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Quest Means Business

Ebola Concern Rising; Ghana Seeks Bailout; Dow Slightly Higher; Russia Responds to Sanctions; European Economy Under Threat; European Markets Down; 1.2 Billion Passwords Stolen

Aired August 06, 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, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A fine body of men and women ringing the closing bell. A very small gain for the Dow Jones Industrial today, a

very busy news agenda. When all is said and done --

(GAVEL HITTING)

QUEST: Good Lord, three big gavels on Wednesday, it's August the 6th.

Tonight, a deadly advance through Africa. Ebola spreads, and we'll hear from two African minsters on how the virus and the disease can be stopped.

Also, an SOS to the IMF. Ghana asks for economic aid. I'll ask the finance minister what on Earth is going on.

And the Kremlin strikes back. Vladimir Putin bans Western food from coming into Russia.

I'm Richard Quest, and of course, I mean business.

Good evening. We begin tonight with the global concern over Ebola. It is rising after Nigeria and Saudi Arabia both reported deaths believed to be

linked to the epidemic in West Africa. The cases have not yet been confirmed by the World Healthy Organization.

As we do each evening, let's bring you up to date with the overview. Join me at the super screen, and you'll see what I mean. The main locus, of

course, is down here in West Africa -- Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. Although there are now these isolated cases in Nigeria.

If you look at the number of people, the WHO says there have been 932 deaths at least from Ebola. Now, the majority of those victims are in the

worst three-affected countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. The Center for Disease Control in the United States has warned repeatedly: this

outbreak is the most complicated, complex in history, and it could take many months to curb.

Certainly, the general view is, as more cases from travelers -- not from the original infection, but those from say, Patrick -- the late Patrick

Sawyer, health workers, infected, for example, in Nigeria and other countries -- as they become more affected, so now, the real question is how

to contain this.

We go to the very heart of where the disease is striking deep. David McKenzie has gained exclusive access to the main Ebola treatment center in

Sierra Leone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Taking incredible care to combat an unprecedented outbreak.

STEFAN KRUGER, MEDICINS SANS FRONTIERES: Gloves.

MCKENZIE: Ebola can lead to death with just one drop of infected fluids.

KRUGER: So, that's why we take every possible precaution to prevent that.

MCKENZIE: Already, dozens of doctors and nurses have died in this outbreak. Still, Dr. Stefan Kruger says he had to come.

KRUGER: I really just think this is really needed, and there's a really big lack of resources. And at the moment, the truth is, in Kailahun, if MSF

wasn't here, there'd be nothing. For me, that's a good enough reason.

MCKENZIE: But at Kailahun, they are losing the battle. Ebola has hit four countries. The number of infections continue to rise. This outbreak is

out of control.

MCKENZIE (on camera): In the last two weeks, they've doubled their capacity here for confirmed Ebola patients. And they're doing all they can to help

those who are sick. But they're absolutely at capacity here.

Will the level of effort that it is right now stop this disease?

ANJA WOLZ, COORDINATOR, MEDICINS SANS FRONTIERES: No. To be clear, no. And it's really difficult, because we are running behind the outbreak. We

don't know where we are staying, and it's really like -- it's frustrating for us, because we don't have the capacity to go everywhere.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): But here, they do what they can. In the high-risk zone, this woman calls out for help.

(WOMAN SHOUTING)

MCKENZIE: She has Ebola. So does her son. "Ebola is so deadly, it's killing our citizens. It's killing our country," says Tenneh Naloh. Her

husband and son died of the disease. Seventy percent of confirmed cases here will die, too.

MCKENZIE (on camera): Those two confidence --

MCKENZIE (voice-over): To talk to Tenneh, we must stand a few feet away. The strict protocols protect us. The cruelty is, they isolate her. Still,

Tenneh believes her 12-year-old daughter, Hasnatu (ph) will make it, and so will she. "We are feeling much better," she says. "We are strong, and

we're going to fight."

MCKENZIE (on camera): What happens when you actually beat this disease?

KRUGER: Yes, that's a real highlight of everything that we do here. Everybody comes to watch the patient come out of the isolation. It really

-- I think it motivates all the staff to continue doing what they do here.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): David McKenzie, CNN, Kailahun, Sierra Leone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: When you see the sort of precautions that have to be taken during the treatment, it makes you realize the extent and the severity of what's

taking place.

The crisis is hitting sub-Saharan Africa at a time of great economic hardship for the region. Earlier this week, Ghana's president told his

advisors to open talks seeking emergency help from the IMF. His government has been unable to halt one of the world's worst currency slides.

Look at the Ghanaian cedi against the dollar and you'll see the way --

(COUGHS)

QUEST: -- excuse me -- it has fallen very sharply, 0.42 down to 0.27. The country's struggling with double-digit fiscal deficits. The government's

criticized for keeping public spending high. It's a 10 percent deficit. That's a 75 percent increase in salaries over the last two years. And

inflation at 15 percent rises as the currency falls.

