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Quest Means Business
Russian Court Sentences Former U.S. Marine to 16 Years; FDA Pulls Emergency Use of Authorization for Hydroxychloroquine; Atlanta Mayor on Police Shooting Death of Rayshard Brooks. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired June 15, 2020 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:18]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: An hour to go before the closing bell on Wall Street, 60 minutes more of trade. What an
extraordinary sort of day it has been.
The markets have gone through a thousand-point swing. It is now up 148 points for the Dow Jones. Those are the markets. We'll have more on that in
a moment.
Our headlines, though, airlines across Europe are back in the skies as European economies are opening. The Chief Executive of EasyJet will be
joining me on the day that the airline reopens some of its business. How far and how fast will EasyJet recover?
The Fed jumps in with yet more measures, reversing that market selloff. You saw it in the way the market rose.
And the U.S. Supreme Court makes a historic ruling in favor of gay and transgender workers, giving them protection in the workplace.
Live from New York, on Monday, it's the 15th of June. The ides of June if such that it be. I'm Richard Quest and of course I mean business.
Good evening, it is the middle of June. The tourist holiday season should be and may be will be getting under way as major European economies loosen
travel restrictions, particularly within the Schengen zone and that gives rise to the possibility of tourism. Look at it from France, from Majorca,
from Belgium border in Dusseldorf, in Spain, in Paris. Well, they're all reopening in some shape or form. The Balearic Islands in Paris, because
you'll notice from that list, Spain itself is not on that list, which we'll talk about in a second.
France is opening the Schengen borders, opening its non-E.U. borders on July 1st. However, Spain and the U.K. still require quarantine
restrictions. Even though there are little niggles here and there, it is a major development that Europe is opening up for business.
Joining us from Eivissa, Mallorca, Atika Shubert reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If you're dreaming of a beach holiday, coastal towns across Spain have been working overtime
to prove they can keep visitors safe, but it won't be as simple as laying out your beach blanket.
SHUBERT (voice over): In Canet d'en Berenguer on Spain's Mediterranean Coast, a grid is being laid in the sand to allot nine square meter spaces
for visitors.
Beach goers will need to book space on an app to get access with appointed arrival times.
The Mayor says, the new normality brings new beaches. We will adapt. We will try to enjoy it in the best possible way, he says.
In Sanxenxo on the Atlantic Coast, the Mayor plans to reopen with a similar grid system and a maximum capacity of 2,300 beach goers a day. That's less
than 75 percent of previous summers.
He says, it's a plan that will keep the safety distance between people who come to enjoy the beach.
At all Spanish Beaches, changing rooms and bathrooms will be subject to strict disinfection with limited capacity. Sun loungers and parasols will
need to be cleaned at regular intervals and kept at least two meters apart.
For locals, the new rules will be worth it if it can help to revive the summer economy.
It depends on how many people come to the beach, this man tells us, if it continues as it is now, only for residents, it wouldn't be necessary. But
if tourists come and people from abroad, I think it would be a good idea.
SHUBERT (on camera): The Prime Minister says he wants to make Spain the safest holiday destination in Europe, which is why the country is only
gradually lifting those coronavirus restrictions. The idea is to make guaranteed health and safety as much of a selling point as Spain's sun,
sea, and sand.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Mallorca, Spain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: There was further evidence of this comeback with EasyJet, which announced it was returning to the skies today with a limited number of
flights.
The first flight took off this morning from London Gatwick to where of course the original EasyJet flight actually went when the airline opened in
1995.
There are only a small number of services, mainly domestic flights. See how those goes and then plans to ramp up services as the summer progresses.
On the aircraft, new coronavirus safety measures are in place. All passengers and crew must and will wear masks. The planes will be regularly
disinfected and sanitized.
[15:05:12]
QUEST: And there is this video that they are -- that is now online showing exactly the way in which you can check in online, the way you can check in,
and the various procedures.
Johan Lundgren is the Chief Executive of EasyJet. He joins me now. Johan, congratulations, sir. Starting to fly again. It is a few flights, but it's
a milestone, and the ramp-up that you're planning, at least a number of destinations if not frequencies, promises to be quite quick and dramatic.
JOHAN LUNDGREN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF EASYJET: Yes, I mean, as you said, it's a great day for us. I mean, imagine we have been grounded the whole of the
fleet here for 11 weeks, so even if this is a small program, as I said, it's -- you know, for the first couple weeks here in June, it's worth about
10 aircrafts flying.
So this week, we're going to do about 310 flights. We're looking, as you said, to coming into July, August, and September to increase the scope and
destinations and the frequencies.
