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Quest Means Business
Ferguson Grand Jury Reaches Decision; No Deal on Iran Nuclear Program; "New Chapter" for Oil Market; Seesaw Dow Closes at New Record High; Europe Stocks Mixed; Super Spyware Bug "Regin" Revealed; Hamilton's Big Win
Aired November 24, 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: Well, it's a shortened bell. Up and up, down a bit, up a bit, down a bit. It's a former Jets player who is ringing the
bell. I imagine that's his family.
(GAVEL HITS)
QUEST: And we're lucky we've got a gavel left when all was said and done. It is a record on the Dow. It is Monday, it's November the 24th.
There's no deal yet. It's a seven-month extension for the Iran nuclear talks.
Groundbreaking and almost peerless, a new security threat is believed to be state sponsored.
And after the storm, the financial cleared up and cleanup begins in Buffalo.
I'm Richard Quest. We start a new week together, and as always, I mean business.
Good evening. Our nightly conversation on business news in a moment, but we start with breaking news tonight. The grand jury that's been
looking into the case of Michael Brown and the police officer who shot the unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri in August, that grand jury we now
believe has reached a decision. We're going to wait to hear what that decision was.
And remember -- let me remind you, the jury was asked to determine if the police officer, Darren Wilson, should be put on trial, and if so, what
the charges should be. CNN's legal analyst Sunny Hostin is in St. Louis for us tonight. Good afternoon, good evening to you.
Look, it's -- this is, for many people who are not familiar with the grand jury system, this is a bit odd, isn't it? Because all we're going to
hear is there's a decision, but not the decision.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That's right. This entire grand jury process has been a little out of the normal. Generally, a grand jury
listens to evidence -- not as much evidence as this grand jury has heard, three months' worth of evidence -- and generally comes back with a decision
as to whether or not someone should go to trial, whether or not someone should be charged.
What we are learning now is that this grand jury, there were 12 of them seated, 9 of them, Richard, need to vote in favor of indicting,
charging if there is going to be an indictment. This grand jury has reached a decision as to whether or not to indict Officer Wilson, but we
don't know what that decision is going to be.
We don't know whether or not he has been indicted, which charges he's been indicted on. And we don't know if, perhaps, he hasn't been indicted.
But we will know in about an hour, I believe, at about 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time here in the United States, that there has been a decision.
We're hearing that perhaps the actual decision we will hear of a couple of hours later.
QUEST: So, you might expect to hear what -- or if -- well, first of all, let's not get ahead of ourselves. You might expect if there's a
decision to hear what that decision is tonight?
HOSTIN: That's right, that's right. We're hearing that it will be in a few hours. Right now, it's --
QUEST: Right.
HOSTIN: -- we're told that we will get the announcement, the official announcement, at about 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
QUEST: And for viewers who are watching now, that's in 55 minutes from now, and we'll obviously carry that decision live here on CNN
International. As we talk about this, just finally and briefly, Sunny, give me a range of potential charges from first degree murder as the most
serious, to what?
HOSTIN: Well, we could hear that he's been charged, Officer Darren Wilson, with murder or perhaps second degree murder, or involuntary
manslaughter, or manslaughter. Involuntary manslaughter would be the lowest level of homicide that he could be charged with.
But again, what's interesting about this process is we don't even know which charges were presented to the grand jury. So, it could be those
charges. Quite frankly, it could be something else. But my guess is, if charges were presented to this grand jury, given the facts as we know them,
it would be one of those four.
QUEST: All right.
HOSTIN: Or perhaps all of them.
QUEST: Well, this is fascinating. And you'll be there to help us understand the machinations in Ferguson in Missouri in the hours ahead.
Thank you for that. Sunny Hostin joining us from Ferguson. A reminder, that decision will be in about 55 minutes from now, two parts.
Whether -- we do know they have reached a decision, so they're expected to announce that they have reached a decision. Perhaps a little
bizarrely telling us something that we already pretty much know. If that decision is that there should be charges, then in the hours ahead here on
CNN, you'll hear the details, and we'll have the full analysis.
As we wait for that, let's look at other major business stories. And tonight, there has been progress, but there's been no deal. Iran and six
world powers say they need seven more months to finish talks on nuclear technology and trade. Sanctions against Iran are to remain in place for
the time being. The Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said the talks have not been a waste of time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HASSAN ROUHANI, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (through translator): The logics have gotten closer together. The gaps have been taken away. However,
there are still issues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now, for the Americans, US Secretary of State John Kerry says -- describes the road ahead as tough and insists now is not the time to
walk away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KERRY, US SECRETARY OF STATE: We don't want just any agreement. We want the right agreement. Time and again, from the day that he took
office, President Obama has been crystal clear that we must ensure that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon. Period.
And this is not specific to one country. It's the policy of many countries in the world to reduce the numbers of nuclear weapons that exist
today and not to allow new ones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: John Kerry putting this into perspective. Now, CNN's Emerging Markets Editor John Defterios is in Vienna, where the talks took place.