This is a classic currency crisis, the very thing that the IMF was set up to try and solve. Unfortunately, it comes less than ten years after the

IMF gave Ghana massive -- up to 100 percent -- debt relief. The Ghanian finance minister, Seth Terkper, joins me now from Washington.

Minister, we'll come to the IMF in just a moment, and your economic issues in just one second. I need to talk about Ebola first. Although you're not

necessarily next-door to one of the affected countries, clearly with the Ivory Coast between, you must be concerned. What measures are the -- is

the government taking to prevent an escalation into Ghana?

SETH TERKPER, GHANIAN MINISTER FOR FINANCE AND ECONOMIC PLANNING: Ah yes, thank you very much. Ghana, as you were already aware, currently tries --

the Economic Committee of West Africa says so across, and therefore, Ghana as a country as well as a regional, in our approach to working on Ebola,

there heads of state have met, and they have put a regional program in place.

And therefore, apart from the country systems that are being put in place, there is a regional -- a region-wide --

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: Right, but --

TERKPER: -- coordination that is underway.

QUEST: But are you -- I mean, at the end of the day, could you get to a situation where direct flights have to be canceled, borders have to be

closed, and you have to start dealing with what is potentially a major public health crisis in Ghana?

TERKPER: Well, we hope that it wouldn't get to that, because there have been regions in the world where epidemics have broken out, and invariably,

as we do now, you just pointed out the US government, the general government, UN, are all joining the efforts in West Africa. And as we

assess some of the epidemics that break out, we would hope that this would be contained in short order.

I think the story -- this is the story about Africa. Once there is a breakout of such epidemics, it's the headline.

QUEST: Right.

TERKPER: At the moment, for example, we're the focus --

QUEST: OK.

TERKPER: -- in Washington now is on business --

QUEST: All right, well, let's talk about that.

TERKPER: -- in Africa is on business.

QUEST: Let's talk about business and about that. You come to that summit with your economy in a fairly poor state. I mean, I think we can agree.

TERKPER: I don't think that would be a fair description. Ghana is an economy that has grown at 7 to 8 percent over the last decade. And mind

you, this is over the period of the global financial crisis, when many countries were, Richard, on their knees.

What we do have, of course, which we have acknowledged, is between 2010 and 2012, a salary rationalization program that went wrong, together with the

first full year of a spot in crude oil --

QUEST: Right.

TERKPER: -- which was overstated. And therefore, these -- we have identified the causes and we are addressing them. I think that if you look

at Ghana, last year, the economy grew at 7.1 percent.

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: But -- well, I understand that, Minister. But this is the editorial -- you will have seen this yesterday in "The Financial Times" in relation

to Ghana. "Ghana's malaise has an old-fashioned feel. It's a classic case of mismanagement, and one that demonstrates that whilst progress has been

real, there remains fragilities." I mean, what -- what did go wrong?

TERKPER: Well, as I just said, we have itemized six causes of the overrun. I just mentioned two. The other is a shortfall in grants. Ghana has just

become a middle-income country as a result of revising its GDP, as well as beginning to export crude oil. And therefore, we have a shortfall, also,

in the --

QUEST: OK.

TERKPER: -- in the sense to which donors give as grants. We are addressing these issues, and last year, in the first year of implementing the

measures, we also had gold and cocoa prices going down.

QUEST: Absolutely.

TERKPER: And those are the causes. We have identified them. And luckily, cocoa prices have gone up. There is a silver lining to this. The fall in

gold prices is now stable.

QUEST: Right.

TERKPER: It's no longer --

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: Right. Let me jump in here --

TERKPER: -- falling.

QUEST: Let me jump in here, because I think we need to talk positively about what's happening in Ghana, and I think we need to --

TERKPER: Yes.

QUEST: -- end on a note of sort of -- you've been at this summit, you're looking for investment. What are business leaders saying now? Where are

they looking for the opportunities, briefly, Minister, to come to Ghana and invest in the country?

TERKPER: Well, if you take Ghana as an example, and I would say to US investors, we do have household names, US household names. Kosmos,

Anadarko, Hess, and others who pioneered the exploration of oil. Ghana is moving towards its first gas processing plant.

QUEST: Right.

TERKPER: And the picture I just showed yesterday, what evidence of that, a compact, too. And Ghana is moving to invest significantly in the energy

sector, a mixture of hydro-thermal --

QUEST: Minister --

TERKPER: -- as well as solar. And Ghana currently has brought power to neighboring countries.

QUEST: We will have to leave it --

TERKPER: Agriculture is also very strong. Ghana is becoming a hub for transportation. From five airlines, we currently have over 30 airlines,

which use Ghana as a route.

And therefore, I would say that if you take all these together on balance, simply because we have one indicator, the currency, which is having

difficulties, which is not new to us, because we are a country which also produces primary commodities, like copper, and --

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: Minister, I will -- forgive me. I -- forgive me, I will have to leave it there with you. Thank you for joining us, putting it clearly. I

look forward to my next trip to Ghana, when you and I can talk more about these issues.

