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Quest Means Business
Donald Trump To Face Nikki Haley One-On-One In New Hampshire After Ron DeSantis Drops Out; Netanyahu Rejects Hamas' Conditions To End War; Backlash After Netanyahu Rejects Palestinian Sovereignty; Supreme Court Lets White House Remove Razor Wire On Border; FAA Issues Safety Alert On Second Boeing Model; Baby Clothing Company Under Fire For Denying Mom's Remote Work Request While Newborn Was In NICU; Engie CEO: Europe Has Done Good Job At Diversifying Supplies; Babble Aims To Capitalize On New Year's Resolutions. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired January 22, 2024 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:27]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: An hour to go of trading on Wall Street. Let's start a new week together and there's (inaudible) the S&P and
the Dow, not huge gains, but they are solid and they're across the board. Those are the markets.
And the main events of the day, all politics. Nikki Haley versus Donald Trump tomorrow is now a straightforward two-horse contest in New Hampshire.
The FAA now wants Boeing to inspect earlier generations of 737s that have the plug door.
And if your New Year's resolution was to learn a new language -- get a smartphone ready -- Babel US CEO joins me live.
We are live in London. It's Monday, January the 22nd. I'm Richard Quest. I mean business.
Everybody, good evening. Don't get too close to television. I think I'm nursing a bit of a cold after being up a mountain in Davos. But we will
plow on regardless because that's what the Republicans are doing.
Tomorrow, Republicans in New Hampshire will cast their votes in what's become a two-person primary. Donald Trump is only remaining challenger is
the former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Nikki Haley has made an unholy alliance with rhinos, never Trumpers. The people behind Nikki are pro-
amnesty. You like that? Pro-china, pro-open borders, pro-war, pro-deep state, and they're pro-Biden.
NIKKI HALEY, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every single thing that Donald Trump has said or put on TV has been a lie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now, the Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, dropped out on Sunday. And in doing so, he endorsed Donald Trump.
Nikki Haley has been betting heavily on a strong performance in New Hampshire. She and her allies have spent the rest part of $30 million on
advertising there, twice the amount spent by Donald Trump. And she's still trailing inarguably by double-digit.
A new CNN poll gets Trump a commanding lead more than 50% for likely voters. You see the numbers on the screen.
Jessica Dean and Jim Sciutto join me.
Now, Jessica, let's deal first of all with Ron DeSantis. We can dispatch him quickly into the political wilderness, at least for the presidential
election. What -- I mean, that famous line, I could not see a way -- I could not see a pathway to the presidency or to the nomination having told
us for so long, oh, yes, I can do this.
JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, that was the theory of the case, right, that he was the one that had the electability
argument in a general election, and that he and his advisors believed and said they had data this time last year that Trump might be vulnerable with
all of the legal chaos surrounding him, and just the general chaos that seems to follow the former president.
But, Richard, that just certainly has not been what has been shown in the voting so far. And I would suspect tomorrow as well, we know that he
finished that disappointing second finish in Iowa because, remember, it wasn't even a close second. It was a very distant second.
And he was able to go home to Florida. It was the first time he'd been back since December 26 on Thursday. And that's when those conversations really
started for him to take it all in.
One source I was talking to that is within the fundraising world for DeSantis, they knew it was going to be harder to keep raising money. And
that's what makes these campaigns go at the end of the day, right, all the money.
And so, it just a political reality really set in. I mean, we're told he made that final decision yesterday right before, you know, in short order,
the video was recorded and the announcement was made that there just was not a way forward. They had tried to kind of make the case at South
Carolina. They could go down there, beat Nikki Haley in her home state and make it a two-man race with Donald Trump, but that was just not to be.
QUEST: Okay. Jim Sciutto, I know theoretically, she can do it. And I know never say it's over before it's done. However, common sense, let's bring a
little bit of that into it, suggests she can't.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF US SECURITY ANALYST: It's true. What I've been speaking, I'm sure Jessica has been speaking to both Democratic and
Republican pollsters. And that very much looks to be where this Republican race is really over before it started.
And I think we should take a moment, Richard, and a breath even to acknowledge the extraordinary turnaround for the former president going
back to the days after January 6th and when he left office until today because, after January 6th, he was finished.
