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Quest Means Business
Apple Unveils Watch, Mobile Payments; Apple's "One More Thing"; Tim Cook's Apple; Wild Ride for Apple Stock; MH17 Report; MH17 Investigation Hampered by Fighting in Ukraine; EU Considers More Sanctions Against Russia; ECB Ponders Further Stimulus; Party Leaders: UK Better Together; Scotland Vote Too Close to Call
Aired September 09, 2014 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(GONG RINGING TO CLOSE THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE)
RICHARD QUEST, HOST: I hate to tell you, but that is not a bell. That is a gong. And it's being rung remotely tonight from Seattle to
celebrate some conference, some digital conference out there. He's still bashing away at the gong. It should have long since closed. The market is
closed. It's Tuesday, it's September the 9th.
Tonight, watches, wallets, and rock n' roll. Apple unveils a raft of new products.
Also, a crucial step in the search for answers. We have the first report on MH17.
And you're going to hear from executives against Ebola. The head of one mining group tells me it's time for tougher coordinated corporate and
government response.
I'm Richard Quest, live from the CNN Center. And I mean business.
Good evening. Apple promised much, and the question is, have they delivered? After months of speculation, the company unveiled its Apple
Watch.
(RINGS BELL)
QUEST: It's the company's first foray into the rapidly-growing wearable tech market. Tim Cook announced two new iPhones with larger
screens.
(RINGS BELL)
QUEST: They're designed to compete with offerings from Samsung. And the Apple chief exec showed off a mobile payment system called Apple Pay.
(RINGS BELL)
QUEST: Mr. Cook touted its use and ease the criticality of security credentials. Dan Simon is in Cuppertino in California, joins me now. A
lot of bells, lots of noise, lots of hoopla. Mr. Simon, what was it all worth?
DAN SIMON, CNN SILICON VALLEY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Apple really needed to show that it could still be an innovative company, Richard. And
I think for the most part, it delivered. We all expected to see these two larger iPhone screens, so mark off the check there.
We also expected to see some Apple payment system. Mark off the check there. But I think they did so in a very innovative, simple Apple way.
So, I think that has the real potential to take off.
And then finally, the Apple Watch, Richard. Obviously, we've seen the wearables market sort of remain not very well adapted for the most part on
a global stage. I think Apple has the ability to change that with the Apple Watch.
I think the lingering question, though, is do people still want to have a smart watch on their wrist? Apple certainly has the -- will have
the best one on the market. Whether or not people want to buy it, I think that's the open question, Richard.
QUEST: What does this watch do besides tell the time? That's obviously a given. It might sound slightly obvious, but let's face it,
it's got to be a half decent watch or it's no point in having it. But what does it do besides that?
SIMON: Yes, that's a great question. Well, it's got a million different watch faces, so it's just a really cool product to look at. It's
a beautiful piece of hardware that you can also look at maps on this thing, you can exchange text messages, it can take your heartbeat. And you can
even share your heartbeat, Richard, with somebody else, if that's something you want to do.
The ultimate question, though, is this something that people are going to want to use? Is this going to make my life easier? I can just easily
pull out my phone and do some of these same things.
The one thing we should also talk about, though, Richard, it's also a health tracker, and I think that's probably the most important thing people
are looking for in smart watches.
QUEST: Dan Simon, who's in Cuppertino with the Apple Watch and the Apple Pay. And as we move forward in our coverage tonight, we'll be
dissecting exactly what was the more important? Was it the larger phones? Was it the Apple Pay? Or was it the Apple Watch, the iWatch?
@RichardQuest is where you can join our debate and discussion on this. What's your thinking?
First of all, are you worried about Apple Pay, or any payment system that's involved using your phone? Yes, it's my BlackBerry. The iPhone's
lying around somewhere. It's in my pocket.
Secondly, what about the Apple Watch? Is it something you would like? @RichardQuest. As the program goes on, we're going to try and get a few of
your comments.
Join me at the super screen and we'll talk about the Apple announcements, because few companies can match Apple when it comes to the
hype and the secrecy. And that extends to this building, the very building where the event took place. It's completely covered with white panels.
It's all part of the spectacle that surrounds an Apple event. Steve Jobs famously preceded product announcements with that legendary phrase,
"One more thing." Well, these were the products that he brought us.
It was the original iMac in 98. You have the iPod. I've still got an iPod, the battery's a bit dickey, but it still plays music every now and
again. That was in 2001. The iPhone works quite nicely, and the iPad, which of course, I said would never take off, was in 2010.
Well, today, it was the case of Tim Cook, who borrowed a page from his old boss's book and saying, "One more thing."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM COOK, CEO, APPLE: We're not quite finished yet. We have one more thing.
(CROWD CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now, the Cook products that have come along since he took over, today's -- it's hard to say whether it was the most important speech
today, but it's still a critical moment for Apple to prove it can innovate. We've had the Mac Pro from him, we've had Apple Watch, and now we've got
Apple Pay, and it's this Apple Watch, it's the first serious foray into the new category in four years.