TERKPER: You will be most welcome, Richard.

QUEST: I'm looking forward to it already. Thank you for joining us this evening.

Now, the US stock markets closed slightly higher on Wednesday. It was a very small gain, and it was a bit of a hiccup-y sort of session. Alison

Kosik is here. A bit of a hiccup, here. We started it --

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It was Italy.

QUEST: That was Italy.

KOSIK: That was worries about Italy falling back into recession --

QUEST: Right.

KOSIK: -- and also these new fears about Ukraine and Russia popping up.

QUEST: Right. And then we went down again. But then we went up --

KOSIK: And then you're seeing a little bit of -- a few gains come back, and then we're ending sort of modestly higher. What's happening now, Richard,

is you're seeing earnings season kind of wind down, the focus is turning to headlines, and the headlines are actually moving investors to go to bonds.

We're seeing the price of bonds up for the third session in a row.

The ten-year yield on the -- the ten-year Treasury note yield is actually at its lowest point of the year, so you've got investors kind of sitting

back and saying, OK, overall -- except for Italy, of course -- we've got the world economy improving, so --

QUEST: Good.

KOSIK: -- now they're asking, hm, how are we going to price that?

QUEST: Now, do those lower yields translate themselves to the wider economy? I mean, are we back to --

KOSIK: That's the question.

QUEST: That's the question.

KOSIK: And isn't that an interesting question, because it was -- what? -- just a week ago everybody was worried about interest rates popping --

QUEST: Yes.

KOSIK: -- because of the Fed doing its thing early -- sooner rather than later. So, yes, it oftentimes doesn't translate, which is kind of

interesting.

QUEST: Bounce it around. Many thanks, indeed. The market is -- thank you, Alison Kosik for joining us.

Now, fear of a trade war is sending a chill through the European economy. Vladimir Putin's hands is on the thermostat, and he's turning it down.

QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

(RINGS BELL)

QUEST: Good evening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Vladimir Putin's delivered his strongest response yet to Western sanctions. The president has banned the imports of food and agricultural

products from those countries that have levied their own sanctions on Russia. And the restrictions will be in effect for one year.

President Putin has promised to keep food prices under control. The central bank is already struggling to control inflation and has warned

import restrictions would push prices higher.

A Russian deputy economic minister has been sacked. Sergey Belyakov took to Facebook and he apologized for what he called "stupid moves" on the part

of the Russian government in relation to some changes its made to pensions.

As Phil Black now explains, Russia's response to the Western sanctions may be more extreme than anything we've seen so far.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This move is classic Russia. It is a standard play here. When Moscow is in a dispute with another

country, to ban certain products from that country, usually citing health concerns.

But this is potentially much bigger. The decree bans or restricts the imports of agricultural goods and farming materials from all countries that

have signed up to sanctions against Russia. So at the very least, you're talking about all the members of the European Union, the United States,

Australia, Canada, Japan.

But the language in this decree is important, because it talks about certain products and materials, not all, and it talks about restrictions as

well as bans. So what we don't know just yet is how big, how wide, Russia is retaliating here. And we won't know until the government announces its

final list of products and materials that are affected.

The Russian government agricultural watchdog tells us that it is the organization responsible for coming up with that list, and it's going to

take a few days. But it believes, certainly, that fruit, vegetable, meat, and dairy products will all be included, and that Russia will now have to

seek new imports from countries in South America or Asia.

And Russia's ability to fill that gap left by the bans and restrictions is significant, because if it doesn't do that, it means that Russian customers

could face shortages and even price rises.

Phil Black, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Now, the crisis in Ukraine's exacerbating the threats to the European economy. Let me show you some of the evidence, not necessarily

from the sanctions per se, but of a worsening situation.

Start off down in Italy. Now, we know the problems, of course, in Italy. But unexpectedly, the economy has tipped back into recession. It shrank by

two tenths of a percent in the second quarter. It follows a 0.1 percent drop in Q1. So, Italy, which is one of the weaker economies recovering

from the recession, is feeling the full frontal force and is likely to continue.

Germany -- this is worrying -- factory orders dropping by the biggest number in three years, far worse than expected. Germany -- you and I, of

course, have discussed many times -- the engine of growth when it comes to exports, manufacturing in Europe.

And indeed, the fact that Germany may be feeling the effect, well, put it this way before we get to the others: if Germany feels the effects, it

won't be long before all the other countries start to feel the effects, too, as Germany exports its issues.

And to Ukraine, where the fears of a new invasion, now. NATO official says that Russia has 20,000 troops massing along that eastern border. Put it

all together with what we know is happening in Russia, and you know, of course, that the Russian situation with the sanctions, not surprisingly,

the market ended lower across Europe.

Take a look at the numbers. The MIB down in Milan, down nearly 3 percent. The Xetra DAX was off also quite sharply. The Paris CAC 40 and the FTSE

down just over half a percent. The euro is at a nine-month low, now, against he dollar.

