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Quest Means Business
Use of Experimental Medicine to Treat Ebola; Ebola Spreading in Nigeria; Infected Countries Must Ask for Assistance; Ukrainian Officials Call Russian Humanitarian Help "Trojan Horse"; German Confidence Slumps; European Markets Down; Global Employment Picture; Dow Slightly Down; Remembering Robin Williams; Details of Robin Williams' Death; Car Bombs Rock Baghdad; Iraq Power Struggle; Humanitarian Crisis in Iraq; Future Finance; World Weather; Microsoft's $25 Phone; Penny Stocks; Profitable Moment: Penny Stocks
Aired August 12, 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: It's the middle of the month and you can see the effects. The Dow Jones is barely changed today, just off half a dozen
points or so as the week continues. Man on the podium --
(GAVEL HITTING)
QUEST: -- with three hits on the gavel. It is Tuesday, it's August the 12th.
Tonight, into the unknown. Doctors are prescribing unproven treatments for Ebola, and the serum is already running out.
Also, Russia sends a convoy to Ukraine. It sends jitters through German business.
And remembering the life and the work of the great Robin Williams.
I'm Richard Quest. I mean business.
Good evening. We begin tonight as health officials are turning to untested drugs in their effort to contain the deadliest outbreak of Ebola
in history. The traditional measures are not working fast enough to cure the victims and curb the virus.
Look at the numbers. Now, more than 1,000 people have died, there are very few treatment options, and the World Health Organization has ruled it
is ethical to offer victims unproven medication to fight Ebola.
The three countries most affected remain the same. It's not clear if the drugs are effective. Supplies are extremely low. ZMapp
Pharmaceuticals has run out of its experimental treatment. You'll remember, two Americans who received the serum are recovering, but a
Spanish priest who also received it, has died.
A shipment of that ZMapp serum has been ordered to treat two ill doctors in Liberia. Liberia's information minister joins me now on the
line from Monrovia. Minister Brown, thank you for talking to us. These are very, very difficult times, I understand, in your country. But you
have now agreed and you have now requested for this serum to be provided to those who will give consent. Is that correct?
LEWIS BROWN, LIBERIAN INFORMATION MINISTER (via telephone): Yes, Richard. Thank you for having me. You're right, these are difficult
times, but someone now lying in a treatment center looking at the real possibility of certain death, I think this represents a glimmer of hope.
We want to keep it at that, because there's very little that we know about this serum, except that once prior consent is given, there is a slim
chance -- albeit slim -- that one may recover.
QUEST: All right.
BROWN: So far, we have two doctors that are in similar situations, and they're quite aware. They're educated as to the risk, but they've
consented that in effect, there'd be that clinical trial on them.
QUEST: Mr. Brown, did you know about the ZMapp serum before it was offered to the two Americans? Did you know this serum actually existed?
BROWN: Well, not me, I'm not a doctor. But I guess in many medical circles, that may have been the case. I'll tell you what that effect now
is. We have a sort of traumatized, if you will, or frightened population, as our people move from denial to fear.
Now, we're getting -- we're being inundated with calls about individuals wanting to come out, because suddenly --
QUEST: Right, but --
BROWN: -- the hope now is that you may not die, but you can be helped. So --
QUEST: Right, but I need to --
BROWN: -- people are now beginning to come out.
QUEST: I want to just dwell on this for just one moment, because there's been much criticism of the way in which this serum was finally only
offered to the two Americans. And I want to get your thoughts on that. Do you wish that ZMapp or the National Institute of Health had been in touch
with you sooner to say this serum existed? Maybe early on in the crisis, and offered it up before now?
BROWN: Most certainly so. And for many who today may be lying on stretchers or who've lost their lives to this deadly virus, I believe I
answer for all of them when I say yes, we wish we had known enough about this earlier.
QUEST: With that in mind, how are you going to decide -- I know you've given it -- you've got these two doctors who are obviously well
aware of the principles of informed consent. But the serum has virtually run out, and you're really back to square one. When serum becomes
available, how are you going to make this Solomonic judgment of who gets it and who doesn't?
BROWN: Well, a difficult one, isn't it? Why don't we go step by step? First, we're encouraging all of our -- the drug maker to do the best
they can. We're grateful to the World Health Organization for now, defining this actually as an ethical issue.
We think it is right, because nothing should trump the right to gamble for life, for any individual to take a gamble for life. I think that is
the highest kind of ethics anyone can deal with.
And so, but we want to go step by step. What we want to do now is to see how it works on these two. We don't want to give a lot of false hope
to people.
QUEST: Right.
BROWN: We're continuing with our sensitization and awareness program. We still believe this is the biggest way to counteract this disease. But
yes, if there is a cure, if there is a possibility, it shouldn't just be tested on a few, it should be tested on many.
