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Quest Means Business

Nigerian Schoolboys Freed and Returning Home; Bitcoin Goes Big On Big Day On Wall Street; Google In Search Monopoly Lawsuit; Expo 2020, Dubai: Pavilions Mark The World's Progress; French President Macron Tests Positive for Coronavirus; Challenging Differences on Brexit Remain; U.S. Lawmakers Bullish on Finally Reaching Stimulus Deal. Aired 3-4 p ET

Aired December 17, 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 BUSINESS HOST: We've got an hour to go of trading on Wall Street. The last hour, three until four. And if you look at the

markets, they are at records. All the major indices: the NASDAQ, the S&P and the Dow. We are over 30,200, nearly 30,300. Solid green across the

board, the markets and that's the way they look and this is what's happened on this Thursday.

The French President has tested COVID positive and his European counterparts have been forced into isolation. Spain's Foreign Minister, we

will get her reaction in just a moment.

U.S. lawmakers think they are on the cusp of a stimulus deal. And tonight, we talk to a former Treasury Secretary, Jack Lew.

And Google's parent company, Alphabet is facing new antitrust lawsuits. You'll hear that in this hour.

Live from New York on Thursday, December the 17th, snowy day. I'm Richard Quest and I mean business.

Good evening, the President of France, the Prime Minister of Spain, the Secretary General of the O.E.C.D., all are in quarantine tonight after

Emmanuel Macron tested positive for coronavirus.

The President -- the French President is self-isolating over the next seven days and continuing to work, albeit remotely. One French lawmaker says it's

a reminder that the virus does not discriminate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER CASTANER, FRENCH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MEMBER (through translator): Nobody, not even the President of the Republic is spared from this and we

must therefore call for extra vigilance on all sides, especially as the Holidays approach.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: President Macron was at an O.E.C.D. event on Paris on Monday. He also attended European Council Summit in Brussels before that and he met

the European Council President at the Elysee. Excuse me.

So every leader who came into contact with him has now been forced into isolation. You saw the brief of that.

Melissa Bell is with us. Firstly, of course, how is the President? How's his health?

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know Richard that it was because he had started showing symptoms that he was tested and found to be

positive. But we also now know that he's not actually bedridden, because he took part, chaired this meeting earlier this afternoon with French

Ministers wearing a mask at a distance, of course remotely, but still upright and functioning.

So he is not as bad as he might be. That's probably the good news.

Emmanuel Macron, though, as you say, you need only look at his busy agenda, Richard, over the course the last few days to realize how complicated it

can be when a leader gets sick, when a leader gets -- found positive.

I mean, of the people he met, the ones you mentioned that have gone into isolation, there was also the entire French Cabinet on Wednesday because

we're told that the social distancing measures that were in place at the Elysee, though none of them are contact cases.

But clearly, Emmanuel Macron, for the time being, for seven days isolating, his wife as well, Richard, Brigitte Macron, although she we are told, does

not have any symptoms for now.

QUEST: Point is though, I mean, surely all these leaders when they met him, Angel Gurria, and all these others, surely they should have just kept their

distance, worn masks, made sure that if any of them were positive, it wouldn't have a knock on effect.

BELL: Well, I think a number of them did, and of course, although the Spanish and Portuguese Prime Ministers have had to isolate as a result of

their meetings with Emmanuel Macron. We know that Charles Michel, for instance, the President of the European Council has said that he is not,

strictly speaking, a contact case insofar as those social distancing measures were observed, and yet, is placing himself in quarantine as a

measure of precaution.

But really, Richard, this is a reminder of how badly Europe needs the vaccine at this stage. Just any vaccine, something that will help it round

this corner not only because those at the very top are getting infected now, but because of those rates all over the continent.

We've seen so many European countries in which the infection rates have remained stubbornly high. Again, tonight in France, more than 18,000 new

cases, and Richard, just to remind you at this stage, the French government had hoped, had expected that there would be no more than 5,000 new cases a

day. That clearly has not happened.

And instead, as we head into the Holiday period, many European countries looking in fact at tightening restrictions further, instead of loosening

them as we'd hoped.

QUEST: Melissa Bell. Thank you, Melissa. She is in Paris for us tonight.

Breaking news now on the Brexit negotiations. The E.U. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says she's spoken to the British Prime Minister Boris

Johnson, and some substantial progress has been made on many issues.

