Return to Transcripts main page
Quest Means Business
Governor to Sign Order Removing Confederate Flag; Deadline Looms Large for Greece's New Bailout Proposal; IMF Cuts Global Growth Forecast; Volatile Week for Chinese Stocks; Greece Submits Reform Plan to Europe; U.S. Markets Rebound after NYSE Glitch; Small Investors in China Hit Hardest; Comparisons between China and 1929; Donald Trump Speaks to CNN; Profitable Moment. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired July 09, 2015 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
[16:00:00]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: It was a very strong open on Wall Street. The Dow was up several hundred points at the beginning. Those gains dwindled
through the course of the day and now the bell has rung, the gavel's been hit, trading is over with a gain of just over 40 points on Thursday. It's
the 9th of July.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
QUEST (voice-over): Tonight, it's time to hand in the report. Europe wants Greece's reform plan by the end of the night.
The selloff stops for now. Chinese stocks stage a stunning rebound.
And a bombshell from Donald Trump -- quite literally. The White House candidate tells CNN he'll bomb the Iraqi oil fields.
I'm Richard Quest live in Athens and I mean business.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
QUEST: Good evening from the Greek capital. We will get to all the day's business news in just a moment.
Before we begin, though, we want to take you to the U.S. state of South Carolina. The Confederate flag that has flown at the state capital for
more than half a century is to come down. We are waiting for the state governor, Nikki Haley, to sign the order making it official.
To many, the Confederate flag is that symbol of hatred, a reminder of a shameful racist past and the institution of slavery that once sullied the
American South.
On the other side, the flag is that symbol of Southern culture and a memorial to ancestors who fought and died in the Civil War.
Calls to remove the Confederate flag reached a fever pitch after the killing of nine African Americans during a prayer meeting at an historic
church in Charleston. The man who's accused of their murder and other offenses is Dylann Roof and he had been photographed with the flag.
So now we are waiting for Governor Haley to sign into law this particular piece of legislation, one that was hotly debated over more than 12 hours of
debate in the legislature and also one that represented putting forward dozens of amendments, all of which were eventually voted down.
Joining me from Charleston, South Carolina, is David Mack, the state representative from the Democratic Party.
Mr. Mack, we'll -- we're waiting for the governor to come and do the honors and sign the legislation. When the bill finally passed, what was the mood
like?
DAVID MACK (D), S.C. STATE REPRESENTATIVE: It was a tremendous victory, a tremendous feeling when you're talking about that flag has been somewhere
on the capital since 1962. So it has been over half a century. It does represent a lot of pain and it divides our citizens in the state of South
Carolina. We need to move forward.
So it was a very, very great, great time.
QUEST: Now before the atrocity in Charleston, how many attempts, if any, had there been to remove the flag or for people like yourself, was it just
always felt this is something that would never happen?
MACK: Well, in the late 1930s, it was put in the House Chamber, then it was put in the Senate Chamber and then it was put on top of the capital in
1962. So it was in the House Chamber, the Senate Chamber, on top of the capital.
In 2000, we were able to take it off the top of the capital out of the chambers, but in a compromise that a lot of us did not support, it was
placed out in front of the capital. That was in 2000.
So last night was very significant. You're absolutely right; the tragic deaths of nine individuals, include the beloved state senator, Clementa
Pinckney, who I went into the general assembly with 19 years ago, that was stimulated everything.
And again, with the killer being photographed with the Confederate flag, I think, moved the business community. It moved many white Republicans in
the House and the Senate and it got us to where we got to last night.
QUEST: Now, sir, I am aware, of course, the sensitivities and I ask this question with a certain delicacy, sir, which I know you'll understand.
But as I listen to some of the other side in the debate, they made the point that this was a flag that also respected their ancestors --
[16:05:00]
QUEST: -- who had fought in the Civil War, died in the Civil War and therefore it was part of their history, too.
Now I wonder one squares that circle, if one can.
MACK: Well, that's a good question, Richard. History is really hi-story. People have people's perspective on history is based on how history treated
them and their ancestors.
So consequently the fact that the Confederate battle flag is going into a Confederate museum or relic room is where it belongs. It's a part of
history. When you fly a flag that you're basically saying this is who we are, this is who we are right now, that's problematic.