So by July, we are hoping that we basically are going to be covered 50 percent of the whole of network, but mind you, when you look at it from a
capacity point of view, throughout July, August, and September, it's only about 30 percent, we estimate, what could be operated compared to what was
originally planned. But it's a great first step.
QUEST: And the question, of course, as you say and we've covered this on this program many times. The way in which the planes have the very latest,
most sophisticated operating room filters and the like, but there's still a great deal of concern about getting on a plane, particularly one that is
full.
How will you alleviate passengers' concerns?
LUNDGREN: Well, first of all, I think it's important to note that the procedures that are now implemented, that's not something that the airlines
have just made up themselves. We are following the procedures and recommendations from IATA and ICAO which are the regulators for safety in
European aviation.
And then also, of course, we've been discussing and liaising with the local regulators around that and those procedures are in place and together with
the -- as you have mentioned, the face masks and then also the disinfection that is taking place, which also brings an additional coronavirus
protection in the surfaces on board the aircraft, you know, we believe that is absolutely safe to do so.
And that's why we are so absolutely conscious to make sure that the first efforts we're doing is proven to be just that, with public health in mind.
I mean, the airline industry would hate the idea that it was going to be a contributor into a possible second wave or anything like that, so it's
absolutely in our interest to make sure that as we start flying, that it is safe.
QUEST: And will you be opening the other bases across Europe? Obviously, some already, but is the plan to spread that growth or at least that
reopening across that whole network, particularly intra-E.U. routes where the Schengen ability to travel is greater than it would be, say for
example, with the U.K. or Spain at the moment.
LUNDGREN: Yes, absolutely correct. I think that the key principles in terms of how we're looking to expand the network is actually to cover as
much as we can of the network and then look into having the frequency so we are getting the additional capacities.
But you're absolutely right, I mean, the quarantine that we have, if you take U.K. as an example, clearly has a dampening effect on the environment.
We've seen, since we launched this program that we're having quite a strong amount of sales outside the U.K. into the programs, but of course, the
quarantine which was put in place, you know, dampens that effect, and we also saw that at the first stage of the virus when quarantines were in
place, that they actually killed off very much the demand that is out there.
So, it's absolutely crucial for us to make sure that those quarantines are lifted or replaced with something that makes better sense, that the current
sign of the quarantine here in the U.K. does from a public health point of view, so the industry can get back and participate in the economic
recovery.
QUEST: You talk about 2022-2023 as being the time when perhaps, and it is a perhaps, you'll be back to 2019 flight levels and passenger number
levels.
The nasty dispute that you had with Stelios over new planes, you are committed to these hundred-plus planes. Is that, I mean, does it make sense
-- is it a sort of a long-term bet that you will need those planes in the future?
[15:10:00]
LUNDGREN: Look, we have a great contract with Airbus which gives us two things. One is fantastic value on the kit that we're buying, but also
flexibility, which we have proved -- proven in the fact that we've made the deferrals to the agreement by delaying and taking on, you know, 24
aircrafts here in the next three years.
And on top of that, we also then have operating leases, which means that for next year, as an example, we're not going to take on any new aircraft
delivery whatsoever. That's the first time in the company's history.
So, the key thing here is to have flexibility so we can adapt ourselves to a lower demand, which in all fairness, we have said we think it's going to
take until 2023 before it comes back.
Some other airlines have said they think it's going to be 2022. Nobody would be happier than myself if we saw that the demand was coming back
earlier, and then we have the flexibility, also, to participate in an upturn with this agreement that we have in place, so it's absolutely the
right thing to do to stay with this agreement.
QUEST: Johan, we'll talk more as the summer progresses. And who knows, we might even manage to do an interview on one of your planes between now and
the end of the summer. Thank you very much for joining us, sir. I much appreciate it. Thank you.
LUNDGREN: Thank you.
QUEST: Johan of EasyJet joining me.
Now, in Lisbon, in Portugal is Fred Pleitgen, who joins me. Fred, Europe is opening up. You've just heard -- you've just listened to what Johan was
saying from the EasyJet perspective, but all the airlines in Europe are now making the best effort they can to get as many planes as realistically
likely back into the air.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're absolutely right, Richard. They certainly are, and of course all of the
airlines face the same challenge, if you will.
On the one hand, of course, they have all of these procedures in place where they want to make it as safe as possible for people to get back on
planes, but of course, they also have to convince people that it's okay to go back into a confined space and sit with a lot of other people in closed
quarters.