The mobile payment system follows last year's Mac Pro, which is another major announcement. The question of Apple Pay is, of course,
clouded over by the whole iCloud question. Our correspondent Samuel Burke was, I hope, following it very closely. If you weren't, I'll want to know
why. Of these, what's the most significant?
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I was watching, and without a doubt, at least in my mind, Richard, Apple Pay. Because the
iPhones were catching up to Samsung. The smart watch, you have to use an iPhone. So, put $349 with a $600 phone, that's $1000. But at the end of
the day, Apple Pay is what's interesting, because that could eliminate the wallet.
When I go for a run in Central Park, if I want to stop and get a smoothie now at a shop, I might be able to just pull out my phone. And if
Apple gets a little bit -- a little bit of each payment, Richard, that could be a huge source of revenue for them, just long songs on iTunes with
the iPod, Richard.
QUEST: Right. Anything I say now has to be taken through the prism of accepting that this is coming, a version of payment, contactless
payment, or a version using a phone. But it raises questions -- look, I can take my debit card out and buy that smoothie for you, if we're having a
run together.
(CROSSTALK)
BURKE: I'll take you up on that.
QUEST: I thought you would. But I can just buy it myself on my debit card. Where's the advantage --
BURKE: Well --
QUEST: -- from putting it on the phone card?
BURKE: Well, the advantage is not having to carry around that card or that group of cards, just using your phone, or just using the watch. I'm
not a watch person, but the idea of not having to carry a phone or not having to carry a wallet and just using the watch would be interesting.
And I'm very intrigued that they chose NFC. You know, that Near-Field Communication is very common back in your hometown, back in England. But
here in the United States, it's not all that common, and this is really going to set an industry standard.
QUEST: So, it's -- some would say the timing's unfortunate. You launch something that's -- look, it doesn't get much more confidential,
much more worrying than your credit card details. Home Depot has just announced that it's been scanned and it's been broken into, it's been
hacked. We had, of course, all the other cases. And the iCloud with the naked photos.
BURKE: Yes.
QUEST: Hardly a time to convince people, by the way, we'll take your credit card details and we'll use the phone to buy your goods.
BURKE: This is exactly why Apple was so worried and their stock got hammered down more than 5 percent in the past week, because of that scandal
with iCloud, because people knew that a payment system was coming.
And health apps. Don't forget, people are probably even more private about their health than they are about their credit cards, Richard. So,
that combination coming right ahead of these two big announcements was very tough.
That's why you saw Tim Cook have to do an interview talking instead about the products that were about to come out and instead having to talk
about more security. I noticed that "Cloud" was not used at all.
The entire time, I was listening to see if they would make any reference of it and if they had planned to mention, your phone will sync
with your watch, they took that out, because you did not hear that mentioned once.
But it's all about convenience. I think they might be able to overcome the doubts that people have about security --
QUEST: Right.
BURKE: -- with convenience, Richard.
QUEST: Samuel Burke in New York. Thank you.
(RINGS BELL)
QUEST: No, you're not getting a smoothie. Shopple share -- Apple shares -- Shopple shares? -- went on a wild ride following the
announcement. Alison Kosik is with us at CNN New York and joins me now. A hundred points off. Tell me what happened to Apple stocks and then tell me
why the market's down the best part of a century.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: OK, let's go ahead and switch to the Apple screen here. I'll tell you what happened as Tim Cook
went out and announced these new products for Apple.
We saw the stock actually take a little bit of a dip when those iPhone announcements came on. Then we saw shares of Apple soar almost 5 percent.
And then, as the day got closer to the closing bell, Richard, we saw those Apple shares fall, a little over $97 a share was the closing price.
But you look at year-to-date how shares are. Apple shares are up more than 20 percent for the year. I think what you're seeing is a little bit
of a blip, a situation where it was buy on the rumor, sell on the news, Richard.
As far as the broader market goes, it kind of fell along with Apple a little bit. I think you saw a lot of profit-taking. You look at the
market overall, the S&P 500 up 7.8 percent. There was some profit-taking today.
QUEST: Alison, good to see you. Thank you. I'll look forward to buying you the smoothie instead of Samuel.
Now, when we come back, this day has been interesting because we got the first official report into what happened to MH17. It was only a
preliminary report. We still learned and we got a little official data of what happened to the ill-fated jet. It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS from the CNN
Center.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: The first report into what happened to Flight MH17 does not tell us who shot the airliner out of the sky two months ago. In fact, the
report doesn't even tell us and doesn't even use the word "missile." You'll remember, of course, the plane went down as it flew over eastern
Ukraine, just about with the border with Russia.
American and Ukrainian officials are accusing pro-Russian separatists of bringing down the aircraft using a BUK missile. That's a claim that the
separatists deny. Now, all that is quite correctly left out of this initial report. It's a prelim report under Article 13 of ICAO, and it's
from the Dutch Safety Board. It focuses strictly on the chain of events and not on who was responsible.
