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Quest Means Business
Delays After UK Air Traffic System Outage; Fall in Oil Hurts US Stocks; Worst Week in Years for European Stocks; IEA Says Cheap Oil May Cause Social Unrest; Uber Avoids French Ban; FBI Investigates Sony Hack; E- Mails Leaked in Sony Hack; Corporate Damage Control
Aired December 12, 2014 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE CLOSING BELL)
POPPY HARLOW, HOST: A bloodbath on Wall Street, a triple-digit fall for the Dow caps a brutal week on the markets. This as we continue to
watch oil prices in this country. What a day here. Also, coming up, we'll bring you the closing bell on Wall Street. It is Friday, December the
12th.
A computer glitch empties the skies over southern England, leaving travel chaos in its wake.
You can't innovate by sitting on the sidelines. So says Uber's Europe manager defending his company's reputation.
And the art of the corporate apology. Lessons from Sony and Korean Air.
I'm Poppy Harlow, and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Good evening everyone, thank you for joining me. I'm Poppy Harlow in this evening for Richard Quest. Let me show you how the markets closed
here in the US, because it is truly bleak. Let's take a look at the numbers.
A 308-point loss, nearly 2 percentage point loss on the Dow Industrials. Those numbers still settling. We will get a full update for
you live from the New York Stock Exchange, our Alison Kosik there in just a moment.
However, we begin with this tonight: delays and huge frustration in one of Europe's busiest travel hubs. After technical failure at an air
traffic control center, air space around London was temporarily forced to close on Friday.
The exact cause really still unexplained, and the UK transport minister is calling the disruption "simply unacceptable." Flights have
resumed, but delays are expected to continue into Saturday.
Some airlines are already offering refunds, and a lot of them are demanding answers. This is the area, take a look, over southern England.
Big area that was affected today. It contains all five London major airports handling around 2700 flights per day.
To give you a sense of how busy that makes the skies around London, this is a simulation of those flights on a normal day. Well, today was
anything but a normal day. Jim Boulden joins us now on the line from Heathrow Airport.
Jim, let me ask you this: there was some talk, some chatter about whether this could have been caused by hacking. That has been ruled out,
right?
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes. Hacking has been ruled out by NATS, which is the organization which runs
the air traffic control over southeast England. Of course, it's no surprise that people were thinking, could this be a hack? There has never
been one, as far as I know, for any air traffic control, and that would be a worry.
But it should be stressed that we've seen these kind of computer glitches in the past years in southeast England. We had one December of
last year. I think that's why you hear the UK government frustrated, why you hear airlines like Ryanair very, very frustrated. They really want to
know how you can have another computer failure. This is more than a glitch, isn't it?
HARLOW: Yes.
BOULDEN: We're talking about a lot of flights having to be delayed, canceled, having to be rerouted. We're talking about planes in the wrong
places. We're talking about people whose holidays have been disrupted. So, it's not a glitch.
HARLOW: Yes.
BOULDEN: We've even heard from some passengers here who couldn't get on their flights because their baggage couldn't make it to their plane in
time, even when the plane took off. So you had that kind of scenario.
Now, planes are landing, now, again here at London Heathrow, Poppy, for a few more hours until the airport closes. But all the airlines are
saying that there will be cancellations, delays, and uncertainty well into Saturday --
HARLOW: Yes.
BOULDEN: -- because this is a very congested airspace. We're talking about Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted. And so, flights all over Europe will be
affected and have been affected by this glitch, which looks like it only lasted one hour, Poppy.
HARLOW: Jim Boulden reporting for us live from Heathrow Airport this evening. Jim, thank you for that.
Let's talk more about this, these computer glitches causing long delays, big headaches into the weekend. Quite common at one time in
aviation. Of course, technical advances mean that systems have been designed to curb interruptions, things exactly like this. But as we
clearly saw play out today, they don't always work.
Look back at August of 2010, hundreds of flights were delayed across Western Europe when one of Eurocontrol's flight tracking computers went
down. Controllers were forced to widen the distance between planes in the air, and of course, reduce traffic by 25 percent.
Then, in July of last year, a very busy day, a summer day at Heathrow and Gatwick, it was interrupted by a problem at South England Control
Center. Airspace did not close, but traffic was limited and it caused major headaches, again, major delays.
And this past April, here in the US, flights in the western half of the country were delayed and planes en route to the region were grounded
when a new $2 billion tracking system, well, it went offline.
David Soucie is our CNN safety analyst, aviation analyst. He joins me now from Denver. And David, I just mentioned how technology's gotten so
much better, but this keeps happening. Why?
DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Well, as you improve technology, you have interdependencies. The old technology is still there, but the new
technology is trying to work with it. So, it's a really serious situation. They keep using the word "glitch," but as we pointed out earlier, this is
not a glitch.
And it's not just a matter of inconvenience, either. If you think about where these airplanes have to go when they have no place to land,
they only have a certain amount of fuel --
HARLOW: Right.
SOUCIE: -- it's much like the interstate networks in the United States or in Europe. If you start shutting down the off-ramps, people have
to stay on that main highway and they can't get off.