Joining me now is James Shugg, the senior economist at Westpac, joins me from London. James, good to see you, sir. Thank you.

JAMES SHUGG, SENIOR ECONOMIST, WESTPAC: Hi, Richard.

QUEST: Good to see you. Now, I've gone through the catalog, if you like, the woes and worries. At what point do you, sir, expect to see an economic

impact either because of what they can't do business to Russia, or what they can't sell to the country?

SHUGG: I think, Richard, it was already apparent in those Germany factory orders you mentioned. Orders from the other parts of Europe fell something

like 10 percent in June, and the German economics ministry actually cited geopolitical tensions without being too specific as a reason for businesses

to be extra cautious at the moment about their order plans. So, it's already being felt.

QUEST: It's already being felt. The question of course -- and we've seen companies like Adidas, we've seen Diageo, we've seen other -- many

companies are warning. Do you expect an acceleration?

SHUGG: What we're expecting is a weaker growth story in Europe anyway. Germany probably went a little bit backwards in the second quarter. We'll

find out next week. In the eurozone as a whole, it was probably flat.

So, you've got a very weak starting point, so if there is a further impact from ongoing tension and the impact of the sanctions, the risk is that you

don't see any growth at all --

QUEST: Right.

SHUGG: -- reemerge in the next little while in Europe.

QUEST: So, we are now in a classic -- everybody cuts their own throat. Everybody cuts each other's throat situation, where beggar-thy-neighbor

policies where nobody is going to win from this.

The ECB is still worried about deflation. They may not say so in blunt terms, but those last inflation numbers in the eurozone were extremely

worrying. What more can the ECB do? Bearing in mind, its existing deflationary worries, but also, now this additional sanctions question.

SHUGG: Look, I think, Richard, they've put in place some policies, the Germans, that are yet to be fully implemented. We'll see the tigers of

longterm refinancing operations coming into play in September.

But our view is that with 40 percent of the eurozone population now living with zero or negative inflation, deflation, that it is a real risk that

inflation expectations become unanchored. And that will have the ECB council quaking.

They'll probably put in place an asset purchase plan, a form of quantitative easing at some point --

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: Too little, too late!

SHUGG: -- so just as --

QUEST: Too little, too late!

SHUGG: Well --

QUEST: They should have been doing this six months ago.

SHUGG: Just as the Fed is finishing its -- we would argue that. But it looks like they are going to do it.

QUEST: Right.

SHUGG: And it would come in just as the Fed is unwinding its program.

QUEST: Which of course completely ruins the symmetry across the Atlantic. Good to see you, sir. Thank you for joining us, making sense of it all.

SHUGG: Thanks, mate.

QUEST: Appreciate it. Now, Russians may not have western food imports. They do have your password. How you can protect yourself after the

biggest-ever theft of online credentials. It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, good evening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Hackers in Russia have stolen 1.2 billion -- yes, billion --

(RINGS BELL)

QUEST: -- user names and passwords. The company that discovered the theft calls it the largest-ever security breach. Earlier today, Hold Security

founder told CNN what the data thieves can do with the stolen information.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX HOLDEN, FOUNDER, HOLD SECURITY: Thankfully, this particular cyber gang is mostly interested in making money off the spam. Basically, filling up

your mailbox or your social media page with their products.

However, if it gets into another hands on the black market, these people can use these credentials to get into any account that had been

compromised. And because people reuse their passwords, it many cases, these credentials may lead to other information, including very private and

personal data.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Our technology correspondent Samuel Burke joins me now. Where did they get this data from? Where did they steal it from?

SAMUEL BURKE, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Two ways. They were stealing it from small websites and big websites with their own bots. But also buying

it from other smaller groups of hackers and accumulating this huge database of passwords and personal information.

QUEST: What do they do with it? In this case, it seems like they're spamming.

BURKE: For now. They're spamming, they're using it to send you messages, to get you --

QUEST: What's the tags?

BURKE: Come on -- follow me on this vacation, take a trip with me. You think it's Samuel sending you a message, but it's really somebody else

because they've hacked the account. And then you go and you follow website, you accidentally put in your information, you put in your credit

card, and then they'll have that type of information.

But they're really sticking more to just sending advertisements. But the fear is that then they could use that information and do something else.

For now, just ads, but who knows? If they sell your information to a more nefarious-type group.

QUEST: Any one of us gets e-mails from friends advising us about certain biological attributes and certain pills that you might wish to buy and all

those sort of things. It's become almost de rigueur. I don't even bother to tell the friend that their e-mail account has been spammed anymore.

BURKE: Of course. Because it happens so often. I mean, one --

QUEST: Is this just part of life now?

BURKE: This is just part of life. And what we're going to have to do is figure out an alternative to the password. Because I can't keep on coming

on CNN and telling you to change your password, Richard, because I know you don't pay attention, do you? You don't change your password every time we

say it, do you?

QUEST: Well, I'm running out of letters, initials, and funny symbols, frankly.

BURKE: And frankly, we all --

QUEST: And I can't remember them.

