Return to Transcripts main page
Quest Means Business
World Bank Says End Ebola "Fear Factor"; Ivory Coast Aids International Ebola Fight; CDC Addresses US Ebola Outbreak; US Airports to Screen for Fever; Fed Minutes Trigger Rally; European Markets Down; CDC on Travel; Ebola Fears and Travel; Air France Pilot Strike; Markets in "Extreme Fear"; IMF Warns on Bank Health
Aired October 08, 2014 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE CLOSING BELL)
RICHARD QUEST, HOST: What a difference a day makes. The Federal Reserve suggests it's not in any hurry to raise rates, the man hits the
gavel at the end of trading, and instantly, investors' spirits are lifted. Today is Wednesday, it's the 8th of October.
Ebola and the fear of Ebola is spreading further and faster. In the US, the first person to have been diagnosed with the disease has passed
away.
Also, passengers traveling from West Africa to face greater screening when entering the US.
And tonight, the Ivory Coast's prime minister tells me the key to solving Ebola is getting the right systems in place.
I'm Richard Quest, live at the CNN Center, where I mean business.
Good evening. Tonight, the World Bank says immediate action is needed to tackle the Ebola "fear factor" before it inflicts further major economic
catastrophe on West Africa. The World Bank is now making projections based on the Ebola crisis lasting all the way through to this year and next, and
is calling for immediate international action to halt this epidemic.
It comes on the day that Thomas Eric Duncan, the first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, lost his battle with the virus.
The 42-year-old Liberian man passed away a few hours ago, ten days after being diagnosed.
In Spain, Madrid health authorities have now put down Excalibur, that's the dog that belonged to the Ebola patient Teresa Romero Ramos. The
fears that Excalibur may have been infected outweigh the swell of protests and petitions to save the dog's life.
So, these are the events and these are the issues and the problems that have happened today. The World Bank president, President Jim Yong
Kim, says medical resources must be allowed to reach those in need. That's a clear reference to the borders of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone,
which must be reopened.
And airlines and other companies with businesses in the region must resume commercial activities. In other words, get trade, get people moving
again.
Controversially, the Ivory Coast initially banned flights from the region, has since reversed that decision in an effort to help the flow of
aid and show solidarity with the affected countries. You can see from the map exactly how it would be. Guinea to the west, Sierra Leone one country
over. Liberia into the southwest.
I spoke to the Ivorian Coast prime minister, Daniel Kablan Duncan, and I asked him how he could stop Ebola crossing his borders.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL KABLAN DUNCAN, PRIME MINISTER OF THE IVORY COAST: You take the steps -- the necessary steps. Just at the beginning, it was, I think, in
the beginning of April of this year when we had this information, and we invest a lot in the medical sector to buy some special kits for that, to
take the temperatures at the borders and so on. And well, thank God, we succeeded in preventing --
QUEST: But it's a matter of time. It's a matter of time, do you believe, before you get your first case?
DUNCAN: Well, I don't think that we must necessarily have a case in Cote d'Ivoire. If you go on taking the necessary steps, maybe we can
prevent Cote d'Ivoire from having this case. Because we have some help of US, the CDC in Atlanta went to Cote d'Ivoire, but also the help of France
also.
And we have our people organized on the ground and where to look not only at the borders, but also at the airports, and at the sea also.
QUEST: And this idea, for example, the United States is increasing more measures at the US airports, more information about where passengers
originally have come from. Eventually, the affected countries are going to be isolated. There'll be no transport in or out. Now, the World Bank has
warned against that.
DUNCAN: Sure.
QUEST: But as a neighbor to these countries, you can understand, Prime Minister, why you want to close the border.
DUNCAN: I don't think that closing the border will be the final solution, because if you isolate the country, the case will be more and
more numerous. So, we have, I think to have international help for the people on the ground.
And as far as Cote d'Ivoire is concerned, we have opened special channels for the people. And also, we have given possibilities for the US
to use our airports in Abidjan and also in Bouake to send doctors to these three countries.
QUEST: Finally on this area, Prime Minister, the long-term effects -- people talk about the worst-case scenario, the best scenario --
DUNCAN: Yes.
QUEST: -- but in any scenario, the effects will be felt pan-Africa for some time.
DUNCAN: Well, I don't think that when the world decides to fight a disease, that's the case. At the beginning, it was just African countries.
But as you mentioned, there are some people infected here in the United States, but also in Europe. In that case, the fight is a global fight.
So, as far as I'm concerned, I don't think that maybe by June next year, we don't speak about Ebola in the western part of Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: So, that's a strong view. Let's go to the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
TOM FRIEDEN, DIRECTOR, CDC: Diagnoses and safe care of anyone who may have Ebola needs to be top of mind right now for health care providers
throughout the country.
