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Quest Means Business
Markets Rally on Macron Success; Unroll.me, Uber Spark Outrage Over User Data; Malaysia Airlines CEO Attempts "Great Turnaround"; Macron and Le Pen Face Off for Presidency; Trump's 100-Day Deadline; O'Reilly's Podcast Resumes on Monday. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired April 24, 2017 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00] PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: The weather may have been grim here in New York, but my, goodness, the markets did not disappoint. It's
Monday, April 24th, a political earthquake in France shakes up the markets.
Uber gets rolled up in data privacy problems. And the CEO of Malaysia airlines tells us how he is turning around that troubled carrier. I'm
Paula Newton and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
A surprise announcement tonight from Marine Le Pen. She's the candidate who took second place in Sunday's French presidential vote. Le Pen now
says she is stepping down, temporarily, as head of her far-right party, le Front National. Le Pen says, "I am taking a leave of absence as president
of the National Front Party. I am nothing other than a candidate for the French presidency." To be clear, she is temporarily divorcing herself from
her party.
This is seen as a tactical move by Le Pen to broaden her appeal among French voters. Le Pen has tried repeatedly do distance herself from her
party's racist and anti-Semitic past during the campaign. The FN, of course, was fronted by Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who led the
party for years, and we should say, the daughter has gone a ways to try to also divorce herself from her father's political opinions.
Now, two weeks of furious campaigning lie ahead. On May 7th, French voters will choose between two very different visions of the economy, France's
identity, and its place, of course, in Europe and the world. Now, markets cheered the first-round -- cheer and how -- with the centrist Emmanuel
Macron, now favorite to win the presidency.
The euro jumped more than a percent against the dollar. Macron, who won 24 percent of first-round voters is pro-European and pro-Europe. Now, French
stocks had a big stock today. And this seems apropos, right, the CAC surged 4.1 percent. You wondered all day if they would hang on to the
gains, indeed they did. Banks were the big winners.
The euphoria spread across the Atlantic. The Dow jumped in early trading. And you know what, it never looked back. Look at that 216 points. The
implied open was about 230 points. That's been going on for about ten hours. This was absolutely a solid gain. We should also say, the S&P and
the NASDAQ also solid gainers today. We want to pull a of this into context. Michael O'Sullivan is chief investigative officer at Credit
Suisse Private Banking, he joins me now live from Paris. I mean, I think what most people want to know is, is this warranted? This, as we called
it, euphoria? The markets really couldn't help themselves today.
MICHAEL O'SULLIVAN, CREDIT SUISSE PRIVATE BANKING: Good evening, Paula. I actually think it's quite a well-calibrated rally. The gains have really
been focused around France, around the periphery of Europe, because the risk, I think, of an existential breakup of Europe has now been reduced, or
at least eliminated for the time being. Gains are maybe being less generous in the U.S. and also the Asian markets this morning.
Interestingly, as well, the euro has not rallied, I think, as much as somewhat as expected. I think that reflects the wish of the ECB to keep it
will euro relatively low.
NEWTON: And that's interesting, too, in terms of the European central bank, and now having to move on to a lot of work that they have to do in
France and otherwise. If we get to the hard work ahead in France. I mean, you know, absolutely, the cliches. Productivity in France is not as high
as it could be. It is impossible to hire and fire, as you would like, in France. There are structural reforms that need to be made. How does this
election get us any closer to that point?
O'SULLIVAN: Well, I think this is a good result, I have to say, for young people in France, because they now begin to have a role model, and a
leader, I think, who is in touch with them. If you look at the program of Emmanuel Macron, one of the things he wants to do first is to free up the
labor market.
Now, having said that, bear in mind that the Emmanuel Macron, which he pioneered, had to be introduced at the behest of the president. And I
think that speaks to the fact that while there is a lot of optimism about the perspective new president of France, he's going to be fought by a lot
of people, I think, Marine Le Pen will test him in the next two weeks on issues like security, the Republican, Socialist Party are now beginning to
regroup for the legislative elections.
And I think what investors will begin to look for from here are maybe two things. One, who will make up his covenant. And ultimately, I think that
will be his center-left cabinet. And then secondly, where will he stand off to the legislative elections and who will help to bolster his
government?
[16:05:00] NEWTON: You know, in his shoes, and again, perhaps we're taking too much for granted here, that he is going to win the second runoff. But
if we get to that point, what is the low-hanging fruit, Michael? What can really be done? As you say, legislatively, these things have been very
difficult to do. I remember a young Nicolas Sarkozy saying that he would able to reform the French economy.
