Return to Transcripts main page
Quest Means Business
Trump Takes Aim At United Nations To World Leaders; Ukraine And Canada Hosts U.N. Session On Abducted Children; Jimmy Kimmel Returns To Air Tonight On Some ABC Stations; Trump Pledges Support To Argentina's Javier Milei; Macron Gets Caught In New Yor Traffic Jam; African Business Leaders Vie For Global Investments; Outer Bands Of Powerful Storm Ragasa Strike Hong Kong, Mainland China. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired September 23, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:15]
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: U.S. stocks are pulling back on those record highs after Fed Chair Jay Powell suggests that prices are overvalued. Those are
the markets. These are the main events in a major shift. Donald trump saying Ukraine can win back all of its territory from Russia.
The U.S. is offering Argentina a financial lifeline as President Milei meets with Trump at the U.N.
And Jimmy Kimmel is preparing to go back on air. Many of his network's affiliates though, won't be airing his show.
Live from London. It is Tuesday, September 23rd. I am Max Foster in for Richard Quest. This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Well, good evening.
Tonight, U.S. President Donald Trump says Ukraine is now in a position to fight and win the war against Russia. Just hours after speaking to his
Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the U.N., he wrote on Truth Social: "I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a
position to fight and win all of Ukraine back in its original form." A massive U-turn from U.S. President Trump, who has been pressing Kyiv for
months to reach a peace deal with Moscow on the argument that it couldn't stand a chance.
Now those comments came at the end of an extraordinary day at the United Nations. It began with an address from President Trump to the General
Assembly.
During his wide ranging remarks, Mr. Trump called climate change a con job. He said some countries are going to hell for their immigration policies and
he mocked the U.N. itself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: What is the purpose of the United Nations? The U.N. has such tremendous potential. I've
always said it. It has such tremendous, tremendous potential.
But it is not even coming close to living up to that potential. For the most part, at least for now, all they seem to do is write a really strongly
worded letter and then never follow that letter up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Mr. Trump also repeated claims that he had ended seven wars in a matter of months, and he reminded the audience of global leaders of his
interest in being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Jim Sciutto is at the U.N.
Jim, I really don't know where to begin, but let's start with that idea that Ukraine could get all of its territory back. Extraordinary!
JIM SCIUTTO CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Listen, the news moves very quickly with this president. It is not the top of the list of headlines that we would have
talked about had we been discussing this 45 minutes ago. But this is quite a reversal for the President.
You'll remember going back to the that notorious Oval Office encounter with Zelenskyy back in February, told him there in The White House to Zelenskyy
that he has no cards, and you heard that reflected in the statements of Trump, officials and negotiators as they were doing shuttle diplomacy,
their effective position was Ukraine is going to have to give up some of its territory, perhaps even more than Russia currently holds to get to a
peace deal.
Now, President Trump, after meeting with Zelenskyy, is saying, well, actually they might be able to win it all back, and I wonder, frankly, what
new information or intelligence or new read on the state of the war that President Trump heard to have him change his mind.
I mean, we have seen the President be somewhat more critical of Russia in public, including in his remarks today, saying that the war doesn't make
Russia look good, but we haven't heard the President view Ukraine's chances here dispositively.
And it speaks to not just his assessment of the war, but perhaps we don't know this, perhaps his willingness to support Ukraine in its further
defense of its country.
FOSTER: Also leaning into NATO with this extraordinary response from a reporter saying, should NATO shoot down Russian jets that go into NATO
airspace? He is basically giving approval to European countries who have been talking about that and that has made it more likely.
And how is Russia going to respond to that? I mean, that would be a massive escalation, wouldn't it?
SCIUTTO: Yes, it would be, no question for that to happen. And listen, it is not just Trump who said this, right? You heard, Polish officials saying
that, you heard the NATO Secretary General saying that. I spoke a short time ago to the Dutch Foreign Minister who said that, listen, if you got to
that point, that might be necessary.
Just this morning, Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, no, you know, U.S. jets wouldn't shoot them down unless they were attacking NATO,
et cetera. It seem to be trying to find a middle ground there. But I think what it speaks to, Max, is the seriousness with which Europe certainly is
taking these incursions that have become not isolated affairs anymore, right?
[16:05:11]
You had the drones over Poland, then you had the fighter jets over Estonia, and now you've had these drones over civilian airspace farther into Europe,
not explicitly called out as Russian activity, but the implication is clear. And the read from European officials is this is a deliberate
testing, not just of NATO's defenses, but NATO's resolve.
