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Quest Means Business

World Bank Cuts 2022 Global GDP Forecast; World Economy Hit By Simultaneous Black Swan Events; Holiday Travel Shows Promise For Recovery; U.N.: 73 Killed In Attacks On Ukraine Healthcare Facilities Since Start Of Invasion; Missiles Kill At Least Seven In Western City Of Lviv; Zelenskyy: Ukraine Could Become E.U. Candidate In Weeks. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired April 18, 2022 - 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 ANCHOR: So all in all, a start of a new week in a volatile day for stocks. I think, I`m going to be using the word

"volatile" a great deal in the next few weeks or months. You can see we`re up, we are down, we are up, we`re down, and we are up, but who knows what

will happen in the next hour.

Investors are waiting and watching major corporate earnings this week, the markets as they stand and the main events of the day.

The World Bank has slashed nearly a full percentage point of its global growth forecast because of Russia`s Ukraine war.

President Zelenskyy has submitted the paperwork that starts the long complex process of Ukraine joining the E.U.

Also --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY FERNANDES, CEO, CAPITAL A: I was so helpless, because you can`t do anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: AirAsia boss, Tony Fernandes tells me the COVID pandemic was a nightmare. Now, he is starting to see the sun rise.

We are live in New York, Monday, April the 18th. I`m Richard Quest, I mean business.

Good evening. We start tonight with fresh numbers showing the war and COVID and how they are combining to slow global economic growth.

The World Bank has cut this year`s growth forecast to 3.2 percent, and remember, that`s global. So you`ve got the emerging and you`ve got the

developed in that. It is a high number, maybe for some, but it is very low for others.

It says, when it comes to growth, Russia`s invasion of Ukraine is the main reason for the nearly one percentage point cut. And China also feeling the

pinch of its zero COVID policy. The country is saying 4.8 percent was the rate of economic growth in Q1 compared to the same period last year.

Whilst better than expected, this number shows how much the slowdown in March in Shanghai and other cities, which are going into lockdown.

Clare Sebastian is watching.

Clare, let`s start with the war in Ukraine and the World Bank, we know the I.M.F. has already done similarly, but the World Bank cutting growth. Why?

How is this transmitting itself?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so Richard, it is a number of different -- a confluence of different crises, "overlapping" is

the word that David Malpass used. Obviously, the war in Ukraine is hitting the economies involved, Russia because of sanctions set to contract;

Ukraine could essentially be cut in half in terms of output this year, but it is affecting supply chains. It is causing food insecurity. This is

something that the head of the World Bank said he was extremely worried about.

It`s exacerbating what was already generational highs in inflation going into this war. So this is how it is contributing to this overall drop in

global growth that you can see, one percent to be cut since the last forecast in January.

I will say we`ve seen a lot worse than that. This time, two years ago, we saw a six percentage point cut in the World Bank`s forecast because of

COVID. But in general terms, in historic terms, this is significant and three percent, as you say is precarious. It means that a policy mistake, a

misstep of any kind could potentially tip the world into a recession.

So this is where we get worried at this level -- Richard.

QUEST: Okay, now China, 4.8 percent. That`s assuming we believe the number, 4.8 percent, but that doesn`t account for these much larger

lockdowns that are going on in industrially important places like Shanghai or Guangzhou and the like.

SEBASTIAN: Yes, the reason it was 4.8 present and not worse, which is because of the first two months of the year, not because of March, when we

really saw these lockdowns take effect, and if you look at higher frequency data, we`ve got retail sales in March. They declined three and a half

percent. Industrial production grew by five percent in March, but it had grown by seven and a half percent in the previous couple of months. Then

you really get the sense that things were starting to slow down.

Now, all of this, the course of the Chinese economy, whether or not they can hit the government`s target of five and a half percent this year, which

economists are now doubtful about depends, of course, on the length of these lockdowns and how they`re staggered around the country, how they

manage to sort of maintain supply chains without cutting the whole thing off. It depends on how the ports are affected, and things like that.