QUEST: Finally, let me -- Minister, I'm going to put this accusation that it's doing the rounds, basically, and you know this, and you'll be
well aware of this. And the accusation goes basically like this, that the serum was finally offered to two, if you like, middle class white Americans
versus being offered in Africa. Do you give any -- what would you say to people who offer up that criticism?
BROWN: Well, I'll say, I'll leave them with their judgment. What we're concerned about here right now is how can we help more of our people.
I believe that sentiment --
QUEST: Right.
BROWN: -- is shared in Liberia as well as Sierra Leone and Guinea and Nigeria areas currently under infection. But we want to make sure that our
people get all the help they can possibly get.
QUEST: Right. Minister --
BROWN: And that is the story here that we're than likely interested in.
QUEST: Minister, thank you for joining us. I'll allow you to get back to your duties, sir, but thank you. We appreciate your time as always
this evening.
Now, Ebola is spreading in Africa's most populous nation. Nigeria's confirmed ten cases of the virus in Lagos, two people have died. You'll
remember just a couple of weeks ago on this program, the health minister said that Ebola was under containment and was not rampant or was not
spreading in Nigeria.
Well, President Goodluck Jonathan has called state governors and health officials to Abuja, the capital, on Wednesday, to address the crisis
with the virus. The chairman of Public Health England says as the epidemic spreads, infected countries must learn about experimental treatments, and
they must ask for assistance.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID HEYMANN, CHAIRMAN, PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND: It's countries that need to initiate the request. If they know it's available, if they want to
do studies on a drug or a vaccine or an antibody, then they must make an approach to the company that has it to see what kind of arrangements can be
made.
Because it's the government regulatory agencies, after all, that make the decision whether or not to use a drug which is not licensed on a
compassionate basis.
QUEST: Right, but it's chicken and egg, because of the country doesn't know ZMapp has this serum, then surely, as indeed it was in the
case of the two American health workers, missionaries, it was the NIH which offered it up. Which all begs the question why the NIH didn't offer it up
sooner.
HEYMANN: Yes, I can't answer that question, either, but what I can say is that the US has put a tremendous amount of research into vaccines
and medicines and monoclonal antibodies for Ebola and other organisms that the US feels might be organisms of use by bio-terrorism.
That research and development is now being done. Hopefully, it can be expanded to be of benefit to the rest of the world.
QUEST: What now does the WHO have to do to get a grip on it? Because the argument has been that the countries were slow to respond to this. The
WHO might not have been as fast as it could have been to respond. So, to get ahead of the curve, what needs to be done?
HEYMANN: What needs to be done now is that countries need to have the list of what the products are, where they stand in their phases of
development, and whether or not there are supplies which are available for testing within countries.
That testing is, of course, if it's a drug or an antibody, use in persons who are sick. If it's a vaccine, it's use in persons who are at
great risk of infection. But those are decisions countries would make, and they need to know first of all what the list of goods is.
So hopefully, WHO has that list, will be sharing it with countries, and then we'll be working with them to determine the risk, benefit, the
risks of doing research, and how it can be done in a rigorous way while using these drugs on a compassionate basis.
QUEST: And finally, would you agree that without throwing all the rules of safe testing -- all the rules out of the window, there's no doubt
the nature of this particular virus with its high rate of fatalities, means we're going to have to take greater risks in human testing?
HEYMANN: Yes, we're going to have to take risks, because the only time you can test these goods is actually during an outbreak when the virus
is transmitting.
However, there can now be preparations for the future so that in the future, everything is in place, including the protocol, the partnerships
necessary to deal with these. So, that's a responsibility of all countries at risk of future epidemics to work and to figure out how they can best be
prepared.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Still to come on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, Russia says these trucks are carrying much-needed humanitarian aid. Ukrainian officials say
they can't come in. We'll tell you why after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: A huge convoy may arrive at the Ukrainian border in the coming hours. Russia says these 280 trucks are loaded with humanitarian aid,
generators and food and such like. Ukrainian officials say the trucks are a cover for an invasion and won't be allowed into the country.
Our correspondent Will Ripley is live for us tonight in Kiev. Good evening, Will. So, what are these trucks, humanitarian or Trojan horses?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's a very good question, Richard. And I'll tell you one thing: for the new
Ukrainian government sitting here in Kiev tonight, when they look at the images of these white trucks that some Ukrainian government officials are
accusing of being military trucks painted white, they have one thing on their mind, and that's Crimea.
Because for two reasons. One, Vladimir Putin will be visiting Crimea tomorrow and Thursday. This trip was scheduled before this convoy started
rolling out of Moscow, expected to arrive somewhere along the eastern Ukrainian border sometime tonight. Could be hours from now --
QUEST: But --
RIPLEY: -- as you mentioned, and -- yes?
