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Quest Means Business
Obama Speaks at CDC, Calls for Global Response to Ebola Crisis; Ken Rogoff Says Scottish Independence Risky; Violence in Kiev as Politicians Sign Trade Deal with Europe; Oil Key Resource to Scottish Independence; Boeing and SpaceX Awarded Contract for Space Taxi; German Judge Overturns Uber Ban; Kickstarter Now Available in Ireland, Scandinavia; NFL Losing Sponsors Over Controversies
Aired September 16, 2014 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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POPPY HARLOW, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: U.S. markets staged a triple- digit rally. It is Tuesday, September the 16th.
Boots on the ground to fight Ebola. President Obama is about to unveil his plan for West Africa. We will bring you his statement live here on CNN.
Also, a disaster waiting to happen. I'll ask Ken Rogoff why he will not support Scottish independence.
And down in the dump, violence in Kiev as politicians finally sign a trade deal with Europe.
I'm Poppy Harlow and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
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HARLOW: Good evening. Welcome to the program. We are waiting for U.S. president Barack Obama to make a statement on the U.S. response to Ebola.
The president is in Atlanta where he has been visiting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We are expecting to hear him call on
Congress to approve millions more in funding for West Africa as that region tries to stop the spread of the deadly disease. We are also expecting him
to announce as many as 3,000 extra U.S. troops to be sent to the region along with other medical professionals.
The U.S. president is due to speak in just a few moments from now. When that happens, we of course will bring it to you live.
Tonight, though, Scotland's voters are promised sweeping new powers if they vote to save one of the oldest political unions in the world. This is the
1707 Act of Union. It joined England and Scotland under one parliament and one monarch. Britain's top political leaders hope that this is the
document that will save the union. The Vow was published in Scotland's "Daily Record" newspaper. David Cameron, Nick Clegg, and also Ed Miliband
say the work really to transfer some of the powers from Westminster to the Scottish parliament will begin Friday.
We'll get to that in a moment. Let's listen in though first to the U.S. president.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- just gave me an update on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, our efforts to help mobilize the
international community to fight it and the steps that we're taking to keep people here at home safe.
Tom and his team are doing outstanding work. Between the specialists they have on the ground in West Africa and here at headquarters, they have got
hundreds of professionals who are working tirelessly on this issue. This is the largest international response in the history of the CDC.
After this, I will be meeting with some of these men and women, including some who recently returned from the front lines of the outbreak. And they
represent public service at its very best. And so I just want them to know how much the American people appreciate them. Many of them are serving far
away from home, away from their families.
They are doing heroic work and serving in some unbelievably challenging conditions, working through exhaustion day and night. And many have
volunteered to go back. So we are very, very proud of them. Now, their work and our efforts across the government is an example of what happens when
America leads in confronting some major global challenges.
Faced with this outbreak, the world is looking to us, the United States. And it's a responsibility that we embrace. We're prepared to take
leadership on this to provide the kinds of capabilities that only America has and to mobilize the world in ways that only America can do. That's what
we're doing as we speak.
First and foremost, I want the American people to know that our experts here at the CDC and across our government agree that the chances of an
Ebola outbreak here in the United States are extremely low. We have been taking the necessary precautions, including working with countries in West
Africa to increase screening at airports, so that someone with the virus doesn't get on a plane for the United States. In the unlikely event that
someone with Ebola does reach our shores,
we have taken new measures so that we're prepared here at home. We're working to help flight crews identify people who are sick and more labs
across our country now have the capacity to quickly test for the virus.
We're working with hospitals to make sure that they are prepared and to ensure that our doctors, our nurses and our medical staff are trained, are
ready and are able to deal with a possible case safely.
And, here, I have got to commend everybody at Emory University Hospital. I just had the opportunity to meet Dr. Gartland (ph) and Ridner (ph) and
members of their team here and the nurses who -- sorry, Doctors, but, having been in hospitals, I know they're the ones really doing the work.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: And I had a chance to really thank them for their extraordinary efforts in helping to provide care for the first Americans who recently
contracted the disease in Africa.
The first two of those patients were released last month and continue to improve. And it's a reminder for the American people that, should any cases
appear in the United States, we have world-class facilities and professionals ready to respond and we have effective surveillance
mechanisms in place.
I should mention, by the way, that I had a chance to see Dr. Brantly in the Oval Office this morning. And although he is still having to gain back some
weight, he looks great. He looks strong. And we are incredibly grateful to him and his family for the service that he has rendered to people who are a
lot less lucky than all of us.
As we all know, however, West Africa is facing a very different situation, especially in the hardest-hit countries, Liberia, Sierra Leone and in
Guinea. Tom and others recently returned from the region, and the scenes that they describe are just horrific. More than 2,400 men, women and
children are known to have died. And we strongly suspect that the actual death toll is higher than that.
Hospitals, clinics and the few treatment centers that do exist have been completely overwhelmed. An already very weak public health system is near
collapse in these countries. Patients are being turned away, and people are literally dying in the streets.
