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Quest Means Business
U.K. Govt. Slammed For Coronavirus Testing Shortfall; U.K. IKEA Store Hosts Testing Facility For Health Workers; EPL Clubs Under Fire Over Players' Pay; John Hopkins: More Than One Million COVID-19 Cases Worldwide; Record U.S. Jobless Claims Far Worse Than Expected; Surge In Oil Price; Lockdown Puts Millions Of People Out Of Work In Europe. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired April 02, 2020 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:37]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: An afternoon rally has evaporated on Wall Street. There are still some gains, but it
wasn't what it was and these are the markets and this is the reason why.
Millions of workers are idle as the coronavirus hits jobless numbers across the world. Dire new records are being set.
There is a surge in oil price. The Saudis and the Russians may have agreed to actually talk.
And pay cut, perhaps, Britain's Health Secretary says the Premier League footballers should do their bit.
We're live from New York. It is Thursday. It is April the second. I'm Richard Quest and from the roof, of course, I'm in business.
And a very warm welcome to the roof once again here in New York. It's a blustery day, as well. The labor markets, they are in freefall, both in the
United States, in France and in Spain, numbers came out of the new jobless, that was simply worrying.
I'll show you what I mean. A record 6.6 million Americans filed fresh unemployment claims. That's the equivalent of populations of Los Angeles to
Chicago combined.
The previous week was released higher, too, as states worked through the backlog. It's an unprecedented and sudden shock.
Julia Chatterley is with me. Julia, let's look first at the U.S. numbers and then broaden it out. We know the reasons why, but it is shocking,
nonetheless.
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: Dire and deliberate. That's what I'm saying about these, Richard. What can I say? We are now
talking about 10 million people having lost their jobs over the last two weeks.
And if you look into the details, it's not just about people simply that can't work from home. It's broader than that. It's warehousing. It's even
healthcare in particular, that we're seeing these job losses.
It's also in states that were some of the first to go under these stay-at- home rulings and businesses shutting like Ohio and Philadelphia. So, to your point, exactly, we're seeing a catch up here. The risk is that we
continue to see these monster unemployment claims over the next several weeks. We're nowhere near the peak, no matter which analysts you look at
here, Richard.
These are desperate numbers, and now we're hearing all sorts of creeks in the system of trying to get money to small businesses and trying to get the
unemployment benefit checks and payments to individuals, too.
The whole thing is just monumental, and in the interim, there's this financial vacuum for the individuals involved. No money coming in and money
going out.
QUEST: The position is no better on the other side of the Atlantic, arguably there are better social safety nets in play. But if you look at
France, the U.K. and Spain, horrifying numbers, and with no sign of it getting better anytime soon.
CHATTERLEY: This is happening on a virtual global basis, particularly if you look at some of the Western nations and we're seeing the lockdowns
happen across broad swathes of these individual countries.
And to your point there, Richard, what we've seen from the likes of the U.K. where the numbers are ramping up, 80 percent of people's salaries
being backstopped by the government, the National Health Service, there provides a basic level of healthcare during a health crisis that's so
pivotal.
Spain, they learned the lessons, I think, during the financial crisis, that they didn't have the safety nets in place. So they also have reacted very
quickly. It brings it back to the United States and what you and I have discussed before that the lack of infrastructure, support network for
people, whether it's healthcare, whether it's the unemployment benefits and they've had to kick in really swiftly now, but there's going to be weeks of
delay before people get money and they've got rent to pay and mortgages to pay and hospital bills potentially and food to buy.
[15:05:22]
CHATTERLEY: It's going to be a deep, deep recession, I think and already we're seeing analysts pushing back the likely time of recovery.
QUEST: You've got two sentences, Julia, please, on why the markets are up when the numbers are so bad, briefly.
CHATTERLEY: The markets have fallen a long way. We oscillate up and down on a daily basis. Remain cautious. Three sentences -- Richard.
QUEST: I'll allow it. I'll charge you back later for the third.
CHATTERLEY: Thank you.
QUEST: Julia, as always, excellent to have you with us, to put it into such context.