There are still big differences that need to be bridged, and she specifically mentioned fisheries. Meanwhile, the British Prime Minister

Boris Johnson said the trade talks were in his words -- Downing Street's words -- in a serious situation.

[15:05:10]

QUEST: And it's less likely an agreement can be reached without a substantial position changed by the E.U. Negotiations continue tomorrow.

Spain's Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya joins me from Madrid. Foreign Minister, thank you. And now look, I know before you tell me,

Minister, I know that it is up to Michel Barnier to do the negotiations and that it is -- you're all together and you're not going to break ranks.

However, you must be concerned if one of your largest trading partners, if it looks like in a week, there'll be no trade deal.

ARANCHA GONZALEZ LAYA, SPANISH FOREIGN MINISTER: We're not -- we certainly are putting all our energy, Richard, in supporting the Commission in

reaching this deal. Sticking -- the 27 European Union members are sticking together with a clear mandate for our negotiator to look for a deal because

we think that in the current turbulent times, the best answer we could give to the world economy and to the European economy is to reach a deal.

Now, we are seeing a small -- little progress, which is a good signal. Tough issues remain, but we are behind the E.U. negotiator for him to reach

a deal.

Now, I am a bit more concerned about the part of this deal that Spain has to negotiate with the United Kingdom, as regards Gibraltar where the

progress is slower, and I have full respect for Gibraltarian citizens and I know that their interests, as well as the Spanish interests will also be

better served by a deal.

And Spain will look until the last minute for a deal.

QUEST: But will you use Gibraltar ultimately, as a way to object to any deal that is being put if you don't get what you want on Gibraltar? And

time is just about out for all these talks, how far are you prepared to push it?

LAYA: Well, look, there are two parts in this negotiation. The first part has to do with the big E.U.-U.K. trade deal. The one that will govern our

relations after the first of January when the U.K. has left the European Union, but the second one has to do with what happens with Gibraltar after

the first of January.

We know that without a deal, the European Union external border will be in Gibraltar, and we think we should try to work to avoid this happening. We

want to create an area of shared prosperity around Gibraltar, and for that, we need a deal, too.

So we will continue to look for a deal, Richard. That's I guess the short answer.

QUEST: To the vaccinations -- vaccinations are starting in the E.U. on December the 27th according to the Commission President Ursula von der

Leyen. Now, Europe's moment is how she describes it. But the reality is, it appears she -- I mean, the European Medical Agency have to be bounced into

this, left to their own devices, they wouldn't have done it until later in the year, possibly post-Christmas. Are you happy with the situation?

LAYA: Well, we have full trust in the European authorities first clearing the vaccine for it to be used to Europe and we know that there are a number

of procedures that need to be followed in order to put the vaccine on the market. And I think that if we do this following proper procedure, we will

generate trust for our citizens.

And at the end of the day, trust is a very important ingredient when you're talking about vaccines. And we know this, Richard because we just finished

the flu vaccination in Spain and we managed to increase it this year, 30 percent over last year because we worked on building trust.

So if it takes two extra days to build the trust of the European citizen, let's use the two extra days.

QUEST: Forgive me, I'm being remiss. I should also be asking you tonight about how the Prime Minister is having been through -- having, of course,

been with President Macron.

I mean, look, for goodness sake, I mean, this just shows how difficult it is when you can't even get people who are probably tested umpteenth times,

they come together, they meet each other for a meeting. How is the Prime Minister?

LAYA: Well, I just spoke to him a minute ago and he is perfectly fine. He has tested negative, but he is following the protocol that we have in Spain

for people that have been in contact -- in close contact with someone who has tested positive COVID.

He was with President Macron on Monday. President Macron has tested positive. So the Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez has now in -- is now in

quarantine. But he is in perfect health. He is following work and he is continuing to manage all the issues that we've got on our agenda, including

passing a budget for our country, as soon as we can.

[15:10:42]

QUEST: Final question, ma'am. I mean, it's going to be a difficult winter, isn't it? Are the Spanish people prepared for that? Are the Spanish people

prepared, potentially for more lockdowns? We have seen it in The Netherlands. We've seen it in Germany. I know you're ratcheting it up

there, too.

LAYA: Well, we are seeing, Richard. We are probably seeing the lowest rate of contagion on COVID in Europe at the moment, but we've also seen an

increase in the numbers in the last few days. We think we are going to see a further increase and this is why we are taking additional measures.