But here's the hard truth. In West Africa, Ebola is now an epidemic of the likes that we have not seen before. It's spiraling out of control. It is
getting worse. It's spreading faster and exponentially. Today, thousands of people in West Africa are infected. That number could rapidly grow to tens
of thousands.
And if the outbreak is not stopped now, we could be looking at hundreds of thousands of people infected, with profound political and economic and
security implications for all of us. So this is an epidemic that is not just a threat to regional security; it's a potential threat to global
security if these countries break down, if their economies break down, if people panic.
That has profound effects on all of us, even if we are not directly contracting the disease. And that's why, two months ago, I directed my team
to make this a national security priority. We're working this across our entire government, which is why, today, I'm joined by leaders throughout my
administration, including from my national security team.
And we have devoted significant resources in support of our strategy, with four goals in mind, number one, to control the outbreak, number two, to
address the ripple effects of local economies and communities to prevent a truly massive humanitarian disaster, number three, to coordinate a broader
global response, and, number four, to urgently build up a public health system in these countries for the future, not just in West Africa, but in
countries that don't have a lot of resources generally.
Now, this is a daunting task, but here's what gives us hope. The world knows how to fight this disease. It's not a mystery. We know the science.
We know how to prevent it from spreading. We know how to care for those who contract it. We know that if we take the proper steps, we can save lives.
But we have to act fast. We can't dawdle on this one. We have to move with force and make sure that we are catching this as best we can, given that it
has already broken out in ways that we have not seen before. So, today, I'm announcing a major increase in our response.
At the request of the Liberian government, we're going to establish a military command center in Liberia to support civilian efforts across the
region, similar to our response after the Haiti earthquake. It's going to be commanded by Major General Darryl Williams, a commander of our armed --
Army forces in Africa.
He just arrived today and is now on the ground in Liberia. And our forces are going to bring their expertise in command-and-control, in logistics, in
engineering. And our Department of Defense is better at that, our armed services are better at that than any organization on earth.
We're going to create an air bridge to get health workers and medical supplies into West Africa faster. We're going to establish a staging area
in Senegal to help distribute personnel and aid on the ground more quickly. We are going to create a new training site to train thousands of health
workers, so they can effectively and safely care for more patients.
Personnel from the U.S. Public Health Service will deploy to the new field hospitals that we're setting up in Liberia. And USAID will join with
international partners and local communities in a community care campaign to distribute supplies and information kits to hundreds of thousands of
families, so they can better protect themselves.
We're also going to build additional treatment units, including new isolation spaces and more than 1,000 beds. And in all our efforts, the
safety of our personnel will remain a top priority.
Meanwhile, our scientists continue their urgent research, in the hope of finding new treatments and perhaps vaccines. And, today, I'm calling on
Congress to approve the funding that we have requested so that we can carry on with all these critical efforts.
Today, the United States is doing even more. But this is a global threat and it demands a truly global response. International organizations just
have to move faster than they have up until this point. More nations need to contribute experienced personnel, supplies and funding that's needed.
And they need to deliver on what they pledge quickly.
Charities and individual philanthropists have given generously. And they can make a big difference. And so we're not restricting these efforts to
governmental organizations. We also need NGOs and private philanthropies to work with us in a coordinated fashion in order to maximize the impact of
our response.
This week, the United States will chair an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. Next week, I will join U.S. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon
to continue mobilizing the international community around this effort.
And then, at the White House, we're going to bring more nations together to strengthen our global health security, so that we can better prevent,
detect and respond to future outbreaks before they become epidemics. This is actually something that we had announced several months ago at the G7
meeting. We determined that this has to be a top priority. This was before the Ebola outbreak.
We anticipated the fact that in many of these countries with a weak public health system, if we don't have more effective surveillance, more effective
facilities on the ground, and are not helping poor countries in developing their ability to catch these things quickly, that there was at least the
potential of seeing these kinds of outbreaks.
And, sadly, we now see that our predictions were correct. It gives more urgency to this effort, a global health initiative that we have been
pushing internationally.
Let me just close by saying this. The scenes that we're witnessing in West Africa today are absolutely gut-wrenching. In one account over the weekend,
we read about a family in Liberia. The disease had already killed the father. The mother was cradling a sick and listless 5-year-old son. Her
other son, 10 years old, was dying, too. They finally reached a treatment center, but they couldn't get in.
And said a relative, "We're just sitting."
Now, these men and women and children are just sitting, waiting to die right now. And it doesn't have to be this way. The reality is that this
epidemic is going to get worse before it gets better. But, right now, the world still has an opportunity to save countless lives. Right now, the
world has a responsibility to act, to step up and to do more.
And the United States of America intends to do more. We are going to keep leading in this effort. We're going to do our part. And we're going to
continue to make sure that the world understands the need for them to step alongside us as well, in order for us to, not just save the lives of
families like the one I just discussed, but, ultimately, to make sure that this doesn't have the kinds of spillover effects that become even more
difficult to control.
