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Quest Means Business
Belgium Austerity Protests Turn Violent; Draghi Says ECB Ready to Take Policy Action; European Markets Up; European Economy; Randgold Reports Quarterly Rise in Profits; New Records on Wall Street; Spirit Airlines State of Hate; Make, Create, Innovate: Smart Surveillance
Aired November 06, 2014 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE CLOSING BELL)
POPPY HARLOW, HOST: Good evening everyone. A new record high for the Dow a second day running as the closing bell rings on Wall Street. It is
Thursday, November the 6th.
Chaos and clashes in Brussels as 100,000 join anti-austerity protests.
Be prepared: the ECB signals more easing ahead.
And getting into the Spirit. The airline that invited customers' criticism.
I'm Poppy Harlow, and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Good evening. Tonight, fire and fury as anti-austerity protests at the very heart of Europe. A few hundred demonstrators clashed with police
in Brussels over cost-cutting plans by the new Belgian government.
It followed a peaceful march of more than 100,000 people. They were protesting cuts to health and social security benefits, also plans to limit
options for early retirement. Our Isa Soares reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They turned out en masse, an estimated 120,000 people taking to the streets of
Brussels, voicing their anger over austerity reforms. But what started out as a largely peaceful protest quickly turned violent.
(CROWDS SHOUTING)
SOARES: Cars were overturned and set alight. Bins were torched, fireworks were set off, and stones were thrown at police.
(CROWDS SHOUTING)
SOARES: Riot police responded, using water canons and pepper spray to disburse the rowdy crowds. Most of those protesting were union workers,
angry at the government austerity measures.
JAN VERKAMST, NATIONAL CHAIRMAN ,UNION ACLVB (through translator): We are here today with more than 120,000 people who protest against the policy
of the government, a policy of spending cuts. But in practice, union employees and such ensure the pain. The people with more capital will not
be affected by the cuts.
SOARES: The new center right coalition, who is facing public sector debt of around 100 percent of annual output, says it has no choice but to
impose strict austerity measures, and these include raising the retirement age from 65 to 67, freezing wages, cutting health and social security
budgets.
But having seen austerity in other parts of Europe, the unions say they're not buying the government's rhetoric.
MARIE HELENE SKA, SECRETARY-GENERAL, UNION CSC (through translator): The government tells us, and all of the parties tell us, that there is no
alternative. We don't contest that they have to find the 11 billion euros, but we have been saying for a long time that it is possible to find this
money elsewhere, rather than in the pockets of workers.
SOARES: This protest is just the beginning. Unions are promising to take to the streets every Monday until December 15th, when a nationwide
strike is planned, a sign of just how deep their anger really is.
Isa Soares, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Isa, thank you for that report. Belgian senator Jean Jacques De Gucht joins me now from Brussels. Thank you for being with us this
evening. And I just want to let our viewers know there's about a five- second delay for you to hear me and me to hear you. Let me begin with this: are you surprised at the riots, what you've seen break out on the
streets?
JEAN JACQUES DE GUCHT, BELGIAN SENATOR, OPEN FLEMISH LIBERALS AND DEMOCRATS: Well, first of all, I want to say that the protests were
peaceful during the whole day. It's only at the end that a small group of individuals who actually misused that right, that democratic right to
protest, it turned into a riot. Before that, that was a very peaceful protest.
And I think also with the talks that were between the prime minister and the vice prime ministers and the unions was, I think, the beginning of
dialogue. So, there's not really -- it's not that in Brussels it started as a riot. It's actually a very peaceful protest, and it ended with some
individuals who began a riot against the police.
HARLOW: And although it was a minority of people doing that, you still had 100,000 people protesting today against these austerity measures.
What are you and the rest of your colleagues in the government planning to do, should we see this continue?
DE GUCHT: First of all, I think it's very important that in a democracy that people have this right to protest and to come on the streets
and protest against the measures of a government. It's also the right of a government to take measures to sustain the future of the next generation.
And I think it's very important, the measures that we're talking now is actually the measures that we have to take to sustain that future of
this country, to make it possible to compete with the surrounding countries.
At this point, it's very difficult for Belgium to compete with the surrounding countries, and this gives us the oxygen to do so. And the
possibilities are much higher for the next generations now.
HARLOW: Senator, what can you tell me about the discussions the government has been having thus far with the unions? How constructive
would you say they are?
DE GUCHT: Well, they are starting now. But you have to know that the unions are against what we would -- well, in a translation would be a jump
-- an index jumps. And the unions are against it.
You have to know that Belgium is the only country that has an automatic indexation of the wages. And actually, what we're doing now is
actually suspending that automatic indexation.
And I think it's very important we do that at this point because that gives more oxygen to the society, and that's the oxygen that we need to be
competitive. So, I think it's very important that we go into a dialogue, but we -- it's not that dialogue will be the turn out that we won't have
that index jump. It's very important that we do this now.
HARLOW: Senator Jean Jacques De Gucht joining us this evening, live from Brussels. Appreciate it, thank you very much, sir.
Well, those scenes echo what was going on in Europe at the height of the financial crisis, and they're a reminder that the eurozone's economy is
still far, far from healthy.
