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Quest Means Business

Johnson And Von Der Leyen Sit For Three-Course Diplomatic Dinner; FTC Calls For Facebook To Be Broken Up; U.K. To Lift U.S. Tariffs Over Boeing Subsidies, Breaking E.U. Ranks; DoorDash Delivers Big On First Day IPO; People With Severe Allergies Cannot Take Pfizer Vaccine; Polar Bear GPS Shows How Their Habitat Has Disappeared. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired December 09, 2020 - 15:00   ET

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

WILTON DANIEL GREGORY, ARCHBISHOP OF WASHINGTON: And I recall seeing the awful disfigured body of that young man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And you can watch my full interview with Cardinal Gregory later this week.

That is it for now. You can always catch us online on our podcast and across social media.

Thank you for watching and goodbye from London.

[15:00:25]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Sixty minutes before the close of trade on Wall Street and the Dow is clinging on to 30, 000, barely, if you

can see, just 30 points. The market is down. I'll be honest. I can't see a major reason, but then it is only off half a percent. Let's see how we

close.

The markets and the way the day has gone.

The U.S. Federal government is suing Facebook for antitrust and could force it to sell Instagram and/or WhatsApp.

Guess who is coming to dinner? Boris Johnson is having dinner tonight with the European Commission President. They are both in Brussels hoping to

finish Brexit once and for all.

And the Boeing 737 MAX is flying passengers once again.

We are live from New York on Wednesday. It is December 9th. I'm Richard Quest, and I mean business.

Good evening. Tonight in Brussels, the table is set for Brexit's last supper. The British Prime Minister has a diplomatic dinner date at this

hour.

Boris Johnson is sitting down with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It arguably is their last real opportunity to break the

trade impasse after 11 months of limited talks that have got to a particular point where the negotiators could take it no further.

Before he left, the Prime Minister told Parliament what he intends to do this evening. He is fighting -- in his words, he is fighting for U.K.'s

sovereignty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: A good deal is still there to be done, and I look forward to discussing it with Commissioner von der Leyen

tonight.

But I must tell the House that our friends, currently, our friends in the E.U. are currently insisting that if they pass a new law in the future with

which we, in this country do not comply or don't follow suit, then they want the automatic right, Mr. Speaker, to punish us and to retaliate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now, a three-course meal is currently underway. Rules prevent me from telling you what they will be eating before they finish the dinner. We

can sort of take a menu and look at the three sticking points and they have some common ingredients.

So fairness, the E.U. and -- for the EU while the U.K. wants to save its sovereignty, it is the case with fishing rights. It's a central issue in

these talks. How much can the U.K. should the U.K. and the E.U. balance out taking of their own fishing stocks?

The other one is the level playing field. This is access for the British to E.U. markets and the E.U. saying they're not going to have anything

nonsense whereby the U.K. could lower standards.

And then there's dispute resolution. Now is the time to figure out how to work through the future disagreements, bearing in mind of course, the U.K.

is claiming sovereignty and therefore, it's not beholden to the European Court.

Of course, Britain officially left the European Union at the start of this year. So during 2020, it's been under the umbrella of an 11-month

transitional period in which the old rules follow through. Well, the two sides, the E.U. and U.K. figuring out what's next.

It is the transition which ends in 22 days. Think of it as an umbrella. They've been under this umbrella that was opened at the beginning of the

year. That umbrella goes away at January 1st.

Nic Robertson is in Brussels tonight.

The E.U. are masters and mistresses of the last-minute deal. On these three -- there can't be a room for fudge this time around. Will they do it?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, one E.U. diplomat said that he wouldn't bet a bottle of good champagne on it coming through

that there being a deal. That was his view.

He said there were sort of 10 to 15 different issues that required a yes/no answer and can we expect Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen to go

through those 10 points and look for the yes/no answers on those over dinner, not clear.

[15:05:03]

ROBERTSON: But that's how he sort of broke it down. But fundamentally, this diplomat felt that there wasn't really enough trust in the British side at

the moment from the E.U. side that the British were ready to make a significant jump.

And I think we heard this from Angela Merkel earlier on today, you know, Boris Johnson is in the position of needing to take back control and he has

defined that as the European Union would automatically sanction us, for not following their laws.

