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Quest Means Business
Fighting Resumes In Israel-Hamas Conflict As Truce Ends; The Long Wait For Aid Going To Gaza; Qatar Says Negotiations Continue Despite Resumption Of Fighting; U.S. House Expels George Santos In Historic Vote; U.S. Appeals Court Rules Trump Can Be Sued Over Jan. 6; Trump Attorneys Face Fulton County Judge For First Time In Georgia Election Subversion Case; Market Surge In 2023 Driven By Artificial Intelligence; Fed Would Proceed "Carefully" With Interest Rate Hikes, Says Powell. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired December 01, 2023 - 15:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:27]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Israel resumes its offensive on Gaza, including southern parts of the strip. No aid trucks cross into Gaza
after the truce expires. The top Red Cross officials tells CNN the nightmare for civilians on both sides is back.
And the U.S. Congress expels one of its own in a historic vote. Live from New York, it's the first day of December. I'm Paula Newton, in for Richard
Quest, and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
And good evening. Tonight, violence flares in Gaza as a fragile truce between Israel and Hamas breaks down.
Now, strikes began just after the pause expired. You see the video there. It shows a strike actually in Rafah which, a reminder, is in the southern
part of Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces is telling people to evacuate towards Rafah.
They dropped leaflets in Khan Younis telling residents the city is a, quote, "fighting zone." The leaflets include a QR code that connects to a
map.
Now, remember, you actually need an Internet connection for -- to be able to use that. The IDF says it will help residents avoid harm if they
actually tune into that map you're looking at right now. But with no power and little access to the Internet, not sure what help that is going to be.
Now, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, meantime, says 178 people have been killed. That's just since the truce expired.
Jeremy Diamond is in Sderot -- Israel for us. And, Jeremy, I'm sure from your position, you have seen firsthand that this truce has indeed
collapsed. Tell me the impact right now in Israel and also, of course, on civilians in Gaza.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no doubt about. Within minutes of the truce expiring this morning at 7:00 AM local time, there were not only
barrages of rockets being fired by Hamas towards towns and cities in Israel, but also, of course, Israeli jets resuming their bombing campaign
in the Gaza Strip.
Throughout the day, there have been active air, ground, and sea and naval operations throughout Gaza, including in the southern part of the Gaza
Strip. And that is the first day that we have seen significant ground operations carried out by the Israeli military in the south of Gaza.
Now, just moments ago, we actually saw a very significant barrage of rockets coming from northern Gaza right behind me. We -- I counted at least
19 rockets being fired from a position near Beit Hanoun, which is the northeastern most city in Gaza. Those rockets were intercepted right over
our position, multiple loud booms, probably the most significant barrage of rockets that I have seen from this position in weeks now.
And, of course, that's significant for two reasons. First of all, it comes after a weeklong pause in fighting, which military analysts have said would
give Hamas time to regroup and reposition itself. But it's also significant because the Israeli military has now been carrying out ground operations
inside the northern part of the Gaza Strip for weeks now.
They have even claimed that they are in control of northern Gaza. But if this barrage of rockets showed us anything, it's that Hamas still has the
ability to carry out military operations, to carry out its -- to target Israeli cities from positions in northern Gaza, including those positions
where the Israeli military has carried out operations for weeks now.
That city of Beit Hanoun, if you look at it in the daytime, it has effectively been reduced to rubble or -- and the buildings that remain are
skeletons of themselves and yet still, the ability to fire rockets from that area.
Now, in terms of the civilian casualties in Gaza, we've already seen from several strikes in Khan Younis, as well as Rafah, several hundred people
being killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, among them, many women and children. The Red Cross today warning of a devastating
humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
And again, amid all of this still, negotiations still continuing to see if that pause in fighting can be renewed in order for more hostages to get
out, more hundreds of trucks of aids to get into Gaza and, of course, that much needed respite for the people of Gaza from the bombings.
