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Quest Means Business

Apple To Temporarily Close In 11 Stores In Four U.S. States; Trump To Hold Rally In Oklahoma Despite Spike In Cases; Beijing Says Market Outbreak Now Under Control; Cruise Lines Extend Voluntary Suspension Into Fall; Venice Looks To Revive Tourism After COVID Lockdown; E.U. Leaders Fail To Agree On Recovery Fund Plan. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired June 19, 2020 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:00:27]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR: An hour to go in trading before the end of the trading week in New York. And a rally or any form of rally that has

existed has evaporated or at least, if you take a look at the market, you'll see, an absolute definitive line halfway through the day. Positive -

- but it doesn't just drop off. You can see the morning is drifting off and now negative by 130 points, and we'll get to the reasons why because those

are the markets, and one of the reasons is, Apple is reclosing some of its U.S. stores for fear of coronavirus cases.

In the U.K., the Bank of England and the Church of England are apologizing for historic links to slavery.

And E.U. leaders are kicking the can down on the road on a new recovery fund. No sign of when the money or indeed, when it might arrive.

Live from New York, it is Friday. It's June the 19th. I'm Richard Quest and, yes, I mean business.

Good evening. The simple fact is, tonight the evidence is clear, some U.S. states are losing the battle against coronavirus, if, indeed, they were

ever on the way to winning it.

Apple has announced once again it will close stores in some of the worst hit areas. It is temporarily shutting stores in North Carolina, South

Carolina, Arizona, and Florida starting on Saturday. Twenty-three states are seeing a surge in cases.

Florida over 4,000 cases -- new cases, a record number, for the second day in a row. Cristina Alesci is with me just to bring me up to date quickly.

Cristina, the Apple announcement, a statement perhaps of the obvious that things are getting worse, not better.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN BUSINESS POLITICS AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. They're closing down the stores in the precise locations as you've

pointed out where we have seen an uptick, and this is something -- in cases -- and this is something that Apple said from the get-go when they

announced that they would be reopening their stores.

The company said, look, we're going to monitor the numbers. We are going to consult our experts, and if we think it's unsafe to keep those stores open,

we're going to shut them back down. This is a business disruption. But what we're talking about here is about a dozen stores out of the 270 stores that

it has.

So we are not talking about a hit to the bottom line so much, we are talking about the confidence and the ability of the economy to reopen in

the way that Trump wants it to reopen, and it is very clear here that he has no control over the situation whether or not, you know, the economy

gets back to the way it was pre-COVID, and it is very clear that that's probably not going to happen for some time because companies are very

nervous about litigation at the end of the day. They don't want to be sued, if people, customers or employees, get the sick in their stores.

QUEST: Cristina Alesci. There's the map. Thank you, Cristina. Now, news of the Apple store closures sent the markets lower. It had had a strong start

from the day. That's the explanation for the chart that I showed you. The good start drifted away and now the market is lower.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is pressing ahead with that rally in Tulsa tomorrow night, despite the rising number of cases in Tulsa, in Oklahoma.

The virus and the wearing of masks is now being seen there as a political tug of war. Anthony Scaramucci is the former White House Communications

Director. He is the Founder and Managing Partner at Skybridge Capital. Anthony, it is always excellent to have you with us. And I thank you, sir,

for giving us time.

ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER, SKYBRIDGE: It is good to be here.

QUEST: Let's do the markets first. The markets having run ahead of themselves on the prospect of a reopening, do you now expect many of those

gains to consolidate or to be lost?

SCARAMUCCI: You know, I don't, Richard. First of all, it's great to see you back to good health and God bless you for that. And no, I do not because

the water wall of liquidity, the Fed is not using a bazooka here, it is literally a green tsunami of money that is washing over the markets and

washing over asset prices.

So, even Cristina's commentary about the bad news at Apple and the consolidation of stores, I don't think it is going to long term disrupt the

bullish move in asset prices.

One of the things I'm concerned about, however, is that the S&P 500's rebound is very narrow. It's about at the same price that it was in

January, but if you look at the complexion of the appreciation, it's really running at about 10 or 12 stocks, that would be the FAANG stocks, Richard,

plus Microsoft.

[15:05:16]

QUEST: And that tells us everything we need to know about the inequality of the situation that got us into this, those who are being hurt most and

those who are not enjoying in the recovery.

