Return to Transcripts main page
Quest Means Business
Netanyahu Blasts Iran Nuclear Deal; Sanctions Bite Iranian Economy; Iran Reacts to Netanyahu Speech; Netanyahu Says Lifting Sanctions Emboldens Iran; US Stock Markets Close Lower; Ford "Laser-Focused" on European Markets; Unemployment Falls in Spain; Chinese Pollution Expose Goes Viral
Aired March 03, 2015 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE CLOSING BELL)
POPPY HARLOW, HOST: Markets take a step back after Monday's record session. It is Tuesday the 3rd of March.
Tonight, the danger of unshackling Iran's economy. Benjamin Netanyahu issues a controversial warning to the US Congress.
Also, an urgent problem lands in Hillary Clinton's inbox. Caught using personal e-mail for all of her work.
Also, driving through the downturn. Bosses from Ford and Mercedes tell us why they are optimistic about Europe.
This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Poppy Harlow.
Good evening and welcome to the program. Tonight, the Israeli prime minister has delivered a scathing indictment of a proposed nuclear
agreement with Iran. Mr. Netanyahu saying the deal between Iran and world powers would, quote, "all but guarantee that Iran would get nuclear
weapons." The prime minister warned lifting sanctions will only embolden the Iranian regime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Would Iran be less aggressive when sanctions are removed and its economy is stronger? If Iran
is gobbling up four countries right now while it's under sanctions, how many more countries will Iran devour when sanctions are lifted?
Would Iran fund less terrorism when it has mountains of cash with which to fund more terrorism? Why should Iran's radical regime change for
the better when it can enjoy the best of both worlds: aggression abroad, prosperity at home?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: The prime minister also saying that a deal essentially means drawing a path to Iran becoming a nuclear power. Also, reaction from the
White House very swift. US president Barack Obama saying the Israeli prime minister offered nothing new, no solution.
We are covering the prime minster's speech from every angle. Fred Pleitgen is one of the few Western journalists inside of Tehran. First we
go to the White House where our Michelle Kosinski is standing by.
And Michelle, I was watching you as you were questioning White House press secretary Josh Earnest today, asking him if he believes that
Netanyahu in this address really violated this trust between allies. What did he say to you?
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He didn't want to answer that question directly, really. He said that he didn't want to
politicize it, that it's really up to the prime minister to do what he feels necessary to do.
And the White House has kind of taken that line over the last few days leading up to this. This has been a very dramatic build-up with strong
debate on both sides of whether this speech should have even happened.
But what the White House did say unequivocally just yesterday was that if Israel continues to leak out details about these negotiations, then that
would be a betrayal of trust between allies, and that's not the way allies are supposed to act with each other, Poppy.
HARLOW: I wonder what, from your perspective in Washington, surprised you, if anything, about the prime minister's remarks. Everyone across the
board says he successfully gave the address. And it was, of course, in part rhetoric. But did they feel like it was effective?
KOSINSKI: I think it was dramatic. It was emotional. It was laid out systematically to look at each point as what has leaked out already
concerning these negotiations. I think it was just a scathing blasting of the deal as it is.
And I think some feel the way the White House responded to one part of it, that there's -- the logic is what they don't agree with. The prime
minister -- I think this is interesting -- the prime minister laid out, OK, if he hates this deal so much and what the potential outcomes would be,
well, what's the alternative?
So, he laid out a couple of points that Iran should do before a deal is made, and they were pretty simple but pretty big points. Stop being
aggressive with Iran's neighbors, stop exporting terror, and stop threatening Israel.
But at the same time, almost in the same breath, the prime minister is saying that Iran can't change and won't change, so there should be no deal.
So, the White House is saying, well, if you think Iran isn't going to change, then there's basically going to be no deal anyway, if those are the
strictures --
HARLOW: Right.
KOSINSKI: -- going into negotiations. So, I don't know that the prime minister really laid out what would be a viable plan, but he seems to
think that really anything is better than this.
HARLOW: And very interesting to see he began those remarks praising the president and talking about the close friendship between our two
nations, and then he jumped into the criticism. Michelle Kosinski for us at the White House this evening. Thank you, Michelle, I appreciate it.
Now, let's go to Tehran because the aim of the sanctions is to force Iran into a decision: a nuclear program or a prosperous economy. A report
from the Congressional Research Service finds that sanctions are indeed hurting Iran.
In 2013, Iran's economy shrank for the first time in two decades. All told, the US Treasury estimates the Iranian economy is 15 to 20 percent
smaller than it would be right now without these sanctions when you look at a number of factors here.
Crude oil exports have fallen around 60 percent. Of course, we've seen the dramatic decline in oil prices. That has sharply reduced the
revenue that Iran gets from the oil that it does manage to sell.
Iran's citizens have had to deal with the rampant price increases they've been seeing. Look at these inflation numbers. Inflation is
thought to be around 25 percent a year. It had been as high as 70 percent a year by some estimates in Iran.
Senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen joins us from Tehran tonight. As I said, one of the few Western journalists within Tehran. And
what I'm interested in and the perspective you have that we don't have here is what the average person is saying in Tehran tonight.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the average person certainly is hurting from the sanctions. That's something
that we heard today from many people when we actually went out.
However, I'm not sure that that necessarily means that Iran's front, as far as in nuclear negotiations are concerned, is crumbling. Because one
of the things that we have to keep in mind is that while many people are hurting very badly from the sanctions and certainly want the sanctions to
end, there still is a big deal of national pride.
And certainly the nuclear program appears to be part of national pride, where many people say they believe that Iran should have at least a
peaceful nuclear program.
So, as you can expect, the reactions from many people here were quite vicious. However, it was also interesting to see, Poppy, how many people
were actually interested in the speech. Let's have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): It's not a surprise that Benjamin Netanyahu's speech didn't get much live airplay in Tehran, but many here certainly
followed what Israel's prime minister had to say, and the vast majority didn't like it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: America's trying to reach something with Iran, agreement. But Netanyahu, Israel, is trying to make it stop doing it,
they're banning us.
PLEITGEN: The nuclear negotiations and the looming deadline for a framework agreement are among the biggest topics in Iran these days. While
most are cautiously optimistic, others say they don't believe a deal will come through.
PLEITGEN: Are you confident that there will be an agreement?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
PLEITGEN: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because Iran insists to finish this problem. Also, America insists to finish this problem during the presidency of
Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They made us lose hope in everything. I don't think. I don't think so. I don't have belief in anything.
PLEITGEN: It remains unclear how much of its atomic capabilities Iran is willing to give up in exchange for sanctions relief. Most Iranians
believe their country has a right to develop a nuclear program, especially a peaceful one.
PLEITGEN (on camera): Nuclear technology is a thing of national pride for many people here, but if you talk to people, they'll tell you they
badly want the sanctions to be lifted so that they can finally get direct investment into this country and have a chance for economic development.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The West is worried that Iran could work to make a bomb if its uranium enrichment isn't effectively controlled. The
IAEA says Tehran has not given it enough information to prove the nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes.
Mohammad Marandi, a professor at Tehran University says he believes fear of Iran's atomic ambitions are overblown.
MOHAMMAD MARANDI, PROFESSOR, TEHRAN UNIVERSITY: Well, in a poll carried out in Iran a month ago, 70-some percent of Iranians believe that
the nuclear program is completely peaceful. And in addition to that, the fact that the religious authorities in Iran have given fatwas against
nuclear weapons adds to this argument.
PLEITGEN: But fatwas will do little to ease the skepticism in Western countries, while many Iranians hope an agreement will come together that
will ease their economic pain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: So, as you can see, Poppy, it still seems as though the negotiations here could go either way, whether or not an agreement will be
reached.
Certainly, one of the things that we always have to keep in mind when we talk about these nuclear negotiations is that any agreement from the
Iranian side that's reached, the negotiators for the Iranians are going to have to defend that against a lot of hardliners here at home as well.
There are a lot of members of parliament here in Tehran who feel that Iran should have walked away from negotiations a long time ago and are even
willing to put up with an extension of the sanctions regime, Poppy.
HARLOW: And we heard Netanyahu say today, look, even if Iran walks away again, just wait, they will come back to the table. We shall see how
it all plays out, the deadline looming just a few weeks from now. Fred Pleitgen, thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Well, Patrick Clawson is the director of research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The organization says its mission is to
advance a balanced understanding of American interests in the Middle East. We should note, it has been associated with the pro-Israel lobby. Patrick
joins me now from Washington.
Good to have you on the program, sir. And let me begin with this. Some, including David Cohen at Treasury, have said look, Iran's economy is
up against a wall and it's not going to recover unless it reaches a nuclear deal with the United States. You say that is not the case.
PATRICK CLAWSON, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE: The Iranians have taken the hard steps necessary to adjust to the sanctions.
The parliament, the Majles in Iran, just approved the new budget for the year, just approved it yesterday. And that budget assumes that the
sanctions remain unchanged.
HARLOW: Right.
CLAWSON: So, David Cohen is correct that Iran could be in a much better position economically if the sanctions were lifted, but the Iranians
have taken the hard steps needed to adjust to these sanctions, which is why some in Congress and Mr. Netanyahu argue that new sanctions are needed if
we're going to press Iran hard enough to get a better deal.
HARLOW: But I do wonder, we just heard from Fred Pleitgen, who is in Tehran, saying although many Iranians feel a sense of national pride, they
want to see their nuclear program move forward, they also want to see their economy do better.
And for the average person trying to run a business there and dealing with inflation at these levels, do you really believe that they feel that
they can live with this in the long term, should these sanctions even be ratcheted up?
CLAWSON: Iranians want to see a better economic situation, and they fully accept the argument that President Rouhani made in his presidential
campaign that the only way to improve the economy is to reach a compromise with the West about the nuclear program that will cause the sanctions to be
lifted.
But unfortunately, the main decisions are made by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and he has given clear instructions that Iran has
to develop an economy of resistance in which Iran is prepared to continue to live with these sanctions indefinitely.
