Return to Transcripts main page
Quest Means Business
Officer At Mariupol Steel Plant Reports Constant Fire; Germany Aims To Reduce Dependence On Russian Energy; UEFA Bans Russian Football Teams From Competitions; Spirit Rejects JetBlue's Bid, Sticks To Frontier; Qantas Revives Plan For Non-Stop Service To London And N.Y.; Qantas Revives Plan For Non-Stop Service To London And N.Y. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired May 02, 2022 - 15:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:33]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL HOST: The selloff continues on Wall Street. U.S. stocks struggling to recover after their worst month since
2020.
The Dow is off more than 400 points right now. Those are the markets and these are the main events.
A desperate attempt to evacuate civilians from besieged Mariupol is stalled by Russian shelling.
Germany's Finance Minister tells CNN that Berlin stands behind E.U. plans to ban Russian oil.
And China's capital could be on the brink of lockdown as COVID spreads in Beijing.
Coming to you live from New York, it is Monday, May 2nd. I'm Zain Asher and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Good evening.
Tonight, we are getting word the efforts to evacuate the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol ended shortly after they started. A Ukrainian Military
Commander there telling CNN the massive facility has been under constant fire from Russian forces all day.
The renewed attack comes as efforts were being made to evacuate more of the civilians who spent weeks sheltering in the plant's underground bunkers.
About 100 civilians were brought out of the plant on Sunday, taken by bus to the city of Zaporizhzhia. It's now unclear if anyone else was evacuated
today from the plant or elsewhere in the devastated city.
CNN's international security editor, Nick Paton Walsh is in Zaporizhzhia where we expect many of these evacuees to arrive.
Nick, what are you learning right now?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes, I have to say here in the dead of night, it's pretty clear, we are not going to see any
evacuees overnight. I think the most likely arrival time might be tomorrow morning, but that is still somewhat under a cloud of doubt.
The hopes had been high today when yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that the evacuation would start at eight o'clock this
morning that we might start seeing people arrive in possibly larger numbers that appear to be on the move at the moment here in Zaporizhzhia.
The reason for the difficulties? Well, I think you have to understand the complex nature, frankly, of this task in the first place. Firstly, the kind
of core group of those who desperately need urgent evacuation of those in the Azovstal steel plant. Now, that of course is a place, which we've seen
images showing Ukrainian troops able to get people out during a moment of ceasefire.
It's been under intense bombardment. It does appear to be at this stage entirely encircled by Russian troops and there are even suggestions on
Russian state media that in fact, Russian troops are getting quite close to parts of that plant themselves.
There are possibly hundreds of injured Ukrainian soldiers there, and certainly hundreds of civilians, about 100 or so of those civilians appear
to have got out and appear to be part of this first wave of United Nations and Red Cross escorted evacuation. There have been some images circulated
by various news agencies in Russian controlled territory of their departure.
So, the continued route for that group is at this stage, not entirely clear, it does appear they're going to be moving through Russian-held towns
in Southern Ukraine towards here, Ukrainian-held territory, but it does appear to have stalled because of nightfall perhaps not much transparency
about their exact location.
And it's not a particularly large group at this point. As far as we know, there have been suggestions that as these convoys come out of Russian-held
territory, they might attract other civilians trying to get out of those areas, too.
But essentially, this, in of itself, is something of a test case, but a deeply symbolic first move to see if negotiations under the auspices of the
U.N. and Red Cross between Ukraine and Russia could possibly lead to some sort of greater volume of civilians leaving.
Remember, Zain, the key point here is not just the people going through the utter hell of Azovstal. It's the other 100,000 civilians inside of
Mariupol, who are currently facing not just shelling, Russian occupation, but also the threat of disease, the absence of food and basic utilities
there as well.
So an enormous humanitarian catastrophe that has been growing in size for weeks coming to a head now with a fundamental question that people I think
need to answer in this war is whether or not negotiations can lead to valid humanitarian corridors to save possibly thousands of lives and bring people
who don't want to be on the Russian occupation out of those areas.
