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Quest Means Business
U.S. In Active Pursuit Of Oil Tanker Off Venezuela; Bondi Beach Attack: Court Documents Show Suspects Threw Unexploded Bomb At Victims; WBD, Paramount Skydance Shares Rise After Revised Bid; The Stock Market's Winners And Losers Of 2025; A Look Inside Norway's Official Post Office For Santa; Russia Blamed For Surge In Wolf Attacks On Finnish Reindeer. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired December 22, 2025 - 16:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:25]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: The closing bell is ringing on Wall Street, and it is a sea of green that we've got on the street. The trading
is coming to an end as we enter Christmas week. I love the way they try to break the gavel. It was a valiant effort, sir, but you failed.
That sea of green all the way throughout the session. The markets are in ebullient mood. We will get to all the reasons why, but those are the
markets and these are the events we are going to be talking about tonight.
President Trump and his top military advisers will be speaking this hour, as the U.S. pursues a tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
Larry Ellison, $40 billion guarantee with the Paramount bid for our parent company, Warner Bros, WBD. And we are counting the cost of 12 days of
Christmas. It is a QUEST MEANS BUSINESS festive tradition.
If you were to buy the lot, how much would it cost?
We are tonight live in London. It is Monday, December the 22nd. We start Christmas week together. I am Richard Quest and I mean business.
Good evening.
The United States says it is pursuing an oil tanker that is sailing in international waters near Venezuela. It is the Bella 1 and it is under U.S.
sanctions for its links to Iran. It is on its way to Venezuela to collect oil when the U.S. Coast Guard tried to board the ship. An official says it
kept sailing and they have been in pursuit since Sunday. We will hear from President Trump in about 30 minutes from now. He is expected to be joined
by The Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, and the Navy Secretary, when that event happens, we will bring it to you. It is also all about new ships.
Kevin Liptak is in West Palm Beach in Florida. The President is at Mar-a- Lago right now.
Let's do, first of all, Kevin, the steaming tanker and why they are finding it difficult to get hold of it.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, because it is not stopping and it is pretty difficult, I think for the Coast Guard to hover
over a moving ship and rappel onto its deck, which is what they did in these two previous instances. We saw that on Saturday with a separate
tanker called The Centuries. That ship actually stopped and allowed the Coast Guard to board.
That's not what happened with this Bella 1 ship. It essentially turned around and began to flee into the Caribbean Sea, setting off what the U.S.
calls an active pursuit. But I think on the flip side, it sounds like sort of a failure at first glance. But when I was talking to an American
official earlier, they did make the point the ship was empty. It was heading towards Venezuela to load up on oil.
Right now, it is still empty and it is heading away from Venezuela, and it doesn't have the oil. So they're making the argument that this still
advances President Trump's objective to try and cut off that essential economic lifeline for Caracas, to try and enforce this oil embargo that he
announced some weeks ago.
And so this pursuit, as we understand it, is still underway, but when I talked to American officials, they are still describing it as something of
a success.
QUEST: And this announcement, we are expecting to hear, something to do with shipbuilding at this news conference. Do we know any more?
LIPTAK: Yes, so my understanding, and I've heard this from a person familiar just in the last couple of minutes or so, is the President is
going to announce a new type of battleship. So the President is trying to reinvigorate the Naval Fleet, which, by the way, 25 percent of it is in the
Caribbean Sea right now, so the backdrop is still Venezuela here.
But he is announcing this new fleet called the Golden Fleet. He has been displeased at how some of these Navy ships look. He thinks many of them are
too rusty. He doesn't like the aesthetics of them, and so what he is doing today is announcing a new class of battleship.
He has considered calling it the Trump Class Battleship, which is obviously of a piece of the President naming anything and everything after himself.
And so what we will see the President do today is discuss more about how this will be built. He will be mentioning that it is going to be built in
the United States. It is all meant to sort of reinvigorate the U.S. Navy.
But clearly, the Venezuela situation is going to come up. You know, he can't talk at Mar-a-Lago next to Pete Hegseth and the Naval Secretary and
not mention this escalating situation in the Caribbean Sea. Hopefully, we get more from the President about what the objective in all of this is. You
know, he has been saying for some weeks now that he is going to order strikes on land.
[16:05:12]
He hasn't done it yet. He hasn't issued the final order. So just getting a sense from him of where this is all headed.
QUEST: I am grateful, Kevin. Thank you.
I don't know whether you're going to be down in Mar-a-Lago, down there all over Christmas, but if you are, at least the weather is nice. Thank you,
sir. Good to see you.
Now we have Colin Clarke, the executive director of The Soufan Center. Colin, what do you make? I mean, what is the goal on this Venezuela? What
is the purpose? What's the end game here?
COLIN CLARKE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SOUFAN CENTER: Well, thanks for having me.
I think that's a matter of debate right now. If you listen to the administration, the goal is to stop fentanyl from flowing into the country.