And to hear the President say, listen, if it comes to that, they might have to shoot down Russian jets, I would venture to guess that those words were
notice in Moscow, right? Because of all the words you hear thrown about this war, it is Trump's words that often are most impactful because of
course, Putin's view is that Europe won't do anything alone without the U.S., whether that's true or not, that seems to have borne out in the way
it has responded to previous European threats and signs of resolve.
FOSTER: Jim, keep across it. we will see -- we will talk about it next hour. Thank you so much for joining us.
SCIUTTO: Indeed.
FOSTER: On the sidelines of the UNGA, Ukraine and Canada have co-hosted an event rallying support for the return of Ukraine's abducted children. It is
estimated that Russia forcibly removed nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children since the war began. Russia denies it has taken them.
Vitalina Shevchenko is a Ukrainian youth delegate to the United Nations. Thank you so much for joining us.
First of all, if I can just ask you generally about this shift in tone we've seen from President Trump. That must be quite heartening to you.
VITALINA SHEVCHENKO, UKRAINIAN YOUTH DELEGATE TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Good evening, Max. Good evening, everyone.
Yes, we are here at high level week of UNGA. And, the things that our president, President Zelenskyy has been talking about this morning about
abduction and deportation of nearly, at least nearly 20,000 children is important, and this is something that international community should take
into account and should not forget.
FOSTER: How are you going to make it happen?
SHEVCHENKO: Well, first of all, with the support of Ukraine and with the support of our international community and with a clear statement and with
the -- I can see that both President Zelenskyy and First Lady of Ukraine has paid a lot of time and dedication into this, and this is a topic, the
crucial topic for Ukraine because this is our children, this is our identity and our future.
Russia has deported 20,000 children, and I've mentioned before, yes, 20,000 and they have not only deported them, but also trying to steal what they
have left -- their identity, their language, and their culture.
So this is a violation, a clear violation of international law and we see that a lot of countries recognize it and this is how it should be, the
clear and just peace in Ukraine and the return of the deported children should be a priority.
FOSTER: What do we know about how those children are living? What sort of lives do they have?
SHEVCHENKO: Well, because it is Russia, we cannot say that we know much details. But what we have heard and what there are some evidence of that,
some of the children even went to the military reeducation back in Russia and, they are -- they live now with Russian families. Sometimes they might
even have new names and new identities.
They are being taught in Russian schools in Russian language, learning Russian history, completely isolated from their Ukrainian identity. They
might not be even allowed to speak about this or remember this.
And what is even more cruel about this, they are targeting the most vulnerable children, the most vulnerable groups of children.
FOSTER: And, do they have parents in Ukraine or were they largely orphans?
SHEVCHENKO: As far as we know, they are largely orphans and that's why I am saying that they are the most vulnerable groups, but of course there are
those who still have families in Ukraine. But again, it is a clear violation of international law of deportation and abduction of children.
FOSTER: So the big power in the world, obviously, is the United States. Any suggestion from the Trump administration that they are willing to help you
with this? I know that the First Lady has obviously spoken to this issue.
[16:10:09]
SHEVCHENKO: Yes, in Ukraine, we clearly appreciate everyone, not only the world's leaders and countries' leaders, but everyone who supports us. But
of course, the First Lady of the United States and her clear support of initiative of Olena Zelenska was much appreciated.
FOSTER: If I could just ask you. I mean, Donald Trump has shifted position it seems just in the last hour or so saying that Ukraine should have all of
its territory back, which you'd assume is Crimea even as well, that whole part of the country that's been occupied by Russia. That must be very
positive for you to hear at this time.
SHEVCHENKO: Yes. First of all, I want to say temporarily occupied by Russia and yes, this is something that we have been telling the world leaders from
the very beginning of this war, which started not in 2022, but which started back in 2014, that we are fighting for free and sovereign Ukraine,
for the whole restoration of its borders.
FOSTER: Vitalina Shevchenko, it seems a bit more likely tonight Donald Trump is serious about what he said on social. We will analyze it through
the show, but thank you so much for joining us from New York today.
Now, after a nearly week-long suspension for comments made in the wake of Charlie Kirk's shooting, Jimmy Kimmel is returning to late night T.V.
today, but some ABC viewers won't be able to see his show. That's ahead on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: U.S. late night host, Jimmy Kimmel will be back on air tonight, but his show will only be seen on certain ABC stations. Two affiliate groups,
Sinclair and Nexstar say they'll broadcast other programs.