But as I say, economists are doubtful that they will be able to hit that five and a half percent growth target this year.

QUEST: All right, so put it together and there is, I won`t say consensus on recession, but there is growing consensus on a recession. It`s really a

question of when and how deep.

SEBASTIAN: Yes, Richard, we haven`t even talked about the U.S. yet, the world`s biggest economy. This is where we`re starting to see people really

starting to worry.

[15:05:01]

We`re not seeing many people going the whole way and saying there will be a recession this year, but the likelihood is increasing and that is because

the Fed faces an unprecedented challenge in bringing the thing down to land safely whether or not they can control inflation at eight and a half

percent and avoid tipping the economy into recession. I think Janet Yellen said last week, it will require skill, and also good luck.

QUEST: Clare Sebastian is with that part of the story.

Rana is also with me this evening. Rana Foroohar, the CNN global economic analyst.

Rana, before we get our hands dirty with recession and the like, I want to go through the economic environment that we`re dealing with here, because

that will set us up for what we`re going to talk about, and what we`re dealing with here are black swan events.

Now, these black swan events, they are rare. They are hard to predict, and they are incredibly disruptive. It takes only one to damage the global

economy. And we`re experiencing two simultaneously.

So you`ve got COVID-19, two years since the pandemic; China is still trying to eradicate it, and you`ve got Russia`s invasion of Ukraine. When you look

at these black swan events, the COVID and the pandemic and Russia with its COVID lockdown, its zero COVID policy and Russia`s invasion, where do you

see the importance and significance?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: That`s an excellent framing of where we are, because when I look at those events, I think about two other

time periods, the 1930s and the 1970s, and it is very interesting, because at both of those times, you saw incredible market disruption, but you also

saw the birth of entirely new orders of global trade, of global currency systems. That`s where we are right now.

I mean, this is nothing short than a crisis of the old order and the beginning of something new. You know, we can tease out all the bits of it,

but when I pull back the lens at 35,000 feet, that`s what I see.

QUEST: Okay, but which of those swans is dramatic enough to push us all into recession? Or can neither do it on their own, but the collective force

of both?

FOROOHAR: I think it`s the collective force, but I do think that the war will be remembered historically, as the line in the sand. You know, it is

the thing that really solidified the trend that was already beginning in COVID, which is more domestication of supply chains, friend-shoring that`s

a term that you heard Janet Yellen used last week, this idea that we`re moving into at least a sort of a two-system world, the U.S. and its allies

on one side; China, and its allies on another.

The whole dollar game is potentially changing, the way oil is priced is changing, and the war, I think, was really the thing that said, "Yes, we`re

not going back."

QUEST: So are you in the "there will be a recession" or are you in the camp that says, well, I`m going to hedge my bets a bit longer, until I see

what happens.

FOROOHAR: I think we`re going to see. I`m actually going to hedge my bets in this question, Richard. I think we`re going to see a global recession.

But will we see a recession in the U.S.? That`s a very interesting question, because I find myself thinking, I`m curious what you would say

about this, that, once again, the U.S. is, despite all of the problems out there in the world, and there are many, the cleanest dirty shirt, you know,

in the closet.

I mean, it is possible, but inflation could say, push down housing prices. It could make people stop buying non-essential things and that could have

an effect on corporations. It is possible that -- where else are you going to put your money?

QUEST: Yes, but it`ll feel like a recession. I always think that -- you know, I always think that we make too much on this two quarters of negative

GDP official definition, so to speak, I think it doesn`t really matter if you`re growing point three versus minus point two, it feels bad for

consumers, and that has an attendant effect.

FOROOHAR: Well, indeed, I think that that is a huge point, and I agree. It`s going to feel like recession.

Frankly, it never felt like recovery for a lot of people in the last decade. You know, I mean, it`s -- we`re in a new world.

QUEST: Rana, we`ve been in the new world, I`m not sure I want the old one back, but by the same token, I`m a bit terrified about what the new one

will look like.

Rana, good to see you. We`ll be in Davos. We`ll talk then again. Thank you.