John, many, myself included, watching this will say, if they haven't managed to do it in the time that they've been talking, what does seven
extra months give them?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, there's an ability here to, Richard, to keep the ball in play. They didn't want to slam the
door on the negotiations as we speak. In fact, both sides trying to put a brave face on the fact they couldn't reach an agreement.
Hassan Rouhani, as you saw there, suggesting that there's a better understanding between the two parties, and US secretary of state John Kerry
suggesting they're going to keep the pressure on, not increase the sanctions, not lower the sanctions. That's the centrist position right
now.
But the reality is, the sanctions are biting on Iran quite severely, Richard. They've lost 25 percent of their economy in the last three years
alone. It remains a trillion-dollar economy, but they want to move forward here and try to lift the sanctions. That's not going to happen right now.
But you can see that both sides don't want to slam the door shut. So, there is a geopolitical wild card in play, and it's in the United States.
The 114th Congress --
QUEST: Right.
DEFTERIOS: -- coming into power in January 2015. You know, both chambers will be Republican. The Republicans want to tighten the noose on
sanctions and bring Iran to the bargaining table and have them offer even more if the pressure is on. So, this is going to be the real difficult
hurdle to get over in that seven-month grace period that I was talking about.
QUEST: All right, John, stay with me, please, as we talk more about this. Now, OPEC is keeping a close eye on the talks in Iran. The cartel's
meeting is on Thursday. That'll also be in Vienna. John will also be there.
The IEA is calling it a "new chapter" for the oil market. And if you'll look, you'll see exactly what brought -- what has brought that on.
There has been a classic economic situation, a rise in supply, a fall in demand. Go in and look and you see exactly what that creates. You get a
sharp fall all the way down of some 30 percent in the price of oil.
Now, many OPEC countries can't balance their budgets at the current prices. Members will typically adjust output to keep rices in check.
Again, classic cartel economics. Now, none of the OPEC members appear to be willing to shut off the keep the price higher or to push the price
higher, and certainly a beggar-thy-neighbor policy seems to now be in effect in OPEC.
But low prices is just one of the barrels that OPEC must look at as it steers on its road to its next meeting. And we're going to update this
throughout the course of the week as the talks get ever closer.
The first major hurdle on this road to OPEC is, of course, Iran itself. And the Iranian nuclear talks have been extended. They can't
boost international oil sales, they can't access foreign capital, and they can't access oil technology.
That is a sizable hurdle, but it's one that they've known about for some time. If you go it again, you'll see exactly what the hurdle on the
road is. Whoosh along to Russia.
And when we talk about Russia, well, we're now hearing that the finance minister's warning the country's losing $100 billion a year from
the oil price decline, this very sharp price decline that we have been talking about. That is having $100 billion effect on Russia on top of the
hit of sanctions.
The finance minister has called for spending cuts, all of which is in contrast to President Putin, who still maintains, despite all this,
everything's fine
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): The modern world is very interdependent. But this does not mean the sanctions which
are being adopted and sharp drop in the prices of energy commodities and the national currency devaluation, that all of that would have negative
results or catastrophic consequences only for us. Nothing like that will happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: President Putin. So, the road to OPEC is pitted with these barrels. The price is down. John Defterios is there. John, I had the
good fortune to be with you yesterday in Abu Dhabi, and we were talking to various oil policymakers. What realistically --
DEFTERIOS: Yes.
QUEST: -- Iran, Russia, what realistically comes out of this OPEC meeting?
DEFTERIOS: Well, this stalemate with Iran adds another level of intrigue, Richard, to the most interesting OPEC meeting since 2008.
Remember, we had prices go from $147 a barrel all the way down to $37 in the second half of the year when Saudi Arabia had to step in.
This, in a sense, is a relief that Iran is not back into play so early. This not getting the green light for Iran during the negotiations
that were taking place here means there will be no investment into the energy sector for another 12 to 18 months.
QUEST: Right.
DEFTERIOS: This is a market that cannot handle Iran right now. They're stuck at production of around 2.7 million barrels a day, Richard.
That sets a level they haven't seen since 1992.
Now, Saudi Arabia is the key player here. They want to remain the strong power. Now, if you roll forward the clock to 2020 or 2025, Iran
could challenge Saudi Arabia --
QUEST: Ah --
DEFTERIOS: They have 157 billion barrels of reserves. Nine percent of the global reserves are now major gas reserves. So this is -- removes a
threat to Saudi Arabia, if you will, and it does not complicate this meeting in OPEC even more.
QUEST: John, forget 20 to 2025, let's talk about between now and the middle of next year. I'm looking at my map, my graph, and my graph as the
price down 30 percent. Now, does OPEC, John, does it need to get that price back up? And if so, where does it need to get it to?
DEFTERIOS: OK, to pick up on our conversations in Abu Dhabi, and we had a chance to speak with the energy minister of the UAE there, there's a
real battle taking place here. The major Gulf producers, who have a lot of savings, $2.5 trillion worth of savings. They don't feel the pressure
right now, Richard. And the discussion on the market is not $80 a barrel, but $60 a barrel.