Although this problem is there's no place for them to land, and they can't just fly around in the air, because then they're going to run into
each other. So, it's a serious, serious problem and indicates that there needs to be some improvement in this system.
HARLOW: You know, that's an important point, because we saw while this was all going on, Brussels said, look, our airspace is open, our
runways, our airports are open for you.
But what if you're a plane halfway over the Atlantic from New York to London and you don't know when this is going to end. Do you turn back? Do
you keep going? Talk to me about from a safety perspective, should we as fliers be worried that this puts us in danger?
SOUCIE: I don't think that there's any imminent danger right now just because of how it's been held. I hate to say it that way, because there's
always some level of danger in flying. But in this case, I believe that there is enough redundancy in the systems, there are backup, even manual
systems.
What's failed in this system is simply the software that tells which airplane to go in order, which one comes next. Now, that can be a real
problem, and it is a real problem. But what the air traffic controllers are trained to do is to then take that information and actually have a
manual system to keep track of that themselves.
They have to do a lot more calculations, it's a lot busier obviously. But they offload that to the other airports. It's terribly inconvenient
for everybody --
HARLOW: Yes.
SOUCIE: -- but their first goal is to make it safe and make sure that the distances, the five-mile separation between airplanes and the several
thousand feet between them, depending on what area they're in, that has to be maintained, and they're doing everything they can to do that, even in a
manual mode.
HARLOW: So, the airlines are really upset. A Ryanair spokesman coming out today, calling this "unacceptable," noting second time in 12
months this has happened, this is during the busy holiday travel season. What is it going to take to get better, right? To get a better backup
system? Is it about airlines pouring more into those that build these? What is it going to take?
SOUCIE: What it's going to take is some infrastructure reorganization. It takes a major change. Now, NextGen in the United
States, and SESAR, which is over in Europe, both of those are modernization efforts to use the GPS satellites and the GPS coordinates to improve the
way that they go, to close the spaces together.
But what I'm concerned about is just that the infrastructure itself, the basic screens that they're looking at, those things have been designed
many, many years ago, and they've just continued to add safety and safety and safety on top of this basic system.
So, what it's going to take is two things. One is a lot of money. NextGen is a $50 billion project --
HARLOW: Wow.
SOUCIE: -- over just the next few years. SESAR is equally as important. But now we have the politics that are affecting it, too. The
money for NextGen was sequestered last year, and so therefore, NextGen is way behind schedule. The project costs are going to escalate
exponentially.
And now, SESAR, because it's relying on NextGen as an interdependent system, SESAR has decided to move their schedule back further, too, because
of some of the technologies that they'll be sharing. So, it's a difficult situation. It's going to take a lot of money. But secondly, it's going to
take a change in the way that government things about --
HARLOW: Yes.
SOUCIE: -- our infrastructure.
HARLOW: Absolutely. David Soucie reporting for us. Thank you for the expertise from Colorado this evening. Good to have you on the program.
Still to come here on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, a stark warning from the IEA: the fall in oil prices will not just hurt national finances, it could
threaten political stability as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Welcome back to QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. What a day for markets around the world, especially here in the United States. Alison Kosik joins
us live from the New York Stock Exchange. What a day, Alison. It just got worse as we got closer to the close.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and at that close, we saw the Dow lose 300 or more points there. Those plunging oil prices
really taking a toll on investors today, oil falling almost 4 percent, settling below $58 a barrel for the first time in five and a half years.
So, what sparked today's selling? Well, today there was yet another prediction about oil demand, and this one coming from the International
Energy Agency saying global demand for oil will fall next year, and that's as we're seeing oil supply grow.
So, what really seems to be rattling Wall Street, Poppy, is the question of what's really behind this drop in oil prices. And the big
concern is that it's happening because economies in Europe and in Asia are slowing down. Poppy?
HARLOW: Alison, thank you so much. I appreciate it. Have a great weekend. European stocks have capped their worst week in years with heavy,
heavy losses, as Alison just told us about, on Friday.
Energy stocks have been some of the worst affected as the price of oil continues to slide. Shares of BP and Shell ended the day down around 3
percent. Greek shares feel 0.4 percent. They're now at their lowest point since July of last year.
As Alison mentioned, the IEA says the global oversupply of oil will not stop anytime soon. They predict it will continue next year, and it
warns that that could lead to unrest in some nations that truly rely on that oil revenue.
That warning sent prices tumbling yet again on Friday. The barrel -- cost for a barrel of oil now less than $62, as Alison said, falling below
$58 for the first time in five and a half years. That is down 9 percent from Monday alone in just five days. It is truly stunning to watch from
the sidelines.
For the countries and the companies that rely on this oil revenue, the ripple effects are growing. In Russia, the ruble fell another 3 percent
against the US dollar. It is down some 43 percent since January. In Nigeria, the central bank has intervened yet again to prop up -- its
currency. And then, those moves are eating away at the country's foreign currency reserves.
Oil companies are feeling the pinch as well in a very big way. Some major headlines out of big oil producers this week. Halliburton and BP
have announced plans for major staff layoffs. ConocoPhillips has revealed spending cuts starting right at the beginning of 2015.