Well, these laws are the ones about following trade, following environmental regulations, following labor law regulations. Those sorts of

things that the European Union would be passing.

In that language and the word automatically, is there a fudge there for these things to be, you know, for these punishments as Boris Johnson puts

them as being not automatic? I think at the moment, the mood music here is there are significant differences that remain, that the ground is yet to be

made up. It's not going to come out at the dinner tonight.

The likely outcome would be more days of talking by the negotiators. And I think really, Richard, when you look at this at the moment, if you listen

to what Angela Merkel said earlier on, it was shutting down any notion in Britain's mind, in Boris Johnson's mind that President Macron in France

would be tough and the Germans would be weaker, because she said, look, if the deal isn't working for us, if the British put forward, things that we

don't feel are good, we won't sign up to them.

And bottom line, she said is the integrity of the European Union single market. And that's what Boris Johnson was chiding against in Parliament and

that quote, you just ran.

So you can see they're still very much a part on that issue. There's a gap in the middle.

QUEST: Nic Robertson, thank you. Breaking news now. Facebook is in the biggest legal fight of its life.

Dozens of U.S. states plus the Federal Trade Commission are suing the social network. They are claiming that Facebook used its market dominance

to buy WhatsApp and Instagram, in doing so, stifling the competition.

The FTC is calling for the company to be broken up. This was New York's Attorney General speaking just a few moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: No company should have this much unchecked power over our personal information and our social interactions.

And that's why we are taking action today and standing up for the millions of consumers and many small businesses that have been harmed by Facebook's

illegal behavior.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now, Mozelle Thompson is a former Federal Trade Commissioner, former member of the Facebook Advisory Board, joins me on the phone from Delaware

now.

We know one thing and you're an expert, obviously on trade policy. We know that once these cases get started, a process begins that either one or the

either side wins, or there is some negotiated settlement.

In this case, I mean, Facebook is under real threat here because they're now in part of a formal legal process.

MOZELLE THOMPSON, FORMER FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSIONER (via phone): Yes, I think that they are definitely under a challenge. But on the other hand, I

also say that this case is going to be very difficult to make.

It's important to recognize that, to the extent that they're challenging the acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram. That occurred when these

companies were very, very, very small. And also that those acquisitions were reviewed by the F.T.C. and approved. So you have to determine what's

different now and then.

Second, is that you measure from not just whether the company has a potential competitor, but what are the benefits did Facebook get from this?

And it is also important to recognize that accu-hires, which is acquisition that also hires people and their technology is actually pretty customary

within the industry.

QUEST: Right. However, there is an argument, which is what the A.G.s will be putting forward. That, yes, those -- they may have all been approved

five to 10 years ago, but the situation now is one of monopoly.

And perhaps it's the wrong fora for the A.G.s to be suing, and really it should be the Justice Department suing for monopoly.

THOMPSON: Well, the F.T.C. and the D.O.J. has split jurisdiction on these subjects and we're not talking about a criminal case here. We're talking

about a civil case here.

[15:10:10]

THOMPSON: So I don't think there's any allegation of criminal wrongdoing. But it's important to recognize that you're going to have to first define

what the market is and define what consumer harm is. You know, is the United States big in and off itself, a problem. We have to position the

behavior.

QUEST: Okay. Let's go into this. And, I mean, the ability to break up large companies has been around in the United States since the year dot, from the

days of SO through IBM, through AT&T, the attempts with Microsoft. So there's nothing new or original in the idea that's being prosecuted or

prosecuted with a small p here.

The question will be whether Facebook is now too big, monopolistic and anti-competitive?

THOMPSON: I don't think that that's necessarily the only question. The question is, it is what is the consumer harm that has been done that

they're going to have to allege? And what's the market on which they are impinging?

So those are two very interesting and different challenges. Because if you talk about what the consumer harm is, let's not forget that these are free

services to consumers. Second, when you talk about barriers to competition, their account -- there are competition to these companies all the time.

Take a look at TikTok, for example.