But there's some real horse trading that's going to take place in the next 24 hours. We have the CEO of Rosneft, the big Russian state oil
company, and the minister of energy from Russia coming tomorrow. They're going to talk with Saudi Arabia.
Now, I understand from sources here at OPEC, there's a discussion to have Venezuela, Russia, even Mexico come together and offer cuts to the
table to the Gulf producers and say we'll do our part. We want to defend at least $80 a barrel. Russia, Iran, Venezuela need at least $100 a barrel
to balance the budget.
You talked about what the finance minister of Russia was saying today. They're losing $140 billion a year between the lower price and sanctions
right now. The big populations, big oil producers need the pressure taken off of them. We'll see what the Gulf producers are going to do right now.
They have the savings --
QUEST: All right, John --
DEFTERIOS: -- they may want to see prices go to $60 a barrel to put pressure on the US shale producers at the same time.
QUEST: John Defterios, who I must say is looking considerably better than me. But then, you only went from Abu Dhabi to Vienna. I've been from
Abu Dhabi to New York overnight.
DEFTERIOS: That's true.
QUEST: John, we'll talk to you during the course of the week.
DEFTERIOS: Yes.
QUEST: Experts don't know much about the latest cyber security threat that is lurking in computers. Who started it? Why? And what they did, it
remains a mystery. One thing they do know, if it goes wrong, it will go wrong dramatically.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Have a look at the way the trading day went. It was up, and then it was down. And then it went up again, and down again, and up again,
and down again, and up again, and down again. In other words, there were five ups and five downs.
But when all was said and done, the Dow was up just 7.84. That was enough to set a new record. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock
Exchange. This was no roller coaster. It was more like a few old cobblestones. But why --
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: A seesaw.
QUEST: But why did it sort of -- yes, thank you. Seesaw.
KOSIK: You know what ruled the day? It was the consumer, Richard, that ruled the trading day. In fact, retailers did pretty well, including
Macy's, even Gap, which has been under pressure lately, seeing anywhere from 1 to 3 percent in those shares.
What investors are doing are betting that those lower gasoline prices that we're enjoying here in the US will translate into bigger sales as
consumers begin their shopping extravaganza for holiday gifts this week. But keeping the gains in check today, the US services sector expanded in
November at a slower rate than the prior months. That's why those gains were kind of minimal today, Richard.
QUEST: And we will be talking about those gains, Black Monday, and all the other days of the week -- Black Friday. Well, you know what I
mean. The shopping day --
KOSIK: Black Friday, Cyber Monday. I get it.
QUEST: Yes, you get it. Time for you to think -- never good enough time to start thinking about my present already. Thank you, Alison Kosik,
at the New York Stock Exchange. Don't spend too much.
Now, stocks in Europe, they finished mixed. In London, the FTSE closed lower, but shares of BT were very much higher on speculation it
might buy the O2 Mobile Network from Telefonica of Spain. BT discussions says are at a preliminary stage. In Frankfurt, the IFO business climate
gained -- a closely-watched monitor -- unexpectedly rose.
Now, for a long time, we've know about the hackers and the criminals who are trying to plant bugs and bots in our computers. We've always had
suspicions that governments were involved, too. But now, the experts are saying that Regin, the latest electronic security threat, is so
sophisticated that Regin must have been developed with the resources of a country, not some homemade geek and enthusiast.
The cyber security company Symantec has called it groundbreaking and almost peerless. Now, this is why, because Regin is so stealthy, because
only the first stage of the bug is visible as code on a victim's computer. All the other parts are hidden.
Now, sometimes, of course, you can hit it and let all go. Other times, you hit it only a bit goes. But it doesn't really matter, because
if that's all that we can see, you get an idea of how serious it can be. The rest will act like the dominoes themselves. It will go unnoticed as it
captures more screen shots, steals passwords, and recovers deleted files.
Kevin Hogan is vice president of security response at Symantec, the firm that discovered Regin, joins me now from Dublin. Just how did you
discover this, and at what point did you realize this was no ordinary threat?
KEVIN HOGAN, VICE PRESIDENT OF SECURITY RESPONSE, SYMANTEC: Well, we discovered it working closely with some of our customers in so far as they
had spotted some things that required our attention. We were brought in, and we looked at some of the issues that they addressed and managed to
identify some files and some suspicious things on some of these systems that we then took away and spent some time looking at.
Having identified what we thought were -- was the actual code, if you will, the actual things that were on that infected system, or systems,
really, we were very quickly able to see that this was no ordinary threat.
QUEST: Right.
HOGAN: For a start, the simple fact that the encryption that it used was not ordinary encryption. That was really almost the first thing that
we noticed.
QUEST: As you noticed this, because this really does beg the classic question: who, what, where, when, why? In fact, who do you believe is
behind it?
HOGAN: It's really hard to say, Richard. As you said in your intro, it certainly is complex. It has required organization and funding, and
it's been going on, it's been developed and used over a long period of time, at least as far back as 2008, and potentially further.