[15:05:02]
Folks in his own party believed he was finished. Folks in his administration resigned in protest over January 6th. Very few people showed
up at his departure from the White House. He was done.
And then even as recently as last year, Ron DeSantis was a favorite for the Republican nomination among a lot of both Republican and Democratic
observers. He had leads in some polls. He was attracting a lot of that money that Jessica that noted is so key. That's all past us. He has a
stranglehold on the party and looks quite strong as this race continues.
And, frankly, when you speak to folks, look strong even in the general election, at least a strong contender in the general election. That is a
remarkable turnaround for Trump knowing what we knew and what we saw following January 6 and his loss in 2020.
QUEST: Reinforces that famous line about shooting someone on Fifth Avenue and being forgiven.
Jessica, the issue now is that ramp of the middle Republican Party, both in the House and in the Senate, who are horrified at the idea of Donald Trump
being the nominee and taking the party hostage again. Do they do anything or do they fold that tent and head off?
DEAN: Right. What can they do, Richard? They've got Nikki Haley.
QUEST: Yes, good point, good point.
DEAN: Yes, they got Nikki Haley, who, you know, is their last best hope if they want to stop Donald Trump on the path to this nomination. And we will
see, of course, what happens tomorrow and in the weeks to come.
But bearing some huge shift in this race and giant upset, it does look like Donald Trump is not only headed toward that nomination, but collecting all
of these endorsements along the way. You see Tim Scott, the South Carolina Senator, who was running against him endorsing him. Ron DeSantis, saying
that he's endorsing him. I have a feeling we're going to see more and more Senators jumping on.
You see Marco Rubio, who had said he would -- you know, we have to go back in history to 2016 to remember all that. There were just going to see more
and more of this as the Republican Party falls in line behind its nominee. And that piece of the party that you're talking about, you can call them
Never Trumpers or even people that have tired -- maybe supported him in the past, but have tired him -- of him at this point. There really is not
anywhere for them to go. And they just don't have numbers or power right now at their disposal.
QUEST: Jim, last one to you, sir. Is it a done deal that it's Biden?
SCIUTTO: By all, if you ask anyone in the White House, certainly, that's the case. If you ask folks in the Democratic Party, that's the case. There
is a challenger to him, Dean Phillips. He's running in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, but polling there shows him well behind Biden, even
with Biden as a write-in candidate.
There are scenarios that folks speculate about. But in terms of this election, as it stands today, Biden and his team are full steam ahead for
November .
QUEST: Right.
SCIUTTO: . 2024.
QUEST: Grateful to you both. We will -- this is -- I mean, this is the meat and vegetables, isn't it that we sort of come into this business for. And
we will cover it all together and we'll have some fun on the way, which I think we will.
SCIUTTO: We will, we will.
QUEST: Thank you very much. Thank you both.
Now, Benjamin Netanyahu says Hamas has no real proposal to free the remaining hostages after rejecting its conditions to end the war. The
Israeli prime minister's office says he told that the hostages, families, and Benjamin Netanyahu's critics are growing louder.
(PROTESTERS in parliament.)
QUEST: They forced their way into parliament, the Knesset on Monday. They demanded the hostages released.
The European foreign ministers are criticizing the prime minister for rejecting a two-state solution. The US top diplomat says that stance is
unacceptable.
Nic Robertson is in Tel Aviv. And there's really two issues here, Nic. One is the prosecution of the war and the hostages, the second is Netanyahu's
ability. I mean, look, he has rejected a two-state solution. He's rejected any role for the Palestinians in governing. And he's basically said from
the Jordan River to the sea, it's going to be Israel.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and President Biden has listened to him and has had phone calls with him and is seems to
be of the opinion that it's not all over yet, although most people would read what Prime Minister Netanyahu is saying as completely ruling out any
kind of Palestinian state. But President Biden has indicated that there are states at the UN that did not have security apparatuses, which is what
Prime Minister Netanyahu is objecting to.
Extraordinary international pressure. (Inaudible) the EU today, meeting with Israel's foreign minister and with other Arab foreign ministers as
well, saying unacceptable that Israel rejects a two-state solution.