Joining me now to talk about all of this big picture, one of the best people we could have on the program, Ken Rogoff, one of the world's top
economists and financial experts, especially in crisis situations. He served as chief economist at the IMF before becoming an economics professor
at Harvard. So, I say the word "crisis." Is it too soon to say that?
KEN ROGOFF, ECONOMICS PROFESSOR, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Well, it is a crisis in Russia and Nigeria, Venezuela, the countries that really depend
on oil. For countries like Europe and the United States and Japan, this is basically fantastic. It generates instability. Our companies make money
from emerging markets abroad that are weak, and we're seeing some of that. But this is not a bad thing overall, having oil prices drop.
HARLOW: But then you look at the bloodshed on Wall Street, and you wonder, you have to think, does this extra money in consumers' pockets
because of cheaper gas prices, is that really going to translate into increased spending, or is this thing a much bigger macro problem?
ROGOFF: No, I think it's very good that way. It's not as good as if monetary policy could kick in as prices go down, but it's very good. But
of course, if there -- Russia might do something more in Ukraine, if there could be instability in Latin America, that's not good. And also, our
companies do make profits from all over the world. Germany --
HARLOW: Right. We can't just focus on the European consumer, the US consumer.
ROGOFF: Absolutely. The Germans make a lot of money off China. If China's slowing down --
HARLOW: Yes.
ROGOFF: -- that hurts their companies.
HARLOW: When you look at the -- the US economy, for example. It has thrived, in particular, recently, because of the shale boom, right? And
the oil boom and shale gas boom here, especially in certain parts of this country.
And we've already seen major job cuts now by almost all the big oil and gas producers. So, I wonder what impact do you think that might have
on the US economy long-term on the jobs front?
ROGOFF: I think it's going to be good on the jobs front --
HARLOW: Still?
ROGOFF: -- because yes, it hits the oil companies very hard. But for the economy more broadly, I think it's going to feed back into consumption.
If you're an agricultural production, oil is a bit input. And so I think overall, this is good.
HARLOW: Very quickly, though, is this the beginning of a correction? An actual 10 percent correction that we've had a lot of people in jitters
about?
ROGOFF: It's certainly plausible. Let's face it, if the prices go up and up, you get a new high each day, and then suddenly -- this is so
dramatic --
HARLOW: Yes.
ROGOFF: -- having oil prices fall like this. We haven't --
HARLOW: And the market.
ROGOFF: -- seen anything like this in 15 years or something for oil - -
HARLOW: Right.
ROGOFF: -- falling this much. So, naturally, it unnerves people who just think everything is perfect.
HARLOW: So maybe correction.
ROGOFF: Maybe.
HARLOW: Maybe. We'll be watching. Ken Rogoff, thanks for joining us on the program this evening.
ROGOFF: Thank you.
HARLOW: It is rare -- it is really a rare victory for Uber. This company has been dealing with some major bad press, but a good headline
today after a string of defeats this week. A judge in Paris has ruled that UberPop, that is an arm of Uber, can continue to operate in that country.
That's a service that lets individuals offer rides in their private cars. They're not licensed taxi drivers.
And it follows a series of major roadblocks for the company. District attorneys in Los Angeles and San Francisco have sued, saying Uber misleads
customers on driver hiring practices. In Portland, Oregon, the city has asked a county judge to block Uber and has threatened to fine drivers.
And in the Netherlands, an appeals court has ordered Uber to stop operations there. This as Spain -- a judge in Spain has blocked the
service on grounds there. And also in Thailand, Uber has been curtailed. What a week it has been. They have also been banned in New Delhi following
allegations of rape against one of their drivers.
Well, earlier today, I spoke with Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, he is Uber's general manager for all of Western Europe. I asked him how
significant today's ruling from the French court is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PIERRE-DIMITRI GORE-COTY, GENERAL MANAGER FOR WESTERN EUROPE, UBER: The French court decision today is a very positive one. You have a court
that is essentially dismissing the claims brought before the court by taxi incumbents.
And I think this is a very strong signal. It means that UberPop can continue to operate in France. And it also sends a strong signal all
across Europe in terms of the legitimacy of the UberPop product.
HARLOW: Earlier this week, Uber was banned in Delhi after an Uber driver is alleged to have raped a passenger. Can you tell me what Uber
does to do background checks of all of its drivers around the world?
GORE-COTY: Of course, I'm not in a position to comment about what's happening outside Western Europe, which is the region which I oversee.
What I can confirm, though, is that in each of the 20 cities across Western Europe where we operate UberPop, we do check background checks for every
single drivers. We do meet drivers in person.
And of course, I think safety is something that is extremely important to us. You have a system that is fully trackable, which means that at any
given point in time, if there's an issue, you can know where the driver is, what car is he driving, where he has been.
So, we take safety extremely seriously, and I think that's part of the reason why Uber is so successful among people and users.
HARLOW: When it comes to background checks globally, Uber operates differently in different countries. You don't have one standard form of
background checking all your drivers. And that concerns some people. Do you believe that that should change?
GORE-COTY: I think what we are trying to do is to have the best possible option and mechanism in each and every country. The reality is
that each and every country as its specificities.
