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Quest Means Business
British Muslim Family Barred From Entering U.S.; Beatles Music Available for Streaming. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired December 23, 2015 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
RICHARD QUEST, HOST: The St Thomas' boy choir ringing the closing bell at the stock exchange. The bell's ringing, hit the gavel. Oh a good firm
gavel and are we going to hear any singing from the young boys? I think we might enjoy just a second or two. It is after all the season.
[SINGING]
QUEST: The St. Thomas' boy's choir on the eve before Christmas Eve the market was up and it's all trading coming to an end on Wednesday. It is
December the 23rd.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Tonight the row over a British Muslim family barred from the U.S. now goes all the way to 10 Downing Street.
Think of it as better late than never. The markets - they are full of Christmas cheer.
And four young lads from Liverpool take on the world of music streaming as they say from the (inaudible), I'm sure they'll go far. I'm Richard Quest
and live from London where I mean business.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
QUEST: Good evening. A Muslim family from Britain has been blocked from entering the United States. The family say they believe it's because of
their religion. The issue has now mushroomed into an international incident and the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, is being urged to take up
the issue with his American counterpart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: When Tariq Mahmood, his brother, sister-in-law, and seven children arrived at London Gatwick airport, it was meant to be the start of a
holiday to the American West Coast. They were going to Disney. The bags were on board, the plane was bound for L.A. and then U.K. border control
explained that Washington would not let them fly.
In a statement U.S. customs said the person's religion is not a determining factor in letting them into the country. It was little consolation to
Mahmood who told CNN "we've been Trumped", referring to Donald Trump's recent calls for bans on all Muslims entering the U.S.
He told Diana Magnay that airline officials gave him no explanation.
TARIQ MAHMOOD, DENIED FLIGHT TO U.S: He would not give us an explanation as to what was the problem because I - `cause the kids were asking them what
is the problem? Why are we not going? So we did not - we have to ask them what shall we tell our kids of what's going on. I mean we need to know a
bit more than just a problem within ESTA. Because we have a copy of ESTA which says this is perfectly fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Diana is with me now. He refers to an ESTA the electronic Travel Authorization, electronic visa. So six weeks before the flight they did do
the application and there was no problem.
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. And that application is a fairly easy procedure, it doesn't cost an awful lot, $25 you get it back in a
couple of days, and then you presume that you're fine. And then they arrived at the gate six weeks later and they weren't fine and no-one could
them why.
And the U.S. Immigration official who was at Gatwick said well maybe you need a paper visa or maybe it's something to do but he couldn't tell them
exactly what the problem was.
QUEST: And the British Member of Parliament who has taken up her constituents cause, what's she found out?
MAGNAY: Well she believes that - the rhetoric that politicians are using in the U.K. against Donald Trump that we - that British politicians are
condemning him roundly. But actually on the ground they're not putting their money where their mouth is. They're allowing anti-Muslim sentiment
to exist in airports.
That's her question. You know are - is it predominately Muslims who are being banned from entry into the U.S.
QUEST: She - I think
MAGNAY: -- (inaudible) we need to investigate this further.
QUEST: Does she have other cases besides this particular one?
MAGNAY: There's another gentlemen that I spoke to today, Imam from North London who had a business visa revoked. He got that visa last year, it's
due to go on u8ntil 2024, and he arrived at the airport and they said we're revoking your visa, they didn't give him any explanation.
Yesterday he went to the U.S. Embassy, or in fact on Monday, and they said to him, having invited him to come and discuss his case, they said well
it's your chance to give your side of the story. He said it's not up to me. You gave me a visa, you revoked it, you tell me why.
[16:05:00]
QUEST: So in all of these cases the ability of the U.S. to act as if you like prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner that seems to be the
difficulty here. People don't know what they've done wrong and they don't seem to be able to get an answer.
MAGNAY: Exactly. And I think that's what this family wants. First of all they want compensation for the airline, they've lost $15,000, and secondly
they want to know why this happened to them. Because you would have thought after the ESTA is approved, apparently the checks continue, that is
the problem and either you're OK, or you're not. And the U.S. isn't obliged, no authority is necessarily obliged to tell you why not. And then
that's a big cost, and a big cost to these poor children who were looking forward to a holiday in Disney Land.