ABC's parent company, Disney, suspended Kimmel over comments that he made about the killing of Charlie Kirk. His monologue outraged some
conservatives, including the FCC chair, Brendan Carr, who seemed to threaten regulatory action.
Supporters of Kimmel and even some of his detractors have since accused Carr of trampling on free speech. It is all about government interference
as well.
Joining us now, Laura Martin, senior internet and media analyst with the Needham Investment Brokerage.
Laura, thank you so much for joining us.
It is also about money, isn't it, because those affiliates were pulling the plug and that was going to cost ABC money.
[16:15:12]
LAURA MARTIN, SENIOR INTERNET AND MEDIA ANALYST WITH THE NEEDHAM INVESTMENT BROKERAGE: It is a little bit, but late night isn't very lucrative. I mean,
the ABC network generates about -- it has a reach of about 1.7 million U.S. households for the entire day and late night is a fraction of that and even
1.7 million viewers is 0.5 percent of the 340 million U.S. viewers.
So broadcast television isn't that important anymore in America and late night, which is at midnight, is even less important economically. We
estimate that Disney makes about $50 million a year of free cash flow from the hour that Jimmy Kimmel is on, and they report $95 billion a year of
revenue.
So just inconsequential economically, I think.
FOSTER: Even more so now presumably if the affiliates aren't going to run the show.
MARTIN: Yes, so they'll make less money instead of making, you know, fifty a hundred million a year, they'll make 70, but Disney will get it back
because while those affiliates, Nexstar and Sinclair are allowed under their contract to preempt Jimmy Kimmel, when they come up for renegotiation
with the ABC network, ABC network will not agree to pay them as much next time because they preempted money that Disney should be making right now.
FOSTER: How are you managing to make predictions on the future of the media industry, particularly broadcast for example, when Donald Trump and the
Trump administration are making life much more difficult for them, even if it is just the threat or the idea that licenses could be taken away for
example, if they don't agree with what he is saying.
MARTIN: Right, so we published a note this morning saying that Disney should shut down, not sell, shut down the ABC network because it is less
than five percent of the value of Disney, and if they actually shut down the ABC network, nothing within the Disney perimeter would be regulatable
by the government. So you would be immune from the, you know, the caprice of the current administration and its regulatory agencies, and we actually
think it would add value to shareholders to do that.
And so I think part of it is just simulcasting everything on the ABC network on Hulu, which is a streaming service that Disney owns, which is
unregulated. So the next time regulators get offended by something a comedian says and comedians are the court jester speaking truth to power,
so they're always offensive, in my opinion, that they can just put the same content on Hulu and put up a placard on the ABC network saying, if you want
to watch Jimmy Kimmel, go watch him on Hulu today, and therefore they would keep the money on their streaming service and not care if the affiliates
preempted Jimmy Kimmel.
FOSTER: Surely the Trump administration will find a way of punishing them there too.
MARTIN: So they should shut down ABC and then nothing they own -- theme parks aren't regulated, streaming isn't regulated, the film business isn't
regulated. They should just get out of the regulatory --
FOSTER: But who is going to be left to speak truth to power as you say?
MARTIN: They need to move all of these comedians onto streaming platforms which are not regulated. These comedians need to be on Netflix, on
Paramount+, on, you know, they need to be on platforms that have no regulatory oversight because comedians are supposed to be funny and being
funny sometimes is offensive.
FOSTER: Yes, true enough. Laura Martin, thank you so much for joining us.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell now signaling more rate cuts are not on the immediate horizon. The Dow turned negative on Powell's comments, dropping
almost 80 points to close out the day. Speaking at an event in Rhode Island, Powell referenced the challenges posed by higher inflation and a
slowing U.S. labor market, calling it a challenging situation for policymakers.
He also acknowledged that some asset prices have reached uncomfortable levels.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: We are not targeting any level of prices for particular financial assets. We don't have a view that
we know what the right price of any particular financial asset is.
We do look at overall financial conditions and we ask ourselves whether our policies are affecting financial conditions in a way that we -- that is
what we are trying to achieve, but you're right, by many measures, for example, equity prices are fairly highly valued.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich joins us now.
He has got a really difficult situation, hasn't he? When you look at the employment market, you look at inflation and trying to deal with it with
interest rates.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Right, and the dual mandate essentially is in conflict right now and he admitted that that
is a really tough thing for the Federal Reserve to try to tackle, but interest rates are the tools, the only tool really to do just that.