NEWTON: Yes. I mean, Jeremy, look, what more are we learning about whether or not that truce will be reinstated? I mean, Qatar being very clear that
given all the action you see there at the border, there's going to be really difficult negotiation now going forward.
[15:05:03]
DIAMOND: No doubt about it. And, you know, we know that even as the fighting has resumed, those negotiations are still ongoing, so that there
is some sliver of hope that that pause in the fighting can be reinstated. And you're hearing booms behind me right now, and the fighting is still
continuing tonight. But the negotiations are as well.
We know that, yesterday, Hamas made several proposals that were considered completely unacceptable to Israelis, not offering up a list of ten women
and children to be released, which was the conditions that Israel set. Instead, offering several dead bodies, effectively, of former -- of one-
time Israeli hostages in exchange for the Palestinian prisoners that Israel has to release as part of this agreement.
But the question now is, does Hamas have more women and children that they can release? Hamas seems to indicate that they have limited ability on that
front. Israel says they believe Hamas still has more women and children to release. And then, of course, the negotiations are also beginning to turn
to the question of men, as well as Israeli soldiers.
Those will come at a much, much higher price. And the Israeli political leadership has signaled they believe a military operation in Gaza will be
one way to pressure Hamas and to reduce that price at the negotiating table.
NEWTON: Yes, again, that is something that is in dispute. And, Jeremy, I'm glad you pointed out. Given where these attacks now from Hamas are coming,
it is in dispute exactly the kind of control the IDF even has over those northern parts of Gaza.
Jeremy Diamond, you and your troop, please stay safe there. It will be another long evening. Appreciate it.
Now, despite the renewed fighting, Qatar, as we were saying, says the two sides are still negotiating to get back to that all-important truce. Now,
the Qatar foreign ministry said the bombing of the Gaza Strip complicates its mediation efforts. It's called on the international community though to
move quickly to stop the violence.
Nabil Fahmy used to be Egypt's foreign minister, as well as Egypt's ambassador to the United States, and he joins me now. And good to have you
given Egypt's important role in all of this.
Egypt said today that it is working with Qatar and others to try and reinstate the truce. How optimistic are you that that can happen?
NABIL FAHMY, FORMER EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Thank you, Paula. I actually think we will be able to establish at least one more truce. But after that,
it will be extremely difficult because, as we get closer to finishing the releases of women and children and hostages, and the equivalent women and
children incarcerated on this very side, and people will buckle down on the military personnel and the men. And that's going to be a much more
complicated situation.
What we're trying to achieve is not a truce. What we're trying to achieve a ceasefire because the collateral damage against Palestinian civilians
during this armed conflict is really extremely significant and far beyond anything that's acceptable. It's internationally a war crime.
NEWTON: That issue is whether or not it is a war crime. I know -- I've read about your opinion and the fact that you have been calling for a ceasefire.
You have taken issue with the Biden administration and what you say is blanket support for Israel, saying the U.S. will -- these are your words --
will have blood on its hands if it continues that support.
I'm interested, do you see a change in U.S. posture given Antony Blinken's latest warning to Israel, that they need to be more careful about those
civilian deaths?
FAHMY: Yes, I do, but not enough. There's no question that the statement visits by Secretary Blinken in the region mean that the U.S. is coming back
with messages, requests, and so on and so forth. And there has been a different tone.
Nevertheless, the National Security Spokesman, Kirby, made a statement yesterday basically saying that when the fighting resume, the U.S. would
continue to be supportive of Israel in that process. So there's a bit of contradiction here.
That being said, we want to work with all sides to achieve a ceasefire and then to deal with the situation on the ground, both in terms of ensuring
the civility, the human rights of civilians, and finding a way to come out of this military confrontation into something that helps, hopefully, and
the hostage incarcerated exchanges, and walks us into a political process to finally reach a situation where Palestinians and Israelis live
peacefully together.