At CDC, we do quite a bit to support health care workers in addressing and assessing patients. We've provided detailed information that should be
available to every front line health care workers about how to address a patient who may have Ebola.
Anyone with fever should be asked if they have been in West Africa, specifically Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, in the past 21 days. And
if so, rapidly isolated, fully assessed, and if appropriate, tested for Ebola.
We provide something called Health Alert Networks, which reach hundreds of thousands of health care workers. We do webinars. We reach
out to professional associations, hospitals, emergency department associations, medical associations, and many others, so that we can ensure
that the available information is up-to-date and useful.
Right now, the bottom line of what we're talking about today is that we're stepping up protection for people coming into this country and for
Americans related to travel. We will continuously look at ways that we can increase the safety of Americans, and we do that at many different levels.
We do that in Dallas, where officials there are working intensively to monitor every person who might have had contact with the index patient to
ensure that if they do develop fever, they're immediately isolated and the chain of transmission can be broken.
We do that in our health care system, with the kind of outreach I've described, so that patients will be rapidly diagnosed and, if found to have
Ebola, rapidly and effectively isolated.
We do that at the source, understanding that until this outbreak is over in West Africa, whatever we do can't get the risk to zero here in the
interconnected world that we live in today. And we do that through entry and travel programs, including the efforts that we undertake in West
Africa, and some that will be described in more detail later in this briefing.
I think before turning it over to Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas from the Department of Homeland Security, I would like to emphasize the
basic principles we use when looking at interventions.
We continuously evaluate ways to better protect Americans. Protecting Americans is our number-one priority.
Second, we make sure that whatever we do is something that works, that we evaluate, and that we can think of ways to continuously improve.
Third, we recognize that whatever we do, until the outbreak is over in West Africa, we can't get the risk to zero in this country. That's why we
continue to surge the CDC response in West Africa and the whole of government US response in West Africa and, in fact, the international
response, where we're seeing hundreds of health care workers, hundreds of millions of dollars, and intensive effort deployed in the three countries
most-heavily affected.
And finally, as we say in health care, above all, do no harm. We have to ensure that whatever we do doesn't unintentionally increase the risk
that we will be at risk. Just to remind us of what happened a decade ago in the SARS outbreak.
The SARS outbreak cost the world more than $40 billion, but it wasn't to control the outbreak. Those were costs from unnecessary and ineffective
travel restrictions and trade changes that could have been avoided.
What we want to do is ensure that we don't undermine our ability to stop the outbreak at its source and unintentionally increase our risk here.
QUEST: And there we have the head of the CDC, talking about the measures now being taken in the United States. The bottom line: stepping
up protection and continuing, of course, the safety of Americans is their number-one priority, he says in the media briefing.
Now, in the next few days, airports in the United States will begin taking passengers' temperatures. A fever can be one of the early signs of
Ebola. The screening will only apply to passengers on flights originating from West African countries that are hardest-hit by the epidemic -- Sierra
Leone, Guinea, and Liberia. It doesn't include Nigeria.
Of course, it raises all sorts of issues and questions about those people who have transferred from other flights through major European hubs
where, of course, indeed in the case of the late Mr. Duncan, who came from the affected area, changing planes in Brussels before going on to
Washington Dulles.
Still with Ebola -- and the World Bank is to host a special meeting of the Ebola. It's more than that, it's a major summit of the IMF and World
Bank meetings in Washington on Thursday. That's where I'll be for tomorrow night's program.
We'll be interviewing the World Bank president, Jim Yong Kim, and I'll be hosting a special debate on the global economy. On that debate will be
Christine Lagarde, Stanley Fischer, the vice chair of the US Fed, Thursday.
Of course, get involved using the hash tag at the bottom of screen. The hash tag is #globalecon. The questions that you think we need to ask
either to the World Bank president or, indeed, to Alan -- to Christine Lagarde and others.
To the markets, and a complete reversal on Wall Street from the previous day as the Dow Industrials rallied following the release of
minutes from the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with me now.
Alison, if I'm not mistaken -- and I know you'll put me right, Ms. Kosik -- that closing number tonight is almost -- almost, not quite --
point-for-point --
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes.
QUEST: -- in the opposite direction to the down number we saw yesterday.
KOSIK: You're absolutely right. It's like the stock market is a rubber band, isn't it?
QUEST: Yes.
KOSIK: And this is all because of the Fed. The Fed basically all but confirmed that interest rates will stay lower longer, and that it's going
to be the economic data that's dictating when the Fed raises rates. You're not going to see the Fed rely on a date, it's not going to rely on the
calendar.
Now, that being said, the Fed did talk about weakness in Europe. That is concerning the Fed. So is the stronger dollar. But you're still going
to see the Fed tiptoeing towards raising rates instead of sort of jumping right into it, Richard.