I saw your note on this about -- your blog on this about exactly where these stands.

SCARAMUCCI: Yes. Well, I'm super concerned about it because monetary policy is a blunt instrument. The only thing that Jerome Powell can do is lower

rates and buy assets. Well, guess who that benefits? That benefits the people that own assets.

So unfortunately, globally, less than one percent of the population owns assets, less than three percent in the United States owns assets, and so

those people end up making the money back or you get big shareholder appreciation, but lower and middle-income people are still struggling, and

they haven't solved for that yet, and that's going to require a more aggressive fiscal stimulus, Richard.

And, you know, politicians want to overly rely on monetary policy. The Fed accidentally created, in my opinion, the Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump

Movement as a result of this.

QUEST: Talking of the political side of it, do you believe John Bolton? Do you believe -- I mean, Mike Pompeo calls him a traitor. Donald Trump says

he is wrong and he is telling lies. Do you fundamentally believe the accusations that Bolton makes in his book?

SCARAMUCCI: Of course, I believe him. I think Mike Pompeo and President Trump also believe them. What are the two of them going to say about the

allegations being made in the book?

And so, what's curious to me is I was in politics for a short period of time, I'm basically a businessperson, about how much these guys really try

to twist and turn these stories.

I find it fascinating that the President still has people that lack levels of principles and lack levels of patriotism that are just not going to call

it out for what is exactly going on.

I think Ambassador Bolton, in his case, though, he is being criticized for not releasing more of this information during the impeachment proceedings,

but I personally think it wouldn't have mattered. They had the President -- and they could have exposed more and more information about the President.

The Republicans would have acquitted him anyway.

This was about personal power preservation and adherence to holding on to power as opposed to anything patriotic or rule of law inspired by the

Constitution.

QUEST: Finally, back to our business agenda. It's very difficult to know which -- I mean, the markets, you're right, will rise on the tsunami of Fed

money.

But as for the real economy, what's happening in Florida and Oklahoma and Arizona and Texas, if they don't get a handle on this, Anthony, surely then

the real economy is in deep, deep trouble, even more so than it already is.

SCARAMUCCI: Well, I've always felt that way, Richard. I always thought it would have been more responsible for our political leadership to lay out

the case, explain to people what was going on, rather than going into denial.

I mean, the notion that the President is going to be holding that level of a crowd size rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is an indication that he is

politicizing a scientific issue, and you know, this is going to hurt him in the election.

It's one thing to yell fake news every day, but you can't yell fake science to the American people. They know that this is quite contagious and they

know that it is way worse than the flu and they're trying to protect their family members from it.

So, yes, I do agree with you, without a more coordinated response, you're not going to get the economy going the way we want it if we're fitting and

starting the way we are right now.

QUEST: Good to see you, sir, Anthony Scaramucci. Have a good weekend. I appreciate it.

SCARAMUCCI: Good to be here, thank you. You, too.

QUEST: You want to see a difference in the way in which countries are looking at increases and spikes. We have seen what's happening in Florida

and in Arizona.

In Beijing, a very different reaction. The spike of cases that's happened over the last couple of weeks has caused the authorities to reintroduce

some of the lockdown measures that were previously put in place. CNN's David Culver is our correspondent in China.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At the height of China's COVID-19 outbreak, Beijing became a fortress. The central government determined to

defend the capital city against any surging cases. And even as the rest of China began easing restrictions and reopening a few months ago, Beijing

maintained many strict measures, at least until earlier this month.

[15:10:10]

CULVER (voice over): We briefly noticed a resemblance of life of pre-COVID- 19 here. Then, another cluster of cases, this time in the capital. The focus, another market.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The outbreak in Beijing is under control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (voice over): Six days after officials announced the first case in this latest cluster, they now claim it is under control. Drivers passing by

the newly labeled risk areas, including the Xinfadi Market catch a glimpse of that containment effort.

We drove by as well. We stayed inside the van so as not to risk exposure and another quarantine.

CULVER (on camera): This is the outskirts of the market. You can see, there are some folks back there with hazmat suits on. All of this is shut off.

The reason we're not stepping out of car, actually, let's keep driving because I don't want to draw too much attention, is because if we were to

cross over into this restricted zone, we would then be potentially flagged and be put into government quarantine.