We checked out what that was like on the flight from Frankfurt to Porto here in Portugal to get a feel for what it's going to be like traveling in
the air in the short-term, maybe even in the medium term future. Here's what we found out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice over): As Europe reopens, many of its borders and airlines hope to get some business back. At Lufthansa's check-in in Frankfurt, it is
clear much has changed.
PLEITGEN (on camera): Of course, keeping physical distance is almost impossible when you're on an international air journey. That's why
Lufthansa and many other airlines have a policy of asking all of their passengers to wear masks both in the airport and on the plane.
PLEITGEN (voice over): Inside the terminal, a lot of physical distancing measures, but upon boarding, no more.
Purser Mike Lauterkom hands out disinfectant wipes, but otherwise, he says, passengers don't need to change their behavior much.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE LAUTERKOM, PURSER, LUFTHANSA: The only thing we ask the passengers that they wear the mask the whole time. Only if they drink or eat
something, they can take it off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN (voice over): Like many European carriers, most of Lufthansa's fleet remains idle ever since the coronavirus outbreak. The company
recently secured a bailout of about $10 billion to help it survive the crisis, but our flight from Frankfurt to Porto is packed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN (on camera): So as you can see, we're all sitting pretty close together. And that's one of the dilemmas that airlines like Lufthansa, but
many others as well face.
On the one hand, they need a hygiene concept that works, but it also has to convince weary travelers that it's safe to get back on planes again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN (voice over): Some travelers a bit concerned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's also a little bit scary I think because you never know what you might catch or not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a little bit surprised because I thought actually based on the coronavirus, we are sitting very, very close.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN (voice over): Lufthansa says state of the art air filters on the planes make infections unlikely.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREAS KAUSER, CAPTAIN, LUFTHANSA: The medicine say that more than 99 percent of those viruses are going to be taken out by those filters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN (voice over): The pilots, by the way, always have to wear masks on the ground, but never in the air, the captain says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAUSER: ... the face, its expressions are very important if you communicate with your colleague, you know, and you have some strange
situation. It's good to see, is he in fear?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN (voice over): Before landing in Portugal, the crew hands out leaflets on how to prevent infections. As airlines tried to convince
travelers that holiday air travel is possible without risking new spikes and coronavirus infections.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: I can tell you, Richard, after several months of practicing physical and social distancing, it is a bit awkward to get back into an
aircraft with so many other people, and I would say the mood on board is a lot different than it was before the coronavirus pandemic.
You do notice that there's a lot less chatter, obviously, also because people are wearing those masks. By and large, I have to say, on that around
two and a half hour flight, passengers themselves were very, very disciplined, very calm, and in the end, the process did actually work --
Richard.
[15:15:16]
QUEST: Fred Pleitgen. Fred, you're in Portugal. Over the next few days, we will be talking to you again. Please find out for us whether people are
having a good time. Is it possible to go away and have a good time while still following through on all the social distancing requirements? That's
part of what we'll talk about with you as the week moves on. Fred Pleitgen, joins us from Portugal. Fred Pleitgen, thank you.
Now, gay and transgender workers had a major victory at the Supreme Court in the United States, and the casting votes and indeed the opinion came
from one of the most conservative justices, which was a surprise.
Also, renewed outrage across the United States, another deadly shooting of a black man by police. We'll have that story for you. This is QUEST MEANS
BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: The law change in the United States for LGBTQ workers as new protections were given to them by the U.S. Supreme court. Until now, there
was no Federal job protection. You could be fired for being LGBTQ. That was not part of the Civil Rights Act as such.
Now, a landmark case has extended the Civil Rights protections. It means there is no more job discrimination for millions of people. The Trump
administration had argued against this particular ruling.
The conservative justice, Neil Gorsuch, wrote the majority opinion, saying that the 1964 Civil Rights Law prohibited job discrimination based on
sexual preference and gender identity.
CNN's justice correspondent Jessica Schneider is with us from Washington. When you read Gorsuch's -- I mean, the decision -- the decision is a
milestone in its right. Roberts going with it, I suppose, with the Chief Justice, we can raise an eyebrow.
But it is full open-mouthed shock that Gorsuch not only went with it, but he wrote the majority opinion.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, quite a shock, perhaps, but we did see a glimpse of this possibility, Richard, at oral argument.
You know, Justice Neil Gorsuch, despite being really the conservative anchor of this court, he's also a textualist and that means he's going to
look to the plain language of the law to determine how these cases should play out.