NEWTON: You know, Egyptians have been in agreement and they've been really witnesses to everything that's going on in Gaza. The people there are
living through torturous, inhumane conditions. Unfortunately, that is a given. But can Egypt help more?
I know that any relocations of Gazans into Egypt is highly controversial. I know it's considered ethnic cleansing by some. But you and I both know that
the alternative doesn't look good here right now.
[15:10:10]
It is a death sentence for thousands of Gazans, principally children. It seems that Egypt though, at this hour, is putting its own national security
interests ahead of those children.
FAHMY: No, actually, I think you're putting the blame on the wrong person here -- wrong country. Israelis are the ones .
NEWTON: No, I'm trying to clarify who can help and who can better help, that's all.
FAHMY: Well, we will -- we are trying to help by trying to convince the Israelis to stop with the carpet bombing of Gaza, and to work through us
and others to try to find a solution to this crisis, and then the generic problem so we can move forward.
The Israelis have a 100% perfect record in never accepting refugees back into territories they have occupied or inside Israel itself. And we do not
want to participate in a process of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Palestinian territory, because we know that they won't be let back. That's
the real problem.
It's not a matter of humanitarian support, we have said we will provide health services and hospital facilities to anybody who is injured and needs
that kind of service, irrespective of nationality, but to be the host country of a forced displacement of Palestinians, when we know that they
will not be allowed back.
And don't ignore the Israeli statements. They have said, after bombing the north, we will go to the center and then go to the south. We will then
control security in Gaza and create no man zones and security access. That means we will be participating in the application of Israeli security on
Gaza. We cannot do that.
NEWTON: But, unfortunately, as you know, if Egypt does not do more than it can do right now, that will lead to more death. I don't think that's in
dispute.
I want to get to something that you wrote just days before the October 7th attack and you all have historical piece. You wrote about the 1973 war,
known in Israel as the Yom Kippur War. And you said that that conflict was invaluable, in your words, in creating a geopolitical paradigm, which
fostered negotiations between the Arabs, particularly with respect to Egypt and Israel.
So I ask you, do you believe this conflict can be seen in the same way by Palestinians? And if so, does that mean that Hamas's terror worked? It
works.
FAHMY: Well, violence begets violence. If you have an occupation, you will find a resistance. We have been trying even before the '73 war, but
particularly after that, to pursue the solutions through negotiations.
Let me throw quickly at you my suggestion as an Egyptian, not necessarily as a government assorting to them. I no longer am one. We are -- we want --
we need a ceasefire because you can't negotiate under this carnage. We need to have a support for the civilians there. That's the second component.
Thirdly, we definitely need to deal with the hostage situation and talk about what happens after the weapons stop firing at each other. But to deal
with each of these issues, we actually need to have some indication of where the endgame is because nobody wants to be caught with an endless
status quo.
And the endgame can be addressed by dealing with or providing a stronger recognition of a Palestinian state under occupation, and then also
embracing the Arab Peace Initiative of 2000 to, which says, ending occupation means normal relations between Israel and all the Arab states.
And .
NEWTON: And I have to go, I have to go, but I do want to ask you one question. The solution that you're pointing to there, can that include
Hamas or do you agree that Hamas has to be cut out of the equation?
FAHMY: I'm looking for a solution between Palestinians and Israelis, who represents Israel, who represents the Palestinians is the choice of those
peoples. I don't choose who represents them. But I actually -- what I'm talking about is solution. It's not for Gaza, it's for Gaza and the West
Bank. So it would have to have a larger Palestinian constituency.
NEWTON: Understood, understood. Nabil Fahmy, unfortunately, I have to leave it there. We will have you back on what is a very important perspective
there from Egypt. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
FAHMY: Thank you, Paula.
NEWTON: Spain's deputy prime minister says Israel has the right to defend itself, but human lives, as we've been hearing from the interview we just
heard, need to be protected. This after Israel summoned Spain's ambassador over what it called shameful comments from the Spanish Prime Minister,
Pedro Sanchez, said he had serious doubts Israel is complying with international humanitarian law.