QUEST: Alison, thank you for that. Up 274, 1.6 percent for the Dow Jones.
(RINGS BELL)
QUEST: And to Europe, where stocks closed lower. Airline shares continued to feel the pressure on the fears that the Ebola virus will
curtail travel plans in -- look at the market overall, down 1 percent the Frankfurt DAX, the CAC 40 virtually the same. Lufthansa down nearly 2
percent overall.
The index is now for Germany at the lowest level in a year. So far this year, the DAX if off nearly 6 percent. In Paris, the CAC 40 was also
down.
When we come back, we're going to stay in France, this time to talk about the strike at Air France, a strike which cost the airline hundreds of
millions of euros, and to what end? Because nothing was resolved.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Straight back to the CDC, where the head of the organization is talking about travelers.
FRIEDEN: -- obvious and understandable concern at the airports. I would like to spend a minute just talking about Malaria, because it is so
important to understand how it's relevant here.
Malaria is spread by mosquitoes. You can't get it from somebody else. And malaria is a disease which in West Africa is extremely common. It's
also a disease which traditionally has been known in health care as a fever that comes and goes.
So, it may come for 48 hours and then go away in cycles of every two or three days. The species of malaria in this part of the world comes back
every two or three days. And so, it would not be surprising if we saw individuals with malaria have a fever after coming back here, and that
might be common presentation among those who have fever, if any such people are identified.
This is why, incidentally, we strongly encourage Americans traveling to areas of the world that have malaria to take preventive medications,
which are highly effective at preventing malaria. What we would do in this situation is a clinical assessment --
QUEST: The CDC about the issues relating to travelers, because what's now happening is -- with travelers is the confusion, the worry, the fear,
which is being raised over all of this concerning new measures being put in place in the United States.
Simon Calder joins me now. Simon Calder joins me to talk about this aspect. Simon, we were also going to talk about Air France and the Air
France pilot strike, but I feel that we'll be getting things the wrong way around. We need to start Ebola, if you don't mind, sir, and we can go in
the opposite direction.
The US is putting in these new measures. Well, there are very few flights from West Africa directly to the US, if any at all. I'm trying to
rack my brains. Certainly not --
(CROSSTALK)
SIMON CALDER, TRAVEL CORRESPONDENT, "THE INDEPENDENT": No, in fact, Richard, just to save you that trouble, your brain has enough things on it
at the moment anyway, I've actually been checking the schedules.
I am seeing only from Conakry in Guinea, from Liberia -- from Monrovia in Liberia, and from Freetown in Sierra Leone, the only flights that are
leaving are going to Brussels. They are on Brussels Airlines.
QUEST: Right.
CALDER: It's the same route the unfortunate victim in Dallas took. So, there is absolutely no possibility that flights from Guinea, from
Liberia, from Sierra Leone, are going to be picked out at the United States because there are none.
So therefore, they're going to have to do something quite sophisticated, identifying where travelers have come from in order for this
to be remotely effective.
QUEST: And that, of course, raises the issue of locating those transfer passengers. Now, in theory, of course, API, Advance Passenger
Information, with point of origin where you started the journey should reflect those who've come from West Africa.
But if you -- and there will be certain key flights that you can identify, the Brussels flights are great connectors. But are you fearful,
Simon, that, if you like, a fear factor, a fear mongering could be created here?
CALDER: Oh, most definitely. And I'm already seeing it, Richard. It's extraordinary. Very nice couple contacted me this afternoon here in
London and said we're booked to go to Madrid next week, we obviously don't want to go because we're worried about catching Ebola. Now, of course,
that is where, most regrettably, a nurse who was treating a couple priests who had Ebola contracted the disease.
But the -- I replied to them, look, if you are going to avoid visiting the hospital for infectious diseases, if you are going to avoid having very
close contact with the people who work there, there is absolutely no risk of Ebola.
But the fact that sensible travelers were worried about it shows just how much it's affecting the world.
QUEST: Right.
CALDER: Again -- yes.
QUEST: Well, because obviously, if we take the late Mr. Duncan, who came on a United Flight from Brussels into Dulles, Dulles onto Dallas, the
fumigation and complete disinfecting of the plane, the contacting of the passengers. The reality is, Simon, that yes, you can take these
temperatures, you can do what -- but it's the weakest point in the link of the chain.
CALDER: Oh, most definitely. And there's a whole legal minefield as well, Richard. If you look, for instance, at the regulations for airlines,
of course, they need to prevent anybody becoming ill. But they are also obliged to carry passengers who may have communicable disease, because that
is treated as a disability and they can't discriminate against them.
So, they are having the most awful time. Somebody put it to me that actually Ebola plus ISIS is another perfect storm for the aviation
industry.