We are taking this with the regions, because in Spain, it's the regions that are responsible for taking these measures and we have to do this, and

I know it's tough on the citizens because it is very difficult, especially at Christmas where we like to gather and reunite with our families, but we

have to do this in order to get out of this COVID as soon as we can and with the least damage to our society.

It's tough, but there is no other way. The only good news is that vaccines are coming and this will be the game changer in 2021.

QUEST: Firstly, best wishes to the Prime Minister. And secondly, to you and your family, Minister, of course, I wish you a very safe and peaceful

Christmas and whatever you may be celebrating towards the New Year.

Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate it.

Now, the European shares mostly have higher today. News of the vaccine rollout during the last week of December and hopes of stimulus in the

United States.

Everything just pushed itself forward with the exception of the FTSE which has a frolic of its own. Interestingly, the CAC only going up just a smidge

and that's obviously affected by what was happening in Paris.

British businesses is warning that port delays are holding up Christmas deliveries and pushing up the price of goods. The pandemic, the Holidays

and the looming threat of a no-deal Brexit are adding to the pressures. So we sent Anna Stewart to the Port of Dover.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER (voice over): Still 30 miles out from the Port of Dover, they are for the long haul.

STEWART (on camera): How long is the queue? Hours?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three hours.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two hours maybe.

STEWART: Two hours.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we have more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So all I do is stay in the queue on the other side, and on this side. This will save me about another three or four to get across.

STEWART (voice over): The pandemic has caused port disruption for months.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to take us probably four to five hours to cross over to France.

STEWART (voice over): The last few weeks have seen queues getting longer, and British hauler, Alcaline are putting it down to Brexit and the risk of

no deal.

DAVID ZACCHEO, OPERATIONS MANAGER, ALCALINE: Pandemic-wise, I think it has much to do with this. This is just purely stockpiling, which a lot of

customers have been doing for the last couple of months.

In 2021, this could be like this on a daily basis.

STEWART (voice over): To beat the traffic, Alcaline are taking to the skies. They bought two helicopters.

STEWART (on camera): We are starting to see just all these big lorries joining a queue.

STEWART (voice over): We're flying over the English Channel from Dover to Calais, a main artery of trade between the U.K. and the E.U., queues on

both sides is the disruption some businesses just can't afford it.

STEWART (on camera): What sort of items are you transporting with the helicopter?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's basically car parts and we will take over the light things, having been parts of windscreen wipers for example, you take bits

of that -- a thousand of those if the production line were to stop. It is far more cost effective to get a helicopter.

STEWART: We just crossed over the White Cliffs of Dover. We are back. It's taken us less than 20 minutes to do the whole round trip. For those people

driving the lorries, it's taking hours sometimes up to a day.

STEWART (voice over): Helicopters are a huge investment to this haulage firm, and it's not the only money they've spent preparing for Brexit.

ZACCHEO: We made over three million pound investment and maybe half of it is a complete waste of money. It could have been invested elsewhere doing

other things, you know, because not knowing what the future is going to be like well, you know what kind of deal we're going to have until the very

last minute, you know, so, obviously it is impossible. You can't plan anything.

STEWART (voice over): They may have to permanently move half their fleet to Europe next year making British drivers redundant.

Fresh back from Italy, a familiar face.

STEWART (on camera): I missed you, Gordon.

GORDON TERRY, TRUCK DRIVER: I've missed you, too.

STEWART (voice over): I filmed with Gordon nearly two years ago. His journeys are taking much longer now.

TERRY: Today, it took me five hours. Two weeks ago, it took me nine hours.

STEWART (on camera): I do remember me saying that the only Brexit for you was a no-deal Brexit. Do you still want this? Do you still --

TERRY: Yes, yes. Even though I live in Italy, I still want to no-deal Brexit. I think he's the only way.

STEWART: But you're spending hours in queues?

TERRY: It will clear up. It will get better. I'm optimistic. You've got to be, otherwise, you wouldn't do this sort of work.

STEWART (voice over): If only everyone was so optimistic.

Anna Stewart, CNN, Dover, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Another disappointing week of jobless numbers here in the United States. The former Treasury Secretary, Jack Lew on the state of the

economic recovery in just a moment.