So, in France, for instance, since I'm here in France, you can ask a background check on every single person, and there are certain rules around
privacy and in what context you're allowed to ask for background checks. And I think we have to work with those local and those country nuances.
Because our aim is to provide the best possible option that is technically allowed in a country.
HARLOW: Uber was banned this week alone in Spain and Thailand, and I wonder, Pierre, what your perspective is more broadly? Can Uber survive if
it has to comply with all local transport regulations? So, it's really different everywhere.
GORE-COTY: I think that the different episodes you have seen everywhere around the world, and especially last week, they will reflect
one identical situation, which is about a company that is disrupting, that is bringing competition to one of the most regulated industries out there.
So, in a way, they are all expressing the same reality, which is about innovation. And you don't innovate by sitting on the sidewalk.
HARLOW: Some estimate Uber's valuation at $40 billion. How much do you think Uber is worth?
GORE-COTY: I think that simple fact that people are willing to pay such amount of money for a company like Uber illustrates that we are trying
to solve a major problem. And I think that major problem is that you have one billion cars on the planet that are used less than one hour per day.
That's four percent.
And I think this is what Uber is about. Uber is about trying to bring efficiency through technology into each and every city such that you can
bring affordable and safer options for people to move around.
And when you think about that, and when you think about how big the market is, you don't end up being surprised by the sort of amounts you're
describing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Also an interesting note: some investors place the valuation of Uber at $40 billion. We will continue to watch that company very
closely on this program.
Coming up next on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, embarrassing leaks, e-mails, and more. The latest on the damage caused by the Sony hack.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Welcome back to the program. The FBI is still investigating the extent of the damage from a massive hack of Sony's private data at the
end of November. Justice correspondent Pamela Brown has been examining the details. She joins us now. You've been talking to your sources. I think
the fear is this is far from over.
PAM BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: It absolutely is. In fact, this could be going on for months, even years, Poppy. It's clear that the
people behind this, the hackers, who call themselves Guardians of Peace, are slowly trickling out the information. Sources I've been speaking with
are saying that this seems to be politically motivated, this hack.
And right now, as we speak, the FBI is working to figure out who's behind it. There has been some speculation that North Korea could be
behind it. Sources tell me that the Korean language was in the coding in the hack and that the way the hack was done is similar to hacks against
South Korea.
But attribution is very complex, and sources I've been speaking with say it's too early to jump to any conclusions. So, that's really what
they're looking at.
And also, the extent of the damage, not only to Sony's system, but how much was taken as far as the confidential information. Day by day, Poppy,
it seems like new revelations are surfacing.
HARLOW: Yes.
BROWN: Private e-mail exchanges with Sony executives.
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: There isn't even e-mail fully within Sony right now, right? They're still offline, somewhat.
BROWN: It's not fully online yet.
HARLOW: Right.
BROWN: They can receive e-mails, I'm told. But I can just tell you from the people I've been communicating with at Sony, it's all been over
texting --
HARLOW: Of course.
BROWN: -- and phone. I think they're clearly concerned to use their computer system at all right now.
HARLOW: Of course. Pamela Brown, thank you. Appreciate the reporting.
BROWN: Thank you.
HARLOW: Good to see you. Have a good weekend.
BROWN: You, too.
HARLOW: Well, among the e-mails that were leaked, correspondence from Sony Pictures chairman -- co-chairman, Amy Pascal, which included racially
insensitive comments about President Obama. Pascal has apologized, saying, quote, "Although this was a private communication that was stolen, I accept
full responsibility for what I wrote and apologize to everyone who was offended."
Also, producer Scott Rudin expressing his regrets after he was quoted in an e-mail describing Angelina Jolie as a, quote, "minimally-talented
spoiled brat." This awkward moment, caught between Pascal and Jolie on Wednesday.
Sony is not the only company in the midst of damage control. Korean Air executive Heather Cho has apologized. She ordered a plane to return to
the gate after a flight attendant served her peanuts in a bag instead of on a plate in first class.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEATHER CHO, KOREAN AIR (through translator): I sincerely apologizing for causing trouble for everyone. I'm sorry. I am stepping back from
management front. I have no other plans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: So, for more on how corporations can best handle situations like these, there is no one better to bring in, frankly, than the president
and CEO of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide. Richard Edelman joins me now. Thank you for being here.
RICHARD EDELMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, EDELMAN PUBLIC RELATIONS WORLDWIDE: Thank you.
HARLOW: What a complete fiasco. Let's start with Korean Airlines, because these are different situations, right? So, Heather Cho said that.
She's the daughter of the head of the company. She's got this big job. And he basically tells her she's gone. So, he took action.
EDELMAN: I think that was absolutely the right thing. He made it clear that a family member -- I'm a family business owner --
HARLOW: Right.
EDELMAN: -- myself -- has a higher responsibility than any of the employees, and that she was not going to be sheltered from the necessary
action.
HARLOW: It's interesting, because this has had broader implications. What we've read in the local press, there, in Korea is that it has really
deepened public resentment in South Korea of family-owned big corporations. And this just -- it further carries on what many of them think is going on.