QUEST: Simon, as if storms weren't enough, another cloud: Air France with its pilot strike. I do need to get your take on that. You have this
long-set, multiweek strike. The airline says it's cost over 300 million euros. Nothing's been resolved. Didn't everybody just sort of shoot
themselves in the foot?
CALDER: Well, I think these disputes are always worth looking at from the point of view of the people who are actually delighted with the events
as they took place.
That obviously doesn't include Air France management, it obviously doesn't include the French government, which has a one-sixth share, and it
most certainly doesn't include the hundreds of thousands of passengers who were inconvenienced and may well not wish to fly Air France again.
And you have everybody lining up absolutely pleased as punch. You've got the low-cost operators in Europe, who are at the heart of this, because
Air France wanted to fight back against them.
You have, of course, the Gulf carriers. You've got the resurgent US carriers who, having been through Chapter 11, are now looking pretty good,
pretty spruce.
QUEST: Right.
CALDER: But unfortunately, the only people on Air France's side or who share their pain are Lufthansa, who are having very similar issues with
their own pilots.
QUEST: Simon, good to see you, sir. Thank you for putting it all into perspective. Simon Calder joining us from CNN London. Thank you,
sir.
Now, despite this 275-point rise in the Dow, investors are feeling fearful, extremely fearful. And we'll talk about the potential for fear
transmitting itself to the market in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: There's a real smell of fear in the markets. Stocks are on a roller coaster, and the Dow has ended the points -- ended the session, I
should put it -- more than 275 points higher. It actually dropped 273 points on Tuesday, so net then things are looking pretty much even Stevens.
But the point of it all is the volatility. The volatility is higher. If you take CNN Money's Fear and Greed Index, it's now into the realms of
"Extreme Fear," and that from just being neutral a month ago.
You've got just about every aspect at the moment. You've got stocks that are volatile, you've got volatility -- stocks are up today, volatility
heavily up. Bond yields are down -- this is all about the question of where things are going next. German, US, and Japanese government bonds
approaching the lowest point of the year.
Gold had been falling, but now it's risen above $1200 an ounce. Gold only rises, of course, in this scenario when people fear either against
inflation --
(RINGS BELL)
QUEST: -- well, there's no question of inflation, so it's just pure, unadulterated fear at the moment. And then, perhaps, one bright spark.
It's a down arrow, but oil prices are down sharply. Production's rising from places like Liberia.
But the slowdown in China -- sorry, I beg your pardon. Libya, I do beg your pardon, Libya. The slowdown in China, the slowdown in the US as
well, the marginal slowdown, the falling demand even though tensions in the Middle East. You're getting the idea. A very complicated process at the
moment.
Alan Valdes is DME Securities director of floor trading. He joins me now from New York. Alan, this is complicated, and I'm not sure which of
those factors is driving the market.
ALAN VALDES, DIRECTOR OF FLOOR TRADING, DME SECURITIES: You know, Richard, it's the same thing down on Wall Street. There's no commitment,
there's no real guidance from anywhere.
Yesterday, we saw Europe come out with bad news. Today, we saw the Fed come out with more slightly dovish positive news here. So, the markets
just swing. No one's committed to long-term, they're just getting out when they sense it. It's all this momentum play right now. But no volume.
QUEST: But no -- but the Fed didn't really come out with any good news, because what the Fed really said is that the weakness in the economy,
or at least the way the economy is recovering, means that this considerable time goes on into the middle of next year. Which you can arguably say
shows a weakness not a strength.
VALDES: Right. Bad news for Main Street, good news for Wall Street. They're not going to raise interest rates. So, that gives the market the
impetus to go back up right away. We know the Feds are going to stay on the sidelines. We'll have this cheap money keep continuing right here.
So, we're happy for it.
But it's no good. You look at he dollar, you look at things overseas, in Europe, which is our biggest trading partner, and that, Alcoa starts the
earnings season today. They came out -- they had pretty good earnings, by the way. But he rest of the international -- the rest of the international
stocks looked like they could have a weak earnings season coming up.
QUEST: You're being very kind and very generous, Alan, because I think I was -- I almost scoffed when you said you were most worried about
Europe when we last spoke a couple of months ago. You said Europe, and I said, oh, come on!
(LAUGHTER)
QUEST: Come on! Well, I'm going to allow you one "I told you so."
VALDES: Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.
(LAUGHTER)
(CRASH IN BACKGROUND)
QUEST: I think that was the nut just falling over. Alan, the question, of course -- the very serious question -- is the market worried
about Ebola? Is it worried about ISIS? Or is it -- is it only worried about these issues as it might play into economic growth on a wider scale?
VALDES: This is one time when you've get a convergence of bad news all over the world moving the market, whether it's Ebola -- of course, that
highlights a lot of problems that could happen to the markets. Whether it's ISIS and the oil fields overseas.