O'SULLIVAN: I think that the low-hanging fruit are gathering together pro- European leaders. I may be getting at a very, very granular level to implement some of the architecture that Europe leads. I think within
France, there is scope for tax reform and there's common ground in some areas with the Republican, who are expected to make up the lion's share of
the new perspective of Parliament. And other areas like labor reform, I think that's going to be difficult and require a lot of cajoling and a lot
of explaining. And it will really, I think, be determined by where, when, Macron chooses to spend his political capital.
NEWTON: And finally, Michael, I mean, there obviously was a sigh of relief when many people awoke today, but there are so many different political
risks that you could see right across Europe. And you just outlined the fact that it's not over yet in France, either. What's really still keeping
people up at night in Europe?
O'SULLIVAN: You know, what I find interesting from an investor point of view is that in the last year or so, the headlines have been dominated by
politics. But actually, markets haven't really cared. They've focused on the business cycle. The business cycle in the U.S. is strong in Europe,
it's beginning to pick up. And what we're doing at Credit Suisse now is actually positioning for that. We're taking money out of U.S. markets,
where valuations are actually pretty high and putting it to work in regions like Europe.
NEWTON: Yes, and it's interesting that you say that, because I think a lot of traders are beginning to see that perhaps Europe has been undervalued,
to this point. And another point, you made, which is good, resilience on the political risk side. Michael, thanks so much. Really appreciate it
there on what is a windy night, it looks like, in Paris. Appreciate it.
O'SULLIVAN: Thanks.
QUEST: Now, Emmanuel Macron won Sunday's first round in one of the tightest, least-predictable elections in years. The final results, Macron,
24 percent. And the reason people are so happy is because that was not expected for him to take it and to take it by that margin over Le Pen, who
was at 21.3 percent. For the first time in the history of the fifth Republican, neither of the candidates of mainstream political parties made
it to the runoff. Fillon of the right and Melenchon of the left both bowed out.
Now, there's no rest for Macron and Le Pen. Both, of course, were out and about today. Macron laid a wreath at the Armenian Genocide Memorial in
Paris. Armenians are remembering the mass killing of their people by Ottoman Turks 102 years ago.
In northern France, Le Pen hit the campaign trail immediately. She slammed Macron's security policies saying he was weak on terrorism. Also, today,
Francois Hollande, this is interesting, endorsed Macron to secede him as president. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): The far right would deeply divide France. It would stigmatize some of our fellow
citizens because of their origin or their religion. They would undermined our liberty and the principles which make up the Republic.
Faced with such a risk, it's impossible to stay silent or to remain indifferent. We have to do something. There is a clear choice. As for
me, I will vote for Emmanuel Macron. In addition, I think all the political figures and associations who over and above the reservations they
might have had about his manifesto have called on people to do the same.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: No better time than now to brick in Joelle Maylam, a French senator representing the Republican Party. She joins me now live from
Paris. We want to go first to, you know, Marine Le Pen wasting no time in saying, look, I'm stepping down from my party, temporarily, in order to
unite everyone in the country for what I believe in. I mean, do you see this as a technical political move? Try and translate it for us.
JOELLE GARRIAUD MAYLAM, FRENCH SENATOR, REPUBLICAN PARTY: You're talking about Francois Fillon, aren't you? I couldn't hear.
NEWTON: Apologies, no, Marine Le Pen has just said that she will step down from her party, temporarily. Just temporarily. She's saying that she
would like --
MAYLAM: Oh, sorry.
NEWTON: So, she's saying she would want to step down from her party temporarily. She's using it really tactically for the next two weeks
during this election. What is she trying to do? Because, clearly, she understands that with all of these people, like Francois Hollande, now
backing Macron, that she needs to do something to try to shore up, obviously, her support.
[16:10:00] MAYLAM: Yes. I mean, but, obviously, this is just a communication move. She only wants to have one more reason to go on
television, to promote herself, to say how look how good I am, I'm stepping down. I just want to concentrate on my election. But you know, it's a
tactical move, as you say, but it doesn't mean that much. It's not going to change very much. Obviously, she's going to try extremely hard to get
more support and the momentum give her 36 percent, which is also very high. Far too high, in my views. But she's going to try to work at getting more
people supporting her, including from my party.
NEWTON: You know --
MAYLAM: And I hope very few people fall in that club. Because Marine Le Pen is not acceptable for her. This is just impossible. I mean, we
weren't happy. I wasn't happy with Emmanuel Macron's stance, with the way he arrived on the forefront of the political scene. But you just cannot
vote for Marine Le Pen. That's what I feel very strongly. There's so much at stake. We don't want to Frexit. We don't want France to leave it will
eurozone.
NEWTON: But is it a risk, though, at this point in time, to make it sound as if this is all a fait accompli and you absolutely cannot vote for Marine
Le Pen. Is there a danger in being presumptuous that way?
MAYLAM: There's definitely a danger, because some of all party members are extremely upset at some of us for saying immediately that we would prefer
to vote Macron. So, there's definitely a danger for the unity of all parties. But you know, we've known Marine Le Pen for so many years. We
know her stance, we know what she's saying and you know what she's proposing. And that's totally unacceptable to many of us.