The only flags that should fly on state grounds in the state of South Carolina should be the United States flag and the flag of the state of
South Carolina.
So I think that's how you really square that to me, in a museum is the proper place for it to be. It is a part of history and we do respect that
part.
QUEST: All right, sir. Thank you for that. We are awaiting -- stay where you are. We will come back when the governor does arrive. I suspect it is
the prerogative of governors to be a little bit late in these matters.
Let us just listen to some of the views of the South Carolina senators as the various arguments were put during the course of the debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STATE HOUSE REP. JENNY ANDERSON HORNE (R): I cannot believe that we do not have the heart in this body to do something meaningful, such as take a
symbol of hate off these grounds on Friday.
And if any of you vote to amend, you are ensuring that this flag will fly beyond Friday. And for the widow of Senator Pinckney and his two young
daughters, that would be adding insult to injury and I will not be a part of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: That shows the emotion that was taking place. Now to the chamber, where the governor has arrived and there's an enormous amount of emotion,
emotion from those -- I beg your pardon, David Mack, I thought it was the governor, but I guess, David Mack, the governor is exercising the
gubernatorial privilege to be late, David Mack.
MACK: I guess so.
(LAUGHTER)
QUEST: Is she usually late?
MACK: Not to my knowledge, but you know, it's one of those things. We've waited over 50 years. We can wait a little bit longer.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: We can indeed. Well, let's face it, you've waited 50 years for the flag to come down, I guess a few moments more won't matter in that --
MACK: Absolutely.
QUEST: I'm minded to remember, David Mack, the -- this stain that is on America's past, that what the rest of the world has seen in recent months
if not couple of years with this police violence, where young black men have been the victim of shootings, it shows that the race divide is still
deep.
MACK: There's a lot that needs to be done, Richard. There is what I refer to as a confederacy mindset that divides us.
What we need to look at in my opinion in the state of South Carolina and in the United States and around the world is how do we work together, black,
white, Asian, Latinos and work on quality of life issues, a good educational system, good jobs paying decent wages, health care, housing,
quality air, quality environment.
Those are things that all of us need. So I look at this particular point in time as a great chance to move forward, a new beginning, if you will.
QUEST: But let me be deliberately controversial here, David Mack.
[16:10:00]
QUEST: When you then get Donald Trump with his comments about, say, the Mexican immigrants -- rapist, drug dealers, murders that he called them --
I asked whether all you are seeing in the U.S. is a substitution of one sort of bigotry or violence or racism for another.
MACK: You're always going to have the people like Donald Trump. You're always going to have them. I think what we have to do is we have to rally
what amounts to the majority of good people, of different races, of different backgrounds to make things happen.
What I remind folks about this tragic event that happened with the killing of nine people, a lot of us in African American community were so grieved,
in so much pain, in so much anger that we weren't even thinking about the flag. It was the business community. It was white Republicans. It was
other folks who came and helped us form a coalition to get this done, responding to hate, responding to racism. And that's what we have to
continue to do.
QUEST: And how will you, how will you face your political opponents, those who are on the floor of that chamber, arguing strongly for hours, 12 hours
of debate? How do you face them?
And I think the governor is now -- yes, there we are, bear with me, David Mack. I'm just going to talk through -- you can see them as well. You'll
need to jump in with your thoughts. But here is the governor, Nikki Haley, who has now arrived. And I think she's going to say some words before she
actually signs the bill into law which will remove the flag.
Can we hear the governor?
NIKKI HALEY, GOVERNOR, SOUTH CAROLINA: Can y'all hear me on the mike?
All right, guys? Are we good? One, two, three. One, two, three, we good?
Can the TV guys hear us?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HALEY: All right. I will yell as loud as I can.
So you know, it's hard for us to look at what is happening today and not think back to 22 days ago. It seems like so long ago because the grieving
has been so hard.
But at the same time, we have all been struck by what was a tragedy that we didn't think we would ever encounter. Nine amazing people that forever
changed South Carolina's history.
Having said that, I have to acknowledge the series of events that took place through all of it, because it is the true story of South Carolina,
the actions that took place are what will go down in the history books.
