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Quest Means Business

Testing Times for Oil Producers; Nigeria Reacts to Falling Oil Prices; Oil Outlook; Obama to Overhaul US Immigration; Businesses Favor Immigration Reform; Dow Hits New Record; Make, Create, Innovate: Spacecraft Look Back in Time

Aired November 20, 2014 - 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)

RICHARD QUEST, HOST: The Dow -- a record on the Dow Jones. The market is up quite sharply. We will tell you why investors are so

encouraged when the gavel is hit -- one, two, three. They always give three, I don't know why. It's Thursday, it's November the 20th.

Tonight, sliding oil prices push Nigeria into a currency crisis. We'll be talking to the Nigerian finance minister lives on QUEST MEANS

BUSINESS.

The US president Barack Obama is planning to overhaul immigration.

And a budget airline's battle for Norwegian Air. The chief exec quite literally has gone to Washington. Oh, and to QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

I'm Richard Quest, and of course, from Abu Dhabi tonight, I mean business.

Good evening tonight from Abu Dhabi. We're in a region where fortunes are closely tied to the price of oil, and if there was ever a testing

moment in times, this is now. Oil prices have fallen steeply as output from OPEC and the United States are in increasing competition. And a

forecast of future demand with slower economic growth from countries like China and the European Union, that has also lowered demand.

It is anyone's guess if OPEC will decide to produce less oil when ministers meet next week. If no action is taken, if prices keep falling,

then plenty of countries will feel the impact, and we are focusing on that tonight.

Because at the start of the year, a barrel of Brent cost about $110. Today, it's almost 30 percent lower, it's $78. Look at that steep decline.

Now, managing that decline -- excuse me -- would be difficult for any country or economy. And oil exporting countries rely heavily on oil prices

to balance their budgets. Analysts at Deutsche Bank think that in January, Brent was well above $100, most of the emerging economies with big oil

exports were generating more than enough income. Iran, Venezuela, Nigeria, they are exceptions.

That was back at the beginning of the year. Now, with oil below $80, countries rolling in money are now looking at deficits, expect Kuwait and

Qatar.

One country already suffering as the oil prices falls is Nigeria. The naira, the currency, has sunk to a record low against the dollar. Share

prices are tumbling for the third day in a row. The oil share index down 2.1 percent, down 20 percent for the year.

Nigeria relies heavily on oil. It generates 70 percent of the government's revenue. Nigeria finance ministers announce plans to counter

the effects. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is in London this evening and joins us. Minister, it is always good to have you on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. But this

time, you're now having to make some very uncomfortable, unpalatable cuts in your budget.

NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA, NIGERIAN FINANCE MINISTER: Yes. Good evening, Richard. This is true, but as you know, if you have an economy that

depends on revenues as oil for 70 percent of its revenues, you always are never comfortable. You always are waiting, and you always have plans in

case oil prices fall.

So, even though this has put us in an uncomfortable position, the issue is how are we dealing with it? And we are reacting to it swiftly.

We've taken down the benchmark price at which we were going to do our 2015 budget, and even our medium-term framework from $78 to $73, but that's not

all.

We have a scenario-based approach so that even if oil falls below the $73, we'll kick in with additional revenue raising and expenditure cuts.

And coupled with appropriate monetary policies, I think we can manage a softer landing for the economy.

QUEST: What do you want from OPEC's meeting next week? Do you want to see the major producers -- do you want to see cuts in production to put

a floor under the price of oil?

OKONJO-IWEALA: Well, I think that I don't want to prejudge what OPEC will do, but that would be helpful, I think. We want something that is

fair to both producers and consumers. And if OPEC takes a balanced approach to both, then that is fine with us.

I must tell you that in Nigeria, we've really swung away from thinking of ourselves as an oil economy, because the re-basing of our economy showed

we have a very diverse base, with agriculture, manufacturing, and also services, very robust. And therefore, we've been trying to expand the base

with focus on agriculture with the housing sector, even with the creative industries --

QUEST: Right.

OKONJO-IWEALA: -- which creates a lot of jobs. I think that's the answer to the --

QUEST: Do you --

OKONJO-IWEALA: -- long-term base of Nigeria's economy. We must seriously diversify, and we are doing that.

QUEST: You may be diversifying. There were some very nasty scenes today in Parliament or -- you'll be well aware. Some argy-bargy that took

place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(PEOPLE SHOUTING, FIGHTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Minister, is there a groundswell of political unrest, whether it's now fueling economic -- by economic difficulties, or is this just the

natural, normal hot tumble and humble of Nigerian politics?