So, we say and we know that the Dutch aviation investigators say the plane was struck from beneath by "high energy objects." No use of the word
"missile." And no information on who fired those "high energy objects," which penetrated the aircraft roughly where the cockpit was and in the
front part of the fuselage.
The report says there's no evidence of any technical problems. There's no sign that the crash was the crew's fault. They were medically
fit, they were qualified, they were in control. There were air traffic control announcements. Everything was normal.
And those black boxes have not been tampered with. The rebels blocked investigators' access to the crash site for weeks. Only a certain number
of investigators were able to get there from Ukraine. And most of this work had to be done by photograph and by satellite information.
Our safety analyst at CNN is David Soucie. He joins me now from Denver, Colorado. David, we didn't expect it was ever going to say a
missile. They've used this bizarre phrase "high energy objects." But I do wonder, what next for this investigation?
DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Well, let's go back to this "high energy object" thing just for a second, Richard. Remember it says a "bust
of high energy objects."
What -- that is an important key, because what that tells us is that they all hit at the same time, as opposed to some speculation by other
people that said that maybe it was gunfire or some kind of other aircraft. So, in my estimation, that rules that part of it out.
But moving forward right now, again, they're still not able to get to the site to see what they need to see. But because of this photo evidence
that we have, I think that they're going to be able to continue to look at it.
And I hope that in the final, they'll actually be able to tell us that it was a BUK missile or a missile of some kind so that we can start
tracking down who actually shot it. That'll be very important as that goes to court and people start trying to place blame on this accident.
QUEST: Right. But the thing about it was, as I read the report, it was the normality of the flight until then. And the other thing I felt was
yes, they asked for a weather minor diversion, and air traffic control moved them back again in a different direction because of other traffic in
the region. But those three other planes, one only 30 K away, it could have been any of those aircraft that got hit that day.
SOUCIE: It very well could have been, Richard. And they were flying within what they were described to be in the safe zone. And as you know,
there's going to be some very difficult discussions going forward right now in the international aviation community to determine who was supposed to
say it was safe and who wasn't.
The ICAO may have to be revised. They have to -- look at how that's done, who's doing it, and who's reporting it.
QUEST: David, pulling the strands, now, together of this, we've got a report, it tells us pretty much -- it rubber stamps that which we already
know. Are we any closer, do you think, from avoiding these conflict zone overflights, bearing in mind what we saw with Israel, what we saw with Ben
Gurion, and what we've seen with Iraq, what we've seen with Syria?
SOUCIE: No. Nothing's been changed, Richard. No one's stepped forward and said it's my responsibility to do this. They're still relaying
on the ICAO rule that says that the state or the country needs to protect their airspace and say if it's safe at a certain altitude or not.
In this case, it certainly was not safe, but they had reported that it was safe above 31,000 feet. So, therein lies the problem, in the system
itself. This is a systemic issue --
QUEST: Right.
SOUCIE: -- that needs to be examined by all the international authorities.
QUEST: David Soucie, thank you. In Denver, Colorado. Investigating the crash has been extremely difficult, as David was saying, and it's all
because of the ongoing fighting in the area. As you watch Diana Magnay's report that she's just filed from the area, bear in mind and compare and
think about the pictures that we saw of the debris after the crash and realized just how much is still there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This really does feel like a godforsaken place. It's not two months since MH17 was shot down
from the sky, and the wreckage is still strewn across these fields alongside fresh craters from mortar fire and from Grad Rockets.
The cease-fire doesn't feel like a cease-fire here, just as in many other areas of eastern Ukraine. You can still hear the artillery shelling
in the distance. When you speak to the locals, you ask them about the cease-fire, they laugh in your face and say what cease-fire?
This is a very pro-rebel area. So when you ask them who they think is responsible for this, they give you one answer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ukraine. Ukraine.
MAGNAY: In the days immediately after the crash, Ukrainian investigators were able to access the site to make their assessment of the
scene. But since then, because of the security situation, no one from the international investigation team, under the auspices of the Dutch Safety
Board, have been able to visit this site.
For the People's Republic of Donetsk, who control this area, MH17, this wreckage, was not and has never been a priority. So, this wreckage is
here to stay for at least the duration of this war, which seems depressingly far from being over.
Diana Magnay, CNN, at the crash site near Torez, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: So, we've heard from the report, and you've seen the current situation at the crash site. The EU is saying wait and see when it comes
to slapping Russia with another round of sanctions. Leaders plan to reopen discussions on Wednesday, and they'll be playing close attention to the
viability of the cease-fire in Ukraine. That cease-fire that Di was just reporting seems to be in name only.
Valentijn van Nieuwenhuijzen is a chief economist at ING Investment Management and joins me from London. So, we're onto round three. This
would be round four of sanctions, or any form of activity. How worried are you that these sanctions are in name only. Or really, are we now starting
to see an economic effect one way or the other.