[15:10:05]
The Irish foreign minister there, Michael Martin saying exactly the same thing. So prime minister Netanyahu is facing the twin pressures, one from
the international community that its position is unacceptable. The prime -- the US president, slightly softer on that, but internally, opinion polls
out today show that if there were an election now, Prime Minister Netanyahu will be out of office, likely, it will be Benny Gantz.
Gadi Eisenkot, who's in the war cabinet has said essentially, he doesn't trust the prime minister that the only way to get the hostages out is
through a deal, appeared in the opposition in the Knesset and said that that deal is the only way, even if it is unpalatable. So he faces -- and
the country faces these very difficult choices. If not a two-state solution, then what?
And if Hamas cannot be defeated as Gadi Eisenkot says, then how many more soldiers to lose? How many more hostages should die in the effort to
recover them? These are some of the fundamental questions that are now politically weighing Prime Minister Netanyahu down.
QUEST: So were having a bit of a day of common sense on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS with US politics and now with this story. Common-sense (inaudible)
if the Israelis do -- and indeed Hamas said, you know, if the Israelis continue full throttle in this war, the hostages are not coming back alive.
And therefore, how has Netanyahu managed to square that circle of seemingly irreconcilable goals?
ROBERTSON: He has said that to stop the war now would be to have lost all those soldiers who died fighting for the country to destroy Hamas so that
other Israelis could lead their lives safely. He says that they would have died in vain when he met with families today of hostage -- who have
hostages being held in Gaza right now.
The prime minister said that he had an initiative -- an initiative. We didn't get detail on what that may be, to get them released. The reality
though, I think, is beginning to dawn on people. And when you have a former chief for the IDF, like Gadi Eisenkot saying, we cannot defeat Hamas
militarily, then that thought begins to sink in, that Hamas cannot be vanquished 100%.
The Army speaks about destroying their military capability and their threat to Israel, but these realities are settling in. And I think it is accepted
that every day this many IDF soldiers on the ground inside Gaza is a danger to their lives and unexpected things happen in the battle here.
We had just a couple of weeks ago a large number of soldiers caught out in a large blast. These are terrible losses individually for every family, but
they're blows to the country as well. And this is a risk every day. And, of course, all those hostages who are going through horrendous captivity at
the moment, horrendous.
We've heard accounts to those who have come out. We've seen pictures of the tunnels and cells that they've been held in, you know, 60 feet, 20 meters .
QUEST: Right.
ROBERTSON: . below ground.
Their fate is, you know, becomes, you know, as you say, you know, the longer the war goes on, maybe they don't come back. That's an awful thing
to contemplate.
QUEST: Nic Robertson who is in Tel Aviv this evening, thank you.
Breaking news, the US Supreme Court is allowing US border patrol agents to remove razor wire that's been put there by the Texas state government on
the US-Mexico border. The court's ruling last while Texas' legal challenge until the practice plays out. The razor wires intended to prevent migrants
from crossing from Mexico into Texas.
Dispute between the White House and Texas took on new importance this month. And three migrants drowned in the Rio Grande River.
Joan Biskupic is in Washington and joins me now. This decision goes to the heart, doesn't it?
JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: It does. This has been an ongoing battle between the state of Texas and the Biden administration. And
you were right to mention the three deaths recently. You know, this has been a very difficult situation at the border, and now it's turned very
tragic.
But in this one instance, and it is just one part of a ongoing saga in this discrete chapter, the Supreme Court has ruled five to four to allow the
Border Control agents to take down that razor wire that has been presenting such a problem at the border.
The court issued. It's a very brief order. And the only thing I can tell you is that it said, who is dissenting didn't give any the reason for the
majority vote or the dissent, but dissenting where the justices on the far- right, Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh. They did not want to side with the Biden administration here.
[15:15:18]
And this is an ongoing fight, as you know, between control at the border and the safety of migrants and also, you know, what the -- Texas doesn't
want to have a kind of an invitation to migrants. They want the razor wire up as a deterrent, but it's dangerous.
QUEST: Right. So bearing in mind the numbers who crossed over.
BISKUPIC: Oh, just so many hundreds of people have been coming. And that's been the issue.
QUEST: No, no, no, sorry, forgive me, forgive me, Joan. No, no, no.