Now, new figures show that the impact is spreading across all sectors of the economy. Heavily affected, obviously, transportation, airlines and the
like. Hotels, food workers, healthcare and social assistance.
Now, in the United States, more states reporting the losses in retail, wholesale, trade and construction.
Bruce Kasman is the Chief Economist at JPMorgan. We're very grateful, Bruce, that you're taking time to talk to us this afternoon, Bruce, we
shouldn't be surprised.
I mean, essentially 90 percent of the United States is under a stay-at-home order. The economy has been put into the deep freeze. This is going to be a
long time to repair.
BRUCE KASMAN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, JPMORGAN (via phone): I think that's right. I think we should recognize two things here. One is that we have basically
put everybody at home. That's doing enormous damage to the labor market. It is doing enormous damage to the economy. We have unprecedented rise in
unemployment and falls in GDP.
But once we kept the restrictions relaxed, there is going to be a fairly substantial bounce back and we should not lose sight of that.
However, I think the dislocations that are being caused here, the credit market problems that are being caused here does mean that that recovery is
going to be partial.
And while there's every reason to look for a strong recovery, there's not any reason to look for a full recovery from this.
QUEST: All the prognosis suggests that three quarters, as you say, three- quarter recession, deeper, in fact, pretty much deeper than anything we've got on record.
How do we weather it so that we are in a -- I won't even say reasonable condition to come out the other side in Q4 when things start to get better?
KASMAN: Well, I think part of it is of course getting the healthcare response right so that we could relax restrictions, take away the risk of
people going back to work.
But the other part of this is creating the kinds of cushions in the system that the damage doesn't magnify. I think it's very encouraging to see what
the Federal Reserve has been doing, to some degree together with the Treasury to try to prevent liquidity problems, prevent market from stopping
to function. I think we can see that happening.
I think the bigger issue and the more difficult issue here is getting the fiscal stimulus, getting the lending programs to hit those people that need
it before they see businesses go out of existence, and before we begin to magnify this far more sharply.
There will be magnification effects. It's about can you do enough to keep the pilot light on so that when we begin to go back to work, there's an
opportunity for a strong lift in the economy.
QUEST: Bruce, is that one thing that so far, policymakers haven't done or should be doing -- excuse me?
KASMAN: Well, I think right now they've done an awful lot. And I have to say, I've been both surprised and encouraged by what I've been seeing by
U.S. policy response, and I think elsewhere in the in the world.
I'd emphasize two things here. One, and you've mentioned this before, the U.S. is still working more to smooth incomes rather than to save jobs. The
European response is far more trying to keep people in their jobs and that's the concern.
The second thing is there's needs for collective action here. A lot of the EM countries are under stress. We haven't really seen the issues raised
there partly because the virus is hitting later.
These guys don't have the same resources of the Fed and the E.C.B., and there needs to be I think that action taken collectively, action from the
I.M.F. to provide the cushion, provide the bridge for those guys to get it through here. So we don't have additional damage caused by an EM crisis.
QUEST: All right. Good to see you, Bruce. Thank you. Bruce Kasman joining me from JPMorgan.
[15:10:04]
QUEST: Now, oil has another part of this equation. Oil is up 20 percent and that follows Donald Trump tweeting that he expects a deal.
Now, he said, "Just spoke to my friends MBS, who spoke with President Putin of Russia and I expect and hope they will be cutting back approximately 10
million barrels," 10 million that's my emphasis. " ... and maybe substantially more."
The Kremlin denies Putin spoke to MBS and on Wednesday, Donald Trump described low oil as a tax cut for Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Gasoline is going to be 99 cents a gallon and less, you know that. That's already starting. It is
popping up 99 cents. So that's like giving a massive tax cut to people of our country.
We don't want to lose our great oil companies. You know, we're the number one producer of oil in the world and a month ago when you said that it was
great today, when you say it, it's not so meaningful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: John Defterios is with me from Abu Dhabi. We have much ground to cover, John. Let's do on the technical side of oil, first of all.
