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Quest Means Business

Markets Rally Again On COVID-19 Vaccine Hopes; Target And Lowe's Post Strong Q1 Earnings; All 50 U.S. States Now Partially Reopen; Two Americans Arrested In Plot To Smuggle Former Nissan Chief Carlos Ghosn Out Of Japan; U.N. Chief Calls For "Global Solidarity" With Africa; World Bank: 60 Million People Could Be Forced into Extreme Poverty. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired May 20, 2020 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:17]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Sixty minutes to the closing bell on Wall Street and the market is close to erasing all of yesterday's sharp

losses.

The market has been higher. I mean, look at the way it has been trading over the course of the day, a strong session, right out the gate, up 373

points at the moment.

Those are the markets and these are the reasons why. New reports again of a vaccine trial, giving fresh energy to investors, that seems to be the way

things go.

All 50 U.S. states are now partially open in some shape or form for business. In this program, we'll look at some of the complexities, say for

example, for clothing shop, how you open.

And two men accused of helping Carlos Ghosn escape Japan are arrested in the United States.

We live from New York. It is Wednesday. It's May the 20th. I'm Richard Quest, and yes, I mean business.

And a good evening to you. A warm welcome. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for you tonight. The markets are all higher and largely on the back of the prospect

of a new vaccine.

Once again, we had this earlier in the week with Moderna, then it went down. The market -- now, it's back up again, 1.6 percent for the Dow,

nearly 400 points.

This time, it's Inovio, which has produced antibodies in mice and guinea pigs. It's a peer reviewed study and human testing is now underway.

You see what's happened to Inovio's stock price, it's up nearly nine percent. The share is up strongly. It's also Johnson & Johnson is finding

success. Tests on groups of monkeys. But apparently, at the moment, anyway, at least in most cases, it's not guaranteed to work on humans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DAN BAROUCH, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR VACCINE RESEARCH, BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER: Our studies are in primates and not humans, and

therefore we have to be cautious in how we interpret these data.

But nevertheless, these data increase our optimism that the development of a vaccine will be possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Elizabeth Cohen is with me, our senior medical correspondent. Is this the way it's going to be going forward, Elizabeth? By and large, you

know, there'll be a bit of news on some vaccine and the market will rally, then it'll either dwindle back when it's not true or boost even further, if

it's verified.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Richard, I don't know much about the stock market. You know, way more about that than I do.

So, I can't say how they're going to respond.

But yes, there will be this kind of news. You know, in sort of the old days, meaning, you know, before the pandemic, companies would be a little

bit more conservative, actually a lot more conservative.

They wouldn't necessarily put out a press release about every little stage. You know, here's what happened in guinea pigs. Here's what happened in

eight humans, which is the Moderna news earlier this week.

But now, we are seeing as scientists are starting to call it science by press release. And of course they are, for the most part, not very happy

about that.

But yes, the road to a vaccine involves a lot of little steps. This happened to monkeys. This happened in ferrets. This happened in 10 people.

This happened to 30 people. And I suspect, we will be hearing about many of those steps as we move forward.

QUEST: But what's interesting, I think about particularly with vaccines, normally, I mean, we watch with a certain amount of interest, but never

have we watched at such a level and degree of detail and for very good reason, the outcome of the pandemic and the future of the global economy,

and in many ways, the way we live our lives does depend on this.

COHEN: Oh, absolutely. I was talking to Dr. Paul Offit, who is at the University of Pennsylvania here in the U.S. He developed the rotavirus

vaccine back in 2006.

Now rotavirus killed, you know, many, many children before they made this, put this vaccine on the market, or put vaccines in general on the market

for it.

And he said, look, Elizabeth, we didn't do a press release when we -- you know, saying, here's what we did in mice, here's what we did in this animal

or that animal or here's our Phase 1 or here's our Phase 2.

He said we didn't talk to the media until the F.D.A. gave us permission to market. But it was a different time. The world wasn't all staring waiting

for a rotavirus vaccine.

A vaccine is our best path out of this pandemic, and so people are really watching every detail. And I should add, every detail, just because

something works in monkeys does not mean that it's going to work in humans. It is a marathon. It is not a sprint.

QUEST: You took the words right out of my mouth. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you. A marathon and not a sprint. And this is what the state of the race

looks like at the moment across a handful of companies, all of them, in fact, there's more than 70 different trials of one description or another,

but only a handful of advance to human testing and human trials.