QUEST: And - a Norwegian said to me tonight, they won't give them the money back because they're not eligible for a refund. Diana Magnay, thank
you.
In the wake of the terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, the United States is tightening border security. Only in the last hour the U.S.
Transportation Security Administration, the TSA said it's changing its policy regarding body scanners where passengers once had the option to opt
out of going through a scanner. The TSA will now have the right to mandate that someone goes through the scanner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The U.S. Visa Waiver Program, has also been amended. It allows Citizens from 38 countries to travel to business for tourism without an
official interview visa. The new restrictions target people with connections to so called high risk countries. People who have or not - or
if you've travelled to Syria or Iraq in the past five years are ineligible. The same goes from countries, citizens considered to be areas of concern by
the Department of Homeland Security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Only this week I spoke to the U.S. Customs and Border Commissioner, Gil Kerlikowske, and I asked the commissioner how he balances making travel
easier and ensuring the safety and security of America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIL KERLIKOWSKE, U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER COMMISSIONER: It is a huge challenge but when I look at the patriotism, the quality, the education,
the training of our Customs and Border protection personnel. And when they explain to me every single day that they realize they have a mission to
fulfill, which is to protect the American people, I have great confidence in the work that they do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: U.S. Justice Department, Evan Perez joins me now from Washington. Let's start first of all Evan with the family in the U.K. Is there your --
is it your feeling from your contacts in Washington that Washington is sort of starting to say hang on. What have we done here. Have we got this one
wrong?
EVAN PEREZ, U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: Well, I think the amount of publicity this one case has gotten is something that is going to cause people to have
to figure out whether they need to provide an explanation to this family.
I certainly have talked to a number of people today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEREZ: For instance, I was able to learn that not all of the members of this family were barred from travel. Only some of them. I don't know which
ones in particular. But I -- these are things that I think would help provide explanation to this family, things that they were not able Richard
to get at the airport that day, and to much frustration on their part I imagine.
And the other part of this that I think is going to cause them to sort of step back is the fact that clearly no matter what happens with Donald
Trump's proposal, which is going nowhere by the way, the idea of banning all Muslims.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREZ: there is this perception problem that is being created and cases like this only to serve to buttress that perception. And it is a real
problem that the U.S. is going to have to face, not only because of terrorism and business concerns, but because people young people, children
for instance are going to feel that they are not the same, they're not equal to other children simply because they are Muslims.
QUEST: OK. We've had before with no flights lists where I realize it would have been a much more strict set of circumstances if it had been a no fly
list case. But we've had cases with no fly lists where people have said look, the real problem here is you're not telling me what's wrong and what
I need to do about it. And that seems to be a case exactly the situation here.
PEREZ: Right. Exactly. And not only that but the entire process, just even the process of redress is very mysterious to everyone. There is in the last
couple of years there's been a couple of years - there's been an effort to try to see if people could get the names off the no fly list especially if
there are mistakes.
Now, we don't know whether or not this instance, this problem with this group - this family is one of paper work mix up. Or perhaps something that
they filled out did not match up perfectly with the U.S. records, and it could - it may well be that the U.S records are wrong. And so that's where
this -- the fix has to come. Is you know it's incumbent upon the families to provide correct information, but it's also incumbent upon the U.S.
Government to have the correct information Richard, and I think that's where the British Government is going to have to lean on them to provide
that explanation.
[16:10:20]
QUEST: Evan Perez, joining us from Washington. Evan thank you.
PEREZ: Thanks.
QUEST: Let it stream. Let it stream. Let it stream, a white album Christmas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The Beatles fans as the band joins the streaming revolution.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
QUEST: As you listen to our next story, remember I was born in Liverpool in the 1960s, so any story about the Beatles cut my leg off and you will find
Beatles right the way through like the tree trunk.
It's a long and winding road to streaming. Just in time for Christmas the fab four are releasing their back catalog on the streaming music apps. Now
Here Comes the Sun. If you look to see exactly where they are at the moment, the bands and the songs are available at 12:01 local time on
Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: So this globe will show you where exactly; obviously Africa, Europe where it's not yet midnight across the Atlantic to the United States, the
Beatles is not yet available.
The beatles.com is tracking the roll out because the service - there's obviously the international date line, so Beatles streaming is available
across Asia, South East Asia, Australia, it goes across Russia, into India and heads towards the gulf and then the Middle East at midnight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Yesterday all of that streaming seemed so far away. Now it looks as though it's here to stay.