There's nothing, however, in the actual threat, the actual virus itself that we've seen that is a smoking gun that would in any way link it
to any potential author, group, or otherwise.
QUEST: Ah, you said, "author, group or otherwise." You didn't say government. But the other thing is, who has it been targeting? Is it
targeting consumers, ordinary people like thee and me? Or is it targeting security and sensitive power grids, banks, large corporations?
HOGAN: It's largely targeting what you said, the latter, the organizations that have information or are for some reason deemed to be
worth monitoring by the people that are actually using Regin.
That said, we did identify cases of specific individuals actually being targeted by the threat, that they were people that had potentially
information or were of interest in some way to the authors of the threat.
QUEST: And I'm guessing that Regin is exactly the sort of thing that perhaps just changing your password is probably the most basic way to
prevent, but there are other things. Thank you, sir, for joining us. Much appreciated. Have a good evening in Dublin tonight.
HOGAN: Thank you.
QUEST: Now, a 29-year-old racing superstar takes the checkered flag again. We're going to be talking to the Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton
when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEWIS HAMILTON, F1 WORLD CHAMPION: I can't really explain how much this means. It means even more than the first one. It feels like it's the
first time, and I'm just -- I feel so blessed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Lewis Hamilton cementing his title as one of Britain's best- ever Formula 1 drivers. I was actually there. Unfortunately, I didn't get to stay to the very end, but I did see the start, and I did see large parts
of the middle as he moved forward to clinch his second driver's championship in Abu Dhabi.
Race fans in the UK are certainly celebrating. David Cameron, the British prime minister, is holding a reception this evening to honor the
contribution of Formula 1 to the British economy. Downing Street --
(RINGS BELL)
QUEST: -- estimates the sport contributes $14 billion to the UK economy each and every year.
(FORMULA 1 ENGINE RACING)
QUEST: It creates jobs -- whoa! Get a bit of thrust into that! Formula 1 teams and related business employs 5,200 people in skilled jobs.
We've only got one bit of a rev. And the entire UK motor sports industry supports more than 41,000 jobs. CNN's Amanda Davies spoke to Lewis
Hamilton after his victory.
(RINGS BELL)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMILTON: I think generally the initial feeling is relief. Of course, massively proud of the group of people that I've been working with.
And of course, very much conscious of what we've achieved and what I've achieved. But I think the whole champion kind of -- or two-time champion
kind of really -- I think it's going to take some time to really kick in.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: The fact that you've been going head-to-head with Nico this season, the fact that he was a childhood
friend, does that give it a little bit something special? Or actually does it mean you're tinged with a feeling you maybe shouldn't celebrate as much
as you would want to?
HAMILTON: Neither. Makes no difference who you're competing with, you want to beat the guy that -- whoever you're fighting for the
championship, of course, if it's another -- someone from another team or your teammate.
Obviously, you always want to beat your teammate because he's in the same car -- the same car with same equipment, same opportunities. So, it's
perhaps even sweeter when you do beat your teammate, because obviously people can see the difference between you.
But yes, I had a great competitor throughout the year. Wouldn't want to end it any other way. Wouldn't want it easy, that's for sure. And I
definitely don't feel I ever had that way.
DAVIES: How do you think Toto would describe managing the two of you this season?
HAMILTON: Naturally, as a boss, he'll say it's tricky --
(LAUGHTER)
HAMILTON: -- and he'll make it sound like it was harder than it really was.
(LAUGHTER)
HAMILTON: That's what the boss's job is. But I think ultimately, I think the team wish -- as you saw it, for sure, it was not easy. Because
it was on the edge, you know? It was life or death. It was like, we want it, we both wanted it more than anything we've ever desired in our life.
The team wanted to win the championship, and their priority was to get both cars across the line and us as drivers, it was our priority, but we
want to be the one ahead. So, you kind of always bouncing off the limiter.
DAVIES: So, it's been six years from title number one to number two. Some say too long. How long until number three?
HAMILTON: Oh, geez, I have no idea. I'm just going to enjoy this one. Winning the first world championship was something very, very
special. It was obviously my dream as a kid. And even today, it still was my dream to get this championship.
And it feels like it's the first time, maybe, because it's been those six years. It does feel like it's the first time, and I'm going to enjoy
it. I'm going to embrace it with my family and go to the factory, see the guys, and really get to enjoy it. They've won the construction
championships, so they have a championship, and now I have my championship that I've been working for for so long.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: It's a rum sport where your goal is to beat your own teammate. When we come back, it's not just water that's left in the wake of seven
feet of snow in Buffalo in upstate New York. Residents will need to dig out from under piles of bills. We'll explain after the news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. This is CNN, and on this network, the news always comes
first.
In the next half hour, we're expecting to hear whether a white Missouri police officer will be charged over the death of an unarmed black
teenager. Eighteen-year-old Michael Brown was killed by Darren Wilson in August. His death led to several days of street violence, during which
police were criticized for being heavy-handed. A state of emergency was declared in Missouri last week in anticipation of the grand jury's
decision.