And that includes the Moderna, which of course, is promising results, which we heard about on Monday.

Stat news reports through cold water on that and Moderna is now going into Phase 2 testing. The vaccine specialist, Saad Omer is with me to put this

into context.

I am never sure when I hear the experts, whether you believe a vaccine will ultimately be found, or is it so hedged in caveats, and this and that, that

no one is sure.

SAAD OMER, VACCINE SPECIALIST: Well, it's highly, highly likely that we'll find a vaccine. There's more uncertainty about when, but all the signs

point to us finding a vaccine that is safe and effective.

QUEST: In an era where we are used to instant gratification, and it's all sold by the closing credits at the top of the hour, this is the opposite,

isn't it? Because this is requiring us to wait. The vaccine will happen on its own time and what we're really doing is watching how they make the

sausages.

OMER: So, Elizabeth used the term a marathon, which is apt, but I would go so far as to say it's an Ironman race. There are all sorts of things, you

have to swim, you have to bike, you have to run because there are different phases of it and you have to persevere.

So, as I was saying that we know that it is highly, highly likely that we will get a vaccine. The question is when. So, the uncertainty that comes

around you know, when we think about the prospects of a vaccine, that's the trick.

And to try to figure that out is challenging, and it's a little bit too early to say with a ton of certainty, when we will have a vaccine. Our best

guess is still 12 to 18 months. But that's where the uncertainty lies.

QUEST: And it's not going to be or maybe it is a one size fits all. You might need a different vaccine for the elderly, for the young. For those

who have got an existing medical condition. Is it likely that there'll be a range of vaccines depending on one's circumstances?

OMER: It is possible. We don't know what is the probability of that, but it is possible because as you alluded to, different risk groups having

different kinds of requirements, sometimes, for example, certain vaccines, we give the same vaccine to everyone, but other vaccines like influenza now

in certain countries, you give a higher dose of that same vaccine to the elderly.

All of that needs to be worked out at this point.

QUEST: So, I hate to put dollars into this equation. These are expensive to manufacture. They're expensive to research, the whole lot.

But is there a bonanza for the company, for the pharma company that gets there first?

OMER: I think there is. This is obviously beyond the public health imperative that being the company, the group, the set of researchers who

get there first. Obviously, there is that, you know, that gratification and the ability to help out a huge chunk of the world's population.

But in a more sort of direct practical sense as well, because those who are the first ones for other vaccines get a bigger or an earlier market share,

especially if their product is pretty good or very reasonably effective and then very safe.

So, in that kind of situation, what happens is then they become the standard of care. So, they become the benchmark against which you have to

do all the other trials. Because if you are there, you cannot take away the standard of care in these kinds of randomized trials.

So, that's a huge advantage, especially the first one.

QUEST: Good to have you, sir. As this continues, please, we will need more of your help and guidance to understand exactly where we are in the

vaccine.

Now, Target and Lowe's have earnings that beat expectations and it comes as no surprise, of course, it was because of their online sales in Q1.

Targets Q1 online sales were up 141 percent bearing in mind what we heard yesterday from Walmart. That gives you some target idea of just how

powerful those are.

The stimulus checks apparently they were spent on things like bikes and TVs, which, I suppose if you're not in debt that's exactly what it was

intended to do to keep the economy moving. Although, possibly most of those were imports.

[15:10:13]

QUEST: Sales at Lowe's stores jumped 11 percent with home improvement.

Now, PVH is the owner of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. Joining me now is the CEO, Manny Chirico to tell me. When you're opening stores, the

difficulty of doing so, Manny -- glad to have you with me -- the difficulty of opening stores and accommodating how this has to be done.

MANNY CHIRICO, CEO, PVH: Yes. Look, Richard, we're entering a brave new world. It's a challenge. It's a challenge with our associates, making them

comfortable that they are going to be in a safe environment and that they will be protected and also making sure that our customers feel the same

way.

There's a number of things that we're trying to do in order to accomplish that, obviously providing masks and gloves to our associates, but also

asking all our customers to wear masks and gloves and providing masks and gloves to these customers as they enter the store.

We've put a protective equipment into the stores. Shields -- plastic shields in front and the cash wraps in order to protect both the customer

and our employees. At the same time, we've put in social distancing in the stores. We've taken the capacities down about 75 percent so that you'll

find lines outside of the store.

