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Quest Means Business

Doctor Gives Results of Trump's Physical; Dow Falls Back after Topping 26,000; Arianna Huffington on #MeToo Movement; Vantiv-Worldpay Deal Values Firm at $25 Billion; Trump's Energy Deregulation Spree; Trump Voters in Ohio Happy with Their President; Luxury Watchmakers Turn to Social Media. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 16, 2018 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(CNN DOMESTIC PROGRAMMING)

[16:10:00]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: And there, you've been listening to the presidential physician, Dr. Ronny Jackson. His conclusion: President

Trump is in excellent health overall and, he says, he should remain in excellent health throughout his term with that just within the overweight

and just toward the end, maybe the obese range, and most crucially of all, there are no concerns over cognitive ability.

He got 30 out of 30 on the cognitive test. We now know considerably more about President Trump's eating habits, his sleeping habits; he get between

4-5 hours of sleep a night. His health, his cholesterol many of us probably have a wish to know but on the positive side of that, it is

confirmed that he is in excellent health.

And I think the important of what we've heard and why we stayed with it so long, it was obviously a U.S. military doctor giving this report card on

the U.S. president, which is very different in size, substance and integrity, perhaps, than previous reports we've had on President Trump's

health, which were released during the campaign in 2016.

And so on that note, let's go to our daily diet of our own, markets. Now a bit of an obese day on the markets that began with a great feast. And then

it was famine that failed to deliver by the close.

The stocks passed a milestone when the market opened; 26,000 was reached. But overall, a 300 point swing in one session which is really quite

extraordinary.

Come over here and let's just look at the way this session went and I'll just briefly show you. This session, up over 26,000 and then down to the

depth -- it's about 380 points, 400 range from up here to down here.

And we thought might eke out a small, little gain at the end but it was not to be. The market was down 10.3 and the other markets were up at all.

However, we have to put into full perspective. It took just seven trading days for the Dow to climb another 1,000 points before falling way back.

And if you look at this chart, I think the best way to show what this is, actually been happening, join me as we show you exactly.

Since President Trump was elected in excellent health, the Dow has continued to expand. It has added 7.5 thousand points since the election.

It's a gain of some 40 percent.

Now clearly, nobody wants this to go pop and bang out of control. However, some are really worrying, when wondering whether this rally is out of

control.

Is that what might happen?

Randall Kroszner is the former governor of the Federal Reserve. He's now a professor at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.

I've enjoyed doing this so much, Randall, I'm going to do it again, blowing up a balloon as I'm talking to you. Look, the market -- and you have

written, you have written extensively on market psychology, haven't you?

And the way in which this -- now, look, when you see the markets going up like this balloon, there is a psychology that people insist -- I've got to

get in on this. I've got to get in because nobody believes that that is going to happen and it's going to burst.

RANDALL KROSZNER, FORMER GOVERNOR, FEDERAL RESERVE: So certainly there will be occasions where people say I don't want to be left out. And maybe

when they have been cautious last year, basically concerned about political uncertainty or --

[16:15:00]

KROSZNER: -- global uncertainty that they set out the rally and then people sometimes come to the party late.

We certainly saw that to some extent back in 2006-2007, as more people -- as more financial institutions got involved in subprime and that was right

at the end and they got hit pretty hard.

QUEST: OK. So the justification for this rally is strong economic fundamentals coupled with better corporate fundamentals and earnings on the

back of tax cuts along with just a general low unemployment, low inflation and the idea, Randall, that it doesn't get much better than this, do you

subscribe to that?

KROSZNER: Well, certainly the economic fundamentals are good, not just in the U.S. but globally. We see an unusual period of a synchronized global

growth where we have Europe doing well, we have U.S. doing well, we have China doing well. And most emerging markets, not all, doing quite well.

It's rare to have everyone kind of firing on all cylinders at the same time. We've had good corporate profits. We have -- I think most people

anticipating recently good growth for the year coming forward in the U.S. We're probably going to get some boost from the tax reform, both in the

short run and in the long run. That's made people optimistic.

