Return to Transcripts main page

Quest Means Business

US Foreign Policy; US Economic Interests; Malcolm Glazer Dead; Future of the EU; European Markets Mixed; US Markets Lower; Google Unveils Driverless Car Prototype; World Science Festival

Aired May 28, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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

(NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE CLOSING BELL)

RICHARD QUEST, HOST: Toro! Toro! A century of an invention while the market is down 40 points. This is a company that makes lawn mowers and gardening equipment.

(GAVEL POUNDING)

QUEST: Three big hits on the hammer to bring trading to a close on Wednesday, it's May the 28th. Tonight, might doing right. The US president defends his foreign policy. The commerce secretary tells us companies play their part, too.

Also, Brussels needs a new brand leader. I'll be asking Mario Monti, former Italian prime minister, who is up to the job.

And hide and tweet. Secret envelopes of cash are coming to a city near you. What will we discover in our studio.

I'm Richard Quest. I mean business.

Good evening. The words were strong. "Just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail." That's how President Obama explained his vision for foreign policy today. The hammer, of course, is America's military, which the US president touted as the strongest in the world.

And as for the potential nail or nails, well, they're the global conflicts from Syria to Ukraine. In the face of fierce criticism that his foreign policy has been weak on the international stage, the president insisted his diplomacy first strategy has been effective.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because of American leadership, the world immediately condemned Russian actions, Europe and the G7 joined us to impose sanctions, and this mobilization of world opinion and international institutions served as a counterweight to Russian propaganda and Russian troops on the border, and armed militias.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: And then, of course, is the question of the policy that he espoused today, might is right when used properly and carefully. CNN's world affairs correspondent Elise Labott is in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELISE LABOTT, CNN WORLD AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Richard, I think one of the interesting things about this speech is that the president viewed a lot of these conflicts around the world really through a counter- terrorism lens.

If you look at Syria, Libya, Iraq, the president spoke very little of the civil war in Syria, for instance, and addressing it as a counter- terrorism challenge. He referenced support for the moderate opposition. It was kind of a nod to what we thought was going to be specifics of a plan to train the moderate rebels that are battling not only Bashar al-Assad's forces, but also those extremists in Syria.

Instead, he just kind of glossed over it. Also, glossed over the year-long political effort to bring the opposition and the regime to the table. Those peace talks are now dead in the water. And so, not really getting into the whole need for a political solution, really just making very scant mention of it.

In Libya, for instance, where the US really helped Libya get rid of Moammar Gadhafi, the country is now in the throes of political chaos that is driving the current violence, and a lot of people think that that requires sustained US diplomatic engagement that they're not seeing.

And the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, the first war that President Obama wrapped up for the US troops is now also in the throes of sectarian violence that is largely seen as a political crisis, and you haven't seen a lot of high-level US diplomatic engagement since US troops withdrew.

And so, I think one of the problems when you talk to allies is the President lays out a lot of lofty goals: let's get President Assad out, let's get rid of Moammar Gadhafi. But as these conflicts drag on, there isn't this kind of sustained US intense political engagement that is going to help draw these conflicts to a close.

And even as the US withdraws its footprint, that doesn't mean you don't need that high-level, sustained political engagement. And I think that allies would think that that's sorely lacking from this administration, and it was certainly lacking in this speech, Richard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Elise Labott, who's in Washington. Foreign policy, of course, affects the United States' economic priorities around the world. Join me at the super screen, you'll see just how much economics, foreign policy, and diplomacy now all interact with each other. And in many ways, whilst the military is a crucial part of the equation, foreign policy involves economics just as much.

Let's take Europe, where the whole question of course, following on from the sovereign debt crisis. You've got the trade deal that's been in negotiations. The transatlantic trade partnership in negotiations, which grind inexorably on.

You've also got the two sides talking about the crisis in Ukraine. But there's an economic aspect to that as well, notably the energy issue, of course, and how that will factor in.

Over in Asia, you have the trade deal stalled. That's the transpacific. Now, Obama went, of course, over to Asia, was unable to get the talks started, there are problems with Japan, Malaysia says it's going to do its bit, but the transpacific trade partnership going nowhere fast at the moment.

And then, of course, you've got the whole issue of cyber security, the issues with China, China now, of course -- members of China being now named as hackers.

And then you've got Africa, where you have an expanding trade agenda in a very important region and, of course, efforts to find the Nigerian girls at the moment.

Now, the US commerce secretary has just returned from a trip to Nigeria, Ghana, and Ethiopia. The US is involved with the efforts to find the Nigerian girls. But I asked the commerce secretary, Penny Pritzker, about this trip and, importantly, the sustainable policies needed for growth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PENNY PRITZKER, US COMMERCE SECRETARY: During our trip, I was able to meet with the leaders in all three countries, as well as my counterparts, as well as energy ministers or power ministers. And I talked with all of them about precisely the issues you just raised.