VALENTIJN VAN NIEUWENHUIJZEN: Well, certainly you're getting closer to a more significant economic impact, and that is obviously the big risk.
Already, we have seen, of course, that financial markets react to these sanctions and the counter sanctions from Russia.
But also, you need to realize that by every step of sanctions, we're getting closer to something which will have a significant impact not only
on certain targeted sectors, but really, on the overall European economy, the Russia economy, and thereby probably also on global financial market
sentiment. So, yes, we are worried over that and closely monitoring it.
QUEST: Yesterday, we had on this program the vice president of the ECB. He was speaking to us about the -- what more ammunition there is for
the ECB to use. Do you get the feeling they're starting to -- I hesitate to use the word they've "exhausted" their ammunition. But you know where
I'm going with this. There's not much more room for the ECB to do anything.
VAN NIEUWENHUIJZEN: Well, we've heard this so many times, at least over the last year or so. There's nothing left, they cannot do anything
else. But then again, Draghi comes out and again surprises people at Jackson Hole, and also last week, certainly, the ECB surprised markets
again.
So, I think we should be cautious with stressing that there's nothing left. You see response, especially on the euro, on the currency, and we're
seeing, for example, in Japan how much that can influence reflation of a domestic economy.
Now, we're not in Japan and Europe for some time to come, but nevertheless, I think it's way to early to suggest that the ECB is out of
ammunition or cannot influence markets or the real economy.
QUEST: Valentijn, I make no apology, since I have you sitting in our studio in London in dragging you around the world of the hot spots of
economics at the moment. And we must talk about the pound sterling, the British economy, and the Scottish referendum.
Now, does the pound remain weak at its current 1.61, 61, 62 level until the vote next Friday? Next week, next Thursday?
VAN NIEUWENHUIJZEN: Well, I would certainly expect it to remain volatile. With this sort of break-up risk now moving from mainland Europe
to the UK, certainly this is something that markets have some experience with in recent years, and this is certainly not a topic that they like to
be ignoring.
So, I do expect as long as the votes keep moving the wrong way in terms of increased uncertainty surrounding the future of the UK and the
participation of Scotland in it, yes, I think there will be downward pressure on the pound.
And afterwards, obviously, things could reverse quickly. Remember that despite the pollings, the betting markets are still highly convinced -
- and often more credible in terms of forecasts -- highly convinced that it will be a no vote. So, maybe not really react or expected to be a yes vote
already, but yes. I expect volatility.
QUEST: Thank you very much. We dragged you around the world, and we are grateful that you came along with us.
We'll continue talking about Scotland after the break. In Britain, the Westminster party leaders are united tonight, and in doing so, they're
having to make that last-ditch effort to keep Scotland part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The results of the latest
polling --
(RINGS BELL)
QUEST: -- it's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: So, the message as put out, I'm going to read it directly. "Our message to the Scottish people will be simple: we want you to stay."
The words of United Kingdom's three party leaders tonight. They're in full crisis-control mode. They're trying to stop that swing towards Scottish
independence ahead of next week's vote.
The British prime minister David Cameron has withdrawn from PMQs, Prime Minister's Questions. He's going north to the border and campaigning
against Scottish independence. The Bank of England governor Mark Carney is weighing in. He says Scotland can't be a sovereign nation if it's still
using the British pound.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK CARNEY, GOVERNOR, BANK OF ENGLAND: I've said this before, but we take note of the positions of all the major Westminster parties to rule out
a currency union between an independent Scotland and the rest of the UK. So, it's in that context, just to put it together, in that context, a
currency union is incompatible with sovereignty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: A new poll out today confirms that while the race is very close, and many people still haven't made up their minds, 38 percent will
vote yes, 39 percent will vote to remain part of the UK, and that crucial - -
(RINGS BELL)
QUEST: -- 18 percent is undecided. Tom Costley is the director of TNS Scotland, the firm that conducted the poll. He joins me now from CNN
London. It's a dead heat, isn't it, Tom? Dead heat. And the independents -- or actually, I can't use that word. The undecideds will have the final
say.
TOM COSTLEY, GROUP DIRECTOR, TNS SCOTLAND: Very much so, Richard. It is too close to call, and the 18 percent of the -- those who are certain to
vote represent about 600,000 of the Scottish population. And they will very much be the target of both the yes and the no campaigns over the next
week or so.
QUEST: Tim, I've made this point before on this program. Was it, in your view as a pollster, a very senior pollster, was it inevitable that it
would come down to a dead heat, do you think?
COSTLEY: I think it was always going to be close because although there was a significant lead for the no campaign up until probably about a
month or so ago, we always knew that the yes campaign have always been a very effective political machine.
And that as the vote got nearer -- and bear in mind, this campaign has been running for at least 12 months, and it's only in the last three weeks,
which is a normal duration of a general election campaign -- that the energy has really taken off. And the population has been motivated to
really consider --
QUEST: Right, but --
COSTLEY: -- the fact that the vote's around the corner.