Chuck Hagel has resigned as the United States defense secretary after less than two years in the job. President Obama made the announcement
today with Mr. Hagel at his side. He said it was Hagel's decision and praised his service. Sources have told CNN Hagel was forced out -- to
resign by President Obama.
The date to reach a deal with Iran over its nuclear program has been extended to the 1st of July. Negotiators meeting in Vienna reset the
schedule for talks after failing to get close to an agreement by the deadline of midnight tonight. The US secretary of state John Kerry says
progress has been made. There remains a tough road ahead.
Iraqi officials in Anbar province say the military's retaking territory from ISIS militants near the city of Ramadi. The two sides have
been battling for control of the main government center of Anbar since Friday. ISIS has taken over large parts of the province, which is just to
the west of Baghdad.
An Australian mother accused of leaving a newborn baby in a drain two and a half meters deep has been charged with attempted murder.
Investigators say the baby boy was left to die the day after he was born. He spent five days underground. He was discovered over the weekend by
cyclists in Sydney who heard him crying.
First it was the snow, then fears of flooding and now comes the prospect of the bills. This was the scene late last week (RINGS BELL)
after a snowstorm dumped two meters of snow on upstate New York. After temperatures rose, emergency personnel prepared for all that snow to melt.
It's called a toxic brew. Now, the worst of that is passed but as New York's governor explained, the communities will still have some digging to
do.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
ANDREW CUOMO, NEW YORK GOVERNOR: The aftermath is going to be dealing with the financial ramifications of the flood and the damage. From my
local town perspective, many of them spent their entire budget on snow removal in the past week, and the winter hasn't even really started. The
County has expended millions of dollars, the City has expended millions of dollars, same for the State.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: Well, since it's for a business program, let's put that into perspective with Alexandra Fields who is in Buffalo. I'm sure the people
in Buffalo are delighted to see the roads are clear and this is the first storm of the season. But now they've got to pay the bill, and it is, as I
repeat, the first of the season.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and a budget-buster, that's what we're hearing from state government officials and also local
government officials. They were preparing for a double hit - first the snow and then they were preparing for flooding. They got lucky on the back
end of this. The flooding wasn't what it was predicted to be. It's looking pretty calm now. The snow had melted less rapidly than was
expected. But look, this city, this area they dealt with seven feet of snow, and with the forecast projecting warmer temperatures, they had to
rapidly clean up. They had 1,600 dump trucks on the streets scooping up some 80,000 tons of snow in anticipation of the warner weather. They
couldn't do it by themselves. They had to bring in help from outside. They had to bring in other municipalities. Emergency responders from
around the state poured in. So now it's time to figure out exactly how much this costs, Richard. And the projections are that the City spent
millions of dollars, counties spent millions of dollars, the State spent millions of dollars not only in the cleanup, but also in preparation for -
QUEST: Right.
FIELD: -- a possibility of flooding. So everyone's got to add up those bills now.
QUEST: Is there a general feeling that despite the huge nature of this storm, that the authorities handled it well because as any student of
bad weather knows, if you want to lose an election, don't clear the roads.
FIELD: (LAUGHTER). That's right. That's a lesson that's well learned. Look, here's one thing, Richard. Buffalo knows how to clean up
snow - they're used it. They're certainly not used to seven feet of snow, but they've got a pretty good snow removing apparatus in place. This was
such a big deal - 1) because of the quantity of snow, but also again, you really had to move to get this snow up because you have the threat of the
flood coming in. So, yes, you had the Governor Andrew Cuomo come up here. He brought his commissioners from Albany. They stationed here for a couple
of days. They moved in a massive amount of supplies to be able to respond to threat of a flood. The governor said over and over again, 'Look, people
might criticize him for mobilizing all of these outfits - we're talking about 500 National Guardsmen and Women who were brought in to be in place.
But he said if it means they're prepared to respond -
QUEST: Sure.
FIELD: -- even if that flood doesn't come, he felt that that was the best play to make.
QUEST: And it sounds as if the wind is getting up there to Alexander Field. Yes, you keep your hat on. Keep your hat on and keep warm. Of
course there's the real prospect of more snow that's on the way. We need a forecast. I've just been looking here on my phone. Apparently there's
going to be some snow for us here in New York. Whether or not it's anything as grim or as deep as bad as we've seen. Ivan Cabrera is at the
CNN World Weather Center. How bad is it going to be?
VAN CABRERA, METEOROLOGIST AND WEATHER ANCHOR FOR CNN INTERNATIONAL: I think for the major cities actually it's going to be a disaster here
because we're talking about it happening right at the day - the busiest travel day - of the U.S. here because of the Thanksgiving holiday. By the
way, that wind behind Alexandra there - a southerly wind which has brought temperatures in Buffalo up to about 18 degrees today which is why we've had
the concerns about the rapid melting here. And we still have through Wednesday flood warnings for western New York. So we'll keep an eye on
that. As you see, the moisture coming in from south to north and that has brought in some milder temperatures here. On the backside of it a little
bit of snow but certainly Buffalo at this point is going to be melting snow, not making more.