Also, more trouble at Google. The company is hit with its third antitrust lawsuit since October, in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: U.S. lawmakers say they are finally nearing the finish line on a stimulus deal. I know. I know. You heard me say something very similar this

time last night. But apparently this time, it's true. The number two Democrat in the House told CNN that Friday may be the day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD): What I'm hoping is that by tomorrow, we are ready to pass a bill that will fund the government and a bill that will provide

substantial billions of dollars for health, for rent payments, for unemployment insurance extension and additional payments, family payments.

Hopefully dealing with the nutritional challenges where people are having trouble having food on their table.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: All the time, the U.S. economy is buckling. Now we're getting evidence of a growing job crisis; 885,000 more Americans fall for the first

time unemployment benefits last week, exceeding the projections. Claims rose for the fourth time in five weeks, and the country's COVID death toll

grows more staggering each day, 3,000.

Now just look at that. We've hit 3,000 over the last four or five days. It's now becoming the upper end of 2,000 and then into 3,000s.

Jack Lew was the U.S. Treasury Secretary in October 2013, all the way to the end of administration when a fight over the debt ceiling played a

leading role in the government shutdown. He later called for eliminating the debt limit altogether.

Secretary Lew joins me now from New York. Good to have you, sir. Let us -- just let's begin with the appalling state of affairs where people haven't

got food on the table. They can't pay their electricity bill and it seems the politicians would rather score political points on both sides, but you

say that a lot of damage is being done by all of this.

JACK LEW, FORMER U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: Richard, I think it's about time that Congress act on this emergency legislation. It's been needed for

months, the House passed a bill in May, and frankly, the Senate did nothing. They passed some symbolic measures that were totally inadequate,

but really refused to engage.

Finally, there's a serious negotiation taking place, and yes, it does look as if something is going to happen. Sadly, it's not as much as it should

be. But it's critically important that it happen. And even as we speak this afternoon, I don't know all the details of what are going to be in it. I

surely hope that they protect people who are unable to pay their rent for being evicted by extending the eviction moratorium, for example.

I think the idea that state local aid is not included in this is very problematic, and it means there's more work to do next year. But it's

critically important for people who have no more unemployment coming, who have lost their supplemental unemployment benefits, who don't have money to

put food on the table, they need help and they need it now, and the economic statistics are showing that it's going to be a hard few months.

QUEST: What do you fear most as we go into the January? I mean, obviously, COVID is driving the agenda. It's going to be a very difficult January,

February, and March. You know, let's put aside the vaccine, which we won't see the benefits for later.

But as Janet Yellen takes over at Treasury, what do you think her skill is going to be best put to?

LEW: Well, the job of dealing with the emergency is not yet over. So whatever the future holds, in terms of agenda, the immediate need to deal

with the crisis will be there in January as it is now.

After the disease is starting to abate and after the vaccine is out, the damage to the economy will continue for some time. And to be clear, even

after GDP starts to grow again, huge unemployment will linger. And we can't pretend that the problem is over if the overall economy is beginning to

grow, if we have close to 10 million people who are still out of work.

So the crisis will continue even after it starts to feel better for many of us. So I think the first job is going to be to deal with the recovery and

that means putting in place real stimulus measures.

What's going on now is emergency response. It will require stimulus after that to get us back to really true quality growth. Beyond that, there's an

investment program to deal with the underlying problems in our economy and that's what you would hope to get to work on as quickly as possible.

QUEST: Is that possible? I mean, you worked in the White House -- Chief of Staff and then Treasury Secretary with a divided government and nothing got

done. If Joe Biden doesn't get the Senate and it's a long shot that he would, are we destined to gridlock and going nowhere?

LEW: I certainly hope not. I know that there's a lot of predictions of gridlock and it's certainly, given the history of the past number of years

is the safest prediction but it would be very bad for the country.

I think Vice President -- President-elect Biden knows that that's why he's talking about working with people on both sides of the aisle to get things

done. But it takes two parties to work together. We're going to have to see that the Senate Leader Mitch McConnell is willing to work with a Democratic

President. And you know, I want to say even if Georgia goes well, it will still require a compromise, because it'll be a very closely divided Senate,

and a number of moderates will control the outcome.

I think the need for bipartisan action is going to be there either way. I just hope there's a willingness to engage in that and not to be in a

completely negative position of saying absolutely nothing.