Today, we got more evidence that the recovery has stalled. The European Central Bank held interest rates at a record low of 0.05 percent.
ECB president Mario Draghi said the bank is taking steps to prepare for more policy action if needed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIO DRAGHI, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK: The governing council has tasked ECB staff and the relevant euro system committees with ensuring
the timely preparation of further measures to be implemented if needed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: European markets closed higher on Draghi's comments. That is despite weak data on industrial orders in Germany. Senior economist at
Berenberg Bank, Christian Schulz, joins me now, live from London. Thank you for being here this evening, sir. We appreciate it.
CHRISTIAN SCHULZ, SENIOR ECONOMIST, BERENBERG BANK: Hello.
HARLOW: Let me begin with this: the ECB forecast rather dire. You're looking at eurozone growth of just about 0.8 percent this year. Do
you believe that unleashing about a trillion euros in stimulus is going to be enough? Is it the right move?
SCHULZ: I think it is the right move. Of course, monetary policy cannot replace the structural reforms, the ones that, for instance, Belgium
is trying to undertake now, which are tough. But what monetary policy can do is it can smooth the path while these tough measures are being taken.
It can boost growth, at least in the short term.
And one trillion euros, if that's really what we get, would, I think, be a very strong move by the ECB, which the markets are, of course, very
happy about.
HARLOW: When you look at the situation as a whole, I wonder how dire you think it needs to get before you think Berlin would give sort of a
tacit nod of approval to all-out quantitative easing, including a purchase of sovereign debt. What would it take to get to that point?
SCHULZ: Well, Berlin doesn't have a veto over what the ECB does.
HARLOW: Right.
SCHULZ: The ECB is independent. But of course, Berlin or Germany is a very important backstop in the eurozone. Without Berlin, the eurozone
really can't survive, and that's what gives Germany in particular such a strong role.
Now, Germany is fundamentally very strong. Exports are growing, the labor market is doing fine. Even though at the moment, we have a rough
patch, the economy is ultimately fine at the moment. And I think it will take a lot for Berlin to jump -- make that jump and really support QE.
Other parts of the eurozone are also doing fine. Some other countries, like France and Italy, are in trouble. So, it's a bit of a
mixed picture at the moment --
HARLOW: Right.
SCHULZ: -- and the ECB is trying to do what it can.
HARLOW: Sure, but of course, it is definitely a mixed bag, and others are not doing nearly as well. Let's talk about Germany as we approach the
25-year anniversary on Sunday of the fall of the Berlin Wall. You were, I know, 11 years old at that point in time. I was quite young myself. But
what a historic moment that was and it will be, celebrating it a quarter century later.
Germany's economy has done a really magnificent job of building up over the past quarter century. But some are questioning how strong it will
be moving forward. What is your outlook for Germany in the next quarter century?
SCHULZ: That's a big question. At the moment, Germany is in a very strong position. It took the hard medicine of reform about ten years ago
in 2004. Up to that point, Germany had been losing competitiveness. Then, the tough reforms came, and now we're enjoying the benefits of it. So, I
think we're in a bit of a golden decade in Germany.
But it may well be a last golden decade, because demographics in Germany are poor, there's no children, the population is declining, there's
more and more older people. And that's going to weigh on German future growth.
And it will probably need many quite creative approaches to deal with it over time. And so far, at least at the moment, the government is
probably not doing enough to address all these challenges.
HARLOW: Interesting perspective. We do know, though, there are a lot of innovators and entrepreneurs in Germany, so we shall see what comes.
Certainly it has been fascinating to watch in the last 25 years. Appreciate the perspective this evening, live from London. Thank you.
The price of gold ticked up today, though it has been flirting with a four-year low. The CEO of Randgold, that is the biggest London-listed gold
company, says the falling price could be a disaster for miners. Randgold said profits were up quarter-on-quarter, saying that higher output is
offsetting the lower gold prices.
It was the biggest -- the day's biggest gainer on the FTSE, up 8 percent on those earnings. The company is dual-listed here in New York,
where it traded up over 10 percent today. Mark Bristow is Randgold's CEO, and I spoke with him earlier and asked how he is positioning the company
for the fall in prices.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK BRISTOW, CEO, RANDGOLD: Gold industry and gold mining is a long- term game, and the successes that we were able to deliver today are a product of decisions that we made years ago. And it's very difficult to
change mid-stride.
And that's why I think we've been able to deliver on sort of these types of results, because we didn't get seduced by the rising gold price
when it went up as high as $1900 an ounce.
HARLOW: But Mark, what are you going to do if we see a reality where, as some analysts are predicting, we could see gold fall below $1,000 an
ounce. How are you preparing for that?
BRISTOW: Sure. I think as I pointed out today, Poppy, the analysts that are predicting those lower gold prices can't get their head around the
fact that we don't have an industry at those sort of prices. And no one's looking at that.
And it's up -- by the time we get to $1,000, we won't have an industry. So, what'll happen then is that if the industry doesn't reshape
it self and make some hard decisions to be able to operate at lower gold prices, and the only way of doing that is you're going to take production
out of the market.
And when you take production out of the market, you'll tighten the market on the supply side. And we all know that demand has been very
strong. It's just that we as an industry keep producing more and more gold --
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: Well, but isn't --
BRISTOW: -- and we need to stop that.