They've relabeled narcoterrorists gangs or narcotraffickers and gangs as foreign terrorist organizations. Counterterrorism experts like myself have
had a lot to say about why that doesn't make sense.
The more skeptical of us think it could be about oil. The President has referenced it multiple times. You have members of the House of
Representatives talking about U.S. oil companies going to back to Venezuela, and I think at this stage, the massive U.S. muscle, on the coast
of Venezuela is probably a game of chicken to try to get Maduro to accept exile and flee abroad.
QUEST: Okay. Let's assume he does and for the purposes of this question, what does the U.S. do then? I mean, time and again, the administration,
Donald Trump particularly has said, look, we believe these are stolen assets. They are corrupt. We need to get them back. They were taken from
the U.S., which is simply not necessarily the case. So what's the game?
CLARKE: Well, I think, you know, this evokes a lot of kind of lead up to Iraq War vibes, if you will. There have been folks in the administration
saying this is going to be easy. Maduro is going to flee. The United States will be accepted and able to kind of set up shop in Venezuela. But, I've
written a paper along with my colleague, Ben Connable, where we've warned against the risks, a potential insurgency in Venezuela, regime hardliners,
all of the individuals that have been given weapons to stay and fight.
So, you know, walking -- sleepwalking into another conflict for a president that ran on extricating the United States from endless wars doesn't seem to
make a whole lot of sense. There hasn't really been a lot of transparency, and there is nothing along the lines of a coherent strategy from what I've
seen.
QUEST: While I've got you, sir, while I've got you, lets, as they say, squeeze the asset a little bit. You are the author of "After the Caliphate:
The Islamic State and the Future of the Terrorist Diaspora." Can I just turn my attention to events in Australia and in Sydney?
We now know that this was well-planned. It was meticulous. They had several runs to practice it. There is the ISIS flag, there is the training. But,
you know, ISIS is an amorphous phrase that's often used and people are -- they grab hold of it any way they can.
So can you just give us some perspective on that?
CLARKE: Sure. Look, even though the so-called Caliphate, the physical caliphate, has been destroyed in the levant, this is still an ideology and
a group which continues to inspire homegrown violent extremists around the world. That's what we saw in Sydney, very likely an inspired attack.
I think the attacks of October 7th, 2023, the Hamas terrorist attacks and the subsequent Israeli War in Gaza has raised the temperature in many ways,
has brought more attention to the Middle East, and for some people that spend a lot of time online, it has been a conveyor belt to further
radicalization.
QUEST: Okay. Right. But let me just clarify to a large extent, not quite lone wolf, they are radicalized and then they are maybe in touch with --
but these don't seem to be at least, I am talking about Sydney, massively organized through a structure. Is there any evidence that ISIS is putting
itself back together globally to do large scale attacks?
CLARKE: Well, they certainly would like to. And if you think back to 2024 with ISIS-K attacks in Iran, Turkey and Russia to start the year, failed
plots against the Paris Olympics and the Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, the group is certainly attempting to reconstitute. It remains largely
decentralized, though it does still have connective sinew, and it communicates through the general direction of provinces with nodes
stretching from the Middle East to the Horn of Africa all the way to Southeast Asia.
It is not quite there yet, and it may not get there, but that's certainly the goal of the group.
QUEST: We should talk on happier times. I am grateful to you, sir. Thank you Colin, thank you.
CLARKE: Thank you.
[16:10:08]
QUEST: Now tonight, Ukraine is on alert for possible Russian attacks around Christmas as Russia has opened a criminal case into the killing of the
Russian General in Moscow.
Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov died in a car bombing. The country's investigative committee said it is looking into whether Ukrainian Special
Forces were responsible. CNN's Clare Sebastian with this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This unassuming white car, Russian officials say, is where Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, the
Russian General in charge of operational training, spent some of his final moments. A bomb planted under the vehicle's chassis.
SVETLANA PETRENKO, RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE SPOKESPERSON (through translator): One of the theories is that the crime was organized by
Ukrainian Special Services.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): Ukraine hasn't yet commented.
(ANDREI POPOV speaking in foreign language.)
SEBASTIAN (voice over): "It was frightening," says this local resident. "At first, I thought a Shahed or some other Ukrainian drone had been shot
down."
SEBASTIAN (voice over): Frightening, yet not as unusual a death as you might think for a high level Russian military commander.
Sarvarov, at least the sixth Russian military official to have died in targeted attacks on Russian or occupied Ukrainian soil since February 2022.
At least four of the incidents happened in or close to the Russian capital.
Car bombs are the most common method. This was the blast that killed Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik in April, just east of Moscow. The
wreckage of another unassuming white car on the scene.
But there have been other, more unusual approaches. This footage, obtained by CNN shows the moments before a remotely detonated bomb planted in a
scooter killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's nuclear and chemical weapons forces outside his Moscow apartment block last
December.