HARLOW: Can Iran's economy persist in a mildly successful way, if you will, given what we know about these sanctions, if crude prices stay as low
as they are, if oil stays as cheap as it is?
CLAWSON: It's going to be tough for Iran, no question about it. But Iran has substantial foreign exchange reserves, and Iran's budget deficit
is less than that in the United States relative to the size of its economy.
So, Iran's not suffering the way in which some people imagine it is suffering. It's just not prospering the way it could.
HARLOW: Patrick, good to have you on the program. Patrick Clawson for us the evening. I appreciate it.
Well, stocks are leaving their record-setting ways behind, at least for the day, as markets around the world lose ground. We're going to find
out what is weighing on investors' minds. That is straight after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Well, after Monday's -- really, Monday saw all kinds of record-shattering numbers for the stock market and milestones set, stocks
in the United States did reverse course on Tuesday. The Dow finished down 85 points. The S&P and the NASDAQ followed right behind with losses as
well.
Alison Kosik joining me now in New York to discuss. We saw this big day for stocks yesterday, the NASDAQ closing at a level we haven't seen
since 2000. So, why the downturn today? Anything to do with Washington, politics?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: What's interesting is Wall Street did have its eye on the Netanyahu speech. That sort of made
sentiment a little more hesitant in the market, but I think what you saw were investors really looking for an excuse to take some profits off the
table.
And for that, they turned to auto sales missing expectations. Although you saw these automakers have higher sales --
HARLOW: Right.
KOSIK: -- most of them, at least, except Ford, of course, you saw them miss expectations. And the way it goes is February is one of those
months, you had the Presidents' Day holiday, automakers think of it as the kickoff to the big sales event for them. So their worry is, slow month,
slow year.
HARLOW: Right.
KOSIK: So, you saw that worry play out in the markets. And also just an excuse after you saw these record highs, not just for the NASDAQ
yesterday, but for the S&P 500 hitting a new record, the Dow hitting a new record. So, you saw an excuse to pull back.
HARLOW: Are the traders that you're talking to and the investors you're talking to at all concerned that this market is overblown?
KOSIK: It depends on who you talk to. Many say, actually, no, because what they see happening is this -- we talked about this yesterday a
bit -- is this econo-thaw. Not only just a thaw with the cold, chilly winter conditions, which did, some, many believe have an impact on those
auto sales.
HARLOW: Yes.
KOSIK: But also a thaw in the data that we're going to see. The expectation is the data will improve and stocks will reflect that.
HARLOW: All right, Alison, good to have you on. Thank you.
KOSIK: You bet.
HARLOW: Well, she just mentioned Ford. We're going to talk to Ford's executive vice president for Europe, who says the company is "laser-
focused" on trying to turn around its struggling business in Europe. Earlier today, I spoke with James Farley from the Geneva Motor Show. I
asked him why the company recently lowered Ford's European outlook again.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMES FARLEY, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR EUROPE, FORD MOTOR COMPANY: We continue to make a lot of progress and expect to financially in 2015.
We are laser-focused on returning the business back to profitability. We made a lot of progress last year. We did lose $1.1 billion, but that was
about $400 million better than the previous year.
The reason why we don't want to give specific guidance as to when we get back to profitability or how much progress we're going to make this
year, it's just the headwinds. We're seeing lower discount rates, our pension liabilities are growing because of that.
And also Russia. Russia is a very volatile place right now. The market was 2.5 million units last year, could be down 2.5, 2.8 this year.
There's just too much uncertainty with those headwinds to give a specific forecast.
HARLOW: Let's talk about Russia and how great your concern is for Russia. IHS Automotive expecting a 27 percent decline in auto sales in
Russia this year compared to 2014. How do you fight that?
FARLEY: Well, it's a great question. First of all, we're very committed to long term in Russia because it could be if not the, one of the
largest markets in Europe. And yes, it's declining, but also, the inflation is really costing a lot of pricing in the market, which is really
a headwind for the industry. But there's still a very strong middle class, it's a really important, vibrant market for Ford.
HARLOW: How much confidence do you think, Jim, investors can have right now in Ford in Europe, and confidence that Europe can become a
profitable market for the company given all these headwinds? How much confidence do you think investors should have when it comes to Europe?
FARLEY: They should be very confident. We have made real progress on the three parts of our plan. Cost, we've closed Genk and made a lot of
progress with our union partners in Germany. We've announced we've made real progress in top line revenue growth, even share growth last year.
And financial performance. We improve year-over-year $400 million in our base operation. And that was despite a lot of headwinds in Russia.
HARLOW: You've made it very clear that you hope that Britain does not exit the European Union. Why?
FARLEY: Well, we've had -- consistent with our statements in the past about the UK, we really feel like being part of the European Union is the
right thing for our business.
HARLOW: Why is that? I read that Ford has one in three engines that come from the UK. Is that the case? And that you've described it as sort
of the centerpiece of Ford's global enterprise. Is that a big driver in this?
FARLEY: Well, we just think one common economic community is really important for making investments and for the business climate as a whole.