So that in of itself is not the end of the discussion. And it's also important, and I think you allude to this, the antitrust laws have been

used for a very long time. The idea of a breakup of a company is actually a pretty extreme measure and it's rarely in American history.

QUEST: No, no, it's rarely implemented. But -- and this is really the crux -- we can get to a situation where a process has begun, which is what's

happened and Facebook is obliged because it's the easiest way out to negotiate a settlement. In other words, give something up, rather than be

broken up.

THOMPSON: Well, you're absolutely right. In antitrust, there are settlements all the time. Because those are usually -- they are very tough

cases to make when you're seeking very, very harsh or the most extreme remedy is a breakup.

QUEST: Good to see you, sir. Thank you for joining us and I appreciate it. There you see the prices of the two issues.

Now, still to come. It's the moment that Boeing has been waiting for, the 737 MAX is back in the air with passengers. The first of such flight in

nearly two years, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:45]

QUEST: We are seeing an early example of how the U.K. might handle its affairs, post Brexit. London says it will go its own way over U.S. tariffs

spurning the European Union.

For years, you and I have talked about it. The U.S. and Europe have accused each of subsidizing Boeing and Airbus, respectively. Now, the U.K. is

breaking ranks with the E.U. as an opportunity to endear itself to an incoming Biden administration to seek a trade deal.

Adina Valean is the European Commissioner for Transport and joins us from Brussels. Good to have you. Thank you, Commissioner.

The U.K. is perfectly entitled to do so, and I guess everybody involved is just going to have to get used to the E.U. and the U.K. taking difference

stands where necessary?

ADINA VALEAN, EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR TRANSPORT: Well, I hope this is going to end at some point because we need to maintain our best

relationship and we're looking forward to see how the end of the year is going to come to a close.

Are we going to have a withdrawal agreement? Are we going to fine tune in our further actions? So yes, let's hope for the best. I can't comment on

trade too much because I'm a Transport Commissioner.

But I would say from this perspective that a close cooperation with the U.K. even after the Brexit, it's absolutely fundamental for the good

functioning of our transport sector.

We are so close so that we cannot ignore, we are so interdependent so that we need to have the best agreements in place.

QUEST: I see today that the Commissioner of Transport, you brought out the Sustainable and Smart Mobility strategy, which of course is crucial for the

future.

But you know, the immediate future requires somehow melding together once again, a safe transport structure in the post COVID months before herd

immunity arrives through the vaccine.

VALEAN: Yes, it's absolutely clear. But these are two different things. And of course, we are acting day by day to support the sector and help the

recovery from this crisis.

If we look at aviation, this is a huge endeavor, because it was the most hit mode in transport. But we are helping them to do that. When we adopt

the strategies for the future and we say the investments we are going to make and it's going to be tremendous help from governments, from the

European budget, so on and so forth. It has to be done in a very sustainable and resilient way.

We have to contribute for the sector to improve its efficiency system, the ability to become more modern and to embrace the change which is coming in

all our societal parts of our society. So transport has to become more sustainable and resilient.

QUEST: Trading: the European trading mechanism for emissions by its very nature, it has to be complicated and it is expensive to administer. Can you

make it easier and cheaper so there is better adherence?

VALEAN: So listen, this is already in place and is going, I would say, it has a wide acceptance in Europe already. I know for a fact that there are

parts of the world which are looking on how to put a price on carbon.

And of course there are two thinking schools, let's put it this way. Let's put taxation in place or a market-based mechanism. Europe is already very

advanced in the acceptance of this and the emission trading scheme is so wide and I would say it is working good.

Of course, the price of carbon to be effective will have to increase in time. But nevertheless, it is our system and we are going to stick by it.

It's working now for various parts of the economy.

[15:20:04]

VALEAN: From a transport perspective, we have been asked to look at phasing out fuel allowances for the aviation and to try to find a way of including

maritime in such a scheme.

There are also discussions for an ETS emission trading scheme for road. But all these are still in the assessment phase. So we'll have to see how is

this going to work exactly because we want to make sure it is effective.

QUEST: Commissioner, good to have you on the program. Thank you, ma'am for talking to us tonight. Thank you.