QUEST: If we just look at the markets tonight, new records, all three of them are at records. There is a search for yields in a low interest rate

environment, obviously, you know, you work with Lindsay Goldberg. If we look at what's going on at the moment, how concerned are you that the

markets are out of kilter, not only with the real economy, but also with real people?

[15:25:20]

LEW: So I think one has to distinguish between the publicly traded markets and private investments. I think the public markets are being driven by low

interest rates and I do worry that some of those valuations are out of touch with where the real trends are going to go.

I think in private investments, if you focus on the fundamentals and you don't get over leveraged and you build better businesses, you have a longer

time horizon. It's not quite the same as what the daily trade is.

So I actually think as we look at investments, we underwrite very conservatively. I don't see a lot of conservative judgments being made in

daily trading.

QUEST: That's a diplomatic way of putting it. Jack Lew, let me wish you and your family Chag Sameach on this last night of Hanukkah and wish you well.

LEW: Thank you very much, Richard. And very best to you and yours. Stay well.

QUEST: Thank you. And I was just talking there -- the markets are on their way to new records, Bitcoin is joining the party, too. The crypto frenzy,

that's coming up in just a moment.

It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Good evening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Hello, I am Richard Quest, there is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. You're going to hear from the CEO of Intercontinental

Hotels, the IHG, he is going to tell me business travel will come back after the pandemic. There is reasoning and justification for that.

And Google is facing a new load of lawsuits from dozens of American states. We'll talk about that.

It's all after the news headlines. This is CNN and on this network, the facts always come first.

[15:30:00]

After days of silence, the Russian president is responding to an exclusive CNN Bellingcat investigation into the poisoning of Alexey Navalny back in

August.

The investigation found that Russian agents had trailed him for years.

Without ever referring to the opposition leader by name, Vladimir Putin said if Russian special forces wanted to kill him, they would have finished

the job.

Sweden's King Carl Gustav introduced his annual Christmas special message to say that the Scandinavian country has failed in its coronavirus

strategy.

Sweden initially employed a herd immunity approach to the virus avoiding lockdowns. The rising death toll there, now more than 7,800, has drawn

increasing criticism.

A top U.S. cybersecurity agency says it's still learning the extent of the hack on the federal government. It says hackers breached other software

besides SolarWinds and some vulnerabilities may not be uncovered.

At least three government agencies are known to have been compromised along with thousands of private-sector companies.

The U.K. says it's very likely a Brexit trade deal won't be reached unless the E.U. changes its position.

The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, and the E.U.'s Ursula Von Der Leyen, both came away from the call acknowledging big differences between

the two sides as time runs short.

Boris Johnson said if no agreement could be reached the U.K. and E.U. would part as friends and trade on Australian-style terms.

The markets. It's one of those days where we do need to keep an eye on it because they're all rising, and they're rising to records -- well, records

themselves.

Look at it. The numbers aren't huge but it's a positive trend that's moving forward. Stimulus and a second authorized COVID-19 vaccine this week is

what's pushing things for records.

Paul La Monica is with me to talk about -- to put this into perspective.

Paul, that and Bitcoin. Bitcoin's surging more than -- it's at 23,000. So it's up some extraordinary 20, 30 percent in a week. What's going on?

PAUL R. LA MONICA CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes, a phenomenal run. It has more than tripled this year, Richard.

And you know, I think the recent spike higher -- it had been toying at that 20,000 level for a couple of weeks, it finally broke through it. And I

think we've just seen momentum carrying it even higher and higher.

I think there are some legitimate concerns that it's too far, too fast. But it's been a big difference, I think, in terms of the validity of Bitcoin

now and three years ago when it was last at the $20,000 level.

QUEST: Yes. But Paul, PayPal and a variety of other payment systems are using and accepting Bitcoin and a variety of investment funds have

acknowledged Bitcoin as being part of their investment strategy.

Which forces them to buy it and therefore creates, if you like, a sort of an underpinning in terms of number of transactions. But has the actual

scenario around Bitcoin changed?

LA MONICA: I'm not sure what you mean about the scenario around Bitcoin. I think that -- Bitcoin, to some of the Bitcoin evangelists -- we're never

going to get to the point where you are going to in non-COVID times go to your local deli and buy a cup of coffee, probably, with Bitcoin. I think it

really still is more about a store of value than a legitimate payment form.