If the Saudis and the Russians did reach a deal to cut 10 million barrels, which seems like a vast amount, that would have a dramatic effect.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: It would have a dramatic effect, Richard, but I think it's overreaching by the President. I
think here in this case, he is trying to serve as the bridge builder and the deal maker and it's very clear from the Kremlin's statement, and trying
to reach out to Saudi sources tonight and others within OPEC and the OPEC Plus, that Saudi Arabia and Russia still have not talked here.
And I think that the President was pushing the envelope by putting numbers on the table 10 to 15 million barrels a day. For context, Richard, they
broke up March 6th in Vienna over one and a half million barrels a day. So this is way out there. OPEC sources also tell me there's no date proposed
on the table.
And then there's this gigantic elephant in the room, Richard, and that is burden sharing. I've talked to two senior sources within this alliance of
OPEC Plus, and both said to me, we do expect players like the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Norway to be part of the solution.
We cannot go back to the old days where it's only Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the major gold producers putting something on the table here.
So we have a lot of work to do before we get to a firm date, but also who is going to be cutting up the production cuts going forward -- Richard.
QUEST: John, what about this story that China is buying, whether for its strategic reserve, or buying futures contracts to take advantage of cheap
prices? Is it true?
DEFTERIOS: I wouldn't be surprised if it was true, Richard, and there's a couple of key reasons here. I think they were buying at the bottom of the
market and I'm sure they got a nice discount along the way, and China is the number one importer in the world.
What does surprise me here, they can go to Saudi Aramco at discounted rates. They can come here to Abu Dhabi to ADNOC, Kuwait Petroleum would
love to offer it, but it helps restore relations with the United States, which I think is crucial, at the same time in their U.S.-China trade
agreement which China had to put on hold because of the coronavirus, I think they were suggesting here now we can help put this back on track by
helping Donald Trump particularly when it comes to the energy basins.
I think, the coronavirus, Richard, everything is on the table. We have the U.S. Energy Minister speaking to the Russians. We have the Texas
Commissioner speaking to the Russians in the last 15 minutes and tweeting about it. It's a whole new ballgame.
The only thing that's missing right now is Saudi Arabia and Russia together, a firm date and have others around the table willing to cut at
the same time. It's complex. A huge gambit by President Trump if China is at the table here as a purchaser.
QUEST: John, I want to just finally go back to what the President said. I listened to his press conference. I heard him say that 99 cents. He seems
to be conflicted between wanting the lower price, so he can say 99 cents and it's an effective tax cut.
But negotiating the deal, which would raise prices, which would help U.S. shale producers, which is it?
DEFTERIOS: Fantastic question, Richard. And I think the President had a relapse. Again, I've been speaking to sources in the United States and
various senior sources as part of the OPEC Plus Alliance. They said they thought they made great progress getting the president to realize the
impact of this price war and the destruction of jobs it could have in the oil basins -- Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota going forward.
They thought they had him move across the line and say we need to support the industry. So it was surprising yet again, that he backtracked and
talked about the low price of fuel.
I do think it's more important to end the price war, restore prices and prompt investment in the shale basins again, $40.00 to $50.00 a barrel. We
were at $50.00 a month ago, Richard. It is much better where we are today, which is between $25.00 and $27.00 a barrel.
He has to shift off that position, and he has to think he's got to go to the bargaining table with Saudi Arabia and say, I'm offering this even if
it's involuntary cuts, everybody has cut their CapEx spending, Richard, they can say our production is dropping, we're part of the solution now.
Let's change it.
[15:15:38]
QUEST: John Defterios, who is with us. Thank you. When we come back, we'll turn our attention to Europe. You heard Julia Chatterley talking earlier
about the appalling levels of unemployment in Spain and in France and the U.K. We will be in Madrid after the break. It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. We
are live in New York, a very good evening to you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Now, across Europe, the job losses from coronavirus and the effects of it are quite daunting. Look at the numbers and they are -- actually,
daunting is the wrong word, frightening is a better way to describe it.
France has four million workers that are now partially unemployed. It's the fifth of the country's private sector and Spain saw its biggest ever rise
in March, three and a half million people out of work.