FOROOHAR: Thank you, Richard.

QUEST: And now, as we continue tonight, it is Tony Fernandes of AirAsia. He said, he is optimistic for the summer travel season. The recovery

outlook, we`re going to have hotels and airlines. It`s after the break

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: The holiday weekend is showing tremendous promise as a return to travel is underway. Best Western says, it now has more guests than in 2019

and it expects the momentum to carry into the summer.

A U.S. travel survey agrees 85 percent of people believe and say they`ll travel this summer. Of course, what we don`t know is what Rana and I were

talking about, what impact would recession and rising inflation have on all of that?

Larry Cuculic is the CEO of Best Western Hotels and Resorts, the new CEO, well, relativity. He joins me from Phoenix, Arizona. Congratulations, sir,

on the top job and the big seat. You take over, things are getting better, things are looking up, aren`t they?

LARRY CUCULIC, CEO, BEST WESTERN HOTELS AND RESORTS: Yes, sir.

First of all, Richard, thank you so much for inviting me to participate in your program. I watch it often, and I love your exuberance and your cutting

to the -- I call it the issues at hand, and your question leads right into that.

And so Best Western International, we`re a global brand with over 4,700 hotels in over 100 countries and 18 distinct brands and quite honestly, we

are tremendously optimistic with regard to 2022 summer season and the reason I can take that position and offer it for you and your guests to

consider is, we see more bookings being made and the -- I`ll call it time for that stay to be even -- to be extended so that our guests are looking

to travel and they`re letting us know in advance that they`re going to travel and so we think there`s that pent up demand that is going to occur

this summer.

QUEST: How will you be affected by what is happening in Ukraine and in Russia and the difficulty of doing business there?

[15:15:03]

CUCULIC: Well, yes, great question. What we see is in the United States, of course, I think as a result of the Ukraine situation, and before I even

get into the Ukraine situation, let me just explain. I am truly disheartened by the fact that one country cannot, I`ll call it observe and

respect the territorial boundaries and government of another country.

I`m a West Point graduate and served in the military and retired as an officer after 20 years of service. And I know, based upon that experience,

that there`s no excuse for what has occurred in the Ukraine with regard to destroying the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent individuals and

destroying their churches, schools, and buildings that are of no impact with regard to a conflict like this.

I honestly am very heartfelt, though, that our hoteliers and our guests, and our associates that work at Best Western have donated thousands of

dollars to our Best Western for a better world program to the International Red Cross to help the Ukrainians.

QUEST: Right.

CUCULIC: To your question with regard to the matter, you know, travel is typically a discretionary issue or a discretionary matter, and things like

inflation, uncertainty in the stock market, rising gas prices, and rising food costs will put some pressure on travel. But what we`ve seen so far is

that it has not had a significant effect on what we see as the intent to travel during the summer season.

QUEST: And that`s interesting, because I can see a scenario where there are two very firm competing opposing economic forces. One is the pent up

demand, go and see grandma, go and have that trip that we`ve been promising ourselves versus, do we spend the extra money? Do we fly? Do we take the

car? How do we balance that off? Do we trade up or trade down in the place where we stay? I presume you benefit?

CUCULIC: Well, I think Best Western is well positioned in that regard. We have over 2,200 hotels in the United States, and really, I`m sorry, in

North America, and as a result, we likely have a hotel wherever you choose to travel to.

And so if you wish to go to a far off destination, or even stay regionally, we have a hotel there that will meet that individual`s travel needs, and so

we`re fortunate that because we have that diversity of location that we can actually meet a traveler`s demand or their intent to travel wherever they

wish to go.

And also, please keep in mind, you know, we have 18 brands that go from, I call it luxury to upper economy. So we also can in fact, have a hotel that

meets the, I`ll call it, economic needs of the traveler.

QUEST: Right. Finally, I`m curious, what would you like your tenure as CEO to be noted as? What do you want to do? I mean, I always think with CEOs,

one spends a long time trying to get up the greasy pole and climb the ladder, and suddenly there`s that day when you sit at the desk. All right,

I`m the top dog. I am the CEO. But what do you want to do with Best Western?