[15:20:15]
SCHNEIDER: And in this case, this is based on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title 7 that bans discrimination in the workplace on, among other
things, the basis of sex. So, what Neil Gorsuch did in this majority opinion was he boiled it down very methodically and he said, by its very
nature, discrimination based on gender identity or transgender status is discrimination based on sex.
So that was the overarching theme to his opinion, so sure, it may seem like he is siding with gay rights groups, but he actually was doing it by way of
reading very specifically into the statute and in particular, one word in the statute, the word "sex."
So Neil Gorsuch really giving a win to the gay rights groups, maybe a bit of a sting for conservative groups, and what's also surprising, Richard, is
the fact that the Chief Justice joined this opinion.
The Chief Justice was the one who dissented quite vociferously back in 2015, just five years ago, when the Supreme Court approved gay marriage
nationwide, ruling that it was constitutional, that gay marriage should be the way of this nation.
So, quite an interesting opinion from someone that maybe no one would have guessed would have written this opinion.
QUEST: I guess, of course, the Civil Rights Act gave him a piece of legislation upon which to hang his hat, if you like, his judicial reasoning
rather than the gay marriage, which was -- but here's a tricky one. Because the court's liberals went the way you would expect and the hardliners of
Alito and Clarence Thomas, they went the way you expect.
What does it -- as a seasoned watcher of the court, what does it tell us, this decision, for future decisions and future cases?
SCHNEIDER: Well, it would be very interesting to watch these future cases because in the next few days, Richard, we have big decisions coming up
about the fate of the so-called DREAMers in this country, those who were brought here illegally as children and who have been allowed to remain.
We also have a big decision coming up about Trump financial decisions, and it's probably likely that these justices will really look for ways to maybe
not inflame the tensions that are igniting this country right now. They'll look for very specific ways to rule, whether it's sort of splitting the
baby and giving both sides a little bit of something or, in this case, really sticking strictly to the letter of the law and not letting politics
play in.
I mean, Chief Justice Roberts has always said that this is an apolitical court and with the decision today, six to three, Gorsuch and Roberts
joining the liberals, they're really exemplifying that. They're stepping above from politics and really adhering to the letter of the law.
QUEST: Jessica, well done. Bravely carrying on in the face of adverse odds. We'll leave it there for a moment. Jessica Schneider joining us from
the Supreme Court.
It is actually always good when you hear democracy live and in action if you like and even with a loud voice.
Now, another deadly police shooting. Well, this time, of course, it was the police shooting on Friday, which followed, of course, the one of George
Floyd some weeks ago, this deadly police shooting fueling weeks of police protests demanding racial justice in America.
Demonstrators rallying in Atlanta today, outraged over the killing of Rayshard Brooks, who was shot twice in the back after the struggle with
police. His family spoke to reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIARA BROOKS, COUSIN OF RAYSHARD BROOKS: The trust that we have with the police force is broken, and the only way to heal some of these wounds is
through a conviction and a drastic change with the police department.
But honestly, true -- true justice will never prevail because we will never be able to bring back Rayshard Brooks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Officials in some cities marched alongside protesters. That includes the Mayor of Denver, Colorado, Michael Hancock, who was one of the
marchers.
The Mayor is with me now. It is good to have you, Mr. Mayor. We'll talk about this first and then we'll move to coronavirus and the reopening of
the economies if we may, sir.
This is a turning point in the United States. Maybe I'm skeptical because I've been in so many -- covered so many stories where I have been told that
it was a turning point in race relations in the United States. Is my skepticism warranted, or do you feel this is different?
[15:25:02]
MAYOR MICHAEL HANCOCK (D), DENVER, COLORADO: Yeah, I do feel it's different. First of all, Richard, thanks for having me, and you know, I do
feel it's different.
I believe that the energy of the young people behind this movement, you've got to think about the fact that this generation of young people is leading
this movement, has really called -- got all of our attention to the injustices. It's really the most diverse, desegregated generation to lead a
movement of this kind.
And they have called all people to the consciousness of racism and really called us to respond appropriately. What they're saying, clearly, and what
I appreciate about their message, is we've got to stop just pulling people from the river.
We've got to go upstream and find out why they're falling in in the first place. So we've got to get to the root cause of this and that quote comes
from Desmond Tutu that a dear friend sent to me that pretty much put all of this in context for us and hopefully we'll listen, but I think their energy
-- the energy in which they're going after the injustices of this society today is ultimately what's going to propel us to move forward and your AC
system is beginning to move and to change.
QUEST: Mr. Mayor, turn to the, if we may, sir, to the virus and the very disturbing numbers that we're seeing of increases. In some places, Florida
is at record highs. Texas is at record highs. Colorado and Denver has done a very good job of bending the curve.