A source with knowledge of the operation told CNN, the Ukrainian Security Services were responsible, and in the summer of 2023, Stanislav Rzhitsky, a
former commander with Russia's Black Sea Fleet, was shot dead while outrunning. Russian media reported, he may have been tracked using the
popular fitness app, Strava.
Ukraine doesn't usually take direct responsibility.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: It is so important not to relax or rely on diplomacy alone.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): But as a fourth winter of constant Russian attacks grinds on with no sign of compromise in talks, this invisible war is
testing Russia's defenses at home and exposing clear gaps.
Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Now coming up, Paramount's promise, the Hollywood giant insists it does have the financing for its hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros
Discovery, our parent company. Paramount's new move in the fight to own us after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:15:23]
QUEST: Paramount Skydance has revised its hostile takeover bid for WBD, the parent company of CNN. Paramount says that the Oracle founder, Larry
Ellison, will now personally guarantee the tens of billions of dollars that he has put up to bankroll the transaction, the so-called backstop.
Paramount is trying to ease financing concerns surrounding the offer, which WBD has firmly rejected. Shares of WBD and Paramount rose on the news. As
you can see, Netflix fell.
WBD-Netflix have agreed to a separate merger deal. Brian Stelter is here.
Brian, now, here is the tricky bit, right? Here is the tricky bit. That they have given us in the offer exactly what WBD said they wouldn't and
hadn't and was the problem. The backstop by Ellison himself.
Well, now they've said we will do that. You've got it. So now what's the problem?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, the message was show us the money. Are you good for the money? And now Larry Ellison is saying, yes, he
is. It is his son, David Ellison, who is trying to push this transaction through, trying to make Paramount much, much bigger and the financing is
complex for that reason. Right?
Paramount is relatively small. WBD is much bigger. Can Paramount gobble this thing up or not? The questions about the Middle East Sovereign Wealth
Fund financing have been very loud for the past couple of weeks. You know, Richard, U.S. lawmakers have been weighing in with their concerns about the
financing.
But now, here is Larry Ellison saying he will personally guarantee the deal. I've been looking all day waiting to see if Warner Bros Discovery is
going to respond in some fashion. So far, nothing official.
What I expect will happen next is this will be kicked back to the WBD board for an official review. Then the board likely to reject it again and
continue to side with Netflix. After all, there is a signed deal with Netflix on the table, so this is now officially going to head right into
the New Year -- Richard.
QUEST: Right. We've got pictures of our CEO, David Zaslav and the Netflix boss, co-CEO, Ted Sarandos walking around the lot. So it is almost like
kicking the tires, even though before he has bought the car. But look I want to -- one other story I want to just quickly ask you, this story about
the head of CBS News or the editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss pulling "60 Minutes" because she says that their report on the El Salvadorian prison
wasn't ready.
She says you don't have the story. You didn't -- you hadn't advanced it from "The New York Times" and other reporting. You didn't have the goods.
Everyone says that's a load of old nonsense. They did, and it is a political decision. Where is this lying?
STELTER: Right. The producers, the editors, the newsroom lawyers had all signed off. This segment had already been promoted and publicized on social
media, so it is basically unheard of for "60 Minutes" to pull back a segment after all those steps have been completed. That's why there is a
lot of questions about why Bari Weiss decided to shelve the segment. Was she considering what Paramount's management wanted? Was she experiencing
pressure from the Trump administration? Those are very much unanswered questions at this point, and it may be a total coincidence that the
Paramount revised bid came out this morning.
It may be a total coincidence, but you take these two stories together and you think about the collision between corporate interests and about
newsroom ethics. Corporate interests versus newsroom independence. Many staffers at CBS News fear that this is the moment they've dreaded all year,
that the corporation and its interests are coming first, and journalism is going to become second or third or fourth down the line as a result.
But Bari Weiss says this segment will air in the future. So now, you know, that's kind of in her court, right? We will see what CBS does because you
know how these things work, which is called the Streisand effect. This now has much more attention than it ever would have received otherwise. So many
more people are now curious about this report about men deported from the U.S. to El Salvador. Many more people now want to see this story than they
ever did before.
QUEST: Grateful to have you, Brian Stelter. Thank you. Have a good Christmas if I don't speak to you again.
STELTER: Thank you. Thank you.
QUEST: Now, to our own QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tradition, the 12 Days of Christmas and the PNC-mas.
Tree so imagine you're buying the 12 Days of Christmas. How much would it cost? Well, the single most expensive item is the five gold rings. That's
really gone up because gold has gone up more than 32 percent. You can blame the Fed and declining dollar.
[16:20:08]
Now, the partridge in a pear tree that is also hugely expensive. Why? Because of the rising land, fertilizer and labor costs. So it is not the
partridge, it is the actual pear tree that is costing the money.
When it comes to staffing costs, whether it is maids-a-milking, lords-a- leaping, drummers drumming. Well, that's not too bad. Just around eight percent increase for those lords leaping, five gold rings. Put it all
together. And if you were to buy the 12 Days of Christmas once, it is $51,476.00. That's up 4.5 percent.