Now something can always go wrong and so something can always happen. The thing that worries me is that people don't seem to be worried.

QUEST: Right. Now that's what I want to ask you. People do not seem to be worried. We haven't had a major correction in the market for a couple

of years, 5 percent or 10 percent, 10 percent correction would be the norm.

If we do get a correction of 5 percent, we're looking at 700-800 points, 1,000 points off the market. That -- I mean, people are not used to seeing

regular losses of 1,000 points, bearing in mind we're at elevated levels and 1,000 points isn't what it used to be.

KROSZNER: Yes, it certainly ain't what it used to be and so that's a good thing because so many markets have gone up and so people are definitely

wealthier than they were before, like in the U.S., roughly about half of the population has some direct or indirect exposure to the stock market

through retirement accounts and such.

So that's a positive. But of course there is a worry that there could be more volatility than people are expecting and we don't know exactly how

people will respond to that.

QUEST: Randall Kroszner, thank you for joining us. Time to just ensure that this market continues to grow. Thank you very much, sir. Good to see

you as always.

As we continue tonight, Arianna Huffington, Arianna is going to join me, talking about Thrive, her new -- good to see you.

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, PUBLISHER: Happy New Year.

QUEST: Happy New Year. I need to ask you, the president -- we hear gets 4-5 hours of sleep a night.

HUFFINGTON: And it shows.

(LAUGHTER)

QUEST: After the break.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:20:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

QUEST: Welcome back. We just heard the White House doctor explain Donald Trump's physical health. The perfect day to speak to Ariana Huffington,

who is with me, to launch her new app, Thrive, which is designed to help manage work-life balance.

HUFFINGTON: And our relationship with our phones, which the president is certainly not managing well because if he were managing it well, he would

be charging his phone outside his bedroom at night. I think there are a few other rooms in the White House, where he could charge it. And he

would get a full recharging night's sleep instead of impassively waking up and tweeting stupidities.

QUEST: Right. Listen to what the doctor said about the president's sleep.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. RONNY JACKSON, WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN: He doesn't sleep much. I mean, I would say that, you know, this is just my guess based on being around

him; I didn't ask him this question, so I could be wrong on this. But I would say he sleeps four to five hours a night and, you know, I think he's

probably been that way his whole life.

That's probably one of the reasons why he's been successful, I don't know, because, me personally, I need a lot more sleep than that. But he's just

one of those people, I think, that just does not require a lot of sleep.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Four or five, Margaret Thatcher only had four or five hours of sleep.

HUFFINGTON: But I think Margaret Thatcher had a genetic mutation. You know, about 1.5 percent of the population has a genetic mutation and they

only need three to four hours and they can operate great.

Clearly that's not the case with Donald Trump, but also, I think the doctor, the White House doctor, is practicing medical malpractice when he

says that's why he's successful. He's ignoring the evidence of thousands of sleep scientists around the world, who have actually said conclusively

that in order to be effective, make good decisions, be healthy, you need seven to nine hours unless you have a genetic mutation.

QUEST: And you have known that Donald Trump -- you -- a while.

HUFFINGTON: Well, but not really, you know, casually.

QUEST: But one year on, one year on, your thoughts as we've seen it develop over the year, would be what?

HUFFINGTON: I think we knew a lot about him, which we have not acknowledged like when he kept asking President Obama to show his birth

certificate. That was clear racism. But we are not willing to call it that. Finally, we are willing to call it that when he calls Haiti an S-

hole, et cetera, et cetera, and says that we should increase immigration from Norway. But we knew all that.

Why did we refuse to actually acknowledge early on who he was?

QUEST: On this question of the #MeToo, the whole question of sexual harassment, which, of course, has been brought home to you through your

work with Uber and how that company is changing, are you satisfied that the necessary changes are taking place into the new CEO?

HUFFINGTON: Absolutely. I think Uber has made incredible progress on diversity and inclusion, on gender equality, on changing the culture,

values of the company. And we see that direct (INAUDIBLE) the new CEO, is absolutely adamant about all these things.