In terms of this conversation that Jerome Powell had at the Chamber of Commerce in Providence, Rhode Island, it was really wide ranging. He talked
about artificial intelligence and how it was too soon to tell what impact it would have on the jobs market, but that likely some jobs would be lost,
but then replaced and technology has oftentimes been very helpful for the jobs market.
[16:20:15]
He talked about that it was a hard time for college graduates here in the United States to find jobs. He also of course, talked about tariffs and the
role that they were playing in the U.S. economy, saying that inflation has not risen in the way that many economists predicted.
But it looks like the retailers are the ones that are absorbing a lot of these price changes and price hikes, not the consumers. But how long, he
said, will that last? But I thought that the most sort of poignant point that he made was actually when it came to people outside of the Federal
Reserve challenging whether or not the Fed was, in fact, playing politics. And he pushed back against this. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POWELL: Whenever we make decisions, we are never, ever thinking about political things. And so we -- you know, we are based in Washington, D.C.,
and many, many of people in Congress and, you know, often things are seen through a lens of, is it good for this party or bad for this party or this
politician? We are just not looking at things that way.
We are looking at what is the best thing for the people that we serve in the medium term? What's the best policy? And no one -- many people don't
believe us because they think, come on, oh come on. You're really political.
But the truth is, most of the people who are calling us political, it is just a cheap shot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: And some of those people that have been calling the Federal Reserve and the Board of Governors political are the President of the
United States, Donald Trump, who has said that the Fed Governors and Jerome Powell are trying to help Democrats.
Also, you have the Director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, saying and raising eyebrows that the Federal Reserve lowered
interest rates ahead of the presidential election when Biden was President.
But look, the Fed did just cut rates for the first time since December of 2024. That is something that President Trump had been calling on for a very
long time. Jerome Powell said that really the reason they were in wait and see mode for so long is because they wanted to see what tariffs were going
to do to the U.S. economy.
You can see the Fed Funds Rate just at the right hand side of your screen. That's the cut that happened just last week, but really Powell is saying
that we needed to wait and see what was going to happen with the economy, and they felt like it was time, it was time to make the first cut.
Now in the Fed meeting last week, we did get an indication that there were two rate cuts that were penciled in, two more rate cuts for this year. Of
course, that could very much change based on economic data that we receive, Max. But really, this conversation today just really gave a lot of sort of
openness by Jerome Powell, something we don't see very often.
And he was pretty candid about a lot of different topics, including, as I mentioned, and you heard from right there, accusations by others that the
federal reserve was playing politics. Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve for a hundred more years has prided itself on its independence, and so that
comment was incredibly poignant, just reiterating that -- Max.
FOSTER: Vanessa, thank you so much for bringing us that.
Now, unionized workers at Starbucks say they are willing to call a new strike if the company refuses to offer them a fair contract. It has now
been a year since Brian Niccol became the new Starbucks CEO, and talks between the two sides have stalled.
The union recently conducted a national survey of baristas in the U.S. and found high levels of dissatisfaction with staffing and conditions.
Starbucks Workers United is now urging the CEO to get back to the bargaining table.
CNN has reached out to Starbucks for its response to the union's survey. The company recently told "The Guardian": We are ready to finalize a
reasonable contract for represented partners, but we need the union to return to the bargaining table to finish the job.
Michelle Eisen is the national leader of Starbucks Workers United, which is leading the unionized effort. She joins us now from Greenvale, New York. So
where are you with the management at the moment?
MICHELLE EISEN, NATIONAL LEADER, STARBUCKS WORKERS UNITED: Right now, we are still currently stalled. We had nine very successful months of back and
forth bargaining with the company in 2024, where the company assured us that they would -- we would reach a fair deal and a fair contract by the
end of that calendar year.
And you just stated Brian Niccol stepped into the role of CEO in September of 2024, and it was right around that time that things really started to
fall off with bargaining.
So we've had no meaningful bargaining since December of 2024.
FOSTER: Was their specific issue with your concern? I mean, you know, where is the block?
EISEN: Well, there are a few things that need to be finalized and put into place before we can ratify this contract with our members. Those fall in
the economic arena of the contract.
The company's economic offer towards the end of our bargaining process in December showed absolutely no economic gain in the first year of the
contract, and only a one-and-a-half percent wage increase for the subsequent years of the contract. That's pennies.
This is after Brian was paid $96 million for the first four months of his employment with the company. So to tell us that there is no money to give
us for this contract, to put into this contract, they were unwilling to talk about issues when it came to staffing, getting workers the hours that
they needed to both staff the stores that they work in and bring home enough money to pay their bills.