So, it's a costly endeavor, but it's an endeavor that we really have to go down and make work for ourselves.

QUEST: And as you look at this, the stores obviously have a sizable cost to you, but at the same time, growing an online business means you don't have

to worry about all of these other issues that you're talking about in stores, which of course begs the question.

I mean, you know, are they worth it? Is it worth the cost of opening these stores?

CHIRICO: Well, I think brick and mortar retail clearly is under pressure. I think there's clearly a place for brick and mortar stores. There's a

significant change going on how you manage that business, and how you create an omni-line experience for your customers where they can order

online and come into the stores, where they can browse online and shop in the store or come into the stores and then order online.

We're seeing tremendous growth with our online business direct where we sell ourselves and through some of our key partners like macys.com and

Amazon and Zalando, around the world and Tmall in Asia.

So it's -- I think there is a balancing. But clearly, there's going to be a lot more pressure on brick and mortar and you could see it in the

bankruptcies that have been filed in recent weeks.

And I think you're going to see more store closures and that phenomenon can continue to accelerate as we move forward.

QUEST: And what are your plans? I mean, obviously, in terms of store closures. Are you going through your portfolio, basically, tick and cross,

tick and cross. Some will stay, some will not.

CHIRICO: Yes, so we are fortunate. We have a pretty -- we have a very liquid portfolio and by that I mean, our leases tend to be shorter term in

duration on balance, on average. So, that gives us the ability to be more flexible, look at the situation.

I think it's going to become a bit of a tenants market because of the closures. And of course, we'll be looking at all of our businesses. This

pandemic has changed the way, I think apparel and accessories are going to be marketed and sold and it's accelerated a number of the issues that we

were facing in retail to begin with as online has continued to grow.

But, you know, online is not a free lunch. There's a significant amount of investment you need to make logistically from your supply chain and your

delivery of goods, but also in how you market to the consumer.

So, it's not as if it's a free lunch as well. So, it's still ...

QUEST: How -- are you at all concerned about the liability issue, either from employees coming back to work, or, for example, shoppers in a store?

Because I noticed, for example, the measures that you're going to take four returned items, which would include quarantining them, obviously, making

sure the store is properly disinfected, the high travel and try areas, but are you worried about liability?

[15:15:32]

CHIRICO: Well, it's an issue. I worry about this long-term, but it clearly is something that we are concerned about. I think there has to be some type

of governmental regulation that comes in that if a company is following all the rules and doing everything, as prescribed by local municipalities and

is using due care as they go forward, to be held accountable for a pandemic and a virus that we've had nothing to do with creating seems excessive.

So, I think there needs to be a balance between business, the government and what the liability might be, particularly in the United States, which

tends to be a much more litigious society.

QUEST: Good to have you, sir. We'll talk more on happier occasions when things aren't so --

CHIRICO: I hope so.

QUEST: Thank you very much. Now, indeed, Manny. Good to have you.

In a moment, after the break. So, the C.D.C. has published its guidelines for the reopening of America. Now, of course the issue becomes one of

trade.

After break, former Commerce Secretary on the battle with China, and how that's now becoming part of the trade dispute and coronavirus as well. In a

moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Welcome back to QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

Now, all 50 states in some shape or form are reopened. Some barely like here in New York State where it's the upper parts of the state rather than

New York City.

The C.D.C. has quietly released its guidelines for reopening largely after the horses bolted so to speak.

The guidelines provide detailed guidance for reopening for schools, mass transit, and nonessential businesses. It also outlines phased approach for

reducing social distancing.

The former U.S. Commerce Secretary and former Chief Executive of Kellogg is Carlos Gutierrez. He is now Chair of the Albright Stonebridge Group. He is

with me now. Good to see you, Mr. Secretary.

CARLOS GUTIERREZ, FORMER U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: Nice to see you, Richard.

QUEST: The reopening is well and truly underway. There's been an uptick in some areas, but arguably, they were going up anyway. Are you satisfied with

the way the reopening is going?

[15:20:31]

GUTIERREZ: Well, the timing of the stimulus and the PPP has been -- there's a bit of a mismatch. Businesses are reopening little by little. This is

what the reopening looks like. It's very gradual. It will be very incremental.