HARLOW: Isn't it an issue of who pulls back first? And are you at a competitive disadvantage if, say, you pull back production because
significantly, price goes up, your competitors are more well-placed to supply that?
BRISTOW: Yes, I think what you'll see in the market -- and if you look at how -- our performance after our results today is people appreciate
the fact that we're still viable at $1,000. And we don't have to blink first.
HARLOW: I'm just wondering if you'd like to give a prediction of where you guys are placing your bets right now for gold prices in the next
six months.
BRISTOW: Well, we're managing our business on the assumption that the long-term gold price is going to be $1,000 an ounce, and anything above
that is good for us.
HARLOW: OK. Let's talk about Ebola. You are one of 11 CEOs who penned a letter in early September, calling on the international community
to do more to help fight Ebola in West Africa. It is now two months since you wrote that letter. Do you think enough has been done?
BRISTOW: I think a lot is being done. And I think what needs to be done is people like you guys in the United States is to get your head
around Ebola and stop all the hysterics. Ebola is a very real challenge, but it's not something that you get by visiting Africa. And all the
response and the misunderstanding of exactly What Ebola is and how you contract it needs to be sorted out.
HARLOW: What are you doing to protect your employees and the communities where you operate?
BRISTOW: Well, first of all, you only get Ebola if you come into contact with other Ebola-infected people showing symptoms. So, it's a very
visible disease, and you can mange it.
Secondly, we're -- we screen and control in great -- access to all our operations. And at the same time, we've, unlike many other first-world
nations, we've spent a lot of time, energy, and money educating people about the fact that you can manage this disease, and we want people to own
up if there's anybody sick or has been traveling to the Ebola-affected areas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Our thanks to Mark Bristow for that fascinating interview. The Dow and the S&P 500 here in the United States closed at new records
after the ECB hinted at more stimulus. The S&P 500 is up nearly 10 percent on the year.
Well, after you've realized your company has become the punchbag of an industry, you could fight to change that reputation, or you could embrace
it. Spirit Airlines has done the latter. We will be live with the CEO straight after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Welcome back to QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Few companies revel in negative feedback like Spirit Airlines. The US-based low-cost carrier has
released a "State of Hate" report -- that is the real name -- analyzing the results of a survey asking what they cannot stand about airline travel.
We'll let their own news team explain what customers hated most.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARL, PUPPET ANCHOR: Let's go to senior hate correspondent Janet for details. Janet?
JANET, PUPPET CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carl. The hate for airlines keeps pouring in: 5 percent hate the food, 15 percent hate the
delays, and 20 percent really hate the airline seats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
HARLOW: Amazing. Amazing report there. Spirit didn't hesitate to share this hate with its rivals, pointing out that its extra fees stack up
favorably when compared to, say, Ryanair. Customers pay $26 to carry a bag on Spirit Airlines.
That is only if it is booked ahead of time. At the gate, carry-ons can run customers as much as $100. Even on no-frills Ryanair, though,
carry-on bags do fly free. In fact, there's just one way to get a freebie on Spirit: that is as an infant. Bringing a baby onboard Ryanair?
That'll cost you about $32.
The CEO of Spirit Airlines, Ben Baldanza, joins me now, live. Thank you for being here, sir.
BEN BALDANZA, CEO, SPIRIT AIRLINES: Good to be with you, Poppy.
HARLOW: I have flow Spirit. A lot of us have flown Spirit. I have to ask you: whose idea was this?
(LAUGHTER)
BALDANZA: Well, we're -- Spirit, we're all about transparency. We want people to know who we are as a business, we want to be real
transparent on our fares, and I grew up in a household that when there was controversy, you didn't avoid it, you didn't stray from it --
(LAUGHTER)
BALDANZA: -- you didn't defend it. You just attacked it head-on. And so, our view was, let's just talk to customers, say what is it you
don't like about air travel, what is it you don't like about Spirit, let's talk about it.
HARLOW: So, what are they saying? What are they saying, what do they hate most?
BALDANZA: Well, the amazing thing to us was we put out the survey --
HARLOW: Right.
BALDANZA: -- to all of our customers and to lots of others, and we offered people 8,000 miles -- and they can still get this -- 8,000 miles on
Spirit --
HARLOW: For every complaint?
BALDANZA: For every time they want to share their hate about any airline.
HARLOW: So, can they share 100 complaints?
(CROSSTALK)
BALDANZA: And get 8,000 --
HARLOW: Is it automatic?
BALDANZA: -- 8,000 miles, right? And you can go to hatethousandsmiles.com and put in your thing. And what we found from that
was some surprising things. First of all, 60 percent of the hate was about other airlines.
HARLOW: Huh.
BALDANZA: We asked for it, but they told us --
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: That make you feel better?
BALDANZA: -- what they don't like about -- well, in a way, what it told is that customers complain about lots of airlines.
HARLOW: Sure. We all do.
BALDANZA: And in terms of the hate about Spirit, what it told us is what they really care about and what are the things that bother them. And
what it tells us, Poppy, is what we need to do better at is making sure customers know what they're going to get when they fly.
