DEVELOPMENT IN HONG KONG WHICH I
MUST GET TO OUR VIEWERS.
THAT IS LIVE PICTURES THERE,
HONG KONG PROTESTERS BURSTING
THROUGH.
WHAT HAVE YOU GOT?
ASHLEY: ACTUALLY ATTEMPTING TO
STORM THE AIRPORT IN AN EFFORT
TO GET THE PROTESTERS OUT.
THERE YOU CAN SEE SOME SCUFFLES.
WE UNDERSTAND A WITNESS IS
TELLING REUTERS THE RIOT POLICE
MANAGED TO PUSH BACK SOME
PROTESTERS AT THE AIRPORT.
THIS IS AN ONGOING SITUATION.
AS YOU KNOW, THESE PROTESTS AT
THE AIRPORT HAVE SHUT DOWN
FLIGHTS FOR TWO DAYS IN A ROW,
NONE COMING IN, NONE GOING OUT.
WE WERE WONDERING AT WHAT POINT
DO AUTHORITIES TRY TO TAKE
CHARGE OF THE SITUATION.
WELL, APPARENTLY IN THE LAST FEW
MINUTES, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED.
RIOT POLICE GETTING INTO THE
AIRPORT, TRYING TO GET
PROTESTERS OUT.
AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S BEEN A
DIFFICULT PROCESS.
STUART: THE CONFRONTATION WAS
EXPECTED.
ASHLEY: YES.
STUART: SHUTTING DOWN THE
AIRPORT HAS SEVERE CONSEQUENCES
FOR HONG KONG AND FOR CHINA AS
WELL.
IT WAS EXPECTED THAT AT SOME
POINT, ACTION WOULD BE TAKEN TO
STOP THIS STOPPAGE OF THE
AIRPORT AND IT LOOKS LIKE THAT
IS UNDER WAY AS WE SPEAK.
ASHLEY: WE UNDERSTAND FROM HONG
KONG AIRPORT THAT THE POLICE
HAVE WITHDRAWN AFTER THIS FIRST
ATTEMPT.
STUART: REALLY?
ASHLEY: YES.
STUART: FASCINATING.
SO IF THEY HAVE WITHDRAWN --
ASHLEY: THEY AREN'T GOING AWAY
BUT THE FIRST WAVE OF TRYING TO
GET THESE PROTESTERS OUT.
STUART: WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS TODAY
REGARDING CHINA, AMERICA AND
HONG KONG, IT IS AS FOLLOWS.
ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF AGO, WE
RECEIVED WORD THAT WE WERE GOING
TO DELAY THE IMPOSITION OF
TARIFFS ON A WIDE RANGE OF
CHINESE PRODUCTS UNTIL DECEMBER
15th.
THAT'S SOME BREATHING SPACE.
THIS WAS A WIDE RANGE OF
PRODUCTS FROM VIDEO GAMES, TOYS,
COMPUTERS, FOOTWEAR, YOU NAME
IT, A VAST SWATCH OF PRODUCTS
MADE IN CHINA WOULD NOT BE
SUBJECT TO TARIFFS AT LEAST
UNTIL DECEMBER 15th.
THAT WAS SEEN AS VERY MUCH A
CALMING MOVE IN THE CHINA/U.S.
TRADE TALKS AND THE RESULT WAS A
VERY STRONG STOCK MARKET RALLY.
NOW LITERALLY MOMENTS AGO, IN
HONG KONG, THE POLICE HAVE
ATTEMPTED TO GET RID OF THE
DEMONSTRATORS, PUSH THEM OUT,
FORCEFULLY OUT OF HONG KONG'S
AIRPORT --
ASHLEY: PROTESTERS THROWING
OBJECTS AT THE RIOT POLICE, OR
RIOT POLICE RESPONDING WITH
PEPPER SPRAY.
THEY APPARENTLY HAVE NOW JUST
WITHDRAWN FROM THE INITIAL PART
OF THE AIRPORT AND --
STUART: GENE MUNSTER STILL WITH
US.
GENE, I WANT TO CHANGE THE
SUBJECT BECAUSE I KNOW YOU KNOW
SOMETHING ABOUT THIS.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE IMPACT
OF WHAT'S GOING ON NOW IN HONG
KONG AND THE CHINA TRADE TALKS?