I feel very good about where we are, including with a selfmade deal (ph) that is going to see a $9 billion infusion, not all into --

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: -- has made -- has decided my days there -- I mean, I'm still a major investor, owner, but my days are not going to try and interfere in

the running of the company?

HUFFINGTON: I think it's great that Travis is selling enough stock to be a billionaire, not just on paper but in reality, $1.4 billion is the -- is

going to be brought to him by virtue of the stock he's selling. I think that's great because it means he can move on, launch new companies, start a

foundation, whatever he wants to do.

And I think it's also great for Uber that softman (ph) coach is a major player in the ridesharing industry global, is going to be a major investor

in the company.

QUEST: So you see Softbank as being significant?

HUFFINGTON: Very significant and think Rajiv Mistral (ph), the CEO of the vision plan, who is joining our board is going to be very, very important.

I spent a lot of time with him India at the beginning of January, and I am a big admirer of his, his maturity and what he is going to be able to bring

to the company.

QUEST: Before we talk, we're going to go straight through, before we talk about Thrive, #MeToo, the Catherine ==

[16:25:00]

QUEST: -- Deneuve letter which she's since retracted somewhat but this idea that women are not helpless victims and that the #MeToo -- where do

you stand on this issue now?

Because it seems to me that the backlash has begun.

HUFFINGTON: Well, I think that #MeToo is a historic moment. And I'm the mother of two Millennial daughters and I want to make sure that this abuse

of women that continued silently for years stops.

And I think #TimesUp is also incredibly important because it goes beyond the present moment to create systemic change, especially among low-wage

women. But we also need to make distinctions. You know, not everything is sexual assault. There is a distinction between sexual assault,

inappropriate behavior and we also --

QUEST: So the latest case of the comedian, who's been accused of a bad date Aziz Ansari, the bad date gone wrong, the organization (INAUDIBLE)

sticks by their allegation, you would say, well, that might not be -- that is demeaning legitimate cases?

HUFFINGTON: No. What I'm saying is that it's very important to listen to the accused. We need to listen to the accusers because for years we did

not listen to them but due process and justice also demand that we listen to the other side and then draw conclusions. And that's what needs to

happen in every case.

QUEST: Let's turn to Thrive.

Why Thrive?

What's the purpose of this new app that's going from Samsung and it will be available soon. The idea being that you are putting barriers in a way to -

- you are protecting people from themselves.

HUFFINGTON: Right. So this Thrive app, which we launched today in partnership with Samsung and we will launch in U.S. later in the year,

basically shows all of us how we can protect ourselves from our growing addiction to our phones.

We are all slightly or very addicted to our phones and that affects our ability to refuel, to recharge, to be creative, to be fully present in our

lives. So the Thrive app, when you put it in Thrive mode, if you are in Thrive mode, Richard, then I text you, oh, you get a text back, Richard is

Thrive mode until such-and-such a time.

So it's by direction also we can begin to change the culture.

QUEST: But it also goes to the extent that if I say I only want X number of hours of WhatsApp a day or a week --

HUFFINGTON: Exactly.

QUEST: -- it will stop me like a guillotine.

HUFFINGTON: If you ask it to. So let's say --

QUEST: Isn't this -- instead of learning how to do it properly, isn't the mentality of like the child sort of -- if you don't do this, I'm going to

take it away?

HUFFINGTON: Only if you ask it to. So don't say WhatsApp is we know and now want the world to know is your addiction, OK?

Instagram is mine. So if the app will give you a mirror of your social media addiction, how much time did Richard spend on WhatsApp during the

day?

Let's say three hours. And you can look at that and say, oh, no, I want to cut it down two and a half. Then the app will give you a notification

and at two and a half it would cut you off. It's a code. It's a guide. We need it, because look at what's happening?

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: So you'd agree with the investors, like California pensions that said to Apple, you have got a problem with addiction that now needs to be

dealt with.