However, as we always tell you, remember, you have to keep buying the items day after day and the cost of each repetition that will take you to
$218,543.00, up 4.4 percent again. So there you have it. The 12 Days of Christmas and how much it costs you, just over $200,000.00. A tradition.
Now President Trump's tariffs, which is not included here, has driven up the cost of Christmas trees because it was a pear tree, not a Christmas
tree in our -- anyway, according to the largest artificial Christmas tree wholesaler and retailer in the U.S., the National Tree Company, yes, there
really is such a thing, said they have had to raise their prices by 10 percent this year.
The company also warned that tariffs have disrupted supply chains, that prices are likely to be even higher. Chris Butler is the CEO of the
National Tree Company. What a lovely title for a company, National Tree Company.
Now, so tariffs have cost more for these trees, but is it noticeable in terms of sales and demand? Ten percent is quite a lot but it is not a
fortune.
CHRIS BUTLER, CEO, NATIONAL TREE COMPANY: Correct. Thank you for having me on, Richard, I appreciate it. And I might be getting to the pear tree
business based on your last report. So we will see what happens for the National Tree Company.
But from a supply perspective, you know, obviously supply was hurt. Prices went up because of tariffs. And so, you know, our supply, other companies'
supplies was definitely cut back. Prices definitely have gone up, so we raised our prices about 10 percent to your point, which again, isn't a
fortune, but still there is a large part of America that 10 percent on a price of a tree is quite a lot of money when people are struggling with
current costs of beef and eggs, et cetera. So, you know, we've definitely seen a slowdown in demand this year.
So it has been a disappointing Christmas season, but we are hoping that we can continue to work with the administration to have a better 2026 for
sure.
QUEST: Now, when we talk about these trees, we are talking artificial or real?
BUTLER: Artificial. So 90 percent of the artificial trees are made in China. A lot of companies, including ourselves, we've kind of diversified
our supply chain over the last few years outside of China, but certainly, 90 percent of the of the business is still made in China today.
QUEST: And interestingly, I mean, I guess you keep thinking of people buying Christmas trees, but if its artificial, it lasts for years, and you
tend to change it when you either want something bigger or smaller or you just want something newer and it has got more gizmo.
What is the favorite tree that people go for?
BUTLER: You know, still, honestly, we've done a lot of research, a lot of data, 85 percent of consumers say they want the full, green, realistic
looking tree. And typically consumers go for the white light.
So while you can get 100,000 different variations, colors, snow, you know, tall, thin, small, large, et cetera., et cetera. Most consumers still want
that full green tree that looks like the real thing.
QUEST: You know, your problem is in terms of the President, he is going to say a bit like he did with the dolls. You don't need 37 dolls as opposed,
he would sort of say, you don't need to change your Christmas tree every year.
I am genuinely not making light of this because of course, it is your business, and your business is your livelihood and the livelihood of your
employees. You know, this is -- I am fascinated to speak to you about this because it is a real example of how highfalutin economics and tariffs turn
into the real life of people's businesses.
BUTLER: Yes, look, on average, the consumer changes their tree every five to six years. We have the data that shows that. So it is a discretionary
item. When people move home, when people upgrade downgrade or like you said want a different style, they change their tree.
You know, one of the things that you know, we talk about is we really don't sell trees, wreaths or garlands, we sell joy, you know, for six weeks of
the year, consumers around America, and there is about 75 million households in America that have an artificial tree.
[16:25:10]
Consumers around America gather in front of that tree for six weeks, and so what we really sell is joy. You know, we did focus groups a few weeks ago
to understand what people are looking for and understand what these trees mean to them, people were crying in these focus groups, and I am not
actually making that up. It was quite remarkable that when it comes to Christmas and when it comes to the tree and when it comes to decorations,
its hyper emotional.
And so, you know, we know the President loves Christmas. We know that the administration loves Christmas. And so, you know, what we are saying is,
bring the joy back to Christmas and get us back to 2026.
QUEST: Final question, sir.
I've just been fascinated with this interview, listening to you. You have so many facts and I would say trivia and so many bits that you know about
how long the tree is, what people buy. What else can you tell me about our habits with Christmas trees?
BUTLER: So what people are looking for at Christmas trees are the most realistic, so they want realism. They want to set the things up quickly.
They want to be able to take them down quickly. And I will tell you, 85 percent of consumers choose artificial trees and 15 percent of consumers
choose real trees.
There is a reason for that. It is the convenience. It is the simplicity, and it is the cost amortized over five to six years.
QUEST: What do you have at home? I am going to regret asking this question because I think I know the answer. What do you have?
BUTLER: That's okay. I have -- I have a snowy blue comet. So it is a snowy tree with blue -- it is a blue tree with snow on it with a cool white
light. So a little bit different, a little bit extra. But you know, when you see green trees all day, Richard, you want a little bit of a change.