Sony. So, you -- the words used, it seemed like, from Amy Pascal and Scott Rudin were we didn't intend to offend anyone and we're sorry. Does
it matter what you intended to the public?
EDELMAN: I think the moment is now for Amy Pascal to pivot to doing something constructive. I think that she's apologized. A good example of
something positive would be to try to get Sony to lead an effort to get more African-Americans into management of entertainment companies.
HARLOW: But do people -- do people believe that when they see that happen? Do they believe that it's genuine?
EDELMAN: Our client, Barilla, last year had a snafu around gay and lesbian issues.
HARLOW: OK.
EDELMAN: Within a year of very strong efforts, they actually were able to get an award from the gay and lesbian community --
HARLOW: OK.
EDELMAN: -- for outstanding leadership. I believe in a company saying we've had a problem, we've apologized, and we're going to actually
do something constructive about fixing it.
HARLOW: What is lesson number one for corporations? Because it's different for a company to apologize than an individual, like a celebrity,
right? I think people hold companies to a higher bar.
EDELMAN: I think that a CEO, Amy Pascal, has the responsibility to lead. And her necessity here is to use this moment in a constructive
fashion and not just apologize, but actually to make it a long-term commitment to something positive.
HARLOW: Let's talk a bit about -- and Scott Rudin, too, right?
EDELMAN: Yes, sure.
HARLOW: Not just alone for her. What do you think of Sony's strategy of banning interviews altogether last night at the LA premier of the movie,
the controversial movie -- now controversial, a comedy called "The Interview." What do you think of that strategy?
EDELMAN: To do an interview on the red carpet is almost of necessity very fast and short and not substantive. It's a sound bite. I think that
Sony should have offered an alternative mechanism for talking to Pascal.
HARLOW: Like a junket-like situation, a sit-down?
EDELMAN: A sit-down with you or whomever from CNN and say, this is what happened, this is how it happened, and this is what we're going to do
about it.
HARLOW: So talk. Don't stay silent, or stick to just a statement.
EDELMAN: No, I think statements are insufficient. There has to be some human element of contrition and some positive expression of what it is
we're going to do differently.
HARLOW: How can Sony get in front of this? Because as we just heard our Pamela Brown report, there may be a lot more to come.
EDELMAN: Again, you have to have a long-term commitment to making the African-American executives a bigger part of the entertainment community or
some other positive initiative. You can't just stick on answering the negative.
HARLOW: Yes, all right. Good to have you on the program.
EDELMAN: Thank you so much.
HARLOW: Appreciate it.
EDELMAN: Good to see you.
HARLOW: Thank you, have a great weekend.
EDELMAN: Thank you.
HARLOW: Coming up next on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, a Texas court clears a young woman's name, ruling that General Motors defective ignition switch
is to blame for her boyfriend's death, not her, a decade ago.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Welcome back, I'm Poppy Harlow. This is CNN. Here are your top stories this hour. Three people have been shot at Rosemary Anderson High
School in Portland, Oregon. That is according to Portland's fire department. The victims have been transported to Emmanuel Medical Center.
Two schools nearby at this hour on lockdown.
A technical glitz with air traffic control forced London's airspace to temporarily close Friday afternoon. The specific cause is not clear.
Flights have resumed. Major delays and some cancellations though at London's five airports are expected to last until Saturday.
Israeli authorities say a Palestinian man threw acid on a Jewish family who had stopped to give an Israeli hitchhiker a ride. The family
and hitchhiker were slightly wounded in that attack. Israel says the suspect has been involved in quote "illegal and hostile riots and
activities before."
A Brazilian man has confessed to the killing of 39 women and he says it was because he is addicted to murder. The 26-year-old told authorities
that he murdered the women over a 10-year period because he enjoyed the rush of adrenaline and the feeling of power that it gave him.
And United States President Barack Obama says he is glad a budget bill did pass in the House of Representatives late Thursday night. He is
hopeful it will pass in the Senate. The $1.9 trillion bill will fund most of the U.S. government through next September. The President said there
are provisions in it that he doesn't like, but it was quote, "by definition a compromise bill."
Two more deaths have been linked to General Motors' defective ignition switches this week. The total number of death claims approved by the
company's compensation fund has now reached 38 and it is expected to rise from there. I have been following the story of a young woman from Texas
who has been wracked with guilt for the past decade, believing she was responsible for her boyfriend's death in 2004. He was killed instantly
when her car crashed into a tree. Candice Anderson ended up pleading guilty to criminal negligent homicide, making her a convicted felon. This
year though, GM recalled Ms. Anderson's car and millions more and it came to light that GM knew about the defect years earlier when Anderson was
pleading guilty but never told her.
After a report on Candice's situation, a judge agreed to hear her appeal. Now her conviction has been overturned, her record cleared.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
HARLOW: Do you feel free now?
CANDICE ANDERSON, DRIVER OF RECALLED GM CAR: I do. I feel like a big weight's been lifted off me. I can walk taller.
HARLOW: After a decade of agony, Candice Anderson is finally free. People in this town called you a murderer for a decade.
ANDERSON: Yes. A hard thing to get past.
