a steal on the oil deal that he made with Russia back then.

We don`t know the details of the financial elements of what`s being talked about in these big business opportunities, but you can be sure that Xi is

also looking to make sure that China`s interests that he gets good value deals that will strengthen China`s grasp of needed minerals, of needed

energy supplies, will want to advantage China in the long run, help Putin right now, maybe, but this is all about China.

GIOKOS: Always in it for China, it seems, whenever conversations like this happen on the international stage.

Nic Robertson, thank you so much.

Now Russia`s invasion of Ukraine has also had economic consequences for Bangladesh. Rising energy and food prices have swelled its import bill and

current account deficit. Now despite these headwinds, its economy is still growing fast.

The IMF forecasts six percent GDP growth this year. Bangladesh has $460 billion economy, it has been one of the world`s fastest growing for years

and it is on track to graduate from the UN`s least developed countries list by 2026.

Overseeing this progress is the country`s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. She`s been in charge since 2009 and this is her second stint in power.

Now, earlier this month, Richard Quest travel to Dhaka to speak with her. And in Part 2 of his interview, Richard began by asking her about her plans

for the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHEIKH HASINA, BANGLADESH PRIME MINISTER: We have a very positive and lubricated facilities to our investors, so we want more investment. And you

can do something for that. When you talk, you can mention Bangladesh and request the community to invest in Bangladesh. I know you are so popular

everywhere.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Let`s talk about the economy. You`ve taken a loan from the IMF. The economy has been

coming out of the pandemic, like everybody has been badly hit, but you have loan remittances and RMGs -- suffering is a hard word. But there are

problems.

Do you fear that there will need to be more loans or economic issues that you`re going to have to address particularly if the US and the EU slow down

further.

HASINA: Taking loan, I already explained to you that it depends on our project, on our development. Yes, we want to develop. But of course, we are

very much careful that taking loan we -- I cannot put my country in any problem or any disease. I am very much careful about it. And all deposits,

and with my people, I have just direct contact with them. What I can do, what I cannot, I just spell it out to my people, just frankly.

QUEST: But the economy is weakening.

HASINA: We are developing our economy very fast, you know that. Before COVID-19 pandemic, we achieved our GDP eight percent, 8.1 percent, but

because of this pandemic, it slowed down, this is true, but then again, we recover. Now, continuously from five to six percent, we are achieving. Even

this year, we achieved seven percent.

So our economy is still stable. But yes, because of this international problem, this is not only our problem, and the inflation all over the

world, but I have instructed my people to grow more food and work hard so that we don`t need to depend on others, we can ensure at least the basic

need of our people -- what? It is food. So in that case, we are very much careful.

QUEST: So you`re building a digital economy.

HASINA: Yes.

QUEST: You`re building a smart economy, a modern economy so -- and this is a difficult question, this is a difficult area. I realize this is a

difficult area in this country.

[16:25:12]

QUEST: But will you consider decriminalizing same sex relations in this country? You have 160 million people, 170 million people. By a conservative

estimate, 10 percent, maybe LGBT, that`s 16 to 22 --

HASINA: That is not our problem in our country.

QUEST: Well, the criminalization is. You have a British era law on the books. Will you consider repealing it?

HASINA: You mentioned about British law, but British law is not, you know, applicable at this time in our country. We have our own law, our own

Constitution. So we do use that to run the country. This issue is not much important to our country at this moment, we don`t face any problem about

it.

QUEST: Prime Minister, you`re going to face an election this year or early next.

HASINA: Yes.

QUEST: Fourteen years. When is enough?

HASINA: When my family was assassinated, my younger sister and myself, we were abroad. We were in Germany, so we survived. But we couldn`t come back

to our country because the then military dictator didn`t allow us to return home in `81.

I was elected President of our party, Bangladesh Awami in my absence here, and I receive support from common people and the party, then, well, you can

say that almost forcefully, I returned home.

I have only one aim to fulfill my father`s dream and the ideology of our liberation war should be established. So I am working for my people. Now,

if people vote for me, I am here. If they don`t, okay, fine, I will accept it. I will accept people`s verdict.