HUFFINGTON: Especially with children because we see this increase in mental health problems, depression, anxiety, suicides among children and

teenagers. Social media companies we know use algorithms to hook people through likes, through knowing what kind of content to give them.

We are addicted. We need help. Let's admit it. Otherwise, we see what's happening in our consciousness. And in our country, we are more and more

divided, less sympathetic. And --

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: But why -- you had an extremely -- well, you still have -- and all these other areas. But you went into sleep, knowing you're going into

Thrive --

HUFFINGTON: -- it's all connected. It's all about how do we live our best lives? Because, otherwise, we are basically living lives which are

increasingly frenetic, stress and burnout. Richard, stress and burnout are global epidemics, costing globally economies trillions of dollars.

We just launched Thrive in India. You know, there are more and more Internet addicts every year. This is not something that can continue and

it has a big impact on health care costs, on productivity; 75 percent of health care cost in America are stress related and preventable.

QUEST: I'm actually stressed at the thought. Good to see you. Thank you.

HUFFINGTON: Great to see you.

QUEST: As always, lovely to see you. Thank you very much, indeed.

All right. That'll get you thinking.

One of the biggest payment processors in the U.S. has bought a major British rival. The CEOs --

[16:30:00]

QUEST: -- of the companies as they make their debut on the New York Stock Exchange. It's after the break and thank you, Ariana. Thank you for

joining us here today. Wonderful as always.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest, there is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. I'll be talking to the chief executives who's wrapped up a

$25 billion merger at the New York Stock Exchange. They rang the closing bell.

And Donald Trump says record employment is thanks to him hitting red tape. We'll show you what it means. As we continue, this is CNN and, on this

network, the facts always come first.

(HEADLINES)

QUEST: The U.S. payment processing firm Vantiv has closed its merger with the U.K.-based Worldpay. Together they form a $25 billion company called

Worldpay Inc.

Earlier this hour the co-CEOs brought down the gavel on the first day of trading. And as a combined entity, the CEOs are Charles Drucker and Philip

Jansen. They join me now from the New York Stock Exchange.

Charles, to you first, this has been -- this is an extraordinary occasion for you.

What's the great benefit of bringing them together?

CHARLES DRUCKER, CO-CEO, WORLDPAY INC: The great -- thanks for having us, but the great benefit of bringing this together is really reaching into the

ecommerce business. The transactions online continue to grow every holiday season and Worldpay has done an extraordinary job really grabbing the

ecommerce market.

QUEST: And the idea, sir, that somehow we're all going to be shifting much more to e-pay in the future, how does this translate itself in a real

world?

PHILIP JANSEN, CO-CEO, WORLDPAY INC: Well, Richard, I think the move to, you know, more online, more mobile, more seamless integrated payments,

invisible payments, it's just going to increase in its pace.

And so our company, the new company, Worldpay Inc., is a combination of two very strong companies, one in North America and one in the rest of the

world. We are now able to deliver for our customers propositions that manage that complexity in the payments landscape, which will only increase

over time.

QUEST: OK, now. We're obviously obsessed by not just bitcoin at the moment, Charles, but this whole cryptocurrency world.

Where do you see it going and where do you see yourselves fitting in?

DRUCKER: So we see cryptocurrency continuing to grow; bitcoin, Blockchain being the underlying technology. Now at Worldpay, we process in 126

countries, 146 currencies and we have almost 300 different payment types.

So for our client, when they want to take a different payment type, we're going to be there in order to accept that. So as we get demand, which we

do not have today for cryptocurrency, we'd be playing. So right now we're dipping our toe in that pond.

QUEST: And Philip, when you look today, for example, bitcoin dropped 14 percent and it's now sort of at its last level than it has been for some

months. It is very difficult for an established company like you to -- or your two companies together now -- to dip your toes into what is extremely

volatile water in a industry that requires integrity of support.

JANSEN: Yes. That is a really good point. You're right, the market has been very volatile over the last few months. We watch it very closely.

What I'd say to you is, you know, none of our customers are really asking for that technology right now.