And they are very open to working with us. They want American business there, they want to see us more present. And so as a result, they're really interested in the kinds of reforms that need to occur.

But you're absolutely right, these are emerging markets, and the companies that were with us, both large and small -- this was not just large businesses, but small businesses as well -- they understand what they're getting into.

And what we at the Commerce Department do is we have something called the Foreign Commercial Service. Those are people on the ground in country who are helping American businesses do business and navigate their way through the complicated situation on the ground.

And in fact, one of the things I announced on our trip was a doubling of the Foreign Commercial Service in Africa.

QUEST: Right.

PRITZKER: So, we're from a government standpoint both working with our government counterparts as well as providing American know-how on the ground to help our businesses.

QUEST: Now, this is really interesting, Madam Secretary, because the president today talking about his foreign policy address, he was talking more in terms of the diplomatic and the military side in many ways.

But of course, as you know, commerce is now very much a tool -- very much part of any country's foreign policy agenda. And if I understand what you're saying correctly, the US, like many other countries, is now strengthening that as part of the foreign policy agenda.

PRITZKER: Absolutely. And the president, when he asked me to take this job as secretary of commerce said to me, "I want you to be the chief commercial advocate for American business around the world." And so, that's part of what not just me in my role, but the whole department is doing in terms of helping American business expand.

We have a terrific effort that the president has created called the National Export Initiative, and we've just launched the next --

QUEST: But --

PRITZKER: -- iteration of that, where we're helping American businesses export and take their goods to the 95 percent of customers in the world that exist outside the United States.

So, this is very much a part of the administration's agenda, and what we at the Commerce Department are very focused on is fulfilling those promises.

QUEST: Like other countries -- and I'm thinking particularly of Germany, I'm thinking of the UK, Australia is very good at it as well -- do you see American embassies and American consular outposts as being opportunities to put your staff in there to boost, if you like, America, Inc. in therms of a diplomatic and a commercial advantage?

PRITZKER: Well, Richard, our staff for the most part already is working in these embassies around the world. We're obviously, as I said, doubling our capacity in Africa. But we work very closely with the ambassadors and the economic officers in country.

But we have our own staff there as well, and we all work very closely together to further this agenda, which is having a greater economic relationship with countries, as well as our strategic and diplomatic relationships.

And that is -- what I was really thrilled with was how warmly we were received in all three countries, and the recognition that we can bring things -- we can bring solutions to the table through our businesses.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Now some breaking news. The owner of Manchester United, Malcolm Glazer, has died at the age of 85. He was also the owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The news has just been announced. We'll have, obviously, more about it.

It was a controversial decision when he bought the Manchester team. The fans were very much against it. And indeed on the economics of the purchase, he loaded the team up with debt.

It was almost a classic leveraged buyout in may ways, except, of course, there was nothing to sell off to help pay down the debt when Glazer did buy the team. And whatever success there may have been, certainly the questions of how he took over the team and the economic legacy he left behind are still being hotly debated. We'll talk more about it.

As the US looks out, Europe turns inwards. On QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, we're going to talk to Italy's former prime minister, Mario Monti, to reverse the loss of confidence in the EU.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Now, economic confidence in the EU hit its highest level in three years yesterday, even as the European project undergoes a crisis in confidence. Look at the economic sentiment numbers.

The improvement in sentiment reflects growing optimism amongst consumers and industry managers. The number has risen quite sharply throughout the course of the year.

European leaders have less reason to feel confident, though. Whatever consumers may feel, the leaders themselves, there have been a string of victories, as you're well aware, for nationalist candidates over the weekend's EU parliamentary elections.

So, you have a very clear difference of opinion between the economic sentiment that people enjoy, and the downright misery that they feel when talking about European leaders. The British prime minister David Cameron warned that Europe cannot carry on with business as usual.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: It's a very clear message, which is the European Union cannot just shrug off these results and carry on as before. We need change. We need an approach that recognizes that Europe should concentrate on what matters, on growth and jobs, and not try to do so much.

We need an approach that recognizes that Brussels has got too big, too bossy, too interfering. We need more for nation states. It should be nation states wherever possible, Europe only where necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Mario Monti's career has taken him across Europe. He taught economics in Turin, he served as an EU commissioner. Of course, he was the prime minister in Rome. Mario Monti joins me now from Berlin.

Good evening, sir. If there is one man who can explain how we got into this mess where European citizens have such distrust and such animus to their leaders, it is you, sir. The danger is everybody says there should be change, but what change needs to happen, sir?

MARIO MONTI, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF ITALY: Well, we need, certainly, to have policies to foster growth in Europe. And that has to be done without putting in danger the good financial situation of our countries. Certainly in Italy, I think it will be very crazy to undo the improvement that has been achieved there.