BISKUPIC: Oh.
QUEST: I meant at the Supreme Court.
BISKUPIC: You're talking about justices not migrants?
QUEST: Yes.
BISKUPIC: Oh, okay.
QUEST: Sorry, nothing to -- which justices went with the liberals?
BISKUPIC: Sure. Crossing over, I thought you were talking about crossing .
QUEST: Yes, I know.
BISKUPIC: . over the Rio Grande. Okay. So crossing over on the court, there you go. It's better -- that's more of my area here.
So when the majority was Chief Justice John Roberts joined by the three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and our newest justice,
Ketanji Brown Jackson, but then also another conservative, Amy Coney Barrett. So those were the five in the majority dissenting, as I said, were
Justices Thomas Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh.
QUEST: Do -- its one decision. Do you see any -- I mean, are we -- any middle ground justices, are we looking at -- I hate doing this with just
one decision on something tangential, but can we deduce any middle ground swing?
BISKUPIC: You know, I hate to say no and I'll tell you why. The government's hand in this case was so strong. I mean, this is just a small
-- a crucial battle over razor wire .
QUEST: Right.
BISKUPIC: . letting the Border Patrol have access to, you know -- to the border so they could take down this, as I said, dangerous razor wire that
the Biden administration had. When it -- I'll tell you it shows the magnitude of this fight. It has put in its plea to the Supreme Court first
week in January, and then it had submitted supplemental filings that included, you know, pictures of Texas officials blocking the Border Patrol
from even getting to that area. And then they submitted a second filing that talked all about the deaths in the -- you know, because of this.
But it's not -- this is not about overall immigration policy. It was just a narrow question of the administration' s supremacy at this point to take
care of a real problem at the border. And just so you know, the litigation over control there between Texas and the administration will continue in
the lower court.
QUEST: Grateful for you. Thank you so much. Thank you.
BISKUPIC: Thank you.
QUEST: Second is business, new week together, more headaches for Boeing. The FAA is now issuing a safety alert for the other models of the 737. I'll
explain in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:20:46]
QUEST: A second Boeing model is now under scrutiny from US regulators. The FAA is telling airlines to inspect the door plugs on the 737-900ER. 737 Max
9 was grounded earlier this month when the door plug on one of those planes blew off in midflight.
(Inaudible) instance, some airlines said they found loose bolts in the newer Max 9. Gabe Cohen is with me.
Gabe, in this case, these older planes have been flying for decades, in some cases or these certainly a long time. And there's been no question of
anything going wrong. So it begs the question that we're really talking here about modern manufacturer quality control issues.
GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, Richard, that's something that the NTSB is trying to get to the bottom of right now is where in the
process, where in the timeline of assembling the plane between the supplier, Boeing who assembles it, and the airline that operates it, where
a mistake might have been made, but certainly a lot of questions are being raised with this latest safety alert from the FAA.
Look, it's been a brutally turbulent month for Boeing. We know that. Now the FAA is telling airlines to go back and inspect this other Boeing model.
The 737-900ER, which has been operating close to two decades. But once again, it's because of that the door plug, the same one we have been
talking about for weeks now because most of these 900ERs use the same door plug design as the Max 9 which, of course, is the plug that blew off a
flight leaving Portland earlier this month, forcing that a dramatic emergency landing that you can see on your screen that frightening scene in
the sky.
Now, since then, the Max 9 has been grounded, and inspectors have been looking at those planes. And they have found some loose bolts in those door
plugs, but they've also -- sorry, Richard, go ahead.
QUEST: Yes, yes, so I just wanted to -- just coming on this. The inspections of the 737-900ER and the others, is that likely to be as
detailed and time-consuming as with the Max or you just basically have a quick look and make sure the bolts there are tightened.
COHEN: Well, that's a good question. In short, this is voluntary. This is not a grounding of the plane the way we're seeing with the .
QUEST: Yes.
COHEN: . Max 9. So that is going to be a much more comprehensive process. And we know that the NTSB is supposed to be opening up that door plug this
week. That actually blew off the plane because they're still trying to figure out where there ever bolts attached to it, where they loose? So
that's going to answer a lot of the questions. The one you brought up at the beginning, which is, where was the error?