We have about 14,000 employees in the UK, and we have a capacity of about 2 million units of engine capacity in the UK, and about a third of our global
powertrains do come from the UK.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Our thanks to Jim Farley for that. Elsewhere in Europe, Spain's unemployment crisis is showing some positive signs of easing. The
number of jobless people in Spain fell by more than 13,000 in February. The government says that is the biggest monthly decline in 14 years. More
than 4.5 million people in Spain, though, are still without work.
Valentijn van Nieuwenhuijzen is chief economist at ING Investment Management. He joins us now from London. Good to have you on the program,
sir. And let's begin with these numbers. So, 13,500 new jobs created in Spain last month. That is good, but do you think it is enough to say that
Spain has turned a corner?
VALENTIJN VAN NIEUWENHUIJZEN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, ING INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT: Well, Spain is turning the corner gradually. This is not the
only piece of good news coming out of Spain. Certainly, the economy last year already saw growth for the the first time in many years.
And you're seeing on many other indicators also point to improvement in the export performance, showing that Spain has indeed improved its
competitiveness, which is a key metric to look at for Southern Europe, as we all know, because it was undermined so much in the run-up to this
crisis.
So, yes, Spain is on the right track, and it's giving a very nice example to some of the other countries who are struggling still a bit more
in the South.
HARLOW: And we know Spain -- the government really did an about-face, aligning with the pro-austerity measures of Berlin and taking that path.
But at the same time, when you look at some of these numbers, you still have over 50 percent of people under 25 years old in Spain unemployed.
That is a huge youth unemployment problem, and I wonder how much it concerns you in the long run?
VAN NIEUWENHUIJZEN: Well, you're absolutely right. And obviously, for the long run, that raises all kinds of questions with the loss of skill
that is taking place --
HARLOW: Right.
VAN NIEUWENHUIJZEN: -- in young workers and what that does to the long-run potential growth of the Spanish economy. But nevertheless, I
think we are pointing out -- you should point out that it is still a long road to go.
But Spain is very different than, for example, Greece, really now showing signs of crawling out of that enormous abyss that it dropped into
in the euro crisis. And that is, at least, a hopeful sign. We're not there yet, but Spain seems to be on a pretty healthy track now.
HARLOW: I want to switch gears and talk about Greece because Spain's finance minister did come out and say they are looking at a possible third
bailout for Greece somewhere between 30 to 50 billion euros. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the eurogroup saying that is not being discussed
at this time. But do you think that we might see that?
VAN NIEUWENHUIJZEN: Well, the numbers, obviously, are still very speculative. But obviously there's more and more rumors now that in the
end, Greece will probably need a third package.
What is also very early now is indeed the gap that is opening up, not only economically, but also politically between Spain and Greece, where
Spain is really aligning itself with, let's say, the North, not only the Dutch, but also the Germans certainly. And thereby giving a lot of
pressure on Greece to accept all the conditions that will be tied into this new bailout package if they will need it later this year.
HARLOW: Valentijn van Nieuwenhuijzen, good to have you on the program this evening. Thank you for joining me.
Coming up next, a new documentary in China shining a big spotlight on the country's pollution problem. The surprisingly blunt accusations in the
film and the reaction it is sparking inside of China is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: A new documentary on China's air pollution problem has gone viral in the country, setting off a ferocious debate. Millions of people
have watched it. It is a two-hour long documentary, called "Under the Dome," since it went online on Saturday. Manisha Tank has the details for
us from Hong Kong.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANISHA TANK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This documentary has sparked a national debate about one of China's biggest problems. It was
only released online on Saturday night, but it's already had more than 100 million views.
It's called "Under the Dome," and many internet users are comparing it to Al Gore's Oscar award-winning documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." In
this film, journalist Chai Jing tries to find the answers to three questions: What is smog? Where does it come from? And what can be done
to tackle it?
She approaches the documentary from the viewpoint of a concerned mother, and she blamed the problem on the state-run oil industry, saying
the sector has failed to improve pollution standards as it puts profits above public health.
Now, these state-owned enterprises have not responded to CNN's request for comment. But a senior engineer did post an online message, stating his
personal view that denies the assertion.
Some viewers agree with the filmmaker. "Why make our environment the sacrifice for coal mine owners making money? Why is the environmental
department always weak when facing major polluters?"
But others are critical of the documentary. This Weibo user writes, "Besides criticism and righteous anger, nothing was reasoned. She didn't
look at how to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of policy developments. She also did not define property rights or provide cost
alternatives to that development."
Well, smog is a major issue in China. Air quality levels in the capital, Beijing, are often so bad that many people are forced to wear
masks when they go outside. Now, Chinese president Xi Jinping has declared keeping the sky blue in the country is one of his top priorities. And it's
one of the main issues on the agenda for China's top political advisors that began meeting in Beijing today.
But while officials are likely discussing solutions behind closed doors, the government has ordered any references to "Under the Dome" to be
scrubbed from the home pages of China's web portals and news sites. CNN has reached out to China's government for comment but got no response.