QUEST: Radical, radical, radical. You'll be having -- you'll be having goose instead of turkey next. Sir, I am grateful for your time. Have a good
Christmas, sir. Thank you.
BUTLER: You're welcome. Thank you.
QUEST: We need to come and visit and see some of your trees.
When we return, we are going to turn our attention back to our lead story tonight. So we told you, the U.S. Coast Guard is currently chasing a
sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Oil prices are responding. This is -- it is happening while you and I are talking. The
President is due to speak in the next five or ten minutes. It might be a little bit late, along with the Navy Secretary and the U.S. Defense
Secretary.
So we will be here and so will you. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:30:33]
QUEST: Hello. I'm Richard Quest. Together, we'll have a lot more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
We'll tell you about the rising tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela and what's happening in the oil market as a result.
And now, Santa's real address. No, we are not having any argument this year about it. It's in Norway. In that Christmas surprise of my own. It will get
to it after the headlines, because this is CNN, and on this network, the news always comes first.
Investigators in Russia say a Russian general was killed in an apparent car bombing on Monday. They have released video of a damaged vehicle in a
parking lot in southern Moscow. He was Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, who ran the Armed Forces operational training department. Investigative
Committee says it's looking into whether Ukraine special services were involved.
United States says it's in active pursuit of another oil tanker near Venezuela. It's under U.S. sanctions for links to Iran. It was on its way
towards Venezuela to pick up oil when the U.S. tried to intercept it on Sunday. The latest escalation in the Trump administration's pressure
campaign on Venezuela's Maduro regime.
Chris Rea, the musician behind the holiday song Driving Home for Christmas, has died. His family said he passed away on Monday in hospital after a
short illness.
Despite only learning to play as a guitar when he became 21, he went on to become an accomplished slide guitar player and record multiple platinum
selling records. Chris Rea was 74.
Oil prices today largely surged over the U.S. actions in Venezuela. Brent gained more than two percent, after U.S. Coast Guard began pursuing an oil
tanker. On Sunday, officials say they have intercepted a different tanker off to the coast of Venezuela a day earlier. It's getting a bit confusing,
and the number of tankers were talked about, I think it's three, including the ones that was the first taken.
Analysts had previously downplayed the risk of disruption to oil exports, and now, the market is concerned about supply, as well as Russia. Crude
accounts from -- crude in Venezuela is about one percent of oil -- of global supply.
Anna is with me.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER: Yes, well, we do have these supply concerns. But Richard, OPEC is looking at, you know, cutting
its production and winding its production cuts. And so, actually, there is this big glut that's expected next year. So, in terms of overall supply
globally, it's not looking too difficult. And gold as well today, another thing in markets that hit a record high as well, investors are flocking to
this safe haven asset.
You could say gold as well, has been one of the winners of this year. It's up around 69 percent And I thought, in order to demonstrate the winners of
this market in this year --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Oh, yes.
COOBAN: It will be fitting to do it under the guise of Christmas presents. So, in my box of tricks, I have things that have been on Santa's nice list
and naughty list.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Five gold rings. So?
COOBAN: Well, yes. Gold. So, gold has had a really fantastic year, and this is because investors flock to this metal when things are going a bit rough,
a bit tough. So, we've had some geopolitical upsets.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Thank you, (INAUDIBLE).
COOBAN: You might remember the Israel Iran conflict during June.
QUEST: Yes.
COOBAN: As well as Trump tariffs. And so, yes, that's really been on a tear this year.
QUEST: Gold chocolate biscuits.
COOBAN: And I don't know if you notice this, or you recognize this. This is a Labubu doll.
QUEST: I am familiar.
COOBAN: Yes. This has been --
QUEST: We'll sell it.
COOBAN: On the -- on the handbags of many a celebrity, Dua Lipa being one of them, David Beckham has one of this. And the company that makes them,
it's been on a tear this year as well. I was down Oxford Street a few weeks ago, and it --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Hold it up, so we can see it. OK.
COOBAN: And it, you know, there were queues snaking around the door, people lining up.
QUEST: So, why is it -- so, what's that got through the markets? Nothing.
COOBAN: Well, it's up -- it's up over 100 percent this year. It's one of this year's companies that had the most success on the market.
QUEST: And there is no obvious reason other than classic supply and demand. It became fashionable. It became fashionable. Everybody wanted it, and it
went through the roof.
COOBAN: And some fantastic marketing techniques as well. So, pop mart did this thing called the blind box, and this was a trend that went across
social media. Well, basically, you buy a Labubu doll, and you don't know what it looks like until you get it. So, it's almost like a box like this.
You sort of open it and find out what you are getting.
But then, of course, we also had some of the losers this year as well.
QUEST: Go on.
COOBAN: Stock market drops. This is a foam burrito. Just kind of illustrates you Chipotle. So, Chipotle is that train of restaurants in the
world, and they've had a really tough year.
[16:35:00]
This is a foam burrito. Just kind of illustrates you Chipotle. So, Chipotle is that chain of restaurants in the U.S.