BURKE: We all have. You can use a password manager, like LastPass or something like that.

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: No, no. Never mind getting one. Forget password managers --

BURKE: But to your point --

QUEST: Yes.

BURKE: We're going to have to -- you see Apple starting to do it, using your finger print instead of a password. That's starting to happen. We're

going to have to see more like this, because quite frankly, the password is not good enough.

QUEST: The staggering thing here is 1.2 billion. Even if a small, fractional percentage of this -- of that number yields some scam, they're

in the money.

BURKE: We've never seen one like this before. And what's even more difficult about this one is, at least with the other ones, like Target, I

could say, well, I know I'm a customer at Target, I know my credit card was taken. Because this is so big and so vague at the same time, I don't know

where to go, and I don't know who is at risk here.

QUEST: Samuel, thank you. Good to see you.

As we continue QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight, Nigerian health officials are reporting six new cases of Ebola. I'll be speaking to the country's

finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. That's after the break. Good evening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. This is CNN, and on this network, the news always comes first.

Negotiators in Cairo are trying to extend a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Gaza militants. They're meeting separately with both

Palestinian and Israeli delegations. The three-day truce is nearing a half-way point and so far it appears to be holding true.

Nine hundred and thirty people across West Africa have now died from Ebola according to the latest numbers from the World Health Organization. Two

more deaths believed to be linked to the epidemic have now been reported in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. The Centers for Disease Control in the United

States warned that this is the deadliest and most complex Ebola outbreak in history.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin has banned food imports from countries which have imposed their own sanctions on Russia. The United States and

the European Union have targeted Russia for its support of separatists in Ukraine. President Putin said he would take measures to ensure food prices

in Russia don't jump in price as a result of the new important ban.

The recovery operation of the crash site of Malaysian Airlines flight 17 has been suspended because of fighting close by between the Ukrainian

military and pro-Russian separatists. The Dutch prime minister said it's too dangerous for workers to remain at the crash site for the time being.

Australia's government has chosen the Dutch company Fugro to carry out the next phase of the search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370. Two vessels

from Fugro's survey division will search the southern Indian Ocean where the plane is believed to have gone down. It's now five months since the

jet went missing. The deadliest outbreak of Ebola in history is now spreading in Africa's

most populous nation. The Nigerian government says a nurse has died from Ebola after treating a Liberian government official who then succumb to the

virus along after flying to Lagos. So in Nigeria their health ministry has confirmed there are five other cases in the country. Nigeria's

government's stepping up efforts to contain the virus. It includes full airport health screening. The country's finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-

Iweala says all the infected Nigerians are in the medical field.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA, NIGERIAN FINANCE MINISTER: There are six cases , you know, all of whom had contact with the Liberian-American person - official

- that came to Nigeria. And one health worker has died. They're all health workers. And they have been tracked and, you know, the people who

had contact with them tracked and so the authorities are really doing their best to contain this. So, we are talking now of about six cases. And what

is happening is that we are moving quickly to try and put the isolation units and the necessary infrastructure in place to be able to deal with

this. We're also in touch with CDC. My president had very good meeting with Vice President Biden where all these things were discussed. And the

Americans have also offered, you know, to send a team to work with us.

QUEST: So, it's that stage in Nigeria where you've got to be careful and cautious and on your guard, but it's by no means an outbreak of full size

yet?

OKONJO-IWEALA: Absolutely. It's with - in Lagos - you're absolutely right. We are talking now six cases, it's contained, they've been tracked and

those they've had contact with have been tracked and we're on our toes to try and make sure that it remains contained.

QUEST: You've been at the U.S. Summit - U.S.-Africa Summit. What have the business leaders been telling you they want from government?

OKONJO-IWEALA: I think mainly that the business leaders have been looking for two or three things. One is clearly the political willingness to

create an environment where they can do business. So, all bureaucratic hurdles that stand in the way, you know, they'd like us to work on that.

And we been working on these issues and they'd like us to clear it out - clear that out. The second is infrastructure. But infrastructure is both

a challenge and an opportunity. Actually it's a huge opportunity for businesses to invest in power, in toll roads, in airports, in ports and so

on. And we focused a lot on the Power Africa initiative of President Obama. So, clearly, you know, they invest in this infrastructure, that

allows enable the continent to grow faster. Already, African continent has been growing at 5 percent or better without much access to power. So you

can imagine what will happen. So there's a lot of interest in that. And of course governance issues, strengthening our institutions, fighting

corruption, you know, making governance better. I think those are three areas where our governments are working on.

QUEST: Yesterday I was talking to President Kenyatta of Kenya about the issues that East Africa faces, and of course in his case, it is Al-Shabaab

and trying to deal with the security situation. Now, you face your own security situation which - whatever you're doing, to some extent, raises

itself when the questions of large-scale investment are introduced. Because as you ministers before the British Parliament, there is a

terrorist organization - Boko Haram - that is - that's had its sole goal to destroy that which you are building.