OKONJO-IWEALA: Please, whatever happened in Parliament had absolutely nothing to do with the economy. Absolutely nothing. This is, as you know,

we're approaching elections in February in the country, and like in many developing countries, there's always a lot of excitement, and it had to do

with purely political issues, nothing linked to the economy.

QUEST: Right. So, finally, let's come back to oil. You're in this position, you're trying to diversify the economy, the oil price is falling.

Tell me, Minister, how difficult it is for you to manage an economy that is at such whim of a commodity like oil.

OKONJO-IWEALA: I think it's quite difficult, Richard. But that's what I've been saying, is that we've not been waiting, folding our hands,

waiting for this to happen. It's very difficult if 70 percent of your revenues come from oil. And you have to be ready.

So, what we had done was put in a mechanism whereby we could save during times when oil prices were high, and we did manage to save a little

bit. We have about $4 billion -- slightly more than $4 billion saved that we can fall back on. We could have had more --

QUEST: Right.

OKONJO-IWEALA: -- but that's what we have at the moment. And then we have revenue-raising measures. Since our economic base has been shown to

be much broader than we thought, we have kicked in measures to raise non- oil revenues. When we've been working very hard --

QUEST: Right.

OKONJO-IWEALA: -- in our Internal Revenue Service to strengthen our tax administration. We've had some success. We've just raised a half

billion more dollars, equivalent, in revenues this year alone.

QUEST: And --

OKONJO-IWEALA: And we are shooting to go up to a billion next year.

QUEST: I've -- half a billion -- as they used to say, Minister, half a billion here, half a billion there, and soon you're talking real money.

Thank you, sir -- thank you ma'am for joining us this evening to talk about this.

Now, the foil -- the falls -- the foils? The fall of oil -- in oil prices is reflecting changes in both supply and demand around the world.

When we want to understand that, John Defterios is the man --

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Good to see you in person.

QUEST: -- we need to talk to on this.

DEFTERIOS: Welcome back to Abu Dhabi.

QUEST: Our emerging markets editor. You heard Ngozi talking --

DEFTERIOS: Very interesting conversation, I --

QUEST: You heard her talking there. Diversification is up to a point. But in the difference between the producers who want higher prices

--

DEFTERIOS: Yes.

QUEST: -- and the consumers who want less, how difficult is that at the moment?

DEFTERIOS: Well, it's very interesting what she had to say, in fact, Richard, about the savings in Nigeria. And she said because of what they

had earned with the $100 oil, they stuffed away $4 billion.

What we see taking place in the Middle East right now, in the broader membership of OPEC, which is 12 members, is that some have saved greatly

when oil prices averaged $100 a barrel for the first time ever. We have a chart here showing who's been saving.

Kuwait, 165 percent of GDP in foreign assets right now. The UAE, 145 percent of GDP. Qatar, 105 percent. Even Saudi Arabia, with a higher

population, has nearly 100 percent of GDP in foreign assets right now, saving. They're the ones that don't want to cut production right now.

They have a lower cost of production. Nigeria, Venezuela, Iran, and Iraq are under pressure.

QUEST: We know because of those countries, they don't want to cut. So it's likely production will stay at a high level.

DEFTERIOS: Sure.

QUEST: That's good for consumers. It creates a multibillion -- some say trillion-dollar stimulus in economies, because consumers have more to

spend.

DEFTERIOS: Yes, indeed. CitiGroup has crunched the numbers. At $80 a barrel, they're suggesting that you can hold $80 a barrel for a year,

you'd get a stimulus of a trillion dollars. We get down to $60, it ramps up to $2 trillion. It's about $700 per consumer in the United States.

That's not small beer. It's looking pretty good.

QUEST: And as the FT made clear this morning in an interesting article --

DEFTERIOS: Yes.

QUEST: -- the gains from stimulus are faster than the slower from loss of revenues in places like here. But it is going to hurt places like

here?

DEFTERIOS: No, it's not going to hurt this area, because they have the incredible sovereign wealth savings. There is collateral damage,

though, and it's going to fall out for both Russia and the United States. Let's take a listen why there is collateral damage from the lower oil

price.

QUEST: Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FEREIDUN FESHARAKI, CHAIRMAN, FACTS GLOBAL ENERGY: Collateral damage would be countries such as Russia or Iran, which will suffer. And

collateral damage also is an impact on the US shale production.