But it's not only to achieve more growth throughout Europe, which is difficult enough, but necessary. It's also, in my view, to take Europe more seriously by the nation of politicians. Because a somewhat cynical game has gone on for --

QUEST: Right.

MONTI: -- too long whereby national leaders systematically blame Brussels for decisions they have taken together when they speak to their domestic audiences. And therefore, of course, people in the end hate Brussels and the European Union.

QUEST: Can --

MONTI: Although without it, the economic situation would be much worse.

QUEST: Can European politicians pull this back from the brink? When you've got David Cameron on the one side basically saying reopen the treaties, renegotiate, bring back powers, and you have Angela Merkel on the other side saying we need to do something, but let's not pull the house down, the two views are irreconcilable.

MONTI: No, I believe they are not. I hope there will be a solution. It will take some time, but I believe that Europeans will discover that it is in the general interest to do a bit more of what David Cameron likes to do. That is to be more oriented toward reform, to markets, to competition.

There are countries in continental Europe, like Germany, France, or Italy, which are not so lovers of market and competition, so economic reform can be a flag that David Cameron, in my view, can --

QUEST: Right.

MONTI: -- hold for me, and he will find many allies in, for example, in the Scandinavian countries, in the new member states of the European Union. Whereas if he wants simply to protect Britain from what he believes are undo incursions of the European Union or just wants to protect the city of London from any future financial regulation, that is going to isolate him.

QUEST: OK. Now, who do you -- who would be your preferred candidate for the EU president, the head of the EU Commission, president of the Commission, bearing in mind Jean-Claude Junker, now even Angela Merkel suggests might not be the right man. So his candidacy is in some jeopardy. Who do you think should be the president of the Commission?

MONTI: I don't have names to propose, but I believe it should be somebody who really believes in the Commission, the institution that he or she is going to lead, as the engine of European integration. And in the past, the European Commission has on occasion been a bit too shy. No, it is the role of the European Commission to make proposals --

QUEST: Right.

MONTI: -- that would bring Europe forward. And then the consensus might gradually be built. But I agree with Cameron that Europe should not be over-intrusive. There are some --

QUEST: Right. But --

MONTI: -- functions which need to be done --

QUEST: Would you like the job? If somebody put your name up for the job, are you interested?

MONTI: That's an interesting question for a drawing room chat, Richard, not for important broadcasts that you guide from New York.

QUEST: That's a very -- that's an interesting answer, sir, which I shall take onboard. Mario Monti joining -- finally -- one quick final question, Mr. Monti. One final question. Do you believe, ultimately, Brussels has got the message as a result of these elections? And it really -- the Eurocrats in Brussels now understand there is a level of resentment against the way they've run the Union?

MONTI: I believe they have been listening, but believe me in turn, if the Eurocrats are more restrained and the political leaders in member countries continue to be playing the cynical game of blaming the European Union for their own domestic political shortcomings, you can have the more virtuous and restrained Eurocrats in Brussels, but that would not help by itself.

QUEST: Mario Monti, thank you for joining us tonight from Brussels -- from Berlin. We appreciate it tonight. That's a very interesting answer. We'll have to ponder that, whether or not he did actually suggest that maybe he is interested or not. A true diplomat, a true politician, who's left us wondering.

Now, a mixed day for European markets. Unexpected rise in German unemployment pushed the DAX down. It's hardly much, it was only off just a fraction. The Zurich SMI was off, down a tad. In fact, all the European markets were off a tad.

Alstom shares rose as the French government signaled acceptance of an improved GE offer. GSK down in UK, on news that the UK fraud office was looking to the commercial work.

On the US markets, off just 40 -- 42 points. Actually, almost the low of the day. The low was down at the beginning of the day, but as you can see, the whole session was lower. Which suggests there wasn't much enthusiasm overall. The S&P 500 hit a new record.

If we look at the markets, you can see that's the way the Dow has traded. Let's just give you a very quick overview, a one-year overview of the market, and put it into perspective. So, regardless of one day, look over the last year. Quite a sizable gain that has taken place. And then, of course, that's the S&P 500 over the same period.

When we come back after the break, first they changed how we searched the internet, then they told us we were going to be wearing computers like glasses. Now -- how extraordinary -- a motor vehicle without a wheel. This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

(RINGS BELL)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Google has taken the driver completely out of driving.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, there it is. Oh, wow!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Isn't that cute?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Ah, isn't it cute? The company's been working for years to design the car of the future. Now they've unveiled a prototype that ditches the steering wheel, pedals gear box, and just about everything else.

There's just two buttons, one marked "go" and the other an emergency panic brake. They're expected to hit the market in 2020. And as bonus, the car's front end is designed to resemble a smiling face.