CUCULIC: What I`d like to do is see Best Western grow and continue to expand globally. But, you know, the business side is one part of it,

Richard, I`ve been with Best Western for almost 13 years now. I was originally, before this position, I was the General Counsel of Best Western

hoteliers. It`s my understanding that you are a non-practicing barrister, so this is a lawyer to lawyer conversation.

But what I`d like to tell you is what I think is most important with regard to anyone`s legacy as a CEO is to make sure that our associates and our

hoteliers can recognize and leave a legacy for themselves that they can be proud of. And so, it is not necessarily about the size of the organization,

but rather to me, it`s about the culture of the organization and allowing our associates and our hoteliers to not just thrive economically, but to do

what is best with regard to being just good corporate citizens and good -- I`ll call up members of their communities, and that is what I`d like to be

able to ask really foster.

QUEST: We will talk more during your tenure, sir. I`m grateful to have had you on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight. Thank you. Good to see you.

CUCULIC: Thank you, Mr. Quest. Appreciate it.

[15:20:10]

QUEST: Now, the summer travel season is also looking far more promising in Asia where, particularly in Southeast Asia. The countries are opening up.

South Korea has lifted nearly all of its COVID restrictions, including curfews on nightlife and size limits on gatherings. I spoke to Tony

Fernandes, about AirAsia`s outlook for the summer, and he reminded me of the early struggles during the pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FERNANDES: COVID was something from the movies. Asia was much more draconian with it. And so, you know, we hardly did any flying for two

years.

So imagine an airline with 21,000 staff, 250 aircraft at that time, where, you know, maybe 90 percent of their fleet is grounded. It was -- it`s a

nightmare scenario, but I think the worst is over now and it has given us a chance to do things we probably couldn`t have done before.

QUEST: You had to raise money.

FERNANDES: Yes.

QUEST: I mean, everybody had to raise money by the billions, and you didn`t have government support?

FERNANDES: No. I mean, I think the government had so many -- to be fair on governments in Southeast Asia -- there were so many to sort. They wanted us

to fend them by themselves. They did actually, some of the governments, Malaysia, particularly came out with a funding scheme where we could borrow

money. But in the end, we never did. We were able to get out of it by ourselves.

One of the proudest things I felt during this period was, you know, we owed a lot of people refunds, and we couldn`t afford to pay those refunds.

Ninety-two percent of our passengers said: Look, we`ll take a credit shell. We have faith. You guys have been great, and we will take it when you come

back in the form of a credit shell. So that was a big help.

QUEST: You`ve got the airlines back in the air and as best you can, safe and secure in terms of financing operations. So, where do you grow the

whole thing?

FERNANDES: Yes. So you know, we`ve decided to kind of refocus on our strength, Southeast Asia, ASEAN -- 700 million people, enormous potential

to grow, especially now with some of the issues with supply chain in China, et cetera.

So my crusade now in the airline side is to knit that thing tighter together. We`ve taken our first ever freighter. I`ve been in the market

looking for more freighters. We love the 321 freighter, discussing with Airbus on that. And so those are two new businesses.

And then we go out and try and build new airlines in the rest of Southeast Asia -- Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam are three that, you know, are begging

for an AirAsia.

COVID, one of the benefits was enabling me to pivot the ship to turn this massive ship and start looking at our data and our brand in a different

way. The internet has made pricing transparent, so anyone is not going to come directly to AirAsia, they are going to chat to an agent on Google

Travel or whatever.

So I said to our team, let`s be a travel agent. Let`s be an online travel agent. Why not? We`ve got -- we own an airline, but why can`t we? So I

separated the company, created a Super App and I`m aiming to be Expedia.

QUEST: All these things are great, but they do distract managerial attention. That`s the key one that people have accused you of before.