You know, proper source don't have much economic sense. And we feel very strongly, or I do feel very strongly that it would be tragic for France.
It would be tragic for its economy, it would be tragic for the whole of Europe. We need to stay in the eurozone. We need to do reforms at this
extremely important. But you know, we cannot leave the eurozone. And you know, there are some silly things, like pushing back with time and age to
16. We need more and more retirement age is 62. And we would need to push up to 65, like Fillon said. Which would have been a very good step.
NEWTON: But if we discuss --
MAYLAM: We need to be able to pay for the pensions --
NEWTON: I'm sorry to interrupt, but what was glaring in a lot of the polls, and so interesting, was that here you have Macron, who's a young
man. He's 39 years old. And yet young people did not vote for him in droves. Clearly, there are people in France that want to shake up the
status quo, and for many, Emmanuel Macron just looks like the status quo, really, and not as anti-establishment. So, isn't there an appeal in Madame
Le Pen, to some?
MAYLAM: Yes. Oh, definitely. I'm sure that there are some supporters of the extreme Jean Melenchon. Melenchon had a very good score. Very few
journalists talk about it now. But you know, it's incredible setting up such support among young people. Yes, young people want to change the
situation. They want to get treated to systems. They want to have a kind of a revolution. And for them, Macron is too much of an establishment
figure. He has gone through the EMA of top civil servant school in Paris. He has been extremely -- members of the establishment working for Hollande
-- being in the Eslyee Palace. And French people have been so upset at the presidency of Hollande during the five last years, where France really went
down, and especially supporters are extremely unhappy, about having to support someone like Macron. Who was part of these terrible policies for
long time.
NEWTON: And it will be interesting --
MAYLAM: -- some of them probably will very tempted by this vote.
QUEST: It will be interesting to see, in fact --
[16:15:00] MAYLAM: Yes, interesting --
NEWTON: -- interesting as the establishment begins to rally around this anti-establishment candidate. We'll have to leave it there, but thank you
very much for your time tonight from Paris.
And we will have much more on the election later on in this hour. Now, Paris, as we were saying before, gained from almost major European markets,
it's pretty much the way the script should have been written. Look at that. Even though the FTSE bringing up almost 5 percent there.
Unbelievable. Sorry, pardon me, the Milan boards up almost 5 percent. The FTSE up 2 percent. And again, we were talking about before that French
market up more than 4 percent.
Talking about the way it had spread, though, that market euphoria, as I said, waking up very early this morning, those market futures went up and
they stayed that way into positive. Up 216 points. The NASDAQ reaching an all-time high. Unbelievable, Paul La Monica comes in here to sort it all
out. I had to do a double take when I heard on the radio in terms of futures being up. It was up 230 points at 6:00 in the morning. And I
thought, it will never last.
PAUL R. LA MONICA, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: And here we have it at the end of the day. It lasted. The NASDAQ is not far from 6,000, which was, of
course, would be a record. I think right now, you have optimism about the situation in Europe, even though we still need to see the results of the
final election, not just what we had yesterday. Of course, Le Pen could gain some steam again, and if that were to happen, I think people on Wall
Street would get a little more jittery.
What I find a little ironic is that what people seem to be thankful about is that in France, it looks like the tide of populism may be running its
course. But here in the U.S., of course, you have President Trump, you know, running, leading the way here, and the hope of tax reform is what I
think is also helping to lift stocks in the U.S. today.
NEWTON: We've had trial balloons floated all day, even today, about corporate tax perhaps going down to 15 percent in this country. Do you
think that's what's really going to give investors legs on both sides of the Atlantic, and in Asia quite frankly, if we get something like that?
LA MONICA: I think that would be very significant, Paula. Because we know that health care reform, they tried to repeal and replace Obamacare with a
substitute plan for Republicans. It didn't happen. So, tax reform is now something that most investors, I think, would love to see. And that
probably would be sufficient. Even if you wind up not getting a gigantic infrastructure bill anytime soon. You don't get the ACA replaced with some
other plan. Tax reform would be so significant, particularly for all those corporations, Apple, Amazon -- Google. These companies that have a lot of
cash, sitting overseas. Even though Silicon Valley and President Trump are at odds a lot of times, they would love to be able to bring back cash,
sitting overseas to the U.S. and use it here.
NEWTON: I guess the question is, how they're going to pay for it. Paul La Monica, you continue to watch the markets for us this week. It will be a
really interesting week. Can't believe it's only Monday. It seems like we did an entire week of markets in one day. Thanks, Paul, appreciate it.