We need those issues. We need those issues dealt with and solved before we can finalize the contract and they have not come back to us.
FOSTER: But they're saying you're not coming to the table to have that discussion.
EISEN: They are not coming to the table to have that discussion. Since Brian took this position, we have made countless offers for him to join the
bargaining process so that we can get this ball rolling again, and he has yet to respond to those offers.
FOSTER: So what is happening? There are two tables effectively. They want you to go to theirs and you want them to come to yours.
EISEN: There is one table, but they need to show up with an actual viable offer. And you know, we can't come to the table to entertain the same offer
that was insufficient back in December. So if they would like to tell us that they have an offer that we can actually start to bargain over, we'd be
happy to start talking about it.
Right now in lieu of that, we've been continuing to organize. We've organized 160-plus stores in the last year. That's like 2,600 additional
Starbucks members who have organized their stores and joined our union. We are not slowing down.
In fact, the only thing that has happened since Brian has taken this position is that workers are more willing and more excited to join the
campaign and join the union because the changes he has enacted since he took on the role of CEO have only made their jobs harder and have not
worked towards making these stores any better.
FOSTER: So at what point do you make the decision to go on strike? How is that going to work? Have you got sort of dates in mind?
EISEN: Well, we've let the company know that we are -- these are, you know, we are 12,000 Starbucks workers strong, Unionized Starbucks Workers strong.
That's a pretty significant number. It is 650 stores across 45 states, and the District of Columbia. We will do whatever it takes to finalize this
contract.
So we've let them know that we are here. We are willing to entertain additional proposals regarding these issues that still need to be solved.
But if they don't come to us with those, we will take further action.
FOSTER: Okay, Michelle Eisen, I hope you sort it out. Thank you so much for joining us.
Still to come, Mr. Trump endorses Argentina's President Javier Milei and offers to help the country's ailing economy. We will dive in after the
break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:31:09]
FOSTER: President Donald Trump offered his full endorsement to Argentina's President Javier Milei, as the pair met at the United Nations. He held up a
print -- a printout of his latest Truth Social post in which he pledged his support. Argentina is set to hold midterms next month.
President Trump also claimed that Milei had inherited a mess when talking about the country's economy. On Monday, the U.S. said it stands ready to do
what's needed to help the country's struggling economy, and that's highly unusual for Washington, especially as investors lose confidence in
Argentina's economy.
So what actually went wrong? Well, Javier Milei was elected on a pledge to drive down soaring inflation, which he did. However, that policy kept the
country's currency artificially strong, impacting growth and its ability to shore up dollar reserves.
When the peso was further hit amid political losses and scandal earlier this month the central bank had to step in. It sold $1.1 billion to prop up
the peso, prompting fears about foreign reserves and Argentina's ability to pay back future debts.
I'm joined now by CNN Espanol correspondent Ivan Perez Sarmenti, who is in Buenos Aires.
I mean, what did you make of the meetings today then?
IVAN PEREZ SARMENTI, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Max. On this Monday morning, President Javier Milei got some relief after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
pledged large and peaceful -- forceful actions to stabilize Argentina's currency. That move, using the treasury's exchange stabilization fund, sent
the peso and all Argentinians at sharply higher after last week's steep losses.
As you mentioned, the central bank had to spend more than $1 billion U.S. in just three days to keep the exchange rate from spiraling out of control.
This latest crisis in Argentina began earlier this month, when Milei suffered a larger than expected defeat in a local election in Buenos Aires
province, the country's most populous region and home to roughly 40 percent of the population.
Next month, Milei faces the national midterm elections and the political uncertainty has triggered investor concerns over his ability to continue
reshaping the economy. But since yesterday, markets are reacting positively. Argentinian stocks trading in the U.S. are up more than 10
percent. The peso is stronger and international bonds down more than 20 percent so far this year, are seeing a bounce.
For now after this announcement and Milei's meeting with President Donald Trump the dollar exchange rate here in Argentina has dropped back to pre-
election levels and the country's risk index is nearing 1,000 points. So we'll see what happens. And we are waiting for more details of this
announcement of today. And we'll see the expectation here is what happens in the midterm elections.
FOSTER: Yes, absolutely. I mean, how much is this relationship with Donald Trump helping because they seem to get on so well together, don't they?
They've got so much in common.
SARMENTI: Well, that's the point that we have to see. How much will help this endorsement of President Trump to Milei's -- to the elections? Now
with the markets, it's clear that he had like a very strong endorsement. And we'll see it in the -- with the peso and with the bonds and all the
markets are reacting positively. We'll see what happened in politics. That is not the same. And here in Argentina, the population are expecting to see
what happened in the -- in the next weeks. But we have to wait in October 26th to see the result of the midterm elections.