Manisha Tank, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Coming up, Hillary Clinton criticized for using her own private e-mail account for official business at the State Department.
Well, a lot of people are talking about this in Washington. We'll have a live report for you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. The next half hour of QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, we will have BlackBerry's chief executive on to tell us why
his new smartphone can win back millennials.
Also, the self-proclaimed world's best gamer sits down with me to tell me how video games can be a very big force for good.
Before that, though, these are the top news headlines that we are following this hour.
The Israeli prime minister says the Iranian regime poses a danger not just to Israel but to the entire world. His comments came earlier today in
a controversial address to a joint meeting of Congress. US president Barack Obama said Netanyahu had offered nothing new, no solutions.
Meanwhile, negotiations over Iran's nuclear program went ahead as scheduled. US secretary of state John Kerry met with Iran's foreign
minister Mohammed Javad Zarif in Switzerland for a second day.
Murdered Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov has been buried in Moscow. Thousands packed the streets as his remains were driven to the
cemetery. Police have yet to arrest anyone in connection with his killing on Friday night.
An investigation into the US city of Ferguson, Missouri, has found routine discrimination against African-Americans by local police there.
The US Attorney General's office ordering the Justice Department to investigate the police force after protests that followed the shooting of
unarmed teenager Michael Brown last year. The report found that African- Americans were targeted disproportionately for traffic stops, use of force, and in jail sentences.
Well Hillary Clinton is just one of many notorious BlackBerry addicts. The picture that she uses for her Twitter is from her time as secretary of
state snapped on the way to meet with rebel leaders in Tripoli. It shows her with her trusty e-mail companion.
It turns out those e-mails that she was sending to some of the most powerful people in the world came from her own personal e-mail account.
Now there are concerns that may have been against the rule - rules - that she did. For more, our senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar who
follows every single step of Hillary Clinton joins me now from Washington.
Brianna, when you look at this in the big picture, right? If she runs, how big of a deal do you think this is or is just what Washington is
talking about today?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think this is something that Washington will be talking about and sort of
obsessing about for a little while yet. But I think it's hard to tell, Poppy, if this is something that will really change voters' minds. I think
that maybe it will - I mean, in my estimation, I think it might affect the minds of voters who maybe don't know Hillary Clinton very well, namely
younger voters.
But I think for people who've spent a lot of time sort of familiar with the Clintons from the 1990s, maybe this doesn't come as a surprise.
What happened here was it really - it appears to be a - that she broke regulations and those close to her broke regulations because even as far
back as 2009 when she was secretary of state, it was supposed to be that e- mails would be preserved on the appropriate department - in this case the State Department's - system.
Well, what we've learned is that she relied solely on personal e-mail. We know that in 2014 her - she and her team turned over 55,000 pages of e-
mails to the State Department. This was part of an archiving request that the Obama Administration asked of a number of secretaries of state.
But we also understand that there were 300 e-mails from that that were then turned over to the Select Committee on Benghazi.
What we're hearing is that - from her team - is that most of these e- mails were already two people who worked at the State Department, so they were already in the State Department system. But they're not saying that
all of them were. And if all of them weren't, that is a break in this regulation.
HARLOW: Yes.
KEILAR: It kind of speaks to this narrative that a lot of people believe in the Clintons - in Hillary Clinton - that they maybe don't
believe that they have to abide by certain rules that maybe in some cases, you know, they're just sort of skirting thing.
HARLOW: Yes.
KEILAR: And this doesn't really help dispel that notion.
HARLOW: It doesn't. And earlier today the White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest made some comments about how employees in the White
House are supposed to handle their e-mails properly. I'm wondering if Clinton's team has responded to those remarks yet?
KEILAR: You know, they haven't responded to those remarks and I've requested by e-mail and phone - I think at this point about eight or nine
times -
HARLOW: Yes.
KEILAR: -- with Hillary Clinton's camp and I haven't heard back in any real way other than to say they'd get back to me but they haven't.
Hillary Clinton as secretary of state was subject to the Federal Records Act. It's different than what the White House is subject to. That's the
Presidential Records Act.
And I'll tell you, having covered the White House before covering Hillary Clinton, Poppy - if you're dealing with White House officials, a
lot of them don't keep diaries, they don't keep journals, they just write kind of little lists. They're very, very aware of the fact that everything
that they do, everything they e-mail could be archived and later, as you know, released to the public.
HARLOW: Yes.
KEILAR: So you want to avoid there being something embarrassing. And even though Hillary Clinton was working at the State Department, it's a
slightly different regulation, it's still important for the preservation of historical documents. And it appears that at this case that maybe she and
those very close to her are kind of the arbiters of what is released instead of it being someone at the State Department who gets to decide or
really sort of have a hold on these emails.
HARLOW: Yes. Let's hope that they get back to your nine requests for an answer. Brianna Keilar on top of the story. Thank you, Brianna. Good
to have you on.