[15:05:15]
That question hasn't really been answered today. There's been some hope, I think and a lot of expectation that this relatively small number of very
poorly treated, not particularly healthy evacuees are on their way. It is delayed, and that raises larger questions as to whether something on the
bigger scale that has possibly been hinted at could be at all feasible -- Zain.
ASHER: Nick Paton Walsh live for us there, thank you so much.
The E.U. Energy Commission has said that Russia's plans to make European countries pay for gas in rubles is illegal. European Energy Ministers are
meeting in Brussels amid concern that the Kremlin will cut off countries who refuse to follow it.
The E.U. Energy Commissioner Kadri Simpson said the continent cannot account on Russia for its supplies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KADRI SIMPSON, E.U. ENERGY COMMISSIONER: Paying in rubles through their conversion mechanism managed by the Russian public authorities, and a
second dedicated accounting Gazprombank is a violation of the sanctions and cannot be accepted.
The member states the companies should not have any illusions that they can rely on the good faith of Gazprom and the Russian regime in this matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Germany's Finance Minister says his country is ready for a Russian oil embargo. He said the E.U. will make the final decision together and
that it will take longer to end its imports of Russian gas.
He told Julia Chatterley that Germany is making progress on reducing its dependence on Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIAN LINDNER, GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER: Now, we are ready we have prepared ourselves to be less dependent on Russian energy imports. It takes
time to reduce the dependency.
It was a mistake to be dependent in this way, but we are making progress. We can reduce the imports, starting with coal then oil. It will take more
time to be independent from Russian natural gas imports, but we will continue, so in the end, we will be completely independent from Russia.
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: But just to be clear, are you ready to announce an oil embargo or to agree to an oil embargo this
week, as early as this week?
LINDNER: Germany stands ready for new sanctions including an oil embargo. But we are negotiating this decision with our European partners. We will
make a decision together, and so at the moment, Germany stands ready, but we feel responsibility for all our European partners and we will make a
decision together.
CHATTERLEY: Gas, as you've pointed out is the bigger challenge and Bulgaria and Poland had their gas supplies cut by Russia because they say
they will refuse to pay in rubles.
Germany is now being accused of paying for gas on Putin's terms by allowing German energy companies to engage in ruble swaps, euro for ruble swaps. Is
Germany now paying for gas or willing to pay for Russian gas on Putin's terms?
LINDNER: No, we won't. Germany can't be blackmailed. When know there is a dependency on natural gas from Russia. It's a reality. We need time to
reduce this dependency, and it is not only a question of economic consequences, but they have to face that important industries would be
forced to stop their production immediately.
So it's a very serious challenge for us to be less dependent on Russia, but having said this, Germany can't be blackmailed. Contracts are contracts and
all these contracts are based on payments in dollar or euro and so German contractors should pay in euro and dollar.
This is the situation of the contracts and we should not change because Putin needs rubles for his war chest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:10:10]
ASHER: Now of course, E.U. countries continue to pay Russia for its oil and gas. They have handed Moscow roughly around $46 billion for energy
imports since the invasion began. Many countries foresee dire consequences if that had to stop.
Economists say that banning all Russian energy immediately would drag Germany's GDP down by $238 billion in the next two years, and trigger
400,000 job losses.
Anne-Sophie Corbeau was the head of gas analysis at BP. She is now a global research scholar at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy.
She joins us live now from Paris.
Sophie, thank you so much for being with us. So given what's happened with Poland and Bulgaria, it's clear that the E.U. cannot depend on Russia
anymore. How does the E.U. prepare itself? What likely could be more disruptions?
ANNE-SOPHIE CORBEAU, GLOBAL RESEARCH SCHOLAR AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY'S CENTER ON GLOBAL ENERGY POLICY: I mean, the E.U. has already prepared some
plans that we have seen in March, it's because the WIPO E.U. and we are looking at both the supply side and demand side.