I'm wondering, are you now seriously concerned that some places are opening too early and we could be well on the road to further lockdowns again?
HANCOCK: You know, Richard, it seems like you were on the call this morning with my senior team where I expressed to them a great deal of
concern about the fact that we have worked so hard to bend the curve, to slow down the rate of infections, to slow down the number of
hospitalizations, and to slow down the number of deaths from coronavirus. And that we have done a pretty good job of stabilizing our numbers here in
Denver and throughout the State of Colorado.
Very close working relationship with the state. There has been tremendous work to get ahead of this curve and to really do everything that we can. A
lot of early work went into this.
But as you look to the map in what you're alluding to, the states surrounding us, Arizona, Nevada, even Oklahoma, and Texas, there's a great
deal of concern. You cannot help but to be alarmed.
Denver -- or Colorado really sticks out like a sore thumb on that map of having maintained and stabilized its numbers and had gotten on the right
side of the curve, but who knows for how long and what do we need to do to really express to our people that we've got to roll our openings up slowly
and to make sure that we're doing the things necessary, including social distancing, staying home when you don't necessarily have to go out, and
that you wear a face covering and continue to exercise good sanitation practices.
Until we can see that the rest of the nation has come along, like I tell you, I'm in lock step with you. It's the same exact message I gave to my
senior team. I am greatly concerned, and we're going to have to call on -- continue to call on our public health officials to continue to let us know
how the modeling is going because I think one of the worst things we can do to our economy is to have to shut down again to protect life. But we will
do it. We wouldn't hesitate to do it.
QUEST: But Mr. Mayor, would you be -- would you be prepared to shut down the economy again? Larry Kudlow at the weekend said no. Steve Mnuchin said
it would be too expensive and it would be too damaging to lock down again. So, would you favor another lockdown if that became the solution?
HANCOCK: If my public health officials advise me that I could save lives and be in better position to keep people safe, I wouldn't hesitate to once
again shut this economy down. Again, one of the positions that I have articulated from day one is that I would much rather rebuild an economy
than to have to dig graves.
And as a result of some of the steps we took early on, Richard, during this pandemic, we were able to slow the rate. We were able to keep people safe,
and I believe that formula works. So we're going to continue to slowly open up this economy while studying our modeling and we will make decisions
accordingly, because that, to me, is first and foremost. The health and safety of the people of my city and the State of Colorado.
QUEST: Mr. Mayor, thank you, sir. We'll talk again as this progresses. I'm grateful that you have given us time. I much appreciate it. Thank you.
HANCOCK: You bet, Richard. Take care.
QUEST: Now, in just a moment after the break, the market -- have a look at the way the market was going and you'll see the market was sharply lower.
It was worried about this, that, and the other, and then it made a comeback because the Fed got involved. The comeback slighter butchering away in the
last half hour.
It is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. We'll talk about how the Fed came to the rescue in a moment.
[15:30:10]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS coming up, of course, in just a moment or two. And we'll look at how the markets
are reacting to the prospect of a second lockdown, as the new outbreaks, quite sharp uptakes in Beijing and in the United States, and it's Mario
Centeno's last day as Portuguese finance minister. He'll also be relinquishing his job as the Eurogroup president.
So, the first question, obviously (INAUDIBLE) then will be, who should take over? And is this the time to be leaving as the new policies just being put
in place? All of that still to come.
First, though, this is CNN, and on this network, the news always comes first. U.S. government says it's outraged by the conviction of a former
Marine Paul Whelan. In Moscow today, a court sentenced him to 16 years in prison for spying, a charge that he denies. Whelan's attorney suggests
Russia may try to use the former marine as leverage to arrange a prisoner swap.
U.S. Air Force says a fighter pilot was killed after crushing on Monday, in the North Sea. The accident took place during a training mission off the
English coast. The pilot belonged to a squadron that was stationed at the Royal Air Force Lakenheath.
The Federal Drug Administration, the FDA, has revoked its emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine. It's the antimalarial medicine that
was touted by President Trump, who used it himself, as a potential treatment for COVID-19. The agency cited the latest scientific evidence in
withdrawing its support.
Next year's Oscars have been delayed due to the virus. The ceremony will now take place in April, instead of February. The Academy said it wanted to
give studios time to finish and release their films.
[15:35:17]
QUEST: Thirty minutes left in what has been a volatile day. And the market opened, well, you look at -- you look at the chart and you make your own
judgments about it. But it's the way in which we're now just off a couple of coffees also. The NASDAQ is up by about one percent. And the chart shows
the way in which the day went. The Fed announced its buying corporate bonds. The fair -- the Dow have been down by two percent at the open, on
the worries about the virus.