The Beatles have been slow to the digital revolution, they only joined iTunes in 2010 and after years of negotiations.
So where the Beatles say hello to streaming others artists say good-bye. Adele withheld her latest album from most streaming services. Neil Young
pulled music over quality concerns. Apple conceded to Taylor Swift after she threatened to withhold the album.
Now joining me now across the Universe or across the Atlantic is Jack Isquith, Slackers Radio Senior Vice President of Content and Programming.
Slacker is one of the nine services that are streaming the back catalog.
[16:15:08]
Sir, when the streaming of the Beatles was more than just a digital hiccup, it was about artists rights, it was about contractual problems, it was
about who owned what. It was a nightmare and a minefield to get this done wasn't it?
JACK ISQUITH, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF CONTENT AND PROGRAMMING, SLACKER RADIO: Well I think, you know, you have to look at this with the
perspective of the Beatles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISQUITH: You know, the Beatles have been probably the most successful band be or artist for the last 50 years and keeping their content relevant and
appearing to generation after generation.
So when you think about the digital music space, you have to look at it and say well if the Beatles think the time is right now, this is a giant
validation for streaming and all the work, and all the discussions and all the negotiations underneath that, it's hard to argue with the Beatle's
saying in their own way, hey, this isn't just the future this is the present.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ISQUITH: And that's certainly how we look at it at Slacker.
QUEST: OK, so. Who owns the whole catalog now?
ISQUITH: The Beatles - I mean the Beatles still own their catalog, you know they have a partnership with UMG, the Universal Music Group, and we
are licensing that catalog from Universal and from the Beatles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: What sort of response are you expecting because although Beatle's streaming hasn't been possible, you know the music has been around a long
time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Is there that -- I guess what I am really asking is - is the - is there the evidence that people want to stream it?
ISQUITH: Oh, you know, look, At Slacker we have - and across all streaming services, there's so much data about what audiences want and do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISQUITH: What are they clicking on, what are they harding, what are they sharing on social media? The Beatles are still one of the biggest band in
the world in terms of requests.
Now that we get tell the story of the Beatles, not only play the music but talk about the context, think about it this way. In four clicks on a
digital music service, a good one, you can go from Liverpool to Hamburg, to the Ed Sullivan Show, back to the roof, where they're playing get back on
the roof. That famous scene in London. To be able to tell that story is a big deal and I think you're going to see the Beatles popularity bigger than
ever; certainly bigger than it has been in the next couple of years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: And has - and have you or anybody been able to quantify to the Beatles estate, or to those who own the rights, what it's going to be worth
to them?
ISQUITH: Well it's very interesting without you know breaking confidences, our interactions were all about the love and care and honoring the legacy
and how creative were we going to be. So Slacker Radio has a particular role, we talk about voice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISQUITH: We're all about the human voice and giving a voice to the music. That was our thrust. In our particular case, we weren't talking about
numbers we were talking about how are we going to care for this music and this legacy. And that got the job done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Sir, Jack good to see you. Thank you sir.
ISQUITH: Thank you so much, thank you for having me.
QUEST: Delighted to have you on the program. I was too young to actually see the Beatles play at the Cavern in Liverpool, my sister did though.
Beatles albums have long been available through less legal means. Now Kim dotcom, the millionaire founder of pirate site, megaupload, may be forced
to face a very different and less tuneful form of music in the United States.
A New Zealand Court has ruled dotcom, and three of his former associates can now be extradited to the U.S.
Anna Burns-Francis, from our affiliate TVNZ has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA BURNS-FRANCIS, TVNZ CORRESPONDENT: Kim Dotcom arriving at court today hoping for a Christmas miracle.
You've waited a long time for this, what do you think about the timing right before Christmas?
KIM DOTCOM: It's interesting, let's see what Santa has in store.
BURNS-FRANCIS: But it wasn't Santa, rather Judge Nevin Dawson who delivered the bad news.
NEVIN DAWSON, JUDGE: This court finds that the respondents are all eligible for surrender on all (inaudible) counts in the superseding
indictment.
BURNS-FRANCIS: The disappointment clearly visible on the faces of Dotcom, and his co-accused, Bram van der Kolk, Mathias Ortmann, and Finn Batato,
whose wife could be heard sobbing in the background.