So far, I have the impression that the governments are really focusing on the supply side, which is really trying to find over sources of natural
gas, whether this is pipeline, whether this is domestic production coming from inside the E.U. or whether this is for example, coming from Norway.
But essentially, they are also looking at LNG liquefied natural gas coming from all over the world, including the United States, which is likely to be
the largest source of incremental LNG in 2022.
But what is really important to understand is that in order to attract more LNG towards the European Union, you need two things to happen. First of
all, you need to attract all incremental energy, but you need also to divert that energy away from our consumers, and in particular, from Asia.
This is exactly what has happened in the first quarter, because the prices in the European Union were very high, and they were attracting a lot of
energy towards Europe.
But this is not enough. This is not enough. I mean, the thing is that with the European Union imported about 155 billion cubic meters of Russian gas
in 2021, the global LNG market is just above 500 billion cubic meters. So you see, I mean, the kind of ratio that we are talking about. I mean, we
would need to expand massively our LNG import capacity and our ability to import LNG, and that would cost a lot of money because the gas prices that
we are seeing now at about $30.00 per MMBtu.
Usually European gas prices, $6.00 to $8.00 per MMBtu. So you can see already how high we are. Make absolutely no mistake, if we were facing an
immediate disruption tomorrow, I mean, we would be facing not only relatively low stocks, but the prices would go to very high levels, the
maximum that we have seen so far was $70.00 per MMBtu, and this is when the Deputy Prime Minister Novak, and on the seventh of May that maybe they
would cut Russian gas supplies towards Nord Stream One. So that's only 55 billion cubic meters.
So imagine where we could go.
ASHER: Right. And actually, just in what you said, you've only really focused on the supply side of it. I mean, obviously, there are challenges,
as you point out in terms of replacing Russian gas, but that's only the supply side.
The E.U. also wants to curtail demand as well, that is another pillar of this, how do they do that?
CORBEAU: That's a very good question. And, you know, there is some sort of call towards people to reduce their thermostat. And I have to say, as a
European citizen sitting here in France, I am actually quite surprised that there is no real sense of urgency, which is conveyed to all the citizens.
This is the worst crisis that we have seen in 50 years since '73.
This is the biggest crisis that I have seen in my lifetime, and I don't see enough coming from our government, this absolute imperative that you need
to save every kilowatt hour of electricity and natural gas now, and in particular, telling that to all the citizens in the European Union, because
right now, the industry, well, because this is for them a matter of life and death, they are trying to reduce their energy consumption, they are
trying to become more inventive.
But citizens are really protected, and I don't think they are conscious that this is really going to be a big crisis if Russia is cutting gas next
month, if you're not happy with the lack of payment in ruble.
ASHER: And you're right, because if demand is going to be curtailed, it's going to be down to ordinary European citizens to actually carry that out.
Sophie, we have to leave it there. Thank you. Anne-Sophie, excuse me, I apologize. We have to leave it there. Thanks so much.
Russia is facing a barrage of sanctions from European football's governing body. UEFA says that Portugal will replace Russia after the Russian team
was ejected from the Women's Euro finals in July and Russian football teams will not play in the upcoming 2022-2023 season.
[15:15:19]
UEFA also said that Russia is bid to host future Euro competitions is now ineligible.
Don Riddell is coming to us live now from the CNN Center. So Don, what more do we know and what's been the reaction to this?
DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Well, you've pretty much outlined exactly what's going on. I mean, this is a sweeping range of measures
against the Russian national teams and also their club teams, and also, it is an attempt to curtail Russia's involvement in hosting events in the
future.
Remember, up until February the 24th, Russia was a massive player on the world sport stage hosting numerous major sports events like the 2014 Sochi
Olympics, the 2018 Football World Cup.
They had rather provocatively after invading Ukraine at the end of February, then suggested that they were interested in hosting the European
football championships in 2028 and 2032. So UEFA has today shut that down and said that won't be happening.
This decision is going to hurt their club teams, there will be no club teams playing in the Champions League or the Europa League or the Europa
Conference League next year.