So, thank you very much to the entire team that's already doing this work. And please know that you have got your president and commander in chief
behind you. Thank you.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "THE LEAD": President Obama speaking at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, talking about the
Ebola crisis, trying to tell the American people that he did not think that the chances of an outbreak in the United States were strong, but that what
is going on in Africa, especially Western Africa, could be dire, talking about potentially hundreds of thousands of Africans being infected.
Right now, we know 2,400 Africans have died from the disease -- saying that, if that were to happen, it could create political, economic and
security implications that the United States and other Western countries will find difficult to solve.
Let's go now to senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski to digest all of this.
Let me start with you, Elizabeth.
The president said the world knows how to fight this disease. Is that true?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Jake, what public health experts tell me is we knew how to fight the earlier Ebola
outbreaks that were in remote and rural areas. You go in, you isolate the sick people, you find out who they had close contact with, you follow them,
if they get sick, you isolate them and you do that cycle over and over again.
This is in many ways a different disease. Yes, it's the same virus. But it has gotten so out of control, there are so many people who are sick. This
contact tracing process has broken down in many areas that fighting this disease is very different than the Ebola that we knew how to fight in the
past.
Certainly, you know, Americans are -- as he said are up to this challenge. But it is a different disease in many ways than the ones that we've been
successful against in the past.
TAPPER: All right. Michelle Kosinski at the White House, let's talk about exactly what President Obama announced he was going to be doing. First of
all, there is this command center in Liberia that will be headed by the commander of CentCom, Major General Darrell Williams.
What else is the president proposing?
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You heard him lay it out there. I mean, there are many, many components to this new expanded plan.
But to sort of put in it broad and practical strokes, let's just supply these countries with what they're severity lacking right now -- money,
personnel, training and facilities. So, these 3,000 military personnel will be based in Africa and they'll coordinate not only the U.S. effort to
supply those needed things but the international aid effort as well. They're going to build a hospital. They're going to be building treatment
centers that will supply more than 1,000 beds which are badly needed.
Just to add to what Elizabeth was saying, I mean, we just heard a Senate subcommittee hearing on this subject. And it was fascinating. They had some
updated numbers and they were talking about how U.S. officials and world health officials have been able to contain Ebola pretty well in various
outbreaks over the last several decades. They were talking about in East Africa, there was one outbreak that was contained to one single person.
So, there has been success. It's just that this has been so unprecedented and so big. I mean, they were talking about the latest numbers now are just
under 5,000 diagnosed cases and about half of those were just reported in the last three weeks, Jake.
TAPPER: That's stunning. Michelle Kosinski at the White House, Elizabeth Cohen at the CDC in Atlanta, thank you so much.
We want to continue with this conversation with Dr. Alexander Van Tulleken.
HARLOW: All right, we're going to break away from our sister network right now. Of course, you heard the president talking about the global crisis of
Ebola and the global response that is needed in West Africa. We're going to be sending more U.S. help there.
After the break, we're going to talk to Ken Rogoff about Scotland's historic vote on independence from the United Kingdom. Quick break. We'll
be right back with that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Tonight, Scotland's voters are promised sweeping new powers if they vote to save one of the oldest political unions in the world. While the
Scottish people are the ones who will decide whether they should separate from Britain, some of the world's top economists and CEOs are of course
also weighing in.
Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan called nationalist oil forecast, quote, "so implausible they should be dismissed out of hand." He also said
there's, quote, "no way a currency union would succeed."
Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and World Bank president Robert Zoellick also added that a break-up, quote, "would be a diminution of
Britain and a tragedy for the West."
Zoellick and Greenspan both say that Scotland's economy would suffer after independence.
Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul, tweeted that he is not sure the economy is ready to break away, but he did say that Scotland is ready emotionally and
politically.
Joining me now with his take, and he has a very particular take on this, Ken Rogoff. He's an economist and professor at Harvard; also former Chief
Economist at the IMF.
You're an expert on this, sir. I want to read you something that Alan Greenspan said, talking about the economic consequences if we do see an
independent Scotland. He said it would be, quote, "surprisingly negative for Scotland, more so than the Nationalist Party is any way communicating."
Do you agree?
KEN ROGOFF, PROFESSOR ECONOMICS & PUBLIC POLICY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Well, there are certainly projections of how much oil money they're going to be
able to live off, which are on the high side, though you never know.
This is fundamentally a very emotional decision, and I think from an economic point of view, it's very risky. On the other hand, you know, if
you really want out of marriage, you'll pay. And it's really up to the voters of Scotland to decide how much risk they want to take.
HARLOW: So much focus has been on what will the currency of Scotland be. Will there be a currency union? Would that be allowed? I mean,
technically they could continue using sterling, right, and then just not necessarily have a say in the monetary policy. How do you see it shaking
out, if this comes to fruition?