But we don't know if consumers are ready for the reopening. So businesses can reopen. You can have a restaurant reopen, but will consumers go and

that's the problem we're seeing.

And the way the PPP is structured, businesses have to spend that payroll money in the second quarter. The assumption was that it was a bridge and at

the other side of the bridge, we'd have the economy coming back. That's not going to happen.

So, the concern is whether consumers are ready to go out and spend some money and it doesn't appear to be that way. And then, of course, the PPP

money has been spent.

QUEST: The significance, of course of that first part point that you made about the timing and the second quarter and when it has to be spent, the

significance of course is that, if they then lay off staff in the small business in the third and fourth quarter, because business hasn't returned.

Then that grant, which should have been a grant becomes a loan. In other words, the small business ends up in debt.

GUTIERREZ: Well, that is the program. If you don't use -- well, you have to use it in your first eight weeks and you have to use it for payroll, and if

you don't use it for your complete payroll, then you have an 18-month debt at a one percent interest rate.

And that's part of the complexity of this program is, as you say, you can take the money in eight weeks, but in the third quarter or fourth quarter

have layoffs. So, it has become very complex.

Businesses are asking for it to be extended, precisely because they've opened their business but they don't have consumers. So, it was a bit too

early and it's a problem.

QUEST: Let's turn to China. The way the President has been speaking about China over the last few days, including today, it suggests that China is

going to be not just a previous trade weapon, but also it is going to continue to ratchet it up with the election.

China is going to be -- China, coronavirus, and trade are all going to be conflated in this election. Is that --

GUTIERREZ: Yes, there are three -- yes. There are three reasons, Richard, why relations between the U.S. and China are the worst they've been since

before President Nixon visited China.

Number one is the election and this is an issue on both sides, Democrats and Republicans. The favorability of China in the U.S. is at a low, so you

won't have any side speaking in favor of any kind of rapprochement with China.

Democrats and Republicans, and of course, President Trump ran on this issue.

The second issue is that what started as tariffs and the need to improve the trade deficit has become decoupling. And there are signs that

decoupling from China has become policy -- official policy of the U.S. government, and we're seeing a lot of steps in that direction.

Things in the works, for example, no government procurement, Federal government in the U.S. of pharmaceutical imports from China, even if

they're made by U.S. companies.

And then the big issue, of course, is Huawei. That is under a common period, but strong likelihood to be put in place, anyone selling to Huawei

using U.S. equipment needs approval from the Commerce Department, and look, that could devastate Huawei.

The third point here is that the commerce problem is spilling over into geopolitics. So one of Huawei's big competitors, TSMC happens to be from

Taiwan.

So, here you have the U.S. government may prohibit a Taiwanese company from selling to China. That is about as close to the red line as you can get.

So, relations are the worst I've ever seen them and there is nothing in sight that could improve them.

[15:25:21]

QUEST: Mr. Secretary, thank you for that. We will talk more about this and I appreciate you giving me the time today. Thank you, sir.

GUTIERREZ: Thank you.

QUEST: Some people will be lucky and they get to return to the office or some maybe say that's unlucky, but what sorts of an environment will you

find when you finally do get back into the office whether it be in six weeks, six months, or who knows when.

CNN's Clare Sebastian has been looking at the COVID post era office.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they move my desk one more time, then I'm quitting.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This from the movie "Office Space" is what offices used to look like. Confined spaces,

minimum contact.

Over the past few decades, they've evolved to this. Open plan, social hubs like the Salesforce tower in San Francisco.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH PINKHAM, EXECUTIVE VP GLOBAL REAL ESTATE, SALESFORCE: We love to come together. We love to collaborate. We love to have face-to-face

meetings, and we loved it when the offices were crowded.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN (voice over): Salesforce has spent the last eight weeks turning those principles on their head. Inspired by this model from real estate

firm, Cushman & Wakefield, dubbed the six feet office, it's not exactly a return to cubicles, but there are eerie similarities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PINKHAM: There may be Plexiglas dividers between workstations on the open floor plans, and then even meeting rooms will have big capacity signs

because they are not able to hold as many people as before.

It's really about giving people visual cues to help remember about that physical distancing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN (voice over): Plans are still being finalized, but masks will be mandatory. Shifts will be staggered. Temperatures checked. Elevators in the

company's many towers socially distanced.