Google has done many thousands of miles testing so far on the Google car. Brian Greene is a professor of physics and math at Columbia University. He's authored books, such as "The Elegant Universe" and co- founded the World Science Festival. And it's the seventh annual festival, which begins today here in New York. Professor Greene joins me now, good to see you, sir.

BRIAN GREENE, CHAIRMAN, WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL: Good to see you.

QUEST: Thank you. So, we'll talk generally about science in a second, but the Google car. When you get a company like Google that puts its entire weight behind a project like this, things begin to happen, don't they?

GREENE: Yes. No, it's hugely powerful. We are seeing that some of the most innovative science, some of the most innovative technology is happening totally in the private sector. It used to be that government grants would go to faculty members at an academic institution, and that was where the innovation was coming from. And now, we're seeing that the private sector is actually an engine of innovation.

QUEST: And these pictures that were just shown at the moment is where I was out in Berlin. Exactly that point, public money had been given to an organization to design and to work on the concept of a driverless car, and it is terrifying. I don't know if you've ever been in one of these things.

GREENE: No, I never have.

QUEST: They are terrifying.

GREENE: Yes.

QUEST: Because you -- the thing -- it requires a leap of faith.

GREENE: Yes.

QUEST: As this thing steers around vehicles and over tanks and all that sort of stuff.

GREENE: Yes, I have a hard enough time getting into the elevators that don't have the buttons any longer for pushing the floor you want to go to. But this is transformative. If it can really be the case that we allow machines to do things that machines are better at than we are, then that is a vital step forward.

And we see that happening all through society, all through culture, and this is a natural next step. So, my hat's off to these guys.

QUEST: When we talk about science, you have, of course, the -- one might describe as the academic and the pure science, and then you have the applied science, as it comes into our lives. How much in your work and at the science festival are you aware of the need of one versus the other.

GREENE: Yes.

QUEST: The relationship between the two.

GREENE: Yes, well, my sweet spot, what I work on is completely on the esoteric end of things --

QUEST: Right. Which is?

GREENE: I work on unified theory --

QUEST: Oh!

GREENE: -- string theory --

QUEST: Exactly.

GREENE: -- what Albert Einstein was looking for, ideas of extra dimensions, cosmology, the Big Bang, that's what we're trying to figure out. Which doesn't put food on the table and doesn't typically yield a new gadget that makes everybody go, wow, that's fantastic.

QUEST: How does that make you feel?

GREENE: Well, it -- I feel empowered by trying to answer the deep questions that our species has been asking for thousands of years, like where did we come from? That really excites me.

But at the same time, let me point out the following: if you were to have asked Niels Bohr, or even Einstein, or Schrodinger, those who developed quantum mechanics in the 1920s, what's it good for? They would have said, well, nothing, we're talking about molecules and atoms, subatomic particles.

But now, the fact that you have that computer over there, the fact that you have an iPhone, the fact that there's all manner of medical technology that saves lives around the world --

QUEST: Right.

GREENE: -- all based on the integrated circuit, that comes from quantum mechanics.

QUEST: Ah! But did those people when they came up with those theories, when you have your theories, do you do it in a sort of classic ivory tower with any view that it might have practical impact? Or is it science and academia for the sake thereof?

GREENE: We are totally in the ivory tower --

QUEST: Yes.

GREENE: -- when we're working on the fundamental ideas. But when it comes to, say, the science festival --

QUEST: Right.

GREENE: -- when it comes to bringing science out to the public, the big hook is showing how science affects your life. And that's what we do at the World Science Festival.

QUEST: Thank you for coming in, sir. Good to see you. Einstein, I think, gave me, certainly in my work dealing with business and economics, what I think is one of the best phrases of all. "Sir," he said, "I'm all in favor of making things as simple as possible, but" --

GREENE and QUEST (in unison): -- "no simpler."

QUEST: Absolutely. Now, we'll talk more about other events in the world when we come back in just a moment.

Malcolm Glazer, he took over Manchester United. It was a most controversial takeover. Now, Malcolm Glazer has passed away, and we will consider the legacy of the man and what he may have left with the team. It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Good evening to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There is more "Quest Means Business" in just a moment. This is CNN, and on this network the news always comes first. President Barack Obama has outlined his plans for America's role on the world stage, giving a major foreign policy speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Mr. Obama stressed that military action is not always the answer to overseas conflicts. However, he stated he would not hesitate to defend U.S. interests when needed.

Police in Bagdad say at least 12 people were killed and 35 others wounded when a suicide car bomb exploded into security checkpoint. It happened at a busy square in a predominantly Shiite district in the northwestern part of the Iraqi capital. Four members of Europe's special monitoring mission to Ukraine are being held by a pro-Russian group according to Ukraine's foreign ministry. The four members of the OSCE team went missing during routine patrol in Donetsk on Monday.