In the U.S., a record new cases in Florida. States across the south are seeing a surge and the New York Governor Mario Cuomo is threatening another
lockdown. In Beijing, there's new outbreaks reported. There's a force lockdown and dozens of new cases are reported. The WHO is calling Beijing
cluster, significant. And in India, the largest single day spike in cases 12,000 reported, re-imposing the lockdown in Chennai, on Friday.
Catherine Mann is with me, chief economist at Citi. Good to have you, Catherine, as we do need to understand this. This market that starts very
unhappy. It goes -- comes out of the weekend unhappy, goes into the weekend unhappy, comes out unhappy. So, what was it? Was it this rather obscure,
Fed plan to buy corporate bonds that's taken them several months to get up and running? Is that what turned sentiment?
CATHERINE MANN, GLOBAL CHIEF ECONOMIST, CITI (via Skype): I -- absolutely. I mean, I think if you go back to March 23rd, it was the combination of the
Fed putting into place a range of programs as well as the fiscal policies that were put into place in the United States, but in other countries as
well. But you can really date the market movements by the, you know, the Fed putting up the backstop.
And you know, this corporate bond program has been the actual buying of the individual corporate bonds, has been on the table for a while. And so, you
know, the fact that they've actually implemented it, that is a big deal.
QUEST: We know that this is now going to be longer, more painful, more difficult, do you believe the market has only run away with itself? Because
there is this push for yield, this search for something better than basically coppers?
MANN: Well, I mean, you know, when you have a backstop by the central banks, you know, that really does give support to the -- to the financial
investors. And you know, there -- it is also the case that there are -- is a lot of issuance, tremendous issuance of equity at this point in time.
It's a very good time to do it. There's also a tremendous issuance of bonds, because again, you have a backstop, providing liquidity to firms.
So, the two of those actually work together to be supportive of the market.
And that's what we're seeing. It ultimately is the backstop, the low for long for extended period of time that is also supportive of the market in
the near term. Ultimately, you know, the uncertainty about the virus and the evolution of the behavior of the real side of the economy. There may be
a comeuppance, but right now, the Feds and the BOJ and the ECB have the back.
QUEST: Right. Now, they've got the back. And I wonder when I look at the rally that we saw, and you know that the last set of unemployment numbers
in the United States, the rally that we saw, was only partially justified by the underlying economic potential and forecasts, wasn't it?
MANN: Right. Well, you know, I think the thing is that markets often are judged and reflect the deltas, the rate of change. And the numbers looked
pretty good from a rate of change standpoint. The unemployment numbers, of course, look terrible when you look at the level of unemployment. And the
prospects for the real economy going forward, were no return to the level of GDP, pre COVID until sometime next year.
If you're a company, and you went to your CEO and said to the CEO, you're not going to see the level of revenues that you saw in January for another
18 months, you wouldn't see the market do what it should be, what it has been doing.
QUEST: Where's the risk? Where's the risk at the moment, do you think?
MANN: Yeah. There's a lot of differentiated risk. I mean, if you -- if you just look -- if you're an index type of person, then overall indexes are
due for some adjustment as related to the under lying state of the economy. As I say it levels of the economy, not the rate of change from one month to
the next or one quarter to the next, because the next quarter is going to look good from our rate of change perspective, but it's not going to be
good from a level perspective, so that's the index.
[15:40:11]
MANN: Now, within the indexes, though, I think there's a lot of variation on different sectors of the economy are going to be more robust than
others. So, a lot of differentiation.
QUEST: Good to see you, Catherine. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time. Thank you.
MANN: Thanks.
QUEST: Now, in a moment, the man who created the first budget surplus in Portugal in some four decades, but he's leaving the job as finance minister
of Portugal, and he's going -- Mario Centeno will be with us after the break. He's going to have to give up being Eurogroup president. In a
moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: (INAUDIBLE) returning to our top story as we did in the beginning. Portugal's one of the E.U. nations looking to reduce and restart, reduce
the restrictions and restart its tourism business. The prime minister says talks of potential air bridges with Britain where, of course, there's still
a quarantine, going well. The man in charge with leading Portugal's economy through the crisis is leaving his post.
Mario Centeno resigned as finance minister, effective today. He stays on until as Eurogroup president until July. The minister -- the former
minister, the resigned minister joins me now. We're grateful, sir, to have you with us. I promised my first question was going to be, who should take
over from you? We'll talk about Portugal in a moment. Who should take over from you? Who's your favorite candidate or favored candidate to be the next
Eurogroup president?