Up next, unroll this. How a popular email service could be taking you for a ride.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Uber is facing a fresh round of bad press. Oh, Yes, you knew there would be more. Over the weekend, "The New York Times" published a
very unflattering profile of CEO Travis Kalanick. On top of that, the ride-sharing app is caught up in the outrage over user data from another
tech firm. Samuel Burke is following the story from London. And you really need to shape all of this for us, because it sounds complicated, but
actually, it's not that complicated, is it? In terms of what they were doing?
SAMUEL BURKE, CNNMONEY BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Not that complicated, at all. This very unflattering profile of the CEO of Uber in
"The New York Times," had this little mention of the fact they had these cutthroat tactics, including getting information about their rival, Lyft.
But how? Using data garnered from a tool that I adore, to be quite frankly, and have talked a lot about on this newscast called Unroll.me.
Why do I like it? Because like you, I have so much email clutter that I swear I didn't sign up for. And what Unroll.me does is you give it access
to your email, and then it's like Tinder, you swipe the left if you don't want something or swipe right if you do. Although I'm always swiping left.
But it turns out the product is free, and so how are they making money? They're anonymizing your data and then sending it to companies who are
paying for it. And it appears that Uber was paying for the company to go through and find any Lyft receipts. Their competitor Lyft in the United
States to try and figure out, OK, are a lot of people using it in this city or not? People are outraged that Unroll.me was anonymizing their data and
selling it to other companies. And a lot of people were outraged by this non-apology, apology from the CEO of Unroll.me.
NEWTON: I love this. I have to say I love this --
BURKE: Unroll, it's amazing. Best one we've seen in ages. He says, "Sure, we have a terms of service agreement and a plain English privacy
policy that our users agree they have read and understand before they even signed up. But the reality is, most of us, myself included," the CEO says,
"don't take the time to thoroughly review them." He's promising that they will do a better job of making it clearer that if the product is free, you
are the product. How could people not know that this is what they were doing with the data?
NEWTON: We're channeling Richard every time we say that, but he is absolutely right on that. But to the finer point, and you helped me
understand this a lot over the years, in terms of that data, we always talk about big data. How does that apply to the real world? My life on my
phone and my laptop?
BURKE: Yes, we hear a lot about big data and that companies are making big money selling this. But it all just kind of goes in the background. What
are they doing with it? This is the clearest example that I've ever seen of how high-value this is. Yes, I probably assumed that Unroll.me was
using my data somehow, but thinking that a Lyft receipt, they were going through your email. This is all done by computers, looking and seeing who
has a Lyft receipt, anonymizing that data and giving it to Uber.
No one would have ever thought that, but that information is incredibly valuable to Uber, and that's why so many companies are paying so much for
big data. And let's not kid ourselves. Unroll.me is a small company and there are a lot bigger companies, companies that you and I talk about every
single day that have big earnings reports that are publicly traded companies that are making not millions, but billions of dollars doing this
exact same thing on a much larger scale.
NEWTON: And to be clear, if you know what's going on, as you do, your kind of like, I don't care, I want to use the app anyway. But you have to
assume, what, Samuel, that your entire life is an open book online, right, everybody?
BURKE: Exactly. And you have to hope they really are anonymizing that data. And you know I'm very suspicious. If it can be built, it can be
hacked, so some day tall of that information will get out one way or another.
NEWTON: And for the record, no, my email is not cluttered. But I will teach you how to manager email later on. There's an inbox test. You'll be
doing it. Thank you very much, Samuel Burke.
Let's turn now to one of the most challenging jobs in aviation. I'm talking about the revamping of Malaysia Airlines. Now, you know all the
carrier was unfortunately hit by two separate disasters in 2014. Now, in the first of CNN's "Made in Malaysia" series, our Richard Quest speaks to
CEO Peter Bellew about how the airline and the country itself is trying to make a comeback.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The hangar at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, it's here we find perhaps the most visible sign of Malaysia. The
aluminum tubes that carry the nation's flag. The man tasked with rebuilding Malaysia Airlines is Peter Bellew.
[16:25:00] (voice-over): He's the third chief executive for the airline in almost as many years. He has referred to his job as the toughest in the
industry. And he may well be right. The Irishman inherited an airline beset with years of heavy losses. The awful legacy of MH-370, believed to
have vanished in the Indian Ocean and MH-17, shot down over Ukraine.
PETER BELLEW, CEO MALAYSIA AIRLINES: They called me a number of times about the channels they were having at Malaysia Airlines. And I said, you
must be crazy. I couldn't possibly do that. Don't call me again. But a couple of times the person who called me said, listen, I think you're crazy
enough to take this job on.
QUEST: The turnaround plan -- designed by his predecessor -- has been brutal. 6,000 jobs, gone. Along with most of Malaysia's long-haul routes.