But that being said, it could be like the digital gold --

QUEST: Right.

LA MONICA: -- which is what people at BlackRock have said. And also, there are some big hedge fund managers making significant bets as well which is

adding to the validity of Bitcoin as well.

Stanley Druckenmiller, Paul Tudor Jones; all backing Bitcoin.

QUEST: Paul La Monica, thank you.

LA MONICA: Thank you.

QUEST: Breaking news now.

Breaking news to bring you. We're hearing -- it's been confirmed that all 344 kidnapped Nigerian boys have been rescued. This is according to the

state governor.

Now you'll remember the schoolboys were kidnapped last week. They have now been rescued and they're on their way home according to a spokesperson for

the governor of Katsina state where they had been abducted while attending the boarding school.

What we don't know, of course, is how the negotiations took place. What, if any, concessions or ransoms were paid or concessions made.

The government spokesman said those people behind the attack have been caught. But CNN's not able to confirm independently exactly what has been

happening there.

And when we get more on that, we will bring it to you.

[15:35:00]

Now Google is facing its third antitrust lawsuit in less than two months.

As many as 38 U.S. attorneys general are suing the company alleging it abused the monopoly in online search and advertising.

Brian Fung is here.

I'm getting a bit lost, Brian. The number of cases of this, cases of that. And it seems to me that there's a lot of antitrust action by attorneys

general against Google, but I don't actually see anything changing.

BRIAN FUNG, CNN TECHNOLOGY REPORTER: Well, Richard, it's true, the hits just keep on coming.

This is, as you said, the third major antitrust lawsuit to be brought by government officials in the United States against Google since October.

After yesterday Texas and nine other states sued Google in a major antitrust action and in October, you had the justice department suing

Google, accusing it of using anticompetitive, exclusive contracts to maintain a monopoly in search on platforms like the iPhone and on Android

and abusing that monopoly.

Now this lawsuit coming here repeats many of the same allegations that the justice department lawsuit outlines but also goes further.

And for the first time takes Google to court over things like its impact on small businesses such as Yelp or Hotels.com, these smaller websites that

try to connect customers to specific reviews or analysis of local shops and businesses that has become really important to the internet economy.

And the allegation here is that Google prioritizes its own businesses, its own services at the expense of some of these third-party competitors and

that that is a violation of U.S. antitrust law.

QUEST: Right.

FUNG: Now obviously, Google is challenging a lot of this, it's contesting this and saying it's going to fight this in court.

And let me just read you a little bit of their response here today.

They said, in part, quote -- "We know that scrutiny of big companies is important and we're prepared to answer questions and work through the

issues.

But this lawsuit seeks to redesign search in ways that would deprive Americans of helpful information and hurt businesses' ability to connect

directly with customers.

We look forward to making a case in court, while remaining focused on delivering a high-quality search experience for our users."

Obviously, this is probably going to take years to play out. But the states that have filed suit today have asked to merge this case with the justice

department's case.

QUEST: Brian Fung, thank you. We'll be back with more in a moment. This is "Quest means business."

[15:40:00]

QUEST: Our breaking news tonight. All 344 Nigerian schoolboys kidnapped almost a week ago have now been rescued and are on their way home,

according to a spokesperson for the governor of Katsina state where the children were abducted from on Friday.

They were at a boarding school. They're now on their way back to Katsina state. They will meet the governor.

On the line now is Arwa Damon.

Arwa, well, this is excellent, excellent news at one level in the sense that they are on their way back. But what do we know about this?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SNR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All we know at this stage, Richard, is that apparently, at least according to the spokesperson

for the governor of Katsina state, it was not Boko Haram that was responsible for this kidnapping, it was a group of bandits. And that the

military was somehow involved in their release.

I have to say this news came as quite a joyous surprise though. Given that it was only a few hours ago, earlier today, in fact, that a video was

released that was -- claimed to be released by a faction of Boko Haram that showed one of the schoolboys talking, begging with the military not to

intervene. He appeared to be clearly under duress.

His classmates were in the background of this video looking very dusty and understandably terrified. And now, all of a sudden, we have this news.

Such a relief, though, Richard, it must be, for these parents who had already started up a movement called "Bring Back Our Boys."

And this was all horrifyingly reminiscent of the kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls --

QUEST: Right.

DAMON: -- that took place around seven years ago. And with that, more than 100 of them are still missing.