Dotcom was upbeat outside court filing an appeal before he even left.
DOTCOM: What I would like to say is that this is not the last word on the matter. We have filed an appeal, I'm still on bail, and we'll go through
the whole process until the very end.
BURNS-FRANCIS: Wife, Mona was there for support but made a hasty exit. Today's decision the culmination of four years of legal battle. The
argument whether Dotcom and his cohorts were responsible for Copyright infringement for the content posted to his Megaupload empire.
[16:20:15]
BURNS-FRANCIS: At one time the biggest file sharing locker in the world, Megaupload accounted for 4% of all internet traffic. But it was also host
to millions of pirated movies, music, T.V. shows, and computer software. Lawyers acting for the U.S. told the hearing (inaudible) was a simple
scheme of fraud.
CHRISTINE GORDON, PROSECUTOR: They deliberately attracted copyright infringing material to their website and deliberately preserved it,
deliberately took steps to profit from that material and made vast sums of money.
BURNS-FRANCIS: Those vast sums now frozen or spent on legal fees a battle now taking a toll.
GRANT ILLINGWORTH, LAWYER: They are living under the shadow of extradition to a country in which they have never lived, they've never been residents
of that country and they're going to be tried rigorously if this extradition process is upheld.
BURNS-FRANCIS: Finn Butato, says he can't afford to fight his case, he's the only want without a lawyer.
FINN BUTATO: I'm a bit disappointed obviously.
BURNS-FRANCIS: But it's not the end. Justice Minister, Amy Adams gets the final say over extradition and says she won't even consider it until after
any future legal action.
Anna Burns-Francis, One News.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Father Christmas arrived on Wall Street towards the closing bell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The Santa Clause rally has arrived of 185 - more than one percent. And look at that green, it is solid throughout the course of the session.
The volatility is only one way (inaudible). Quest Means Business, we will continue after the break.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
QUEST: Think of it as the Santa rally. It's finally come to town. The market was up yesterday in a triple digit gain, and another triple digit
gain. We've seen seven triple digit moves on the Dow everyday since last Friday, so up one percent. And the interesting thing over this one verses
yesterday, the market goes up and it almost ends at the best point of the day, so it's a strong performance of up one percent. Now, over 17,600.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[16:25:05]
QUEST: This rally was even stronger in Europe because they had seen the best of the U.S. day, or at least that strong opening.
Gains of - gains of two percent or more in London, Frankfurt, Zurich and Paris. All of which shows a bit of book squaring towards the end of the
day but the rebound in oil and commodity prices which helped bring minds, helped bring energy stocks and oil companies also was a move up.
The market staged this mini rally on the last full trading day of Christmas for many countries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Paul La Monica joins me from New York. Paul, we need your sageness because as I look at what happened today and I've got the European bosses
here and the Dow, there really is no reason for a sudden two percent, one percent rise in a market.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN MONEY DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: No, not at all. And we've had this happening now all week. Three days of solid gains, today obviously
the strongest. You do have to point out though, as you did already, you had a huge spike in oil prices and that does seem to be lifting sentiment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LA MONICA: A lot of those beaten down energy and mining companies were among the big winners today even though they are the biggest losers of 2015
by far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: And pull the strands together, we've got a few more trading days before the end of the year, but I'm a little behind if you like on where we
stand for the year so far. Because that summer volatility has skewed really all the numbers.
LA MONICA: Definitely. The Dow is still down a little bit for the year. If things keep going in this direction then we might eek out a gain for 2015.
The S&P 500 is now back in positive territory for the year thanks to today's rally.
The NAZDAQ has been the star performer. You've got stocks like Facebook, Amazon, Google, Netflix, they have been on fire this year, that has helped
lift that tech heavy index to pretty solid gains.
QUEST: Right. Now it's been a year of disinflation Paul. Thank you for joining us. We'll talk more about next year when we are back in New York
next week.
It's been a year of disinflation and this is the last Quest Means Business before Christmas. So it's time for our annual look at the P&C Christmas
Price Index, where economists at the bank calculate how much each of the gifts in the song, 12 days of Christmas would cost.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: For instance if you were to hire eight maids-a-milking, now it would cost you $58 based on the minimum wage, that's the same as it would cost
you last Christmas because this inflation is just about everywhere but wages have remained persistently low frustrating economic policy makers
throughout the course of the year.