Now, you know I have lots of model planes in my office, I found this one now. Yes, regular viewers and #AvGeeks will immediately spot it as a GOL

737 MAX. Why am I showing this to you today?

Well, because, a momentous day for Boeing, the 737 MAX is finally back in the air following of course, the two deadly crashes and a lengthy overhaul.

And it was the Brazilian Airline, GOL -- see -- that carried the first passengers on the MAX since it was grounded nearly two years ago.

GOL plans to fly the plane and is flying the plane from San Paolo.

Shasta Darlington is there. Shasta, what are the actual -- we are going to be talking with Boeing -- with the congressman in a moment, so just tell

us, from GOL and from the passengers in San Paolo, what if you don't want to fly on this plane?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think for GOL, this is obviously an important part of their strategy. So as you mentioned, the

first flight in almost two years of 737 MAX with paying passengers was the day it flew from here in San Paulo to the southern city of Porto Alegre,

but I think it's important to keep in mind, GOL is the biggest domestic airline in Brazil, and it relies 100 percent on Boeing aircrafts.

So it has 127 jets, seven of those are 737 MAX aircrafts. And they a while ago had planned on making them an even bigger part of their fleet in the

future. They have orders in for 95 more 737 MAX planes that will be delivered between 2022 and 2032. So obviously, it was important for them to

have all of the modifications (audio gap) ...

QUEST: There we have it. Now you see her, now you don't. Shasta Darlington, it shows you the technology can always get you in the end.

Investors though are hoping the 737 MAX could be a turning point for Boeing. Its shares have risen sharply since the regulators cleared the

plane in the U.S. in November.

And this week, look at that. And that's an impressive move from 140 to over 231 over the course of just a few weeks.

Boeing made its first 737 MAX deliveries since the grounding. United Airlines has taken it. And last month, Boeing had more cancellations than

orders though for the plane.

The congressman Rick Larsen is with me representing Washington State's second district, home to Boeing's factory in Everett. The Congressman is

with me from Washington, the District of Columbia, not the state.

Good to have you, sir. And obviously, you know, it is good news that the plane is flying again. And, you know, lessons have been learned.

But I wonder, do you think this plane is tainted? And can it in your view - - can Boeing put it right, so that people will feel confident about getting on a 737 MAX?

REP. RICK LARSEN (D-WA): Yes, thanks, Richard. It is good news, the F.A.A. cleared it to fly in the United States. It's going to help Boeing with a

backlog of MAX airplanes. It'll eventually move to more production and that means more jobs and jobs coming back for the women and men in my state who

build this airplane.

I think it's important to note that the F.A.A. made this decision, in part because there was a third party overseer of the F.A.A.'s work, a technical

advisory board that sort of gave it an extra set of eyes on the work that the F.A.A. did, which I think is a message that should get out to the

public.

So it's not just the F.A.A. that made this decision. There was a group of qualified aeronautical engineers looking over its shoulder, the F.A.A.'s

shoulder before it made this decision, and that's part of the decision making the F.A.A. had and Congress actually promoted this idea of a third

party overseer to look over the F.A.A.'s work on the recertification as well.

QUEST: The vaccine -- the vaccine coming to a state near you, probably before the end of the year. I always want to be truthful so we know where

everybody stands.

Congressman if and when, will you take it?

[15:25:05]

LARSEN: Yes. First of all, not only will I fly in at 737 MAX, I will take the vaccine, and I'll take the vaccine because the scientists say that is a

vaccine worth taking.

Now, I am not first in line in my state. I'm somewhere in the third phase three, I think, out of four phases, if not phase four. But the science has

said that this -- both the two vaccines that are out now are worth taking, we should take them and there are more coming. There are more different

kinds of vaccines on their way as well.

QUEST: Many of us overseas, are finding it still somewhat incredible, that leadership in the opposite party, in the Republican Party, still aren't

acknowledging that Joe Biden won the election.

We have this surreal -- I mean, try and picture, Congressman, somebody in a developing country that looks at a mature democracy like the United States,

and says, hang on, what's wrong with them? They can't get it right.

LARSEN: This is a great frustration of mine. I use the word incredible, and usually, that has connotations of really positive things. But this is a

great use of the word incredible in a very negative way, because we had a free, fair and open and transparent election.