ROGOFF: It's a very technical question, a symbolic question, but it's a really important question. If they keep using the pound, they won't have a
say. There could be a run on Scottish banks after this; people being nervous. And they don't have call on the Bank of England anymore to bail
them out. They might, they might now.
They could join the Euro but that's not exactly been a party the last few years; that's very risky. They could keep their own currency, but maybe
they'd have a high inflation rate.
HARLOW: But isn't the bottom line here that we just don't know? I mean, Joseph Stiglitz said there's little basis for any of the forms of fear-
mongering that have been advanced. Does he have a point? Could there be a benefit here despite all the unknown?
ROGOFF: Yes, it can work. I mean, so they aspire to be like Sweden or Norway, and that could work, but it took a long time to establish those
countries, to get credibility. So there certainly could be a vision down the road and you could call it either way. Bigger countries, small
country. But it's risky. I mean, there's no denying the risk.
HARLOW: I want to talk about the Royal Bank of Scotland, about -- a few days ago they put out a statement saying, look, if this happens, we're
going to have to re-domicile in England. So looking at what that might mean for Scotland, do you think that that would be a trend for other
companies based there?
ROGOFF: Oh, absolutely. I mean, it creates a lot of uncertainty. If it works well, 20, 30 years from now, it might be an opportunity. But in the
short run, I think a lot of companies might leave. Quebec saw that happen and they didn't even vote yes; they voted no. But people became nervous.
English-speakers left, a lot of companies left.
HARLOW: Interesting statistic I just saw today: nearly 40 percent more Scottish residents have bought gold since the start of this month, since
the start of September than that same period last year. What does that tell you?
ROGOFF: Yes and they're packing all the ATM machines. People are nervous at what's going to happen. Of course they don't know what direction things
are going to go.
But, again, this is an emotional decision; it's a historic decision. You don't necessarily make it on economic grounds, but you don't want to say
this is an easy -- this is going to be easy. It's going to be hard.
HARLOW: We have to go with do you think it's going to happen?
ROGOFF: I have no idea. It's up to the people of Scotland.
HARLOW: It's up to the people and the numbers are neck and neck.
ROGOFF: Neck and neck.
HARLOW: We shall see. We'll be watching. Ken Rogoff, thank you. Appreciate you waiting, and appreciate you coming. Waiting for the
President of the United States to speak.
ROGOFF: By all means.
HARLOW: Thank you, sir. We appreciate it.
Ukraine and the European Union are hailing a historic moment tonight, finally ratifying the political and economic deal that failed last year and
sparked the crisis in Eastern Europe. The EU association agreement includes free trade provisions and it binds Ukraine more tightly than ever
before with the West and it takes it further away, of course, from Russia.
Ukraine's Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, reflected on the relationship with Europe, centuries in the making.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARSENIY YATSENYUK, UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER (via translator): We are correcting a mistake that was made 350 years ago. Ukraine is Europe.
That's what the Ukrainian people said and did. The signature of the whole of Ukraine is under this agreement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Despite the deal, some people in Kiev still feel anger towards the old regime. Just look at what happened today. That is video of a mob that
jumped a number of Ukrainain par -- a member of Ukraine's parliament, tossed him into a dumpster. The lawmaker is a former supporter of the
ousted president, Viktor Yanukovych, who famously refused to sign this agreement with Europe last year.
Earlier I spoke with Karel De Gucht, the E.U. Trade Commissioner, and I asked him if this agreement could withstand heavy pressure and opposition
from Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREL DE GUCHT, EUROPEAN TRADE COMMISSIONER: We have taken care in the laying this so-called provision application that we continue autonomously
to grant Ukraine free entrance to our market, which is quite important for them from a financial point of view. For example, since it came into
force, these autonomous trade measures, exports by Ukraine to the European Union rose by 15 percent in a couple of months. So this is really going to
give them an entry into your market, and that's -- into our market, excuse me -- and that's what it's really about.
I mean, if the Ukrainians are looking for better wages, jobs, opportunities, especially the young people, and that's what we try to give
them. And we continue doing so even if, for the time being, we abstain from taking, let's say, our reciprocal advantages on their market. So it's
a very generous offer.
HARLOW: Russia has been very clearly in opposition to an agreement, to a deal like this. Are you concerned about what precedent it sets, that this
was delayed and that Russia was really allowed to have a voice in this?
DE GUCHT: What we agreed on Friday, and Russia says that we're going to delay the provision application of the trade part, as far as it concerns
the entry of our products on the Ukrainian market, I don't see the precedence value of this. It would have been a precedence if you are
making real concessions, like for example making a wave (ph) at the number of debted lines, as has been asked by the Russians, because that
automatically would set a precedent for the agreements with Moldova and the agreement with Georiga.