QUEST: But why do people say -- why is there a view that your government has become more authoritarian in the way it restricts press or detains

opposition leaders or cancels rallies or forbids opposition? Now, you may have a thousand and one answers Prime Minister, which I`m sure you do, but

the accusations are out there and is that not damaging to you, Prime Minister?

HASINA: Listen. Well, from my childhood, I`ve seen it. There are some people in the democratic system, they don`t feel good. That is the problem

with them. And democratic system, they feel very comfortable. So they are criticizing and in my country, all -- everything is free.

You know, in our country, we had have only one television, one radio, owned by government, when I become Prime Minister first time in 1996, I opened it

up to the private sector.

Now we have 44 television channels, 27 radio channel, all private sector. I opened it up. It was during military dictator, there are only few newspaper

and that was very restricted. But now it is free. So they can talk. They can talk, they can criticize. So opposition`s duty is to criticize. From

that criticism what I can do, I can start if there is anything wrong, I`m doing so I can correct myself and I am concentrated to my peoples`

development.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Former President Donald Trump said he`d be arrested today, that hasn`t happened. But the possibility has had some US cities bracing for

unrest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

GIOKOS (voice-over): You are watching QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, I`m Eleni Giokos.

I want to take you to the streets of Paris now. You see protesters here; they are clashing with police as demonstrations against president Macron`s

reforms continue for another night.

These live pictures right here, as we can see, coming through from Paris, this as people forced through the reforms, government forced through

reforms without a parliamentary vote. His government survived a no confidence vote on Monday. He is set to give a televised interview on

Wednesday.

It would be his first public comment since that vote and we will be monitoring the streets of Paris as protests break out.

Police in several U.S. cities have been bracing for unrest after former president Trump urged supporters to protest if he is arrested. The reaction

to his calls has been muted. But officials say they`ve seen an uptick in violent rhetoric online. Paula Reid is in New York for us.

Paula, great to have you.

If the grand jury does vote to indict Trump, what happens next?

In the meantime, we have seen calls for people to support Trump, uptick of violent rhetoric only on social media really, coming through. But I guess

everyone is on high alert at this stage.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: That`s right. This was the day that the former president claimed that he would be arrested. But we

have seen no sign of an arrest or even an indictment.

At this point, it is unclear if the grand jury is even done with its work or if it will hear additional witnesses. One thing we have learned, though,

even if there is an indictment, any initial appearance and self surrender wouldn`t occur until next week.

Now the way this would work is, if the grand jury -- this is still an if -- votes to indict, the former president`s defense attorneys would be

notified. Then they would negotiate a self surrender and an initial appearing.

That is the way any defendant would be handled. But there are additional security concerns when you are talking about the former leader of the free

world. Not only are there concerns for his security; there is also the concerns about protests because, of course, he used that speculation about

an arrest to call for protests and to fund-raise.

So this is something that he is leaning into because he believes any possible indictment could be helpful for him politically.

[16:35:00]

REID: Today we have not seen any widespread arrests but a small group at Trump Tower and another small group down at Mar-a-Lago, showing their

support. But so far it has been peaceful. But law enforcement continue to make preparations ahead of any potential protests.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REID (voice-over): This was the day former president Trump claimed he would be arrested on charges related to a hush money probe but there is no

sign yet of an arrest or even an indictment.

Still, law enforcement continues to prepare for possible protests. In Washington, D.C., barriers erected around the Capitol. In New York, police

officers are told to be in uniform and ready for deployment.

So far, officials say there are no credible threats, despite online chatter calling for civil war if Trump is indicted. Today, small groups gathered

outside Trump Tower and Mar-a-Lago.

There has been no word from Manhattan district attorney after a last ditch effort by Trump to avoid charges. Attorney Robert Costello appearing before

the grand jury Monday to attack the witness at the center of the investigation. Michael Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT COSTELLO, FORMER COHEN ATTORNEY: My obligation is to bring the truth to both the district attorney and to Trump`s lawyers. That`s exactly

what I did.

REID (voice-over): Costello previously represented Cohen.