How did they know that? A few ways, one is they could physically stop us and get our information. Another is they would see the tags of the car and

they would mark that down and track us down. And another big data that we have been living by here, they would trace you through your cell phone.

We've heard several reports of people being flagged because of where their cell phones were located geographically within those high-risk areas and

then being contacted and told that they essentially need to be sealed off from the rest of the world.

CULVER (voice-over): Contact tracing is also done through smartphones using QR codes. As we have traveled around China in recent weeks, we've collected

a variety of different QR versions of our own.

A bit tedious and redundant to register for as each jurisdiction has one. A green QR is your key to living and traveling within the country, quarantine

free.

CULVER (on camera): Just arriving back in Beijing.

CULVER (voice-over): The contact tracing is coupled with constant temperature screening especially now, flying back into Beijing with its

partial lockdowns and rising number of cases. Beijing has already tested more than 350,000 people connected to this outbreak.

But despite the government's self-proclaimed successes in getting it under control, China's health experts have warned against complacency here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZHONG NANSHAN, CHINA'S LEADING MEDICAL EXPERT: We are facing a big challenge. It's not the -- not better than the foreign countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (voice over): Dr. Zhong Nanshan, China's leading medical expert, often called the Dr. Fauci of China telling us exclusively last month that

China was not in the clear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANSHAN: The majority of China at the moment is still susceptible of the COVID-19 infection. It's because of lack of immunity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER (voice over): Until that immunity or a vaccine, experts warn to expect this journey back to normalcy to be interrupted by new clusters

followed by a rapid return of heavy handed containment efforts.

David Culver, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: The Bank of England expressing remorse over parts of its racist past as British companies are making strenuous effort about what to do to face

up to the role and the part they played with historical slavery. In a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:51]

QUEST: Welcome back. More British companies and institutions are now apologizing for their historical ties to slavery. Perhaps the most

significant on the commercial, at least, is from the Bank of England. It is pledging to remove all paintings and portraits of past governors with links

to the slave trade.

Lloyd's of London, the insurance group says it would invest in more minority recruiting. It didn't make a concrete monetary pledge. Kehinde

Andrews is the Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham University and he questions that firms are just making anti-gestures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEHINDE ANDREWS, PROFESSOR OF BLACK STUDIES, BIRMINGHAM UNIVERSITY: Unfortunately, the apologies sound a bit more like PR than something

genuine. I mean, a company like Lloyd's of London doesn't just have links to the slave trade, it was born out of the slave trade.

In 18th century England, the Lloyd's coffee house was the place in London where you took or returned runaway slaves. I mean, so, the idea that a

couple of hundred years later, you can give a really meaningless apology and suggest you donate to charity is frankly offensive.

HALA GORANI, CNN HOST: So what would you rather have them do, then, at this stage?

ANDREWS: Well, I think it's about really understanding just how deep seated these problems are. I think the Bank of England's announcement that it had

nothing to do with the slave trade is a perfect example.

So, for instance, in order to abolish slavery, the largest payment the British government ever paid had to be give on the slave owners in

compensation. They loaned this from the Bank of England and this loan was only paid back in 2015, which means that me and my grandparents and all of

these descendants of the enslaved actually paid the Bank of England slave owner compensation.

So it's these deep rooted links that cannot just be -- cannot be got rid of by taking down a few pictures or having a PR move.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now, today is Juneteenth in the United States, which is the day that celebrates the end of slavery in this country.

Several states are now making it an official holiday in the wake of the George Floyd killing and the demands for racial justice. Changes are

happening this week as companies are making major announcements about how they will change their products, what they will actually do from names to

logos.

Some of these products have been around for decades. So, for instance, Quaker Oats is ending the Aunt Jemima and acknowledged its racist roots.

Old Aunt Jemima was a song from the racist minstrel shows when white performers wore black face.

Mars is to remove Uncle Ben's Rice, suggestive of black servitude. The term "aunt" and "uncle" were used by slave owners for older slaves. And

eventually following that, Cream of wheat and Mrs. Butterworths are also changing things.

Richard Edelman is with me. The Chief Executive of Edelman. Well, we're in an interesting environment here, Richard. I need your guidance here because

when you advice clients, how do you advise them not just to be token? For example, I do question the purpose of the Bank of England bringing down

portraits of governors whose businesses have relationships in the 18th Century with the slave trade. I don't know what good it does to today's

issue.