Nine people took in someone that did not look like them or act like them, and with true love and true faith and true acceptance, they sat and prayed
with him for an hour. That love and faith was so strong that it brought grace to their families. It showed them how to forgive.
So then we saw the action of forgiveness, we saw the families show the world what true forgiveness and grace looked like.
That forgiveness and grace set off another action, an action of compassion, by people all across South Carolina and all across this country. They
stopped looking at each other's differences, they started looking at each other's similarities, because we were all experiencing the same pain.
So then you take that compassion and that compassion motivated action. That compassion motivated people wanting to do something about it.
So the action was taken by the general assembly. And what we saw in that swift action by both the house and senate, was we saw members start to see
what it was like to be in each other's shoes, start to see what it felt like.
We heard about the true honor --
[16:15:00]
HALEY: of heritage and tradition. We heard about the true pain that many had felt. And we took the time to understand it.
I saw passions get high. I saw passions get low but I saw commitment never ending.
And so what we saw was another action. And that action is that the Confederate flag is coming off the grounds of the South Carolina State
House.
(APPLAUSE)
HALEY: So tomorrow morning at 10:00 am, we will see the Confederate flag come down. We are a state that believes in tradition, we are a state that
believes in history, we are a state the believes in respect, so we will bring it down with dignity and we will make sure that it is put in its
rightful place.
But this is a story about action. This is a story about the history of South Carolina and how the action of nine individuals laid out this long
chain of events that forever showed the state of South Carolina what love and forgiveness look like.
And I will tell you that now this is about our children because when they go back and look in the history books, while we're still grieving -- and
the grieving is going to last for a long time -- when the emotions start to fade, the history of the actions that took place by everyone in South
Carolina to get us to this moment is one that we can all be proud of.
So 22 days ago, I didn't know if I would ever be able to say this again, but today I am very proud to say that it is a great day in South Carolina.
(APPLAUSE)
HALEY: And so with that, we don't want to wait any longer. We are now going to sign the bill.
So I want to say it is with great pride that I am surrounded by members of the Emanuel 9 families. I want to thank them for taking the time to come.
I am also surrounded by former governors who put their name on a letter, put their support together to say, yes while we have been a part of South
Carolina's past, we want to see this part of South Carolina's future go in the right direction. So I thank everybody that is with me today.
QUEST (voice-over): Off signing each letter of your name with a different pen, following the tradition of signing each letter of your name with a
different pen, presidents do it, the governors do it. And each of those pens will be given as a memento -- I was going to say souvenir, but it's
not a souvenir, it's much more than that. It's a memento. It is a talisman. It is a mark and it will be given to the people who promoted
this bill and the people who were most closely involved in bringing this bill to the legislative floor and to fruition.
The governor signs the bill into law. The Confederate flag will come down tomorrow morning as the governor said --
(CROSSTALK)
HALEY: With that I am proud to say that the bill has been signed, I do want to also acknowledge these nine pens are going to each of the nine
families of the Emanuel 9.
(APPLAUSE)
QUEST (voice-over): So there we have the governor making it clear. The governor making it clear that the pens are going to those families of those
who were murdered in the Emanuel church.
And now we continue with our business agenda.
So in the last few moments, it has been confirmed -- and please bear with me while I just read exactly the confirmation -- it was just two hours
away from the deadline for Greece to hand the proposal to its European creditors and we have now reports to CNN --
[16:20:00]
QUEST: -- that a plan has been submitted to Brussels, as I just look here.
The Reuters News Agency says the Eurogroup proposal, the Eurogroup saying Dijsselbloem's received new Greek proposals. It's the government's plan
for a new bailout, it must be comprehensive and specific and there are new signs it's not just Greece versus everyone else.
The European Council president, Donald Tusk, says Greece's proposals must be matched by the creditors. There are legs to this deal.
First, Greece must cut its costs. Donald Tusk invoked Cicero, "Magnum vectigal est parsimonia," he wrote, "Thrift is a great revenue."
The second leg of its debt restructuring making Greece's debt payments easier to bear, supported by the IMF and Christine Lagarde.