Now, to the East Coast - look at the temperatures here. If we could just hold on to 19 - 23 degrees right now in Washington, D.C. and into the
20s as well in Atlanta. It is balmy stuff for this time of year. That is not going to last. There is a piece of cold air that is going to dive in
from the north and west. That will combine with some moisture down in the South, and when those two come together, Richard, we're going to be talking
about a major winter storm. We have winter storm watches that now stretch from Virginia all the way to the state of Maine. So this is going to be
impacting millions of people. It would be a big deal in January in the middle of the week. But it's a bigger deal because it's happening
Wednesday and Thursday - busiest travel day of the year.
Here are couple of computer model forecasts here. There you see some of the pockets of very deep snow. We're talking at anywhere from a10 to as
much as a 20 centimeters of snowfall. And, yes, that does include the big cities. The timing still as far as the location - this is what we're
thinking right now as far as Washington/Baltimore - 5 to 10 centimeters possible, the worst of it happening through the afternoon, and then things
move up the pike into New York and then into Boston - 5 to 10 centimeters. I think right now that those are conservative numbers. We could, depending
on the track of the storms, if it changes a little bit more and if that cold air really gets entrained in, we could be talking about-
QUEST: All right.
CABRERA - higher amounts of snowfall.
QUEST: I just want to jump in here, Ivan. Quick question because people always say, you know, if want to wait for the weather, just wait a
minute and it'll change. This is going to happen? I mean, you're pretty certain this is going to happen?
CABRERA: It's going to happen, and even if it doesn't snow heavily, say, in New York or Boston, the winds are going to be strong and the rain
is going to be a mess, and we have 46.3 million people that not only are going to be taking to the air, but especially in cars upwards of all 46
million are going to hit the streets. So it's going to be a mess up and down the 95 corridor.
QUEST: You've got your work cut out for you for the next couple of days. Thank you very much, sir. Now, we will continue to monitor events
in Ferguson in Missouri. We are expecting just less than a half an hour from now to hear that the grand jury that has been deliberating on whether
to indict a white police officer in the killing of a black teenager, Michael Brown. We are expecting to hear that they have reached a decision.
Now, as we heard earlier in the program, we're not expecting in half an hour what the decision is or what charges or indictment, if any, they are
going to prefer. But you can keep an eye on that - the bottom right of your screen. You see now it's - that's our sign, thank you, Bud (ph).
We're awaiting the Ferguson grand jury decision. And rest assured the moment that happens, we will bring it to you.
When we return, we're going to discuss if you've got some Twitter followers, you could up actually paying less for your hotel rooms. Is this
new business model for the travel industry a safe way to proceed? We'll talk about it with our next guest who says you can get a good buy if you've
got more than a few tweets. (RINGS BELL).
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Oh I do like a bargain. There's nothing like a bit of discount travel. It's one the biggest attractions this week as we head
into the Black Monday - Black Friday I should say, -- Cyber Monday, the holiday travel whether it's Christmas, New Year - whatever you might be
celebrating. This is a rum (ph) business though. There's a new company that's offering discounts all the time. There is a twist, and it's not
only a twist, it's a twitter twist. The more Twitter or LinkedIn or Facebook followers you have, the better. It's really simple. They give
you deals based on how valuable your business is to a given hotel. The company's called Hotelied, and its - their - cofounder and chief exec is
Zeev Sharon, who joins me in the C-Suite.
ZEEV SHARON, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, HOTELIED: Hello (inaudible).
QUEST: So you basically tell the hotel - or you tell you - how many Twitter followers you've got, how many Facebook, how many LinkedIns -
correct?
SHARON: More or less. The way this works is when a user comes to Hotelied, we ask them to create a profile. Into that profile, they link
their various social medias - anything like Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook or Instagram. They can also link their various travel loyalty accounts
like frequent flyer and frequent guests. So it creates this very complete travel persona.
QUEST: Right. But one - why - what's in it for the hotel to give them a discount?
SHARON: Basically hotels want one of three things - they want the guests who will either spend more money at the hotel today or the guest who
will spend more money in the future in terms of repeat business. Or the guest who's likely to create free marketing and influence others to stay at
the hotel. So we built the first platform that basically allows a hotel to do that.
QUEST: But if the guest stays and doesn't tweet about how wonderful the big bow hotel is, next time are they going to be blacklisted or is
there going to be a down mark against them?
SHARON: No, no. So, none of what we do is contingent on the traveler's behavior. So, it's not like you have to tweet to get the
discount. We rely on organic behavior. People when they travel, they're very active on social media and there's a lot of stats that kind of prove
that. So -
QUEST: This is wrong.
SHARON: How so?
QUEST: This is wrong. Because Great Aunt Bessie can't get the same discount for a Tuesday night than say maybe I could with a couple hundred
thousand tweeters.