HARLOW: Free from living a nightmare.
ANDERSON: I feel like I was robbed from a part of my life - a ten- year - I mean ten years is a decade, it's a long time. I feel robbed of part of my youth where things were supposed to be fun and making memories.
You know, having a good friend to share it with. (CRYING) And I just feel robbed of that.
HARLOW: It started with a fatal car crash. Candice was behind the wheel when her brand new Saturn Ion slammed into a tree on this East Texas
country road in 2004.
ANDERSON: It's this one right here.
HARLOW: This is the tree you hit.
ANDERSON: Yes.
HARLOW: Her boyfriend Mikale Erickson was in the passenger seat. He was Candice's first love.
ANDERSON: I went through the windshield on the hood of the car and then his face was face down in my lap.
HARLOW: The father of two young girls, Mikale was instantly killed. Candice still bears the scars of that day - her liver lacerated, nearly all
of her ribs broken. Have you ever had moments when you think `Why did I survive?'?
ANDERSON: Oh yes. I felt that way the whole ten years.
HARLOW: The police report says neither Candice nor Mikale was wearing a seatbelt. The airbags did not deploy. After the crash, Xanax is found
in Candice's system. She was not prescribed the drug but says she took one pill the night before.
ANDERSON: Do I think I was intoxicated that day? No, I wasn't intoxicated.
HARLOW: But she was indicted on a felony charge of intoxication manslaughter. She pleaded guilty to criminal negligent homicide and was
sentenced to five years' probation and fined. She lived each day as a felon. You could have gone to jail for 20 years.
ANDERSON: I think about that all the time. (LAUGHTER). I really do.
HARLOW: But there is now proof that for a decade, General Motors knew about a deadly defect in Candice's car and millions more but kept it a
secret. Faulty ignition switches causing the engine to stop suddenly while driving, disabling the airbags. And as Candice was prosecuted, GM did
nothing to help her. In fact, in 2007, the same year Candice pleaded guilty, GM did their own internal investigation of her crash, calling it
unusual and noted the airbags should have deployed.
ANDERSON: I'm pining (ph) for my justice. I want vindication. I want them to say, you know, I want people to know that it was the car and
it wasn't me.
HARLOW: In this courthouse, the same one where she pleaded guilty to criminal negligent homicide, Candice Anderson finally got her justice - the
judge placing the blame squarely on General Motors. Writing in the court opinion while Ms. Anderson pled guilty to a crime for which she was not at
fault, GM had evidence that would have demonstrated her actual innocence and identified the true culprit and cause of the accident - General Motors.
Candice's conviction overturned, she is now acquitted of any fault in the crash that killed Mikale. What would Mikale say?
ANDERSON: I pictured him rooting us, you know, in the courtroom and, you know, -- you know - it's a good feeling to think that he's, you know,
had a lot to do with this.
HARLOW: GM would not comment on the judge's opinion. But for the first time in this letter to Candice's attorney, General Motors admits it
may be to blame - writing, "GM has determined that the crash involving Ms. Anderson is one in which the recall condition may have caused or
contributed to the frontal airbag non-deployment in the accident." Is it enough?
ANDERSON: No, I don't think it's enough. You know, I think they should have been there that day to support me to put in some words before
the judge also. I really do.
HARLOW: Have you directly, Candice, heard from General Motors?
ANDERSON: Never. And this point - at this point I don't think I ever will.
HARLOW: So why didn't GM reach out to Candice Anderson when it investigated her crash years ago? We asked GM's CEO Mary Barra. Why
didn't GM ever reach out to her?
MARY BARRA, CEO, GENERAL MOTORS: As you look at it on the Valukas report documents that there were opportunities where in this specific
situation a series of mistakes were made over a long period of time. And that's why we've taken some of these extraordinary steps.
HARLOW: Do you think looking back - looking back, --
BARRA: Yes.
HARLOW: Do you think someone at GM should have when they saw this happen and there was an internal investigation reached out to Candice
Anderson?
BARRA: Again, Poppy, as you look across this, we have, you know, making the right changes that we need to make with the learnings that we've
had from the Valukas report, we're working to make sure we're the industry leaders in safety as we move forward, and we've taken steps to do the right
thing.
HARLOW: GM is fixing its defective cars and has apologized to victims and their families.
(BEGIN CLIP)
BARRA: I am deeply sorry.
(END CLIP)
HARLOW: When you come back to the crash site now being vindicated, knowing this wasn't your fault, what do you think?
ANDERSON: The guilt is definitely lifted. But what happened in the tragedy of course is still there. The pain is still real.
HARLOW: And nothing will bring Mikale back. For the past ten years, Mikale's mother Rhonda couldn't bring herself to lay a headstone for her
son. Now, she finally has.
RHONDA ERICKSON, SON KILLED IN 2004 SATURN ION CRASH: It was like the story of Davy and Goliath where we took a little slingshot and we threw a
rock at a giant and we won. That's how I felt - that it was all worth it and we weren't scared. And we stood up and we got what we wanted.
HARLOW: Vindication.
ERICKSON: Right.
HARLOW: Their fight may be over but the Department of Justice investigation into General Motors continues.