RICHARD EDELMAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, EDELMAN: I think that brands are actually in a moment when they need to be the leaders of change, and the move by

Quaker Oats and Mars this week is to correct history. But there are others that are actually taking quite affirmative steps.

So, for example, Dove is running a campaign where they are saying that they want women to be able to wear hair styles of any sort. It's called the

Crown Act. They're also running a campaign for their men's product this weekend, which is Father's Day Taken, about excessive jail term and

policing.

So that's activism for brands, and I think it's the right moment to do that because we've just come out of the field with a study, Richard, that shows

that a brand can earn four times more trust by stepping up and speaking up and acting on systemic racism than it can by standing down and keeping

their heads down.

[15:20:24]

QUEST: Why is this different than previous times of racial tensions and sort of a things must change view? In the 30-odd years that I've been in

and around the United States, I've seen several times when people have said, this is the moment. No, this is the moment. Well, tell me, Richard,

why is now different?

EDELMAN: Because we've been locked down for a period of months, because we have record unemployment levels, particularly among black people, and

because it's now an accumulation of police violence, George Floyd being just the latest, going back to Ferguson, going back to Rodney King, and

it's also the moment in politics when you've got a highly contentious election just brewing.

So, all of these things have added up to a moment in time when brands have every opportunity to seize the moment and do something, because actually,

more than two-thirds of people now say they'll buy or boycott a brand based on whether it speaks up and acts on systemic racism. That's a stunning

number. That's from a survey taken last week, and it's across white, black, Hispanic, et cetera, across all groups.

QUEST: As I read some of these statements from CEOs, I found some of them toe curling. I found some of them cringe worthy because they were saying

what they felt needed to be said, but one knows within their own companies, there is racial discord. There are employees that do not feel at ease.

And I question, Richard, the discrepancy between public statements and corporate policies. The two have to marry up.

EDELMAN: There's no doubt that the first order of business for companies is to fix your own house and to make commitments and actually be sure that you

have people of color on Boards, senior executives from black, Hispanic, and other communities, and make sure that all of your policies such as making

sure that you have minority owned small business in your supply chain, that you actually go to primarily black colleges and other places to recruit,

that you make it a very friendly workplace for people of color.

All of those are absolutely fundamental to change in America. Business has to lead this change. Government can mandate, but business will make it

happen.

QUEST: Richard, it is always good to have you on the program, sir. We are very grateful that you have given us time tonight. Have a good weekend.

Thank you.

EDELMAN: Thank you very much.

QUEST: Richard Edelman. Now, this particular time of the year, it is getting interesting because the moratorium on evictions that was put in

place by the administration and by various states is coming to an end.

Now, there's a real fear that many minorities who have suffered disproportionately will be evicted because they can't pay their rent. That

is unless the moratorium is extended.

Vanessa Yurkevich now explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Kianah Ashley is being evicted and a nightmare is unfolding for her and her five-year- old son

Nazir.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIANAH ASHLEY, RENTER FACING EVICTION: That's something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy because not knowing where you're going to rest your head at

for the next day, that's not good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH (voice over): Up to 23 million Americans are at risk of eviction by the end of September. It's a housing crisis in the making.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEY: There's not really many options out here for us, you know, when it comes to trying to find a place during this pandemic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH (voice over): Renters in 42 states have been protected under eviction moratoriums, postponing rent payments as the economy stutters due

to COVID-19. But 40 percent of those moratoriums have lifted, and more than 45 million Americans are still without a job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMILY BENFER, DIRECTOR, HEALTH JUSTICE ADVOCACY CLINIC, COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL: The United States can expect an avalanche of evictions that will

impact the entire community and have a cascade of additional losses. Everything from financial wellbeing, to health, to housing opportunities

across the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:25:07]

YURKEVICH: Ashley has a Section 8 voucher, making her search for affordable housing more difficult. She's one of 50 million people who live in rentals

in the U.S., experiencing job or income loss because of the pandemic, with people of color taking the brunt of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENFER: Eviction disproportionately affects communities of color and women with children at the highest levels.