COSTELLO: If they want to go after Donald Trump and they have solid evidence, so be it. But Michael Cohen is far from solid evidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID (voice-over): It is unclear whether the grand jury will hear from more witnesses as it investigate a $130,000 payment to porn star stormy

Daniels to silence her about an alleged affair with Trump. She was paid by Cohen in the final days of the 2016 campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Mr. President, did you know about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels?

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: No, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID (voice-over): Now seven years on, the DA is looking at whether Trump may have falsified business records when reimbursing Cohen for the payment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP PERSONAL ATTORNEY AND FIXER: This case won`t be predicated on any one individual but rather it will be predicated on the

documents or the evidence, the text messages and the emails.

REID (voice-over): Cohen has made countless public statements about the investigation.

COHEN: The DA`s team are spectacular. They are well versed, they are well informed and we just will continue to cooperate each and every time that

they ask.

My goal is to allow Alvin Bragg and his team to do what they need to do.

At the end, the grand jurors have an opportunity to just ask him some questions as well and I`m looking forward to that.

REID (voice-over): While he usually says he cannot talk about what happens in the grand jury room, he has been advised to stop talking about the case

on TV after drawing the ire of prosecutors for appearing on TV Monday night to rebut Costello`s testimony.

COHEN: If in fact that I waved attorney-client privilege, I would like to know when, how, where. I don`t recall waiving anything. But yet again, this

is -- this is -- I don`t know what he is talking about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID: Prosecutors in this case are facing a deadline here in Manhattan, the statute of limitations in this case runs in May. So it is now or never

for this district attorney.

GIOKOS: Paula Reid, thank you so much.

Google is launching its new chatbot with a word of warning. It says AI tools are not without their flaws. They are calling the AI assistant Bard.

It is the company`s answer to ChatGPT; 80,000 employees have tested it out.

A waitlist opened today for people in the U.S. and the U.K. to try it. One of our own CNN reporters has already gotten access to it. Clare Duffy is in

New York for us.

Clare, great to have you.

Is your life more efficient, more productive?

Has Bard changed anything?

What was the experience like?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Well, Eleni, I`ve only had access to Bard for a couple of hours. But it has been fun playing around with it,

seeing how it differs from Microsoft`s Bing chatbot, which I`ve been playing with for a couple of weeks.

Bard is interesting; it seems a little bit less conversational than Bing does. which maybe is intentional. Google may be trying to be avoid some of

the issues that people have pointed out with Microsoft`s tool, that it was a bit too aggressive or it said some things that were a little concerning.

The Bard tool seems pretty straightforward. I did try and push the tool a little bit. In particular, I asked it about whether Joe Biden`s election

was legitimate, which, of course, we know is a common topic of misinformation online.

And the tool said this.

It said, yes, Joe Biden`s election was legitimate. There`s no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. The results have been

certified by state and federal officials. And the claims of voter fraud made by Donald Trump and his allies have been repeatedly debunked.

[16:40:00]

DUFFY: And so some good early signs in terms of the tool`s ability to share accurate information. But it is also interesting; there is a little

disclaimer on the bottom of the tool that said, Bard may display inaccurate or offensive information that doesn`t reflect Google`s view.

So there`s a possibility for things to go wrong here. So far I haven`t found anything. But we will see in the coming weeks.

GIOKOS: Clare, was that your first command?

Was that your first command?

(CROSSTALK)

DUFFY: I did also ask the tool to write me a rap, which was kind of entertaining. It wrote a very bad, not very rhyming rap for me.

I also asked it about Meadows` latest earnings report. This was something that I had previously asked Microsoft`s Bing and it gave me wrong

information. Bard gave me correct information today.

But for Google the, stakes are high here. Google Search is known as this place where people go to get accurate information. So I think the stakes

for Google are especially high here for this tool, not to be sharing false or misleading information.

GIOKOS: So we know you are not going to start a new career in rap music. But Clare, great to have you on the show. Thank you so very much.

All right. That is it for QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I`m Eleni Giokos in Dubai. Great to have you with us today. Up next, "LIVING GOLF". Do take care.

END