MARIO CENTENO, FORMER FINANCE MINISTER OF PORTUGAL (via Skype): Well, hello, Richard. Well, that's a very interesting but difficult question to
answer. I am still the president of Eurogroup. Actually, I'm not going to be one of the people in the college -- in the electoral college because I
will not be a finance minister to vote in that process. I think I better stay away from that.
QUEST: Right. So, let's talk then about -- now you're on the way -- now you're sort of resigned, you could -- you know, you have a greater
flexibility. What do you wish?
[15:45:01]
QUEST: I mean, if you had to grade how the performance has been of the Eurogroup and the E.C., you just about to get this 750 billion loan package
through more grants than loans, what you wish you could have done differently?
CENTENO: Well, I think, we were quite fast in responding to this crisis. I think we now need to be focused on completing the response to the recovery
phase. You mentioned the 750 billion euros package. It's quite important to have it completed as soon as possible. I think we can always look back and
this is a couple of months only, to look back and try to find different way to respond.
I think Europe is back. This is a very strong idea. We don't have a Marshall Plan. We have a European plan this time around. And honestly, I
think we really are quite proud of our response, the coordination, the size. Allowing -- allow me just to highlight this idea that we are now able
to agree on a package that will spread the cost of the recovery over time. Spreading the cost over time was key this time. It is an innovative
approach in Europe, and I think we must complete it as soon as possible.
QUEST: Minister, Foreign Minister, thank you. And thank you for always, for the courtesy of coming on the program and discussing these events. We wish
you luck in your next appointment and grateful that you found more time for us today. Thank you very much.
CENTENO: No, it's a pleasure, Richard.
QUEST: At Portugal. Thank you (INAUDIBLE) in Portugal, Lisbon is one of the many cities where pollution fell quite dramatically during the crisis. As
the auto industry revs up again, electric vehicles, well, that's the way forward in many cases, it could help create a cleaner post COVID world.
CNN's John Defterios with this month's GLOBAL ENERGY CHALLENGE.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Assembly lines are moving again. The global auto industry taking its first tentative steps
post coronavirus pandemic shutdowns. Workers returned to plants wear facemasks, hand sanitizers and social distancing are now the new norm. The
auto sector faces an uncertain future, with sale set to plummet this year, but there might be a bright spot, electric vehicles.
Despite the economic fallout of the pandemic, the International Energy Agency predicts 2.3 million electric vehicles could be sold in 2020,
slightly more than last year. That's good news for the environment as the adoption of more electric cars is needed to drive down CO2 emissions and
air pollution. Many of the big car makers like Germany's BMW are betting on electric vehicles to drive growth in the post coronavirus economy.
CHRISTIAN BOLD, HEAD OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, BMW I AND ELECTROMOBILITY BMW: We have the feeling that this decade that's a decisive one to push
electromobility. And that's what we are working on. And I think -- so that the change of mind, it's maybe a change of speed. We estimate, for example,
there in 2025, between 15 and 25 percent of all our cars will be electrified. And this is a clear goal and we do all the investments we need
to reach this goal.
DEFTERIOS: The ongoing impact of the global pandemic and the prospect of a drawn-out recession could delay the transition to greener vehicles. With
cheaper petrol and diesel at the pumps and less money in their pockets, consumers could be put off from purchasing the pricier cleaner energy
alternatives. But there's growing pressure on governments to feature green energy initiatives and any coronavirus economic recovery packages.
TIMUR GUL, HEAD, ENERGY TECHNOLOGY POLICY DIVISION, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY: Government policy has been the key driver over the last decade or
so. The electric car industry and the electric car market will need sustained and committed support by policymakers if it is to live up to the
long-term expectations.
DEFTERIOS: There's no doubt that coronavirus pandemic will prompt economic hardship and challenge for most of the world. But out of that challenge, an
opportunity for electric vehicles to drive a new chapter in our global energy transition is taking shape. John Defterios, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Kayak expects a long slump in travel, does not really see a recovery until 2023. To sit with, of course, consumer confidence and safety concerns
about the virus being the prime move, but there are bargains to be had and that in itself could drive some demand.
The CEO of Kayak is Steve Hafner. He joins me from Stanford in Connecticut. Good to have you, Steve. Thank you so much. I appreciate you taking the
time. The idea that -- we had on the program earlier today, you're on long run the CEO of EasyJet, very slow start, a few flights, a bit of recovery,
building up throughout the course of the summer. Is that what you're expecting across the whole industry?