So we have not been doing that. On the other hand, it is true that Russia is not really pleased with the agreement, but that's for political reasons,
not for economic reasons. It is because they see it as Ukraine coming closer to the European Union. But that's Ukraine's decision. It's
Ukraine's sovereign decision to do so, and we have no problem that they have closer economic ties with Europe -- with Russia as long as there's no
contradiction. For example, they cannot be a member of the Customs Union with Kazakhstan and (INAUDIBLE), obviously not. But on the other hand, we
have no problem of free trade agreements and we are offering exactly the same to Russia.
HARLOW: How would you assess the impact thus far of Europe sanctions on Russia? Are you concerned about any fallout?
DE GUCHT: There will be a fallout because they have retaliated. They have first retaliated with respect to food and vegetables exports to Russia, and
that's about 5 billion Euros on a yearly basis, which is quite a lot. And then last round of sanctions that we have decided, they threatened to
retaliate on textiles and on cars. So, yes, they are going to retaliate, but finally this is a political process, you know? We cannot accept on
European soil that a country is put under threat and that another frozen conflict is created. We simply cannot accept that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Still to come here on the program, Alex Salmond is assured a place in the history books, whether Scotland votes or independence or not. We'll
tell you more about the man who has spent years building the independence movement.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Welcome back to QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Poppy Harlow in for Richard Quest. This is CNN. Time now to update you on the news headlines.
U.S. President Barack Obama announced just minutes ago that the United States intends to do more in the fight against Ebola. He said the epidemic
will get worse before it gets better and that the international community has the opportunity to save lives. Mr. Obama also stressed the need for a
global coordinated response.
Meantime, a top U.S. general says he cannot rule out the possibility that American ground troops may be needed in Iraq. Joint chiefs chairman Martin
Dempsey testified before a senate committee today along with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Dempsey says there is no plan to send U.S. troops
into combat but did say circumstances could change.
Taliban militants have bombed a NATO convoy in Kabul. One Polish member of the force and two Americans were killed also. At least 13 Afghan civilians
were wounded in that attack. It comes just months before NATO troops are set to withdraw from the country.
Leaders in the U.K. are making a last-ditch effort to convince voters in Scotland to reject independence. Britain's three main political parties
are promising Scotland will get extra powers if votes -- if it votes -- no in Thursday's referendum.
And Ukraine's parliament has passed an association agreement with the E.U. which promises deeper economic and political ties with the European Union.
The deal's failure to pass last year triggered the revolt that saw Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych removed from power. Speaking to me
on "Quest Means Business," the E.U. Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said that the new deal was quote, "very generous for Ukraine."
Few outside the U.K. would have recognized Alex Salmond's name a month ago. He has spent years building the Scottish independence movement. If
Scotland votes yes for independence on Thursday, he will enter Scottish folklore alongside national heroes of the past. His background isn't
politics or the military. Salmond studied economics and history at St. Andrews University. After a short stint in Scotland's Agricultural and
Fisheries Department. He joined the World Bank of Scotland. He spent seven years there, including five as an oil economist. He's says
Scotland's economy is ready for independence and quote, "Nobody really doubts that independent Scotland could be successful.
As a former oil economist, Alex Salmond has a deep understanding of the resource that is key to the Scottish economy. Ninety percent of Britain's
oil can be found in areas likely to be claimed by an independent Scotland, and opinions are divided over what independence would mean for the
industry. Our Jim Boulden reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Scotland has its tourism, its whiskey, its cultural heritage, known worldwide. But oil has been the
rock of the nation's economy for 50 years, and at its heart, is Aberdeen -- the second wealthiest city in the United Kingdom after London. The
Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce has been taking soundings from its members about the effect an independent Scotland could have on the oil industry.
It's heard a lot, with some saying then industry will be a big part of a tiny Scottish economy so that the new leaders would not tinker -- like
increasing taxes on the sectors, -- while others worry it means a new layer of bureaucracy from a new government that will watch the industry
extra carefully as it's the main revenue earner.
Meanwhile, oil giants BP and Shell have come down on the side of union, saying they prefer to operate inside the existing U.K. Either way, oil is
top of the independence debate.
JAMES BREAM, ABERDEEN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: That sets some benefits for the industry in that it's highlighted (ph) the industry's got a long-term
future and it's put the industry at the fan (ph) of the U.K. debate.
BOULDEN: Scotland's oil wealth is best seen by air -- from Aberdeen's busy airport. Helicopters come and go from the many offshore oil platforms in
the North Sea. CHC Helicopter has 24 aircraft and 400 people, transporting hundreds of rig employees each day.
MARK ABBEY, CHC HELICOPTER REGIONAL DIRECTOR: Whatever the outcome of the debate, CHC will continue to operate in the safe manner that we do and
we'll continue to provide safe operations and plenty to invest in our industrial (ph) business in Scotland.
BOULDEN: And that's the point. Scotland's oil fields aren't moving and neither is the expertise gained here since offshore drilling began 50 years
ago. So if there is independence, the debate will be how to split the revenue between Scotland and the remainder of the U.K. And just how much
tax the industry will pay and to whom.