QUEST: But Will, if this -- if they were full of military hardware and troops, this would be the most brazen form of -- it borders on
paranoia, surely, to think that this is other than just humanitarian relief, or am I being naive?
RIPLEY: Well, you can understand why there would be some mistrust -- "some" is really understating things, Richard -- a lot of mistrust between
Ukraine and Russia.
First of all, there are 45,000 -- at least that's the government estimate here -- 45,000 Russian troops stationed right now just 20 miles
from where Ukrainian military forces are trying to retake the key rebel stronghold of Lugansk and Donetsk, which his also in that general area.
So, you have these troops, you have warplanes, you have tanks, standing by right there. Then you have this big convoy of 280 vehicles
rolling towards the border.
There's no way that they have the manpower to inspect every single one of these trucks in a timely manner before they need to get that aid to the
people in Lugansk, the poor families, who've been cut off from the rest of the outside world for a week and a half now.
So, basically, what Ukraine would have to do is trust that Russia is telling the truth when they say that there's medicine, baby food, water,
other supplies --
QUEST: All right.
RIPLEY: -- that these families need. And they just -- they haven't even gotten a list yet of the contents of the truck. They've been asking
for that list all day, now. Still haven't gotten it, Richard.
QUEST: Will Ripley, joining us from Kiev tonight. Will, thank you, keep watching and let us know when that convoy does reach the border. Will
Ripley for us.
The situation in Russia is hitting Europe's biggest economy hard. Join me at the super screen and you'll see what I mean. Now, this is very
worrying. If you bear in mind, Germany, of course, is the engine of growth in many ways, the fastest-growing economy.
And what we have seen as you look throughout the course of the year, consumer confidence comes way down from 17 right the way down to 10. So,
we have a falling level of confidence. Germany has experienced the biggest drop in investor confidence in some two years. This is far bigger than
expected.
The measures expectations for the economy in six months' time, so if you bear in mind what we saw with the growth of consumer confidence and how
that boosted German economic growth, and now you factor in what we're seeing over here and you push forward, you'll get an idea of why this is so
worrying.
Look at the question of growth overall. If we take out the various countries, you will see what I mean. Germany is Russia's biggest trading
partner, and it's not just the Russian effect. Those countries that are expected to grow by one percent or more, it's just Poland, of course.
You've got Portuguese deflation, which is worsening. Prices are falling even faster than expected. It's highlighting weak demand around
Europe. You've got a growth of one percent here. If you look at zero to one percent, you've got the Scandinavian countries, Germany, which we're
worrying, you've got the United Kingdom and you've got Spain.
But look at the country that's growing -- expected to grow less than one percent, and here we have, of course, Russia over on the east. All of
this hinges around Germany, and here we're getting a quarter, first quarter of eight tenths of a percent and the second quarter forecast is minus one
percent.
So, the ability for what is happening in Germany to spill over into the rest of the whole European Union, creating trouble, not least of which,
of course, the relationship with Russia, shows you exactly why it's so worrying.
With investors' eyes on the crisis in Ukraine, European markets ended the day down. The DAX lost one percent. The German consumer goods group
Henkel warned turmoil in Russia and the Middle East will hurt profits for the second half.
Joining me now is Jonas Prising. He's the chief executive of Manpower Group. Well, the wheels look like they are coming off the wagon once
again, sir.
JONAS PRISING, CEO, MANPOWER GROUP: Well, the wheels are not coming off the wagon as it relates to US and the labor markets on this side of the
Atlantic, but the European labor markets are still certainly struggling to get from first gear into second gear, and the economic backdrop, as you
just described, makes that so much harder.
QUEST: This bifurcation that you now have between the US, with its low unemployment, low inflation, low interest rates. Growth picking up.
It's almost a perfect scenario, and even when rates do start to rise, it will be negligible compared to what we're seeing in Europe, with its higher
unemployment. How do we get out of this?
PRISING: Well, the way a normal economic cycle would work in this case is that the US would help pull along some of the other geographies,
who would then get some kind of growth themselves in a more self-sustaining way. And eventually, all of this will feed from each other, and we will
see a positive global cycle.
But of course, the geopolitical events that you've pointed out that are really putting us on the back foot in Europe are certainly going to --
QUEST: Right.
PRISING: -- make the labor market recovery in Europe a long one.
QUEST: Now, that's something I want to just focus on there, because if we look -- the UK, for example, has got quite good labor, robust labor
market growth at the moment.
But when would you expect to see these geopolitical tensions, particularly Russia, particularly the question of the sanctions now and
these companies warning, when would you expect to see it translate into hiring decisions and putting that on the back burner?