SHARON: But you could, based on other criteria. So the platform is quite democratic. Twitter followers is just one of a variety of criteria
that users can use to get access to discounts. So it could be based on the trip - how long is your trip, how many books? So if you're on to traveling
with the family and they're booking four rooms, she could still get the discount. The trigger is just different. For you it might be because you
have a lot of Twitter followers. For someone else, it might be because they're in a pace-making industry.
QUEST: But why is this better than just the normal distribution channels - Expedias, Kayaks and all the other GDS distribution channels?
SHARON: The idea behind it is that it actually empowers the consumer. Because right now consumers bring value to hotels but they aren't rewarded
for that value. If you're a very frequent traveler, you're still getting the same exact price as everyone else. If you're very influential in your
industry or on social media, you're still getting the exact same price as everyone else. So this kind of turns the table and says not only the brand
will now benefit from your influence, now you the consumer will benefit from it.
QUEST: The millennials have truly owned the road. Sir, thank you for joining us.
SHARON: Thank you.
QUEST: Many thanks indeed. I guess the moral of this tale is be as active on social media as you can and you might get a cheaper bed for the
night. We saw a financial landmark today. Spain's government bonds have never been more in demand. Just look at the yields on the tenure which
fell to its lowest level November the body (ph). Now compare that to where we were back in '11 - we were at 727 - way up there. And now it's way down
again. It's only been 2 and 1/2 years or so since Spain looked down and out - borrowing costs rose as you saw there to over 7 percent. It was
widespread speculation it would be bailed out.
Today, they've crept below 2 percent for the first time. And there's now relatively little difference between Spanish and German borrowing
costs. The gap is just over 1.2 percent. That might sound sizeable, but when you think of how many hundred bases points it was at the worst point
in the recession and of the crisis, you realize that a gap of that limit is really quite mild. The gap at one state was 6 and 1/2 points - 6 1/2
percent - that's 650 bases points. Spain has started to grow again. In fact, it was the fastest in the last quarter of the GDP and the Eurozone -
faster than Germany, France and Italy.
And jobs are being created. Let's not celebrate too quickly. Unemployment is still over 24 percent. In fact, the recent surge of bonds
is less a case of optimism about Spain than a believe that the future Mario Draghi will announce the start of QE. He's starting to sound more dovish.
The ECB will make direct purchases of government bonds.
Now, let's turn to a new show in London that's all about challenging perceptions. The exhibition is a the British Museum and it's showcasing
six centuries of German history and its impact in Europe. CNN's Nina dos Santos went to find out whether new perspectives can change your beliefs.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
(CROWD CHEERING) (WHISTLE BLOWS)
NINA DOS SANTOS, NEWS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT BASED IN LONDON FOR CNN INTERNATIONAL: The tearing down of the Berlin Wall, a key moment in
Germany's history. And alongside the devastating events of the early 20th century, lots of Germany's identity today is viewed through the lens of the
last 100 years.
NEIL MCGREGOR, DIRECTOR, BRITISH MUSEUM: Germany is a country that Britain has a very fixed view of, but clearly a view that has long been out
of date.
DOS SANTOS: An exhibition at the British Museum entitled "Germany, Memories of a Nation" is aiming to challenge perceptions by showcasing rare
and significant German artifacts from the last six centuries.
Male: We've seen beautiful things in this exhibition economically and we delivered good to the world. The concentration camps are not excluded.
MCGREGOR: People came from the East and the West was completely different political experiences. But what were the shared memories of
being German?
DOS SANTOS: From the pioneering techniques of the Meissen porcelain rhino to an icon of modern manufacturing - the VW Beetle, a nod to
Germany's status today as the world's fourth biggest economy.
Male: The carb-building industry is key to 20th century Germany. An economy without car-building competence, we wouldn't be as successful as we
are at the moment.
MCGREGOR: If we're talking about memories of Germany that everybody has over a certain age - the Beetle is the memory of post-war Germany.
DOS SANTOS: As Germany celebrates 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, are there still lessons to be learned from the Cold War?
We have to view this exhibition through the prism of talk of a new Cold War with sanctions on the cars from Russia and over the serious
situation there in Ukraine. Is Germany a reluctant leader?
Male: Actually the issue - what is leadership in the 21st century? Europe is a group of 28 nations and every has positive contribute to
leadership. Only a United Europe is a strong Europe which is on the same level playing field with these challenges, and leadership means contribute
to this really united Europe. And this is German's role in that play (ph).
MCGREGOR: The exhibition opens with the coins of the Roman Empire around 1700. And what that makes clear is that European security has
always been played out in Germany. And that I think is very, very fascinating looking back 300 years to see that the questions were always
brokered in Germany. They could be brokered only in Germany because that is sort of where it sits geographically.
Male: May I add my impression on that figure? There's one Georgian coin on the other hand and dozens of German coins on the other side.
That's a good argument for a currency union, isn't it?