It is going to really hurt their women's national team, which is going to be playing in the European Championships this summer. Instead, Portugal,
the team they beat in the qualifying playoff, they have now become very lucky losers, they will be playing. It's going to impact. The Russian
women's teams attempt to qualify for the World Cup because they can't play in the qualifiers which are based in Europe and organized by UEFA, so they
are shut down there.
And the men's team which is currently participating in the nation's league, they were already suspended since the end of February. Now, they're not
going to be playing any further part in that so they are going to finish bottom of their group and be relegated.
And remember, UEFA had taken fairly swift action after the invasion. The Champions League final this year was supposed to be in St. Petersburg that
was swiftly moved to Paris. So, in so many different ways now Russian teams are being punished and of course, in some ways individual Russian athletes
are being punished as well. Very controversially, Wimbledon this year, has said no Russian or Belarusian tennis players will be able to play at the
All-England Club that has produced some really quite mixed emotions.
A lot of other top players saying that they don't feel it's fair, although some diplomatically are saying, there is no real right answer here.
Of course, Ukrainian athletes are celebrating actions like the one taken by Wimbledon and the one taken by UEFA because they are seeing the impact that
these actions are having on their country and their compatriots, and if it's not fair for Russian teams and athletes, it's certainly not fair for
people in Ukraine.
ASHER: All right, Don Riddell, live for us there, thank you so much.
On the verge of a COVID lockdown, Beijing ramps up mass testing and shuts down much of the city as cases spread the effect of China's zero COVID
policy on its people and its economy, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:20:49]
ASHER: Beijing is shutting down more businesses and ordering mass COVID testing for more than 20 million residents. China's Zero COVID policy is
taking a toll on the world's second largest economy. "The Financial Times" says the country's manufacturing sector contracted last month at the
fastest pace since the pandemic began.
Selina Wang has more on efforts to stop the virus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Beijing is doubling down on its Zero COVID policies to stamp out the latest outbreak in the capital. It has locked
down parts of the city, shut down major entertainment venues like Universal Studios, banned in restaurant dining, and suspended schools.
It is also doing another round of mass testing of residents. After wrapping up three rounds last week, it is launching another three rounds of testing
for more than 20 million residents.
Beijing has reported about 400 COVID cases since April 22nd, but it is taking aggressive action early to try and avoid the chaos and failures of
Shanghai's citywide lockdown.
In addition, Beijing is also starting from May 5th requiring residents to show proof of negative COVID tests in order to enter any public area
including to take public transportation.
This is as China is racing to contain COVID flare ups across the country. At least 27 cities are under some form of lockdown restrictions. That's
impacting around 180 million people. That's more than half of the U.S. population.
Some of the more extreme measures are fueling outrage and frustration. In parts of Shanghai, the city has been putting metal fences and barricades to
block off COVID hit areas.
Outside of Beijing, social media video shows some residents have even been forced to hand over apartment keys so community workers can lock them in.
For those who refuse, workers drill holes to chain the doors shut.
These lockdown measures, the mass testing in combination with the country's strict border control rules are all part of the country's Zero COVID
policies.
I recently flew in from Tokyo into Kunming, China which is 1,600 miles away from Beijing, and here, I'm currently in a 21-day government quarantine.
Inbound travelers, they have to serve out one of the strictest quarantine rules in the world. I can only open my door to pick up food, to get my
temperature checked and to get regular COVID tests. I can frequently smell the disinfectant that is being sprayed in the hallways.
Now all these measures may sound extreme for much of the world that is learning to live with COVID, but in China, authorities are sticking with
Zero COVID, which leaders here have called China's magic weapon against COVID-19.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Supply chain shocks from China are just part of a whole raft of worries on Wall Street. U.S. markets are struggling to recover after
Friday's brutal selloff.
Amazon, Apple, and other Big Tech names continue to slip. Stocks appear to be staging a late-session recovery. Take a look there. The Dow is now only
down about 40 points or so, pretty much flat compared to what we saw earlier in the day.