FERNANDES: Yes, yes. Now, what we`ve created, we`ve changed AirAsia group into Capital A. We`ve put direct and distinct management in charge of each

of these operations. So they benefit from the brand, they benefit from data. They benefit from the symbiosis of the ecosystem, but they are

separately managed, and that is the one difference.

QUEST: Optimistic for the summer and throughout the year?

FERNANDES: Absolutely. I mean, coming to America has been fantastic. You know, I`ve struggled to get a flight. I`ve had to fly all kinds of low cost

carriers. I was on a Southwest flight. It was my highlight of this trip.

I took loads of pictures, you know, the speedy boarding, the crew and all these things that I had talked to, you know, my mentor, in many ways, Herb

Kelleher, and so it was great and seeing the airports full. People excited to fly again.

It`s the first time, Richard, and I didn`t bitch about queuing. Yes, it was the first time I was thrilled to see long queues. And so America is

probably about six months ahead of Southeast Asia, and so that was a great sense of feeling and talking to the other airline CEOs and all around, they

all had a bit of optimism.

Oil, that`s such a secondary thing to me now because you know, when you can`t fly, you know, there are two things in my life that I`ve never been

able to fully control. You can do whatever you want on your football club, but it`s up to those 11 dudes to perform, right, and you`re sitting there

and you can`t do much about it.

[15:25:22]

I was so helpless, because you can`t do anything. Oil was as long as I can fly, that`s the biggest thing I learned.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: That is AirAsia`s Tony Fernandes.

I need to bring you some sad breaking news from the world of football. Cristiano Ronaldo has just announced the death of his baby son. On Twitter,

he says, it`s the greatest pain that any parent can feel. He posted, he and his partner were expecting twins. Don Riddell is with me.

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Richard, thanks very much. Yes, this is absolutely awful news, and it`s to be honest, kind of difficult to find

the words.

We`ve only just learned about this literally in the last 30 minutes or so. Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo as an athlete, world famous, one of the top

brands and athletes and football players in the world. There isn`t a corner of this planet where Cristiano Ronaldo is not incredibly well-known.

He was on the top of his game scoring a hat trick for Manchester United, the 50th of his club career at the weekend, and now, we learn of this

terrible news.

We can bring up the statement, I think and share it with our viewers. This is what he posted on social media literally just a few minutes ago. He

said, "It is with our deepest sadness, we have to announce that our baby boy has passed away. It is the greatest pain that any parents can feel.

Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness. We would like to thank the doctors and nurses

for all their expert care and support. We are all devastated of this loss and we kindly ask for privacy at this very difficult time. Our baby boy,

you are our angel. We will always love you."

That is co-signed by Cristiano Ronaldo and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez. Ronaldo and Rodriguez posted back in October that they were expecting

twins. There were some wonderful photographs of the couple and the scans and clearly they were so excited about expanding their family and Cristiano

Ronaldo is well known to be a big family man. He often posts pictures of his other children on social media. He is very, very proud of his oldest

son, Cristiano, Jr. who plays for the Manchester United Academy. In fact, I think we saw him scoring a goal the other day, which everybody was excited

to see.

He has three other children before this latest news, and it is just so hard to imagine what they are going through at the moment.

Manchester United play Liverpool tomorrow, Richard, that would have been a huge game but now I can only imagine completely overshadowed by this

terrible news.

QUEST: And a tweet from -- I think, it`s from Manchester United: "Sending love and strength to you and the family at this time." That they`ve just

tweeted.

It would be inappropriate and delicate to ask any more questions, Don. We`ve covered the main facts as indeed that`s really all the rest of us

need to know about it.

Thank you, sir.

This is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:57]

QUEST: The E.U. says no part of Ukraine is safe from Vladimir Putin`s senseless onslaught. It`s following missile attacks on the western city of

Lviv. Last night killed seven people. Now it`s a previously been spared the worst of the violence. However, the E.U. says Monday`s attacks were the

most intense in weeks, with missiles reportedly hitting three military targets.