HARLOW: I think that -- I think you're right, because when I flew Spirit once, I was just surprised. I didn't know about some of the
charges.
BALDANZA: And we don't want that surprise.
HARLOW: But I have to ask, what are you -- looking at what you've heard and the feedback, is there anything you're going to change, other
than notifying people more about the charges? Is there anything you're going to say, all right, we're not going to charge for that one?
(LAUGHTER)
BALDANZA: Well you know, what we've done is, we've tried to make flying as cheap as possible. And when we can unbundle or separate out
things that are really optional, like whether you eat something onboard or how much you carry onboard --
HARLOW: Right.
BALDANZA: -- that allows people to travel for lower prices. So, we have this idea that we call a Bare Fare, which is a stripped-down, naked
fare, and Frill Control.
HARLOW: Can people buy --
BALDANZA: You as a customer -- well, you as a customer decide how much you dial in that frill control.
HARLOW: Right. But nothing that you're looking at right now and saying, OK, we are -- enough customers have said, we're going to stop
charging for that.
BALDANZA: No. What we've said is we need to explain to them why we do what we do more, and we don't want that surprise factor.
HARLOW: Is it paying off? Are you seeing material improved results, or is it too early to tell?
BALDANZA: We think it absolutely is paying off. We stared a rebranding campaign earlier in the year that started with training our own
team members first --
HARLOW: Right.
BALDANZA: -- and now has gone public. And we have this nice, new, yellow plane. And part of that is to show that we are different. We're
not a typical airline. We want to look different. And this campaign --
HARLOW: But are the numbers going up?
BALDANZA: But the numbers are going up. Customers understand the model more, more customers are flying on us. We're bigger than we've ever
been. Our load factor is higher than it's ever been.
And so, what we're doing is, we're seeing more balanced media around OK, maybe we don't like the fact that we're charged for our bags, but at
least we understand why. And when you look at Spirit's average fare of only $85 --
HARLOW: Really?
BALDANZA: -- the fact that customers are saving enormous amounts. Our average, total price that customers pay on Spirit is 40 percent less
than other airlines.
HARLOW: So, I have to ask you this one more time --
BALDANZA: OK.
HARLOW: -- because I started at the beginning. Whose idea was this? You? PR department? Outside consultants? Who thought of this?
BALDANZA: We have partnered with a really smart branding group out of Kansas City, named Barkley's, and what we did was, we hired them to help us
with helping to position our whole airline with customers. And this idea of the State of the Hate report came from an idea that we call "hug the
haters."
HARLOW: Hug the haters?
BALDANZA: And the idea is just attack the controversy right on.
HARLOW: I like -- hug the haters.
BALDANZA: Hug the haters, that's right.
HARLOW: Ben Baldanza, pleasure to have you on the program this evening.
BALDANZA: Thank you, Poppy.
HARLOW: Thank you for coming in.
Well, staff at one major security firm are getting used to a new colleague. Really interesting new colleague, look at him. Here's Bob. He
doesn't say a lot, but trust me, he's taking it all in. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: If you ever feel like you're being watched, it's probably because you are. In cities like New York, London, and Beijing, you are on
camera most of the time when you are out and about walking on the street.
Now, these all-seeing electronic eyes are getting a lot smarter, more mobile, and kind of cute. For this week's Make, Create, Innovate, Nick
Glass went to meet the security guard of the future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK GLASS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When we think of security, we think of CCTV cameras, banks of monitors, and a
solitary guard.
GLASS (on camera): Well, that security guard is about to get some help from a roaming pair of eyes. His name is Bob.
NICK HAWES, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM: Bob is an autonomous security robot that can run for a long time and learn about the world as he runs.
GLASS (voice-over): We've had sophisticated robots in the movies for a while, like those in "I, Robot" in 2004. But we're still some way off
making them a reality.
BRIDGET MOYNAHAN AS SUSAN CALVIN, "I, ROBOT": Attention NS5s.
GLASS: Dr. Nick Hawes, an academic at the University of Birmingham in the UK, is working towards that future. He's made a career out of
developing artificial intelligence.
HAWES: It's developing software and algorithms or instructions for computers that can solve hard problems. And that always fascinated me. I
didn't really believe it existed when I first heard about it.
GLASS: Dr. Hawes's initial work in AI was in video games, making the characters more lifelike. But he saw a new field emerging where his
expertise could be applied.
HAWES: There's been a robotics revolution in Europe, and there was a lot more funding in robotics. And then I found kind of an exciting
challenge by making machines like this do smart things.
GLASS: And so, Bob was born. Off-the-shelf hardware combined with state-of-the-art software.
HAWES: In this slit here, we've got a laser, that's his main navigation sensor. He can measure 30 meters around him, 15 times a second.
We've got a depth camera, so that gives you a 3D image in front of the robot. We use that for obstacle avoidance. A second depth camera on the
head that we use to look at people, look at the tops of desks, look at objects.
We've got his eyes, his head. No sensors in here at all. No cameras, it's just so it can be interpreted by humans or a human can feel
comfortable with this robot around.
GLASS: And where better to trial Bob as security guard than the offices of the world's largest security company, G4S?
On patrol, Bob had to detect whether doors were open or closed, then the layout of the offices, and scan for things that might look a little out
of the ordinary. Then, he'd report back to his human colleague.