To Spain, we go, to the capital of Madrid. Scott McLean is there. On top of the crisis, now, people are dealing with unemployment. Is the government
able, Scott, to offer sufficient safety net for those people losing their jobs?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is trying its hardest, I should mention right off the bat, Richard, that there is some good news when it
comes to the coronavirus outbreak and that's that the Health Minister announced today that the country is past the peak of its outbreak.
But Spain is obviously in the midst of its second full blown crisis, which is an economic one. You mentioned the massive increase in unemployment
filings, 302,000 people filing for unemployment, that's the highest ever on record. Period.
What's really interesting is that only 3,000 people filed for unemployment before the state of emergency was declared, 299 afterwards, and this is a
country that had 13 percent unemployment to begin with.
You asked about what the country is doing? Well, they've tried to do their best ahead of this. They have made a law right off the bat saying that you
cannot fire anyone for health reasons. They later made that even tighter saying you can't fire anyone for any reason related to the coronavirus
outbreak.
For anyone who can't work from home, they are also telling people that employers have to pay them throughout this crisis with the understanding
that those hours will be made up gradually at a later date.
Still, though, those measures while they may be having some impact, obviously the situation is still pretty dire.
[15:20:40]
QUEST: And related to that issue of that, putting that safety net underneath people basically providing an income for them. It is not going
to solve the medium term problem though is it, that once this is over many of those jobs won't come back?
MCLEAN: Yes, that's absolutely possible, Richard, and the government seems to be anticipating that. One of the measures that it has put in place is
saying that landlords cannot evict anyone for six months after this state of emergency ends.
Right now, it is slated to end on April 12th. There's a pretty good possibility it'll be extended after that. They're saying six months after
that, no evictions. Period.
One other thing to point out is that if that's that -- the true number of unemployed is likely much, much higher than the actual number, and that's
because three times the number of people who officially filed for unemployment have stopped paying Social Security. They just haven't
officially registered as jobless -- Richard.
QUEST: Scott McLean, who is with us from Madrid. Now, the European Union is putting together $110 billion fund, which it says will help those who
are unemployed.
Anna Stewart is in London to talk about and tell us more about that. What do they hope they would do with $110 billion? It sounds a lot of money, but
it's a drop in the ocean for this particular problem.
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: It's a drop in the ocean. And this would be a 100 billion euro loan scheme specifically to preserve employment in those
economies that need it most in the Eurozone, so think, think Spain where Scott McLean was.
Now, it'll be borrowing the money for this scheme if it goes ahead on the open market, Richard, so this shouldn't be as controversial as the
coronabonds were speaking about a lot last week that had huge division. That was joint debt issuance.
It could still face division. We're seeing huge problems within the E.U. and the Eurozone in terms of agreeing anything at all. There is a meeting
on Tuesday that discuss this. They'll discuss potentially using the ESM you may remember that from the sovereign debt crisis, lender of last resort,
also very controversial -- Richard.
QUEST: What role -- I sort of feels this is a sort of giant question for a relatively quick answer, but what role does the Commission have bearing in
mind, national governments or where the deep pockets are and where the policies to handle the crisis.
STEWART: Very complicated question, Richard. Obviously, the onus is on the member states. They are all sovereign states within the E.U., and honestly,
the schemes that they have come up with to try and backstop workers, particularly those that are temporarily laid off to try and make sure that
unemployment figure doesn't just drop off a cliff, to try and preserve the economy for when restrictions are lifted.
The E.U., though, can do more to help specifically with things like the E.I.B., the European Investment Bank that could be used to help certain
sectors. Think aviation, airlines.
So a joint effort will certainly help, but the real onus at the moment is still on the nations themselves -- Richard.
QUEST: Anna -- Anna Stewart in London. we will talk more about that because the role of the E.U. in all of this will become crucial, maybe not
just now, but once the crisis is over, or at least has abated somewhat.
Now to the voices of the crisis, we've covered so many ranges from the wine business in South Africa to the chefs to the restaurants, to the
hairdressers and of course, the wedding dress makers.
Now, keeping fit. Fitu, the business, the fitness app, Fitu says revenues have plummeted, down 98 percent because the studios are closing, and even
though it was on the cusp of expansion, but with me now is the CEO, Rodrigo Contreras, who is the cofounder. He joins me from London via Skype.