QUEST: But in this regard, it's where the momentum is. Because if the momentum is with the yes campaign, Tom, if they are the ones with the
wind in their sales, not only -- the first job of the PM and others is to take that wind out. And then you have to recover the ground that you've
lost.
COSTLEY: That's right. It is very much, I think, the first task has to be to stop the momentum which the yes campaign has had behind them for
at least the last two weeks. Because then to which they can then persuade the majority of that 18 percent of those who are certain to vote but still
undecided.
That really requires something which it will be interesting to see whether the arrival of the party leaders has that effect or possibly even
to some extent may have a counter effect against it.
QUEST: Tom, thank you for coming in and -- this is fascinating stuff, and we will watch it very closely and we'll look forward to your analysis
as we get closer and beyond. Thank you very much, sir.
Now, coming up after the break, you're aware Apple has unveiled its new Apple Pay platform. The emphasis was on strong security, especially
when you hear what happened at Home Depot. We're going to talk about security and paying by phone in a moment.
(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 will always
come first.
Dutch investigators released their preliminary report into the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight 17. The conclusion is the plane broke up in
midair after being struck by what they call 'high energy objects' over Eastern Ukraine, although the report does not use the world 'missile' and
does not assign blame. The 219 people died in the crash.
Barack Obama is briefing members of Congress on his plan to combat ISIS. The U.S. President will present the strategy to the American people
in a televised address on Wednesday night. The French President Francois Hollande says he will visit Iraq next week to show support for the fight
against terrorists.
Police in Yemen have shot and killed seven protesters in the capital of Sanaa. Officials and protest leaders say the police opened fire on
demonstrators for trying to storm a government building. The British Prime Minister David Cameron is unexpectedly traveling to Scotland to urge Scots
not to vote for independence from the United Kingdom. Mr. Cameron has canceled his usual appearances prime minister's questions before
Parliament. A new poll out on Tuesday says the vote will be too close to call.
After months of speculation, Apple has unveiled the Apple iWatch. It's the company's first foray into the rapidly-growing wearable tech
market. Apple's chief exec Tim Cook announced two new iPhones with larger screens and a mobile payment system called Apple Pay.
Apple wants to turn your phone into a wallet and its iPhone 6 will come complete with Apple Pay. It's a form of near field communication
technology. It basically allows you to do a financial transaction with a mere tap (RINGS BELL) at the point of sale. Apple's chief exec Tim Cook
showed how it works.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
Female: Total of $23.78. (DING SOUND).
TIM COOK, CEO, APPLE: That's it!
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: Apple's announcement comes after a scandal which was partly caused by weak security on the iCloud. You may be aware hackers exploited
the floor to splash nude pictures of female celebrities all over the internet. Home Depot, the large construction chain and the large DIY
group, has confirmed hackers broke into its payment systems. Experts say it might even be bigger than Target's data breach last year when 40 million
debit and credit cards were compromised. Let's discuss the challenges of keeping mobile payments safe from hackers. Jeremy Nichols, executive
director of Mobile VISA Europe, and Jeremy, you are part of the Apple Pay system or you will be I believe part of the Apple Pay system, correct?
JEREMY NICHOLS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MOBILE VISA EUROPE: That's right, Richard, yes. We've been working with Apple to - and with our counterparts
in the States and to the (ph) VISA in the States - to bring in this new solution into market. So we're very excited about it, and we see it as
being a major step forward for mobile payment.
QUEST: Now, if I lose my card - I mean except in the United States which seems to me anybody can use it anywhere, anytime - but obviously in
Europe and in large parts of the rest of the world, which are slightly more sensible with chip and PIN, it's pretty much useless for vast numbers of
usages. How can we be sure - and I know you must've put a lot of work into it - if I lose my phone and it's unlocked, it can't used?
NICHOLS: Well, we've been working in the area of con silos (ph) payment and mobile payment for some years over here in Europe. And there
are, you know, many millions of places you can actually use those cards and devices in. So in terms of the security that's going to them, then we've -
we have - over the years made sure that it's entirely secure and really, you know, to alleviate any concerns any user or any customer may have.
QUEST: Are we talking here about buying a cup of coffee, a quick ride on the subway, a newspaper or are you talking about buying a sizable item
with a sort of Apple Pay?
NICHOLS: So, the 10 onjay (ph) allows for both, so we see it as being exciting to actually be able to use your phone to buy a coffee, to buy a
newspaper. And from next week actually when the London Chief System (ph) goes up - goes live - to actually be able to pay using your phone on it
too. But also - and so those high-value transactions as well, then you know the security that's built into the device and built importantly into
the payment system that sits behind it -
QUEST: Right
NICHOLS: -- so the VISA payment system allows you to make those high- value transactions as well.