STEVE HAFNER, CEO OF KAYAK (via Skype): I think people are being pretty, pretty cautious about especially if you're an airline, you need to fly the
planes and applies them profitably. And by the way, thanks for having me on, Richard. You know, at Kayak today, we were last a -- we released a data
set based on a billion Superfly queries, and we're actually seeing some very positive indicators.
And you know, it's a -- it's a leading indicator to actual bookings, because most consumers will search multiple times. But no, in April, if you
look back in time when COVID was really hitting as hard, consumer search volume in Connick was down 80 percent. Yesterday, it was down only 52
percent. So, consumers are starting to look again.
QUEST: Right. They're looking because they want bargains. They want -- they believe that this is the time to get a bargain. Now, let's, I mean, we're
all aware, of course, some of the flights that you might book might not actually happen by the time you get to that part of the year, but are there
bargains to be had?
HAFNER: There are bargains to be had, you know, we didn't launch or release the data on average fares, but they are down from this period of time last
year. But I think more important than bargain hunting, is actually people just want to get away. And what we're seeing in the data is where they want
to get away to is very different this year than it was this time last year.
So, they want to stay domestic versus international. They want to have direct flights. They want to go to places that are outdoors and less
populated. So, not the New Yorks or the Londons of the world, but more like Florida, and internationally, Caribbean and Mexico. So, as destinations
open up, and if they've had low COVID-19 issues, and they have open restaurants and things to do, people are looking to fly there.
[15:55:00]
QUEST: But Steve, would you agree that this confidence, this rebooking, is probably wafer thin, in the sense that the first sign of an increase in
viruses, for example, in Florida, or a failure of the Caribbean in something or a spike in Arizona, that could once again make travelers
extremely skittish about getting on planes?
HAFNER: Absolutely right. I mean, the biggest indicator everyone's watching is what happens with these COVID cases as government restrictions loosen
up, right? So --
QUEST: Will you -- will you forgive me if I interrupt you, I need to go to the mayor of Atlanta, who is giving a news conference, and I apologize,
sir.
KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS, MAYOR OF ATLANTA: proactive look at our use of force policies and to make recommendations. That taskforce convened for the
first-time last week and we anticipated having initial recommendations within 14 days, with community input and final recommendations within 45
days.
On Friday evening, we saw the murder of Rayshard Brooks. And as I've said before, I am often reminded of the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
There is a fierce urgency of now, in our communities. And that fierce urgency of now says that while our advisory committee continues to work, to
make recommendations to help us implement and review all of our policies in the city of Atlanta, it is clear that we do not have another day, another
minute, another hour to waste.
And so, as we look forward to receiving the very thoughtful recommendations, and I appreciate their work, I'm in the interim, I am
signing an administrative order, a series of administrative orders today, calling upon our Chief Operating Officer Joshua Williams, to coordinate
with the interim chief of police Rodney Bryant to immediately adopt and implement reforms of the standard operating procedures and work rules of
APD concerning their use of force policies.
Specifically, these reforms must comply with state law concerning the use of force. And they will include addressing APD officers response to
resistance generally and specifically, regarding the use of deadly force in accordance with the principle that officers should use only the amount of
objectively reasonable force necessary to successfully protect themselves or others, to effect an arrest or to bring an incident under control when
dealing with members of the community suspects, detainees, et cetera.
I'm also requiring de-escalation generally and specifically, prior to the use of deadly force, in accordance with the principle that officers should
use de-escalation techniques to gain voluntary compliance and avoid or minimize the use of physical force and to continuously develop update and
train officers in de-escalation techniques.
Also in the reporting of all uses of deadly force by a police officer to our Citizens Review Board, adopting and implementing a duty to intervene
whereby if a police officer sees another officer using force, that which is beyond reasonable under the circumstances, that they are duty bound to
intercede and prevent that use of force and must immediately report the use of such force to an on duty supervisor, and also provide lawful
restrictions on when an officer may use deadly force toward a suspect who is in a moving vehicle.
We understand in Atlanta and across the nation, that this is the beginning of a great deal of work that lies ahead of us to make sure that we are
doing all that we can do to protect our communities.
That were set forth by the Obama, by the administration, on 21st century policing, it's very clear that our police officers are to be guardians, and
not warriors within our communities. We stand on the strong legacy of civil rights in this city and in this country. And it's for that reason, I am
also signing an additional Executive Order that will hopefully allow us as we continue to grieve and show our frustration and anger as a nation, that
will create the framework that will allow us to move to action.
END
END