And the third, what Greece wants, debt relief to pay less than what is owed. There's a haircut and that faces very stiff opposition for the
German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (through translator): We're not dealing with debt sustainability for the first time. I have said that a
classic haircut is out of the question for me and that hasn't change between yesterday and today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Without any of these, a deal could collapse and end with Greece tumbling out of the euro. The International Monetary Fund's echo calls for
Greece debt restructuring. Olivier Blanchard is IMF's chief economist. He joins me now from Washington.
Mr. Blanchard, we'll talk about the IMF in just a moment, about their -- your latest economic forecast.
But on Greece at the moment, the delicate point has arrived when Greece is now presented its proposals. I understand, of course, they're in default
deal cells, so you're not involved as such. But how important is the debt relief component?
OLIVIER BLANCHARD, CHIEF ECONOMIST, IMF: It looks as if it's essential to the extent that we decrease what we're asking of the Greeks. That comes
with a need for extra financing and by implication some debt relief.
So when we do the math, we conclude that, indeed, there has to be policies offered by the Greeks but there has to be some form of debt relief on the
other side.
Otherwise, the plan makes no sense.
QUEST: But in the chicken-and-egg situation, which comes first? Because the Greeks continually say they can't sign up to bail out these
conditionality unless they know what the debt relief component is. It's a strong argument.
BLANCHARD: No, absolutely. It cannot be a chicken and egg. It has to be two chickens or two eggs. They basically, at the same time, the Greeks
have to offer something and then the other side has to say, well, given this, this is the debt relief that we're willing to do.
But there has to be commitments on both sides. It doesn't have to be done today, overnight, but there has to be credible commitments on both sides.
You can't one side say, well, show me what you're going to do and then we'll think whichever side it is. It has to be both sides have basically
to come to the table and say, OK, if you do this, I'll do that. And they have to be explicit about it.
QUEST: Turn now to the world economic outlook and I'm starting to see some, in what was already a very difficult, tricky set of circumstances,
now the possibility of this China slowdown, the China stock market, the slowdown and the Q1 in the United States, which was negative, that's making
it much more difficult.
BLANCHARD: No. I have a much more positive spin on it, which is the big revision -- or relatively big revision of 0.2 percent for the world comes
from the first quarter in the U.S. That's water under the bridge. It was an accident. I don't think it says anything about the strength of the U.S.
recovery. I think it's still there.
If I look at Europe, we had forecasts, steady, slow, but steady recovery. It seems to be coming.
China, I think, is largely a sideshow for the time being. The stock market in China is very much a sideshow. It could have some effect on spending
but probably not much. So, no, I have a more optimistic view of -- as to where we are. We are obsessed these days by Greece, by China. But when
you go away from these events, from the stock market in China, from the Greek discussion, I think things are more or less on schedule. There is a
recovery. It's not a great recovery, but it's there.
QUEST: Olivier Blanchard, this is the last time you and I will be speaking in your current role. And allow me, sir, publicly and tonight, to say
thank you --
[16:25:00]
QUEST: -- for always giving us the courtesy of coming on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS and speaking to us and we wish you well, sir. We wish you well
indeed.
BLANCHARD: Thank you very much, Richard. And see you soon.
QUEST: Olivier Blanchard, the outgoing chief economist at the IMF.
To China, which has been in a difficult time for investors. It is strong now throughout the market. We're going to take a look at where they might
be headed next. It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. We're in Athens.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
QUEST: China's stock market came back strongly this session, almost wiping out Wednesday's losses. The Shanghai composite gained almost 6 percent.
The surge is being seen by some as a hollow victory for China's government, which has been taking drastic measures, shoring up the market and stopping
the sharp falls. As an analyst put it, China's destroyed its stock market in order to save it.
Beijing's efforts include lending an extra $42 billion to brokerages for the purposes of buying stocks. Company executives and major shareholders
have been told don't sell their shares. And interest rates have been cut to record lows.
Ian Bremmer is joining me now. He's the president and founder of the Eurasia Group.
It's a rum business and I can honestly say we've seen actions by the Chinese government that some would suggest have harmed the whole question
of -- about, if you like, a market economy or an equity shareholding economy in China.
IAN BREMMER, EURASIA GROUP: Well, it's not a market economy as you and I know it. It's a state capitalist economy. And I was in China last week,
actually. And a couple of things -- one, is I was kind of astonished to see just how generally supportive and much more confident the average
Chinese investor is about the future of their economy than we in the West are. And yet that has very little to do with the way they think about
investing in the stock market.