Well BlackBerry, aiming at a much younger audience for its new smartphone.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
Narrator: You mean business and so do we. Introducing the all-new BlackBerry Leap.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
HARLOW: There it is. That slogan sounds familiar. Anyway, the new Leap ditches the hard keyboard for a touch screen in the hope of attracting
young millennial entrepreneurs. The CEO of BlackBerry John Chen said today's announcement does not change his overall vision for the company,
one that is focused on software and security. He spoke earlier to our Nina dos Santos.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
JOHN CHEN, CEO, BLACKBERRY: Well we obviously it's a traditional handset makers. What I'm trying to do is to create a software business,
and so that's a new initiative for us.
NINA DOS SANTOS: CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: What is the logic in creating a software business? Doesn't it naturally
cannibalize on the market that you already have in the smartphone business because obviously people use your BlackBerry as well for the QWERTY
keyboard, and with this new phone that you've announced, you've decided to get rid of the QWERTY keyboard.
CHEN: Oh, actually that's a good question. So first of all, the new phone - we've been very focused on QWERTY keyboards and will continue to do
that. All the new phones that's going to come out the balance of the year is going to have QWERTY keyboards.
And -- but the phone that we announced today is an all touch because there's a segment of the market, especially the entry enterprise segment
market, they wanted a more of a touch phone. So we've filled that gap of the market by creating a touch device.
Our software actually is a interesting question. Our real `secret sauce' of the company's in the security and encryption and how to manage
productivity and communications. And there's a lot of knowledge and know- how, but there's a lot of tablets -- we have 45,000 tablets in the company. And so, you know, I figure that when I came to the company, this is
something that we really should monetize for the shareholders and so this is why you see us building a software business.
Another way to also think about it is where our device are very high- end oriented and regulated industry-oriented, there's a huge market out there which are the consumer base which - if I (ph) just focus on it, it
might be a little too late (ph) and not a lot money in there, but if I focus on value added to that market, then I can serve a much, much bigger
segment we call the addressable market.
So this is the strategy. The strategy is software that goes across any devices and have very high-end concentrated hardware (inaudible).
DOS SANTOS: But in that strategy if you look two or three years from here, will we come to a point where BlackBerry will cease to make phones
and just make software for the career side of people who want to use and iPhone or an Android operating system instead?
CHEN: Well, I think in about two or three years' time, that will be a little bit more ambitious. Phone business today on the hardware side is
still about 73 to 75 percent of my total revenue with the company. There is a sprate (ph) segment in the government and financial and medical world,
in the legal world that rely on BlackBerry. They rely on the BlackBerry security and encrypted devices.
So I doubt very much we will completely get out of the device business. I'm trying to build a focus software business that is big enough
to help the company to grow faster.
DOS SANTOS: Can you sum up your vision for BlackBerry? This is a company that has been through such difficult times. Some analysts had
written off the future of your company. Where do you want to take BlackBerry today?
CHEN: Well, as I said, it's going to be -- in the last 15/16 months we've been the company, the company is now stabilized financially with a
good road map, and the good road map is focused very much on security encryption/productivity side of the equation.
Very much focused on the segmental (ph) markets that are the regulator industry, the high-end enterprises. And we're going to do software, we're
going to do hardware, we're going to evolve in IoT, we have connected cars, we have connected homes, connected medical devices. Our strategy
(inaudible) will continue to evolve. I think we're going to see some really good days ahead sometime in the future. But you got to give us
time.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
HARLOW: All right, Nina dos Santos. Thanks for that interview. Coming up, the top auto execs at the Geneva Motor Show weigh in on trends
in 2015. That is after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Well CEOs of the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland have expressed some optimism about sales in Europe in the coming years. The
chief at Renault-Nissan expects to see a recovery in the European market also. Carlos Ghosn seeing increased demand in the overall market for
crossover vehicles when it comes to Rolls Royce which we just had on the screen. And they are venturing off their normal course as the CEO is
saying they're developing an all-terrain vehicle.
Lamborghini's CEO telling us here at CNN that the market for super sports cars is growing in China. And Audi. Audi CEO expressing concern
that Russia is in a very weak position. Also, as you heard a little bit earlier in the program, Ford's executive vice president for Europe saying
the company is laser focused on turning around its sluggish business in that region.
And also when it comes to Daimler, Daimler very closely watching Europe, the chairman saying he is indeed optimistic about sales despite the
economic challenges in the region. Dieter Zetsche told our Jim Boulden that the auto market will see a recovery, he believes, in Europe.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
DIETER ZETSCHE, CEO, DAIMLER: Of course Europe is not the strongest place in the world as far as the economic development is concerned. But
they had reached very low volumes, and from that perspective we see a recovery which is good for us with our great new products being launched
everywhere. That we see additional momentum supporting us, so we are very optimistic for total global sales including the European ones.
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And I would imagine the Russia situation isn't helping. Do you feel any pinch there? Are you able
to continue to sell cars? Are people confident that they can continue to buy a Mercedes car in Moscow for instance?
ZETSCHE: Well it's quite strange. Last year we actually increased our sales as the only competitor in town, and this year - January and
February - again we had positive comparisons to last year. Of course the exchange rate has changed a lot. We have increased prices. We will have
to continue to do so, and at some point of time we definitely will feel the change in the Russian economy. But so far we're fine.