QUEST: Good to have you, Gabe. Okay, thank you.
Kidswear brand, Kyte Baby, is facing a backlash from customers after it refused to let one of its employees work remotely while the baby was in the
intensive care.
The employee was then fired, her sister claims, then came this apology from the CEO.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YING LIU, CEO, KYTE BABY: (Inaudible) here to sincerely apologize to Marissa (ph) for how her parental leave was communicated and handled in the
midst of her incredible journey of adoption and starting a family now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now, some saw that an instance here, leading chief executive, Ying Liu, to issue a further apology, apologizing for her first apology.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIU: I just posted a official apology on TikTok, and the comments were right. It was scripted. I memorized it. I just basically just read it. It
wasn't sincere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Davia Temin's with me, media and reputation strategist, CEO of Temin and Company. And I can't think of anything she got right.
DAVIA TEMIN, CEO, TEMIN AND COMPANY: No, but she tried by the end. At the end, she tried, but it was a disaster until you got there.
QUEST: Right.
TEMIN: Yes.
QUEST: What's the moral here? Because, in a sense, this case is even worse because the person who was damaged, I mean, in the sense of hurt is the
core constituency, the guys on death throw of the business.
TEMIN: You can't make it up. So -- and she joins the club that's unfortunately the, you know, the absolute get it wrong club. And there are
lots of good members on that one and bad members and that one.
So here's the thing. It's hard to judge judgment. First, she made an ultimate mistake by handling the individual employee the way she did. Yes,
you know, you have to come back from that.
[15:25:12]
But then she listened to the wrong people. And how you judge judgment, your own and those who would seek to advise .
QUEST: Right.
TEMIN: . you is the key for everything.
QUEST: But is that -- when I heard this this morning, I sort of had a cup of coffee, and I thought now, hang on a second. These are intelligent
people. They don't -- they're not mean -- by mean-spirited. They are not cruel by nature.
So I tried to see a way in which she could justify. And I'm wondering whether she even thinks, you know, she was being generous saying, well, you
can't work properly. So take time and come back when you're ready.
TEMIN: She could have done. Look, you know, the other -- this is two hands, of course. And the other hand is this is a woman business owner trying to
make a go of it, and it's not so easy. Everybody thinks that the money just keeps flowing in and is easy to come by, it isn't.
So she's balancing all kinds of things, but she made the wrong choice because in today's world where work has been turned topsy-turvy by COVID
and then the expectations .
QUEST: Right.
TEMIN: . that follow COVID, right? So she chose the wrong way to address it and .
QUEST: What would you have done?
TEMIN: I think I would've said, listen, we will cover you for up to X number of months. You don't have to work from there. I'm not going to
expect you to work from the NICU. There's no way you can work from the NICU. We will just cover this.
This isn't going to be a complete precedent, but we want -- you're a prized employee. We care about you. We care about your child, your baby. And this
is what we're going to do. And a little bit of that, make a loss, but do the right thing.
QUEST: Yes. That's what it's about.
TEMIN: It's protection matters.
QUEST: That -- you have summed that up there. It's doing the right thing.
TEMIN: Doing the right thing.
QUEST: Right.
TEMIN: And sometimes that's not the right thing for your pocket.
QUEST: Oh, oh, we'll talk about that in the future. I think we need to have you back again to talk about these things. Lovely have you on the program.
Thank you.
TMIN: Lovely.
QUEST: Now, coming up, (RICHARD QUEST speaking in French). More skills to the test, in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:31:09]
QUEST: The CEO of the French energy giant Engie, says, Europe is still facing energy market volatility. And that's despite record gas storage
levels.
I talked to Catherine MacGregor in Davos last week, when she told me Europe has done well at reducing its dependence on Russian gas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CATHERINE MACGREGOR, CEO, ENGIE: Gas storage is at all-time high for this period of the year, which is quite amazing, because we just had a cold
spell in Europe. And still, you know, we are in good situation.
So, that's on the supply side. And then, on the demand side, remember, which are that we have seen actually gas demand decrease over the Europe
post crisis, where we have this effort of sobriety or energy efficiency actually being seemingly being a bit structurally with us and here to say,
which is -- which is obviously a good thing for climate, which is really a crisis that is not going away that one.