Chinese investors in the stock market are very short-term, not even months, never mind years. It's weeks. And they don't see it as linked to the
economy. It's a casino and they're looking to just take cash in. So when things go badly, there's panic. But it doesn't make them feel badly about
the Chinese economy.
The problem is, of course, that the Chinese government's response has been to really sort of make it very clear that this isn't a stock market and
that moves them farther away from any financial globalization reform that they had been trying to incrementally move towards.
QUEST: Ian, we have a sentence for you, just a very brief one.
Do the Chinese finally get it? Or do they continue to play into the markets, to prop it up, do you think?
BREMMER: I think that they will prop it up to avoid panic. But they will still try to engage in financial globalization.
QUEST: Ian Bremmer, we asked you for a short answer and good man that you are, you obliged. Thank you, sir, for joining us. I apologize that we've
had to be a little bit shorter tonight with you than we otherwise would be. Of course, we're watching historic events taking place in South Carolina.
Greece has now delivered its proposals to the Eurogroup. We'll talk about that after the break.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
QUEST (voice-over): Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment. We're going to get reaction from the Greek business
community as the country now submits its reform plan to Brussels. And the chart tells its own story: investors see China heading for its own Wall
Street crash.
Before any of that, this is CNN and, on this network, the news will always come first.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST (voice-over): The British foreign office has advised against all but essential travel to Tunisia in the wake of last month's terrorist attacks
in Sousse. It is a further attack is highly likely in their words. (INAUDIBLE) has canceled all future bookings to the country until the end
of October in response.
And the British foreign office says the British people and citizens already in Tunisia should leave.
The United States says it's ready to call off negotiations with Iran over Tehran's nuclear program if a deal isn't reached soon. The talks between
the world powers in Vienna have now stalled over restrictions on Iran's military. The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said talks could not go
on forever.
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: This is not open-ended. President Obama made it very clear to me last night, you can't wait forever for the
decision to be made. We know that. If the tough decisions don't get made, we are absolutely prepared to call an end to this process.
QUEST (voice-over): In the last few moments, Greece has submitted its reform plans to the E.U. in hopes of securing a new bailout. The
government's hoping for some kind of debt relief as part of the deal.
Speaking to me on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, Europe's economics commissioner says the reforms must come first.
PIERRE MOSCOVICI, EUROPEAN ECONOMICS COMMISSION: What we need is an economy which is competitive enough, attractive enough and also a tax (ph)
administration, a rule of law which is at the level of what is expected from a member of the Eurozone and which is not existing right now in
Greece.
From this priority, the rest can start in the future, having a new program, a financial assistance from the ESM and then talk about other items.
QUEST (voice-over): The governor of the U.S. state of South Carolina has signed a bill that now removes the Confederate flag from the state house.
The flag will be taken down on Friday morning. State lawmakers voted to remove the Confederate flag after last month's massacre of nine black
worshippers by a white supremacist at a church in Charleston --
[16:35:00]
QUEST (voice-over): -- South Carolina.
The pope has celebrated mass in Santa Cruz in Bolivia. Worshippers gathered in the thousands to hear the sermon. The pope warned of the
dangers of discarding the poor. Before the service, the pope used a local Burger King restaurant to change into his vestments.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
QUEST: In the last half hour, Greece has handed in its reform plan to Brussels. It's the plan that they hope will secure another third bailout.
Thousands of people turned out for a pro-euro rally outside the parliament in Athens a short while ago. Let's talk about the business situation here.
Lakis Venetopoulos is the president and chief executive of Variety Cruises.
Sir, how good to have you with us tonight. Thank you.
LAKIS VENETOPOULOS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, VARIETY CRUISES: Thank you for the invitation.
QUEST: Now, tell us. You've got how many ships? Twelve ships; they each cruise the Aegean and further afield.
How, first of all, have you been finding it, dealing with the fact that the banking system is shut?
So far I would say that the difficulties are not as originally expected. We manage. And due to the way the banking ability we can pay also the
Greek suppliers of our company. And as you know, the ability of our tourists to withdraw as much money (INAUDIBLE) credit cards enables the
operation. We absolutely hope that the -- within the next hours or days the issue will be resolved.