QUEST: I'm looking at the tweets that I've received over the last hour or so. And people are, you know, talk about that their concerns about
this. So, it may sound a naive question, but why bother? Why do we want to put our credit card details in our phone, when we can just pull out the
card and pay?
NICHOLS: Well, actually just in terms of the credit card VISAs, it's actually not the credit card details per se that actually do into the
phone. It's actually a token which is in the device. So your full card details are never in the phone. So that's just one thing just to make
mention. But the convenience that this mobile payment actually gives to consumers around the world - they really do appreciate it. They like, you
know, not having to take a wallet out with them so that they can just take their device - their phone - with them, and use that for all manner of, you
know, talking to people and for data, for games as we've already seen today.
QUEST: Right.
NICHOLS: And then also the payment, then they really do like that.
QUEST: Good to see you, sir. Thank you. Thank you for putting it in perspective.
NICHOLS: Thank you very much, Richard.
QUEST: As this - as this moves forward, we're going to want you to come back and help us understand how it's all developing. When we come
back, you and I continue in just a moment or three - chief execs of companies in West Africa. They say the stability of the region could
depend on the world's efforts to contain Ebola. CEO of Aureus will be here to explain.
(COMMERCIAL)
QUEST: "The Ebola crisis is creating unprecedented dimensions of human suffering." It's a direct quote. It's the message from the World
Health Organization. And the WHO is warning that the death toll is rising and the disease is spreading. With this in mind, a group of 11 chief
executives whose companies operate in West Africa are now calling for a larger global effort to tackle Ebola. More than 2,200 people have died
since December. Look at the breakdown - you've got Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. They are the - Senegal's got three cases, Nigeria has got
eight, but it's still predominantly in Western Africa.
Now, the business leaders composed their letter expressing concern for their workers, affirming their commitments to the communities where they
operate. Among the group is the chief exec of Aureus Mining. Aureus recently and currently have three projects in Liberia. You can see them on
this map, those three projects. The chief executive of Aureus joins me now to talk more about this. David Reading is with me from outside London.
Mr. Reading, it's very, very difficult for you to have three mines in that particular environment. You've got staff coming in and out. Even
with the best protocols, it's challenging to a heavy extent.
DAVID READING, CEO AND DIRECTOR, AUREUS MINING: Good evening, Richard, yes. We haven't got three mines, we've got one under development
(ph), we're building called New Liberty. The other areas are still feasibility projects. And the New Liberty area is basically quarantined by
us. We have very stringent health checking we have our own doctors, we have our own isolation area. We are lucky enough to sit in a county that
hasn't had many infections at the moment. And we obviously put -
QUEST: Right.
READING: -- all the protocols and procedures in place to protect our people and carry on operating.
QUEST: I read your letter - I read your letter - this morning. It says you're continuing where possible with normal operations where health
and safety. But you're now saying that you want the global community to respond in the same way that they do to natural disasters - hurricanes and
earthquakes. The exact phrase you use is "the same similar strength of resolve." What's missing here? What are you not seeing so far?
READING: Well I think these countries - and I can speak specifically for Liberia because we're there - suffer from a lack of infrastructure, and
in addition to that, you know, they don't have enough medical equipment, they don't have enough medical expertise and support, not enough vehicles -
QUEST: Right, but - let me just jump in there - sorry to interrupt you, forgive me - but why - what more do you want then international
community to do? I mean, why have they - why has the international reaction been lacking do you think?
READING: Well I suppose that there's generally a fear that people don't want to be infected, but I think, you know, it's not an airborne
disease, it's by bodily fluids. And so the risks are not that great less you're interacting with infected people all the time. But I think -- to
answer your question, most people have shut their borders and sort of hope the problem will go away. The problem won't go away. The problem will get
bigger. You can contain it in those areas, but it's going to get bigger in those areas. The focus should be on putting enough effort in to eradicate
it.
QUEST: Are you seeing evidence that - if not a lost generation - because, I mean you know, awful though it is, the numbers are still
relatively low. But there will be a lost economic generation as these countries are literally kicked back decades economically.
READING: Well I think that there is that risk of fear. I think to put it in perspective - I don't want to sound callous, because, you know,
it's unprecedented at the moment. But malaria kills a lot more people in Africa in the moment than Ebola does, and so if we can get on top of this
and we can create a situation where it's under control, I don't think that will happen and I think that, you know, these countries have a lot of
natural resources, they have a lot of potential in the case of Liberia and Sierra Leone. They're not landlocked, --
QUEST: Right.
READING: -- so they have complete access to port facilities as well as airports, and I think that all we're saying is merely asking the
international community to get involved in trying to help resolve this problem rather than turning their back on it.
QUEST: Thank you. Thank you, sir, for joining us. We'll talk more about it. Please do come back on this program. A very important, very
important issue we need to hear more about it. Now to the weather forecast and Jenny Harrison. Mistress Harrison's with me, hello..