OKONJO-IWEALA: Well, you know, Richard, first of all in the case of Nigeria, this is true that we do have an insurgencies in the northeast of

the country, which is a small part of the area, with occasional outbreaks across areas in the north. But what I tell you is that 95 percent of the

country is functioning normally. Despite these - the - insurgency the economy remains strong. The fundamentals are strong from exchange - stable

exchange rate - to inflation in single digits to a strong reserves and a good growth rate. As you know, Nigeria now has the largest economy in

Africa, after rebasing, with a GDP of $510 billion. So what I'm trying to say is that investors are looking at Nigeria for the long-term. They know

that over time this problem will be solved. They know that 95 percent of the country is functioning normally, so they are willing to invest.

QUEST: That's the finance minister of Nigeria. So, you've heard from two finance ministers this evening on "Quest Means Business," and now, the

president of Kenya who says the economic opportunities many have long predicted would come to Africa, are today becoming a reality. We spoke to

President Kenyatta yesterday on the question of security in the country. Today I asked him if there's a competition going on between the United

States and China. After all, both superpowers are now trying to say that they are the future for the investment in the continent. But who wants

what?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UHURU KENYATTA, KENYAN PRESIDENT: I don't think you would necessarily call it a competition. I think you would look at it from a point of view of

exploring new-found opportunities. Looking at it from the perspective that if you were to look at the Indian Ocean Rim as a whole - countries like

China, India, Malaysia - the growth there over the last few years has been tremendous.

QUEST: But who's your preferred partner?

KENYATTA: I don't think we would say we have a preferred partner. All we're looking at is where are the opportunities, and opportunities have

begun to find themselves in these newly-emerging markets. And I think what the problem is traditionally, most of Africa used to look towards Europe

and the Americas for their investment, but there's growing recognition that with the kind of growth that we've seen in Asia, that there are also new

opportunities for engagement with Asia. And I see no difference between what Africa is actually looking at and what Europe did about ten, 15 years

ago when they began looking at some of these targets (ph) and making investment in that direction. And we're just saying that we are also

saying also that there exists potential from greater partnership also - not just with our traditional partners - but also looking at some of these

emerging markets and seeing potential there.

QUEST: Mr. President, there's an agenda when a country starts to invest. Where there's an agenda when a country promotes, and that agenda is

different if it's a China investing in Africa versus the United States -

KENYATTA: I wouldn't necessarily think it that way, and I think that's one of the issues that we want - would really want - to come out. I think what

China is recognizing is that with increased stability on the African continent, they are recognizing that this is a continent where the future

actually lies. They are actually looking at, with the increased cost of production in their own countries, not just looking at the mineral

resources, but looking at a potential of investing in the African continent for - and the rest of the world. So, I think it's really just a

recognition that Africa is stabilizing, Africa is growing. The opportunities that many talked about in the past are actually today

becoming a reality, and I think that's the recognition that we hope that not only American investors, but our traditional Western partners will also

begin to recognize that very same thing and join in and let us work in partnership. This is really the key.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: That's the president of Kenya, President Kenyatta talking to me. Now, news into CNN in the last few moments. Bank of America has

tentatively agreed to pay more than 16-and-a-half billion dollars - that's right - 'b' with a billion or billion with a 'b.' It'll be the biggest

mortgage securities fraud settlement to date. Sources are telling CNN the initial agreement would settle and investigation in group of states related

to mortgage practices dating to the financial crisis. Now, other banks have paid multi-billion dollar fines, penalties and restitution, and now

looks like BOA is up into their $15/$16 billion-dollar limit. When we come back after the break, iconic glamour, unparalleled standards

of luxury, celebrities and dignities (ph) from across the globe - 125 years. Anyone's anyone as of course mingles at the Savoy who will

celebrate its birthday. After the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: It's 125 years since the Savoy Hotel first opened its doors in London. Now, to mark the occasion, -- well let's have a spot of afternoon

tea. Which goes in first -- the milk or the tea? It's an argument for another day. Would you like a scone or perhaps a fruit tart? The Savoy

was the first hotel to have hot and roll -- hot and cold --running water. It was the first hotel to generate its own electricity, and the first to

install electric lifts. They were known as ascending rooms. For more than a century, the Savoy has welcomed guests from celebrities to statesmen.

Winston Churchill stayed there as did Oscar Wilde and the Beatles. Whilst filming "Prince and the Showgirl," Sir Lawrence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe

had drinks with Ms. Monroe's husband Arthur Miller. It all happened in 1956. And Sophia Loren - she posed for photographs in 1965. As for this

song - it's called "Savoy Blues," it's by Louis Armstrong and he performed and filled the hotel's Lincoln Room with his gravelly voice in 1968. A

hundred twenty-five years of impeccable service, it didn't come without hard work. A $350 million renovation a few years ago - well - while I have

some tea, you go and examine what that renovation actually was involved. The hotel's general manager told me about the tradition of afternoon tea.