When it comes to skilled workers like drummers drumming or pipers piping, demand is also flat. 11 pipers still won't come cheap, they charge more
than two and a half grand for their holiday serenade.
Strangely enough supply is struggling to keep up with sky rocketing demands, it's the doves that are real problems. Two turtle doves now cost
$290, up 11.5%, that's the biggest gain of the whole list. Those turtle doves.
And forget the idea that Gold has been done, because those gold rings, five golden rings, $750. The price of five gold rings has remained exactly
steady because of robust demand. Put it all together and you have the 12 days of Christmas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: It would cost you by the way $34, 130 if you bought the lot, and if you buy it over the whole 364 gifts, $155,000.
They've gone mad. A return to vocal criticism of Russia's government by the former (inaudible) Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: See what's got him seething and seeing red when we come back. Quest Means Business, the 12 days of Christmas with (inaudible).
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
[16:32:48]
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more "Quest Means Business" in just a moment when an old foe of Vladimir Putin's once again faces arrest.
And the great reading debate -- are you on a tablet or the crinkle of a page? We'll show you what the chief executives prefer.
Before that, this is CNN and on this network the news always comes first.
U.K. officials say a British Muslim family that was banned from flying to the U.S. was stopped by U.S. Customs officials in London, not British ones.
The Mahmood family says they were not given a reason why they were prevented from boarding a flight to Los Angeles in Gatwick Airport.
The British lawmaker who represented the family's constituency has now asked the U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene.
Stella Creasy told CNN other Muslims have complained about being stopped while trying to get to the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
STELLA CREASY, U.K. LABOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: If these people were actually connected to al-Qaeda, then surely they shouldn't be allowed to
leave the airport. This happened a week ago.
The family was simply told to go home. No further contact has been made with them, no explanation has been provided.
They are 9 thousand pounds out of pocket for the tickets that they bought. And what I've been trying to do as their MP is get more information.
I have to also say this is not the only case that I have had raised with me of somebody traveling to America being stopped at the last minute.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: The Iraqi government forces are now less than a kilometer from the ISIS-held government compound in the city of Ramadi.
Iraqi government forces are now less than a kilometer from the ISIS-held government compound in the city of Ramadi.
Media published on Facebook shows intense street fighting as troops and tanks push towards the City Center.
Booby traps and IEDs mounted almost everywhere aren't slowing the advance.
In Jerusalem, four people are dead after a stabbing attack at a popular tourist area. It happened at the Jaffa Gate to the old city.
One of the victims died of stab wounds. The other apparently died from gunshot wounds when Israeli security forces responded. The two attackers
were also killed.
The prime minister of Georgia's unexpectedly resigned less than a year before the country is due to hold a general election.
Irakli Garibashvili did not give a specific reason for his resignation. He's only held the premiership for the past two years. In a televised
address to the nation he said he never expected to be prime minister forever.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
[16:35:09] IRAKLI GARIBASHVILI, OUTGOING GEORGIAN PRIME MINISTER VIA INTERPRETER: Positions are temporary while Motherland and God are eternal.
That's why I have decided today to resign as prime minister. Now, when our home and foreign policies and our company's development is assured, I'd
like to wish our future prime minister the best.
Moscow is once again targeting Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Russia's investigative committee has issued an international arrest warrant for the
former oligarch.
Khodorkovsky's been living in exile in Europe since he was pardoned by the Russian president in 2013, after ten years in jail.
CNN's Claire Sebastian explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
CLAIRE SEBASTIAN, CNN PRODUCER: One of the most vocal critics of the Russian government once again wanted by Moscow.
VLADIMIR MARKIN, SPOKESMAN, RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE, VIA INTERPRETER: It doesn't matter where the accused of particularly serious
crimes is hiding.
In Russia or beyond its borders, even in Antarctica, it's our duty to take every legal action to bring him to justice.
SEBASTIAN: The case begins in this remote Russian oil town NeftegazYugansk, once the headquarters of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's oil giant
Yukos.
The exiled former oligarch now accused of ordering the 1998 murder of the town's mayor over a tax dispute.
The investigation was reopened this summer despite five people having already been convicted of the crime including others associated with Yukos.