ANDERSON: There's someone within General Motors that should be held responsible.
HARLOW: Are you saying that you think individuals at General Motors should stand trial?
ANDERSON: Yes, I do. They didn't have a problem sitting by while I was charged and convicted.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
HARLOW: You know a lot of people have been asking us will Candice Anderson or Rhonda, Mikale's mother, sue General Motors, and the answer is
no. They can't. They did have a lawsuit pending but they have agreed to take money from the victim compensation fund set up by General Motors for
victims of this defect. And as a condition, they have to agree to never sue GM in the future over this crash. Candice told me it was a gut-
wrenching decision for her to make, but she decided that in the end she wanted to move forward with her life. She plans to use the money to finish
nursing school and for her two young daughters age four and six. Much more on that story on CNNMoney.com.
All right, let's quickly recap a brutal day and a brutal week for U.S. stocks. The Dow ended Friday down 315 points. That makes this the worst
week for the Dow Industrials in three years. This is the movement over the week. Stocks are down almost 4 percent. Oil also plunging, crude prices
falling in the U.S. more than 4 percent. On Friday alone, the IEA saying that the global oversupply of oil will continue into next year and it warns
that could lead to unrest in some nations that rely very heavily on oil revenue.
European stocks also capped their worst week in years with very heavy losses on Friday, across Europe as well. Energy stocks have been the worst
affected as the price of crude continues to slide. Shares of BP - that oil giant, also Shell ended the day down around 3 percent. Greek shares fell
.4 percent there now at their lowest point since July of last year.
Don't miss this weekend's "Best of Quest" where author Richard Aldous gives us a look behind the scenes of British politics in "Reading for
Leading." He explains why he loves the Alan Clark diaries.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
RICHARD ALDOUS, AUTHOR: Alan Clark was a defense minister in the factory governments in the 1980s. He only rose to mid-level in government,
but that makes him perfectly placed to observe what's going on. He's a brilliant storyteller, he's a maverick, he's not afraid to call things as
he sees them. That leads to some unbelievable stories about British politics. But more than any other book that I know, this book makes you
understand what it's like to be in the room, and in particular, to be in the room with Margaret Thatcher, one of the great figures in British
history.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
HARLOW: And that is "Best of Quest" only right here on CNN at noontime in London. That is "Quest Means Business" for this Friday. I'm
Poppy Harlow in for Richard Quest. Thank you so much for joining us. Wherever you are in the world, have a fabulous weekend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN "MARKETPLACE AFRICA"
MAGGIE LAKE, BUSINESS ANCHOR AND HOST, "WORLD BUSINESS TODAY": Hello, and welcome to Marketplace Africa, I'm Maggie Lake. Farming has always
been a labor of love, but making a living from that labor is important. In some parts of the world, for many and varied reasons, this has always been
a challenge. This week we visit a farming community in the Eastern Province of Ghana to find out how they are trying to turn things around.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
LAKE: Harvesting papayas in New Sawon (ph), a farming community west of Ghana's capital Accra. For Lamual Monte (ph), it's his livelihood and
he's determined to get the best out of his trees. Preparation is vital.
LAMUAL MONTE (ph): We want to care that we should take our knapsacks, you put in your water and then chemical. Take your protective clothes and
then you spray looking the other ways. Then you are on cautious (ph) place.
LAKE: Farming is a tricky business. In a world of increasing costs, farmers face enormous pressure to sustain their business. Everyone needs
to think smart, become more business savvy.
MOLONDUBE KAMBASAY (ph): Every business for me denotes the collective business activities that are performed from farm to the dining table. This
involves import supply, the production of food and actual delivery of food to the end user.
LAKE: Molondube Kambasay (ph) is regional director of the Mobile Business Clinic, an NGO devoted to helping those in the agricultural sector
grow their businesses. By offering training in good business practices, the clinic is hoping to help farmers avoid the usual pitfalls.
KAMBASAY (ph): One of the challenges that we've identified is that there is not, you know, enough corporate governance practice in most
agribusiness companies. Most of the decisions are taken in the bedrooms and not boardrooms. Our main focus is to improve deskios (ph)and
coverstays (ph) of CEOs for them to have better access to appropriate resources for growth.
LAKE: The clinic offers training workshops, going out to different regions around the country focusing on leadership, business development and
collaboration. Stressing the need for collective community practice. Once the three-month workshop is complete, members form clubs where ideas are
exchanged and support is given.
KAMBASAY (ph) : These clubs form a repository of skills, knowledge and experience that, you know, young entrepreneurs, especially in the
agribusiness sector, can rely on to start their businesses and you know turn it around.
LAKE: Antony Korkuve and his wife have an egg business.
Antony Korkuve: It's very expensive raising chicken in Ghana. Quota checks are very expensive, then the feed is also very expensive and then at
times through diseases also disturb us, especially if you don't follow - give them the right vaccinations.
LAKE: But his recent training has encouraged Tony to rise to the challenge - to think big.
ANTONY KORKUVE: I'm thinking of expansion, and with expansion, marketing it's likely going to be a challenge. So it's likely I will move
beyond () to possibly Accra and other places to find more markets for my produce.