But it's just, pick your poison and there's bad news out there. There's no real good news, like I said. Right now, we're the best house in
the worst neighborhood. So yes, money's flocking into the US markets.
But overall, it's not a great picture out there right now in international markets. I've never seen a marketplace where you have such
negativity out there.
QUEST: Alan, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us. You're a charitable -- you're a good man.
VALDES: Thank you.
QUEST: Didn't even use the word "I told you so" once.
Now, many of the world's biggest banks still aren't strong enough to support the economic recovery, according to the International Monetary
Fund. The so-called "zombie banks" of the financial crisis that we've talked about, those "zombie banks" refuse to die. Join me at the super
screen and you'll see what I mean.
The IMF's latest global stability report warns that these institutions drip-feeding on the cheap cash -- it's very cheap cash that they now expect
to continue that Alan was talking about. These institutions are too weak to shoulder the burden of driving global growth.
So, the IMF basically, in its latest report, talking of "zombie banks" says "Unhealthy banks represent about 40 percent of the total assets, even
more so in the eurozone." Those unhealthy banks are not enough in capital to increase lending to businesses and consumers.
Worse than that, they are not supporting investment growth or, indeed, opening the way for other lenders to come in. So then, you end up with
"shadow banks," lenders operating outside the financial regulation.
You've got the "zombies," you've go the "shadow banks," who may be taking on too much debt and too much financial risk. Put it all together,
we all know that could destabilize the economy. The IMF says more banks need to be athletic, more banks need to be fitter, more banks need to be
strong enough to support the global growth.
To get back into shape, many banks need to restructure themselves, they need to raise their lending to make themselves robust.
In a moment, Ukraine grapples with a deadly virus -- violence in the east, the European Bank reconstruction is ramping up commitments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more "Quest Means Business" in just a moment. This is CNN, and on this network, the news always comes
first. Ebola's claimed its first victim in the United States. Forty-two- year-old Thomas Eric Duncan has died. He arrived in the U.S. on September the 20th from Liberia. That's where was infected with the virus. Mr.
Duncan had been in critical condition at the Dallas, Texas Hospital where he was receiving an experimental medication. Speaking at a news conference
a few moments ago, the CDC director Tom Frieden said nothing could be done to bring the risk of Ebola in the United States down to zero.
Spain's prime minister is asking people not to panic over the case of the Ebola contracted at a Spanish hospital. A nurse caught the virus from
a patient whilst the nurse was wearing protective gear. Officials have put also down her pet dog despite protests citing fears that the dog could have
been infected.
At least 19 have people have been killed in violent riots in several cities across Turkey. Pro-Kurdish demonstrators are unhappy with the way
the government is handling the threat of ISIS. People fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds in Turkey's mainly Kurdish areas.
Some schools were closed, a curfew has been imposed in several provinces.
The Pentagon says U.S. airstrikes are not going to save the Syrian town of Kobani. Trying now to lower expectations even as Kurdish officials
say new strikes are helping push back ISIS fighters to the outskirts of the town.
A U.S. military jet has crashed in Lincolnshire in Eastern England. The pilot of the Air Force F15 managed to eject from the aircraft before it
came down. He sustained minor injuries.
Ukraine is about to get crucial new investment from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development - the EBRD. According to the prime
minister of Ukraine, the country still faces major security challenges. The U.S. says more than 300 people have been killed in the eastern part of
the country over the past month. That's despite a ceasefire between pro- Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces. Joining me now from Washington. Suma Chakrabarti is the president of the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development. Good to see you, sir. Thank you for taking the time. Now, this money - what's it going to be used for?
SUMA CHAKRABARTI, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN BANK OF RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT: Well it's already started actually, Richard. Since the
beginning of this year, we've already invested $620 million actually in 20 new projects in Ukraine - a significant ramping up from previous years. So
the money's going on a number things. One of the fundamental things we've got to do immediately is really to put working capital into a number of
companies in Ukraine to make sure they survive through what is a really deep recession there. Secondly, we've got to help the banks in Ukraine -
this goes back to your IMF story. The banks in Ukraine to restructure, to consolidate, to become really viable, and thirdly we want to work on the
energy sector, and fourthly, there's also agri-business in the Ukraine. Ukraine is - really has - significant potential in the agri-business to
supply food to the region and -
QUEST: Right, but -
CHAKRABARTI: -- and furthermore.
QUEST: This is all - I mean, everyone I speak to says there's great potential in Ukraine, and in fact I'll be going -
CHAKRABARTI: Yes.
QUEST: -- there myself next week. Everyone says there's this great potential. But the risk of course, particularly the energy risk. This
energy risk - if Russia decides to turn off the taps, if it decides to squeeze on the energy question and Ukraine cannot get the reverse flows
necessary. Now, you don't want to throw good money after bad, but at the same time, you have to protect your investment.