In fact, our courts have continued to turn aside every silly lawsuit that has been filed in every level of our judiciary around the country to try to

overturn all are parts of this election.

President-elect Biden won a free, fair and open and transparent election. He will be the sworn in on January 20th as the 46th President of the United

States, so I appreciate what people are seeing from outside of the U.S., but it is going to happen.

QUEST: It's going to happen. Okay. All right. All right, sir, it's going to happen. But the election on January the 5th or 6th. The election in

January, doesn't really in some senses, isn't that the crucial bit because the ability of your leader and the incoming President to truly get his

agenda through does rest in Georgia?

LARSEN: You know, we're not a parliamentary system, right. So we don't elect -- the party of the most votes doesn't get to run the government and

we've never had that.

And there have been examples in the past where we have split government and got plenty of things done. So I'm not as worried about that, although I do

support the Democrats winning in Georgia in the in the senatorial runoff elections on January 5th 2021.

But I do think that President-elect Biden's experience as a senator will serve him well in working with the House and with whatever the Senate comes

up with, to move all or parts of the agenda, which include infrastructure investment, it includes healthcare, it includes fighting climate change.

It's a pretty broad-based agenda, and so there's plenty of room for victories.

QUEST: Congressman, thank you, sir. I wish you and your family well, and, and by the way, look, if you manage to convince Boeing to let you be

inoculated with the vaccine on board, a 737 MAX flying, I'll come along for the ride.

LARSEN: I hadn't thought of that. But it would be worth doing just to ride on an airplane with you, Richard. Thanks.

QUEST: Congressman, always a treat and a pleasure. Thank you, sir. I wish you and your family well.

Coming up on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, the vaccination rollout continues, second day in the U.K. Now their health officials say not everyone should

line up for a flu shot just yet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:00]

QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. A lot more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment.

One day into its nationwide rollout and Britain is now warning people with serious allergies not to take the COVID vaccine.

DoorDash has made a splash. The shares are up 75 percent on the market on its debut.

We'll get to those stories after, of course, the news headlines because this is CNN. And on this network the news always comes first.

Canada's approved emergency use for Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine and could begin immunization rollout in a matter of days. It becomes the third

country behind the U.K. and Bahrain to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine within a week.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's calling for tougher coronavirus restrictions in an emotional speech in parliament. She asked her fellow

Germans to cut back on social contacts or risk losing loved ones.

Her plea comes less than 24 hours after Germany recorded its deadliest day of the pandemic.

U.S. President Elect Joe Biden has appealed to congress earlier to confirm his pick to lead the defense department.

He says the retired army general Lloyd Austin is deserving of the waiver that's required for military personnel who have served within the last

seven years. If confirmed, Austin will be the first African-American to lead the Pentagon.

The Federal Trade Commission and dozens of U.S. states are suing Facebook in parallel antitrust lawsuits. They're alleging that the social network

used its market dominance to buy WhatsApp and Instagram and in doing so stifled competition.

The FTC says Facebook may be forced to sell off WhatsApp and Instagram.

The U.K. is warning people with a history of severe allergies not to take the Pfizer COVID vaccine.

The advice comes after two health workers suffered reactions shortly after getting the injections. And mass vaccinations, of course, are now under

way. Health officials say both workers are doing well.

The Pfizer vaccine study excluded people with a history of severe allergic reactions. The drug maker says it's supporting the investigation.

Phil Black's with me from London. How did this happen, Phil? Because if they were excluded, if they specifically excluded severe allergic reaction

people then surely Pfizer and the authorities, the regulators, must have known that this was a possibility?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Richard. I think that's the key context here, yes.

So it was known that people with this history of severe allergic reactions were excluded from the tens of thousands that took part in the Pfizer

trials. And so in that sense, this was a known unknown.

[15:35:00]

It was known that there was a question mark over how the vaccine may impact people with such a history. Because as the National Health Service here in

Britain points out today, these sort of reactions are not necessarily uncommon when dealing with new vaccines.

But as with all these processes to seek approval for vaccines and new medicines and so forth, it is always a classic calculation of risk versus

reward.