QUEST: But if you've got a ship that's at a foreign port and you have to remit and you have to send money for fuel or food, what are you doing about
that?
VENETOPOULOS: We send it from our companies abroad --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: You've been planning for this for some time.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: And I don't say that as a criticism. I mean, you've known this might be a possibility and you've been hoarding cash overseas.
VENETOPOULOS: Correct, correct. We have participation company in the United States, which takes over the payments abroad.
QUEST: As my grandmother used to say, it's no way to run a railroad, is it, having to run a business like this.
VENETOPOULOS: Yes. It's not easy, especially under the circumstances. We must admit that (INAUDIBLE) 80 percent (ph) of the Greek population looks
forward that we find an agreement with the institutions and Greece starts going back to normal as soon as possible.
QUEST: Most of your tourists, of course, are from outside of Greece because there's simply not the domestic demand; people are very worried
about things in this country.
VENETOPOULOS: Exclusively from abroad.
QUEST: And that's changed.
VENETOPOULOS: That has not changed at all. I can, in my capacity also with the public sector, I can (INAUDIBLE) that at this moment we don't have
cancellations from abroad. What we face is a promising situation in (INAUDIBLE). We have a -- as today, we officially announced, close to 10
percent increase -- 7 -- excuse me -- 7 percent increase in arrivals, foreign arrivals (INAUDIBLE) June.
QUEST: But that -- good news, though that is, that is predicated -- that's because of previous bookings. But I'm guessing that your bookings --
(CROSSTALK)
VENETOPOULOS: -- 20 percent lower than they were last year as of the moment of the referendum announced. And we face a 20 percent lower booking
than probably we had in the same days last year. So originally we were expecting Greece, as we might have known, (INAUDIBLE) in production, though
we had a record year last year. In this situation, we believe that the maximum we can achieve (INAUDIBLE) rapidly is the same amount of the
(INAUDIBLE).
QUEST: So you're hoping -- it's -- to quote the British chancellor, George Osborne, you're hoping for the best and you're preparing for the worst,
basically.
VENETOPOULOS: Correct. That's what everybody must do, isn't it?
QUEST: Are you confident tonight?
VENETOPOULOS: I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful.
QUEST: Thank you very much.
Now in Europe the stock markets surged on Thursday, the optimism is growing there will be a resolution of the Greek deal. The German, the French and
the Italian stocks were among the biggest winners. Investor confidence in Europe also received a boost from the rebound in Chinese stock markets.
The U.S. stocks have just closed and they were up the day after a software glitch halted trading for more than three hours.
[16:40:00]
QUEST: Now they fell very sharply, more than 200 points on Wednesday, when trading resumed. Today -- look at the graph of the day -- it started with
a very robust opening but those gains petered away as the day went on and though it reversed the losses, it ended the session slightly only
marginally higher.
In a moment, Donald Trump, the controversial CEO for his campaign as he tries to win the nomination for the Republican Party's presidency, some
polls show he's the surprise front-runner. We'll talk about that. See what he told Anderson Cooper after the break. Good evening.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
QUEST: The Chinese stock market's turmoil is hitting the small investor the hardest. Individuals are accounting for about 80 percent of stock
trading in China as you heard Ian Bremmer talking about just a moment ago.
That means people, not institutions -- very different from the big market - - it's the people that are now seeing their hard-earned money go down the toilet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It has already fallen by 50 percent. It doesn't matter if it falls again by another 50 percent. Let's
just wait and see.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When I bought the stocks, it went as high as $79 per share. Now it's only some $20. Think about it.
Everything is being wiped out. How can I be confident in the market?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I actually made some money from this although I sold it before the market really started crashing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now while investors are suffering short-term losses, those who've been in the market for a year or more are still showing gains.
Look at the Shanghai Composite. Oh, yes, it's lost about 30 percent as the crash began a month ago. But over the past 12 months, the index is up
still more than 80 percent. That's a very telling graph and one would do well to remember it as we talk about movements and whether or not that
correction or bubble gets burst even further, if you can burst a bubble even further once it's already burst, if you take my point of view.