CHAKRABARTI: So, energy's a fundamental issue in Ukraine. You're obviously right about that. We think actually Ukraine has got sufficient
reserves to get it through this winter. But there's some real - really important - investments coming up in Ukraine. One of those we're going to
be involved with I very much hope - which is the reverse flow of gas from Slovakia to help with the pipeline - gas transient pipeline. That's really
important. But fundamentally Ukraine can actually reduce its imports of gas in the medium to longer term if it gets the same levels of energy
efficiency -
QUEST: All right.
CHAKRABARTI: -- that we have in Western Europe. And that's the thing we need to investment in.
QUEST: For Central and Eastern European emerging economies, new economies moving - still moving forward even - I want to assume - if we
look at the issues Ebola we've been talking about tonight. We've been talking about ISIS - all these global macro issues. The IMF warned
yesterday of clouds, about weakness, about fragility. Your member countries are figuratively and literally in the front line.
CHAKRABARTI: Well, some of them really are. I think because they are being hit economically in two directions. One by the slow recovery in the
Eurozone, but the other also by the Russian economy also slowing right down, stagnating. And that affects a number of economies. Ukraine
actually is a very good example of that. So, our job really is to try and help raise investment levels, but also to support them in reforming their
economy so they trap investment from those parts of the world where there is still - there are still investors who really want to put money into our
region.
QUEST: Sir Suma Chakrabarti - good to see you, sir. You'll be at the IMF World Bank meetings, we'll be there tomorrow. Look forward to catching
up with you then. Thank you.
CHAKRABARTI: Thank you very much.
QUEST: The McDonald's of the hotel industry - a very odd way. The McDonald's of the hotel industry - what an odd way for the chief executive
of the small luxury hotel network to describe his business. McDonald's and luxuries - we'll take a tour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Time for today's "Business Traveller" update, and there are three little words that can make all the difference when it comes to
picking your lodgings. They're known as the small luxury hotels of the world. Now one company has made it their mission to turn boutique service
into a global brand. The issue always remains though - whether it's Relais Chateau, Preferred Hotels - small luxury hotels, leading hotels. Whichever
one it is, do these groupings that we see in our travels mean anything. I had to find out. (RINGS BELL).
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: The Nimb in Copenhagen stands out from the crowd. Artistic and individual , it's one of 520 privately-owned boutique hotels that
operate under the small luxury hotel banner. SLH isn't the only such brand around. There's Relais Chateau and Leading Hotels of the World. The
question is, are these a brand or is all just hot air and marketing?
INGE JENSEN, GENERAL MANAGER, NIMB HOTEL: I think for a small hotel in Copenhagen, it's good to be affiliated with small luxury hotels. We've
become known.
QUEST: Membership isn't free. It costs thousands of dollars a year, and it brings huge benefits.
PAUL KERR, CEO, SMALL LUXURY HOTELS OF THE WORLD: It's a bit like McDonald's. You know, the first thing a struggling hamburger joint might
do is go and join the franchise of McDonald's. And first you do that is you put up the Golden Arches. So they're actually - people know - that
he's a McDonald's Hotel. It's exactly the same thing with S and H. From the customer's perspective it should be but really they can rely on that
badge and they want it from a bad experience. And I think that the - the customer - recognizes these badges of quality.
QUEST: But you do you, sir, as the chief - how do you ensure that putting that stamp on it isn't just a gimmick but it actually means
something.
KERR: Well we have regular inspections in these hotels. We ferry them out of our membership if they don't come up to certain hotels,
especially in the economic climate that we've had - they can't keep up with the investment.
QUEST: Do you say you kicked out hotels?
KERR: Yes, we kicked out hotels.
QUEST: How many did you kick out?
KERR: How many'd we kick out? About four or five, maybe a year.
QUEST: And here's the rub. With hundreds of passionate hotelias (ph) operating under the same tent, friction between hotelia (ph and brand is
inevitable.
JENSEN: As we constantly change, we need to look at do we still fit. Do we feel we fit with SLH - is that the brand that we wish to have? Is
there other affiliations that are more focused on the market that we think would be attracted to Nimb and that we would like to attract to Nimb.
We're looking at what's out there and what does the market have to offer. As long as it's working very well with SLH, then we keep that partnership.
QUEST: In Miami, the SLH plaque is proudly polished in the heart of South Beach - at The Betsy. Now this is a very interesting space.
JEFF LEHMAN, GENERAL MANAGER, THE BETSY: This is our B Bar Lounge. The most interesting thing about this space is that it's subterranean, it
has a reflective vinyl feeling -
QUEST: Oh! Oh wow! I just realized.