Black households are more than twice as likely to be evicted as white households. So, it's a significant impact that we're going to have here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH (voice over): And that could lead to record homelessness. The Coalition for the Homeless in New York City says its mobile soup kitchens

have seen a 100 percent increase in need.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE GIFFEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS: We've never seen anything like this. And, again, we know that this isn't the end. It's

not even the middle. This is only the beginning of the crisis to come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH (voice over): The Heroes Act, passed by the House, but stalled in the Senate, would provide $100 billion in rental relief, including a

national moratorium on evictions, keeping people like Ashley out of shelters.

She's been there before with her son and doesn't want to have to go back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEY: No child deserves to have to go through an experience like that, but it's a -- that's a very big fear of mine because just going through the

process of a loop -- a loophole of being denied and not knowing where you're going, it's not a good feeling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH (voice over): Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: A story we will continue to promise -- I promise that we will keep watching.

Now, we always talk a great deal about travel. Travel is picking up, so there's no better person to speak to than the General Manager of the

world's busiest airport, Atlanta Hartsfield. We'll be talking to the general manager after the break.

This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. It's Friday. The end of the week. You made it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:07]

QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. We'll be talking to the managing director of the world's busiest

airport, Atlanta. He'll be telling us about how they are preparing for -- when the passengers return in sizable numbers. If they do indeed, and AMC

has made an about face on its face policy, concerning masks.

Originally it was going to be they're not compulsory. Now they most certainly are going to an AMC theater, then you better have your mask with

you or you're already seeing the movie. Or that of course follows after news headlines because this is CNN and on this network the news always

comes first.

Canada says it's extremely disappointed and concerned about two of its citizens who are now formally charged with spying in China. The two men

have been detained since the end of 2018. Officials in both countries have linked the charges to the ongoing proceedings against a Huawei executive in

Canada.

Rallies and marches are taking place across the United States commemorating Juneteenth. It's the holiday celebrating the end of slavery. On June the

19th 1865 union soldiers rode into Galveston, Texas to tell slaves that they had been freed two years earlier.

One of three officers involved in the shooting death of EMT Breonna Taylor will be fired. That's according to the Louisville Kentucky mayor who says

the termination proceedings are underway against detective Brett Hankison. Taylor was killed during a police raid on her home in March. Two other

officers are currently on administrative leave.

Now we saw the results from the cruise industries financials in the last couple of days. More disappointing if not downright bad news. Members of

Cruise Lines International are suspending U.S. departures until September the 15th. Now the members of the Cruise Lines International clear Disney,

Carnival and Norwegian cruises.

Venice is open to travelers. The lockdown was peaceful and -- but very painful. And it made historic destination we think it's future. Ben Wedeman

reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The tourists, a few of them, are back in Venice's Piazza San Marco. Many of the hotels and shops

are still shuttered. The Gondoleiri idle, the cafes host more seagulls than clients.

We find it fabulous, says Mary Caroline Cosset from France. There are no way to the museums. The churches are all open. You can take your time.

But the economy of Venice, highly dependent upon tourism can't wait. Around 30 million visitors flock to the city last year. Venice, before

coronavirus, teamed with tourists. And this is now.

This shop has been in Mario's family for generations. It couldn't be worse than this, he said. We reopened, May 23rd, and since, then we've made

around 100 euros. That's just over $110, in almost a month.

Residents have become accustomed to life without the madding crowds. The prospect of an eventual return to a semblance of normalcy is bittersweet.

Veteran tour guide, Caterina Sopradassi misses the tourists, but savored the silver lining.

CATERINA SOPRADASSI, VICE PRESIDENT, ASSOCIAZIONE SAN MARCO: It's really sad. In certain ways, it's also really marvelous, because we can enjoy our

city. And, we hope -- we hope that we are starting a little by little step- by-step.

WEDEMAN: Visitors to the sites must have their temperatures checked, wear masks inside and maintain social distance. With the rebirth of tourism,

many residents hope the city will not be destroyed in the process.

Environmental scientist, Jane Da Mosto, warns that Venice, already threatened by rising water, can ill afford a renewed flood of tourists.

JANE DA MOSTO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WE ARE HERE VENICE: It's not just a question of the impact of 30 million people on a very fragile set of

islands in the middle of a delicate lagoon system. It's is also a question of, should all of those people be traveling across the world, across the

country, for such short holidays which is --

WEDEMAN: The government of Venice is considering a city tax, to try and hold back the deluge of spendthrift day trippers.