[15:15:05]
Now, Nadia Calvino told our Julia Chatterley the world needs to find peace as soon as possible. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADIA CALVINO, SPANISH FIRST DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think that our position has been quite clear from the outset. We absolutely reject
terrorist attacks. You know, we suffered terrorism ourselves in Spain and we are very close. Our hearts are very close to the Israelis.
And actually, I have met with the families of some of the persons that have been kidnapped. I have participated in the funerals of a person that has
been killed. So we are absolutely aligned with Israel in rejecting and -- with the strongest possible words the terrorist attacks and, of course,
that right of Israel to defend itself.
But we are now in a situation, which is really calling on us to ensure that we protect human lives, that there are no lives lost of innocent citizens
in Gaza. And from this point of view, I think that we should all strive to find peace as soon as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Calvino there.
Now, George Santos has been kicked out of Congress. The New York Republican was expelled by his fellow lawmakers. We'll talk about that historic vote
next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: George Santos has been ousted from the U.S. House of Representatives. Santos is just the sixth person in history to be expelled.
That comes after an ethics probe found substantial evidence that Santos used campaign funds for personal use.
Santos has been caught lying about his past. He's also under federal indictment for fraud. He'll be replaced through a special election process,
a process that the governor of New York says she's prepared to start.
For Santos had choice words for the press after his expulsion. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE SANTOS, FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN: I had no skin in the game.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you know this was how it was going to go? Did you know how it was going to go?
SANTOS: You know what? Unofficially already, I'm no longer a member of Congress. I no longer have to answer a single question from you guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Okay, he's making his feelings clear there. Sunlen Serfaty has been following all of this for us from Washington.
And for those who missed it, game time for this vote was pretty dramatic. Fill us in on why this was so significant.
[15:20:03]
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that certainly was a dramatic vote, and this is something very unusual for the House to do. They usually head
into votes knowing exactly what is going to happen, and that was just not that case.
Today, before the vote, there was a series of last-minute maneuverings. We heard some members of Congress come out saying they were against expulsion,
some coming out and saying they were going to vote for expelling George Santos.
But notably, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, just moments before the vote, he announced that he was going to vote against expelling George
Santos. And that, in essence, made a few other House Republicans who were on the fence on how they would vote, fall in line with that. So there was
this last-minute momentum that possibly George Santos might stay in Congress.
But in the end, it was a very convincing vote. It was 311 to 114. That's far more than what was needed, two-thirds majority, to oust him. It was a
very convincing vote to send him back and to send him out of Congress.
And that happens immediately. George Santos on his way in, he walked in, he did not know whether he was going to remain a Congressman. He did not stay
in the House chamber for the vote. And he left, as you can see there very quickly afterwards, chased by reporters.
He is no longer a Congressman. The procedure starts pretty immediately now that this House seat is vacant to fill who will take over that House seat.
NEWTON: Yes. Sunlen, you know, they are already talking about the fact that the GOP does not want anymore -- their words -- impostor candidates like
this. What goes forward now given that the New York governor has said, yes, we will start for a new election process here?
SERFATY: That's right. This immediately turns to now the special election race in New York to replace his seat. And the Republicans are now one seat
down, while this seat is vacant. It doesn't mean that they want to move too quickly.
But the Democratic Governor, Kathy Hochul, we saw her announce just a short time ago that, indeed, she will call for a special election as New York law
says that she will. The election needs to happen between 70 and 80 days from the seat being vacant. So we're, in essence, looking for February now
for this election.
The local party leaders, they will nominate each of their sides. There won't be a traditional primary. So that will be a very competitive race.
You know, this is a district that Democrats won in 2020. Biden won there about eight percentage points. So this is a swing district. So Democrats
are really eyeing this as a place that they can potentially pick up a seat and flip it back because it was in Democratic hands before. George Santos
took the seat.