So it's difficult since the very places that your app was sending people and was connected are close, ergo, there's no role for your app. And what
happens next? How is it -- how have you managed to weather this storm?
[15:25:07]
RODRIGO CONTRERAS, CEO, FITU: Hi, Richard. Well, yes, like you said, all the businesses are closed right now. Gym, studios, trainers, PTs have been
trying to figure out how they can get more revenue from this situation.
It is quite shocking that not only for us that we have plummeted 98 percent and we don't have the cost of the rent of these venues which are in London,
which is like the city, one of the most expensive cities in the world.
So for us like a solution that we're bringing at the moment is that we want to keep our people fit by staying at their home which is quite important
nowadays that you are insulated and you need to be active.
Pull your body and pull your mind, so that's why we're bringing this tool into the digital. So we get -- so we can help the studios to create content
and we can provide it to the users on a virtual way.
QUEST: Is there evidence that people want -- I mean, well, we know that people want to work out at home. So again, we always try and be a bit
positive when we talk to people like yourself, who are in the thick of the crisis. Can you turn it around? Can the studios turn it around? Can they
create the content sufficiently quickly enough that they can at least take the edge off the severity?
CONTRERAS: Yes, like as we speak, there are tons of activities that are happening at this moment, which are live. People are attending to create
these classes, which are live and basically it gets that feeling that everybody is working out like in a class, but is actually through video.
So yes, there is content that is happening on a live basis. These are between different platforms and then we have content that they can create
so people can have on demand content of videos of workouts so they can search and do it when they have like the free time and not specifically on
the time that they're live.
QUEST: Rodrigo, good to talk to you. We'll check in with you to see how the business is doing. Thank you. I appreciate it.
Coming up in just a moment or three. Gary Lineker will be joining me to talk about -- should highly paid football players take a pay cut or no pay
at all, so that the football clubs can continue to employ the rest of the workers, the grounds men and the like. We'll talk about that.
It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. We are live tonight in New York.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:30:00]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's a lot more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment or three. The Football
legend Gary Lineker will be with me. Should Premier League players take a pay cut, so that the clubs can keep on the rest of the workforce? And the
CEO of IKEA on turning one of his London stores into coronavirus testing station. Also, what else they can do to help the -- and also we need to
find out from IKEA, how they view a recovery towards the end of the year. This is CNN. And on this network, the facts always come first. Here's the
news.
(INAUDIBLE) and the Americans out of work. 6.6 million people applied this week for jobless claims. That's double last week's record number. Before
the coronavirus pandemic, weekly claims were hovering around 200,000. Democrats have reschedule their national convention to mid-August. The
party was the biggest presidential nominee mid-July in Milwaukee. Now, have a one week ahead of the Republican convention.
British Airways says it will furlough some 30,000 workers. The employees will still get 80 percent of their regular salaries, which will be paid
both by the British government and the airline.
The quarantined Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on his own, joined people across Britain in a round of applause for those on the front lines of the
coronavirus. About half an hour ago, the nation paused to honor health care workers. The Prime Minister himself tested positive for the virus last
week.
The British government has been under fire for setting unrealistic targets that it hasn't been able to meet for the testing for coronavirus. Now,
there's a new goal, a testing of 100,000 people per day by the end of April, which many might say is a little too late. They should have been
doing it by now. Well, to help in this effort, IKEA has turned one of its London stores into a testing station. CNN's Nic Robertson reports.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, Richard, that's really been part of the problem. The government has been over promising and
under delivering on the test. The Prime Minister and others in the cabinet within the past couple of weeks, have said, we'll very soon be able to ramp
up from 5,000 to 10,000 to 25,000 tests a day. The reality is that by the end of this week, they may get to 12-1/2 thousand, that 25,000 figure may
not be now until the end of April. That's why people are frustrated because questions are being asked in press conferences. And the government is not
giving clear indications. They've indicated that they're not able to buy some of the precursor chemicals for the testing on the international
market.