BOULDEN: There's a lot of talk of a Google car, a lot of talk of an Apple car. People are talking a lot about technology and the car dealer -
the car manufacturers - these days. What work are you doing with the likes of Google and Apple and are you worried that they may be one day competing
directly with you?
ZETSCHE: Well of course we have points where we meet today between these two technology directions and so far we are working together. If
they decided to become competitors, they would be highly welcome as far as respect for what they have accomplished in their own industries. On the
other hand, we are confident based on 130 years of history and experience that we are ready for any kind of competition.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
HARLOW: Well a year after the disappearance of flight MH370, investigators have yet to locate that missing plane. To prevent the same
thing from ever happening again, satellite companies and international agencies have proposed tracking planes in near real time. But so far only
one small Canadian airline has really bought into the idea. Paula Newton has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It seems to defy common sense that a small regional airline that flies to Canada's north and
high arctic can get it done when others can't. First Air is the first and so far the only airline in the world tracking its planes anytime, anywhere.
If this flight was having any kind of trouble, you'd know about it, right?
VIC CHARLEBOIS, FLIGHT OPERATIONS VICE PRESIDENT, FIRST AIR: Yes. Yes, I mean we're able to swing into action to provide support to the crew,
to the aircraft, to the passengers for whatever they need to get them safely on the ground. That's been a big bonus for us.
Female Voiceover: The system that could monitor the aircraft and automatically trigger a warning alert.
NEWTON: The system is called the Automated Flight Information Reporting System or AFIRS, developed by Canadian company FLYHT Aerospace
Solutions and here's how it works. There's a blue box inside the plane's electrical system that monitors location, flight path, fuel and engine
levels and that data is streamed from the aircraft in real time.
If anything abnormal happens, an event button is triggered and the ground crew will know exactly where the plane is and what the problem is.
CHARLEBOIS: Now we know about the event within 30 to 60 seconds. Historically it would have taken maybe an hour to find out that there was
an event. There's no air traffic control in the high North, it's procedural. You're not always able to talk directly to somebody on the
ground.
This is our Hercules that's out of the Calawit (ph), flying up to one of the diamond mines north of the Calawit (ph).
NEWTON: The system has been available for a few years and First Air says it's not prohibitively expensive. It gives the airline with a fleet
of about 20 the peace of mind to know it can track its fleet over the vast and harsh landscape of Canada's arctic.
So the question is if First Air can do it, why not others? What's taking so long for the airline industry to catch up? In the wake of the
MH370 tragedy, the International Civil Aviation Organization or ICAO says its members -- most major airlines around the world - will now adopt new
aircraft tracking standards by the end of next year. Those include tracking a plane's position at least every 15 minutes.
BENARD ALIU, PRESIDENT, ICAO: The aircraft tracking - the flight tracking -- will help to locate) an - the aircraft - after an accident.
But you will understand our priorities have always been given to those issues that would prevent the accident happening in the first place.
NEWTON: Knowing where a plane is anytime anywhere would have seemed like common sense. But MH370 proved it was instead a safety feature that's
not been implemented by most airlines around the world except one. Paula Newton, CNN Ottawa.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
HARLOW: Fascinating. We'll see if others jump onboard. Coming up, from the world of Warcraft to the world of philanthropy. Bachir Boumaaza,
also known to many in gaming as Athene has been called the best gamer in the world, hands down. He joins me live in the studio after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Well Bachir Boumaaza is used to taking on monsters. He has set records battling the Black Dragon and the maximum level of World of
Warcraft, also killing the Skeleton King in Diablo 3. He has been called the best gamer in the world, hands down. Also he's known by many of his
followers as Athene.
His popularity as a gamer has allowed him to take on monsters of a much more serious kind. He started a charity called Gaming for Good. He's
raised more than $15 million.
He works very closely with Save the Children. He has just returned from Liberia where he documented the efforts of those heroes that are
fighting Ebola and he continues to raise money through gaming. I'm proud to have him in the studio today. I would not want to take you on in a
video game ever. Thank you for being here.
BACHIR BOUMAAZA, "WORLD'S BEST GAMER": Thank you for having me.
HARLOW: The - very quickly - the concept behind Gaming for Good.
BOUMAAZA: So, game developers can donate games and then when people donate, they get points and in return they can actually give those points
to get free games. That's how it works.
HARLOW: This is no small idea -
BOUMAAZA: (LAUGHTER).
HARLOW: -- tens of millions of dollars have been raised. You just got back from Liberia - part of what you're using this money for now is the
fight against Ebola. How's it going?
BOUMAAZA: We're trying to raise funds for the recovery and people can do it through savethechildren.org/ebola, and since I've been there, I've
really been realizing how much - yes, how much efforts are needed to actually build up the country back up because like a lot of doctors died, a
lot of children like can go to school - a lot of orphans. And, yes, I think they can use all the help and that's why we're putting our efforts in
trying to fundraise for them.