QUEST: I'm for (INAUDIBLE) familiar.
COOBAN: And they have had a really tough year. Their stock is down.
QUEST: Yes.
COOBAN: Down 37 percent.
And that's really because their core customer group, young people, people on tend to be on lower incomes, they are really tightening their purse
strings?
QUEST: Now, you see. I suggest, but don't -- they had a CEO change a year or two ago, and he went off to Starbucks.
COOBAN: Starbucks. Yes.
QUEST: And arguably, there is something going on there that the new guy is in crisis, go -- or (INAUDIBLE) isn't good as the old one.
COOBAN: Well, the new guy has made it very clear that the competition he is trying to compete against is not other restaurants. It's simply people in
their kitchens, people buying groceries from the grocery store.
And then, lastly, we have got Ozempic. So, this is the blockbuster weight loss drug. We go the as well, made by Novo Nordisk, a Danish company. Now,
they were the most valuable company, the whole of Europe at the start of the year. They are now the eighth.
And this can be explained by rising competition. Eli Lilly in the U.S., they make Mounjaro.
QUEST: But the truth, but that the annoying part about is it was speculative to start with, it wasn't justified the rise, but the actual
product works extremely well.
COOBAN: The product works extremely well. But it's strange that, you know, it's now trading as if that boom had never happened. Its stocks have fallen
back because of this competition. And 2026 might be a very difficult year, because their patent for the active ingredient is going to expire in India
and China to massive markets.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Right.
What should I keep?
COOBAN: Those are all the presents. There's nothing after the box.
QUEST: You can have -- you can have the Ozempic back.
COOBAN: I'd like the gold actually.
QUEST: Have the gold. I'll keep the Labubu.
COOBAN: Pretend is real.
QUEST: All right. Thanks very much.
Now, if you are looking to see -- thank you very much. Happy Christmas.
If you are looking to see where Santa lives, of course, there is always this great dispute. Well, the official address in Norway's house is in a
town outside of Oslo. Thousands of letters arrive for Santa from around the world, and the locals who live and work there take their job as Santa's
helpers very seriously. So, I went to find out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: In Norway, this is the official address of Santa.
Located in the charming little town of Drobak, it is a Christmas-themed shop and post office which receives thousands of letters each year from
around the world.
EVA JOHANSEN, CO-FOUNDER, TREGAARDENS CHRISTMAS HOUSE: From Taiwan.
QUEST (voice over): And all of them addressed to Santa.
JOHANSEN: 10,000 to 15,000 letters.
QUEST (voice over): 10,000 to 15,000 letters. Right.
JOHANSEN: Yes.
QUEST: Now, here we go.
JOHANSEN: Yes.
QUEST: Let's have a look at what we have got.
JOHANSEN: Oh.
QUEST: So, these oak of Lord to come from everywhere.
JOHANSEN: Oh, is from Taiwan.
QUEST: Taiwan, yes.
QUEST (voice over): The shop is run by Eva Johansen, who is part post mistress and part elf. I just not.
The Santa in this part of Norway is a little bit different to the one with which we're all familiar.
QUEST: Santa Claus is a big, fat, jolly, man or woman these days. Yours is small, short, and with a weird face.
JOHANSEN: It is different. From all --
You see? She knitted sweaters, knickers, boots, and looks different.
QUEST: Why?
JOHANSEN: Because it is belongs to our culture over history, from all time.
QUEST (voice over): Eva the elf agreed to let me open and read a few of the letters that have been sent to Santa.
QUEST: Wants an MP3 player.
QUEST (voice over): Some of the content is a little surprising, but more of that in a moment.
In Norway, they take Christmas very seriously. After all, so many Christmas trees have grown here. And in December, everywhere is filled with twinkly
lights, trees and markets. This is one of the biggest and it's run by one of the country's most successful business leaders.
CARL OTTO LOVENSKIOLD, OWNER, BAERUMS VERK: We like the summers with the long light and bright days. But then, we had the pressure also enjoying the
four seasons, strong season, wonderful fall, the winter is now coming where we can go skiing and live a completely different lifestyle before summer
comes again.
Yes, we have adjust to the -- to the seasons and enjoy them.
QUEST: Enjoy them.
LOVENSKIOLD: That is very important.
QUEST: Right. Let's go have a look.
QUEST (voice over): Browsing for this.
QUEST: Look at that.
QUEST (voice over): Looking for that, enjoying the other. I could have spent many hours here filling stockings.
But back in Drobak, there were still letters to Santa.
QUEST: Oh, look at this.
QUEST (voice over): It had to be opened and read. Heartwarming messages the lot.
QUEST: Dear Santa Claus, my favorite holiday Christmas, is coming soon, which we --
Oh, look at that nice little hat. Oh, Uzbekistan.
Dear Santa Claus, Merry Christmas.
[16:40:02]
Can I have a froggy toy? From Hong Kong.