Peter Bellew has an uncompromising grip on costs. What else would you expect from an executive who worked at Ryanair? Malaysia Airlines is
clearly turning around. Planes are more full than they have been in years. Bellew is running an airline that's more than just a carrier. It's part of
the national psyche. So, one of the core decisions, whether to change the name or the logo.
BELLEW: The world loves the brand Malaysia Airlines. The amount of heritage and the amount of brand equity, it's an asset that the company
actually, I think, can't let go of right now. And we also were seeing in the past, as absolutely the pride of the nation. We're working very hard
to put that pride back in and we believe the whole brand is part of that. I think this will be the greatest turnaround in the history of aviation,
and maybe even of any business to come back from what they've been through.
QUEST: For the country, and for the airline, it's all about thinking differently. Take, for example, Malaysia's six A380s. Bellew has mapped
out a new and an original future for the fleet of super jumbos.
BELLEW: I think, personally, it's one of the most remarkable engineering feats in man's history. I actually call them spaceships. I don't think
they're aircraft, at all. We'll take the six aircraft in 2018. They retire out of our normal fleet. They'll go to a new airline, which we've
been involved with, which is going to specialize in caring pilgrimages to the Hajj and Umrah in Saudi Arabia.
QUEST (on camera): You're going to take six A380s and turn them into basically a charter airline for religious pilgrimage?
BELLEW: Yes. I personally think beyond the Hajj business that this has been built up for, I think this disruptive business models around aviation,
that you and I couldn't even think of. The kind of guys that came up with Uber or Airbnb. And once they're able to charter off of us, a 650, 700-
seat aircraft, there have been lots and lots of different business models come around this aircraft. It's a much-misunderstood plane.
QUEST: Poor plane.
BELLEW: It's a lovable space ship.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: A lovable space ship. You'll want to follow Richard as he continues to follow that airline and now it emerges from those double
tragedies.
Now, France has decided its Macron versus Le Pen on May 7th. Two candidates who stand divided on so many issues, not least the economy and
the very future of France's role in the EU.
[16:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Hello, I'm Paula Newton. There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment. When Macron-onomics shakes up the markets and Bill O'Reilly
returns to airwaves after being forced out of Fox. First, these are the headlines.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has announced sweeping sanctions against Syrian officials in response to what investigators said was a sarin
gas attack on civilians earlier this month. The suspected chemical attack on Friday, on April 4th, left 87 people, including many children, dead.
The U.S. President says the North Korean situation is, in his words, unacceptable, and is calling on the U.N. Security Council to impose new
sanctions. Donald Trump told the ambassadors the north's nuclear and ballistic missile programs are a threat to the world, whether they want to
talk about it or not.
Meanwhile, North Korea is still not revealing why it detained another American. Professor Tony Kim was taken into custody as he was -- as he
tried to fly out of Pyongyang international airport over the weekend. He spent several weeks teaching at a local university. Two other Americans
are also in North Korean custody.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama made his first public remarks since leaving office. On Monday, he sat with students at the University of
Chicago for a conversation on community organizing and civil engagement. Part of his goal is to encourage and support the next generation of
leaders. The 44th president never once mentioned his successor's name, but he had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Because of changes in the media, we now have a situation in which everybody's listening to people who already
agree with them. And are further and further reinforcing their own realities to the neglect of a common reality that allows us to have a
healthy debate and then try to find common ground and actually move solutions forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: The leader of Britain's Independence Party is pledging to introduce a burka ban if his party wins the U.K. general election in June.
Paul Nuttel says the issue is not about religion, it's about people showing their face for security reasons and integration into British society.
France is getting ready for round two, a shutdown between two candidates with vastly different visions of France. Our Jim Bittermann has covered
every French presidential campaign since 1981. Jim, I did not write that, I'm sorry to point that out, but very cool. You've been there for every
single solitary campaign, but I'm sure you're even going to say, that in terms of where the French stand right now, when we look at these two
candidates, what are they really choosing between here?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're diametrically opposed and seldom -- well, never, in my experience here --
has there been such a choice between the French voters. Because their policies are so different on so many different things. Policies on
immigration, policy on Europe, policies on the economy. They're all diametrically opposed. And Marine Le Pen was on French television tonight
and among other things that she said was, she can't wait to get face to face with Emmanuel Macron. We don't know yet that there's going to be a
debate. But there probably will be a debate. And if so, she said the fog in Macron's positions will be cleared out. She's going to clear out the
fog. She also said, by the way, that she's stepping down, temporarily, as head of the national front party, because she's a patriot and she wants to
show that she is above partisan politics.
[16:35:00] So, a lot of electioneering going on this very first day of the two-week campaign that rests before the candidate's May 2nd second round.
NEWTON: And Jim, if you had to put a sober second thought through all of this, when we've had the euphoria of the markets today, what, potentially,
can happen in the next two weeks when people actually put these two candidates beside each other?