>> STUART, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN
HONG KONG IS KIND OF ONE OF THE
THREE LEGS TO THIS DISPUTE MORE
BROADLY.
WE HAVE WHAT'S GOING ON IN CHINA
AND MAINLAND CHINA MANAGING THAT
SITUATION.
WE HAVE THE TRADE DISPUTE AND
THEN SEPARATELY, WE HAVE
NATIONAL SECURITY THAT GETS
PULLED INTO THE TRADE
CONVERSATION AROUND HUAWEI.
THESE ARE THREE DISTINCT PIECES
BUT THEY ALL ARE INTERRELATED AS
YOU ARE DISCUSSING.
I THINK THE SIMPLE TAKE-AWAY IS
THIS.
WHAT WE ARE SEEING TODAY IN HONG
KONG IS REPRESENTATIVE OF A VERY
COMPLICATED EQUATION BETWEEN
THOSE THREE VERTICALS.
THIS IS GOING TO TAKE MORE TIME
THAN INVESTORS I THINK WOULD
LIKE FOR IT TO SORT ITSELF OUT,
TO REALLY MOVE FORWARD.
WE ARE SEEING SOME RELIEF IN THE
MARKET TODAY BUT I JUST WANT TO
REALLY ENCOURAGE INVESTORS TO
HAVE CLEAR-HEADED THINKING
BECAUSE WE WILL HAVE WHAT'S
HAPPENING AT THIS MINUTE IN HONG
KONG AIRPORT, AND THEN THAT WILL
BE WHETHER SOME TALKS IN THE
NEXT COUPLE WEEKS AND IF WE
THINK FAST FORWARD OVER THE NEXT
YEAR, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THESE
UPS AND DOWNS, AND THE SIMPLE
TAKE-AWAY IS THIS, STUART, IS
FOR INVESTORS TO HAVE
CLEAR-HEADED THINKING AND NOT TO
PARTICIPATE IN WHAT I WOULD CALL
IDLE SPECULATION ABOUT WHAT THE
IMPACT IS.
THE IMPACT IS PRETTY
STRAIGHTFORWARD.
THE U.S. AND CHINA ARE BOTH
LONG-TERM STRONG ECONOMIES AND I
THINK THAT THEY ULTIMATELY WILL
POWER THROUGH THIS WHAT I WILL
CALL A YEAR OF TRADE DISPUTE.
STUART: AT THIS MOMENT, THERE
HAS BEEN NO SIGNIFICANT REACTION
ON THE STOCK MARKET TO THIS MOVE
BY THE POLICE IN HONG KONG TO
GET THE PROTESTERS OUT OF THE
AIRPORT.
BY THE WAY, AS ASHLEY POINTS
OUT, WE DO HAVE REPORTS, THERE'S
THE VIDEO OF THE POLICE
WITHDRAWING.
PULLING OUT OF THE AIRPORT.
THEY MADE AN INITIAL ATTEMPT TO
CLEAR IT.
THEY WERE MET WITH SOME
SIGNIFICANT RESISTANCE.
WE SAW SOME PROTESTERS THROWING
STUFF RIGHT THERE.
NOW LOOK AT THAT, THERE YOU HAVE
IT, THE POLICE ARE WITHDRAWING.
NOW, THEY'RE NOT GOING AWAY
COMPLETELY.
THEY ARE WITHDRAWING TO THE
OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING, BUT
WITHDRAWING THEY ARE.
NO RESPONSE ON THE MARKET.
WHEN WE FIRST STARTED SHOWING
THIS VIDEO, WHEN THE FIRST
REPORTS CAME ACROSS OF HONG
KONG, THE DOW WAS UP ABOUT 360,
370.
WELL, NOW IT'S UP 350 AND THE
S&P IS HOLDING UP 38 AND THE
NASDAQ IS HOLDING UP 122.
SO FOR ONCE, THIS KIND OF
VIOLENCE IN HONG KONG, AND I
WILL CALL THAT VIOLENCE, HAS NOT
HAD A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE
MARKET.
IN FACT, WHAT HAS HAD A POSITIVE
IMPACT VERY CLEARLY IS THE DELAY