In a press conference earlier this month when the charges were first announced, Khodorkovsky said he was expecting this.
The Kremlin he said was fighting an order by an international arbitration court in the Hague to pay $50 billion in damages to Yukos shareholders and
he accused the Russian government of cracking down on his pro-democracy organizations, both in Russia, through which he has been calling for a
regime change.
MIKHAIL KHODORSKOVSKY, RUSSIAN OLIGARCH, VIA INTERPRETER: The activities of Open Russia, the organization I founded are a source of irritation.
There have already been police raids and employees have been arrested.
SEBASTIAN: And there were more raids this week, police searching Open Russia's Moscow offices on Tuesday, the day before they announced the
arrest warrant.
ROBERT AMSTERDAM, FORMER LAWYER FOR MIKHAIL KHODORSKOVSKY: As the price of oil plunges, Vladimir Putin is left with less and less leverage with which
to go after political opponents both domestically and externally.
So to many people this would have been anticipated.
SEBASTIAN: Once Russia's richest man, Khodorkovsky spent ten years in hard labor camps for fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion before being pardoned
two years ago.
Now based in the U.K., his lawyer says he will do everything possible to defend himself against these charges.
Claire Sebastian, CNN London.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: Think of no more socks, forget the ties and certainly no Naff presents. We've got proper travel gifts for the man and woman -- the
"Business Traveller" on the go.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:41: 08] QUEST: Always time for that last Christmas gift. There may be one day left until Christmas and it means minute shopping of some last
minute nature.
If there's a globetrotter on your list, well they've already got neck pillows and passport holders.
So now some practical gifts, and I put them to the test with a fellow traveller Ben Schlappig of Onemileatatime.com blog.
Time for some Christmas gifts.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: What do you think of this particular? Oh you enjoyed that?
BEN SCHLAPPIG, BLOG PUBLISHER, ONEMILEATATIME.COM: I did. I never got to do that as a child. Wow.
QUEST: Now first thoughts.
SCHLAPPIG: The colors are interesting, I actually have no clue what this is.
QUEST: This is the Biaggi, the ZipSak foldable luggage. It starts out compact.
So there's the wheels.
SCHLAPPIG: OK.
QUEST: So I'm guessing - And then expands and expands into a large bag. I think I could actually have more a use for this.
Look at this.
SCHLAPPIG: Right. I like the size to begin with, it seems like it has potential. At least it's compact, that's good.
I'm generally not a fan of backpacks or - oh, OK. It's actually -
QUEST: Now I'm sure what we do with this.
SCHLAPPIG: Is it a -
QUEST: This is the Rolo travel bag. It's a compression contraption. You put your garments in the pockets, you roll up the bag, clip it, and voile.
Sort of.
Now that's got potential.
SCHLAPPIG: Yes. How much can you really fit in here though, is my question?
QUEST: Enough for a weekend.
SCHLAPPIG: I will take this over the other one, but I would take a weekender bag over both.
This is nice and small. This is a good size, so -
Speakers in Bed -
QUEST: Now have you seen these?
SCHLAPPIG: No - "The world's most comfortable wireless headphones for sleeping."
Just on your head?
QUEST: Hand speakers.
OK, and the speakers are here or -- ?
QUEST: Wherever they are. There. They're there.
And I think go over your ears. You wear like a headband.
No, I think the other way, the other way.
SCHLAPPIG: Like that? No, they go over your ears?
QUEST: Over your ears.
(LAUGHTER)
QUEST: They're very popular, these. And you just sort of --
The idea is to provide the utmost comfort while you fall asleep to your favorite tunes. You'll be wanting that.
SCHLAPPIG: I love the size of this, so -
QUEST: (SIGHS).
SCHLAPPIG: You do wrapping - it's good, I'm impressed.
QUEST: Tend to your duties.
SCHLAPPIG: Now see this is a proper item because it's small, it identifies your bag from others. I think this is the best travel gadget yet.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: A "Business Traveller" luggage bag. We've probably got some of them lying around the office.
If any of you can tweet me what you think is your best travel gift, I might even find a couple to send out in the post @richardquest.
If you can come up with your best and most humorous travel gift, I'll give away three of them between now and tomorrow.
How does that sound? @richardquest, the best and funniest travel gift.