But in any case, somebody has to cut supply. It is impossible to continue your business keeping the same supply-demand issues in check

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEFTERIOS: So, somebody has to cut supply. What's interesting in the Middle East right now, Richard -- Saudi Arabia's not willing to give up

production. They don't want to be the swing producer. So, what's this mean? Collateral damage, pressure on Iran, pressure on Iraq. Even

Russia's going to show up at the OPEC meeting next week, perhaps the non- OPEC producers step up.

This could hurt he shale producers going forward. If prices drop like this instead of ramping up to 5 million in production, the shale production

in America could hold at 2 million. That's another fallout for the United States, though.

QUEST: Briefly, John, briefly, now, as we come to the -- when we -- when prices rise, consumers scream.

DEFTERIOS: Yes.

QUEST: When prices fall, nobody says a word.

DEFTERIOS: Well, it's interesting. They get their immediate benefit in the United States --

QUEST: Yes.

DEFTERIOS: -- because the taxes are low on gas, so you're getting this kick into the economy. Where they really need the kick in the economy

right now is in Europe and China, and we're not seeing the immediate effect.

Some would say we need the $65 to $70 barrel to hold for at least six months to give a lift to the economy. They don't need the capital right

now. They've been saving for the last four or five years. They're doing just fine. Abu Dhabi's got a trillion dollars in the bank.

QUEST: What a glorious evening here.

DEFTERIOS: That's why we invited you.

QUEST: I think you do a lot of complaining about the weather here --

(LAUGHTER)

QUEST: It's glorious!

DEFTERIOS: OK. Four months a year, we'll --

QUEST: Glorious!

DEFTERIOS: -- invite you back between June and September. You came during prime time, but we're happy to have you during prime time.

QUEST: I came during the F1.

DEFTERIOS: Yes.

QUEST: Thank you very much for being here --

DEFTERIOS: See you later. Thanks.

QUEST: -- talking of expensive production. Now, we'll come back to the theme of energy later in our program, and we've got John's interview

with the chief executive of Boeing, who says airlines still need fuel- efficient planes in a world of low oil prices.

Well, the chief exec of Norwegian Air will also be on the program to talk about his need for cheap oil prices, and the head of the UN's energy

program, all later in this hour as we look at energy in the UAE and the Gulf.

In a second, President Obama, well, he's just hours away from making one of the boldest political moves of his presidency. It's the business of

immigration reform in the United States. We'll talk about that --

(RINGS BELL)

QUEST: -- after the break. Don't touch the bell!

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: The White House in Washington, where later today, President Obama will be making a major statement. It has united business leaders and

divided politicians. In a televised address later on Thursday, President Obama is expected to tackle one of the great questions of modern American

society and, certainly, politics: immigration.

According to White House officials, the president is going to take executive action. He will allow undocumented immigrants with American-born

children to remain in the United States without threat of deportation. It's a change that could affect up to 3.5 million people.

We have two aspects to talk about tonight. One is the question of immigration and what effect this will have in the United States. The

second, of course, is the political ruckus that is going to be created by the president using executive action.

CNN's Athena Jones is standing by for tonight on Capitol Hill in Washington. We -- we'll start with you on this question of executive

action. The president is about to open the hornet's nest, isn't he?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes. Yes, he is. And members of Congress on the Republican side of the aisle have been pretty much

screaming bloody murder for the last couple of weeks, now. We've heard a lot of heated rhetoric. They're very, very angry, warning the president

against acting unilaterally, because he's going around Congress.

Why is he going around Congress? Because the House Republicans have never brought the Senate's comprehensive immigration bill, which passed in

June of 2013, they never brought that to a vote on the House floor. Democrats have been saying for a long time that that bill would pass.

And so, the president said I'm not going to wait any more, I've given you all this time, I'm no going to do what I can within my executive

authority.

And part of their argument for doing this is that 11 presidents have done this, presidents dating back to Dwight Eisenhower have taken steps to

provide some sort of deportation relief to certain groups of immigrants. And so, the president believes he's within his power to do this.

But Republicans are very angry about it, and they're coming up with ways or discussing ways to fight back, Richard.

QUEST: Athena in Capitol Hill. Now, while Washington remains divided on the question, some of the biggest names in American business are most

definitely in favor of immigration reform.

Take, for example, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. Obviously, Bill Gates, formerly of Microsoft, as Steve Ballmer, also formerly of Microsoft.

Yahoo!'s chief exec Marissa Mayer, the former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, and Coca-Cola chief executive Muhtar Kent.