My daughter, dear, will turn five in December. She is kind to friends. She loves practicing K-Pop dancing.
QUEST (voice over): Before I left, there was one last letter thrust in front of me, and I was in for a shock.
QUEST: This year, our brother has been a very good boy, much like you, he is been traveling the world. It's highly likely he'll be working on
December. Is there any chance you could give him a small present in advance? Anything chocolate-related would, in our experience, work well.
Thank you very much. Beverly, Larae (PH), and Caroline (PH), my three sisters.
JOHANSEN: What?
QUEST: Yes, what a coincidence.
Well done. Thank you. I'll take that. Sorry, I'm taking this one with me.
QUEST (voice over): Now, I just have to wait and see whether Santa thinks I deserve that gold chocolate bar.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST (on camera): I told you. Lots of gold chocolate bars. Now, we are waiting for President Trump to make his announcement about new frigate
ships, a new type of battleship, amongst other things.
The big questioning, of course, because they are expected it will be -- it will be Donald Trump, along with Hegseth and the secretary of the Navy's,
they are going to expect to take questions. Venezuela will be high on the agenda in a moment. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Now, I have already committed one heresy, of course, by having Santa Claus, his home in Norway, I can feel the Scandinavian and countries
absolutely up in arms about it all. Well in Finland, where, of course, Santa's home is as well, reindeers are under threat. Can you believe it?
Herders have recorded a dramatic surge in the wolf population this year, Rudolph is in deep trouble. And one theory is that Finland's reindeer are
being killed by Russian wolves crossing the border.
[16:45:01]
And that could relate directly to the war in Ukraine. Isobel Yeung went to northern Finland with this dispatch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Russia's war in Ukraine is having far reaching and surprising impacts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
YEUNG (voice over): -- even hundreds of miles away here in Finland.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world flock here to the Arctic Circle.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a feeling that you came to see Santa.
YEUNG (voice over): Finnish legend has it that this is the home --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hooray! Santa!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.
YEUNG (voice over): -- of Santa Claus.
The iconic reindeer are at the heart of Finland's culture and economy. But Finland's reindeer are in trouble, thousands are showing up dead. And you
might be surprised to know who people here blame -- Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia's border with Finland stretches over 800 miles, the longest of any NATO country.
Juha Kujala lives just a few miles away. His family have been wrangling reindeer for over 400 years. He now sells reindeer everything. From
reindeer yoga --
YEUNG: Think like a reindeer.
YEUNG (voice over): -- to sleigh rides.
YEUNG: Oh, poor reindeer.
What is it that's killing the reindeer?
JUHA KUJALA, REINDEER HERDER: Wolf is the worst, and they just kill, kill, kill, kill. It's awful. This area was -- most of them come farther east --
the Russian side.
YEUNG: How do you know that?
KUJALA: You see the tracks. They come from the Russian side.
YEUNG: Why do you think there are more Russian wolves?
KUJALA: That's the Putin, who changed the world.
YEUNG: Putin?
KUJALA: Yes. The soldiers and the young hunters -- they hunt the wolves, but now, they are hunting people. In Ukraine, there's nobody anymore that
are left who is hunting wolves.
YEUNG: So, do you blame Vladimir Putin for these dead reindeer?
KUJALA: Who could I blame? I could blame the whole world -- why this has happened. It's getting worse after the Ukraine war.
YEUNG (voice over): In an effort to control the thriving wolf population, Russian men have long been paid bounties by the state for every wolf they
hunt. But experts who track the Russian military tell us that recruitment drives into the war in Ukraine have been intense, leaving fewer people to
hunt the wolves.
Now reports in Russian media say wolves are increasingly entering villages and towns and it seems they are crossing the border. Extensive wolf DNA
testing supports that theory.
In Finland, there is been a dramatic rise in wolves, which are killing reindeer in record numbers. Sightings like these are increasingly common
all along eastern Finland. That's something that will be difficult to stop as tensions along this over 800-mile border are at their highest point in
decades.
YEUNG: So, right now we are with some Finnish conscripts in the northernmost part of the European Union.
YEUNG (voice over): Finland has increased defense spending and is carrying out largescale military training.
YEUNG: Finland seems like a very optimistic but also very prepared country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's smart to prepare.
YEUNG (voice over): As Finland preps for the worst, Kujala is hoping for the best.
KUJALA: Hopefully, Mr. Trump, if you hear me, do everything to try to stop this war. If we cannot fix this wolf situation quickly some part of the
area is going to be without reindeers.
YEUNG: And what would that mean to you?
KUJALA: Like, somebody took my life away.
YEUNG (voice over): Isobel Yeung, CNN, in northern Finland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Indeed. I'll be right back. This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:51:24]
QUEST: In just a moment or two, top of the hour, actually, President Trump's expected to announce a new building -- ship building push at a
press conference in Mar-a-Lago,
The U.S. Navy announced on Friday it will commission a new class of frigates as part of a golden fleet. The U.S. has been building up its naval
forces in the Caribbean. President Trump is increasing pressure on Venice - - Venezuela. Excuse me.