FOSTER: OK. Ivan, thank you so much. You're right not to ever try to predict politics. You never know which way it's going to go. But obviously
two men getting on very well at the moment.
As I mentioned earlier, the U.N. General Assembly is underway. It has led to gridlock in the streets of New York that not even the French president
can avoid.
[16:35:03]
Emmanuel Macron took to walking on Monday after getting stuck behind roadblocks for President Donald Trump's motorcade.
Saskya Vandoorne breaks down exactly what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF: Traffic during the U.N. General Assembly can be brutal, even for presidents.
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: If you don't see it, let me pass.
VANDOORNE: Emmanuel Macron suddenly found himself in a very awkward, very New York situation. Stranded on the sidewalk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry, Mr. President. I'm really sorry. It's just that everything has been frozen right now.
VANDOORNE: Why? Because President Donald Trump's motorcade had the street on lockdown.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a motorcade coming right now. I'm sorry.
VANDOORNE: So Macron picked up the phone and called the man apparently responsible for the gridlock.
MACRON: Guess what? I'm waiting in the street because everything is frozen for you.
VANDOORNE: Eventually the barricades opened, but only for pedestrians. So the French president had to keep the call going while walking to the
embassy. And if that wasn't unusual enough, a bystander grabbed the chance for a quick kiss with the French president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, thanks so much.
MACRON: No, no, it's okay, guys.
VANDOORNE: Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Now, African business leaders are vying for investors at this year's Unstoppable Africa Summit, happening on the sidelines of the U.N.
General Assembly.
Larry Madowo spoke to the president of the Africa Finance Corporation, who says Africa's investment potential lies in its natural resources.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAMALLA ZUBAIRU, PRESIDENT, AFRICA FINANCE CORPORATION: Africa has significant rare earth required for world defense systems and for
technology, and it's all over in Africa. All we need to do is to focus on how to process and transform those in Africa, especially because that's
what is going to create jobs. You know, we keep talking about the future, you know, and that future is only served if it's going to be productive.
So we have to ensure that we're creating jobs. And we have seen time and time again that once you focus on transformation, you keep jobs locally.
And those people earn more and they can spend more.
Now, the whole challenge, you know, around migration and trying to relocate migrants will not even happen in the first place if they are gainfully
employed, which is why for me, it's important that we demonstrate how we are creating jobs locally and how it is in the interest of our partners to
allow us skill so that we keep the talent here and we keep the people here so they don't need to spend money on combating migration.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You consider Africa to the to be the most compelling investment opportunity in the world right now.
ZUBAIRU: Yes, I do.
MADOWO: So how come there's such little money to fund this grand ambitions? Capital is so hard to come by for Africans and for Africa.
ZUBAIRU: So it's because of how we're looking at it. So we just did a study that shows that Africa has $4 trillion of domestic capital pools. Now,
somebody might say to me, that's one bank in China. And it's true.
MADOWO: That's one bank in China. That's a middle sized bank.
ZUBAIRU: Yes. That's a large bank. That's a large bank in China.
MADOWO: Right.
ZUBAIRU: But it's something. Why? Because what we need is not that much. So we need to constantly demonstrate what is possible. And you don't need that
much to do that. What we want and what we are advocating for is how do you get the capital to move to productive sectors of the economy?
MADOWO: If Africa has $4 trillion of domestic capital on the continent, then how come Africa is having to borrow in international markets at
ridiculous rates because of this African risk premium?
ZUBAIRU: So, I mean, you're right. That happens because most of the money is not with us. So most of the funds are not on the continent. And we go
back to those people and ask them for the money, and they tell us about the risk in our continent. So that's why we're paying such a high price.
We allow it somehow. We allow it because we have not understood and designed our system in such a way that we are focused on our own
development, with our own capital first. So I give you an example. We created a company called Infra Credit. You know, the Sovereign Wealth Fund
of Nigeria called NSIA and ourselves and some partners out of Europe. We created this entity that provides investment guarantees to pension funds to
invest local currency in infrastructure.
And it's been working very well. So we're using local savings to fund infrastructure on the continent. We're using local currency to do that. So
we don't need to borrow dollars offshore.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Now Hong Kong and Southern China are bracing for impact as Typhoon Ragasa approaches. The outer bands already hitting mainland Asia after
lashing the Philippines on Monday.