They have all said that immigration reform is not only good for American society, but it is also good for business because it brings in

talented people that the economy needs. Carlos Gutierrez is the former US secretary of commerce and an immigration success story. As a child, he

came to the US from Cuba. Jim Boulden asked him if President Obama was about to do enough.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARLOS GUTIERREZ, FORMER US COMMERCE SECRETARY: This executive order is just a small sliver of what immigration reform means, and the most

important part of immigration reform, which is the one we talk the least about, is what is the new law so that the economy can have the immigration

it needs and we don't have to resort to illegal workers.

Right now, businesses have no choice. So, what Congress needs to know is fix the laws. And for political purposes, once side is focused on the

11 million undocumented, another side is focused on border security, but no one is talking about the new law, because this isn't going to fix it, and

it's going to continue to happen again.

JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: OK. Because some people would think of businessmen as being sort of conservative in nature.

However, as you pointed out, a lot of companies are very pro-immigration because they need the workers, whether they're the high-end, highly

educated people, or whether they're the people who may work the fields. And so, what is business telling you that they want to see in the US?

GUTIERREZ: Well, business wants immigration reform, and this is all over. Unfortunately, businesses haven't been involved as much as they

should be. But it even starts with the family farm. Our quota for agricultural workers is ridiculous.

So, it's 100,000, so you have to out and find another 800,000. And where do you do that? Either you hire illegally, you go out of business,

or you move your farm to Mexico. We have R&D centers moving to Canada.

I talked to a restaurant owner the other day, he said, look, I have three restaurants. If I had more workers, I would have eight restaurants,

and then I would hire more US citizens. You can take that and multiply it by tens of thousands, and that's what's happening in the country today. We

need immigration. We need to start with that premise.

BOULDEN: Of course, sir, we should point out to people, you are part of what they call the American Dream. You were born in Cuba, emigrated to

the US when you were young. So, you've seen this firsthand, haven't you? You've seen how people can get to the US, can get documented, and can rise

up the ladder.

GUTIERREZ: Absolutely. And the incredible thing about this country is that people do things here that they would not be able to do in their

home country. Had I stayed in Cuba, I wouldn't have done what I've done here. And that's the remarkable thing about this place.

The people who come are people who come to work, they come to achieve, they come to dream. They don't come for government benefits, the way some

people like to suggest. They come to work, and boy do they work. And I think that's a tremendous advantage of this country, and we should never

lose that.

And Republicans, as you say, they should be at the forefront because they're all about prosperity and growth and free enterprise. Well,

immigration is all about prosperity, growth, and free enterprise.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Carlos Gutierrez talking to Jim Boulden. Another day, another stock market high. US stock markets closed at a record, or at least the

Dow did. Alison Kosik is in New York. Once we're in record territory, as we are now, it's a 33-point gain. What was behind it, anything?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know what? It was all about the data, domestic data. For one, we got a regional manufacturing

report for November, it came in better than expected. Also, existing home sales for October, those numbers came in better than expected.

So, it was the data that carried the market through -- at least the Dow through to the end in the green. So, we're seeing that slowdown in

Europe happening, but now the focus is turning back to the US on that better data. Also, upbeat earnings from Intel, especially. An upbeat

outlook helped the trade as well. Richard?

QUEST: Thank you Alison.

Delta has announced it's to buy 50 wide-bodied jets from Airbus. We'll have more details of that, that's a multibillion-dollar deal. You'll

hear some more about it later in the program.

You've also heard of Philae and Rosetta and last week's amazing space mission to the comet. Well, meet Bepi-Colombo, another spacecraft, and you

won't believe where it's being sent.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: The Sheikh Zayed Mosque, absolutely stunning sight on a beautiful, not-too-hot evening. The weekend, of course, has begun here in

Abu Dhabi and in the Gulf, and in this particular country, it's of course a big weekend as the Formula F1, the last of the season, the last race of the

season, takes place on Sunday. Well, I just thought I'd throw that in for a bit of information.

Scientists are trying to determine if the Philae probe that landed on the comet last week succeeded in drilling into the rock beneath it. The

European Space Agency says it does hope to have those details soon.

Getting the lander to set down on Comet 67-P was a mind-boggling piece of scientific wizardry. The probe sent back enough data to keep

astrophysicists busy and happy, contented for years.

As Nick Glass now explains in this week's Make, Create, Innovate, these feats, they are just the start of an effort to understand more about

the origins of life on Earth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK GLASS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The famous black granite tablet in the British Museum in London, the Rosetta Stone.

The text helped 19th century scholars decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

GLASS (on camera): So, what better name than Rosetta for a spacecraft that could help solve an even greater puzzle: how our solar system formed

and, ultimately, how life began on Earth.