CNN crews on the scene say the fourth hit a tire repair business. At the same time the U.N. is reporting at least 73 people killed in an attack on

Ukrainian healthcare facilities have been -- since the beginning of the war. Ed Lavandera is with me. He`s in Kyiv. Now, Ed, it -- can you fix --

Is there a difference? Can you feel a ramping up if you`re like on attacks against Kyiv? Bearing in mind that, you know, when the Russian troops

withdrew and there was a refocusing. But now that all seems to be up for grabs, again, as far as the Russians are concerned?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Richard. I think it kind of depends on where you are in the country, especially in the eastern region and in

the southern part of the country. And this is basically on the edges of the areas of Ukraine that remain in Russian-occupied hands. But the strikes in

Lviv very startling because this is an area as you mentioned, that has been spared the worst of this war over the last almost two months.

The Russian military saying tonight that the targets there, those warehouses were actually storing ammunition and military supply. The

supplies that were being brought into the country hear from international support. So -- but if you look in those areas in the east, you`re seeing a

ramping up of attacks in the city of Kharkiv for example under constant bombardment. There have been a number of smaller cities, south east of

there that have been the site of fierce fighting over the last 24 hours.

And an escalation there. In fact, one city Ukrainian military officials say they had to retreat from but then they say they make gains in other places.

So, you really do get the sense that this renewed offensive in this new strategy that the Russians are about to employ apparently, is really kind

of starting to ramp up for sure.

QUEST: Ed Lavandera bringing us the latest and bring it up to date. Thank you, sir. President Zelenskyy says he`s asked the head of the IMF to help

stabilize and rebuild his country after the war. The World Bank expects the Ukrainian economy will shrink this year by 45 percent. The U.N. says more

than 4-1/2 million people have fled the country. Infrastructure heavily damaged. One move that could help Ukraine`s economy of course is E.U.

membership.

President Zelenskyy submitted key paperwork to the E.U.`s ambassador. He says he hopes Ukraine will become a candidate to join the E.U. within

weeks. On the economic challenges, the country is now facing. Former finance minister of Ukrainian Natalie Jaresko is with me.

[15:35:04]

So, if we look at -- if we look at the significance of E.U. membership, what do you say it gives? Because there are reasons, of course, why the

E.U. has not welcomed Ukraine before.

NATALIE JARESKO, FORMER FINANCE MINISTER OF UKRAINIAN: Well, thank you, Richard. I think E.U. membership has multiple really important value points

and principles for Ukraine. Number one, it means being a part of that E.U. market. It means access to those markets. It means being integrated with

those markets. It means having its rules and regulations integrated.

But secondarily, right now, it has enormous psychological meaning. Ukrainians are fighting for the values of the free world of democracy. And

frankly speaking, they need to be shown that the world recognizes their incredible commitment, their incredible courage and their conviction to,

frankly speaking die for those principles and values that the European Union represents.

QUEST: Since Ukraine is -- the E.U. is going to have to make a decision probably quite quickly, on whether to fast track Ukraine into the Union.

But of course, there were reasons, weren`t there? Why in the past, the E.U. has dragged its heels. Do you fear those reasons will be brought back?

JARESKO: Of course, there`s always going to be some countries in the European Union that are, as you say, dragging their heels for a variety of

reasons. Some, in the case of Hungary, for example, doing it perhaps in collaboration with Moscow, others fearful of the Ukrainian agricultural

market and its strength. But today, I think all of those things need to be put aside.

The Ukrainian market is unfortunately, as you just mentioned, been terribly beaten by this war already with a 45 percent GDP declined prediction.

And so, I don`t think there`s anything to fear. I think there`s only something to gain by having the Ukrainian market be integrated with the

European Union at this point.

QUEST: On this reconstruction, I mean, the IMF has already made clear it will and as indeed, the World Bank, and as the EBRD. There`s an entire

plethora of international lending organizations that will be involved in that. But of course, it all is predicated on Ukraine remember -- remaining

a sovereign country.