And so, in this case, the calculation was made that the benefits outweighed the possible risks, the potential side effects. Because doctors will tell

you with all medicines and vaccines, there are generally always potential side effects when you're talking about effective vaccines.

So in this case, the approval was given and it is rolling out and it continues to do so. But just with this very specific targeted advice about

a small number of people who fit a very specific profile who may be at risk from experiencing a similar reaction to these two health workers, Richard.

QUEST: But the danger is -- as I was looking at various comments -- the danger is people with any allergies are worrying oh, I can't take it, I

can't take it. There's a cloud over this in a sense.

Which is not fair and it sort of could give reason not to take the vaccine when people can perfectly take it because as you were telling me a moment

ago, these people involved had very serious allergies.

BLACK: Yes, that's right. No doubt, any sort of concern will raise questions for people in a world where there is already considerable

skepticism about vaccination programs.

This isn't necessarily good news. But no doubt the authorities will do their best now to convey the best possible accurate information, the

results of their investigation as quickly and clearly as they can.

And no doubt they will point out in the near future they'll hope to have a suite of vaccines to choose from. Certainly in this country, officials here

are talking about three, perhaps four moving into next year.

And so it is important, of course, that they will clear up this sort of uncertainty.

But what they're saying now pretty clearly is that this is not a major concern. This is something that potentially impacts only a relatively small

number of people.

And so that is why we're seeing this mass vaccination program continue to roll out with all the benefits that come from that.

And I have to say, Richard, it's important to note that it still remains a considerable source of joy and hope for many people in this country.

QUEST: Phil Black. Thank you, sir.

Now the OECD says for the first time since the pandemic began there is hope for a brighter future.

It expects the global economy to build momentum over the next two years, in part because of COVID vaccines.

The OECD is lifting its economic forecast and it is also preparing for a new era of its own. Ten candidates are hoping to become the next secretary

general. Member nations will make a final decision in March.

One of those candidates is Ulrik Knudsen, the current deputy secretary general of the OECD who joins me now.

We'll talk about your candidacy in just a moment. Let's just look at -- the OECD says next year might be better and is raising economic growth but the

risk is very much still on the downside.

ULRIK V. KNUDSEN, OECD DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL: Yes, of course. This is optimism against the background of a severe crisis. So maybe the worst

recession we've had in a century, the worst health crisis we've had in a century so it's dark right now.

But what we are saying is that there is a chance for the economies to recover, next year there is the chance of a comeback but we'll probably

have to get through a dark winter before we see that kind of light in the global economy.

QUEST: So to your candidacy for the head of the OECD. You're in a very difficult position here you, aren't you, compared to the other candidates?

Because they can all say, well, we should do this, we should do that, we need to reform here, we need to reform there but you can't do that because

you are part of the existing regime so how -- or the existing administration.

So let me ask you, sir, what would you change and that begs -- from Angel Gurria's time -- and why didn't you do it before?

KNUDSEN: I think Angel Gurria has done a tremendous job by putting the OECD on the global map these past 14, 15 years.

But with every change in leadership there is also a change of style, a change of experience, a change of personality and, of course, we all know

it's different being number two and being number one.

[15:40:00]

So I would bring with me also ideas for how we can make the OECD more agile, more open, less hierarchical. Perhaps also adjusting to the working

methods of the post-corona society and economy. I think that's only natural.

I've never left a position without being proud of my achievements but it hasn't stopped me from encouraging my successor to go and find his or her

own reforms in their organization.

So I think that's only a natural progression.

QUEST: You see, the point is, Angel Gurria is sort of -- he's one on his own. He manages to -- he speaks truth when it's uncomfortable for members

to hear it. Can you do that?

KNUDSEN: Oh, I think that's absolutely essential. We are an organization that is based on data, on evidence, on objective analysis. And sometimes

the analysis and the data speaks a truth that's not welcome everywhere.

This is something you have to negotiate, you have to navigate but the very credibility of the OECD -- and that really is our most important currency -

- that rests on our evidence-based analysis on the data that we provide.

So that is a must for an issue for any future secretary general to be able to speak the truth. Not least in these times marked by fake news and by

echo chambers and so on. So.

No, I'm proud to be working --

QUEST: All right.