MATT TAYLOR, ROSETTA PROJECT SCIENTIST, EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY: Rosetta is a mission to a comet. We're going to catch a comet, we're going

to ride alongside the comet, and understand how a comet works.

GLASS (voice-over): Looming out of the darkness, something none of us have ever seen: in close-up, the surface of a comet in deep space.

Rosetta and its cargo, the Philae lander, has been on a ten-year journey, an extraordinary, ungraspable distance covered, over 6 billion kilometers.

That's like going to the moon and back 8,000 times.

TAYLOR: It's astonishing that we could do this. But the thing is, it was all planned. We had to fly past Mars and the Earth three times to make

sure we could get into the orbit with the comet, which has a little bit of magic to it. It is phenomenal.

GLASS: Matt Taylor isn't your average professor. A tattooed-covered physicist responsible for getting answers to some fundamental questions.

TAYLOR: We consider comets to be the debris, the leftovers of solar system formation. So, to -- we look at comets as a way of looking back in

time, to see what the conditions were way back then, and that gives us an idea of how the sun formed, how the planets evolved, and how we got to

where we are today.

GLASS: So confident was he in this mission, he added to his tattoos as soon as Rosetta woke up, as programmed, in January after its long space

cruise.

TAYLOR: So, I got the Rosetta tattoo on my leg. It took about four and a half hours to be done. But if I never have to hand a spacecraft

model, I always have one now.

GLASS: Rosetta was developed at the European Space Agency's technical base in the Netherlands. This is the LSS, the Large Space Simulator.

Another spacecraft is now being tested exactly where Rosetta was. Bepi- Colombo, as it's called, is destined to go to Mercury.

JOHANNES BENKHOFF, BEPI-COLOMBO PROJECT SCIENTIST, EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY: In the beginning, when we started out with the mission, it was, in

a way, the least explored planet. And by understanding Mercury, hopefully we'll understand the whole evolution of the solar system, and maybe also

how life comes to Earth. So, Mercury is a missing piece.

GLASS: Philae has currently lost power, but it's sent back a huge amount of data, enough for years of scientific analysis. Matt Taylor is

lost in the thrill of it all, the great deep-space adventure. And there's an added bonus: his status at home has suddenly rocketed.

TAYLOR: My son now wants to be a scientist just because of Rosetta, so he thinks it's cool. He -- I told him for many years that I'm cool, but

only now, he believes that I'm cool, because I work on Rosetta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Extraordinary achievement. Make, Create, Innovate.

With thousands of people and hundreds of new cases each week, the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone is still not under control. Tonight, a

former minister, now a top UN official, gives us his report on the situation in Freetown.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest in Abu Dhabi. There is more "Quest Means Business" in just a moment. This is CNN and on this network, the

news will always come first. President Barack Obama is to unveil his proposals to change U.S. immigration later on Thursday. The President is

expected to sign new laws meaning millions of people avoiding deportation. He's making a televised speech on the subject around three and a half hours

from now. We of course will have full coverage.

The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is joining the current round of talks on Iran's nuclear program in Vienna. Negotiators from Iran and six

world powers have four days to meet a deadline for a final deal. U.S. officials say a deal is possible. It will be difficult to reach.

Mexican authorities have canceled the annual Revolution Day Parade. It was supposed to be held in Mexico City today. But it is bracing for

large demonstrations over the disappearance of 43 students from Guerrero State. The students went missing September. It's added to widespread

anger over government corruption.

In England, Sheffield United football club says it has reversed a decision to allow its former player Ched Evans to train with the team.

Evans was recently released from prison after serving a sentence for rape. Several patrons of the club had said they were withdrawing their support of

the United's plan to let him rejoin.

I have a quote for you. "Transmission remains intense and widespread." Those words and that stark warning come from the World Health

Organization concerning Ebola, the outbreak in Sierra Leone. Five hundred and thirty-three new cases have been reported in a single week there.

Elsewhere in Liberia and Guinea, the WHO says the situation appears to become more stable. Kandeh Yumkella is the United Nations undersecretary

general and chief executive for the Sustainable Energy For All initiative and the former Sierra Leone trade minister. He's just been on a visit to

the country and joins me now. The situation, look, it's not leading the news at the moment. We get occasional cases that make it to the top of the

news when they arrive in a developed country, but from your understanding - and I say that with apology and with a certain distaste clearing - but from

your understanding, is there light at the end of the tunnel in the three countries affected?