HAWES: The big moment for me was when we left him overnight for the first time. It was almost like sending your kids off to school for the
first time, you had to kind of trust that he would be OK. And coming back the next day and seeing that he'd carried on operating on his own overnight
with no human input, that was the big, exciting moment for me.
GLASS: The trial is part of a $16 million European project to develop robots that can assist us humans in our daily lives.
HAWES: Beyond security, you would use this software anywhere you wanted to have a mobile platform that had to work in a changing
environment. So, anywhere -- whether it's a hospital, a prison, a warehouse -- anywhere where the robots need to learn over time.
GLASS: Although Bob is complex, we're still a long way from the future predicted in science fiction movies. But for Dr. Hawes, a world
where human and machine work side-by-side isn't so far-fetched.
HAWES: There's an opportunity there, and it's just a question of having the right software and the right technology to push it forward. And
to see that that had happened, and if I'd had a hand in that, I'd be incredibly excited, I think.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody smile.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cheese.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Nick Glass, thank you for that fascinating report. Coming up next on the program, as Germans prepare to celebrate the 25th anniversary
of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the country's rail workers are walking off the job. We'll have the latest from Berlin right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Welcome back, I'm Poppy Harlow. This is CNN, and on this network the news always comes first. U.S. airstrikes in Syria appear to
have killed the top bomb-maker. Military officials say they believe French jihadist David Drugeon was killed in a strike near the western town of
Idlib. The strike targeted the military Khorasan, but there is word they may also have inadvertently struck other groups.
Students across Mexico are going on strike demanding more action in the search for dozens of missing youth. There has been no sign of 43
students since they disappeared five weeks ago. The state's governor has since resigned and a local mayor was arrested over the case.
There were skirmishes in the Middle East today as tensions rise over recent violence and access to a holy site. Outside Ramallah, Palestinian
youth threw rocks at Israeli soldiers who responded with teargas. This comes after days of controversy over access to Jerusalem's Temple Mount,
also known as the Noble Sanctuary.
The International Criminal Court will not prosecute Israel for a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in 2010, but a prosecutor says the
court concedes there's a reasonable basis to believe war crimes may have been committed. Eight Turks and one American were killed.
A few hundred demonstrators clashed with police in Brussels Thursday. They were protesting over cost-setting plans by the new Belgium government,
including cuts to health and social security benefits and plans to limit options for early retirement. It followed a peaceful march of more than
100,000 people.
As we told you, the ECB is taking steps to prepare for more policy action if needed Thursday. The Central Bank held rates at record lows.
President Mario Draghi said the ECB's balance sheet will return to those 2012 levels. If all giving - it's all giving - a sense that things are
like you see here - going backwards, reflecting a return to the days of crisis. The euro fell to a two-year low after Draghi signaled those
efforts to expand the Bank's balance sheet exponentially, and another worrying sign - falling oil prices. OPEC says it is, quote, "concerned by
not panicking" about the sharp drop in crude prices that we have seen.
We talked to you about gold which is nearing four-year lows and there is the Russian rouble. It hit an all-time low against the dollar on
Thursday. Our Matthew Chance reports on that from Moscow.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well just take a look at those rates - 47.5 to the dollar, 59 to the euro. Russia's
plunging currency, the rouble, has never been at these rates before - a sign of just how hard this country's economy is being hit. A number of
factors are at play, including international sanctions placed on Russia over its annexation of Crimea earlier this year, and its continuing support
of separatist rebels in the east of Ukraine. And plummeting oil price around the world is also an important cause. Russia is one of the world's
biggest oil exporters and the rouble rises and falls with the price of crude. The current nose dive appears to have been sparked by the country's
own central bank which has announced it will limit its market interventions to support the currency - a step towards allowing it to float freely on the
international markets.
The question is what will be the impact of this plunge? Because for ordinary Russians so used to rising living standards under President Putin,
these numbers spelled trouble. Higher inflation, more expensive travel and less money to spend. Matthew Chance, CNN Moscow.
HARLOW: Matthew, thank you for that report. Meantime, Germany is preparing for the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall just as
the longest rail strike in the country's history gets underway. Unions are demanding a 5 percent pay rise and want the working work shortened by two
hours. An official calling for the end to the strike said he was, quote, "speechless at the bully boy tactics of the strikers." Our Fred Pleitgen
experienced those rail strikes for himself. He reports from Berlin for us this evening.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As Berlin and Germany get ready to mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, German rail
passengers are in absolute misery. That's because there's a strike going on by the train drivers. Now, by all accounts it is the longest-ever
strike by train drivers. It's supposed to last for 91 hours-- started Thursday and will go all the way until Monday morning. What's going on is
that the train drivers want 5 percent more money and they also want to work shorter hours. Deutsche Bahn, the German railway company, says it cannot
agree to that, and at some point in the process, negotiations have broken down.
This labor dispute has been going on for months. There have been strikes by the train drivers in the past, but the effects of those were
fairly minor. So far, however, the effects of this particular strike have been immense. In Berlin alone today, a lot of traffic going into the city.