The owner of Manchester United, Malcolm Glazer, has died at the age of 85. He was also the owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His purchase of Manchester United to be controversial with fans who staged protests against his ownership. The poet and activist Maya Angelou has died at the age of 86. The revered novelist died quietly at her North Carolina home according to a family statement. Maya Angelou received many accolades in her lifetime, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

So, Malcom Glazer, the owner of Manchester United - the man who bought the team has died aged 85. Jim Boulden is in London and joins me now. Jim, the takeover was very controversial -

JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

QUEST: -- not only because of the way an American coming in to buy an English soccer team - one of the top teams - but also the way it was financed. Did the fans ever grow to love the Glazers?

BOULDEN: No. Very simply, Malcolm Glazer was never popular in Manchester United. When he bought the club in 2005, I can remember the protests in the streets, literally, people protesting in Manchester. They created a whole new team and they used the old green color to create another Manchester team. But despite that, Manchester United won the Champions League and won the league here in England numerous times.

QUEST: Right.

BOULDEN: And I have to say probably he paid, what, $800 million dollars, 500 million pounds for the club? He put all of that onto - as debt onto the club, and they - it's probably worth three times what the Glazer family paid for it in 2005.

QUEST: So, what is the gripe of the fans? Here we had a man who bought the team, he took it - he was not a particularly inter - he loaded it with debt -- but he wasn't particularly interventionist. Of course it had the famous manager, but what was their gripe?

BOULDEN: Well, the gripe is very important. Manchester United finished seventh this year. The league - the ending of the league just now. They fired the manager. You've had - obviously you had - Alex Ferguson for what was it - 26/27 years, and then you had David Moyes for less than one year -

QUEST: But that's not - but that's not the Glazer families problem. What I'm thinking, if you go back to the takeover -

BOULDEN: -- Yes.

QUEST: -- all the criticism about the takeover was clearly unfounded because the club did go on to great international reputation as one of the best-known clubs in the world, and trophy success.

BOULDEN: Yes, when you look at when Manchester United was taken over in 2005, it was sort of a family-run club. It was something that fans felt that they could own a piece of. Ironically, of course, Manchester United is not traded in New York. You could own it if you want to buy a share but people didn't - never - seemed to like the fact that Manchester United was owned by this American family. But now you have clubs like Liverpool owned by an American, you have Arsenal controlled by an American, so things have changed since then, and frankly, all those protests have gone away. What people didn't seem to like was they thought money that was spent on the debt should've been spent on players. And they would say to this day the fact that Manchester finished seventh this time around is proof that they were right - that they should never have allowed this club to be bought by an American company - American family who only cared about the bottom line.

But, you know, look, Tampa - you look - Tampa Bay Buccaneers were owned by this family as well. They won the Super Bowl, they've won the Champions League with Manchester. So as far as financially it's a fanat - it's a fantastic buy I think by this family. But the fans would like to see something big. Now you have - in this summer you have - a new manager coming in to Manchester United, they're promising to spend 150 million pounds - we'll see if that happens. And so, you know, now that Glazer's sons will control this club -

QUEST: All right.

BOULDEN: -- and the proof will be in the pudding really, Richard.

QUEST: A whole 150 million, oh well that might buy you one or two players on a good year.

BOULDEN: (LAUGHTER).

QUEST: Provided -- maybe an average one at that. Jim, thanks a lot, many thanks.

BOULDEN: Yes.

QUEST: Jim Boulden, thanks a lot, many thanks. Jim Boulden (inaudible) on the takeover of Manchester United and it was indeed a brutal takeover -- well it wasn't a takeover battle, but the reaction was. Coming up in just a moment, designing and refining some of the most expensive real estate on the planet. Watch new features are coming to your inflight experience. (RINGS BELL).

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Now if there's one thing to look at - those of us who travel -- the airline seat is getting lighter, it's smaller and more comfortable. You may not notice it of course because there are more of them on the plane. The ceilings of the aircraft are becoming adorned with starry skies and adjustable mood lighting - it's certainly on the new next gens. Even with the lavatories, they are inching closer to resembling an upscale hotel, that is they are at the beginning of the flight. By the time you get to the end of them, they look more like a public lavatory at a major stadium.

Well, this week's "Business Traveller" toured the Hamburg Aircraft Interiors Expo. It's a very posh way of saying that these are the innovations that'll be coming to an airplane (RINGS BELL) near you.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

QUEST: This is the place where airlines come to make their planes feel like home. Everything we as passengers touch, feel and see during the flight. And it's all for sale here.