KANDEH YUMKELLA, U.N. UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL: I believe there's light at the end of the tunnel. As you mentioned earlier, Liberia seems to

be under control. Even in Sierra Leone where the cases seem to be rising in the capital, the places where Ebola started - in Kerouane (ph) and

Kenema in the east, they're reported zero infections. For example, Kenema, zero infections in over two weeks. So it seems like in those areas, the

awareness is great, the surveillance and the community are cooperating well. Unfortunately, we see higher infections in the capital and two

locations where there's more movement of people Forecariah, a major district where people travel quite a bit, and also of course in the

capital.

QUEST: Right.

YUMKELLA: Also I should say that the -

QUEST: -- world (ph) recognizes - well -

YUMKELLA: Go ahead.

QUEST: -- world recognize - forgive me, the satellite delay from me to you is quite bad, do forgive me, sir. One might say that the situation

is far from satisfactory by - obviously - but do you worry and fear that complacency or at least a lack of urgency might cause everybody to sort of

relax - even just a smidgen?

YUMKELLA: Yes, indeed. That worries me a lot and when I - when you say everybody, particularly the international community, I think the

international community must understand that there are huge gaps. I'll give you some examples. The total financial requirement is about $378

million. What is placed so far is about $180 million and there are gaps for example in terms of resources needed on the ground. And if you look at

Ebola treatment centers, we need about 1,500 by December 1.

QUEST: Right.

YUMKELLA: About another 700 - in other words, treatment beds - sorry. Treatment beds - 1,500. They right now on the ground there's 459. Another

700 will be added soon in a couple of weeks with the international community and the U.K. efforts opening an additional 5. So there are a

number of gaps, number of ambulances needed, a number of personnel needed on the group. You need 5,000 volunteers. So there's a lot of work do and

if you look at the spike in the capital, we cannot afford one minute of complacence, whether locally or internationally.

QUEST: Are you comfortable tonight, sir, saying that the worst-case scenario, those numbers of the WHO frighteningly put out just a few weeks

ago - are you comfortable enough to tell me tonight that you do not - you believe we've moved away from that and it is now unlikely.

YUMKELLA: I would say that one is cautiously optimistic. When I spoke to people this morning, I called a few guys who are really on top of

this in Sierra Leone. This morning some doctors as well - they say, look, give us another three weeks and see how the additional facilities come on

line and the - from the Ebola National Ebola Response Team. Having said that, one I would say is cautiously optimistic. Three weeks is a long

time, the infection rates are - they're increasing exponentially. So it's a cautious optimism that with -

QUEST: Right.

YUMKELLA: -- the concerted effort and more volunteers coming in from the African Union doctors and nurses, one is hopeful that perhaps they can

meet what they call their 70-70-60 plan which is to have 70 percent of the burials done, to have 70 percent of those -

QUEST: Right.

YUMKELLA: -- that are infected isolated within 60 days. And that 60 days runs out December 1. The jury's still out, let's see what happens by

then.

QUEST: Sir, thank you for joining us and we'll take your - with this particular crisis - we'll take your cautious optimism to the bank because

it's the best bit of news we've heard so far on that crisis.

Now, from the Far East to the Middle East - Boeing's Chief Executive Jim McNerney tells us that the United Arab Emirates is the Hong Kong - or

potentially the Hong Kong - of the 21st century.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Two companies who will be celebrating tonight - Airbus has won a new order from Delta of the U.S. It's worth about $14 billion at list

prices. Delta's buying 50 wide body aircraft, 25 of them are A350s and 25 are A330 Neos. And just announced in the last moment literally - forgive

me while I read it. Rolls Royce engines will power those aircraft. It's a $5 billion order for the Trent X WB) and the Trent 700, so Rolls gets the

money and Airbus builds the p lanes.

Meanwhile, the Middle East region where rival Boeing says it's getting the fastest growth. The chief executive of Boeing is Jim McNerney. He

told John Defterios the drop in oil prices hasn't dented business. Let's face it - Emirate, Etihad and Qatar each have hundreds of aircraft on

order. John Defterios spoke to the Boeing boss and asked him about the company's ambitions here.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

JIM MCNERNEY, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, BOEING: The Emirates growth - Emirates broadly speaking, the geographic area, has been an incredible

driver of growth in the business model is all about becoming the Hong Kong of this century.

JOHN DEFTERIOS, "CNN'S EMERGING MARKETS" EDITOR AND ANCHOR OF "GLOBAL EXCHANGE": It's interesting - if you look at the passenger growth of the

airlines, it's more than doubled, in some cases much more than that in the Gulf States. Do you see for example the drop in oil prices dislocating

this growth that we've seen, particularly in the last five years.