Across the corporate, world high rise offices present a particular challenge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT RECHLER, CHAIRMAN AND CEO RXR REALTY: We are changing technology to be able to use Bluetooth to go touchless into the elevators.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN (voice over): Scott Rechler runs RXR Realty, the fourth largest office landlord in Manhattan. He is reevaluating every detail of his

buildings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RECHLER: All the HVAC systems have been changed so that they have filters that are the highest grade filters that pick up the smallest particles.

Where possible, we're changing locations like for pantries and printers that usually are in corners where they are getting congested to more open

spaces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN (voice over): And technology, also critical to his plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RECHLER: We have an app that before they even come to work, they'll be able to actually look to see what the Health Index of the building is.

When you go into your space. There's going to be a tool on your app that actually will monitor your extreme social distancing. And at the end of the

day, you'll be able to see 70 percent to 75 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN (voice over): Amidst all of that change, there's one part of this new office reality that's already here.

SEBASTIAN (on camera): And that's working from home. Many companies are planning to stagger shifts. Others are telling staff who can work from home

that they can keep going.

Twitter has even told its employees that if they want to, they can work from home forever.

It's clear in this world where the virus is still a threat, the ultimate trick to keeping offices safe is having fewer people in them.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Two Americans have now been arrested helping Carlos Ghosn going to flee from Japan. Now, you'll remember he fled and he is now in Beirut.

Well, the two Americans are accused of helping to smuggle the former Nissan chief. We will explain what they are supposed to be done, in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:00]

QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for you in just a moment. We'll investigate, of course, and talk about how the

pandemic could push tens of millions of people into extreme poverty in the developing world. And a new twist in the case (INAUDIBLE) of Carlos Ghosn,

two people have been arrested in the United States, accused of helping him flee from Japan.

We'll find out what they've alleged to have done in just a second. First, though, this is CNN, and on this network, the news always comes first.

At least 12 people have died in eastern India after Cyclone Amphan made landfall in the border of Bangladesh. Their record storm has now weakened,

but flash floods and storm surge remain a danger. The cyclones also stranded thousands of migrant workers away from their hometowns. They'd

been away since coronavirus lockdown went into effect in March.

These are the scenes in Midland County in Michigan, where the failure of two dams has caused major flooding. Thousands of homes were under immediate

evacuation order. Water levels are expected to rise through Thursday morning.

The body of the former wrestling star Shad Gaspard has been found washed ashore on California's Venice Beach on Wednesday. The 39-year-old went

missing on Sunday after going swimming with his son. His son was rescued. But the coast guard suspended its search for Gaspard on Tuesday.

Two Massachusetts men have been arrested in connection with a plot to get Carlos Ghosn out of Japan. It's a father and a son who are accused of

smuggling the former Nissan CEO out of Japan late last year. Now, Ghosn still faces prosecution in Japan. He's now denied all the charges. And he's

now in his home country of Lebanon. You remember back in January, I spoke to him shortly after his return, and he was very coy about the means of

escape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Can you say if the rumors and suggestions are substantially true? The rumor and suggestion I'm talking about involves a train trip to Osaka,

a hotel, a box, and a flight, and of two private jets via Turkey. Is that substantially accurate?

CARLOS GHOSN, CEO OF RENAULT: I would make no comment on this. I'm going to tell you why, Richard, because obviously, I was lucky to have people who

supported me in this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: David Shortell is with us, CNN's crime and justice producer, joins me from Washington. So, he says, Carlos Ghosn, I was lucky to have people

who supported me in all of this. Are these two, part of them?

DAVID SHORTELL, CNN CRIME JUSTICE PRODUCER: Yes, Richard, absolutely.

[15:35:07]

And it's an extraordinary development in this extraordinary caper. A father and son, Michael and Peter Taylor, arrested early this morning outside of

Boston by the U.S. Marshal service, now facing likely extradition back to Japan where they are charged with helping orchestrate this brazen escape.

Now, you read some of those details that were coming out in press reports at the time, back to Mr. Ghosn.

Richard, they've been substantiated in these new court documents that we're reading through this morning. I'll bring you a bit of the details. It was

on December 29th when Michael, the father, who I should note, is a former Special Forces soldier with a history of pulling off extractions like this?

He arrives in Osaka with another man. They are carrying with them two large black boxes. They tell the airport workers there in Osaka that they're for

audio equipment and that they are musicians.