HARLOW: You know it's interesting - you're known as the best gamer in the world, you're sponsored by Razer, like big companies, make a lot of
money off of this. You could just sort of sit back, rest on your laurels and literally play video games all day, but you don't. You made this
documentary, it's coming out, you are - you know - ambassador for Save the Children. I wonder where it comes within you - what motivated you to say
`I have to do more.'
BOUMAAZA: Well the thing is that I'm actually very privileged that I can make a living out of playing games and I really am very aware that like
a lot of young people - a lot of people that love games like - I really get to in touch with problems around the world. And I've always been very
active in philanthropy and trying to do good. So it's really amazing to be able to like build a bridge through gaming to all those gamers. And, yes,
like we've managed to raise more than $20 million, so -
HARLOW: It's incredible.
BOUMAAZA: -- it's incredible.
HARLOW: And you've also been able to reach now more than two million children really focusing on the huge problem of child mortality. I wonder
what has been your biggest challenge in doing this, because oftentimes when people try to tackle big problems, their eyes are open to the roadblocks.
BOUMAAZA: There have been quite a few roadblocks, and the thing is that sometimes -- yes, like one of the biggest roadblocks we have
experienced is that sometimes like people just aren't aware that, for example, like in Africa like that they are also people. And that's one of
the things that I've experienced the hardest when I was there. When I was back home I always checked statistics and stuff -
HARLOW: Yes.
BOUMAAZA: -- but when you are there, you see those children and them losing their families, it's all real people. And bringing that story
closer to people, I really believe in the good in people and that's also why I think we manage to raise so much because if you see that you can with
a small contribution save lives -
HARLOW: Right.
BOUMAAZA: -- why don't you do it?
HARLOW: While doing what you love. While gaming.
BOUMAAZA: Yes.
HARLOW: So I watched your TED talk that you gave recently and you tried to give an answer to man's greatest question, right? `Why are we
here?' And your conclusion is fascinating. And it is it's science although many people see it as sort of hollow and just data-driven and
numbers-based actually gives us morals and values and empathy.
BOUMAAZA: I believe so. Because if you study the brain - I did a lot of reading, I read a lot of books - you actually see that the empatic (ph)
part of the brain through evolution has evolved to a point where we have to take care of each other. So it's actually in our cells to be good.
HARLOW: You're young - how old are you? Can I ask?
BOUMAAZA: I'm 34.
HARLOW: You're - OK, so you have a long life ahead of you, my friend, and I wonder what you want to do next.
BOUMAAZA: What I would - I would love to meet the U.N. goals in 2030.
HARLOW: Set by the U.N.?
BOUMAAZA: Yes, indeed, I would love to meet that. I would also love to just be able to grow my audience and, yes, like just always be ahead of
my time because things are changing so fast - not always easy to be on the foreground. So I'm doing my best to just reach as many people as possible
and make a difference in the world.
HARLOW: And I do want to ask you about sort of the future of gaming, right? It is such a huge industry - a multi-billion-dollar industry - is
the future of gaming mobile or console?
BOUMAAZA: Actually I think the future of gaming is virtual reality.
HARLOW: Really?
BOUMAAZA: Yes.
HARLOW: Like Oculus?
BOUMAAZA: Yes, Oculus.
HARLOW: The Dagos (ph)?
BOUMAAZA: Yes, you also had like Razer working on their on OSVR and stuff and you also have like Valve coming out, you got like Sony coming out
with their own virtual headsets, and I really think like we're going to see a transitioning to that like in the coming years.
HARLOW: Wow. Thank you for coming on the program. Thank you for all the great work you're doing.
BOUMAAZA: Thank you for having me on the show.
HARLOW: It's really nice to meet you, we appreciated it. All right, we're going to be back with "Quest Means Business." We're going to game a
little bit in the break. We're going - I'm going to take him on. And we'll be back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Ukraine's central bank is taking desperate measures to stop the slide in its currency. The bank has raised its benchmark refinancing
rate to 30 percent. That is an increase of more than ten basis points. The hryvnia rose more than 9 percent against the dollar on Tuesday. It is
still down around 60 percent over the past year.
Tensions in the country are running high. Unfortunately it is another day and another brawl in Ukraine's Parliament.
(VIDEOCLIP - PARLIAMENT BRAWLING)
HARLOW: This time a dispute between the leader of the radical party and one of his former party members quickly escalating into blows before
other members - joined in there. Wow. Also the fight cut the parliamentary session as you would expect it short.
European stocks took a step back on Tuesday. In London, the FTSE closed down three quarters of a percent in Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich, all
those indexes finishing around 1 percent or more lower.
And after a record-breaking Monday, luck ran out for stocks in the United States. On Tuesday the Dow Jones Industrial average fell 85 points
on the day that is around a half of one percent, the S&P 500, also the tech-heavy NASDAQ followed in suit also, losing the gains they saw on
Monday. The NASDAQ closing below that key 5,000-mark.
That is "Quest Means Business." I'm Poppy Harlow in today for Richard. Thanks so much for joining me. Stay with CNN for the latest
news.
END