MCNERNEY: I don't think so. I mean I think the band of expectation on oil prices depends on who you talk to - could be 40 bucks up to $120. I

don't think that dramatically changes the requirement for new, more fuel efficient airplanes that we're seeing right now, particularly in this part

of the country.

DEFTERIOS: Is it your assumption now though you've been able to break this link between GDP growth and actual orders for Boeing as a result of

this?

MCNERNEY: Yes. I mean, I think if you look at our order book, close to 50 percent is riding with GDP growth and the other 50 percent is

replacement - obsolescence because new technology is that much better than the technology it replaces at virtually any contemplatable oil price. So

it's a big driver of our growth.

DEFTERIOS: I looked at your recent study that was suggesting that you're looking at almost 3,000 plane orders over the next 20 years - about

half a trillion dollars. Does that factor in the geopolitics, the dislocation we've seen as a result of the Arab Spring?

MCNERNEY: Part of the answer is a lot of the turmoil is in the lower growth parts of this region and therefore not really impacting the parts

around it that are the high growth parts like right here in Saudi and some other places.

DEFTERIOS: In fact, for the first time in 35 years, Boeing has sent some parts - limited parts with the agreement of the U.S. government - to

Iran. This is a huge market. Can you factor in normalization within 12 to 24 months?

MCNERNEY: Well, it's - I realize there's a lot of forces moving in the right direction, I think we're all hopeful that it does get resolved,

that you're right that we can have a normal economic relationship with that country. It would add to growth. It would add to growth. I mean, if Iran

became a totally normal relationship where a otherwise very productive country with a big population - there's a lot of airplanes and aerospace

services to be sold there, and could put some upward pressure on that number that we mentioned.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

QUEST: Now from Boeing to a company that's bought plenty of Boeing aircraft - Norwegian Air. Now, Norwegian shuttle and the chief executive -

the chief executive's in Washington trying to persuade the U.S. Congress to let him fly more to the United States from a subsidiary he wants to start

in Ireland. Let's not get too much into the details of this - it's deeply complicated, but Bjorn Kjos is being opposed by labor unions and

competitors. They say his Norwegian International would force down U.S. wages and working standards. His reply is excuses - competitors are afraid

of his cheap fares. (RINGS BELL). Look at the numbers. For the existing flights he's got a short time ago a round trip from London Gatwick to JFK,

Norwegian Shuttle's price was around $504. That's around $800 less than the comparable flights on American or Delta from London Heathrow.

Joining me live from Washington is Bjorn Kjos , the chief exec of Norwegian Air Shuttle. You're a former fighter pilot, Bjorn. You have

never shied away from a fight, but you've gone right into the lion's den to try and persuade them to let you fly from your Irish subsidiary. Why now?

BJORN KJOS, CEO, NORWEGIAN AIR SHUTTLE: I think it's time for the Americans to have affordable fares. I think we can ramp up the volume over

the Atlantic to be enough for everybody. But you have to be able to fly on costs. That's why you need the Dreamliners right away.

QUEST: Do you feel angry that you bought Dreamliners, you finally got them - a bit late but you've got them. You bought the Dreamliners, you've

put a lot of business into American economy, but they say you are destined, they claim, that you push down wages, you have poorer labor practices and

you're anti-union.

KJOS: The crazy thing about it is, it's slanderous all - everything because first of all, a lot of our employees are unionized and I don't care

whether they're unionized or not. And we fly - and we compete for the very good people. We want the best in the cockpit, we want the best in the

cabin, so we have to be able to compete on the salaries and the benefits they have. So, when we set up the bases in New York and bases in Fort

Lauderdale, we have to compete with the other airlines and -- actually one of the captains -

QUEST: Right.

KJOS: -- so they, we have also a lot of American pilots and their benefits have been better in Norwegian than they used to have in the

States.

QUEST: We're talking about oil prices tonight, Bjorn . How significant is it for you now - I mean, allowing for the hedging that

you've done - how significant is it that the prices now are down towards $70 and frankly may go even lower. Does that mean you can cut fares or

will you just be coining the money in greater profits?

KJOS: We have to - it's almost like that it's actually the passengers - they are the big winners of low oil prices. If we have lower oil prices,

we can lower the fares even more. Yes, saves a benefit for us but it also benefit definitely for the passengers.

QUEST: Finally, back to the issue in the United States. You're not going to win this one first time 'round. You're in this for the long haul

(LAUGHTER) - literally and figuratively. Have you got the staying power?

KJOS: Oh yes we have. And we will win this battle because finally they will see that it's untrue - the things - the slanderous campaign

against us - it's untrue from start to the end. They can - everybody can interview our crews and find out they say it's not the truth that's all.