LEHMAN: -- so you don't really - even a tall gentleman like yourself doesn't realize it's -
QUEST: I didn't realize?
LEHMAN: There you go. See, it works.
QUEST: That is very, very cool.
LEHMAN: And that's what happens when the music's on - it kind of vibrates like that. It's a design masterpiece.
QUEST: Are you a troublemaker when it comes to these people saying, `Hang on, hang on, hang on'?
LEHMAN: Let me think about that, yes.
(LAUGHTER)
LEHMAN: Nothing else to say. Of course I am. Within these organizations, the more involvement you have with them, the louder you are,
the squeakier a wheel you are, the more attention you're going to get.
KERR: He's interesting old Jeff. He thinks that he's going to resign every year. So it could be this year, and I'll say, `Well actually, OK
Jeff.' Than that's it. Believe me, he will not want to actually leave the brand of SLH.
LEHMAN: We know the guests better than anybody, which means that we know the SLH members better than even SLH does, because we know them
intimately from their visits. So, we have to speak up, we have to be involved.
QUEST: This is classic - hotel and brand need each other. I can't imagine SLH pop around and count the sheets and make sure that the glass
wear tings properly.
LEHMAN: Actually they do.
QUEST: What do they look at when they come out.
LEHMAN: They look at everything. They look at everything, and you know it's a composite.
QUEST: SLH knows that the hotels have to keep up their side of the bargain. So hotels are on notice - they must keep up the standard expected
by the brand. The essential ingredient is being a small hotel with a real heart.
LEHMAN: We curate every single corner of every piece of the hotel. We don't just design it, build it and let it go. We curate it.
QUEST: Not everyone will stay at a Small Luxury Hotel of the World. What the brand hopes is that those who do recognize that they'd experienced
something special.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: The Small Luxury Hotel of the World.
SAMANTHA MOHR, METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Looks lovely.
QUEST: Oh it was very pleasant actually.
MOHR: (LAUGHTER).
QUEST: I mean -
MOHR: Sure.
QUEST: I tried to stay there as long as I could, but at the prices they charge, they promised to turf me out. (RINGS BELL). What've we got?
MOHR: Well we've got a super typhoon, in fact the strongest typhoon on the planet this year, and not that much behind Haiyan. You remember
Haiyan moved into the Eastern Philippines last November and killed some 6,000 people. Now this massive storm - you can see how concentric the
circulation is around it. Look at that perfect eye - a very well, defined eye, and right now about a 850 kilometers northeast of the northern part of
the Philippines. But those 270 kilometer per hour max sustained winds and it is a very strong storm. And we've had six super typhoons so far this
season. That's about double in what we had seen an average season on the Western Pacific. And that's because we've had some very warm water for it
to work with and low wind shear, excellent outflow. So great circulation. And as it starts to make that slow turn to the north - and it has shown
that the last few hours - we do expect to see it weaken as it moves over cooler water and it has some stronger shear that it has to contend with as
well.
So right now it's a super typhoon, but notice that cutoff is at around 240 kilometers per hour. Below that, it'll be minimized to a typhoon. So
it will weaken as it approaches Okinawa. The model's still not in agreement here, Richard, at all. In fact, the GFF's putting it just smack
dab over Okinawa or just a little bit to the west which would put Okinawa in a most dangerous quadrant here. But it is weakening significantly as it
moves to the north. It does, by the way, will bring in some very heavy rainfall across much of Okinawa. Look at some of the modeling saying that
we could easily see over 350 millimeters of rain. So this is a big rainmaker just on top of the typhoon we just had last week and last weekend
that moved in to Japan.
OK, this is the Bay of Bengal. Also we've had this typhoon pop up. This is a Tropical Cyclone Hudhud moving to the west/northwest with the max
sustained winds at 95 kilometers per hour. Also a huge rainmaker here with 220 millimeters so far in Port Blair and Rayong's seen 266 millimeters
there in Thailand, and we expect to see it strengthen as well as it moves to the Odisha Coast. And you'll remember last year Phailin was one that we
were really worried about. It looks like it's taking up very similar track to that as well. It'll be arriving on the Odisha coastline sometime over
the weekend. So we'll have to monitor that very, very carefully.
OK, we had a blood moon. That's when a total eclipse of the sun - excuse me - total eclipse of the moon occurs - the lunar eclipse. And this
was in Manila. Just a beautiful sight here and interesting to see the different phases as it moves across, the moon staying red in totality for
about an hour. That's when it's at its brightest, most brilliant red - this sent in by Greg Hogan, one of our I-reporters, Richard. Some great
camera work by our I-reporters capturing that moment when it's just almost crimson.