So one can only hope right now for a joyous reunion between these schoolboys and their parents.

QUEST: Arwa, to viewers and myself, the difference between Boko Haram taking these boys when they could be radicalized and put into terrorist

service, if you like, and bandits taking them is what? What purpose would bandits want to take them?

DAMON: Look, these parts of Nigeria have been growing increasingly lawless over the years although actually very rarely making the news.

And so you have, yes, Boko Haram is this overarching entity that most of us are more familiar with but then you have smaller groups. And some have

loose affiliations with Boko Haram and some are just in it for their own interests.

But when it comes to the sort of lawlessness that exists in these parts of Nigeria, it's things like these roaming groups of -- yes, bandits, yes,

some with loose affiliations to Boko Haram, some at times. It's an alignment of interests.

But generally speaking, they will set up checkpoints and try to extort money from people --

QUEST: Right.

DAMON: -- or they will go in and carry out small acts within these various villages --

QUEST: Right.

DAMON: -- generally not these kind of mass-scale kidnapping attempts.

QUEST: Arwa --

DAMON: Those are more Boko Haram in nature.

QUEST: Arwa, I'd ask you to stand by, if you'd be as kind. I have the Katsina state governor, Aminu Bello Masari, who's on the phone now.

Let's test the connection first. Governor, can you hear me?

AMINU BELLO MASARI, GOVERNOR, KITSANA PROVINCE, NIGERIA: Yes. I can hear you, Quest.

QUEST: Thank you. Governor, so excellent, magnificent news that these boys have been found, they have been recovered. What can you tell me about the

circumstances of their recovery? What happened, who did what?

MASARI: Well, actually no we -- our security services circled the area where this happened. And we were able through a third party to discuss with

the kidnappers who eventually agreed to release them unconditionally.

And they are now on their way to Katsina for medical checkup.

[15:45:00]

QUEST: Fantastic. Absolutely joyous news.

What do you know? Your spokespeople have been saying that this was not Boko Haram, this was a group of bandits. But why did they take these boys, what

was the purpose?

MASARI: Well, we have to find out when they come really through the intermediary.

But really, those who did the kidnapping are the local bandits hibernate in the area of Zango Paula and Katsina. So I don't know at what point Boko

Haram -- we haven't seen their directly involvement. Maybe through some -- I don't know.

But certainly, the people we are dealing with are the local bandits. Like I said, that has been hibernating in Zango Paula and some parts of Katsina.

So I -- we haven't seen the signature of Boko Haram.

QUEST: As we look at this, do you know -- maybe was a ransom paid, were any concessions made? It seems remarkable that the authorities or the militias

found where they were, and the kidnappers handed them over.

Do you know what happened in the negotiation, governor?

MASARI: Well, I think, like I said, we will know the details when the negotiating team comes back tomorrow. But what we do know that the boys

were rescued unconditionally.

And our discussion with the team that went there to negotiate with the kidnappers is that -- were not offered money or any other thing. But they

were looking to what --- they have certain grievances or complaints against establishment, we'll hear.

QUEST: Right.

MASARI: And we will take the necessary measures on issues that really affect security. So we didn't promise them anything.

QUEST: And just how can we -- how can you protect -- whether it was the girls of several years ago, of which -- it's horrifying. And I know you,

governor, will be horrified too that 100 of those girls in Chibok are still missing -- and thank god this has ended peacefully with all their return.

But how on earth can you protect against this in the future?

MASARI: Well, going forward, we need to look at many issues that are involved in (inaudible). We have learned some lessons in terms of security

arrangement especially in boarding schools and other public places.

And with regards to whatever we'll do will come later when we hear from --

QUEST: Right.

MASARI: -- lead team what really happened. Why, what were the reason they advanced --

QUEST: All right.

MASARI: -- for doing what they did.

QUEST: Governor, thank you. I appreciate it. The governor of Katsina state joining me on the line.

Arwa is still with me. And Arwa, hopefully, you were also listening to what the governor was saying and could hear what he was saying.

You're sort of an expert in the area. What jumped out at you -- for you?

DAMON: Look, it's very interesting that -- as you were trying to press the governor on as well -- that these schoolboys would be released without any

sort of significant concessions being made.

To go back to the video that was released earlier, Richard. Look, in it whether it was Boko Haram or not, there clearly were certain requests that

were being made through one of the schoolboys and that was an end to what's known as these sort of local vigilante groups.