(Inaudible).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIARAN MACDONALD, GENERAL MANAGER, THE SAVOY HOTEL: This is about understanding Savoy, protecting those elements that are meaningful to

people as it relates to the physical aspect, and rejuvenating those and then adding new elements for the future.

QUEST: The Savoy was built in 1889. The style then, Edwardian. Forty years later it was given an art deco look and feel. And the building

bristles with elements of each. The challenge for the designers was which style to keep and where.

MACDONALD: Which part do we restore? Do we restore the original or do we restore the art deco that in so many people's minds is reflective of the

Savoy? And it's the latter of course which we're doing because we feel that that's the most appropriate.

QUEST: It's all about preservation here. The one thing that needs to be left well alone - the afternoon tea.

MACDONALD: So, Richard, we're going down into the Thames Foyer. This is the home of the famous afternoon tea. These brass archway mirrored walls

here - they were originally not part of the restoration. We have uncovered them, and now they're going to form part of the new look and feel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Ah! The Savoy Hotel - where incidentally, I've got to say - my parents celebrated their ruby wedding anniversary. Now, Ms. Harrison's at

the World Weather Center. Are you are scone or a tart, woman?

JENNY HARRISON, WEATHER ANCHOR FOR CNN INTERNATIONAL: Definitely the scone, Richard. But of course it has to come with, you know, the full clotted

cream, the proper stuff - the real stuff.

QUEST: Absolutely. Well, you were very busy yesterday, Mistress Harrison, are you busy today?

HARRISON: Even busier, even busier. You sip on your tea, I've got quite a story to tell you, because it's going to start with this. Now, the

European Space Agency made up of 20 member states or countries, and it's all about this - Rosetta. This is the first space craft in history to

rendezvous with a comet. And look at the size of it - it is really quite a small thing - just 30 meters across. And the comet is known as 67P. And

aboard this, they have lots of instruments, scientific and also some land instruments as well, because the idea is - this launch, back by the way, on

the second of March 2004 -- it's taken ten years to get out here -- they're - what they're doing of course - is observing this comet.

So, it was launched ten years ago. That is how long it has taken to get up to this comet. It was actually - so it was 6 billion kilometers it's

traveled to get up here. During that time, it's passed around earth three times, it's passed around Mars, (Inaudible) says it's passed around two

asteroids and now what it's going to do is follow this comet for the coming year. And of course, at that time continue to observe it.

This photograph, by the way, was taken 230 kilometers away from the comet, and the idea is that this lander craft called Philae - this is going to be

delivered to the surface of this comet in this November. So November 2014, it has taken ten years to get to this point. And the idea is once they

actually continue to observe it and certainly land upon it, it's all about the origins of the universe - where we came from, where the universe came

from and what is actually encapsulated within it - this incredible thing, this comet. There's water there, is it frozen? What does is it made up

of? So, this has been going on for ten years. This November really should see some progress from.

And just quickly in time I think just to tell about - I'd better stop talking now, now Richard. But we've got these two storms - one a hurricane

is now particularly heading towards Honolulu. And of course this is first major hurricane -

QUEST: Right.

HARRISON: -- to actually be impacting the island directly for over 22 years.

QUEST: Comets and hurricanes and typhoons and all. Mrs. Harrison, thank you very much indeed. Now, I told you a moment or two ago about Bank of

America which has agreed to pay more $16 and 1/2 billion, the biggest mortgage securities fraud settlement to date. Our justice correspondent,

Evan Perez, joins me now. Evan, when it's confirmed, it's a vast amount of money. Briefly -

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: -- (Inaudible ) large amount of money.

QUEST: -- it's huge. Well, what did they do?

PEREZ: Well, this goes back to the financial crisis, Richard, and this is basically a civil case that was being brought by the Justice Department and

a group of states here in the United States dating back to their mortgage practices - essentially the government says that the company - that the

company, the bank - essentially misled investors in selling mortgage securities. So we're talking about $9 billion in cash to the government,

the rest is going to be paid to homeowners in relief, so to speak. Nobody's going to go to jail as usual.

QUEST: Ah!

PEREZ: But this is much bigger than the $13 billion that J.P. Morgan agreed to pay last November, Richard.

QUEST: Evan, we're - we - need to talk more about this tomorrow. We need to get an accounting --

PEREZ: Definitely.

QUEST: -- an accounting from you --

PEREZ: (LAUGHTER).

QUEST: -- how much money has been brought in on this. Thank you, Evan for coming -

PEREZ: A lot of money.

QUEST: -- and reporting so quickly. Now after the break, Zillow's chief executive is buying a $3 and 1/2 billion addition for his company and

reshaping the home listing environment. We will talk more about that. Greetings, sir.

SPENCER RASCOFF, CEO, ZILLOW: Greetings.

QUEST: He will be with me in the C Suite after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Shares in Walgreen's finished down 14 percent on Wall Street. It rounds out one of the busiest 24 hours of merger activity we've seen all

year. The U.S. pharmacy chain's buying the British part of Boots -- Alliance Boots - that it doesn't own. It'll be headquartered in the United

States. No inverse taxation agreement there. Twenty-First Century Fox - we talked about it last night - has dropped its bid for Time Warner, parent

company of this network. And the U.S. wireless carrier Sprint has called off its campaign to buy T-Mobile USA.