LAKE: And marketing costs money, so investors need to be sourced.
KAMBASAY (ph): There is enough funding available for agribusiness entrepreneurs but most investors would want to see some structures in the
businesses in order to have enough confidence to put their money in.
LAKE: These are lessons learned by another beneficiary of MBC training - farmer (Nee Daniel), owner of Ocean Champ Farm.
NEE DANIEL (ph): I started with piggery. Then later I digressed and did some poultry. And I had a problem. So I stopped the poultry edits
(ph) and used payaya to just support for me to come back today to piggery again. So currently I'm doing the piggery and the poultry and the payaya.
That I want to come back to my piggery.
LAKE: MBC has helped Nee (ph) focus on his strengths.
DANIEL (ph): Now I have acquired a lot of insight in my marketing strategy, and this administrative, even the finances. Now I can be able to
prepare my own accounts with the knowledge that I acquired from them. And now I have also got to know that I have to involve the workers -- the
attendants -- in my vision, my program because I have to let them know the program that we have for their farm. They should also be part of it. I
shouldn't just let them come and work and then become (ph). They also have some ideas that when they bring, and I add to mine, I can be able to
achieve my aim.
LAKE: Collaboration on many levels can only be a good thing. (Nee)'s neighbor, cattleman (Malik Abdul), is always around to help.
DANIEL (ph): There is a neighbor who is also a member of this organization - (Malik). He has been helping me a lot. When I have a
problem, I do fall on him to come and assist me.
LAKE: And Malik (ph) has also changed his way of thinking.
MALIK ABDUL (ph): At a point in time, when I went to the (), I have to go into some changes. I have to change my activities. So before that,
I () now. Fortunately and before unfortunately then tried to look for source for markets, target people who are to buy the animal before trying
to fatten them. So, I mean, before I'm certain that (project) I've already (prepare) who'll be - who'll be buying from - who'll be buying from me. So
if I produce for the seller a market, I would have for them selling at all.
LAKE: With a solid business foundation and the help of some good neighbors, these farmers are sure to reap the rewards they richly deserve.
KAMBASAY (ph): If you can't inspired by these guys, I don't think you would be inspired by anybody, you know, in your entire life. I think it
is, you know, an exciting experience to be working with them and we need such models and we need, you know, a lot of support, you know, to give them
a push to make sure that they grow their businesses, make a few dollars, but contribute a lot to the food security, you know, in - not just in Ghana
- but in Africa.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
LAKE: Stay with us as we talk to one of Ghana's leading agronomists, Abu Michael Sakara Foster.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LAKE: Welcome back to "Marketplace Africa." In Ghana, more than half of the population makes their living from agricultural. But the sector is
far from dominating the economy. In this week's "Face Time," we ask agronomist Abu Michael Sakara Foster whether agricultural can become more
of a contributor in the future.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
ABU MICHAEL SAKARA FOSTER, AGRONOMIST: There is no doubt that there is significant potential. Specifically we can talk about even just imports
substitution. For example we have significant amounts of rice, a force of 600 million that is imported a year. A growth (ph) amount of sugar cane
are produced and we have good climates for production of these.
Now it may be that we don't have comparative -- or a competitive -- advantage, but we do have a comparative advantage. And we can turn that to
technology and human capacity-building into a competitive advantage. And I think those are the areas that we need to focus on going forward to see how
we can reset the priorities, not just in terms of giving agriculture focus, but seeing how we can use agricultural to change the architecture of the
economy and bring about the value addition and the further transformational changes that can happen in the economy when we have a quantum leap from one
level to another.
It's often said and you will hear at almost every rally that you know agriculture is the backbone of the country, of the country's economy. The
question is if you take budgets and you look at it - is that getting as much calcium as the backbone needs in terms of financing? Or is it really
the wing wole (ph)? (LAUGHTER). You know? So I think that we need to prioritize and also follow through and focus. I think there needs to be a
belief that through that path we can end up with a much bigger economy. And more importantly, a faith/face (ph) of prosperity for the entire
population.
But farmers are not looking for handouts. They are already feeding themselves and feeding the urbanites. So, they're not the people looking
for the handouts. What they want is to broaden the scope of prosperity and change the dynamics of the economy by scaling up. More effort needs to be
put in assuring that food is produced where it's needed the most. And more importantly, those people with lower incomes should be encouraged to
produce their own food because if you are a farmer, and as we claim, significant percentages of Africans are farmers, and you go to the global
markets to buy food, then what are you bringing to the global markets?
So if you don't have anything to bring for the global market, but you buy from there, invariably, you continue to accumulate that. And that is
one of the primary sources of countries - African countries - increasingly building up (bit). So that is basically the balance in the country at the
moment. Agriculture continues to play a significant part in the economy. We need to invest a significant proportion of the public funds to improve
the infrastructure and also give them access to immediate forms of transport. And of course the technical training that will allow them to
bring the produce out and to get the returns to - for the investment.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
LAKE: Thanks for watching this week's "Marketplace Africa." You can find us online at CNN.com/marketplaceafrica. I'm Maggie Lake. We'll see
you again next time.
END