PRISING: Well, you have to look at that within the context of what kind of hiring environment do we have today, and with the exception, maybe,
of the UK and although a good labor market in Germany from an unemployment perspective, but certainly with the outlook decreasing, none of the
countries in Europe have seen robust jobs growth for an extended period of time.
So, our starting point is very low. And the unemployment levels are very high. So, I think for this to worsen, it would have to become a lot
worse, from a Russian perspective, and hopefully the impacts can be limited, because the sanctions as yet are limited to certain sectors. So,
I don't think we can expect on the short term an impact -- negative impact to the labor markets.
QUEST: Right.
PRISING: But on the contrary, what we need for labor market improvement is economic growth, and that's the one that looks to be
delayed, if nothing else, by the troubles that we have in Europe today.
QUEST: Sir, thank you for joining us this evening. I appreciate it. We'll talk more as these developments continue.
In the United States, it's a slow summer day on Wall Street. The markets ended the day just slightly down. In fact, they were up a bit in
the beginning, and they were down largely at the end of the day, but most of it had recovered when all was said and done. US job openings at the
highest level in 13 years.
King Digital, maker of Candy Crush, shares down 18 percent on disappointing sales. Brent Crude prices hit 13-month low. The
International Energy Agency says the supply glut is balancing out the Middle East threats, which of course, is crucial, as the summer comes to
the end.
When we come back, a career that, in the words of the US president, touched every element of the human spirit. We'll remember the life and
most importantly, the laughter, of Robin Williams.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: In the past few hours, we've been learning more about the death of Robin Williams at the age of 63. We'll get to those details in
just a moment. Before we go any further, we do want to begin with some of the extraordinary reactions that has been given to his passing.
The comedian and the actor who had battled against drug and alcohol addiction and depression is today being remembered as one of the greatest
of his generation. In the words of President Obama, "Williams' prolific career touched every element of the human spirit," the president said.
Williams was used to filling rooms. So, tonight, we've filled our studio with memories of him. Now, remember, Robin Williams burst onto the
scene in 1978 as Mork the Ork. He was an alien who fell to Earth on the TV show "Mork and Mindy."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBIN WILLIAMS AS MORK, "MORK AND MINDY": Hi. Would you like to be my friend for life?
(LAUGHTER)
WILLIAMS AS MORK: What's your name?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bug off, creep.
WILLIAMS AS MORK: Oh. You're a very interesting specimen. What's your name?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bug off.
WILLIAMS AS MORK: Wow, deja-vu, I just met your brother.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now, by the next year, 60 million people were tuning into watch Williams engaging in all sorts of comedic mischief as his character
tried to find his way into an alien society. But there was so, so much more.
A gifted voice artist, Williams quickly found huge success on the big screen. He voiced the infectious Genie in "Aladdin." He fought off an
African safari to reclaim a lost childhood in "Jumanji." And, of course, he crucially dressed in drag to get his family back from divorce in one of
my favorites, "Mrs. Doubtfire."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS AS MRS. DOUBTFIRE, "MRS. DOUBTFIRE": It's hard, it smells like burnt rubber. God, it's hot in here.
(SCREAMS)
WILLIAMS AS MRS. DOUBTFIRE: Oh! Oh!
(PATS OUT FIRE)
WILLIAMS AS MRS. DOUBTFIRE: Oh! Oh! Oh!
(COUGHS)
WILLIAMS AS MRS. DOUBTFIRE: Look at this! My first day as a woman, and I'm getting hot flashes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Robin Williams was also a skilled dramatic actor. He introduced a generation to literary classics and he inspired students to
seize the day, Carpe Diem, in "Dead Poets Society." In 1998, he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as a therapist in "Good Will Hunting."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS AS SEAN MAGUIRE, "GOOD WILL HUNTING": Those are the things I miss the most. The little idiosyncrasies that only I knew about. That's
what made her my wife. Oh, and she had the goods on me, too. She knew all my little peccadilloes. People call these things imperfections, but
they're not. Ah, that's the good stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Robin Williams, who died yesterday. Now, we must turn to the details of what happened, and what we've learned today. Ted Rowlands joins
me now from outside the sheriff's department in San Rafael, California. Ted, good evening to you. The sheriff gave us quite a lot of detail today
of what they know. Tell me more.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, heartbreaking details, Richard, of what happened with Robin Williams. He apparently did die of suicide,
using a belt around his neck. His body was found by a personal assistant who was having trouble getting a hold of him.
He was in a room in his home, he was found around noon yesterday, and the belt was around his neck. He was hanging from basically a closet, the
door of the closet was holding one end of the belt, and the other, of course, was around his neck.
He did have some cuts on his left wrist and some blood, but the investigators don't believe that contributed to his death. There was a
small pocketknife also found near his body.