JENNY HARRISON, WEATHER ANCHOR FOR CNN INTERNATIONAL: Hello. Rain in Pakistan of course --
QUEST: Awful.
HARRISON: (inaudible) situation. There are hundreds of people have died, there are people - thousands - that have been forced from their
homes. So what is happening next - let me just show you -
QUEST: And it's all about the rivers now, isn't? It's about the rivers.
HARRISON: It's not about the rain - you're quite right. In fact, when you talk about this, even back on the weekend (inaudible) -
QUEST: Yes.
HARRISON: -- there's not a lot of rain actually coming in. Of course this is what it's been like, you know, people literally being rescued from
rushing water, and then you've also got many, many areas of people literally just trying to find any bit of dry land that they can. But this
is it - the two main rivers - this is before this rain began. Look at it now. You can see the major flooding across the Jhelum River and also the
Chenab. But of course eventually they'll flow into the Indus.
So there's no real rain in the forecast again in the next sort of 48 hours. It's been like this now for the last several days. The concern is
what is going to happen downriver. This is the case of course - always the flooding - particularly in Pakistan. You'll be reminded of 2010 exactly
what happened then. It was all overflowing downstream.
So right now it is cresting just about here on the Chenab River, and then it will not have reached that crest point until probably this coming
weekend as you can see, where eventually those two then filter into the Indus River. So, this is the big concern, and in particular, what is going
to happen at the Trimmu Barrage. Now, this is - a barrage, by the way, if not sure the difference between a barrage and a dam - is that usually what
happens with a barrage, it's used to really filter the water. A dam of course is created to then build a reservoir where you've got a body of
water to feed upon. But this is slightly different. So it's all about feeding this water downstream safely. They've got many gates they can
open, but obviously this is a big bulk of water coming down at this way. So that's a main concern there.
Meanwhile, across to the United States, we had some really severe flash flooding across the areas in the West. It's the monsoon rains
combined with the remnants of what was Hurricane Norbert. In just 12 hours in Phoenix, over 100 millimeters and in less time than that, more rain
falling further to the north in Rapa(ph) Valley. This is the amount of rain coming through, and in fact, it was over five times the monthly
average in that very short space of time. The wettest day since records were kept there in 1895. This is one just picture taken from some traffic
cameras. Looks like a river. Of course it's not - it's an underpass, and so far two women have actually been killed in the flood waters. The flood
watch is a very extensive - all the way up into Wyoming and also Colorado.
And get this - while this was happening in the Southwest of the U.S., up in to Canada -- first real snow of the season in Calgary. And in fact,
this was a lot of snow compared to what they normally have - 12 centimeters. The average for September is 4 centimeters - so we're three
times the average there.
However, if you're not ready for snow just yet, this is where you need to be. Eastern Europe - look at these temperatures. Bucharest 30 - the
average is 25, Kiev - very warm at 27, against an average of 20. It will stay warm across Eastern Europe. Some fairly heavy rain once again pushing
its way into central and southeastern areas. Nice and quiet across the northwest. Kiev will stay warm for the next few days - a bit of a hike in
the temperature in Warsaw by Friday, and Bucharest as well - temperatures about 4 to 5 degrees above the average. So there's the rain coming through
central and eastern areas. Again, we could have some heavy rain here across into northern and central Italy. Temperature-wise, not bad - 21 in
London, 70 Fahrenheit, 22 (inaudible).
QUEST: We'll be talking Indian summer soon and you'll have to explain where that comes from and it's got nothing to do with geographical parts of
the world. I'm looking forward to it.
HARRISON: Good.
QUEST: Thank you.
HARRISON: Feature (ph) again.
QUEST: Very busy day.
HARRISON: There's a lot going on.
QUEST: Lot going on. Keep at it. Now, the International Labor Organization says G20 countries are not creating enough good quality jobs.
And that's hampering growth. It's a report out today. The ILO's predicting the jobs gap will persist for four more years if countries don't
do more. The chief economist of the World Economic Forum, Jennifer Blake, says there's still plenty of untapped talent. In this week's "Future
Finance," she explains why greater equality in the office means bigger profits.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
JENNIFER BLAKE, CHIEF ECONOMIST, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: The future we face today is more uncertain. Most economists think global growth will
average 3 percent per year for the foreseeable future as opposed to 5 percent before the global economic crisis. This means it will take 25
years for the economy to double in size - ten years longer than it would if it were humming along at its pre-crisis rates.
The only way forward is to unlock the talent that's within all of us. We've become used to headlines chronicling the dire state of youth
employment around the world. Average global unemployment is around 13 percent, but the figure is twice as high and then some in parts of southern
Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Talent is as important today as capital when it comes to defining a country's economic competitiveness. We're getting better at harnessing
this. In Europe, for example, eight out of ten of the jobs created since 2008 were in small and medium-sized businesses. By getting the public and
private sectors working better together with academia, this flowering of talent can truly flourish and become our economy's new-growth champions.