(LAUGHTER)
DOS SANTOS: A history that is tinged in irony. This exhibition in London celebrates one of Europe's most pivotal members amid a rising tide
of Euroscepticism across the U.K. For this reason, it couldn't be more timely. Nina dos Santos, CNN London.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: Now, after months of waiting, we should soon have the answer on a critical core in the United States. The events leading up to the
grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: If timings go according to plan, in just about, oh, 9, 10, 11 minutes from now, outside the Buzz Westfall Justice Center in - near -
Ferguson, Missouri. We're expecting officials to announce that the grand jury there has reached a decision in the case of Michael Brown. The jury's
been sent home. They've been deciding is the shooter of the unarmed teenager who is Police Officer Darren Wilson is to stand trial. If he is
to stand trial, then what charge should be put forward? We'll hear that decision we expect later tonight. CNN's Sarah Sidner looks back at the
events that have led up to this grand jury decision.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
(CROWD SHOUTING - "NO PEACE")
SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, BASED IN JERUSALEM: What has become a modern-day civil rights movement ban as a police shooting
in a city near St. Louis the rest of the nation barely knew. An unarmed African-American teenager shot dead by a white police officer, dividing the
city of Ferguson. And in time, sparking a national debate. At the heart of this case is whether 18-year-old Michael Brown was surrendering when he
was shot dead by 28-year-old officer Darren Wilson or whether the officer feared for his life.
It began August 9th with Wilson in his patrol car ordering Brown to get out of the middle of the street. A confrontation at the car followed.
Autopsy results later revealed two shots were fired inside the patrol car. In leaked grand jury testimony later, Wilson claimed Brown was reaching for
his gun. Brown's friend and witness said Wilson was the aggressor and Brown was trying to get away. Brown did get free, but moments later, he
was dead, shot at least six times. The autopsy shows the final shot to the top of the head killed him.
On the scene, some witnesses said his hands were up. The unarmed Brown lay dead in the street for more than four hours. A young life ends,
an uproar begins. August 10th the initial reaction - peaceful protest. But overnight a few protestors riot, burning a gas station, breaking
windows, looting businesses. Police respond in military-grade riot gear and armored vehicles. Teargas and rubber bullets fly. Gunfire can be
heard emanating from somewhere in the crowd. Tensions explode. By daylight, the protest continues loud but largely peaceful.
(SHOUTING)
SIDNER: Day three, the conflict escalates when a police officer is seen aiming his weapon at a protester. A teargas canister is thrown at
police.
Male: Started getting rocks, bricks, bottles thrown at us.
JAY NIXON, GOVERNOR OF MISSOURI: The place looked a little more like a war zone.
SIDNER: Police are criticized for arresting journalists trying to cover the conflict. The next day, August 14th, the Missouri Highway
Patrol's captain Ron Johnson is brought in to coordinate the police response. Tensions lower. But August 15th, police finally release Officer
Wilson's name but also release surveillance video they say shows Brown shoving a clerk at a nearby store, alleging he stole cigarillos.
Protesters react with fury saying the timing was a ploy by police to justify Brown's death. Anger spills out into the streets.
The next day, August 16th, Governor Nixon declares a state of emergency and imposes a curfew. August 18th, the National Guard is called
in. Several journalists are arrested. An officer pushes CNN's Don Lemon live. August 25th, quiet finally comes to the streets on the day Mike
Brown is laid to rest as tears flow at Brown's growing memorial. Protesters want Officer Wilson charged with a crime. They don't trust the
St. Louis County prosecutor to do it.
Male Protester: Transparency, accountability, dignity!
SIDNER: Robert McCulloch father was a police officer himself, killed by a black man in the line of duty.
Female Protester: -- he is biased and that he cannot be fair.
ROBERT MCCULLOCH, ST. LOUIS COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: I can be fair and I have been fair.
SIDNER: As months pass, protests continue daily - mostly peaceful but always intense - police faced with jeers and sometimes water bottles being
thrown at them. Leaks to the media about the investigation sparked more skepticism about the judicial process. Ultimately, 12 people - three of
them African-American, nine Caucasian - who make up the grand jury will decide Wilson's fate. A battered and emotional town wonders what will
happen next and how much more it can take.
TRIONDUS SLEET, SALON OWNER: More than once I've been told they are going to tear up the community. We already broken, so how can you tear up
something that's already not even fixed?
(SHOUTS OF PROTESTERS)
SIDNER: Sarah Sidner, CNN, Ferguson, Missouri.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: That - a "Profitable Moment" at the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment." We heard a very interesting idea on tonight's program. The whole Hotelied idea where your discounts
can be based on how much business you give - nothing new there. But a hotel discount based on how many Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook followers -
well it's an interesting idea, and perhaps it was inevitable that eventually our business acumen would be determined by our role in social
media. So far, so good. But I do hope that we're not moving to a situation where those who have most followers, most tweets, most Likes, are
the ones who get boast bargains. That would seem to be just unfair. And that's "Quest Means Business" for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York.
Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, -- (RINGS BELL) I do hope it's profitable. The news is next.
END