He had spent the evening before at home with his wife, Susan. They were the only two in the house. She went to bed about 10:30, according to
investigators, thinking that Robin would be going to bed later in another room in the house. So, it was not out of the ordinary that she woke up, he
was in his room, presumably.
She left the house thinking that he was still asleep, and that is when the personal assistant came in a little bit later. She was informed a
short time after that that he had died.
QUEST: In the days and weeks ahead, when we get the toxicology report and all of these things, we will, if you like, get the -- we'll get the
mechanics of what happened --
ROWLANDS: Right.
QUEST: -- but as I understand it, being here in the United States today, so much of the focus is on drug and alcohol addiction and the issues
that surrounds, and also the very real issue of depression and how that affects so many people.
ROWLANDS: Right. The toxicology will come back, be a part of the equation in two to five weeks, is the estimated timeline of that. But
depression is something that has been established. He was suffering from what they characterized as severe depression leading into this. It's
obviously a factor here.
And it's really, for someone who was so loved, and listening to those clips, it brings it all back for all of us, the fact that he gave us so
much joy and he was going through so much pain, it just is really heartbreaking. And to hear those details here at this press conference was
tough to take, even for a lot of seasoned journalists who are taking it all in.
QUEST: Ted Rowlands in California. Thank you, sir. Come back, obviously, in the days ahead when there's more to report. Thank you.
Now, tonight, CNN is shining a spotlight on Robin Williams' amazing career, a body of work that spans decades. And we look at just what made
him that global star. It starts in literally half an hour, right after QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, 10:00 PM in London, 11:00 in Berlin. It's here, of
course, on CNN.
(SILENCE)
(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.
The World Health Organization has ruled it is ethical to treat Ebola patients with experimental medication. Liberia has requested drugs for two
doctors suffering from the virus. Speaking to me on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, the country's information minister said it is worth taking a risk on the
unproven serum.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEWIS BROWN, LIBERIAN INFORMATION MINISTER (via telephone): I think this represents a glimmer of hope. We want to keep it at that, because
there's very little that we know about this serum except that once prior consent is given, there is a slim chance -- albeit slim -- that one may
recover.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: US Secretary of State John Kerry says he hopes Iraq's new prime minister designate can quickly form a cabinet and build a united
front against militants. Haidar al-Abadi has been nominated to be the new prime minister on Monday. The current prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has
vowed to hang onto power.
The Red Cross says it hasn't partnered with Russia to deliver aid to eastern Ukraine. A Russian convoy carrying humanitarian aid is traveling
to eastern Ukraine from Moscow. A spokesman for the Red Cross mission in Ukraine says he has no information about what's onboard the trucks and
doesn't know to where they are headed.
In the past three hours, we've learned more details about the death of Robin Williams. The Marin County Sheriff's Office says the actor and
comedian apparently died from asphyxia due to hanging. The final cause of death won't be known for several weeks. Robin Williams was 63 years old.
At least nine people are dead and dozens wounded after two car bombs exploded in Baghdad. Our senior international correspondent Nick Paton
Walsh heard one of the bombs go off. Nick joins me now from Baghdad. Good evening, Nick.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Richard, behind us in the afternoon, a large black plume of smoke, one, I'm afraid,
of two frighteningly common car bombs hitting Shia areas here in the capital, as you say, killing at least nine. But that really, I think,
threw a dark pall over a day of great, tense quite here, political uncertainty.
Nouri al-Maliki, the former prime minister, in the eyes of many here, refusing to openly accept that he's lost the grip on power. His backer
Iran suggesting that his successor, Haidar al-Abadi, should be worked with. Even the Saudi Arabian government backing Mr. Abadi as well. A real sense
of former allies of Mr. Maliki dropping him, even Shia religious figures suggesting it's time he step back.
But today, defiantly, he appeared on television, talked about how he got phone calls from Iraqi soldiers on the front line against ISIS
militants saying he needed to stay in power to keep the country together, even suggesting that the military themselves shouldn't interfere in
politics, in the eyes of some. Strange for a man who had hinted he might use force to stay in power.
Although a slight ray of hope in the past few hours or so. Haidar al- Abadi, the man who the US already refers to, effectively, as the new prime minister here, he's got 30 days since his nomination from the new president
to put together a cabinet and get it approved by Iraq's fractious political elite here.
He reached out on Facebook, of all places, where so much of the politics of the Middle East seem to be done at the moment, and said that
Nouri al-Maliki had -- should be owed a debt of thanks for his fight against terrorism here, had a place in the future of Iraq, trying to sound
conciliatory, I think.
QUEST: Right.
WALSH: Perhaps trying to make Maliki not fear a future out of power, not fear arrest. But certainly a tense day, here, Richard.