[15:35:08]

WEDEMAN: Lorenza Lain manages a hotel in a 500-year-old palazzo.

LORENZA LAIN, PRESIDENT, VENICE HOTEL ASSOCIATION: You have to be respectful, of all the guest coming into Venice, but also, people that come

to Venice should be educated to respect the city.

WEDEMAN: A city, navigating between the need to make a living and preserving a unique way of life.

Ben Wedeman, CNN Venice.

QUEST: I would imagine now is a perfect time to visit Venice. That is if you can get a flight from an airport and you don't have to change in too

many places. And there aren't too many quarantine requirements on the way. More airports are finding the difficulties they are facing as they start to

open up. Large numbers of passengers haven't arrived yet, but the planning is for when they do.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, of course, took us on a tour Atlanta airport to share the sort of things we can now expect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: For travelers, it's about masks and touching as few things as possible, whether at check-in -- don't

forget to put your boarding pass on your phone ahead of time, less surfaces to touch.

We're going through security.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. Put that into the machine, sir.

GUPTA: One thing to keep in mind, try and count how many surfaces you touch throughout the whole process.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need everything out of your pockets, please.

GUPTA: One study found that the biggest germ hotspots for respiratory viruses in the entire airport, these security bins.

QUEST: so John Selden is the general manager at the world's busiest airport. It is Atlanta. Good to have you, sir. I appreciate it. And your

time. Now look, we know it's going to be different. There's going to be lots social distancing, there will be difficulties of large numbers of

people as things pick up. What are you preparing for in terms of numbers? If you like percentages over what you usually get, what do you think's

realistic?

JOHN SELDEN, GENERAL MANAGER, HARTSFIELD-JACKSON ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Hi, Richard. Just a little point to start with, on April 8th, we

were down 97 percent. Today we're down 85 percent. We have a very steady growth going on. And we expect to be at 50 percent pretty much passenger

traffic within the next 10 to 12 months.

QUEST: That's less than 10 to 12 months. That's interesting. So it's going to be steady, but it's not going to be a fast incline.

SELDEN: Well, fortunately for us, we're at the Delta's major hub here they're home. And as a matter of fact, today we have 800 flights and in

July we'll have almost 1200 flights and if passenger traffic continues to return will be at about 1400 flights about a year from now, which is about

50 percent of the flights. We're hopeful that we get a little bit past that because the airplanes are going to be about 60 to 70 percent full we think.

They won't be up in the 90s like they were pre-COVID. But we're hopeful that the passengers come back and we add more flights through the hubs. I

think you're going to see a lot more hub traffic and the hub airports grow much faster than the smaller point to point airports.

QUEST: That's a -- that makes great points incensed, isn't it? Because, obviously, the airlines are going to want to increase capacity using hub

and spoke versus the point to point which raises the issue. The CEO of Heathrow Airport, in the middle of the crisis, basically said social

distancing is pretty difficult, if not impossible, major airports. Would you agree with him?

SELDEN: I would absolutely agree that social distancing is a problem at major airports because we used to have 300,000 passengers a day here at

Hartsfield Jackson. Right now we have about 50,000 a day, and we're able to social distance very easily at 50,000 a day. So all the precautions that

we've taken, and many of them are Plexiglas in our lanes, touchless points. Obviously, we are working with the stickers keeping six feet.

If you just make people aware to stay away from one another, they actually do that very easily instead of congregating in lines in queues. So we think

we have quite a capacity to maintain social distancing as we recover.

QUEST: The Atlanta has a particularly unique capacity in the sense because so much of your traffic is hub and spoke primarily with Delta as opposed to

people coming through the front door which means that the inter transfer, the hub traffic transfer or large numbers of people going between aircraft

will create unique challenges for you.

[15:40:11]

SELDEN: The challenges are there, about 60 to 65 percent of our traffic usually connects through the airport here. So they stay actually in the

concourses and do not come up to the main thermal or have to go through security again. So, with the ability to keep the gates are we're going to

work on gating our aircraft so you don't have to change concourses here at Hartsfield-Jackson, that way you have a shorter distance through your hold,

your gate sitting and then hopefully get on your within 45 minutes.