But the good news is, should it become something that is really mainstream, our technology at the new Worldpay is able to deal with the Blockchain

technology very easily. And as Charles says, it may be that cryptocurrencies in the future are a significant element of payment methods

and in that case we will be there to provide it for our customers.

QUEST: Charles, final to you, most of us at the consumer level don't have to -- are now having to learn about new forms of payment, not just crypto

but obviously PayPal, Venmos (ph), Zelly (ph) and TransferWise for international aspects.

Do you see yourselves delving deeper into the -- at the consumer level, getting right down deep and dirty into my wallet and into my apps?

DRUCKER: Our focus is really to help the business and small business be able to accept payments any way they need to and us to simplify that

complexity. So as more wallets comes out, we want to be able to help our business clients accept and transact commerce. So that's what we're here

for, to help our clients grow their revenue stream.

QUEST: Charles, Philip, congratulations not only on the merger but ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Good to see you,

gentlemen. Thank you for taking time to join us.

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: We continue tonight, all this week, we're looking at Donald Trump's drive to deregulate the U.S. economy as he approaches his first anniversary

as president. It's a policy on energy and the potential cost to the environment.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:40:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

QUEST: Donald Trump is taking his scissors to all kinds of rules and regulations affecting business. If you remember, he showed the regulation

of 1960s in the shows of today. It's a value made on the campaign trail, saying he wanted to bring back coal jobs in middle class America and save

the so-called Rust Belt.

So he's axing regulations on the energy industry and what he calls the regulatory burden. He believes that that holds back growth, productivity

and jobs and, of course, what we are pointing out this week is the enormous changes that are taking place pretty much by stealth because of the cuts in

regulation.

Now the White House says its priority is to protect the nation's electricity supply, whether it be from coal, nuclear or renewable sources

and at the same time promote clean air and water.

So the process began early in the Trump presidency. In March, the president -- here you see him signing the executive order to review the oil

and gas fracking rules. The Department of the Interior, in its words, called it a burdensome reporting requirement and unjustified costs.

You had miners and oil workers around him at the time. By December the rule was revoked to the dismay of some environmentalists. In the Arctic,

the battle has begun between the economy and the ecology. Tucked away on page 553 in the Senate tax bill, that you can see here, is a proposal to

open up 1.5 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling, there it is, to establish and administer all aspects of

competitive oil and gas program.

Now as you can see, the deregulation wheels are well and truly in motion. Clare Sebastian, who has been looking at this, it's happening. We know

it's happening but the effects won't necessarily be seen immediately.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, and particularly not when it comes to the energy industry, Richard. Not only with these huge, symbolic cuts

to red tape and the big red book and the executive order signing do you set off another process, a comment period, multi-regulatory approval process.

And even in the case of energy litigation from environmental activists but with energy these things you can open up all the offshore drilling you

want. But it can take years for these companies to even decide to move in, let alone to start drilling.

So it is a long period of time but I want to bring you a clip from President Trump because one area where the regulatory agenda can make a

difference a bit quicker is with infrastructure, with clearing the way to infrastructure projects like pipelines. Take a listen to what he had to

said today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The regulations had a lot to do with the success. Don't let anyone kid you without taking off those regulations. Look at what we've done just

in terms of pipelines, 48,000 jobs from almost day one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So we probably won't be day one and he's talking about the Keystone XL in particular, one that the State Department estimates that

42,000 indirect jobs will be created by that.

But in terms of permanent jobs created by that, the number is 35 that they came up with.

QUEST: OK.

SEBASTIAN: (INAUDIBLE) created, just not as many as --

QUEST: All right. But would you agree with the premise of what we're doing, which is that the wholesale shift, whether it be Keystone or a

pipelines Arctic, coal, reducing or changing the rules for effluents and runoff and the like?

These are going to have, for better or worse, effects on the economy.

SEBASTIAN: Certainly they will. For example, with Anwar, with the opening up of part of that Arctic wildlife reserve to drilling, the Congressional

Budget Office, which is nonpartisan, estimates that would make over $1 billion dollars over the next decade in the oil and gas that's brought from

that.