QUEST: Nick, as I've been reading about what's been going on between ISIS in the north, and now the government that's changing, it is
frighteningly complicated.
WALSH: It certainly is. Almost these moving parts seem to be moving in opposite direction quite irrespective of each other. There's no real
sense that the crisis here in Baghdad is somehow related to the front line. These are separate issues that have been rolling on their own quite
differently.
The advancements of ISIS, many say, is a product of the Syrian civil war, giving them a vacuum to develop in. The crisis here in Iraq has been
a Sunni-Shia fault line that's been for decades a major issue in Iraq. So yes, this crisis seemed to unfold, seemed to worsen purely on an hourly
basis. But they don't seem to be resolving each other.
The hope, though, is that now there potentially could be a new prime minister. That could end the deadlock here. If the deadlock ends, that
could mean the West will feel more comfortable giving a national unity government, if we see one here, more aid to fight ISIS militants.
They are interlinked somehow, although on the surface, it often feels like they're just moving far apart or unable to reconcile with each other,
these crises in Iraq, Richard.
QUEST: Nick, as always, thank you for putting it into good common sense for us and helping us understand the machinations. Appreciate it,
sir. Good night.
Now, on last night's program, we showed you the dramatic footage of a rescue mission for the Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar. Ivan Watson, our
correspondent who was on the helicopter, is now on the border between Iraq and Syria, witnessing a humanitarian crisis that's growing increasingly
worse.
As Nick was making clear the complexity of the political issue in Baghdad versus the real-life issue of what's happening to people on the
ground in the north of the country, now make this -- put it into absolutely clear relief. Watch Ivan Watson's report on how some are managing to
escape on foot.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look at these people fleeing across borders to escape ISIS militants. On this bridge,
which leads from a Kurdish-controlled part of Syria here into Iraqi Kurdistan, we've been watching a stream of desperate families, carrying
little more than the clothes on their backs, walking.
Some of these people have been on the move for days. Some of them have been camping, and now they're arriving here, in Iraqi Kurdistan, after
fleeing their homes, in many cases, in just a matter of minutes.
This stream of people, thousands every hour, has been continuing, I'm told, for days across this bridge, and it's a part of a much larger wave of
desperate people all across the north of Iraq, who are fleeing ISIS militants, which appears to be carrying out a campaign of ethnic and
sectarian cleansing.
Because many of these people -- just look at the faces. Look at the children here, and what they're able to bring with them after they've been
made instantly homeless.
And these people -- and we've seen it -- will end up tonight sleeping on roadsides. Sleeping in ruined, abandoned buildings because there is
simply no place else to go.
The cash-strapped government of the Kurdish region of northern Iraq is trying to help some. There are some international organizations helping.
But for the most part, this is a local project to help these people escape danger and come to a new place, where there is no infrastructure and hardly
any network of support for these people.
And you can see how dazed they are when they come across the border and they have to find someplace else to go. These are not warriors.
These are the elderly, these are children, these are mothers, these are fathers and husbands desperate to find someplace where they can protect
their families. This is a humanitarian crisis that is unfolding in front of our eyes here in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Ivan Watson, CNN, reporting from the Peshkhabour River between Iraqi Kurdistan and Syria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: And it's worth just bearing in mind that we may be watching those pictures on our television screens tonight, but while you and I are
talking this evening, those people are still there and will be there all night and for the foreseeable.
(SILENCE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: It might look like some kind -- some form of computer game. In fact, it's all about brushing up on your financial literacy with a
little help of a couple of cuddly characters. These are no economic lecturers, as you can see. They are part of a gaming app -- this gaming
app is designed to teach children about money. It's called Greenstreet Commons.
It was dreamt up by Neale Godfrey, a US banking veteran who's made it her mission to educate children about finance. Now, in this week's Future
Finance, she explains why money matters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEALE GODFREY, PRESIDENT, GREENSTREET COMMONS: Our kids are financially illiterate. In the United States, children take financial
literacy tests, and far too many flunk them. We know how this lack of money savvy has played out on a world stage.
Globally, we are emerging from the largest economic meltdown since the Great Depression. It's time to stop the cycle and teach our kids to
understand how money works, what it can do and what it can't.
But today, books are not enough. We must speak to the kids in the universal language they understand: gaming. And speak to them where they
are, everywhere, via mobile devices.
We connect with young kids, five to ten years old, when they need to start learning about money. The first thing for kids to learn is the only
way to get money is to earn it. We create apps to allow kids to earn money by playing games.
The next step is to learn to budget. How are our video games innovative? They connect the home, school, and financial institutions
together to bring the virtual world of game play into the real world of learning and doing.