The other thing that's compounding that as well is that four of the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall, there's
already barricades being set up around places like the Brandenburg Gate where the wall used to stand for those celebrations to take place. So, you
have less capacity on the road, and also you have a lot less going on all the rail lines which means that more people are using their cars.
It's a big issue and such a big issue that the German government as well as the mayor of Berlin have launched an appeal to the train driver's
union asking them not to strike on Sunday which is the main event of the celebration for that 25th anniversary for the fall of the Wall. However,
so far the head of the train driver's union, Claus Weselsky, says he has no intention of calling off the strike and says he wants to follow through.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN Berlin.
HARLOW: Thank you, Fred, for that report. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany's railways were very much caught in the middle of a
divided city. This is an image of Berlin's Potsdamer Platz in 1961. The underground station was closed until 1989 as it was right next to the
section of the Wall as it really became a ghost station. CNN was of course there throughout those days 25 years ago, and sections of the Wall, just
like this one, opened up. Here's a look back at some of those moments.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP - "HOLES IN THE CURTAIN")
(CHEERING CROWD)
Male Reporter: It was the largest demonstration in East German history. The main square was carpeted with a half million people. The
city virtually came to a standstill.
Male Reporter 2: Our top story - the Iron Curtain between East Germany and West Berlin has come tumbling down. East Germany announced
today it is opening its borders, allowing its citizens to go anywhere they wish. The future of the Berlin Wall is now up in the air.
DOUG JAMES, CNN REPORTING: East Germany's Communist leaders have now taken a symbolic sledgehammer to that Wall. It's conceivable I suppose now
that the Wall - the real Wall - and the real sledgehammers will soon be brought out on that Wall. There's no - there's just no longer any point of
it being there, a prospect that no one could have predicted a year ago or even a month ago.
Male Reporter: This has been a city physically divided for 28 years, but now it's come together - East and West - in a spontaneous outburst of
emotion.
TOM MINTIER, CNN, EAST BERLIN: This could be the first move to dismantling the Berlin Wall that has stood as the most painful symbol of a
divided Germany since it was built in 1961.
JONATHAN MANN, CNN, HERLESHAUSEN, WEST GERMANY: One after another, drivers and passengers alike said they plan to use their new freedom to
spend a weekend in West Germany and take a look at how the other half lives.
Male Reporter: Every East German coming to the West receives 100 marks - about $50. Many West German businesses are staying open `round the
cloud to give them a chance to not only spend their money, but pick up goods to take home.
Male Reporter 2: Hundreds of thousands of East Germans swarmed the streets of West Berlin. It was like a sea of people.
Male Reporter 3: This morning a new hole was made in the Berlin Wall of Potsdamer Platz. Yesterday it was Glienicker that opened up. To many
of us, these are just place names. But what signal do these places send to the German people?
Male: Potsdamer Platz was the Time Square of Berlin before the war. I was on Glienicker Bridge yesterday and I have never seen more grown men
with tears in my eyes at any time in my life on that bridge.
Male Reporter: The vast majority of East Germans don't want to leave homes, jobs and families to go live in the West. The question now is
whether the breaches in the Wall have whetted the appetites of people here, not for just a little more change, but a lot?
East German leaders hope by dismantling those things, that it becomes symbols of their past. They can encourage the return of skilled workers,
the doctors, engineers and scientists needed to rebuild the country's future.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
HARLOW: Wow. It is amazing to see those images. And you can see full coverage all weekend of this 25th anniversary of the Berlin Wall
falling. Jim Clancy, Fred Pleitgen and Hala Gorani will have that special report all weekend long. It begins at 17:00 Central European time on
Friday.
Well, it is a musical milestone - a digital music publisher says Spotify pays its writers more for their music than iTunes does. However,
some artists are still steaming about streaming.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Music streamer, Spotify, has overtaken iTunes when it comes to pay artists royalties in Europe. Kobalt Music with a stable of 6,000
artists calls it a musical milestone. It says its writers' European earnings from Spotify were 13 percent higher than those generated by iTunes
in the first quarter of this year. The publishing company represents artists like Paul McCartney and Kid Rock - some very big names. Also a
very big name in the headlines of this industry - this week Taylor Swift, whose album 1989 was released last week. It caused - it really caused a
stir on Monday when she pulled her entire catalog except for one song from Spotify. She said she would rather fans buy their music on CD or iTunes.
She made herself clear in an op-ed in "The Wall Street Journal" earlier this year. Another artist sharing her belief is Blake Morgan. He joins me
now. He is a musician, a song writer for Deezer, he owns his own record label. Let's listen in a little.
(BLAKE MORGAN SINGING)
HARLOW: Very nice, and we're lucky to have him live with us in studio here in New York. Thank you for coming in, I appreciate it very much.
BLAKE MORGAN, RECORDING ARTIST: Thanks for having me.
HARLOW: So, I want - Taylor Swift put this statement out because obviously she does incredibly well on Spotify. Her album has sold like
$1.3 million copies. She put out a statement saying that she thinks one day individual artists and their labels will someday decide what an album's
price point is. And she wrote, "I hope they don't underestimate themselves or undervalue their art." You were on the same camp as Taylor Swift.
MORGAN: Yes.
HARLOW: What is your take on Spotify?