LUKE HAWES, DIRECTOR, PRIESTMANGOODE: Good design is about comfort, it's about space and it's having those unexpected details that offer something different. As you enter the airplane, we should be going through hotel lobbies and not restaurant kitchens. We should be going to lavatories that are of five-star hotel quality with little features that make you have a sense of upgrade.

QUEST: At the heart - or the bottom - are seats, seats and more seats. It's the cabin's most essential bit of kit (ph). Some designs are revolutionary, lighter and thinner so they cost the airlines less in fuel - - others, merely evolutionary. At four kilos, these are the lightest seats in the sky. Joyful news to a budget carrier's ears and bottom line.

OLIVIER ZARROUATI, CEO, ZODIAC AEROSPACE: The airlines are trying to pack more and more passengers on the same airplane, why isn't it possible to give more comfort? We tried to work on the back shell, on the seat band, on everything. Just try to give a perfect sense of comfort without need of recline. It's one layer of carbon that's out of the open. Job done.

QUEST: From here with each step up in the cabin class, not only does cost go up, so does complexity.

GARY MONTGOMERY, CEO, THOMPSON AERO SEATING: This retractable seat plan gives a passenger the ability to step back into the seat. That can speed up boarding and also just adds to the comfort. If I'm set on the middle set, for example, the middle seat may have this sleeping position.

QUEST: One growing issue for the plane's smaller seats - increasingly larger behinds. With passengers growing ever wider, Airbus is adding an extra inch and trying to set new industry standards.

Male: There is value in that extra one inch, and it actually increases the amount of time that they spend asleep and it also increases the quality of sleep that they have.

Male: The average cost for an economy class seat would be about $10,000, business class you're looking at about $50,000, first class you're looking at $250,000. Probably the most expensive real estate on the planet.

QUEST: And here as you'd expect, it's Park Avenue on a plane. Now, with true private suites, double beds and video conferencing, for us mere mortals, we'll have to settle for the plain old screen in the back of the seat - with a few little added extras.

NEIL JAMES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, PANASONIC AVIONICS: The very latest kind of high definition 10-80 feed (ph) 13.3-inch screen that has an information panel tied to it. We've integrated into this things like the reading lights. So now without the light coming above -- from above -- you and disturbing other passengers and also integrating into the bottom of the screen, mood lightings.

QUEST: And it's these subtle details that are arriving throughout the cabin.

BEN WOLFIN, LIGHTING DEVELOPMENT, SCHOTT LIGHTING: This is what we call a star ceiling. Then we just have the general cabin illumination, only with the advantage now that you can have all pallets you want to have.

QUEST: With all these never-ending possibilities and products on display, someone has to combine them into one cohesive vision.

Male: A designer's job is to take the canvas - the airbus Boeing give us - - to make this interior as opulent as possible. It's the nearest we're ever going to get to branding nations

(END VIDEOCLIP)

QUEST: Extraordinary how much work goes into it. When you think about the way we all fly and the complaints that we have. Apple has finally confirmed it's buying the headphone maker Beats. The final price sounds very, very expensive -- $3 billion. Those are some very expensive headphones. When we come back, we'll be tracking down envelopes that are bulging with cash. They are being left all over San Francisco, and you have to start the scavenger hunt on Twitter. In a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: The man best known to helping Twitter get off the ground is at it again. He is Jack Dorsey who introduced us to the mobile phone payment Appsquare and he's now offering credit to small businesses. Laurie Segall sat down with Jack Dorsey to find out what motivated him to branch out. Lori's with me now. Is he turning himself into a bank? I mean, is this sort of microfinance?

LAURIE SEGALL, TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT FOR CNNMONEY: They're very, you know, they're very cautious about saying, hey, this is small business lending. They're not doing that. And it's a pivot for Square because Square was essentially - they were allowing small businesses to accept credit card payments. Now this seems like a pivot. I asked him about that because it's an interesting question. I sat down with him - listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

SEGALL: Can Square, the company that turned iPads into cash registers -

Male: Just sign on here.

SEGALL: -- replace small business loans? They're giving money to Mom and Pop.

CAROLINE BELL, OWNER, CAFE GRUMPY: -- cash within a day or two and that - you know - for a small business when you're - especially when you're opening your store, you're not seeing income but you're still paying staff and, you know, you're training.

SEGALL: Cafe Grumpy was able to literally take a swipe at one big corporation. They booted Starbucks out of a prime location in New York City's Grand Central Station. And this store took over Starbucks, right?

BELL: That's right.

SEGALL: How do you feel about that?

BELL: It feels - it feels nice.

SEGALL: Square gives them money upfront and collects more money back through a percentage of credit card transactions. Unlike traditional loans, these can happen in a couple of clicks. And they only take a day or so to process. The feature is called Square Capital.

JACK DORSEY, CEO, SQUARE: They download Square Register, send you a notification. You can hit a button and we'll send money to your account the very next business morning. And the way you pay that back - that advance back - is just by swiping your customers' credit cards.