Meanwhile, the merger of the two biggest online housing sites is going ahead. Zillow and Trulia are joining forces. It's a deal worth three-and-

a-half billion dollars. Zillow's chief exec Spencer Rascoff, he joins me now in the C Suite. Good to see you, sir.

SPENCER RASCOFF, ZILLOW CEO: You too. Thank you.

QUEST: Three and a half billion's a lot of - a lot of money. What are you getting for it?

RASCOFF: We're getting a huge audience. Trulia has an incredible brand - over 50 million people use Trulia every month, and we're a media company.

And as a media company, we want to have a broad audience with multiple brands.

QUEST: But you're the number one already and you're buying the number two - correct?

RASCOFF: Correct, yes.

QUEST: Monopoly.

RASCOFF: No, incorrect.

(LAUGHTER)

QUEST: It must be.

RASCOFF: No, it's not because -

QUEST: Number one buys number two, ergo number three's even further down.

RASCOFF: Well, real estate information is very fragmented.

QUEST: Right.

RASCOFF: So Zillow and Trulia have about 4 percent of what real estate agents spend on total advertising in the U.S. So, most advertising still

occurs off-line - it has migrated to the internet yet.

QUEST: Look, when I bought a property here in the U.S. a couple of years ago, I was astonished since when I'd done it previously -

RASCOFF: Right.

QUEST: -- that the online real estate market - I mean, it's the way you find your property now. The idea of going to the estate agent's window is

gone.

RASCOFF: It is, and actually it's even moved over the last couple of years from the desktop to the smart device - the mobile device. So, 70 percent

of Zillow's usage is now on a smartphone or a tablet. Mobile has changed our business radically.

QUEST: Is that just here in metropolitan New York or Los Angeles - are you seeing it elsewhere, not only in this country but elsewhere in the world?

RASCOFF: Everywhere. Well, Zillow's only in the U.S.

QUEST: Right, but I assumed you wanted to move elsewhere.

RASCOFF: Well, we have ambitions, that's for sure.

QUEST: Right.

RASCOFF: We have a lot of - we have a lot of work to do in the U.S. still.

QUEST: Oh.

RASCOFF: There's plenty of work to be done here and there's a big opportunity here, but we'll see.

QUEST: This revolution - where's it going? I mean, how does it play out, do you think?

RASCOFF: Well, the consumer is so much more empowered than they ever have been in the past. With what's in their pocket, they now have real estate

information that used to only be accessible through country courthouses or in secret industry-only databases. And Zillow has made that readily

available and accessible now on mobile.

QUEST: But fundamentally it's about finding the property. It's about finding when it was last sold, it's finding what the price is. And that's

the revolution that's taken place. Some would say of course it's helped pushing up prices and it's created a much more febrile market. Do you go

along with that?

RASCOFF: Well, it's a more liquid market because information is power and information is just much more fluid now. So there are no more secrets in

real estate or really in any - in any vertical search category. There's price discovery, there's data transparency, and that's revolutionized the

real estate industry and it's revolutionizing a lot of other industries.

QUEST: So what's your - obviously your approach is to merge these two together and to do it without taking the ship down. I mean, that's, you

know, the number of mergers that go wrong because management takes its eye off the ball.

RASCOFF: There is a lot of risk here and we're going to keep operating multiple brands. Zillow already operates multiple brands. Here in New

York we run StreetEasy and then HotPads is a nationwide rental sites. We already have three consumer brands. We'll have a fourth one when the

acquisition of Trulia closes. And it's important to keep these brands distinct in the consumer's mind. Some people will use Trulia, some will

use Zillow and we want them to use any of them.

QUEST: You don't care as long as they use one or the other.

RASCOFF: As long as they use a brand owned by Zillow, that would be fine.

(LAUGHTER).

QUEST: Good to see you, sir.

RASCOFF: Thank you.

QUEST: Thank you very much for joining us. When we come back, a "Profitable Moment" after the break. It's "Quest Means Business," good

evening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment." We've always loved the Grand Hotel. In 1932 there was a movie called the Grand Hotel, and only last year we had

Grand Budapest Hotel. And tonight of course in our program we talked about the Savoy Hotel which celebrated its 125th anniversary. What is it about

the grand hotel? Whether it's the Ritz in Paris, the Waldorf in New York, Raffles in Singapore, the Belair in Los Angeles. The list goes on and on.

The truth is the grand hotel is where important people meet to do important things. It's where those secret liaisons take place that really shouldn't

take place. Oh, they all take place in the grand hotel. Whether it's the ballroom, the lobby or simply in the little restaurant over tea.

And that is "Quest Means Business" for tonight in our very own grand hotel. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead,

(RINGS BELL) I hope it's profitable. I'll see you tomorrow.

END