The turbulence in the Chinese market is drawing comparisons to the U.S. stock market crash of 1929. Now that crash, of course, was what largely
led to the Great Depression. The fear might be history could repeat itself in China because in '29, it was the individual investor in Wall Street that
also got clobbered.
CNN's Clare Sebastian reports from New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Roaring '20s, a time of short skirts, short-term trades and a long, steep decline; 86 years
later and some say it's happening again in China.
The Shanghai Composite up more than 80 percent in the past year has lost almost a third --
[16:45:00]
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): -- of its value in the past four weeks. Compare that to the Dow in 1929 and the graphs look eerily similar. In the postwar
euphoria of the 1920s, people borrowed money to buy stocks, a practice known as margin trading. Strategists see history repeating in China.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The levels of margin lending in China are historically unprecedented. At the peak it was 12 percent of the total market float.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): That was the boom. And when it comes to handling the bust, the parallels continue.
On October 24th, 1929, otherwise known as Black Thursday, a group of top American bankers met in this building, 23 Wall Street, then the
headquarters of J.P. Morgan. They agreed to pool their resources to prop up stock prices. Now almost nine decades later, 21 Chinese brokerage firms
are doing almost exactly the same thing.
In China's case, the government enlisted its brokers to buy stock to support prices. In 1929, the market crashed again four days later. What
happens next in China is open to debate.
Ann Lee is the author of "What the U.S. Can Learn from China." She says in this case the reverse may be true.
ANN LEE, AUTHOR: Currently, the Chinese are probably studying the history there as well and so it's possible that it will work in their case, because
they're going to try to be even more aggressive.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Not everyone is optimistic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what we saw in 1929 as well, which is the market was not at a sustainable level and all the attempts to intervene, all the
king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again. And that's what we're seeing play out right now.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The impact of the Wall Street crash, a global depression lasting almost a decade, most believe China's bear market will
be contained to China. Each bubble and each bust is different. Each difficult to manage. A hard lesson learned on Wall Street -- Clare
Sebastian, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Fascinating, 1929 experiences seen through the 2015 prism of China.
As we continue, his campaign may be mired in controversy. Polls show Donald Trump's the surprise front-runner for the Republican presidential
nomination. CNN's Anderson Cooper spoke to Mr. Trump and we'll talk to Anderson after the break.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
QUEST: U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump is pushing back against reports he was told to "tone it down," the rhetoric by the Republican Party
chairman. Mr. Trump calls the huge uproar over the recent comments on illegal Mexican immigrants. Defiant he was and the number of other
controversies when he sat down with Anderson Cooper. Anderson asked about his foreign policy and he said nobody will be tougher on ISIS than Donald
Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR: What you should be doing now is taking away the oil.
COOPER: What does that mean?
TRUMP: Bomb the hell -- and I'll tell you what I hate about this question.
If I win, if I win. I didn't want to answer this question. And I thought maybe I could go without answering it. Because if you look at the great
General George Patton, or General MacArthur, who I was a big fan of or any of this great generals --
[16:50:00]
TRUMP: -- they didn't talk about what they did.
And I said I hate it. In fact, if you remember when I said I have a plan, but I don't want to talk about it, the problem is everyone said, oh, he
really doesn't have a plan. So, I had to do it.
But I hate talking about it because if I win they know I'm going to do it. If I win I would attack those oil sites that are controlled and owned by --
owned. They're controlled by ISIS. They're taking tremendous money out. They are renovating a hotel in Iraq.
Can you believe it?
COOPER: But wouldn't you be destroying the wealth of Iraq?
TRUMP: No, no, let me tell -- There is no Iraq. There is no Iraq.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: The Iraqis might differ with you.
TRUMP: Excuse me. There are no Iraqis. They're broken up into so many different factions.
COOPER: And you don't think bombing Iraqi oil fields, which are now in the control of ISIS, but bombing Iraqi oil fields is going to anger huge
numbers of people?
TRUMP: I would bomb the hell out of those oil fields. I wouldn't send many troops, because you won't need them by the time I got finished. I'd
bomb the hell out of the oil fields. I didn't get Exxon, I didn't get these great oil companies to go on, they would rebuild them so fast, your
head will spin.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: -- U.S. troops?
TRUMP: Excuse me. You ever see how fast they put up rigs? These guys are unbelievable. So, I'd go ExxonMobil. I'd go to the top five oil companies.