[16:40:04]
The monster storm is expected to make landfall in China's Guangdong Province in the coming hours.
Our Hanako Montgomery is covering Ragasa from Hong Kong.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're on the edge of Hong Kong Harbor on the eastern side of Hong Kong island, and within the last hour or so of
us being here we've seen the weather intensify and really turn for the worse. We've seen the sky become overcast, wind speeds pick up and also
intense storm surges occurring right over there. You can actually see waves intensifying and getting bigger and bigger as they are lashing Hong Kong.
Now the Hong Kong Observatory, which is the city's main weather forecaster, has warned that storm surges of up to four meters could batter the city as
the typhoon approaches the city in the coming hours.
Now, in order to prepare for this massive typhoon, the city government has launched a number of different preparatory measures. For instance, they've
put up red tape over there by the shore. That is to prevent residents from getting too close to the sea and potentially putting themselves in a life-
threatening position.
Now, the city government has also put up these metal flood barrier systems, and that is to prevent flooding in low-lying areas like the one we're
currently in. And I do have to note that back in 2017 and 2018, Hong Kong saw massive typhoons that caused millions of dollars in damage, especially
in areas again like this one, which are more low-lying and it can be more prone to flooding.
Now also, if you take a look at this residential building right here, you can see windows are being taped up. That is to prevent glass from breaking,
shattering and entering people's homes.
Now, the city government has warned that this typhoon can be very, very devastating, very, very powerful as it continues to approach Hong Kong. Now
the city is very well-prepared to deal with natural disasters like this, but we do have to note that because climate change is continuing to worsen,
these storms are getting a lot more intense, a lot more extreme, and potentially more life-threatening.
That is why the city government has ordered people to stay hunkered down, to stay indoors. And people have taken that advice to heart and have bought
supplies at supermarkets and really just empty shelves as they are preparing to stay inside for the next few hours to prevent themselves from
being in a very life-threatening situation.
Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Our thoughts are with you all. If you have got the storm coming in.
That is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Up next, Richard heads to Bordeaux for "World of Wonder."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:45:54]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It's time to embrace new adventures.
Just doesn't get much better than this, does it?
Seize the moment in this "World of Wonder."
This is incredibly fine sand. It's almost powder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't want that in your socks. You're happy to wear your shoes, are you?
QUEST: People are taking their shoes off which makes me think it's going to be easier.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I think so.
QUEST: Yes. Yes, maybe you're right. It's much harder with your shoes off. You have led me astray.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't do it.
QUEST: You did. Shamelessly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You listened to everybody else.
QUEST: Shamelessly. For goodness' sake.
When it was suggested we take a morning stroll up Europe's highest sand dune, I readily and foolishly agreed. I had no idea what was in store. The
Dune du Pilat is more than 100 meters tall. It is a steep incline. Somehow I missed that point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we go. We've made it.
QUEST: We have. This is incredibly impressive. This is quite extraordinary. The vegetation under here, the dune, it's vast.
The Dune du Pilat is less than an hour's drive southwest of Bordeaux in Arcachon Bay. It's all to do with the topography and geography of the wind,
the ocean, the cap and the forest. It may be a massive amount of sand, but it's also, frankly, rather delicate.
Underneath me is 8,000 years of planet earth's history. 8,000 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not very old, is it?
QUEST: Oh, God. Did he really have to come with us?
What Jimbo just can't resist.
James, the question is, how do we go down?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We roll.
QUEST: Oh, look at that. That's got a trip to hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, see, that is a busted knee yet to happen.
QUEST: Yes.
I always love riding a bike when I'm in a city. You really get to feel like you're there and experience it in a different way. This is beautiful. There
are so many just delightful little places to stop.
Good life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tres bien. It's got to tres bien written all over it.
QUEST: James has a new motto for our time here in France. Whatever the situation, whatever the stress, James --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tres bien. Do we give this the tres bien? Tres bien, yes? Tres bien, tres bien, tres bien.
QUEST: The boulangeries, the patisseries. It's all part of French daily life.
Bonjour. What are you making? Oh, it's one of these. If I want to get a rousing debate here, just ask people what they call this treat.
The pain au chocolat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down here they say chocolatine.
QUEST: France is divided on this pressing pastry matter. Most of the country calls it a pan au chocolat. In Bordeaux, it's known as the
chocolatine. Don't get me started on the northeast, where you might hear it called a croissant or chocolat.
Chocolatine or pan au chocolat?
[16:50:05]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is quite like a war in France regarding that subject.