April saw the NASDAQ suffer its worst stretch since 2008, while the Dow and the S&P had their worst month since March 2020.
A slew of corporate earnings this week could see the losing streak drag on into May.
Business correspondent, Rahel Solomon joins us live now. So Rahel, it's interesting because the Dow, when I literally started the show the Dow was
actually down about 400 points or so. Now, we're seeing a bit of a comeback. Just walk us through what's going on today.
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Zain, good to be with you. I think volatility is the name of the game, but yes, it's a new month
but it's sort of still feels like the same old tune from the markets, and if we look back at April, I know you just touch on this, Zain, but I think
the technical term is ugly. It was an ugly month for the markets.
Let's take a look at some of the major averages. The Dow was off about 4.9 percent. The S&P 500 off 8.8 percent and the NASDAQ, 13.2 percent. So,
Zain, you know that expression, April showers bring May flowers, more on the flowers in just a moment, but let's talk about some of the showers or
some of the negative sentiments weighing on the market.
Of course, Fed rate fears. We're going to hear from the Fed by the way on Wednesday of this week. We're expecting a 50-basis point rate hike or about
half a percent. Global cost of living has been rising and it's not just us here in the States.
[15:25:10]
In fact, a report from the Bank of International Settlements pointing out that almost 60 percent of advanced economies currently have year-on-year
inflation above five percent. So, we're all sort of in this situation together of high inflation. Supply shortages as the war escalates and China
growth slowing amid lockdowns.
Now, I cannot promise May flowers, at least in the markets, but let's take a look at some of the things sort of lifting sentiment. Consumers and
businesses still spending. The consumer coming to the rescue. In terms of the consumer spending, we've heard it from the airlines in terms of travel
demand rebounding. We've heard it from some of the credit card companies like Visa and AmEx that spending is still strong.
The labor market remains strong. We're going to hear the latest jobs report on Friday. The expectation, about 400,000 jobs added to the U.S. economy.
Goldman, by the way, saying that it appears that core inflation may be peaking saying that the surge caused by shortages and rising commodity
prices has likely peaked and should moderate by yearend and be abasing. The markets have already priced in our recession threat.
So Zain, if we don't get flowers, don't come back to me, but sort of adding --
ASHER: I won't blame you, Rahel. I promise I won't blame you.
SOLOMON: I am not a forecaster, maybe.
ASHER: Look into your crystal ball for me. So, I know you touched on this already. But in terms of the F.O.M.C. meeting we're getting on Wednesday,
what can we expect? Because obviously a major priority for the Fed is of course to keep inflation at around two percent. What can we expect on
Wednesday?
SOLOMON: Right. And we are -- I think the latest reading was 8.5 percent year-over-year, the CPI. So, you know, one thing that I've heard from some
analysts is that the Fed is sort of walking a tightrope now with signs that growth may be slowing and inflation at least 40-year highs. So what do we
expect?
Well, we know that Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said that 50 basis points is on the table. So that is the expectation for Wednesday that we'll hear that
half a percent rate hikes are coming down the pike, but it's also you know, unclear because we've also heard from people who say that part of the
reason why prices are so high is because of supply chain issues and the Fed can't do much about that.
And so they will do what they can and you know, we will wait to see on Wednesday, but that's sort of the expectation at this point.
ASHER: Rahel Salomon, good to see you, my friend. Thanks so much.
SOLOMON: Likewise.
ASHER: All right still to come here on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, hear why the board of Spirit Airlines said it won't even consider a takeover bid from
JetBlue. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:30:00]
ASHER: Spirit Airlines is rejecting JetBlue's lucrative takeover bid and going with a lower offer from Frontier Airlines. The reason, Spirits board
members do not believe that a JetBlue deal would get antitrust clearance from regulators and a blunt letter. They call the proposal illusory, saying
it wouldn't even be considered. JetBlue had offered to buy Spirit for $33.00 a share.