NEWTON: Yes. And given the margins in Congress right now, all important vote coming up there in the new year. Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much.
Appreciate it.
Now, a federal appeals court says Donald Trump can face civil lawsuits related to the January 6th capitol riot. Trump's attorneys argue that he
was immune to liability because he was acting in his official role as president. Now, the court ruled that he was campaigning that day as a
presidential candidate.
In Georgia, meantime, pre-trial hearings are underway in the criminal election subversion case against Mr. Trump. The former president and co-
defendants want the indictment dismissed.
And Nick Valencia is in Atlanta for us and following all of it. And lucky for us, Nick, I know how closely you and your team watched this. Let us
know today why this is so significant in terms of all the political fallout for -- from these Donald Trump trials.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Well, first and foremost, the fact that he cannot find immunity or he's been granted immunity in January 6th
is consequential to all of the civil cases that he's facing. Of course, this will likely be elevated to the Supreme Court, where he will be
litigated. There's -- that argument is not over.
But here, in Georgia, it was a fascinating day in court with Trump's attorneys in court for the very first time in this case. And what they're
effectively trying to do is get this indictment thrown out on First Amendment grounds.
His high-profile attorney in this case, Steve Sadow, is arguing that when former President Trump lost the 2020 election and then he began to allege
that there was widespread voter fraud, and he began to pedal these conspiracy theories, that that, at its core, was political speech and is
protected by the First Amendment.
And in a legal filing on Monday, Sadow said that this false speech, the remedy for it is not a political prosecution by the district attorney's
office here in Fulton County. The state had a chance to respond. They say, well, it sounds good to allege that this is political in nature. The facts
they say are that laws were broken and crimes were committed.
Another really significant headline that emerged from today is in terms of scheduling. Recently, in a recent interview, Fani Willis, the district
attorney here, she talked to the "Washington Post" and told them that she wants the trial to start with Trump and his codefendants in August of 2024.
That came up in court today.
Sadow, Trump's attorney, pushed back saying that was unrealistic because his client is likely to be the GOP nominee in the 2024 presidential
election, and then that trial would happen as the heart of the presidential election cycle.
[15:25:01]
The judge is unlikely to issue a ruling from the bench. He's not issued a ruling from the bench so far, so we will anticipate what he has to say in
writing. But right now, those arguments are still taking place here behind me in that courtroom -- Paula.
NEWTON: Yes. Nick, again, appreciate you covering every inch of what's going on in Georgia there and beyond. Nick Valencia for us. Thanks so much.
Now, across the globe, people are searching for innovative ways to stretch their hard-earned cash in Dubai. A new start-up called Mimojo -- stumbling
on that -- is cutting through the confusion of loyalty schemes. The startup is using rewards apps to deliver cash back directly to their customers.
We'll explain in this week's "Think Big."
(THINK BIG)
NEWTON: Just into CNN, police are responding to reports of people injured near the Israeli consulate in Atlanta. Now, authorities said in a statement
that medical personnel have responded in order to assist. A representative from the consulate told CNN that they -- the personnel there -- are all
safe and secure. They did not give any further details. Of course, we will continue to follow that developing news for you out of Atlanta. And we will
be right back with more news in a moment.
[15:30:10]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN, more people get their news from CNN than any other news source.
NEWTON: Returning to our top story, fighting has now resumed in Gaza now that the truce between Israel and Hamas has expired. Qatar says, the two
sides are still negotiating a possible pause in the fighting. The Israeli military says, it has resumed meantime it's offensive, including in parts
of the Southern Gaza Strip where this strike, the one you're seeing right there, took place.