You can only unlock talent if you pay equal attention to both halves of the population. Gender equality isn't just about human rights. It
makes cold, hard economic sense. Creating genuine equality in the workforce from the boardroom down will have a transformational effect on
many economies. It's been suggested that the U.S. economy could grow by as much as 5 percent if there was true economic equality between both halves
of the population. Japan's could grow further by as much as 9 percent. No economy wants to miss out on that kind of growth. This is why Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe announced at Davos in 2014 that he wanted 30 percent of all senior managerial positions in his country to be held by women by 2020.
He won't be the last to make such promises.
At the World Economic Forum, we set so much store (ph) in countries' ability to attract and retain talent, that it forms an integral part of our
annual assessment of global competitiveness. The future we face may be uncertain, but it need not be one of diminished expectations.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: In just a moment, the NFL's Ray Rice is so untouchable, right now he's even being cut from video games as the sponsors flee. We're going
to discuss the latest scandal in American sports. It's "Quest Means Business" (RINGS BELL).
(COMMERCIAL)
QUEST: Now, you'll be well aware yesterday was one of the biggest stars - he was one of the biggest stars - in the National Football League.
Today, after the shocking video emerged of him knocking his fiancee, now his wife, unconscious - sponsors are racing to drop any mention of the name
Ray Rice. The video game maker Electronic Arts has removed him as a player from its Madden 2015 game. Nike, which makes all the apparel for the NFL,
is dropping their sponsorship of Rice. And as for his old team, the Baltimore Ravens, they're offering a jersey exchange so fans can choose a
new player and continue showing their fandom proudly.
Stories are beginning to emerge of removing all Ray Rice jerseys in stock - some are burning them, some are throwing them away. CNN's Sports'
Don Riddell joins us. Hello, good to be here, Don.
DON RIDDELL, ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT FOR "WORLD SPORT": Good to see you, Richard.
QUEST: Now, look - tell me - it's not surprising that this reaction has happened so fast. What perhaps is surprising is that it didn't happen
sooner.
RIDDELL: It didn't happen in the first place, yes. I mean, everybody knew what had happened to his fiancee in that elevator, and the video was
released with him dragging her out of the lift like a ragdoll. And of course the police summons at the time stated that he'd struck her with his
hand and knocked her unconscious. So people knew what happened back then. The NFL were roundly criticized for only giving him a two-game suspension.
But of course now the whole thing's really blown up.
QUEST: So, is this the NFL protecting their franchise, is it hypocrisy, is it negligence or is it turn a blind eye?
RIDDELL: Well -
QUEST: Or all of them?
RIDDELL: Well, this is the debate that's raging at the moment, is had they seen the video and they deny they have. They say that they asked the
police for any and all evidence pertaining to this case, and they were only given the video outside the elevator. Or, and if that's true, should they
have made more of an effort to actually get hold of the video. I mean that's what's really kind of changed the public mood which the NFL is now
trying to react to, which is why they have now suspended him indefinitely and why their agents have dropped him.
QUEST: It's depressing in a way that corporate sponsorship evaporates only at the last moment. I mean, the L.A. -- Sterling in the L.A. -
RIDDELL: Yes, yes.
QUEST: You've then got the Hawks, you've then got Tiger Woods, now you've got this. I'm sure you're repertoire of miscreant sport stars is
greater than I can remember.
RIDDELL: Well it's true. I mean, and Nike kind of pretty much said that with their statement when they dropped him. It was a brief statement
- very - basically saying after internal discussion about the events that transpired, we determined that a future relationship with Ray did not align
with our goals --
QUEST: Well so then what are they waiting for?
RIDDELL: -- but really changed
QUEST: Yes!
RIDDELL: -- between February and now?
QUEST: How can you go from February to now and not actually say, 'Hmm, I think we really need to look very closely at this.'
RIDDELL: Yes. But it just looks so bad - the actual video of what actually transpired in the elevator was so bad, that they could no longer
ignore it.
QUEST: Sir, good to see you. Thank you for joining us.
RIDDELL: Thank you.
QUEST: Now when we come back, there will be a "Profitable Moment." (RINGS BELL).
(COMMERCIAL)
QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment." I have a phone, I have a watch. And until now the two have never really come together, except in my
pocket when I've knocked one with the other or maybe scratched the glass. That will change if Apple has its way with the new iWatch. It's coming
whether we like it or not. It's a - it's an improvement, it's an advancement, it's an evolution. I don't care which adjective you use,
ultimately it's going to be a change that will come our way, and old fogies like me will have to learn whether - and decide - whether or not we
want to use the watch to read our messages. Of course, with my eyesight, I may be squinting a little closer than I would like. Put it all together,
it's more change, but then at the end of the day, the alternative is less than pleasant.
And that's "Quest Means Business" for tonight. I'm Richard Quest at the CNN Center. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, (RINGS BELL) I
hope it's profitable. We'll be back together in New York tomorrow.
END