BITTERMANN: Well, I think the euphoria of the market was a little bit premature in the sense that, in these two weeks, Marine Le Pen is going to
be very much on the attack and Macron is going to be on the defensive. He may go on the attack as well, at some point. But in this case, it's going
to be a tough campaign, and as the campaign comes to a close, I think that Marine Le Pen's score is going to go up. It may not be anywhere near what
she needs to be elected. But nonetheless, it's going to go up. And as that happens, uncertainty will creep in. And at least as far as the
markets are concerned, uncertainty is a bad thing. So, I think that there may be a little premature today. We'll have to see how it goes, but I
think it does seem to be a little bit premature at this point.
NEWTON: Jim, before I let you go, just this issue of French young people who, there's most at stake for them, really, especially given what the
French economy has looked like for the last decade. I mean, it was stunning to me that here's a very young man, Macron, 39 years old, and yet
they did not come out for him in droves. What's that work there?
BITTERMANN: I think one of the things is that the political leaders here have so disappointed the young people in this country, they've just felt
like they've been left behind. And Macron, despite the fact that he's young and shows a good model for someone who can aggressively get ahead by
pulling up his own bootstraps and that sort of thing, the young people, I think, maybe think that he's just another politician, just another member
of the political class. Also, he's talking about removing a lot of the protections in the economic model here, that protect the young people and
give them some of the benefits and the social model in France, which is a social network, which is very elaborate. So, you know, it kind of can
threaten, if you're a young person, can threaten your existence when you start talking about those kinds of things.
NEWTON: And it will be really interesting, the way those numbers shake out in two weeks. Our Jim Bittermann there. Appreciate it. The president of
the EU commission is throwing his support behind Macron. Jeanne-Claude Juncker's chief spokesperson says that Macron is the best person for
France.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARGARITAS SCHINAS, EUROPEAN COMMISSION CHIEF SPOKESPERSON (translation): France is a central pillar of the EU. It is one of our founding countries
and one of the countries that incarnates and symbolizes all of the values on which European integration is based. Yesterday evening President
Juncker congratulated candidate Macron on the results, because he is a candidate that represents the values he campaigned for himself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Macron comes from an investment background, he was an investment banker and served as an economy minister. And he is pro-Europe and his
vision for France includes cutting the corporate tax, gradually, toll 25 percent from the current 33 percent. And Macron is a supporter of free
trade. He campaigned in favor of CETA, the EU's trade deal with Canada. A lot of controversial issues came up there, especially for people like
French farmers. Deputy chief economist at Allianz joins us from Paris. We've been talking here about the euphoria in the markets, how everyone's
so happy. Is this a credible thought to take forward in the next few weeks? Because although we just put up Macron's business credentials, even
if he is elected, how tough will it be to put some of this place in stuff in France?
LUDOVIC SUBRAN, Deputy Chief Economist, Allianz: Well, you know what? It's like a hose you've been bending for quite some time. This Frexit fear
and risk of breakup of the eurozone and you've unleashed it. Markets who have been having a blast today they do think that Macron will be the next
president of France. And he is pro-European policy maker and so they do have confidence that this will be a new era for the European economy and
especially for the Eurozone.
NEWTON: And when we talk about a new era, I mean, a lot of that, though, includes some of the values that Marine Le Pen is campaigning on. Is there
going to be a way to really get away? Whether she wins or not, to get away from those populist roots that will constantly be at the base of French
society? I was so intrigued to learn the opinion of the young French people, because they're not the kinds of opinions that you see coming from
people who are in their 20s and 30s.
[16:40:00] SUBRAN: Well, I think we have to take -- you know, we have to acknowledge that France is exiting what one could call a lost decade. GDP
per capita is exactly the same as it was in 1987. Same for jobs, same for investment. And so, I think, somehow, a lot of people feel they've been
left out of the growth that has been quite meager, but still happening in France for the past ten years. And so, indeed, there is a need to offer
some perspective. And this is a little bit what both candidates want to do. They both want to reflate the economy and to target purchasing power
for all. They all want to create more jobs. And they all want to renegotiate a little bit, the way France acts when it comes to
globalization, especially to Europe.
There is two ways to do it. There is one that go low and the other one that go high. And I trust my people to remember a little bit what they
could go into. What they could avoid, basically, by not choosing a vote that would take to the extreme. So, of course, there's no place for
complacency here. There is a humongous number of things to do, when it comes to, you know, targeting the youth that is neither employed nor in
training, when it comes to making sure that there are private sector jobs creating in the economy. When it comes to making sure that the public
finances are actually under control. But I do trust that time is now, and so that's also a little bit what type of lesson the markets have been
giving today. It means that we have to rethink a little bit what we want to provide. It does also mean that we need to try new things and to
experiment. And this is also something that I trust, you know, one of the candidates, Emmanuel Macron is offering, in terms of policy-making
suggestions.