Now, they take a train down to Tokyo where they rendezvous with Ghosn and Peter Taylor, the son. And here's where it gets interesting, they take a

train back to Osaka. Three men enter room 4069 at the Stargate Hotel in Osaka at 8:14 p.m. Only two men exit about an hour and a half later, that's

Ghosn missing and inside one of those large black boxes. The rest is history.

Richard, you'll remember Ghosn escaped on a private jet and resurfaced two days later in his home country of Lebanon, your viewers saw there he did

not want to talk about in this interview with you how he made it out at the time because he wanted to protect these men who helped him escape. Well,

now Richard, they're making their initial appearance in Boston federal court, and we will be monitoring those appearances very closely.

QUEST: How were they caught? I mean, I remember many of the details came out very quickly after. I'll think about the boxes and the musical

instruments, et cetera. But do we know what led to these two people?

SHORTELL: Yes, it's really interesting. Richard. There was one critical detail that prosecutors included in a detention memo that was filed this

morning. It was the son, Peter Taylor. He had returned back to Massachusetts where his father was, in their town of Harvard,

Massachusetts. They were there at this residence in Harvard. And the son, Peter, had actually bought a plane ticket to fly back to Lebanon where

sensibly he was going to be trying to escape the law.

Well, prosecutors and investigators here in the U.S. saw that he bought that plane ticket. That's why they moved on him this morning in the early

morning hours, and now they're awaiting their initial appearance in Boston.

QUEST: Good to have you with us. Thank you, sir. We'll watch this closely as the proceedings continue. Now, stark warning, a very stark warning

indeed for the developing world, over what could be the longer-term effects of coronavirus. The World Bank now says up to 60 million people, could be

now forced into extreme poverty.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:40:00]

QUEST: The World Bank is well warning that up to 60 million people in the developing world could be hit by extreme poverty, as the coronavirus

pandemic works its way through. All 54 African countries are now affected, and the United Nations General Secretary General is calling for global

solidarity. The risk is of an increase in the region's vulnerability to hunger, malnutrition, and disease.

David McKenzie is our CNN correspondent in Johannesburg. David, does it -- it's a sad, but grim reality to these comments by both the bank and the

U.N. And yet, this is exactly what we were warned of at the beginning of it back in February.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think so. But at this stage, it is still projections, but very dire projections. Richard, as you say. Well,

bank economists, you know, I checked on how they actually came up with these numbers.

With the 60 million people who could reach extreme poverty, though developed countries with major economies could see a much bigger hit to

their GDPs than developing countries because more people in countries that might not see as big a hit, are near that poverty line already. It could

really push those people over the edge and that's why the World Bank is providing these emergency funding opportunities for countries here on the

African continent and elsewhere, Richard.

QUEST: They don't have the -- they don't have the budget, headspace tears, the lingo, to actually borrow or to take on much more debt of any extra

debt. So, what's the ability of the NGOs and the large organizations like the World Bank, to actually deal with this?

MCKENZIE: I think there are two issues at play here. One is, lives, and that's in terms of the health response. Certainly, there's an attempt to

shore up health systems on the African continent and other developing regions, Richard, as this pandemic gets worse and what was a later hit

area, and in this livelihood. So, I think that's arguably much more serious impact in the medium term, as you suggest.

The, you know, charities don't have the capacity to hold up entire economies. So, what you are seeing is the World Bank, the IFC on the

private sector side, trying to get loans and cash into the hands of businesses and government to create a safety net where there normally

isn't.

QUEST: David, finally and slightly tangentially off subject, the South Africa, no cigarette sales and no alcohol sales, last week, we had your

report about just how difficult this was to enforce and to take place. How's it going? I mean, how has the reality that it's not a very good idea

yet come to anybody?

MCKENZIE: Well, I don't think yet, certainly not officially, there are murmurs they're going to lift at least the alcohol ban in the coming days,

lesser about the cigarette ban, but I can just tell you based on the reporting that we already working on Richard that, you know, there's

illicit cigarettes are all over the place and extremely easy to get if you choose to look for it.

And it seems like based on my reporting at this stage, a lot of those coming across the border from Zimbabwe or produced illicitly here in South

Africa. So, their issue here is yes, there may be some health benefits, according to some, to stopping the sale of cigarettes in the time of COVID.

But you are lessening the revenue collection, which again will impact the GDP we've been already talking about. That's the criticism of the ban,

whether it will be lifted, you know, watch this space.