And so we will - and the consumer always win, and the Americans low fares, so why shouldn't they win?

QUEST: Thank you for joining us, sir, from Washington tonight. And incidentally, Bjorn Kjos will be our guest on "Reading for Leading" on the

"Best of Quest." Discover not only what is reading, but what is writing too. Sleeping babies, hospital patients and secure facilities. People

install cameras. The cameras were designed to keep them safe. What was meant to be private is now being broadcast on live. (RINGS BELL).

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Never tire of looking at that when I'm here in Abu Dhabi -- the Sheikh Zayed Mosque which is spectacularly lit up and dominates the

skyline here in this capital city of the UAE. We often talk on this program -- very frequently -- about hacking. We've talked about hacking

your credit cards, they're hacking your computers, your cell phones and everything in between. This is truly extraordinary. A Russian website may

have managed to hack its way into your living room. The website's been streaming live video. It got unauthorized access to thousands of private

web cams around the world. The British government is trying to shut it down, the Americans have joined in, the Canadian government too. From

Cambridge in Massachusetts is Bruce Schneier, China's online security expert. Bruce, this - no matter how disgusting people may think it is,

this was inevitable when you take people with poor passwords, lack security and hacking. It was going to happen.

BRUCE SCHNEIER, SECURITY TECHNOLOGIST AND AUTHOR: Well it's not even new. This has been going on for over a decade. These are cameras where

people are using default passwords or no passwords or weak passwords. I hardly even call it hacking - it's no work. You can do this yourself. You

can go on Google, you can search for them, the streams are out there. This is one website in Russia. There are others. This is not new. It's a

problem but it's not a new problem.

QUEST: Right. The British commissioner said, you know, this is not a - talking about improving passwords, this not just another boring call to

improve the passwords. Are we reaching a situation though we have no expectation of privacy?

SCHNEIER: No, I think we have a lot of expectations of privacy and a lot of demands for privacy and rights to privacy. The question is how do

we achieve it technologically? Lots of cameras are out there where they're not being streamed in the open. You choose a good password, you're immune

to this. Now there's other hacks going on - the camera in your computer is hacked. It's hacked by governments, it's hacked by criminals. There the

solution is - I do this - put a little sticker over your camera when you're not using it. So, privacy is harder to achieve because of so much data out

there, but we have a right to demand it and we have a right to get it.

QUEST: Yes, we've got a - yes, but here's the problem, Bruce, with your argument - you say on the one hand we have a right to demand it and we

have a right to get it, but what you're also saying is it is up to us to get it. That it is basically self-help - every man, woman and child for

themselves.

SCHNEIER: Unfortunately, that's largely true in the U.S. more than Europe. Because in the United States there are very lax laws about our

data, what can be done to it. There's not good liabilities for companies that do things badly and our privacy gets lost. It's a little better in

Europe, but right now the regulatory scheme isn't that robust and it's a lot of cases up to ourselves to secure our computers, our phones, our baby

monitor cameras. All of these devices can be used to protect our privacy or to give up our privacy. And unfortunately in a lot of cases, it is up

to us and many of us are not technically savvy enough.

QUEST: Well, that's certainly true -- I put myself in that category. Bruce, thank you for joining us this evening. Either we're not technically

savvy enough or we simply can't remember the passwords that we've created in the first place. A quick look at the market - how the Dow finished.

Want to remind you the Dow finished at an all-time high. It's always worth seeing. Look how it starts miserably, ends on a high - 17,719, (RINGS

BELL) and we have a "Profitable Moment" after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight's very "Profitable Moment." Well, it's an win and lose situation. There are winners in the battle for oil prices and there

are losers at the moment. The problem is working out exactly who's gaining most. As the price of oil has fallen nearly 20 to 30 percent in such a

short period of time, so consumers around the world are feeling the benefit. We've all got more money in our pockets. We feel that now. But

countries like Abu Dhabi, for Qatar, for Russia, Venezuela and other OPEC producers, they feel lower revenues but it doesn't hit them for several

more months to come. Even so, be under no illusion. Those countries that are producers of oil will be hit. Nigeria's finance minister on this

program tonight said that she's having to rethink her budget and is going to have to make difficult decisions. The problem is, we don't really care.

Because having paid such exorbitant prices for oil for so long, to have a bit of relief as the winter season starts gives us schadenfreude! We all

enjoy the fact that we're benefiting at somebody else's expense. And that's "Quest Means Business" for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in Abu Dhabi.

Whatever you're up in the hours ahead, (RINGS BELL) I hope it's profitable.

END