JARESKO: And there`s no question and right now the key issue for us is ending the war. And what can happen from an economic standpoint, what needs

to happen is we need to make sure that we`re putting as many of the sanctions as we humanly can on the Russian economy to isolate it. We`re not

doing enough on banking sanctions. We`re not doing enough, as you know, to stop the E.U. from financing this war with its purchases of oil and gas.

And frankly, speaking, I`ve been doing a lot on self-sanctioning boy-- boycotting. Russian businesses in Russia need to stop financing this war-

QUEST: Right. But Natalie, on this question of oil, the Germans and the Austrians say it`s simply not possible. We`ve covered this on this program

many times. Are you saying regardless, even though that would worsen the German economic situation, and arguably, thereby, as the largest economy,

push your further towards recession?

JARESKO: So, on oil, I think it`s absolutely doable and doable in a very quick way. Because I think with oil, both the United States is doing what

it can to increase production. And there are other sources of production as well, that could be increased. Gas I understand is harder, but the

commitment has to be made sooner. And frankly, speaking, I think this war with every day that it continues, is going to continue to put pressure on

the European economy anyway.

And the pressures are growing exponentially. Both the refugee crisis that we see from Ukraine today is affecting the European market. But what about

the refugee crisis we`re going to see in the northern Africa and Middle East when 400 million people who usually are fed by Ukrainian agriculture

aren`t fed. What about the cost of the steel, that`s not going to be exported? The neon for the semiconductor industry that will be exported.

There`s so much damage, it`s going to be done to the global economy -- to Europe`s economy. There`s more value in stopping this now than in waiting.

QUEST: Natalie, we`ll talk more and we`ll have your view. Obviously, we will discuss more with you. Thank you for joining us tonight. Thank you.

JARESKO: Thank you.

QUEST: I want to leave you with an update on that story I brought you on Friday. Now you remember of course, Clarissa Ward met 86-year-old Lydia who

was living alone in the besieged city of Avdiivka. Now she was terrified and desperate as bombs rain down on her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:40:06]

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When there`s no electricity and it`s so dark and there`s shelling, she says. You

can`t imagine how scary it is.

QUEST (voice over): Remember, she was also the one who said, I can`t die because there`ll be nobody to bury me. Well, prompted by massive reaction,

a plan was hatched to get her to safety. Volunteers drove six hours at times under heavy shelling. And Lydia is now in Dnipro where she was

greeted by -- appropriately Clarissa and her crew until Lydia told her she`s so happy to be safe and comfortable at last.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Delighted to bring you that. But of course, that is one story of the misery of hundreds of thousands and millions of people. In a moment, I`ll

be back at the top of the hour with (INAUDIBLE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:58:36]

QUEST: Hello. I`m Richard Quest. We have dashed to the closing bell and we`re only two minutes away. Markets are essentially fat-- flat that

moment, we have been up and we`ve been down but at the moment, all three indices are slightly lower. Twitter shares are up seven percent despite the

poison pill defense against Elon Musk. Twitter`s founder Jack Dorsey weighed in this weekend and said its board has consistently been the

dysfunction of the company.

AirAsia`s Tony Fernandes told me earlier that pandemic measures made it nearly impossible for AirAsia to fly. He said U.S. travel trends now

convinced him better days are ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY FERNANDES, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CAPITAL A: Coming to America has been fantastic. You know, I`ve struggled to get a flight. I`ve had to fly

all kinds of low-cost carriers. I was on a Southwest flight. It was my highlight of this trip.

America is probably about six months ahead of Southeast Asia. And so, that was a great sense of feeling and talking to the other airline CEOs and

around. They all had a bit of optimism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: And Dow 30 to show you before we (INAUDIBLE) Goldman`s leading. J.P. Morgan`s not far behind on optimism for the sector. Bank of America is

reported better than expected earnings. Disney is the biggest loser of the day. That`s the way the markets are looking. The dash to the bell. Whatever

you`re doing the hours are ahead, I hope it is profitable. The closing bell is ringing on Wall Street. After the bell "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper will

be (INAUDIBLE)

END