The point is to offer real financial products, savings accounts, debit cards, the ability to save for real products and give to real charities, to
make money education fun. We all share the responsibility to teach our kids to be money savvy. We have connected the dots.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Now, to the weather forecast. Jenny Harrison is with us at the World Weather Center. I was at a wedding this weekend in the United
Kingdom in southern England.
JENNY HARRISON, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Wow.
QUEST: In the course of the afternoon, we had the remnants of Hurricane Bertha, we had gale-force winds, thunder and lightning, and then
magnificent, beautiful blue skies for the wedding ceremony and for the actual event itself.
HARRISON: Well, that was good timing, then, Richard. That's all I can say on that.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRISON: Thank goodness everybody enjoyed the actual ceremony, because you're right, there's been some tremendous weather across the UK
now pushing out into northern areas of Europe.
But right now, we've also got some very heavy rain impacting areas of the east US. Look at this rain. In the last six hours, in Baltimore, 155
millimeters of rain has come down. The monthly average is 84. That is the second-highest total ever to come down in August, ever recorded.
So, this is all part of the system which is working its way up into the northeast. And believe you me, some very heavy rain still to come.
So, you can see all the warnings that are in place. In fact, there are the warnings and watches around DC and the Washington area, and then you can
see this other massive green as we head, really, just up New York into the northeast of there.
So, not surprisingly, we've had quite a few problems at the airports in terms of delays, and you can see where they're listed here. So, New
York LaGuardia, JFK, we've got two hours and ten minutes, an hour there. And this really is because of the weather to the south and up into the
northeast.
So, this is the system coming through, very heavy amounts of rain. It's moving fairly swiftly, but it's going to last probably another 24 to
36 hours. And you can see it here, it's fairly slow-moving, and then we've got the usual showers elsewhere across the southeast and also quite a band
of raining beginning to push in and work its way across areas of the west.
Just to point out, too, we're watching two disturbances in the east of the Pacific. Yes, I know, we've just really seen the back of Julio, but
even so, we're watching this very close, the Mexico coast, high chance of development. And then further out there, so really in effect, of course,
closer to the Hawaiian islands, a medium chance of development.
Now, moving on to Europe, this is still the remnants of what was Bertha. So, all this cloud you can see, all of that is associated with the
same storm system. So again, some very heavy amounts of rain.
The last 24 hours, it's really been impacting Norway, 80 millimeters have come down in that one location. This rain, you can see here, all of
this is still tied to what was Bertha. It's coming in almost as another area of low pressure. But it is, as I say, really all tied to the same
thing.
And remember, it's all on Sunday. Luckily, Richard, you didn't have one of these to talk about at the wedding on Saturday, but there were
tornadoes, too. This was on Sunday. One in the UK, and there were actually five along the France and Belgium border there.
So that, as you might expect, brought down trees. It's really caused a lot of problems and some very, very high waves, again, in the last 24
hours across the northern coastal areas of France. So, all of this beginning to improve, but yes, still some fairly stormy conditions,
Richard, across central and northern Europe.
QUEST: I assure you, Mistress Harrison, the tornadoes had -- the wedding had nothing to do with the weather.
(LAUGHTER)
QUEST: And probably quite a lot to do with the amount that was imbibed by all.
HARRISON: Aha! I understand. We get the picture.
(LAUGHTER)
QUEST: No, there were no pictures!
(LAUGHTER)
QUEST: And if there were, you're not getting to see them.
HARRISON: It was that good?
QUEST: All right, many thanks.
HARRISON: It was that good.
QUEST: Now, when we come back after the break, Nokia's new owner, Microsoft, has high hopes for its latest model. It's not flashy, it can do
one thing the average smartphone can't. Can you imagine?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Now, the battery on my smartphone will last me -- oh, it will probably last a day, if I'm lucky. Although it's getting a bit old and
barely lasts a few hours. And of course, I've always got my trusty other device if necessary, the BlackBerry. Yes, I've heard all your jokes. I
don't need to hear them again. I still use one and I'm not going to give it up.
Now, Microsoft, which owns Nokia devices and services, businesses, has come up with a phone with a week of standby -- a week!
(RINGS BELL)
QUEST: And lots of talk, won't cost you that much, only $25.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It doesn't have internet, social media, or even a camera. If you're looking for
those, this Nokia isn't look for you.
BURKE (on camera): So, you must be going after a very certain type of person who's looking to buy a $25 phone like this.
NEIL BROADLEY, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, MICROSOFT: There are still billions of people in the world who still don't have a mobile device. So,
this is an ideal first-time mobile device that delivers those mobile essentials that those first-time users are looking for.
We think there's also a second opportunity with those people looking for the backup device. In some of the more developed cities in the world,
they're looking for a device that maybe they can -- they want to take out on a very active sport, or they want to take out when they're camping, or
they want to leave in the glove box of their car.