But the expectation has been created that they will be able to do more testing than they are at the moment. And the reason that this is so
critical, and the reason that this test facility has been set up here for National Health Service Workers is because there's about half a million of
them across the country and an estimated one quarter of those about 125,000 are at home isolating because they or a member of their family may have the
virus, so that they can now come here to get that test. But again, the stark reality is that the government doesn't have that many tests
available. So, so far out of that 125,000 estimated health care workers, only 2,800 have been tested so far like test places like this. Richard?
[15:35:06]
QUEST: Jesper Brodin is the CEO of IKEA, the IKEA group, he joins me now from Sweden. And Jesper, when this came along, I just sort of a corporate
level. How did you handle it in terms of sitting down and working out where you could best help and how you could best help?
JESPER BRODIN, CEO, IKEA GROUP: Well, Richard, I think it's learning as we go. This is absolutely an unprecedented crisis for all of us. But the way
we have responded is to look at first, obviously, our coworkers, 166,000 colleagues out there to care for their safety, for their livelihoods.
Secondly, our suppliers where we are today, supporting many of the vulnerable suppliers in cash flow relief, etc. But finally, we're looking
into, you know, the communities we are, how we can be part of the solutions, including the example that you just shared.
QUEST: In terms of the laying off of staff, obviously, goes country by country in different ways. What has been your policy as a group in terms of
when -- because let's face it, you are a retail company. And there's no retail -- there's online, of course, but there's no retail. So that -- in,
for example, the U.K. or France, when have you decided to lay off or furlough staff?
BRODIN: Well, it is a situation right now where we are trying to put scenario planning in at the heart of everything we do. And that means we're
trying to figure out, to start with, what the period of closures will be. We are normally at the pacing were about 300 of our touch points are closed
out of 400. So, of course, it's severe. But even more important for us is to try to predict the path to a new normal and the ramp up phase. And our
attitude is that we're going to try to protect as many jobs as possible for as long as possible. And at this moment, as I'm sure you understand, we are
looking for answers just like everybody else. I don't believe we can have some stamina.
QUEST: Every economist says it's two to three months. But the ramp up may happen in the third quarter, probably the fourth quarter. How difficult is
this going to make it for you because we're really not looking at anything even approaching normality, and even then, not normal until probably next
year?
BRODIN: Well, to start with, I think we were just like everybody else not prepared for this situation at all when it comes to pandemic situations.
But we're learning fast. We have one part of the company running full speed on crisis management, while the other part is running on a massive task
force to try to figure our path through this. And there are obviously reasons to believe that this is going to be with us for a while. And most
likely when we come back to some sort of new normal, we still don't have at least a year of being hit by the economy being impacted by possible return
of coronavirus.
However, we think that together, we will in society, not only support each other, like we trying to do with our 26 million Euro in kind donation in
the markets where we exist, but actually also to find ways together, how we bring people back to work, how we can actually make the economy get moving
again. So, we'll have to see. We'll have to find out ways, and most of all, we believe it's important to remain optimistic about the future and what we
can learn from this crisis.
QUEST: Finally, Jesper, we're asking all CEOs, as many as you can, what's the biggest challenge that you have running a large company from your
living room? I know you've got everybody else working from home, but as the boss, what's your biggest challenge managing a company from your living
room?
BRODIN: Well, it is -- it is a new situation for us. And I think we hear a lot of people like myself, witnessing both the benefits, from a time
perspective, less traveling and so forth. And sometimes managing maybe a bit of the loneliness. But we're getting through this. I think it's a
serious moment in the history of mankind, at least in our generation. So, at this moment, we need to be focused and we need to support each other to
stay hopeful and constructive, basically. And that's what we're doing. We believe that going forward, we have an opportunity to shape the future.
That's not -- hopefully, we become a bit wiser out of this as humanity as well.
[15:40:08]
QUEST: Jesper, good to have you, sir. Thank you. Please, let's speak again as this continues.
BRODIN: Thank you.
QUEST: I'm very grateful for your time. Coming up after the break, Gary Lineker will be with me on the line to talk about footballers pay and
whether they should still get paid during this crisis. That's after the break. This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm very glad you're with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: The British Health Secretary says that football players need to play their part in this crisis and take a pay cut. Now, the controversy concerns
lawmakers to calling to tax various football clubs. Because what they're doing is the players are not taking a tax. The players are continuing to
receive full salaries. Whilst the clubs or some of them are following the non-playing stuff, so the governments are picking up the pay bill. In
contrast, Atletico Madrid players and coaches today are taking a 75 percent cut to cover non-paying staff.