That comes out to about $3.6 billion, roughly about a third more than Frontier's offer. More on this now with Pete Muntean. So, explain to us why
a JetBlue deal would likely be rejected but a frontier deal wouldn't.
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION AND TRANSPORTATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Zain, Spirit has really become bell of the airline ball. Ultra low -- ultra low
cost airline, no frills, yellow planes. You may have heard of them before two suitors now Frontier and Jet Blue, and they both made bids last month
to buy Spirit and now Spirit says just going with the safest possible choice. Here's the reason.
Spirit says a JetBlue purchase just might not get approved by U.S. regulators Spirits CEO Ted Christie says, "We do not believe the Department
of Justice will be persuaded that JetBlue should be allowed to acquire Spirit and an anti-competitive move that would eliminate the largest
discount carrier." JetBlue is really the dark horse and all of this and offered $3.6 billion to buy Spirit.
But that alpha came only after frontier offered 2.9 billion. The move would create the fifth largest airline in the United States. A market dominated
by the big four. American, Delta, United and Southwest. JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes really sticking to the script here. He says, "By creating a national
competitor to the Big four airlines, this transaction will deliver meaningful benefits for customers and superior value for shareholders of
both airlines."
He adds, we have confidence that we can complete this transaction to bring more low fares and great service to more customers. We'll see how this all
plays out, Zain. It's a very interesting time for the airline industry. You know, COVID really caused carriers to take it on the chin. But now more
people are ready to fly again, especially here in the United States. Air Travel figures here just yesterday 90 percent of the same day back in 201
before the pandemic. So many moves happening right now, Zain.
ASHER: Yes. It's incredible how far we've come so quickly. So Pete, is this part of a broader trend that we're going to see consolidation within the
airline industry?
MUNTEAN: There's been a trend of consolidation in the airlines for a long time now. We've got American and U.S. Airways, they merge. United and
Continental, they merge. There's been a trend here, but we know that there is a lot of antitrust regulation and reluctance when it comes to the
airlines. They simply don't want to make it so that all of these airlines can essentially merge into one giant conglomerate and be in cahoots with
one another.
So, that's the big concern here that the government just would not allow this to happen, because there just would not be enough competition in the
field. And that's why there's this reluctance to have JetBlue go with his merger with Spirit.
ASHER: All right, Pete Muntean, live for us there. Thanks so much.
MUNTEAN: (INAUDIBLE)
ASHER: Quantas is moving one step closer to offering the first nonstop service between Sydney and New York or London. The airline has ordered 12
new planes with fewer seats, giving passengers more room to sleep and move around. They'll each of course need every inch of that space to get
comfortable on a roughly 19-hour flight. My goodness. The cruise industry is forecasting a big recovery from COVID next year.
Pierfrancesco Vago is the chair of CLIA and of MSC Cruises. The world's third largest cruise line. He sat down with our anchor Richard Quest last
week to talk returning customer demand and the industry's hope for an uninterrupted summit of travel in 2023.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PIERFRANCESCO VAGO, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, MSC CRUISES: The economies of scales and the value for money that the cruise industry has proven so far
is always been very effective because obviously, you know, even in a world where inflation is riping and Interest rates are going up, there is a war
in the western world. You know, the cruise industry has the capability to buy in bulk, to adapt, to buy locally and to actually break the supply
chain.
[15:35:13]
And by importing with economies of scales. And obviously, that saving of the bulk is passed on to the consumer. So, the value for money over the
holiday of our platform of the shift that gives you so much, you know, so much in terms of finding food and beverage entertainment at the end to the
consumer is valid.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It does create a pricing and margins conundrum for you, doesn't it? Because, obviously, if your price is
higher, now people have got less to spend, but at the same time, you have got this pent up demand coming back. So, there are some very -- to use the
nautical phrase, some very powerful tidal forces in your industry at the moment. Aren't there?
VAGO: Obviously, consumers had enough to stay, you know, in their own houses not been able to travel. So, they want to get out there. They want
to see a sunset, you know, from their balcony. And we see demand that coming back. And that this is very satisfactory because it means that we've
done a great job. Also, we sort of measured, you know, in the younger generation, in the millennials, the Zed generation.