[16:45:00]

SEBASTIAN: But there's just market forces at play here, Richard. Energy companies, the likes of Exxon, the likes of Schlumberger, they're a big

offshore drilling company, they are driven in their decisions much more according to the experts I've spoken to by the oil price, by technology, by

state subsidies a lot of the time than they are by the federal regulation.

QUEST: Clare Sebastian, thank you.

Donald Trump claimed this morning that the mainstream media never likes to cover his economic successes but some voters who backed him in the state of

Ohio are only too happy to talk about it, as CNN's Martin Savidge found out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anywhere you look in Youngstown are reminders of what's been lost: factories, jobs, the city's

population is down by almost two-thirds from the 1950s.

The economy wasn't just disappearing here. So was a way of life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I realized that the core foundation of our country is slipping away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It got to a point where I did not like the direction that my country was going.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): The answer for many was Donald Trump. In 2016, according to the Mahoning County Board of Elections, approximately 7,000

registered Democrats switched parties to become Republicans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said he was going to make America first and he was going to bring jobs back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump said these are lousy trade deals. We fix that and the jobs can come back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something that he said that really sticks with me is that he wants to give the power back to the American people, and that's

something that I can certainly get behind.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): I'm with a pastor and a stay-at-home mom, a student, a machine shop worker and a union member, Democrats who were raised in

Democrat families, who crossed over to vote Trump.

SAVIDGE: We're one year, one year in.

How is he doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fantastic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Phenomenal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Better than I ever would have dreamt. And I mean that sincerely.

SAVIDGE: Really?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes.

SAVIDGE: Derek?

DEREK: Yes, I agree.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.

DEREK: Yes, he's doing wonderful. He's staying on task.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): We start with the hot-button topic of the moment.

SAVIDGE: How big an issue to all of you is immigration?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Huge.

SAVIDGE: Really?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

SAVIDGE: In Youngstown, Ohio?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. And as far as I'm concerned, they're stealing jobs of rightful citizens.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): It is also about something else Trump voters say is important, rules and respect.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like when people come here illegally, that's just very disrespectful. You don't respect our laws and you shouldn't be

able to come here free-wheeling like that.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): A year later, they all still want the wall. As for the president's inflammatory tweets and speech, Gino says he used to

cringe. Not anymore.

SAVIDGE: So you don't cringe anymore because you've grown numb to it or --

GINO: No, not numb at all but I know what he's done and I'm starting to get an inkling why he uses Twitter in the way he does because if all he had

to rely on is what people say about him, oh, my God, I might not like the guy. And I love the guy. I love the job he's doing.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): Justice met Trump at a rally and says he is not a racist.

JUSTICE: He was just the nicest person and honestly, he could have -- if he was a racist, as everyone paints him out to be, he could have just

walked right past me and not even said a word.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): What about the lies?

SAVIDGE: Well, let me ask you this, do you think he is a liar?

GINO: Do I think he's lied?

No. Do I think he's fallen short in some of his goals?

We all do.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): Economically, they say things are getting better. The stock market and their home values are up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Industries are booming everywhere I've seen.

SAVIDGE: I look around here and I don't see a boom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, in this area, no, but I feel like there's small businesses that are starting to pick up.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): Derek says Trump's tax reform will fuel the recovery.

DEREK: If you expand your business in the inner city, so then my community will benefit from this tax cut.

SAVIDGE: Do you think the media gives the president a fair shake?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think so at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): One year later, these voters couldn't be happier. They see achievement, most of all, they see a president like them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's like tenacious sometimes and says stuff off the cuff, like we do. Like real Americans do. We're not perfect. I'm tired

of suave, I'm tired of polished, I'm tired of the teleprompter. I am, I want my country back.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): Martin Savidge, CNN, Youngstown, Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Fascinating, from middle America, what the current thinking is, at least from one group of people that Martin Savidge met.

Expect a watchmaker to know what time it is, thank goodness, and right about now it's time to go online. That's the word coming out of Geneva.