BREAM: But that depends actually on many of the specs next few years and how industry structure changes and, again, how the industry is taxed in the
short term.
BOULDEN: While North Sea oil is starting to run out, Aberdeen's wealth is not. Deep sea knowledge, oil services, the expertise gained through the
decommissioning of wells -- all money earners for Aberdeen for years to come. And skills that Scots are starting to export to other oil fields,
helping Aberdeen to now rebrand itself as a world-class energy center.
Jim Boulden, CNN London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Thanks to Jim Boulden for that. Coming up next on the program -- Uber, the ridesharing service, gets a German court to give way and reverse
the ban for now at least. I will have reaction from the company's top man in Europe when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Welcome back to QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. It is the taxi -- the ultimate taxi -- for the final frontier. Boeing and SpaceX have been
awarded big, big contracts to build the so-called space taxi that will ferry astronauts to the space station. The U.S. has been relying on
Russia's space agency since NASA retired its space shuttles.
Martin Savidge is in Atlanta at the CNN Center with the latest. Marty, this is about a $7 billion deal, and it seems to have been quite a surprise
to a lot of us. Was it?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I don't really think so. I mean, this was of course the next generation of the space shuttle if that's what
you want to call it. It is the space taxi essentially and it is also because of the problem of relying on Russia as you point out. It's now
been three years and the only spacecraft that is taking humans up to the space station are the Soyuz. And as you might also know, our relationship
with the Russians is not as good as it used to be. So, all of this comes into play that the United States feels it's time to get back into the
business of launching humans once again into space.
And it's pointed out that, look, we may call the -- you know -- it's a low- earth orbit kind of transportation system, but this will free up NASA now to focus on what it really wants to do which is talk about deep space, to
talk about missions going beyond the space station -- going to Mars. So, all of this allows for the basic transportation, that is getting people up
to the space station that's still up there in orbit and still does some very valuable work while allow NASA now to focus on the big dream which is
what President Obama has talked about, and that's let's focus on going to another planet, and in this case, mars.
I can show you a picture of the winner here. Boeing -- no big surprise. I mean, Boeing's been a major player in the space industry but, you know,
this is it -- this little kind of bullet-looking thing. Now for those of you who know the space program well, you may say, 'Well, that's kind of
retro, isn't it? I mean, it goes back to, say, the Apollo spacecraft.' And well it just you that was an excellent design -- it's one that works.
In other words, gets the crew safely up to the space station, allows them to come back, splashes down to the ocean. Remember that old notion? But
it also allows for the recovery of the craft to then be reused again. Remember, it's important here that it not only works, but that it also is
cost-effective, and NASA has to focus on that because after all, let's face it, America pays for it in the form of us taxpayers. Poppy.
HARLOW: Absolutely true, but it is exciting and it's fascinating to watch and Elon Musk and his SpaceX has been --
SAVIDGE: Yes.
HARLOW: -- carrying cargo and now it will be carrying people. Fascinating. Marty Savidge, thank you. Appreciate it.
SAVIDGE: You bet.
HARLOW: Well, from space taxi to the real thing. Ridesharing service Uber got a green light in Germany today in the midst of a court battle. A
Frankfurt judge overturned a ruling that restricted Uber from doing business there. It was just two weeks ago that the judge sided with
Germany's taxi drivers, issuing a temporary ban on Uber because its drivers lacked the proper licensing. Well on Tuesday the judge decided that the
issue needs a fuller airing in court and lifted his injunction at least for right now. Uber allows users to of course hail taxis through their
smartphones. Germany's taxi establishment calls it unfair and illegal competition.
I spoke earlier today with Pierre Dimitri Gore-Coty who's the general manager of Uber in Western Europe. He joined me from Paris. I began by
asking him about something the judge said in today's ruling that there could still be grounds for an injunction. I wanted to know what Uber's
strategy would be to try to prevent that.
(BEGIN VIDETAPE)
PIERRE DIMITRI GORE-COTY, GENERAL MANAGER WESTERN EUROPE, UBER: So I tell you first of all it's important to see that the piece of news flow today is
very positive. It (inaudible) legitimate UberPop as an innovative technology that serves a lot of people in Germany, so we're excited about
that piece of news too. Of course, as you mentioned, the process is not done yet, it's not finished. So we continue to engage with all the
stakeholders to push and explain the -- what UberPop essentially brings to the cities and in Germany. But clearly a strong seabolt (ph) today for us
in Germany and in Europe, we will be Pop.
HARLOW: Of course the taxi association in Germany came out saying they're planning to appeal, and it's important to note here that the court did not
make a judgment on whether Uber's services were now legal in Germany. They haven't outright said that it's legal. What's your concern about that?
GORE-COTY: So, I say first of all we are legal in Germany and today the judge is effectively saying that Uber can operate -- so of course as you
mentioned, the process is not finished and we continue to vigorously surry (ph) defend what we're bringing with that product. But clearly today, if I
may, the piece of news was very spotty, then you have the court that is essentially backtracking on a previous decision and legitimating UberPop.