Our airline partners are outstanding at making these connections as quick as possible with help -- which help us with the through plate through the

concourses.

QUEST: John, please, do agree that we can talk again as the summer moves on. I'd love to have you back so we can gauge exactly what's happening

because your airport is a world leader and we can get from you over. So please come back again, John, over the summer.

SELDEN: Thank you, Richard. And if you're ever in Atlanta please stop by.

QUEST: Oh, that's a given. That's a given when visiting the mother ship. Absolutely, John. Now, as we continue on the QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. The

French finance minister says he doesn't expect an economic rebound until 2021 which makes the fact that the E.U. leaders and the commission

cointegrating on their marquee bailout plan or their recovery plan even more remarkable. We'll talk about it after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Welcome back. It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS at the end of the week. E.U. leaders have failed to agree on their three quarters of a trillion-dollar

euro recovery fund. Extraordinarily, the decision has been put off until July but it already been put up once or twice. The frugal four are refusing

to go along with it. That's Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. Now, into its context, the French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has

warned us of hard times ahead.

Last month he told it's hard to predict the shape of the recovery that will come.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNO LE MAIRE, FRENCH FINANCE MINISTER: I will not bet on the (INAUDIBLE) I know that it will be difficult and I really know that hard times are

coming for France, for the E.U. countries, for the U.S.

[15:45:07]

LE MAIRE: In the coming month, we will have to live very difficult times. Let's be clear about that. And, you know, I've been very firm from the

beginning of the crisis. I made a comparison between this crisis and the crisis of 1929, which means that we are leaving recession such should be

the worst that we have ever lived both in the E.U. and in the U.S. We are doing our most effort to support specific sectors to fund the recovery

plans, both at the national and European level.

But let's be clear, the rebound will be very progressive. I do not expect any improvement on the situation before, the beginning of next year, before

of -- the beginning of 2021, and we will have very hard times between now and the end of 2020. Let's be clear about that. I really think that we have

to build on truth, not on lies, and build up confidence, not on illusions.

QUEST: I think France would agree the European Union was slow to start. And indeed some called it an existential crisis. Do you now see that as likely?

Do you see the breakup and the fragmentation as still being a risk?

LE MAIRE: I think that these risks are behind us and that there should not be any more difficulty, thanks to that proposal from Emmanuel Macron and

Angela Merkel, thanks to the leadership and the decision taken by (INAUDIBLE) and I really urge the four remaining states that are still

opposing that plan to come back to the wise attitude and to come back to the European team so that we can spend public money as soon as possible to

support our economy, to support our single market, and to have the 27 member states all together having a quick economic recovery.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Let's talk about that from the practical point of view. Jean-Yves Fillion is the chief executive of BNP Paribas USA. He joins me now. Good to

see you as always. I'm grateful. Listening to what Bruno Le Maire says on the recovery, it will be slow and there's going to be -- there's going to

be the need for more help. What are your clients telling you? Who is -- do you believe is responsible for giving the help?

JEAN-YVES FILLION, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BNP PARIBAS USA: Good to see you, Richard, and thank you for having me, by the way. For 2020, our

economists predict and it's an obvious statement that there is going to be a contraction, you know, minus 2.5 global GDP, minus 5.7 percent for the

U.S., minus 8.3 percent for the Eurozone. In terms of how fast this recovery would happen, you have different scenarios.

All experts believe it's going to take a long time. It's not going to be -- we're not going to go through pre-COVID-19 economic metrics probably

before, you know, 2021 or early 2022. But to your point, Richard, in the meantime, a lot of things worked. You know, intervention of the central

banks, ECB and Fed injecting massive liquidity, the government programs, you know, the $2.2 trillion, you know, CARES Program, similar programs in

Europe are tremendously help.

And the world of the banking sector who's entered this crisis in well- managed, well-capitalized liquid has been a real contributor.

QUEST: We're talking about the way in which large companies will operate in the future. And in terms of yourself, you have lots of offices, lots of

expensive offices and expensive parts of cities. You just don't need them in the future. So what I'm asking chief execs like yourself is, when people

come to you and say, I'm only going to want to come into the office a few days -- few days a week, two or three days a week. I'm going to work from

home. What are you going to do about that?