NEWTON: And yet he has no legislative backing, as of right now, in terms of, he's a new person, a new party. And this is even if he gets elected.
I feel as if we're back in the age of Sarkozy, here. A lot of things were promised when he came into office. Can you really see France leading in a
new way in Europe? Because I would argue that that's what's needed here. Because Europe has to have this rebirth, especially with Frexit on the
scene.
SUBRAN: No, I totally agree with you. It's a double trigger election in the end, which means Emmanuel Macron will have to make sure that he has a
project-based coalition when the legitimacy of elections are happening in June in this country. And somehow, I think the good news is that the
projects of the right wing is quite convergent when it comes to economic policy making, with the project that Emmanuel Macron has been putting
forward. Somehow, if for whatever reason, which is basically what people expect today, there will be a mix between his center-right, center-left
party and also the right wing. He could actually make sure that he has a project-based coalition about reforms in France.
You were talking about the moment is also very important in this case. I think somehow, there are a lot of green lights when you look at the
macroeconomic dashboard for both France and Europe. It's a good time to make reforms and maybe a last point to indeed make assure that we are not
in, you know, again promising or pledging for things that we want to deliver. I think the French are ready. Which I think may be is the most
crucial point of it all. They actually do know and do think that the social security has to evolve to something that is working for all. They
also know that the private sector has to play a bigger role. They also know, somehow, that they have to rethink a little bit how competitive they
are with the rest of the world. So, I think it is about now. And indeed, if we don't do it this time, go figure, in 2022, I think we'll have a big
vise.
NEWTON: I'll remember that, though, you say the French are ready. That's a good way to look on this entire election. Appreciate your time tonight
in Paris. Thank you.
Still ahead, beat the clock. The Trump administration's race against time to chalk up some wins during a crucial week in D.C.
[16:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: A milestone for the president is fast approaching and believe me, you do not need to remind this president. The end of this week will mark
100 days in office. And of course, there's a lot at stake. Now, Mr. Trump is keen to show progress on some key policies. On Wednesday, we'll see the
president's tax plan. The White House has confirmed that a 15 percent corporate tax rate is part of the discussion. Treasury Secretary Steve
Mnuchin says the tax plan will pay for itself with economic growth, but funding fights over a border wall and health care reform could threaten a
government shutdown on Friday. Yes, in five days.
That wouldn't be the ideal scenario for the big day on Saturday. And despite Trump downplaying the significance of the marker, his team is
prepped and ready to tout his accomplishments. Mark Preston is the CNN editor of CNN politics. Thank goodness once again you're in here. OK,
mark, he at first said, 100 day matters. I'm going to get a lot done in 100 days. Now it doesn't matter that much. Why even go back and forth on
it? Why is this becoming such a D-day for the administration?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EDITOR: And when you add to it, they have put together an accomplishment paper that puts together everything he has
accomplished. This is classic Donald Trump. If it doesn't go his way, clearly, he wants to try to delegitimatize it. In fact, we saw that with
all the national polling throughout the campaign, we even saw that this morning, where he said, look at these new polls that have come out.
There's some good information in them, but let's not forget, they got it wrong during the election, so it's bad news, fake news.
NEWTON: Getting back to the legislation, when we look at the tax reform package, look 15 percent corporate tax rate. I was at the IMF meetings on
Thursday and Friday. Steve Mnuchin looked pretty confident at those meetings. He seemed as if, I'm going to be able to get this done, I'm
putting it on the table. Why the confidence?
PRESTON: Because he's Steve Mnuchin. The problem with the tax cut plan that we expect to see in the next 48 hours or so is that there are no pay-
fors. Meaning there are no offsets in order to help pay for this. And it's going to be a lot more difficult than trying to get health care done.
What we wanted or what congress wanted to see is to get health care reform done to help pay for this health care reform. Of course, we haven't seen
that. Now they're going to try to come in with a plan right before the 100-day mark and say they're going to get it through. It's going to be
very difficult.
NEWTON: What would it do? If he could just get that done in the sense of having put that marker down and some type of a Republican caucus rally
around it, that's a big deal.
PRESTON: That's a huge deal. And when I say that, when asses his first 100 days, I'll tell you, it has not been good for him at all, necessarily.
But where his successes have come from is from the use of executive orders. That's where we're seeing his supporters are staying with President Trump.
If he were to get tax reform done, in a way that would help the poor, that would help the middle class, that would be a huge victory for Donald Trump.
I just think that it's a hill that is very high for him to climb.
NEWTON: The other thing that's so interesting is that that wall, every time he brings up the wall, his base of supporter really sticks with him on
it. It's getting built, right?