And the beauty of this type of device is it's all packaged up with a phone that can give you up to 36 days of standby time. So, up to a -- over
a month standby time from this device.
BURKE (voice-over): Ah yes, it's back to the good old days of long- lasting batteries, even a talk time of up to 13 hours.
BURKE (on camera): And I see that it has two SIM card clots. Why?
BROADLEY: For some users, they may commute and they may roam in the course of their journey to work, so they want to have one number that's
related to the home address, and another number that works when they're in the city.
For another user, they may want to separate different aspects of their lives. Maybe they have one number that they use for their work phone, that
their boss calls them on, one number that they use for home that friends and families tend to use.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Samuel Burke reporting. One of the most fascinating parts of investing is the whole concept of the penny stock. I've always loved the
penny stock. The very idea that you can take a couple of pennies and actually make your fortune.
Well, if you're looking to invest a little less and win a lot more, there are plenty of companies out there that are worth just a few pennies.
However, penny stocks are volatile, they can be dangerous to your wealth. So, before you get excited at the penny stock, you need a lesson from Paula
Newton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the Holy Grail for investors: start small and win big.
LEONARDO DICAPRIO AS JORDAN BELFORT, "THE WOLF OF WALL STREET": You mailed in my company a postcard a few weeks back requesting information on
penny stocks that had huge upside potential with very little downside risks. Does that ring a bell?
NEWTON: "The Wolf of Wall Street" brought the often murky world of penny stocks back to light. One man was ready.
TIMOTHY SYKES, PENNY STOCK TRADER AND TEACHER: "The Wolf of Wall Street" is when my education business really picked up, because people were
like, oh my God.
NEWTON: Tim Sykes has made millions trading penny stocks. Unlike Jordan Belfort, he says he's not in it just to make money. He has built an
online business teaching others how to recreate his success using more than 2,000 video tutorials.
SYKES: I draw this line here, basically just to show you the previous highs.
NEWTON: Today, it's my turn.
SYKES: A lot of people want to get into trading right away. They're like, "I want to make money." I'm like, "Hold on, you need education
first."
NEWTON: Lesson number one, the pump and dump. A random rise in a stock price, followed usually by a crash.
SYKES: Sadly, you have most of the time stocks like this, Cync Technology. This one went from six cents up to $13.90, so it looks like a
Cinderella story. This is their website, and they claim that they can introduce you to celebrities. Here's Angelina Jolie, you can --
NEWTON (on camera): So, they claim that they could figure out how you could get in touch with Angelina Jolie for $50.
SYKES: Yes.
NEWTON (voice-over): CNN has tried to contact Cync for several weeks. Calls were not returned. The SEC suspended trading in the company for two
weeks on July 11th, citing potentially manipulative transactions. It's one of 1300 penny stock companies the SEC has suspended over the past two
years.
JOEL COHEN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I think the SEC is trying to clamp down on it. They have a penny stock fraud task force, it's serious.
NEWTON: Joel Cohen would know. Back in the 90s, he was a federal prosecutor, and the man who finally caught up with the Wolf of Wall Street.
COHEN: There are always Jordan Belforts out there. For every person who's looking for an opportunity that doesn't make any sense.
NEWTON: Even for those buying the stock as it rises, Cohen says there are legal questions.
COHEN: It's a fine line. If they are trading on anticipation that certain other people are doing it and so they can gain from it, I do think
there's a point where it steps over the line.
NEWTON: For Tim Sykes, this is the most important lesson: know what you're buying.
SYKES: Think about how much research people do when buying a car. They compare the Kelley Blue Book value, and they compare all these cars.
But with a stock, it's so easy with these online discount brokers, you just click "buy," and you go, $10,000, $20,000, $50,000, you can invest with one
click of the button.
NEWTON: While not all penny stocks are scams, this is a very volatile marketplace, and you need to be prepared before it all comes crashing down.
Paula Newton, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Ah, one, two, three, four -- a Profitable Moment after the break. Five, six, seven, eight --
(RINGS BELL)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: I've -- tonight's Profitable Moment. I've always been absolutely fascinated by the concept of the penny stock. It sounds so
deceptively wonderful. Just think, all you have to do is put a few pennies into the stock, and then just watch while it grows.
Of course, you've got to remember the pump and dump, and then you've got to remember that penny stocks are very volatile, and then you've got to
remember the dishonest. And finally, you've got to remember you could lose the lot.
But there's still something deliciously attractive, especially in markets which can be stocks of $30, $40, $50, $60, $70 and above, and you
can get in on the penny stock. If you don't mind losing your shirt.
And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead --
(RINGS BELL)
QUEST: -- I hope it's profitable. I'll see you tomorrow.
END