KNUDSEN: -- for an organization that has the fundamental.

QUEST: Good to see you, sir. If you make it to the next round through the cutoff, we'll talk to you then.

I appreciate your time tonight.

Now QUEST MEANS BUSINESS continues tonight.

It's Artic week for our "Call to Earth" series. Polar bears and how the population has been affected by our changing climate. In a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: "Call to Earth," CNN's call to action for the environment on critical issues like global warming and deforestation and so forth.

Now this week and today we're all about the Arctic, in particular, polar bears.

[15:45:00]

Yes, polar bears. Well, how can the polar bear which, of course, is essential in the Arctic -- and arguably not as furry and friendly as this

particular one --, but how can polar bears survive climate change in the Arctic?

Today's "Call to Earth."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NARRATOR: Every morning, scientist Jon Aars gets up and checks his emails. And every morning, he receives an email from several female polar bears

that he's tracking.

JON AARS, SENIOR RESEARCHER, NORWEGIAN POLAR INSTITUTE: I think it's always a great way to start the day, to look at what the bear have done.

NARRATOR: Aars is part of a team from the Norwegian Polar Institute who studied polar bears in Svalbard, high up in the Arctic Circle.

Historically, each winter this island chain is almost surrounded by sea ice, the traditional hunting environment for polar bears.

AARS: It is not very hard to find polar bears when you have a helicopter. It's about 300 bears living in Svalbard year round. And if you fly

(inaudible), most of the time you find one bear.

NARRATOR: The warming climate has been melting vast amounts of sea ice in the region but also preventing it from forming in the places it once did.

AARS: So things have changed very, very fast. You often see when we're flying that (inaudible) are not where they used to be, they've moved

hundreds of meters or even kilometers.

NARRATOR: To see how the polar bears are coping with these dramatic environmental shifts, the scientists track them down, sedate and capture

the bears so that they can take samples and tag them with a GPS collar.

AARS: We maybe capture 70 bears every year. And I've done it for almost 20 years.

We prioritize data from females because they're the ones that reproduce, that get cubs.

We measure the body weight. And the way we do that is physically lift the bear.

You take blood sample, you take some hairs. You can tell about pollutants that the bears have been exposed to. You can tell something about the

health, you can tell something about what it's eaten.

The collars take positions so we can see where the bears move all the time but they also record the temperature because it tells whether or not they,

for example, are inside a den in winter.

NARRATOR: Polar bears don't hibernate, they hunt all year round and only go into a den to give birth. But retreating sea ice has impacted this too.

AARS: Important areas that they used to go to give birth to cubs are more or less lost because we don't have sea ice around those islands anymore.

NARRATOR: It's also affected the bear's diet.

AARS: We have several different species of seals that are depending on this see ice and that is the main prey for the polar bears.

Conditions change and they will use more time on land, they will take more birds and eggs and so on. The bears swim a lot more than they used to,

maybe 100 kilometers, maybe 200 kilometers.

Polar bears are optimistic animals. It seems they are quite resistant and they are doing quite well despite the fact that they've lost a lot of their

habitat. But there will always be a threshold.

You don't find polar bears anywhere in the Arctic where you don't have sea ice as least seasonally.

NARRATOR: Arctic summer ice on average has been shrinking by more than 30 percent each decade.

AARS: Things change so significant and so fast. And we will reach some stage in the future where it will get much harder to be a polar bear in

Svalbard.

NARRATOR: A recent study predicts that if greenhouse gas emissions stay on their current trajectory by the end of the century, only a few polar bears

will be left in the Arctic.

And with it, the emails Jon Ars receives each morning could soon stop.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: We'll continue to showcase inspirational stories like that as part of our initiative here.

What are you up to, what are you doing with the call to earth? What's your call to earth? Hashtag #calltoearth.

After the break.

[15:50:00]

QUEST: The food delivery giant DoorDash has made a remarkable debut on Wall Street.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(Stock Exchange bell rings)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now the company began the trading day, rang the opening bell. And it delivered.

The shares have skyrocketed, they've come down somewhat since but they're still over 76 percent higher.