MORGAN: Well, her statement is remarkable, first of all. She says music is art, art is valuable, valuable things should be paid for. And I
think, you know, most people now understand how damaging Spotify has been to middle class recording artists. But for the - arguably the biggest pop
star in the world to remove her catalog from Spotify this week -
HARLOW: Right.
MORGAN: -- and to do so in such a way where she's demonstrating that she actually has control over her own catalog -
HARLOW: Right.
MORGAN: By the way -
HARLOW: And it's not about needing money for her. I mean, she's very rich - it's about making a statement at them.
MORGAN: Right. And she did this - what she's saying is - Spotify is a bad bet. It's a bad bet for artists, --
HARLOW: But let me -
MORGAN: -- and then she's proven correct because what happens is her album becomes the best-selling album of the year, and it's the fastest-
selling album in a decade.
HARLOW: So, Blake, some would say that's an anomaly, that is Taylor Swift, a mega star on globally, and someone would push back and say to you,
well, four of those artists in the middle that necessarily have that name recognition - Spotify's incredibly important for getting their music out
there. I can tell you I'm listening to this one song now on Spotify on repeat, --
MORGAN: Yes.
HARLOW: -- and I've probably listened to it 100 times. So I might be more likely to buy that song. What do you say to that argument?
MORGAN: There's no evidence to suggest that people who stream end up buying music. In fact, they don't. And 100 times that you've listened to
that song has paid the artist almost absolutely nothing.
HARLOW: How do you know that they don't?
MORGAN: Because not only am I an artist who gets his royalties statements, I own a record label so I get a special kind of eagle eye view
at all of the artists on our label. And nobody's making any money from Spotify.
HARLOW: You sat down - well they're making some money in small increments. But you sat down with some Spotify executives here in New
York, -
MORGAN: Right.
HARLOW: -- can you tell me about that meeting?
MORGAN: There were two real important takeaways from the meeting. So I was invited to an artists-only meeting to have a dialog with Spotify.
The two takeaways were this - the executives from Spotify said that the per-stream rate artists get will likely never go up, no matter how much
Spotify grows or how fast it grows. And after we picked our jaws up off the ground in this meeting after we heard that, this executive went on to
explain, to trump it, how important Spotify has become in the music industry because Spotify's streams are now being factored in on the charts.
HARLOW: So we asked Spotify to come on the program. They declined that invitation.
MORGAN: You're kidding.
HARLOW: But we did get a statement which was the broader statement about Taylor Swift. But I want to read the part that I think is relevant
here. They said, "Artists have an absolute right to be paid for their work and protected from piracy. That's why we paid nearly 70 percent of our
revenue back to the music community."
MORGAN: Yes.
HARLOW: What do you say in response to that? Because it's sort of like - we were talking - our team - this morning about this. It's sort of
like you invent an airline and then you expect people to walk, right? Technology progresses, and the consumer, we want what we can get the
fastest and the best deal for us. So is the consumer demanding it?
MORGAN: Well, this isn't about technology, this is about paying artists fairly for their work. Nobody's against the internet that I've
ever met - nobody's against streaming -
HARLOW: You're not against the service?
MORGAN: No. Streaming can work, but it can't work if the artists who make the streaming service's only product - music - aren't getting paid.
And that's the reality.
HARLOW: So, Apple - iTunes - everyone's sort of anxiously watching to see what kind of streaming they might come out with. What do you think if
we do see that come from Apple in a form that is very competitive with Spotify. Do you think that's better for you, the artist? Or do you think
that makes it even tougher?
MORGAN: Well, it - we're going to have to see how Apple handles this. Apple right now and iTunes is the place. iTunes is the place that artists
get paid the best rate for their work, and the comparison between, you know, for - a lot of artists today are making albums for maybe $10,000 or
$15,000 dollars, OK? To earn back that $15,000 on iTunes right now with downloads, you can sell 2,000 or maybe 2,500 albums and make that money
back. Just to make this comparison clear, to make the same amount of money, you'd need 3 and 1/2 million streams on Spotify. And for a middle
class artist, that's next to impossible. What Taylor Swift has done is she's made it very clear that artists actually don't need Spot - they don't
necessarily need - Spotify -
HARLOW: Right.
MORGAN: -- but Spotify does necessarily need artists.
HARLOW: Of course, it relies it.
MORGAN: That's right.
HARLOW: Do you think finally as we wrap up, that if Apple does come out with this streaming comparable to Spotify, that cannibalizes their for-
sale business?
MORGAN: I think that everyone is looking at Spotify right now, including Apple, and they're realizing that Spotify has a choice. They can
either evolve into a productive, positive, profitable business model or they can find themselves as the next Myspace.
HARLOW: We appreciate you coming in. Beautiful music by the way. I'm glad -
MORGAN: Thank you.
HARLOW: -- we got to hear some of it. Blake Morgan joining us. Thank you.
MORGAN: Thank you.