QUEST: Can we now say that Europe has weaned itself off Russian energy, and we don't need to worry about that?
MACGREGOR: Well, I think Europe has done an incredible job indeed to find solutions and not to be reliant on Russian gas anymore, to diversify its
suppliers and to work also on the demand side.
So, I think, you know, as from an oil crisis, there is a good side to it. And I think Europe has done a very nice job.
Of course, we're not completely out of the woods. We still see, you know, potential volatility in the market, which is why we need to continue the
march on developing renewable, renewable electricity, renewable gas, because renewable guys is the same gas as what we had from Russia on these
projects locally.
And so, we -- you know, we have continued to have work to do there.
QUEST: What do you think is going to be the medium to long term demand for fossil fuels? Because everybody's talking about shifting in the climate
change, and the shifting to green tech -- green economies.
But we are going to need fossil fuels for the foreseeable future at quite high levels.
MACGREGOR: Well, we hope that this demand will pick soon. I don't have a crystal ball, I can't tell you when. But the key focus and company like
Engie, this is really a compass, which is to build the energy system of tomorrow.
Just going to give you a couple of numbers, if I may.
QUEST: Please.
MACGREGOR: 2023, electricity from renewables in Germany 52 percent. 52 percent, that is more than half. In Portugal, it was 61 percent. In the
U.K., they injected 42 percent of the electricity coming from renewable into the grid.
So, you see, it is starting to be a reality.
QUEST: But we do still need to find new avenues of extraction. Well, I -- you know, I have a bit of a different view. I think we have to put all our
investment capability in building the energy system of tomorrow, which is today, for most part feasible. We need to continue to work of course on
economic and through that -- you know, for that, we need technology, we need scaling up capability.
And then of course, the resiliency of the system. So, we talk a lot about renewable power, but we also need to build and bring to the market the
flexibility components, which will complement the renewables and for this, you need energy storage, you need batteries, you need low carbon gas, can
be stored.
QUEST: Choose your color.
MACGREGOR: Oh, well, we have to choose green.
QUEST: Well, after that last, yes, I think I'd be very surprised if you didn't.
Come and join me. Now, we're talking about A.I. as it relates to society, where are we?
MACGREGOR: I would go probably somewhere here.
QUEST: Yes. And of all of these issues or benefits?
MACGREGOR: I probably -- I probably add another one.
QUEST: Please do. Just put in there.
MACGREGOR: Which is the FOGI. Have you heard that one?
QUEST: What?
MACGREGOR: I didn't make it up. I heard that one. I like it. Fear of getting in.
[15:35:03]
QUEST: Really?
MACGREGOR: Yes.
QUEST: What does it mean?
MACGREGOR: That's a good one. It is -- it is the fear of people who don't understand digital, who are afraid of the technology, risk of staying out
of it.
And I think it's a real risk for society, but also of course, for competitiveness of our companies.
QUEST: Froggy?
MACGREGOR: FOGI.
QUEST: Oh, FOGI.
MACGREGOR: Fear of getting in.
QUEST: Fear of getting in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: FOGI, fear of getting in. Learn something new every day.
Longtime viewers of QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, you know, I've been learning French. 2.5 years ago using an app on my phone and I practice most days. In
fact, I pretty much every day I do something good.
So, my team decided to put my skills to the test. Here we go. First one. That's what we've got.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: La bourse.
QUEST: The market, la bourse. The stock exchange. Do we have an answer? Yes, that's good.
Next one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Atterrissage en douceur.
QUEST: I have no idea. Atterrissage en douceur. Oh, good Lord. And finally.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: J'espere que c'est profitable.
QUEST: I hope it is profitable.
Julie Hansen is the CEO of the language app Babbel. She joins me now. (INAUDIBLE) There we go. Then we'll both -- then we'll leave that one
there.
Look, I think that the biggest attraction of learning with an app is that it makes you do something every day.
And that is -- you know, I've made -- I have made spectacular progress over two years between combination of an app and properly tutors, but I have
made spectacular progress. But I'm not doing badly.
JULIE HANSEN, CEO, BABBEL: Good.
QUEST: What do we need to do more?