QUEST: You're a chocolatine woman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
QUEST: I told you, everyone has an opinion.
There is no debate at Grain Bakery. Their chocolatines are award winning and behind the baker's bench today is Nicolas Gruel. He's trying to teach
me. What could possibly go wrong.
This goes here?
NICOLAS GRUEL, CO-FOUNDER, GRAIN BOULANGERIE AND PATISSERIE: Yes.
QUEST: Bit of this.
At its most basic, chocolatine starts with a series of presses and folds.
This will now go over here.
Working butter and dough into several layers.
Is it the same number every time?
GRUEL: Yes. Somebody with different if it's croissant or pan au chocolat.
QUEST: But what did you just call it? Pan au chocolat?
GRUEL: Chocolatine or pan au chocolat? It's up to you. Perfect.
QUEST: It won't stop. There we go. Yes. Thank you. Right. And we get the butter. Do we put a bit of flour on it?
GRUEL: Yes.
QUEST: Why not? Just to keep the butter happy.
Now this machine takes some getting used to. It wants to go forward when I need it to go back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This could hit the floor, so be ready.
QUEST: Oh, wow.
GRUEL: You use the machine like a professional.
QUEST: Once I've layered, and trimmed, the star arrives. The chocolat.
Oh, here we go.
GRUEL: You put one like this, another one.
QUEST: This could take all day. Always doing one hand. Oh, he's showing off. All right. I accept the challenge.
GRUEL: Yes, it's better and better, huh? Maybe after one week you can be the master.
QUEST: Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Funny, when you think about it, it is pastry and chocolate. Such a simple pleasure that stirs up strong
opinions.
They're all beautiful. They almost too good to eat. Note I said almost. Huh? One, two, three.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we'll be here all day, mate.
QUEST: Look at the way the chocolate just melted perfectly. So I think this is really delicious. I don't think it matters what we call it. It's a true
work of art. Life is good.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: What I'm about to do is go into a pond of water. This is a huge, monstrous thing.
When I said I wanted to explore the art of living in the southwest of France, this isn't what I had in mind.
You've got to be (INAUDIBLE). We're not doing that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can first touch. Good.
QUEST: Good fish.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Perfecto.
QUEST: Meet Laurent. I'm on his caviar farm about 90 minutes from Bordeaux. Caviar comes from sturgeon, and Laurent has sturgeon galore. Long nose.
Look at that nose.
Yellow bellied. Feisty. And there are those that are just plain huge.
QUEST: Whoa, whoa. Hey, they're everywhere.
In fact, they are everywhere. Caviar de nube has more than 100,000 sturgeon at various stages of growth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fish are one, two and three years old. So it's a five-month-old fish. There is 27 kinds of sturgeon. This is the most
famous, Ossetra sturgeon.
[16:55:06]
QUEST: The business of raising sturgeon is not for the impatient. It takes about 10 years before the fish are ready to produce caviar which brings me
back to why I'm in this pond. When it comes time for harvesting, the fish are separated by hand by an expert. No, not me. Don't worry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Grab one. Grab a small one.
QUEST: It's not that straightforward, James.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This one is very nice if you want to take it. Very photogenic.
QUEST: Look at that. We've done a lot of talking about fish and caviar, but we haven't actually seen any caviar. And we certainly haven't tasted --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't have caviar. Yes. Let's go to eat caviar.
QUEST: You always see people eating caviar and -- you know? Pretentious. Why do we have the pearl spoon?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, because we don't want --
QUEST: The price of this stuff. Do you mind?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. It's a good spoon. You need quantity. The mother of pearl spoon is only because we don't want to give a oxidation taste. The
metallic, metal taste.
QUEST: Like most people, when I eat caviar, I take just a little bit because it's so expensive. Here I'm encouraged to do the opposite. Don't
think, just eat, and eat lots.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First you put it on your hand. First spoon, just eat.
QUEST: The second spoonful, now pay attention to the taste.
It is a gorgeous taste. It's absolutely wonderful taste. Rich, rounded, deep.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you need more. More and more. The more and more you have, the more and more you taste.
QUEST: Laurent has a wonderful saying. Luxury is quantity. Straight off the hand. Caviar with cream. Where's the bill? Caviar. Oh, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only thing you have to be careful is to eat caviar with people you like -- you love. You want more cream?
QUEST: Why not?
Caviar, fine wines, chocolatines. They know how to enjoy themselves here in Bordeaux. And you all want to come here and enjoy the good life for
yourself.
Bordeaux in Southwest France definitely part of our "World of Wonder."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