Now, James Elder, a spokesperson for UNICEF, spoke to Isa Soares from Southern Gaza. He said the resumption of fighting is a catastrophe for
children in the enclave. He described to her what it was like when the fighting resumed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES ELDER, SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: There's nowhere to go. These two things -- I've tried so hard to capture this, Isa, there's nowhere safe. When I
was at the hospital, there was a big hit very nearby and people were saying, you know, in my earpiece, go somewhere safe. The children in the
hospital aren't safe. I wasn't safe there. I'm not safe here. I have constant noise. The hundreds of thousands sleeping out tonight are not
safe. Nowhere is safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Ben Wedeman now takes a closer look at how this war has upended life throughout the Gaza Strip.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): There isn't much left to retrieve from the moonscape that was Zahra City in
central Gaza. Just some scraps of wood pulled from the ruins. The odds and ends that were once people's lives.
We've come to get what we can, says Amjad al-Ashanti. The kids' things, our clothing, whatever we can get from under the rubble. Here, I found this, my
daughter's toy. No one can live here anymore, the destruction total.
Life in Gaza has been reduced to the basics, a pre-industrial existence where people have become hewers of wood, where they can find it. And
drawers of water, even if that water is barely potable. Bassem Al-Attar goes out early every day to collect the firewood his wife uses to prepare
meals. The United Nations estimates around 80 percent of Gaza's population has been displaced, more than a million jammed into schools converted into
shelters.
People here are living on top of one another, says Bassem. The place is full of filth. All these kids are going to get sick.
[15:35:00]
The World Health Organization reports that without adequate hygiene, health care and food, disease is spreading. Bassem's wife, Khitam, tears up the
daily bread, old and stale, to be made into a thin soup with lentils.
We used to feed this to the sheep. Now, we give it to the children, she says.
There's no more room at this school in Maghazi, Central Gaza. Umm Shadi and her extended family of more than 20 sleep in the back of a truck, protected
from the elements by a plastic tarp. She fled from Northern Gaza with only what she could carry, desperate now to find enough food to feed her
children.
When my son tells me, I'm hungry. What can I say, she asks? We try, but we can't find anything. Our life is hard.
Hard, perhaps, is an understatement. Welcome to the apocalypse now.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
NEWTON: And our thanks to Ben Wedeman for that report.
Now, the Dow is rising, as you can see there, after comments from the chairman of the Fed. It's been higher basically all session. Jerome Powell
said a, "Soft landing." Yes, you're hearing that term again, seems to be taking shape in the United States. Many investors think the Fed might be
done, in fact, with raising interest rates for now. Those hopes also led to a banner in November for stocks. The Dow gained more than eight percent
last month, the S&P rose about nine percent, and the NASDAQ led the way up nearly 11 percent.
CNN Global Economic Analyst Rana Foroohar is with me here. It's so good to see you, Rana, especially --
RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST AND GLOBAL BUSINESS COLUMNIST AND ASSOCIATE EDITOR, FINANCIAL TIMES: Great to see you.
NEWTON: Nice to see you. So, you know, it is that day to take stock, right? It is December 1st. Let's take a measure of what the Fed is doing here, but
also the tempo of the economy. Given many were expecting a recession. We are right now, perhaps at that sweet spot, right? I mean, what are people
saying?
FOROOHAR: Absolutely. Another word that I'm going to trot out again is Goldilocks. Remember that Paula, you know, the Goldilocks economy? We had
it for so long and then we didn't. Well, maybe it's back. I mean, you know, you have to say that this Fed has managed an awful lot in the last few
years from a pandemic, to a, you know, war in Ukraine, Gaza now, you know. And there is a lot going on in the global economy.
Just to run through a couple of factors, you know, some of the things that are keeping the market high and making investors think that maybe we're
done with rate hikes is the fact that the consumer market is cooling off a little bit. Jobs are cooling off a little bit, although not so much that we
get the sense that the economy is going to be in a downturn. So, that's that Goldilocks phenomenon that you're going to, I think, hear more about.
At the same time, you know, we've seen this moment before and then seen inflationary pressures surge often because of something unexpected that
happens in the global economy, supply chain shocks, an energy crisis. And certainly, given what's happening in Gaza, that is a possibility still. So,
I don't want to rule that out.