PRESTON: He says it is. In effect, if it does get built, it will be paid for by the U.S. taxpayers, not the Mexican government. The fact is now,
we've seen him back off it a little bit and say, we'll pay for the initial part and Mexico will eventually pay for it. I don't know how they're going
to pay -- you can't force another nation to do that. That is going to be very difficult for Donald Trump. But we have a government shutdown looming
right now and he wants funding for that wall. I think in the end what's going to happen is he'll get some kind of funding, which will be
surveillance. Maybe they'll pay more money for drones to put in the air and he'll use that as a victory, but it's not what he stated and set out to
do.
[16:50:00] NEWTON: It was interesting to see secretary of homeland security coming out and saying he will be insistent. In terms of
translating that, I don't know what that means. One thing that caught my eye in the polls is 96 percent of people who voted for Donald Trump said,
yep, I'm happy I voted for him. It is still just 100 days, just to give him some --
PRESTON: A couple things to keep in mind. One is he has found success through executive orders, meaning the legislative here in the United
States, those executive orders run out, though. Meaning you don't always have those levers to get things done. His supporters are saying the
rollback of EPA regulations, businesses have gotten favorable treatment through the use of these executive orders. So, they have seen some success
opinion and they've put the blame right now on others, not president Trump. But let you and I talk six months from now where president Trump, if he
ones into a wall, not only with Democrats, but with Republicans, and I'm sure that 96 percent is going to drop.
NEWTON: And it's that Republican caucus that has actually turned out to be the main problem.
PRESTON: Correct.
NEWTON: Mark Preston, always great to have you here, especially this week.
Coming up, Bill O'Reilly is back. The former anchor will be speaking tonight for the first time since leaving Fox News.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Later, on Monday, we'll hear from Bill O'Reilly for the first time since he was forced out of Fox News. The former anchor is set to resume
his podcast tonight. It comes as President Trump prepares to attend a reception with conservative media tonight. Our Brian Stelter is here.
You've been following this story from start and it has not finished yet. Really interesting to see if he's going to address it or not, right?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: And I think O'Reilly will in some fashion. Maybe in a limited way. He feels he was the victim here.
That these are unfound allegations, even though they were pretty consistent from person to person, from the women accusing him of harassment. He says
he was the target of a smear campaign. That's what his lawyers have said. We haven't heard from him directly since he went on vacation 10 or 11 days.
So, it will be interesting to see what does he want to do, what kind of comeback will he try to make?
NEWTON: And do you think he's taken reputational hits. A lot of people have said he's getting $25 million, minimum, for getting out of this. Do
you think he's taken that hit career wise?
STELTER: I think he very much has. One of the lesson of the last few years is people who leave their perches on television, Glenn Beck, who went
from Fox into an online only model, they may make a lot of money that way, but they don't keep as much fame, as much popularity, or visibility in the
media. For all the talk about digital media, television is still the primary way that these kinds of talk show hosts and political stars really
make their reputations and make their fortunes.
NEWTON: You know, Brian, you have been so good at zeroing in on the issue at hand. The issue at hand is still sexual harassment. While we get to a
lot of issues about how this impacts the media, if we bridge the two, we talk a lot about how sexual harassment has been a problem, it continues to
be a problem. How is it when you have a sexual harassment issue like that be so high-profile for everyone.
[16:55:00] Do you feel that in terms of what you've been listening to, that things have changed? That we have turned a chapter in corporate America
with that?
STELTER: In 2004, O'Reilly was sued, he settled, he kept his job. Not only kept his job, but became even more successful and powerful. Now in
2017, there is something different. Consider how seriously these women's accounts were taken, how much attention they received, how much sympathy
they received. I do think we've seen something dramatic change over the course of the past decade or so. Even though people can point to president
Trump and say that perhaps the allegations against him did not affect his winning the presidency. In corporate America, there has been a sea change.
The younger Murdochs don't want this reputational stain. They are embarrassed by what's going on. They would like to clean up as soon as
possible. And they were asked even more changes at Fox News as a result. Who knows what they'll do to the structure of the company. Maybe changing
other executives. We're not at the end of this, we're still in the middle. Fox News bosses know that.
NEWTON: Interesting that you say we're still in the middle. This has got a way to go. I'm so happy to hear you say you think 2017 has actually
changed.
STELTER: I don't know if you disagree with me.
NEWTON: I don't at all. I think there's been a certain cynicism among women, and I don't blame any of us for feeling that way. I have to leave
it there. Notice I got the last word in there.
STELTER: I like that.
NEWTON: Bill O'Reilly may call his podcast a no spin zone, but if you want a podcast that is spin free and fair and balanced, make sure to check us
out. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS is now a podcast. It's available from all the main providers or you can listen at CNN.com/podcast. And that is QUEST
MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Paula Newton in New York. The news continues right here on CNN.
END