HANSEN: Well, you're right, the apps are terrific. To get started, and also, because they're convenient, they go with you. They're available
whenever you want to do your study. And we absolutely encourage our users to study a little bit every day, rather than to binge study, if you will.
But at Babbel, we do also know that no one will ever become fluent from an app. So, that's why we're going you know, deeper and deeper into language
learning. And we've launched our live classes with, you know, live teachers, certified teachers.
And we're going to keep expanding, we've got podcasts, we've got games, the -- you know, everyone learns differently. And often combining learning
methodologies is a well-known way to success in language learning, which is different from other types of learning, by the way.
So, yes, you need to do it every day. But you also need to study with a teacher and just keep at it.
QUEST: And I think that's the key to it. Because, look, I'm 62. Now, look, yes, you're going to tell me, young, I can learn, I can learn language, but
it's not that easy.
HANSEN: It's really easy when we're babies. After that, it becomes much more challenging, and you're definitely young enough to learn language.
QUEST: All right, so how about this? How about this? I've spent the last couple of years using one of your competitors, I should say. But why don't
I do the next two years with you?
HANSEN: It's a great idea.
QUEST: And see how far I get. My producer -- I mean, you know, I was reading some notes here about Spanish is the number one. Spanish is the
number one, what's after that?
HANSEN: Here in the U.S. that is. So, I hear your British accent. In fact, French is the number one in the U.K. But here in the U.S. it's almost two
thirds Spanish, like 63 percent. And you know, our learners have a choice between Mexican, Spanish and Castilian Spanish. And they overwhelmingly
choose Mexican Spanish, because that's what people can use here in the U.S. That's what we actually were taught in schools this is.
Worldwide, though, it's definitely English. Everyone's learning English.
QUEST: How do you -- how do you temper expect --
HANSEN: I'm sorry.
QUEST: Yes. I'm so sorry. How do you temper expectations so that realistically, you know, the -- I don't get disappointed.
HANSEN: Yes, it's actually really hard ensuring that users remain motivated is one of the things we're focusing on this year, for sure.
We have techniques like space repetition, so we bring back words that you already have learned a little bit to reinforce them, but also makes you
feel good.
But we have lots of messaging to make you feel good and reminders and, you know, it's a whole science of motivation. And we're focusing more and more
on that.
We never claim though that an app is going to make you fluent because we know that you need to go out in the real world and use your language.
[15:40:05]
QUEST: (INAUDIBLE). I can just hear the viewers. I can just say bloody idiot, can't even tell her what she wants to say. What I'm trying to say is
in two years, we'll talk again, and I'll be speaking French. (INAUDIBLE).
HANSEN: Bunny day. Great idea.
QUEST: Thank you. Thank you very much. Very grateful to you. Thank you.
And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS (INAUDIBLE) or something.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:58:20]
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest, we have together the dash to closing bell, it's two minutes away from now.
The Dow and the S&P are set to close at fresh record highs, the Dow has picked up another 150 odd points. And the triple stack also shows a very
positive session with the broader market getting a third of a percent along with the tech.
Earlier, I spoke to the Babbel U.S. CEO Julie Hansen. And she told me motivation is the key to online language learning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANSEN: Ensuring that users remain motivated is one of the things we're focusing on this year, for sure.
We have techniques like space repetition, so we bring back words that you already have learned a little bit to reinforce them, but also makes you
feel good.
But we have lots of messaging to make you feel good and reminders and, you know, it's a whole science of motivation. And we're focusing more and more
on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Indeed we talked about that on several occasions on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
The Dow components, Walgreen is near the top of, the Walgreen boots aligned. It starts at the top, it's a strong sad day for tech. Apple, IBM,
Salesforce and Cisco all in that top genre.
And at the other side, it is Home Depot, which is lagging at the bottom.
So, if you try -- and Boeing of course, even though Boeing is now going to have to inspect more 737-900s, it's not really taking itself out on the
stock price so far.
And that is the way the markets are looking. It has -- it's a lot more positive than before our dash to the closing bell. I'm Richard Quest in
London.
[16:00:01]
And as always, whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, J'espere que c'est profitable. The closing bell is ringing. And "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER"
starts now.
END