They would be in there. They'd be finished so fast.
COOPER: Don't you need U.S. troops to protect the oil companies?
TRUMP: Yes, you put a ring around them. You put a ring. You have just taken all of the wealth away. This is what should be done. But no
politician is going to do that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Anderson Cooper joins me now from New York.
Anderson, you've done many interviews in your time -- I'll bet none quite like that.
COOPER: That is for sure, Richard. I mean, the interesting thing about Donald Trump is you can present him with facts; you can present him with
arguments. You can present him with studies. He kind of just moves forward anyway. I mean, the idea that the U.S. is going to invade a
sovereign nation, bomb their oil fields and send in ExxonMobil, it sort of plays into all the greatest fears many people in Iraq have had all along
about the United States as well as a number of other reasons why it may not be feasible.
But to his supporters, the people who like -- there are people in the GOP, and particularly in the primary season, who live what they view as his
blunt talk, as his tell-it-like-it-is style.
QUEST: Could -- on this point, people watching around the world see what they believe is a disconnect and can't understand how Americans take Mr.
Trump seriously when, in many ways, his positions are so extreme. But he's otherwise seen as being an extremely competent and very, very rich
man.
COOPER: Well, he's certainly a very rich man by all accounts, a very successful businessman. His value is -- I mean, different people have
different opinions. He says he's worth some $9 billion. He obviously has a great business record here in the United States and now around the world.
There are many people in the United States who do not take him seriously, who hear what he has to say about bombing oil fields and just think it's
ludicrous. But you have a lot of different candidates in the GOP right now, in the presidential -- in the early days of the presidential race and
there are some people in the United States who like his plain style of talking. He's not very nuanced; he's not very political. He's kind of --
bills himself as somebody who has straight talk. And that appeals to people.
QUEST: OK. So -- and I'm not asking you make a political judgment here. Just give us a bit of guidance, if you'd be as kind.
To those watching elsewhere in the world who say, is there any chance that this man actually does get the Republican nomination?
COOPER: It seems very, very difficult to imagine a path that would get Donald Trump the nomination and the presidency. I mean, his negatives, as
you say, in the world of politics here, are very high. So there's a lot of people just as there are people who like him, there's a lot of people who
don't like him. That also is important.
This is a huge GOP field right now. There's more than a dozen people running in the GOP. So it's a very wide race. And it's in very early
days. We've seen before many times a candidate who just announces, who has high name recognition going up in the polls and then over time as people
kind of hear their policies, hear more from them, their poll numbers drop.
It remains to be seen if that occurs with Donald Trump.
QUEST: Anderson, thank you.
Anderson Cooper there. And you can hear more, a lot more of what Donald Trump thinks about immigration and other issues on Friday on "AC360." It's
1:00 am in London and it will be only here on CNN.
A reminder of our breaking news tonight: Greece has now submitted its reform plans to the European Union in the hope of securing a new bailout.
Earlier I spoke to the European Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Pierre Moscovici, before the announcement it was.
[16:55:00]
QUEST: He told me the tone coming from Greeks had changed in the final round of the negotiations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOSCOVICI: Clearly Mr. Tsakalotos is not Mr. Varoufakis and the meeting we had in Europe was, I would say, positive and constructive but there's
always one thing. The substance is the other thing. And now today what we expect is concrete, comprehensive, complete and tangible and realistic
proposals from Mr. Tsipras and his government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Pierre Moscovici and we'll have a "Profitable Moment" after the break.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment," the denouement has begun. Greece has now presented its proposals to the European Commission and to the
Eurogroup in Brussels. After that, the Greek parliament behind me, they will vote on some version of the proposal tomorrow with the idea being
showing that the nation or at least the parliamentary people are behind that which is being put forward.
But remember what these proposals have to show. They have to be comprehensive; they have to be specific. They have to be meaningful and
only then do the other side start giving their own views on debt relief.
If, at any stage in the next few hours, this process falters or fails, then it really is game over, if such a horrible phrase can be used, because
everyone is at the end of their tether and they now know that this is the moment where the Greek bailout number three either gets approved for
negotiation or it's all over.
And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in Athens. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable. I'll see
you tomorrow.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
END