HARLOW: You have faced a number of roadblocks in Europe. You've faced protests in the U.K., in Paris, you've faced challenges in Brussels. What
do you think the biggest challenge is to really operating smoothly in Europe?
GORE-COTY: So, we have indeed faced a number of challenges. Now I think what's important to understand is that we are shaking up an industry that's
not moved for decades. So, in a sense, it is not surprising to see the incumbents trying to fight back. And so those legal challenges that you're
mentioning should not come as a surprise.
Now what's more interesting actually is to see the support and the traction we get from all those cities where we operate and where essentially we've
brought new, affordable, efficient and safe ways to move around. So clearly it's important to focus as well on what we bring to citizens --
both on the user side -- people that want to move around. But also on the driver's side -- people that have a car and want to make it available to
the community to amortize the cost of owning that car.
HARLOW: Interestingly you heard from the CEO of Uber this week talking -- our Fareed Zakaria talking -- about the expansion in cities like Los
Angeles where you have Uber Fresh being tested out -- to deliver lunch to you in a matter of minutes. Uber Corner Store to basically run errands for
you. Him saying, look, Fedex doesn't do that. Is that kind of expansion differentiation happening or going to happen in Europe?
GORE-COTY: So, I think at the moment we see experimenting all those things, and so it makes sense to experiment them in our most major markets.
Now of course, the fact of doing those experiments means that we are fundamentally interested in those sorts of industries as well. Now, I
can't comment on the plan for Europe, but for sure there's a very interesting experiment that we watch very closely.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: And we will be watching how Uber fares in Europe and Germany and very closely as well on this program.
Let's talk about the weather and the rain, rain, rain across Europe. Jenny Harrison is at the CNN International Weather Center. Has it let up? It
looks quite stormy behind you.
JENNY HARRISON, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, it's -- there's actually some improvement I think in this forecast, Poppy, but it's not been a great
couple of weeks really. Have to set (ph) across central and southeastern Europe. We've seen a number of systems come across and just get stuck
really across this entire region. So, although the last few hours doesn't look too bad, there have been some fairly sharp thunderstorms. So, it has
produced, again, some fairly impressive totals across the region. You can see here 117 millimeters in Serbia, Romania 147.
The good news is that rain is finally coming to an end. And a slight change -- and I would think a change for the better across this region.
We've got some warm air coming up from the south. It should be dry as well. What we will see though is, I'm afraid, wet and rather windy weather
at times across the southwest -- Portugal and northern areas of Spain, even across into some southern areas of France as well. You can see the
accumulations in the next 48 hours a little bit across the southeast and then, as I say, even some quite heavy rain there into southern France about
80 to 100 millimeters is possible. And I see more of that across the west through Portugal and Spain.
And then we need to head up to the northwest across the U.K. You can see some rain pushing in from the south. None of that really makes it to
Scotland, but we've got a separate system there bringing some showers. Of course the reason I'm talking about this is because of Thursday, and this
is the forecast. So then you can see quite a bit of cloud and in fact some locations likely to have a bit of a foggy start to the days. Certainly
quite a cloudy start in Aberdeen. There's that fog possible early morning in Edinburgh, Glasgow quite cloudy as well to start off with. And then you
can see here for Aberdeen and also in Edinburgh, there was actually some rain sort of around midday. It should clear as the afternoon progresses --
certainly across into Aberdeen. And not bad at all into Glasgow.
But elsewhere, a few other locations because of course Scotland is so widely spread. So for example, Wick up here. In the far north it will be
a mostly cloudy day. Stornoway we've got mostly cloudy skies. Not a bad temperature though, getting into sort of the high teens Celsius as you can
see there, and then Nurfsterling (ph) which isn't even actually on the map -- we've got some pretty good conditions there. Perhaps in the morning
with some showers, but it should clear later. And then in Dumfries in the south. It should be warm and sunny with actually a temperature there of
22. So, some varied weather conditions for Thursday's voting.
Meanwhile in Europe to the southwest, you can see that system pushing into Portugal and Spain. Quite a line of heavy showers and thunderstorms
possibly pushing. Elsewhere it's been very warm, and it will stay warm too for the next few days. Look at this -- we've got temperatures a good,
what, 6/7 degrees above average for Berlin, Amsterdam as well 24, the average is 18. And this is what we'll see for the next few days. So still
some nice warmth even this far into September. Poppy.
HARLOW: I would say. It looks lovely, those numbers. Thank you, Jenny, we appreciate it. See you tomorrow.
Well, Kickstarter is now available in Ireland and Scandinavia. The popular crowd funding site official began operations in each country on Monday.
Crowd funding coupled with cheaper, more powerful computers has created a golden age for many start-ups. Sanjay Parekh has the story in this week's
"Future Finance."