QUEST: I love these eclipses - lunar eclipse, solar eclipses. The reason because each time we do them or we have them, I have to remember the
terminology - you know - the - what are those beads that come off the sides on the solar ones, and totality on the other ones. It's fascinating
MOHR: It really is fascinating. It's - Mother Nature is just a work of art here. Just gorgeous.
QUEST: Thank you very much.
MOHR: You're welcome.
QUEST: Many thanks indeed. Now, when we come back, Ebola's turned the cocoa markets of Western Africa into chaos. One year after my trip to
the cocoa farms of the Ivory Coast, the country's prime minister tells me production's increasing, child labor's decreasing and you'll hear the prime
minister in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: One of the unintended consequences for the economy and Ebola is the soaring coffee price. Cocoa futures have - cocoa, I beg your pardon
- cocoa futures is a three and a half year high this month, and it will have a major impact on the economy of the world's largest producer of
cocoa, which is of course the Ivory Coast. Now look at the way the futures have moved up, and they've just come down just a tad or so. You will
remember I visited the region a year ago just about and discovered the challenges with the industry and that some of those challenges are deep and
they are real.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: It is a supreme irony that the chocolate bar we take for granted at a price we don't mind paying is rarely seen in the Ivory Coast,
even in the capital. There are chips and wafers and cookies and crisps of all types, but there's no chocolate, even though the stuff comes from here.
Only 130 kilometers from the capital is the village of Viadio (ph) Yaakro. I talked to farmers about what's now a depressingly familiar tale of an
impoverished lifestyle. But nothing brings home the inequity of cocoa- nomics than farmers who've never seen, let alone tasted, the products that rely on their daily toil.
These farmers have been growing beans for decades. They're about to get their first taste of chocolate. You have never tried chocolate?
Male: No.
Male 2: Where would we find it?
QUEST: It turned out not one person in this group had tasted chocolate.
Male: It's good. It's good to eat!
QUEST: That is your cocoa!
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: That is your cocoa, and that cocoa of course makes light chocolate. In the second part of my interview with the Ivory Coast prime
minister, I asked Prime Minister Duncan if his country had made progress towards eliminating child labor from the harvesting of cocoa.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
DANIEL KABLAN DUNCAN, PRIME MINISTER, IVORY COAST: The production had increased of cocoa. We've reached now 1.7 million tons of production this
year compared to about 1.5/1.6 million ton last year. And we have made progress not only on the production of cocoa, but also as far as school
enrollment is concerned, because we now reach 84.7 percent of the children attending school, compared to, let's say, 75 percent in 2008. So that is a
good progress in that. And we have the World of Chocolate also helping us to build schools in the area of production of cocoa as you know.
QUEST: And the price of cocoa -
DUNCAN: Yes.
QUEST: Is there now an acceptance that the price of cocoa does have to rise? I know you have the minimum price --
DUNCAN: Sure.
QUEST: -- but let's face it, my Kit Kat bar here in Atlanta - I'm going to have to pay more so that your workers get more - get better
benefits.
DUNCAN: I think that it is a - must be a win-win game for the producer and also for the people who process the cocoa to make the
chocolate. We have increased the price from 750 CFA franc to 850 megawat - 850 CFA franc. So because we gave 50 percent of international price to the
farmers, so well -
QUEST: So things are getting better - the farmers -
DUNCAN: Sure.
QUEST: -- are getting more money?
DUNCAN: Sure.
QUEST: But what is the measure that now needs to happen to take it to the next level?
DUNCAN: Well, I think that rating of quality of the cocoa firstly, and also to process more locally because for the time being, we process
only the traversent (ph) -
QUEST: Right.
DUNCAN: -- locally. And our aim is to reach 50 percent or 60 percent underground. We met just one hour ago - the people of Khagei (ph), yes we
were. And we're going to have a meeting of the - all the ward processors in Abidjan by the end of this year/beginning of next year to increase the
production local - the local production.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: That's the prime minister of the Ivory Coast. We'll have a "Profitable Moment" after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment." In the next 24 hours, the world's attention will once again be very much focused on global economics
and indeed the Ebola crisis. In Washington, D.C., the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank will be held and the presidents of Liberia, Guinea,
Sierra Leone will be there along with the secretary general of the United Nations, the president of the World Bank, the managing director of the IMF.
The goal is once again to remind people that the Ebola crisis is getting worse and unless something is done soon and there is greater impetus and
energy and urgency, then this crisis will cost tens of billions. All at the time that the time that the IMF will be telling us that growth is fragile
and that too many economies are slowing down.
And we will be there to hear those views and to put those points. "Quest Means Business" comes from the International Monetary Fund of the
IMF and the World Bank. We're in Washington, and we expect hopefully you'll join us as well. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, (RINGS
BELL) - hope it's profitable. I'll see you in D.C. tomorrow.
END