And there is the -- for the first time we see incredible numbers of people that wants to go cruising. Even people that never wanted to cruise before
now we see the 70 percents who wants to try cruises and experience. And obviously, with our yield management, we'll be able to incentivize that
demand.
QUEST: I'm looking at the picture of your new ship that you're going to be launching into New York. The Seascape which -- I mean, it's vast, it's
absolutely vast. It sort of looks like a building on a ship on top of it, it looks very, very well done. What's it telling us? I mean, you obviously
bought this thing many years ago, you paid for it more recently. Now you've got to fill it as it set sail. It's a huge ship.
VAGO: Yes, it is. But that is the fun of actually going on a platform holiday. You know, like cruising. I mean, there is so much offering, so
many different venues. We almost create in neighborhoods, so the different segments of the population can enjoy themselves because they find exactly
what they want. And then obviously the choice, the choice in the eating experience, in the bar and entertainment, that is what people are looking
for.
So ship only doesn't -- doesn't only bring obviously entertainment, but it has a lot of technology on the sustainability on environmental and to me
that is key. And obviously these ships, the technology that we actually applied is incredible. Obviously, CO2 emission, waste treatment, water
treatment, you know, they're all very important topics to me. So, actually, you'd be surprised but the bigger, the more technologically advanced this
hardware, you know, the more efficient they are, you know, per passenger and environmentally to the impact to the -- our sustainability.
QUEST: Bill Ford said that companies have to remain true to their values. The CEO has to be the -- if you like the compass, that remains true. Would
you agree to that? Would you agree with that, particularly when I look at the whole range of issues, that something like your company has to deal
with?
VAGO: Look, I would take it even a step further. You know, we are a family company. And I believe that today the secret of the family company is that
yes, we can look in the short term, but more importantly, we look at the medium and in the long term. So, if you're a professional and you have
hands on in your business, you know, the finer details, you can navigate and obviously you can be very dynamic on how you tackle issues and the
difference geographic areas of the world.
And so, it is true. You got to be true. But a family as even an edge today, the world, the dynamics of the world, the -- how it operates, you know, I
think we have an advantage in that sense.
QUEST: You have your naming ceremony on the 7th of December of this year. We might welcome and present QUEST MEANS BUSINESS from the deck of your
shift of it's not too cold.
VAGO: Fantastic. I can't wait to be in New York in the Big Apple and to be together. And to have this chat. Thank you.
QUEST: Thank you, sir.
VAGO: Thank you, Richard.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[15:40:00]
ASHER: The U.S. markets are staging a late comeback. The Dow has now actually turned positive after being down more than 400 points earlier in
the day. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 turn positive as well. It comes off the one of the worst months for U.S. stocks since the early days of the
pandemic. And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'll be back at the top of the hour as we make a dash for the closing bell. Up next Quest World of Wonder.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:58:29]
ASHER: Hello everyone. I'm Zain Asher. It is the dash to the closing bell. And we are just two minutes away from that. It was a volatile day on the
markets as investors brace for a possible 50-point rate hike by the Fed on Wednesday. The Dow has clawed back its losses after being down more than
500 points. The Dow and the S&P are set to close flat after coming off their worst month since the early pandemic.
The NASDAQ is positive helped by a slight bounce by Netflix. Oil is higher on fears that E.U. ban on Russian oil could actually reduce supply.
Germany says it's ready to agree on embargo. And the finance minister told CNN more about their move towards independence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIAN LINDNER, GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER: Now we are ready. We have prepared ourselves to be less dependent on Washington energy imports. It
takes time to reduce the dependency. It was a mistake to be dependent in this way. But we are making progress. We can reduce the imports starting
with coal than oil. It will take more time to be independent from Russian natural gas imports. But we will continue. So in the end, we will be
completely independent from Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Tech stocks are leading the late recovery. Microsoft is firmly in the green up over two percent.
END