So we know none of those gifs could be delivered without Santa (RINGS BELL).
And all good boys and girls and those who are naughty as well will be pleased to know today the United States has been granted temporary
operating authority by the Federal Aviation Administration.
[16:45:09] It was announced by the U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx at a news conference.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
ANTHONY FOXX, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: On November1st of this year, the Department of Transportation received an application from one Kris
Kringle seeking special operating authority to engage in air transportation to various rooftop markets on the night of December 24th and 25th 2015.
Today I'm pleased to announce that as of this morning, the U.S. Department of Transportation has approved that application and granted Mr. Kringle
doing business as Santa Claus that authority.
It appears that he will use an airborne sleigh drawn by eight reindeer which the FAA has cleared for nighttime operations.
With that, I'm happy to take questions.
You, back there in the red.
SANTA CLAUS ACTOR: The extent of this freight route sounds exhausting. Shouldn't each unloading point be instructed to have milk and cookies to
ensure this Kringle's success?
FOXX: Well that's actually beyond the authority of the United States Department of Transportation. We will not mandate milk and cookies in
homes, but certainly folks can do that if they choose to. It certainly seems like a reasonable course of action.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: So the (LAUGHTER) United States - I'm not sure what was going on there - has granted permission for the at least to fly over the United
States.
But the Santa Tracker which as you'll be well aware is put together by NORAD which is the U.S. and Canadian early warning system. NORAD has been
tracking Santa for decades.
I'll tell you the story tomorrow about how it all began. But they say the countdown begins in 10 hours, 13 minutes and 10 seconds because that is
when midnight happens in the first part and we will track Santa.
We'll also be telling you of course how fast Santa goes, how much fuel he will need and of course the old statistic about does he burn up through
hyperspace because he's going so fast in such a heavy sleigh.
When we come back, are you one of those people who like the dog-eared pages or are you more of a digital convenience?
Some bibliophiles tell me they celebrate the love of their books and a wordsmith joins me for the most wonderful time of the year - the season of
Christmas books - after a moment when you're going to "Make, Create, Innovate."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:50:19] QUEST: Those of you who closely follow our "Reading for Leading" will be familiar with the question we ask every week - do you rea
on a tablet, a Kindle or do you prefer the crinkle of the page?
I've been busy asking the curious and the canny, the brainy and the bookish, and all year this is what they've told me (RINGS BELL).
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, MAYOR OF LONDON: I love the feeling of books sniffing, book-snoffling books, making marginalia, making little annotations in the -
on the page. I love to but you can't do that with a Kindle.
Crinkle, crinkle, crinkle.
GUY RYDER, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION: I'm a dinosaur, I need the book, I need the paper. I need to smell it, I want to
go into a shop and buy it - don't even do it online.
MARIEL HEMINGWAY, ACTRESS AND AUTHOR: God, I'm Ernest Hemingway's granddaughter (LAUGHTER). I love books!
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, AC360: (LAUGHTER). I like the crinkle of the page. I like having the book, I like a book I can have in my library that
I can put it on the shelf and that I can go back to.
ALEX STUBB, FINNISH MINISTER OF FINANCE: When I read a book, I read a book. And it needs to be thick and it needs to stay in my library after
I've read it.
PAUL KRUGMAN, COLUMNIST, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": I need to carry around a library around with me, and the ability to carry around a library that
weighs less than a pound, it's kind of a nice thing.
JIMMY WALES, FOUNDER, WIKIPEDIA: I'm a huge fan of the paper book. I would say paper is still a great technology. You know, the batteries never
go dead, it's really, really cheap.
CHRIS FAULKNER, CEO AND CHAIRMAN, BREITLING ENERGY: I know that someone who has a Kindle you can put 1,000 books on there, but I can't read 1,000
books at once.
So I bring the book with me, I finish that, and I bring another one with me from the office.
That's how I like to do it personally. I can highlight it, I can mark it, I can dog-ear it. So for me, I'm kind of old-school really I guess.
MARIA SHARAPOVA, TENNIS CHAMPION: I love the feeling of a book, yes. I definitely - I buy a lot of books and I know they're heavy but they're so
part of - they're so part of my suitcases.
JEAN-CLAUDE BIVER, HUBLOT CHAIRMAN-- and then you put it in your library and your little kids in 20 or 50 years will say, `Ha, Grandfather always
had this book next to his bed.' (LAUGHTER).