And the Premier League says to give you an idea from players making $75,000 a week on average. 75,000 a week on average amongst the worst world's
highest paid athletes. Gary Lineker is the former England striker and the host, of course, the BBC's "Match of the Day." Gary, good to have you with
us. Thank you, sir, for taking time. And in short, the Premier League has found itself on the wrong side of this controversy, haven't they? The
players should be taking a cut, so that the ground staff don't get laid off.
GARY LINEKER, FORMER FOOTBALLER AND HOST, BBC: Well, it's -- if for only that simple. Obviously, I think players will do -- will take the cut. We're
generally on the whole coronavirus thing a couple of weeks behind Italy and Spain. Both of which have announced recently that players are going to take
cuts, Barcelona 70 percent cuts. Juventus are not getting paid the players there. Atletico Madrid you just mentioned that's come out today. We're a
little bit behind, but I'm pretty confident that there'll be something announced with teams and players in the not too distant future. We do tend
to have a go at footballers quite easily. The easy game. Yes, they get paid a lot of money but I'm sure they want to help. They're consistently very
good in the communities, and I'm sure over the coming days that footballers will stand up, and to be counted either taking pay cuts, or making
donations to charities or staff workers that are non-black. So, I'm confident that will happen.
But it takes time and everyone here is jumping on the bandwagon. Politicians do tend to do that occasionally, especially at football's
expense. So, if I'm wrong, then I'll be as critical as anybody else.
QUEST: I was about to say, that's really the point, Gary, isn't it? I mean, these things take time and providing the momentum in the right direction.
But as you just said, if this doesn't happen, then you will believe that that's wrong and they should, correct?
LINEKER: If it doesn't happen. Yes, absolutely. But as I say, I'm fairly confident. Well, I'd be very disappointed if it doesn't. I think some of --
one or two of our clubs have kind of thrown their players under a P.R. bus in many ways, by announcing that they're cutting staff salaries, and
putting them on furlough for payments, but not affecting the players' wages.
Now, obviously, the players' salaries, that was not announced by the players, but it was announced by the club. So, let's wait and see. Let's be
a little bit patient here. Let's not all jump on the judgmental high horse and just wait and see how it pans out over the next week or so. And I'm
confident and I'll be very disappointed if the players don't do the right thing which I'm sure they will.
QUEST: I realize in the grand scheme of things the cancellation of a season is sort of relatively minor. Except for the fact so many tens if not
hundreds of millions of people get such enjoyment from it. And we'll be looking forward intently to not only the Premier League but all the other
leagues in Europe coming back on stream, again, when the time is right. Will this have had -- what do you see as being any medium to long term
effect on the game of what's happened when it returns?
LINEKER: Well, as you say, it's about perspective, first and foremost, and football is not the most important thing in the world at the moment. But to
a lot of people in the world, it is a very important thing. None of us really know at present, when we start again in various parts of the world,
whether it will be the summer, whether it be late summer, who knows, we don't know.
Obviously, economically, it's having a hugely devastating effect on football. Billions of pounds will be cost because football can't exist
without football, obviously. So, we don't know at present, I imagine the giant clubs, the huge clubs in the world will survive this. I think a lot
of clubs in the lower tiers have all sorts of different countries over the world will have enormous economical problems after this, as well business
in all sorts of ways and all sorts of sports as well.
How devastating? It's impossible to guess. When will football start again? It's impossible to guess. There are more important things going on, health,
safety, lives of about millions of people. So, but at the same time, it's okay to wonder when football come back. It's okay to miss football, because
it's an important part of our lives, perspective, obviously. But we are allowed to miss it. I miss it.
It's part of my life, a major part of my life, always has been, both as a player and now as a broadcaster. And I genuinely miss it. But there are, of
course, more important things with this dreadful crisis that's going on at the moment.