QUEST: Right.

DAMON: And these are local groups that are put together by the communities to try to protect themselves against bandits, against Boko Haram. There's

also the sort of the request to end Western-style education.

Were concessions made along those lines? The governor says no but I guess we're just going to have to wait and see.

Because either way, when you carry out an operation of this size with the intent of kidnapping this many children, presumably any group whether it's

a group of bandits or Boko Haram, has some sort of a significant end game.

And so like a lot that happens in Nigeria, sadly, a lot of these details do remain quite murky, Richard, in these early stages.

[15:50:00]

But this also goes to a bigger issue and that is the lack of security that exists in so many of these areas across Nigeria.

And this is just one of the many profound grievances that the population has with the government, especially in these more remote areas.

But in the battles against Boko Haram for the better part of the last seven years the military has, yes, made some gains, but it's also taken quite a

few losses.

And in trying to counter that, the military has moved into this positioning, military positioning, where it consolidates its forces on

these bigger bases but then ends up leaving stretches of territory quite vulnerable to banditry or to Boko Haram.

QUEST: Arwa, Arwa Damon. Thank you for joining us in Istanbul.

And I'll just recap. The governor of the province, Katsina province, telling me that the 344 kidnapped Nigerian boys are on their way home where

they will be receiving medical treatment and medical assessments. And we'll hear more about that in the hours to come.

This is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: In Dubai, they're getting ready to host an event that's set to be one of the world's largest since the start of the pandemic.

One hundred and ninety countries, at least, will be showcasing culture and latest innovations.

It's Expo 2020, a six-month event. It starts next year.

John Defterios reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: At the Australia pavilion, construction work continues on a structure that will bring a little bit of

down under to Dubai next year.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I will take to you up to the VIP level.

DEFTERIOS: Inspired by optimism, ambition and creativity, when complete it promises to take visitors on an experience of 60,000 years of innovation.

Pavilions are said to be one of the centerpieces at Expo 2020.

MAHA AL GARGAWI, VICE PRESIDENT OF POLITICAL AFFAIRS, EXPOSURE 2020: Countries will use the Expo 2020 platform as a platform to amplify some of

their messages; their visions for the future, to showcase their art, their history, their music, their gastronomy.

But also to showcase some of their technologies and innovative solutions to some of the most pressing challenges that the world faces today.

[15:55:00]

DEFTERIOS: One country hoping to do just that is Norway.

Their ship shape pavilion aims to take visitors on an immersive experience to showcase sustainable technologies for the world's oceans.

DAG OLAV KOPPERVIK, NORWAY PROJECT DEVELOPER, EXPOSURE 2020: We will also address something more important that is a real concern. And that's the

plastic issue.

How do we clean up the ocean plastics and how do we stop the stream of plastic pouring into the oceans?

And we really need to change the way we produce the plastic and how we use the plastic.

We're going to challenge also the politicians because we know that we have all the technology we need to make a dramatic change. But we really need

brave politicians taking bold decisions.

DEFTERIOS: Millions of visitors are expected to attend Expo 2020 under the theme of "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future."

This is as the world comes together for what is said to be one of the largest public events next year and an opportunity to discuss the most

pressing challenges in a post-pandemic world.

John Defterios, CNN, Dubai.

QUEST: And we'll take our profitable moment after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment".

Fairly dreadful weather in New York and the northeast today.

You'll be aware, of course, that the weather has been pretty shocking. Lots of snow fell, apparently it's the worst snowfall since 2016.

But those of us who remember the 1993 snowfall, well, it clearly wasn't as bad as anything like that. And there are still a few of us around who

remember that.

Also, you've got to protect what you've got which is why last night I braved the cold.

Foolish, say some, but the Christmas decorations -- there we go. Have a listen.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: What's wrong with him?

QUEST: He's sort of fallen over and wasn't able to stand upright. No, he wasn't drunk --

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Inaudible)

QUEST: -- but they were socially distanced.

Yes. And if I've got a bit of a cough today, well, maybe that's the reason why. Ah, there we go.

You've got to make sure that your ornaments are looking good -- or something like that. Even if you do get a chill at the end of it.

And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York.

Markets are at a record. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, stay warm. I hope it's profitable.

The closing bell is ringing. A record, record, records.

END