I'm joined by our military analyst, Colonel Cedric Leighton.
So, a new ship or a new frigate also, let's not worry too much whether it's called the Trump battleship or the Trump frigate. What's the purpose of a
new ship?
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: So, one of the big things about this, Richard, is that it has to be something that is able to
confront other naval threats, like the modern Chinese naval threat. The Chinese have capabilities that would be able to destroy some of the
aircraft carriers that the United States currently has in its inventory.
So, these frigates would potentially be designed to help thwart that those kinds of attacks and basically help defend aircraft carriers as part of a
carrier battle group or some organization similar like that.
QUEST: I'm guessing that this has been in the works for some time. You can't throw together a plan to build new frigates in seven months, eight
months.
LEIGHTON: Right. So, there are about 40 ships that are in various stages of either planning or actual construction right now. There are, of course, a
whole bunch that are set to retire at this particular point in time. So, there are more that are set to retire than are being built. But the basic
idea is, is that there is a plan in place that the navy has had for some time to rebuild its fleet and to modernize the fleet.
QUEST: This is going to be expensive, isn't it?
LEIGHTON: Yes, $5 billion per ship. So, depending on how many they actually built.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: How much?
LEIGHTON: 5 billion, sir. 5 billion.
QUEST: I thought that -- hang on. I thought that got you an aircraft carrier.
LEIGHTON: Well, in some cases you did. Now, aircraft carriers would be a heck of a lot more than that. But yes, 5 billion is something that you can
expect each of these ships to cost. That's based on some of the estimates that some of the naval think tanks and maritime organizations have come up
with.
So, we'll see whether that's actually going to work out that way. But the basic projections are 5 billion per ship.
QUEST: Whole business is extremely expensive, isn't it? I was reading about the new Ajax tank, or military vehicle that the British have got that they
can't use. I'm not sure whether you're familiar with that, because, apparently it vibrates too much, and people are starting to feel sick on
it.
Now, you've got ships, you've got new planes coming in, the F-47 I think is what they are calling it, which is coming in for the Air Force.
So, this is a dramatic upheaval and uptick in spending, followed on, of course, in Europe, by what we're seeing from Germany and other countries.
LEIGHTON: Yes. So, this is going to be very interesting for the defense industry, because on the one hand, you have the national security strategy
of the United States, which really talks about a retrenchment back into the Western Hemisphere.
But on the other hand, you have this whole construction effort, the Air Force, like you mentioned, with the F-47 and the Navy, with this fleet,
this extra addition to the fleet of around 40 or so ships, maybe more.
That, of course, is a big drop in the -- in the proverbial defense bucket, and that's going to really cause some interesting perturbations, not only
in the U.S. defense market, but also, as you mentioned, in Europe and even in Asia as well.
[16:55:14]
QUEST: So, in the Vanity Fair article, Susie Wiles, the chief of -- White House Chief of Staff, you'll have read. She says, when you talk about the
deep state, what you are talking about is the military industrial -- or the industrial military complex, if you will. The what -- in the old days, we -
- you and I are old enough to remember these to be the phrase the beltway bandits.
LEIGHTON: Yes.
QUEST: Whether they used to be called.
And yet, for an administration that was supposed to stop all of this, the amount of military spending is emboldening the power of the military
complex.
LEIGHTON: Absolutely. And you know, you have to follow the money, right? Richard, and when you look at the way they're doing this, the military
industrial complex, as Eisenhower and Susie Wiles have mentioned, is going to be quite well off because they are going to have to be spending money,
they are going to have to meet quality definitions, quality milestones, and they are going to have to build something that can actually be deployed.
QUEST: Cedric, before we leave you always showing your family a very good, peaceful, happy Christmas, or whatever it is you may be celebrating, and
always, thank you for being always so charitable with your time and taking our impertinent questions on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
LEIGHTON: Absolutely, Richard.
QUEST: Thank you, sir. Thank you.
We, you and I will take a "PROFITABLE MOMENT" now after the break. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: And a partridge in a pear tree.
You know, that piece of music, tonight's "PROFITABLE MOMENT". That piece of music, I recorded, I was with the recording 17 odd years ago.
The Salvation Army Band is part of the tradition here on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, as we look at the PNC and how much it's gone up. Tradition is
what we're all about on this program, because it's only when you know where you've been and where you are that somehow you can work out where you're
going to be next. Which is why we make no apology. I love doing that.
Every PNC tells us how much the 12 Days of Christmas has cost. And again, it's important to know just why? Because it gives us perspective. It tells
us where we've been, where we are, and where we are going to next.
[17:00:04]
And so, that's why this week, we'll be here today and tomorrow. And then, we're in to Christmas. And then, onwards.
I'm going to miss it eventually. That's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I am Richard Quest. Whatever you are up to in the hours ahead, I hope it is
profitable. I will be with you tomorrow.
END