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
SANJAY PAREKH, ENTREPRENEUR: Two complementary trends are increasing the speed of innovation and empowering individuals to do more and be more. The
first is the relentless increase in computing power and storage capacity, coupled with decreasing costs. Advancing technology has impacted physical
products through the rise of inexpensive 3D printing and fast prototyping technologies. This trend has allowed ideas that were previously
financially expensive to become commonplace. Cheaper costs have given rise to big data analysis which provides better approaches to cure diseases,
discovering the quickest way home, knowing the best movies to watch or even searching for extraterrestrial life. The second trend is increased
interest and ability to successfully crowd-fund products. Crowd funding enables innovators to raise significant amounts of money from individuals
who make small financial commitments. Projects ranging from virtual reality headsets to smart watches have raised millions of dollars from
consumers a few hundred dollars at a time. Large-scale real estate projects have also been crowd funded, including a $200 million skyscraper
project in Colombia.
These two trends are completely complementary. The first trend reduces the cost of using technology and developing new innovation. The second
increases the availability of funds for executing ideas that leverage technology. Combined, these trends are leading to faster iteration cycles.
Entrepreneurs can go from an idea to a testable prototype in weeks or often just days. Startups can quickly discover what problems are worthwhile to
be solved and, almost more importantly, which problems are not.
The future burns bright for innovators motivated to change the status quo. And for the rest of us, we will be the recipients of a better tomorrow.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
HARLOW: "Future Finance" there. Coming up next on the program, after two major scandals, one American football sponsor has ended its game with the
NFL. Why the league is suddenly scrambling to keep its female fans. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Welcome back to QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Radisson Hotels has dropped its sponsorship of the Minnesota Vikings NFL team after their star player
was indicted on allegations of child abuse. It comes as the league employs four women in senior roles to advise on domestic abuse issues following the
messy handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence controversy.
CNN Money's Cristina Alesci joins me from the CNN Center. Look, it's one thing, Cristina, to have a PR -- you know -- debacle and crisis. It is
another thing to have a bottom line crisis. Is that what this is going to be?
CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, just last year Roger Goodell said women are the future -- are critical to the league's future.
This is how important they are. They make up 45 percent of the fan base, 33 percent of the viewing audience, and just to put this into further
context, if you look last year -- Sunday Night Football -- one women in the 18 to 49 demo -- that is a very profitable demographic and now you see that
demographic taking to social media and really giving the NFL a tough time.
In fact, there was an image tweeted out thousands of times. It was an advertisement for an NFL makeup line for CoverGirl -- the model had a black
eye. It was obviously photoshopped, but you can see that, you know, people are taking to social media. Not to mention the non-profit women
groups out there are really being vocal. For example this weekend, they flew planes over stadiums in New York and Cleveland, you know, calling for
Goodell's head. The women fans in the stands were retweeting this. So, there seems to be some backlash. The question is, how much is it going to
hurt the NFL?
HARLOW: Right, until we just start this season, and there's not that many games in the NFL, so each game is so critically important in terms of
attendance and really important in terms of ratings on television, right. So, the question becomes what does this translate into long term, and do we
have any sense yet -- I know it's early in the game -- in terms of whether or not social media activity is actually having results in terms of their
bottom line. Do we know?
ALESCI: That's an excellent question. And if you look at Thursday night's ratings, Thursday Night Football had its best rating since 2006. So
clearly people are still watching. The question is, will women stop buying the merchandise? Like, that is a very specific and important revenue
stream for the NFL and its teams. And that's why they want to target women because women spend a lot of money on that merchandise. So we'll have to
see.
The NFL now is as you mentioned put together this social responsibility team. Critics out there may say it's not enough, they have to do more to
address these problems. And potentially there's another controversy brewing that not many people are talking about but they will be, and that's
the fact that a lot of cheerleaders for specific teams are actually suing the teams for wage theft. And we haven't really heard too much in the way
of how the teams -- specifically how the NFL -- is going to respond, but this is another opportunity for them to either win or lose women.
HARLOW: And women are critical. As you said, the numbers bear it out. Cristina Alesci in New York. Thank you. We appreciate it. Coming up next
on the program, get your passport ready -- the Scottish border with England might be about to close -- at least that is what it is looking like. We'll
tell you when -- we'll tell you really the real story -- when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: As Scotland enters its final day of campaigning, and with the votes still very much hanging in the balance, there are some nervous
preparations being made up and down the United Kingdom. The Bank of England Governor Mark Carney is clearing his schedule in order to be back
in time for the vote. He is cutting short his trip to Australia which means he'll miss a meeting of G20 finance leaders next week.
Not everyone now is taking things so seriously. This fake checkpoint -- fake I'll tell you -- popped up on the border between England and Scotland
today, complete with passport controls -- controllers rather -- in fluorescent jackets. It was just a joke set up by a group of English and
Scottish friends. They say they weren't trying to make any political point, they were just trying to lighten the mood. We will see in a
matter's time what happens.
That is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for today. I'm Poppy Harlow. Thanks so much for joining us. "AMANPOUR" is next.
END