NEWTON: Yes, absolutely. It's all linked. And, you know, we are all breathless with the kind of shocks that most economies have had to weather
over the last few years. I want to ask you, though, you know, we just read off some of the stats from November. We are now a year into artificial
intelligence, A.I. and its effects in the economy. So, much of that market rally that we have seen in the last few months has been A.I. driven. I
mean, do you foresee that A.I.'s effects on the economy will perhaps accelerate into the year to come?
FOROOHAR: I think they will. I mean, I am seeing across the board, Paula, in every industry, a lot of investment, tech investment, going into A.I.
You're already starting to see some job disruption, too, you know, in media and data and back in clerical worth, health care services.
So, this is real. I think this is not the kind of phenomenon like you saw with the Metaverse, for example, where you get a lot of interest and
everybody's trying to the Metaverse stocks go up and then suddenly it's not a thing. A.I. is much more real.
But I think A.I. is going to play out over years, if not decades, and we're going to see booms and busts. Booms and busts. So, I think we're in the
middle right now of a bubble, some of which will be productive, some of which will help people do their jobs better. Maybe help services become
more productive. But I think there's also going to be more hype, perhaps, than we'll end up, you know, really getting to work in the real world.
NEWTON: Now that you mentioned the Metaverse. I'm like, Meta who? Remember that?
FOROOHAR: No, I know, right? Right?
NEWTON: Exactly.
FOROOHAR: But that was a thing, you know?
NEWTON: I am intrigued though. I don't have a lot of time left, but I am intrigued about A.I. and its impact on the workforce. I mean, many are
predicting some pretty drastic disruptions.
FOROOHAR: Absolutely. The OECDE put out a report a few months ago saying that they were concerned about a crisis in white collar work.
[15:40:00]
Because if you think about it, the jobs that were disrupted in the '80s and the '90s that went to China were done by robots, that was eight percent of
the workforce of the U.S. and other rich countries. We're now talking about 30, 40 percent of jobs being disrupted. So that's got big economic impact.
Potentially big political impact.
NEWTON: Yes, stay tuned as we like to say. Rana, have a great weekend. Good to see you. Appreciate it.
FOROOHAR: You too.
NEWTON: And that is "Quest Means Business." I'll be back at the top of the hour as we make a dash for that closing bell, but up next, "Living Golf".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(LIVING GOLF)
[15:45:00]
(LIVING GOLF)
[15:50:00]
(LIVING GOLF)
[15:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:58:17]
NEWTON: Hello, I'm Paula Newton, and it is the dash to the closing bell. We are just two minutes away now. Jerome Powell, meantime, said today the Fed
needs to move forward carefully with interest rates. His comments helped lift the markets.
The Dow padding its gains after a roaring November. It is set to close up, as you can see there, more than 300 points. They are really partying into
the weekend there. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500, meantime, also rallying to close out what actually was a pretty choppy week.
Now, I discussed the recent market rally with CNN Economic Analyst Rana Foroohar. She says investors might be optimistic and for good reason.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FOROOHAR: There is a lot going on in the global economy. Just to run through a couple of factors, you know, some of the things that are keeping
the market high and making investors think that maybe we're done with rate hikes is the fact that the consumer market is cooling off a little bit.
Jobs are cooling off a little bit, although not so much that we get the sense that the economy is going to be in a downturn. So, that's that
Goldilocks phenomenon that you're going to, I think, hear more about.
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NEWTON: Here's hoping now looking at the Dow components, as you see there. Another big day for Salesforce, you know, up more than three percent after
this week's strong earnings report. Walgreens Boots Alliance, meantime, right there with them. Walmart, though, down 1.3 percent amid reports that
insiders have been selling shares. That is important going into an all- important Christmas season for the consumer.
And that is our Dash to the Bell. I'm Paula Newton. The closing bell, I think we're about to hear that on Wall Street. In the meantime, "The Lead
with Jake Tapper" starts right now.
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