And when your grandchildren can say that, of your book, then you have been successful with the book. (LAUGHTER).
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: So, crinkle or swipe, we're looking at how people will be enjoying their books this Christmas and "The Guardians" children's book editor is
Julia Eccleshare and is with me.
Hello, Mita (ph) -
JULIA ECCLESHARE, CHILDREN'S BOOKS EDITOR, "THE GUARDIAN": Hi.
QUEST: Thank you so much. What is it about the digital versus the crinkle of the page? People still - the hard books, the real book is not dead.
ECCLESHARE: Oh of course not. I mean, the hard book is actually thriving and particularly in children's books interestingly.
I think everybody thought when the possibility of reading on some kind of screen came up that it would be children who would be the people who'd be
most passionate to do it.
But actually they're not. They still like the book.
QUEST: And there's been lot of research about the level of comprehension and understanding between reading on a screen and reading on a book,
particularly with children's books, hasn't there?
ECCLESHARE: Yes, there has. And I mean, the view seems to be that you can take in the meaning - the superficial meaning - but you don't get the depth
if you read it on a screen.
I'm not sure that we can prove that yet. I think we'd have to sort of do a much bigger survey than has taken place here.
And I think it would have to be that that's how children always read and not just some kinds of reading.
I mean, I think until we make a whole switch, we can't be sure.
QUEST: And anyway, it might just be a generational thing - those of us who are - have had more books and less screens and versus those who've watched
less screens and more books.
ECCLESHARE: Yes, it could be.
QUEST: What about what are people reading this year? What are the books the children particularly are reading?
ECCLESHARE: Well, I mean, the huge - I mean - the interesting thing is the children's books are the booming part of the book trade.
They have shown a 90 percent increase on last year in terms of sales across the book trade.
And it is so curious because everybody thinks that children are spending their whole time on-screen - playing games, parents are hysterical about
screen time and yet the sales of children's books are going up.
QUEST: What's driving that though?
ECCLESHARE: Well, I think there are two things that are driving it. I think one is that - -and it was always said - it was said in 2008 - that
when, you know, parents had, you know - when the crash happened and parents had less money, the one thing they'd go on spending on would be on their
children.
And actually what's happened is the parental input into education has risen exponentially. Parents are so involved in their children's education and
they're so passionate for their children to do well.
And they know that reading is at the core of learning. And so I think they're investing in education or investing in reading and they want their
children to be readers.
QUEST: And -
ECCLESHARE: No, every school will tell you the child who is a reader is a child who will achieve more.
So they are buying books for their children.
And children are reading in two particular areas. They are reading the picture book stage - we all know the success of "The Gruffalo," this year
at Christmas it'll be "The Stickman."
But Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler or her other illustrators are -
QUEST: Right.
ECCLESHARE: -- cutting a swathe through readers.
[16:55:01] And at the other end, it's this thing called the YA - the young adult part of the market -- which nobody knows whether only children are
reading it, the guess is that -
QUEST: Right.
ECCLESHARE: -- 25-year-olds are reading it.
QUEST: And finally, when it comes to reading yourself, the question I've asked everybody all year - a tablet, a Kindle or the crinkle of the page?
ECCLESHARE: I like the crinkle of the page but -
QUEST: Ah!
ECCLESHARE: -- I would read on a Kindle if I could flick back as quickly as like within a book.
QUEST: Have a very happy Christmas.
ECCLESHARE: Thanks very much.
QUEST: Thank you very much indeed.
We will take a "Profitable Moment" (RINGS BELL) after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment." Isn't it fascinating? All the modern technology in the world and we're told once again that it is still
the crinkle of the page, it is still books, it is still the hard physical content.
Time and again throughout the year, that is what CEOs have told us repeatedly. Everybody loves reading the real book.
Oh, they'll read a report or a newspaper or an article or a PDF on a tablet. But when it comes to enjoying that moment, they will enjoy it on
the page of a real book with a crinkle.
And that's "Quest Means Business" for tonight. I'm going to leave you on this eve of Christmas Eve with the St. Thomas' Boys Choir who rang the
closing bell on Wall Street.
And whatever you're up to this Christmas, (RINGS BELL) I hope it's profitable, peaceful and with family and friends. God bless.
END