Paul La Monica is here. Paul, I get so angry when I see an IPO with a first-day pop of 76 percent. It just tells me that the bankers priced it

wrong.

PAUL LA MONICA CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes. I think that it does harken back to the days of the late '90s and early 2000 before the tech bubble burst

and I remember covering many of those IPOs. And the problem was the bankers tried to stimulate retail demand interest.

Average investors, you price it a little bit lower in order to get that pop because everyone wants the vanity pop. You want to say hey look, my stock

doubled its first day of trading.

I'm not so sure that DoorDash really needed to go up this much today --

QUEST: Right.

LA MONICA: -- especially when you look at the competition. This is a company that faces intense competition from Uber, from Grubhub --

QUEST: Right.

LA MONICA: -- which has been bought by an international conglomerate, Just Eat Takeaway. I'm a little perplexed.

QUEST: OK. Let's talk about Facebook. Facebook has said in a statement that it's basically -- a statement incidentally that was put out to the

antitrust lawsuit.

It's put out a statement -- on Twitter ironically. "Years after the FTC cleared our acquisitions, the government wants a do-over with no regard for

the impact that precedent would have on the broader business community or the people who choose our products every day."

It's not by accident that they put it out on Twitter. They're basically making the point -- what point are they making, Paul La Monica?

LA MONICA: Yes. I think clearly they are trying to show that there's a wider social media world out there beyond Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

I'm curious to see if they've got a TikTok video on, something up on LinkedIn which is owned by Microsoft as well as Snapchat.

But I think Facebook, to a certain extent, this is a bit of sour grapes. There were a lot of concerns at the time about Facebook buying Instagram

and buying WhatsApp and putting them all together, what that might mean.

And even though regulators agreed to the deals at the time, that doesn't mean now that they're not anti-competitive.

QUEST: You just mentioned Snap. Now you were one of those who over many years since it's been on the market have chided and laughed and a

Schadenfreude at my discomfort.

Remember, I bought Snap at $28 a share and it has been under water with a loss of up to 70 percent. But look at what Snap's doing now.

LA MONICA: (Inaudible).

QUEST: $49. And showing a profit of I think 73 percent.

LA MONICA: Yes, Snapchat. I give you credit, Richard. Definitely. It's at an all-time high. It's has clearly done extremely well --

QUEST: Yes.

LA MONICA: -- despite the competition from Facebook and TikTok. So you should do a celebratory snap, I think --

QUEST: No.

LA MONICA: -- the QMB Snapchat.

[15:55:00]

QUEST: No, I'm doing the traditional retail investor's grief. Worrying that I didn't buy more or buy less.

Good to see you, Paul. Paul La Monica.

Last minutes of trade on Wall Street. Take a look at the triple stack.

And the Nasdaq's pressing the pause button. It's down two percent or so from that but the market otherwise is holding. Let's not get too concerned.

"Profitable Moment" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment" brief and to the point. Remember, don't take any investment advice from me, make your own decisions. I've

lost more than I've probably gained.

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.

Jake Tapper and THE LEAD is next.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to THE LEAD, I'm Jake Tapper.

We begin this hour with the health lead today. Canada authorized the use of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. And here in the USA, FDA authorization could

happen as soon as tomorrow with the first shots possible in a matter of days.

We have just learned 2.9 million doses of the vaccine will go out in the first shipment according to the heads of Operation Warp Speed and vaccine

supplies are also shipping out today.

As that process plays out, the U.S. is losing, on average, more than 2,000 -- 2,000 -- lives every single day in the U.S.

The U.S. is averaging more than 121,000 new cases every day. And hospitalizations are also hitting daily records.

In California, at least three counties today reported zero ICU beds available. Not one.

A reminder that the U.S. has four percent of the world's population and according to official numbers 20 percent of the world's cases and deaths

due to COVID.

This has been empirically a historic policy failure by the U.S. Government which has failed its citizens in so many ways during this pandemic.

CNN's Nick Watt joins me now. And Nick, you're getting into the specifics on how this vote could work tomorrow.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, a member of that FDA vaccine advisory panel spoke to CNN. He says tomorrow they're going to have a nine-

hour meeting.

At the end of that meeting they will all take a vote.

END