SEGALL: What is wrong right now with the way small businesses are able to get loans and what do you guys think you can do different?

DORSEY: What's wrong is it's just too complicated. We have this deep, deep understanding of our merchants, because they're running their whole business on Square Register, then we can actually advance them fourteen (ph) capital.

SEGALL: Financing can be a slow grind, making global payments mainstream has been as well. It's a challenge for the core of Square's business. But don't let the blazer fool you, Dorsey, who also co-founded Twitter says he's game for the fight, guided by a punk rock influence from his youth.

DORSEY: The punk scene was this - the scene where people would get up on stage and they would just play and they were terrible. They were absolutely terrible. And then you saw them next week and they're a little bit better. And then you saw them the next week and they're a little bit better. And you come in a year and there were the Ramones, and I'm still punk.

SEGALL: You're a punk but now you're the technical equivalent of the Ramones, right? So -

DORSEY: I don't know about that. I certainly feel the same amount of fight today that we did when we were first starting the company or when we were first starting Square. And I love that. And it's not easy, it's very hard, but, you know, we trade valuable things out of it and that's what matters.

SEGALL: And now you want to help small business, right?

DORSEY: Absolutely.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

SEGALL: Obviously, Richard, there's a lot of pressure on Jack right now. He took Twitter public and Twitter's at that very pivotal time that you go from start up to full-fledged company where you could potentially go public, but you know, the mobile payment trend hasn't really taken off like they thought. So this is -

QUEST: (GROANS).

SEGALL: -- this is, you know, this is a bit of a pivot and this is - you know - they're very careful about saying, 'hey, this is a pivot,' but it is another move for them.

QUEST: This is really not a major capital loan, this is almost working capital. It's cash flow basically.

SEGALL: Yes.

QUEST: The Square will lend you money to keep you going and you're paying it back during the course of -

SEGALL: And the really interesting thing is they have a lot of data about these companies. It's companies that use Square technology so every time someone swipes their credit card, you know, they get data on, you know, when business is good, when it's bad. So they're trying to take that -

QUEST: Fascinating.

SEGALL: And they're trying to use it.

QUEST: Fascinating of course I think. Thank you very much.

SEGALL: Thank you.

QUEST: Interesting story. Now, if you don't fancy using Square to get hold of extra cash, then Jack Dorsey's other creation may have the answer. A citywide scavenger hunt is underway in San Francisco after an anonymous man posted clues on Twitter that led or leads to envelopes full of cash that are hidden around the city. Dan Simon who can sniff out a 20 dollar bill up 400 yards with the wind behind him, tracked down the envelopes and the man behind them. (RINGS BELL).

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

DAN SIMON, CORRESPONDENT FOR CNN'S SILICON VALLEY BUREAU: All right, he just posted a new clue. It says, "Find Mr. Franklin along the crookedest street." Let's go. It's a San Francisco scavenger hunt and we're playing along, tracking the latest clue for cash to the world-famous Lombard Street.

Female: We came over here like super-fast, like the second the tweet came out.

SIMON: The search for dollars, sometimes just affixed to parking meters has taken people all over the city. Thanks to a self-described 1-percenter on Twitter with the handle @hidden cash. According to his profile, it's a social experiment for good. He hides money, then tweets out the clues. One of them takes us to the sea lions at Fisherman's Wharf --

Male: It's got to be around here somewhere.

SIMON: Where we find at least a dozen people looking.

Male 2: The barbecue's running, hope my house hasn't burned down because we're looking (LAUGHTER).

SIMON: And if you happen to find the cash-filled envelope, all that's asked is that you tweet a photo. The man behind it all is a real estate investor who tells me that he's heartened to see that many of the lucky recipients are using the money for their own random acts of kindness. Can you tell me why you decided to remain anonymous?

ANONYMOUS CASH DONOR: I don't necessarily want the spotlight on myself. I do want the spotlight on what I'm doing and what I'm trying to do, but I don't want the spotlight on me as a private person. I have no plans to stop anytime soon. I'm planning to continue this indefinitely into the future.

SIMON: Since it started last week, he's been leaving about a $1,000 a day. That equates to ten separate clues. We're racing to the next one. All right, he just tweeted that the money is right near the Golden Gate Bridge and we'll be there in just about a minute. And that's where we find Izzy Miller --

IZZY MILLER, FOUND HIDDEN CASH: Hello.

SIMON: -- with a crisp bill in hand.

MILLER: I just rolled out of bed and I saw the tweet and ran down here. Said, ah man, this will be the first person.

SIMON: The envelope wedged in this box. What do you think about what he's doing?

MILLER: I think it's awesome. It's a totally fun thing to do and the fact that he's doing it in a philanthropic and charitable mindset just makes it even cooler.