QUEST: David, thank you. David McKenzie in Johannesburg in a moment. For those who are graduating and anywhere in the world. Well, the gap from

college and university to employment has never been more difficult is the worst job market in decades, who on earth are going to be facing to go into

that, in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Welcome back. We're thinking of renaming "VOICE OF THE CRISIS" back in business because so many of the people we're talking to at the moment,

are now up and running once again, over fashion. And that's why we're meeting tonight the owners of the seafood restaurant, Hooked, which

reopened in Denmark on Monday.

Now, if there's a reduced capacity, the tables have to be disinfected between customers. And there's Plexiglas between the parties. Matthew

Jeffery is the co-founder of Hooked. He joins me from Copenhagen via Skype.

So, you're reopened. What do you think? I mean, this is again, this is not about profitability, is it? It's about sustainability. It's about getting

yourself back into the market. What are people saying? What are your customers saying now you're back with them?

MATTHEW JEFFERY, CO-FOUNDER, HOOKED (via Skype): Hello, Richard. Well, it's been a sort of a roller coaster, the last couple of months, and certainly

not a roller coaster I wish to ride again. As you said, we reopened now on Monday. And then I would say people are a little bit hesitant. Of course,

having Plexiglas and disinfection and gloves on kind of, sort of, kills the, sort of, atmosphere of any restaurant, really.

And so, we're basically just trying to ease our way back into it and seeing how the customers react, really.

QUEST: But you kept by using Denmark's extremely good job retention scheme, you were able to keep everybody on the books, even though you are doing

only delivery service. That must have created and a spirit called loyalty between you and your employees that hopefully you can use to both mutual

benefit in the future.

JEFFERY: Yes, yes. As you said, we sent most of our staff home with the salary, and now people are now, sort of, slowly coming back to work and

there's definitely like a solidarity now in the team because, you know, we chose to go down the route of looking after our staff because we need to

rehire them at some point. There is many restaurants and other hotels and cafes and the alike who have actually just fired all their staff.

So, we decided to be the, sort of, what can we say, the good guys, in a way, and keep our staff in order to, you know, sort of keep the economy

going, having people with salaries, in order to get them back into the restaurant. And now, they have come back, and there's definitely a more,

sort of, camaraderie between everyone.

[15:50:07]

QUEST: Now, in terms of the -- of your guests and your -- people who come into your patrons, how is it possible? Look, it's nine weeks since I've

last been to a restaurant. So, you know, I haven't forgotten what it's all about, but I do know that when I go back, it's not going to be the same. Is

it possible to create a convivial atmosphere in a restaurant, when they're wearing gloves, masks, six foot apart, and every time we turn around,

somebody's squirting disinfectant?

JEFFERY: It's difficult, it is difficult. We are lucky here at the restaurants. We have a lot of outdoor seating. So, when the sun is shining,

shining as rarely as it does, a lot of people sort of flock outside with the guards inside. It is a new normal, and it is very clinical. So, causes

or a soft welcoming atmosphere that you usually experience within restaurants is kind of, you know, out the window.

QUEST: Right. So, Matthew, finally briefly, what's the best-selling piece of fish on the menu?

JEFFERY: Pollock, always Pollak. Fish and chips is an absolute winner, every single day. But I know you're an English man yourself. So, if you

ever come to Copenhagen, there's a fish and chips on me.

QUEST: The fish and chips, Copenhagen is absolutely one of my favorite cities in Europe. I absolutely -- when I'm there, absolutely, fish and

chips with yourself, and I'll pay the bill. There we go (INAUDIBLE) I'll pay for them as well.

JEFFERY: OK.

QUEST: Looking forward to that. Good to see you. Thank you, sir. Now, the travel and tourism industry, as you know, is absolutely crucial to this

program. We put a huge emphasis on it. Aviation, airlines, hospitality, hotels, the whole lot of it. It's one of our most important areas that we

cover, because we know it's important to you that we cover it.

And so, to our (INAUDIBLE) special program, of course, "TOURISM IN CRISIS," I'll be speaking to a top airline and hotel CEOs, tourism ministers from

the some of the top destinations. It's this time, tomorrow night, 8:00 London, 9:00 in Paris, Berlin and Europe and so forth.