HARLOW: Well you've seen Shark Tank on television. Prince Andrew - he is getting in the act. Really, with a royal palace to boot. We'll take
you to the Pitch at the Palace where entrepreneurs strut their stuff before movers and shakers. That's next.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
HARLOW: Welcome back to "Quest Means Business." A real life prince has turned the royal palace into a dragon's den or shark tank, depending on
your point of view. It is called Pitch at the Palace, and the idea is just like those TV shows that you'll have seen. Entrepreneurs go before a panel
of potential backers who decide to invest in their budding businesses or to take a pass. The event is designed to give startups face time with movers
and shakers. The setting was London's St. James Palace where Nina dos Santos sat down with Prince Andrew.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
NINA DOS SANTOS, NEWS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT BASED IN LONDON FOR CNN INTERNATIONAL: Prince Andrew is a man on a mission to get Britain's
startup community the best face time possible. First in line to the British throne, the Duke of York has laid open some of the most prestigious
palaces in the land in an effort to bring budding entrepreneurs and big business together in a contest called Pitch @ Palace.
PRINCE ANDREW, HRH DUKE OF YORK: One of the aspects, and the fortunate aspect, of being a member of the royal family is one has
convening power, and all I have is a very small venue in a palace.
DOS SANTOS: Selected by 14 mentor companies including Microsoft and "Wired" magazine, 41 startups competed for 15 spots to present themselves
to an elite audience of 300 at London's St. James' Palace, with just one scoring a trip to Silicon Valley. For all those taking part, it's a once-
in-a-lifetime opportunity with just one shot to make a good impression.
Some people have said that the U.K.'s fared much better than some of its neighbor, economically speaking, because of the focus on entrepreneurs.
ANDREW: Because there's a sense that the U.K.'s an entirely big enough market -- which it can be. But we're an island. We're very
fortunate in this country in the sense that first of all, we've got a very established market of our own, we've then got an even bigger and probably
one of the largest markets that is captured in the European Union. But then we can go beyond that into the globe. And I would like to see British
businesses looking to think about whether they should be in the globe rather than just in the British market or in the European market. But the
other thing is, is that there isn't a single business that is coming through here who does not recognize that they immediately start in a global
environment. And that's different to where we have been in the past I suspect.
DOS SANTOS: And indeed the brand Made in Britain sells very well outside of the U.K.
ANDREW: I've talked on many occasions in the past about how there isn't virtually any piece of electronics around the world that somewhere or
somehow isn't run, ordered, organized by piece of British technology that's inside it. Now, you don't see that, but they're all inside. Apple's got
British, Microsoft has got British, the Japanese, the Koreans - they've all got British bits in them. We don't see a big British brand. Now that
doesn't bother me in the slightest as to whether we don't see a British Brand. It's the fact that we've got some really inventive people, we've
got some really clever university organizations who are churning out people with great ideas.
DOS SANTOS: This event with a focus on tech is the second of its kind to take place with the financial concierge service, Squirrel, clinching the
top slot. And the (inaudible) Prince isn't stopping there. His Royal Highness hopes to turn Pitch @ Palace into a regular fixture on the U.K.'s
startup scene. Nina dos Santos, CNN London.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
HARLOW: Thank you for that - very cool to see. Meantime, 3D printing is a major theme at this week's Dublin Web Summit. Our Jim Boulden has
been covering the event for us and has a new word to describe 3D printing - delicious.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's no surprise that 3D printing is one of the main topics here at the Web Summit in Dublin.
These, for instance, have been printed using ordinary paper. But there is one 3D printing here that I've never seen before, and it may be surprising
to you. It's 3D food printing.
LYNETTE KUCSMA, 3D DELICIOUS!: Quite a new concept and we (inaudible) level to make fresh food, 3D printed. So the people become the
manufacturers.
BOULDEN: Why do you need the printing element -- if I just want to make a pizza, I can make a pizza or I could buy a pizza?
KUCSMA: Some people can make pizza and that's fine - if you're a pizza maker, go for it. But if everybody could make a pizza, then why is
there an entire aisle dedicated in supermarkets to frozen pizzas and pre- made pizza crust with additives and preservatives, and not so healthy things. The dough is relatively easy to make - people find it (inaudible)
difficult, so the 3D printer can do that for you.
BOULDEN: But looking at 3D printing in general, how is this changing? How is it transforming industries like food?
KUCSMA: Well, we've been (inaudible) from the food industry. If I can print it, why would I buy it? I can print it making fresh, wholesome,
real ingredients and stay away from the additives and preservatives since that makes (inaudible).
(END VIDEOCLIP)
HARLOW: Looks delicious. All right, we'll be back in a moment with a final check on the market next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: A final check on the markets here in New York. The Dow and S&P 500 closed at new record highs after the ECB hinted at more stimulus
Thursday. The S&P 500 is up nearly 10 percent on the year. European markets closed higher after ECB President Mario Draghi's comments. That is
despite weak data on industrial orders in Germany. The Bank of England also held rates at historically low levels. And Randgold Resources was the
top gainer on the FTSE Thursday after positive earnings. The CEO told me his company is well placed to deal with falling gold prices.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
MARK BRISTOW, CEO, RANDGOLD: I think what you'll see in the market and if you look at how - our performance - after our results today is
people appreciate the fact that we're still viable at $1,000.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
HARLOW: And that is "Quest Means Business" for this Thursday. I'm Poppy Harlow. Thank you so much for joining us. Stay tuned. "Amanpour"
is next.
END