SIMON: It's old-fashioned cash and San Francisco Tech coming together for a noble purpose. Dan Simon, CNN San Francisco.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

QUEST: Oh, now this has got huge, global potential. And not surprisingly, copycat accounts have already sprung up across the United States and worldwide. Some are more successful than the others. So, (RINGS BELL) let's have the "Quest Means Business for Cash." And our first clue please.

Male: For cash that doesn't grow on trees, go south to the tavern of the seas.

QUEST: Cash that doesn't grow on trees, go south to the tavern of the seas - it must be this way. The tavern of the seas. Indeed, of course it is the southern part of course. It is Cape Town where indeed we find South Africa at hidden cash South Africa. There is an equivalent version of this and it has all of four followers and we get some relevant money. Now, for the next clue, let's see what next clue. "For queen and country you must travel lest your dreams of cash unravel." Queen and country, queen and country, queen and country, queen and country, queen and country. Now there's a - ah hah! queen and country, queen and country. It must be of course, ping, London.

In the U.K., the equivalent of this free cash is going national. There's already been a tweet Hidden Cash U.K. tweeted - Hidden Cash U.K. tweeted -- "Spreading the love to other parts of the U.K. tomorrow. What will you do if you find the hashtag #mysteriousmoney #cashtag? More money, pounds and sterling.

Now for the final clue, so it's already in Cape Town, it's already in London and we have "To find your last financial gain, go low where tulip mania remained. That's an easy one. When it's spring again, now bring for you tulips from Amsterdam. It's of course the Netherlands. And Hidden Cash Netherlands first tweeted yesterday it now has more than 2,600 followers. I just have to find the cash which will be - ah hah - the Netherlands. More cash for Quest, less for you if you can keep an eye on your own place where you may find hidden cash around the world. Tom Sater is at the World Weather Center and no doubt, Tom, there is not a bit of free cash for you anywhere. What a splendid tie you're wearing today.

(CROSS TALK)

TOM SATER, METEOROLOGIST FOR CNN INTERNATIONAL: Thank you, sir. I'm waiting for the scavenger hunt to make it to this end of our continent right now, but I'm sure it's coming. Great reporting. Let's talk about a business traveler's forecast, or for those that want to get away from business, maybe clean out your own personal hard drive for a while. Rome currently 17, Vienna 14, a little area of low pressure spinning across the channel bringing unsettled weather to parts, you can see, of the U.K. and keeping London a little on the cool side as well.

The heat has been mainly to the east, by isolated thunderstorms kind of cooling things down. Many reports of heavy rain in Austria and the Czech Republic as you see here. There will be more in the way of thunderstorms as a cold front slides eastward, bringing an end to some of the temperatures that we see. Kiev - ten days in a row above average not on our list today as rainfall and a cold front keeping you cool, 27 in Minsk, Moscow 27 degrees as well.

Here's our front. Unfortunately it fades out, it loses its power so the heat will remain to the east and even back build a little bit as we get into the weekend. Your temperatures for - well, here we go - take a look at these numbers the next three days. Saint Petersburg, didn't you have two days in a row at 33 last week? Warmest May on record - 13 is much better, Moscow as I mentioned you're going to stay at average and even rise again. If you're looking for rainfall in Paris, well, it's only one millimeter keeping things cooler. The only heat are all the upsets on the clay court for the French Open, but 19 will do it for a high London tomorrow, 15 in Berlin, 18 Vienna, Bucharest 28.

As we go to the States, the rough weather has begin - been down in the state of Texas and toward Louisiana. If you have flights to the Houston area, still may be a chance of an isolated thunderstorm as well as a tornado watch for New Orleans. A cold front coming in from the north - a backdoor cold front we call it - not coming in from the west keeping things cool, a little unsettled. Currently 14 degrees in New York - that's 61 degrees Fahrenheit. That'll drop down to D.C. as you see there - 17 degrees for a high temperature tomorrow. Richard, the hottest temperature on our planet was in Jacobabad - that's in Pakistan - 49 degrees today - that's 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Hope that the weather's a little bit better where you are.

QUEST: Well, it's feeling rather toasty. Though I shouldn't joke because at that level it's dangerous, it's life-threatening weather. Tom Sater of the World Weather Center. Thank you Tom. A "Profitable Moment" is after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment." The Google car which of course looks so cute and funny. I haven't got any cynicism or skepticism about it. I'm under no doubt that in the fullness of time, driverless cars will be in the future. I've tried them, I've seen them. It will happen. The only question is whether it's in my lifetime and yours. And that's "Quest Means Business" for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Wherever and whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, (RINGS BELL) I hope it's profitable. I'll see you in London tomorrow.

(END QUEST SHOW)

END