We're going to be there at one of the world's biggest watch expos -- after the break.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:50:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

QUEST: Political and economic leaders are preparing for next week's World Economic Forum in Davos. The elite of the watch world are already in

Switzerland, of course, for one of the most important events in their industry.

Anna Stewart has stayed up late for us tonight and is in Geneva.

Good evening. It's still raining there?

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, but I found a little bit of shelter on the Rue du Rhone. This is one of the most famous streets in Geneva,

Richard, lined with beautiful, luxury boutique watch shops.

It is the place to buy a watch and the overwhelming majority of consumers in this industry will buy a watch in a brick and mortar store, not online,

although this year's that show that most of them will go online or on a mobile device to do some research before they get their wallets out.

So today at show I was asking CEOs, what are you doing online to help boost sales offline?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

STEWART (voice-over): If you thought a watch fair was just about watches, think again. From celebrity brand ambassadors to immersive exhibitions,

it's all about creating an experience. Customers don't want to just see a watch. They want to experience it, which is why, in this industry, bricks

still beat clicks when it comes to sales.

Cartier's big unveil this year is the updated (INAUDIBLE) collection, with straps that can be swapped and size adjusted by the consumers themselves.

They think it's perfect for the online buyer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some client will browse in physical boutiques then they will purchase in -- on e-commerce. We have clients browsing on e-commerce

(INAUDIBLE).

STEWART (voice-over): The show itself is increasingly aimed at customers, too. The SIHH used to be an exclusive bed just for professionals. Then

last year, it opened its door to the public for the very first time. This year, it's flung its doors open even wider, not just to the audience here

but for the whole world because everything is being streamed online.

Watchmakers are increasingly seeing the value in these social media influences, striking up partnerships to promote their brands.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It will be for sure a more digital oriented edition with new media coming. And so we put some wide boxes to help them to work.

We want really to be the kind of Davos you know, of fine watchmaking.

STEWART (voice-over): Watchmakers are increasingly seen as value in these social media influences, striking up partnerships to promote their brands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For us it's relevant to find people which have a relevant content that is linked to either the story, that are passionate

about watchmaking and that are friends of the brand and obviously, they help to spread the word. They help to generate the retweet to more people

and tell our stories to a broader audience.

STEWART (voice-over): Spreading the word for IWC Schaffhausen (ph), is fashion blogger and Instafamous influencer Alexandra Lapp.

ALEXANDRA LAPP, FASHION BLOGGER: I really love the watch. So you see them, I mean, very often on my blog and everything. And I think it's the

perfect partner for me.

STEWART (voice-over): And a perfect way for the watch brand to reach her 150,000 followers who can now watch her watching watches.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEWART: Tongue twister for you there, Richard. They may be spending more on their digital strategy but they don't seem to spending any less on the

in-store retail experience. Now on this road --

[16:55:00]

STEWART: -- we have IWC Schaffhausen, a store just down there. And right next to it, it's launched in the last month its very own cocktail bar with

cocktails to match some of the watches and prices to match, too, Richard.

I looked at the menu, $26 a cocktail.

QUEST: Have two and send me the bill!

Anna Stewart, excellent reporting there. Thank you in Geneva tonight. Looks like you need a hot toddy before the night is over.

And talking of that, hang on a second.

The clock stopped. "Profitable Moment" after the break.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment," the market, well, we've paid for this cylinder of helium. We may as well use it all up. The market pretty

much like this went up like a rocket at the start of the day. Up and to 26,000 and above.

And then just as fast, it seemed to have lost all its energy. The question, of course, is what happens the future? Well, if recent times

were anything to go by, we can expect many more sessions but we've got to hope that this thing goes up and holds the gains.

It will make lots of noise on the way but what we do not want is for it to go bust and most certainly we do not want to sort of see that happen.

We've seen this sort of thing before. Slow and steady is the best way. You want a market that shows real gains and when it's got them, it holds

onto them.

That's the best way to have a market. And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you're up to in the

hours ahead I hope it's profitable. I will see you tomorrow.

END