Cambridge University has scrapped in-person lectures until the middle of next year. That shows the crisis that we're talking about. It's the first

major school to have shifted its plans well into next year. Small classes could continue with social distancing is maintained. But for the U.S. class

of 2020, the outlook is extremely bleak, as Bianna Golodryga now reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: For newly minted Boston University graduates, Shadae Leslie, senior year didn't end quite as

expected.

SHADAE LESLIE, GRADUATE, BOSTON UNIVERSITY CLASS OF 2020: I walked down the street and I finished my finals and I was hoping I would you know, see some

somebody that I know and say, hey, we did it, like we're done! And there isn't really much of that experience that's there.

GOLODRYGA: Aside from pomp and circumstance, there's another thing missing from Shadae's life now, a job. When college seniors enter their final year

just last fall, the national unemployment rate was at a near record low of 3.7 percent. Today, it's at a jaw-dropping 14.7 percent. The jobless rate

for those aged 20 to 24 is even higher at 25.7 percent. As a result, an exciting job Shadae had planned to take after graduation in real estate,

has been rescinded.

LESLIE: Unfortunately, when I wake up, it's straight to the e-mail. I have my alerts on for LinkedIn, various different websites.

CORY SANNING, GRADUATE, UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE CLASS OF 2020: Many of the responses I've gotten have been, hey, we don't know if this positions ever

even going to reopen again. We appreciate your interest. Best of luck.

GOLODRYGA: Cory fanning finds himself in a similar position. The University of Tennessee grad has long held aspirations in sports media. Prior to the

pandemic, he had many promising job leads, now he has none.

What are the past few months been like for you as you've been rewriting what your future looks like, trying to get job interviews and offers now?

SANNING: It's definitely been life-altering, I would describe it as.

GOLODRYGA: If history is any guide, Cory and Shadae are part of a demographic that economists worry could bear the brunt of the coronavirus

recession. Graduates entering the labor market during a recession are shown to earn less than those who enter during a healthy economy for at least 10

to 15 years. Those job market challenges are leading some colleges to take matters into their own hands.

DAVID GREENE, PRESIDENT OF COLBY COLLEGE: What we're trying to do is identify job opportunities for all 500 of our graduating seniors and to be

able to do that, and one of the toughest job markets we've ever seen.

GOLODRYGA: Colby College in Maine is already making good on its promise to get job offers for 100 percent of its graduating seniors.

GREENE: To find a way to say hey, can we get together and call on our entire network of alums, friends and others to help these students?

[15:55:14]

GOLODRYGA: No one should bet against the class of 2020. If anything, the current crisis has graduates like Cory and Shadae, even more determined.

SANNING: I applied to jobs in Cincinnati, Charlotte, Memphis, Kentucky, Florida. I'm willing to drive as far as Seattle, Washington, anybody that

will hire me because I'm willing to start from the ground up and do whatever they need.

LESLIE: Maybe a potential positive of this, if there can be any positives, is that years from now, decades from now, whenever we all reflect back, we

all had this comment and shared experience and you will always be able to say oh, your class of 2020? I know what happened.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Class of 2020. I wouldn't like to tell you what I'm the class of. But suffice it to say, it was in the 19 somethings. We will have a

profitable moment after the break. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Tonight's profitable moment, just thinking about having talked to Matthew in Copenhagen, about eating in a restaurant. And it really was, it has been

nine weeks, eight, nine weeks since I last ate at a restaurant, something that was a part of almost everyday life, particularly, with all the travels

and "WORLD OF WONDER" and QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. And that's another thing. I took my last flight on March the 15th.

But back to restaurants. It's going -- I just can't imagine what it will be like, particularly, maybe my local diner, the Hollywood where I go for

breakfast. I can understand it'll be. But fine dining, where tablecloths and all the nice things, I just can't imagine what it's going to be like.

Look, don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining about it. I'm not saying it shouldn't be. This is a necessity, I'll grant you.

But it does show the way things are going and what we need to think about and how our life has changed at the most basic levels. You saw there a

quick look at the Dow Jones. Let me show you how it's closing in just a second or two from now (INAUDIBLE) gains across the board for all the three

major indices, the Dow, the NASDAQ and the S&P 500.

And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for today. I'm Richard Quest in New York. The bell. You thought I'd forgotten the bell. Whatever you're up to in the

hours ahead, I hope it's profitable. Back with you in a moment.

END