QUEST: Sure. Gary, I hope and trust that you and your family are keeping well, sir. And thank you for taking the time to join us this evening.
LINEKER: Absolute pleasure, Richard. Thank you.
QUEST: Gary Lineker, with me now. After the break -- now, after the break, Boeing starts cutting jobs. It's voluntary at the moment, but the chief
executive is looking for pointing out there could be years of pain ahead. As for today, it is a glorious day here in New York, the Empire State
Building and the Chrysler Building, just look at them, amidst the chaos and calamity in the world today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
QUEST: This is CNN Breaking News, and sad and depressing but important breaking news. John Hopkins now says more than 1 million confirmed
coronavirus cases worldwide. And just to put this in full perspective, 180 different countries and regions, and there are more than 51,000 deaths so
far. And bear this in mind that the United States, God forgive me for having to say this, is really only just getting started in terms of dealing
with it across the country.
So, that's what's happening now. Back to the business agenda. Boeing is offering buyouts. It says it needs to do this for the way in which the
company will trade in the future. What will be the long-term requirements of Boeing? The stock is down seven percent and the chief executive, the new
chief executive, Calhoun, says he expects the recovery to take years. Two big problems, the virus, of course, and the 737 Max.
Clare Sebastian is with me. Before we get to grips with this, Claire, first of all, what's the -- where's Boeing standing on the question of a bailout,
are they going to take it or not?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Richard, they had requested 60 billion for the aerospace industry, in general. That's them
and their entire supply chain. They have said that they're interested in loan guarantees. But the CEO, Dave Calhoun, has made it very clear. He's
not interested in any kind of loan from the government that would result in them taking an equity stake. He said if that was the case, they would have
to look at other options. And they have plenty of them.
Now, whether or not they do, I think they probably do for the moment. Their investment grade is still -- their bonds are still rated investment grade
despite recent downgrades only just so they could probably still tap the credit markets, but their debt had doubled over the course of last year, as
a result of the 737 Max, it continues to rise. So, there are concerns around that. But for the moment, he said that there will be no
circumstances under which he would allow the government to take an equity stake.
QUEST: Right. But if they don't take, if they don't take some sort of help, what happens then, in terms of keeping the company going, whilst they
furlough the workers still paying compensation to companies over the 737 Max and the depleting cash pile whilst the share price is well and truly
further down.
[15:55:08]
SEBASTIAN: I think it would be extremely difficult for them, Richard. They said the CEO in the last day that he sent out about that voluntary layoff
plan. He said, this is aimed to reduce the need for further workforce actions are critical where they reduce, not eliminate, he said, we're in
uncharted waters. And he said that when the world emerges from the pandemic, the size of the commercial market, and the types of products and
services our customers want will likely be different.
So, that does not bode well for this company. Plus, you have an industry like aerospace where it's difficult to stop and start once you stop
production. There's a whole process involved in getting it up and running now. And right now, Boeing is in a situation where there's not only a
suspension of 737 Max production, but they've also had to hold production in some other areas because of the safety of their workers.
So, they are in a very tricky situation. And of course, beholden in large particles. They have the defense side as well. But beholden in large part
to the airline industry which has, you know, basically temporarily collapsed.
QUEST: Clare Sebastian. Clare, thank you. A final look at the markets and you can see how they have been trading. It's been a difficult day across
the board. Not surprisingly, the markets giving their reaction to those jobless numbers. And we'll see what happens as it gets further. And now it
goes on to Asia. Otherwise, that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you're up to, in the hours ahead, I
hope it's profitable. I'll see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. And we begin with breaking news. Moments ago, the number of confirmed
coronavirus cases, globally, surpassed 1 million and there are 51,000 deaths worldwide. Here in the United States, there are confirmed 236,000
cases and 5,648 deaths at this hour.
This, as we learned of a new projection that 94,000 people may die in the United States by August, of the coronavirus. And scientific experts have
now informed the White House that research suggests that coronavirus can also be spread from someone infected, not just by that individual sneezing
or coughing, but also by that individual merely speaking or maybe even just by breathing.
There have been discussions inside the Trump administration over whether to tell the general public to wear masks and now Los Angeles.
END