FILLION: Well, Richard, by the way, I watched your video on working from home. I love it. It's -- I think in terms of new normal, this is going to

be the new normal. We have today at BNP Paribas over 90 percent of our staff working from home and the bank is moving full speed serving clients

and it's here to stay. By the way, there are benefits or benefits there, you know, for employees.

You know, better work/life balance, less commuting, better connection with their communities. I think what you're mentioning about, you know, real

estate, and I would say expensive real estate footprints in the rural and urban areas is a consequence of that and it's going to change. We are

seeing trends already. But there is another structural trend I can see which you covered as well, this is business traveling.

[15:50:06]

FILLION: It's not -- it's not going to be the same way. You and I have been heavy business travelers and I think we're going to think twice about it

before going to an airport or jumping on a plane. But don't make no mistake here, I miss the interaction, the face-to-face. I wish I -- were with you

in the studio here like we always do.

QUEST: In a -- in a word, when will you take your next business trip to Paris?

FILLION: That's not really for the time -- anytime soon, but as we said, you know, with this economy being more digitized, we've managed to actually

interact quite efficiently which is why (INAUDIBLE) another thing I wanted to mention, Richard, in terms of new trends, for my clients this time, I

see, you know, the topic that is constantly discussed, a weight of mastication of supply chains.

And probably by the way, creating more manufacturing jobs in the western economies, another dimension I see as a new normal is a real increased

interest in sustainable finance products as now we've seen how impacted can be or has economy on our communities and BNP Paribas being a lead bank in

this sector, we've actually seen a real increase in terms of new insurances, which we've led a significant part of them.

QUEST: Right. Good to see you, sir. Have a good weekend. We will talk again.

FILLION: It's been a pleasure. Thank you, Richard.

QUEST: -- develops.

QUEST: Thank you, sir. Now, in just a moment, the backlash. Well, AMC said you didn't necessarily are have to wear masks if you went to their cinemas.

There was such a response, the CEO has changed his mind, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Now, we're all very familiar with these, of course, wearing them all the time. What about when you go to the cinema? Well, AMC cinemas

originally said they didn't expect you would have to wear one of these, they didn't necessarily going to force you. Now they've changed their mind.

The chief executive said their policy did not go far enough on the usage of masks and we will now require them nationwide.

The CEO told Adam Aron had told variety that they would mandate masks. Frank Pallotta is with me. Frank, a mask about nothing? I mean, what's it

all about? Why would the CEO say that and the company backtrack?

[15:55:06]

FRANK PALLOTTA, CNN MEDIA WRITER: So, yesterday AMC announced it was going to reopen its 600-ish theaters in the united states. And it said that in

places in the country where masks are mandatory, you would be required to wear a mask in their theaters. However, in areas where masks are mandatory

or required, you won't have to wear a mask. This led to conversations in which Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC actually said that one of the reasons why

this was was because they didn't -- they kind of wanted to avoid the political implications of it.

I talked to Adam Aaron yesterday. He told me he wants to keep politics out of his theaters, so basically what he was saying was are we recommend it,

but it's not required. So basically then today, that got a lot of backlash last night, and that led to a complete reversal today in which now when it

opens nationwide next month, they'll be required no matter what theater in the united states you're at.

QUEST: You know, I want to start off with this story, of course you wear a mask, and then you think about the comments of the president said and that

Fauci said and everybody else said, and then before on, you really do come to the conclusion that the mask is now starting, at least in this country,

to have political overtones. I can see how Aron got himself into a mess here.

PALLOTTA: That does seem to be the case. I mean, the masks have gained a political implication, but for AMC there's also this other aspect of it,

too, is that, you know, movie theaters really don't make a ton of movie off movies per se. Half of the gross at the box office goes back to the

Disney's and Warner Brothers of the world. Where they really make money is concession, and it's incredibly hard to eat popcorn and drink diet coke

while you have a mask on.

So they wanted to kind of, I believe, take that away and make it easier for people to come back to the theaters. But, like I said, the backlash led to

a reversal. No matter what, you have to wear a mask at an AMC theater when they reopen next month.

QUEST: Frank Pallotta's assignment for next week from QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, go to the movies and we want to see you eating popcorn wearing a mask.

Thank you.

PALLOTTA: You got it.

QUEST: A profitable moment after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight's profitable moment. What a week it's been one way or another. The markets just continue to go on a tear and then they have these

moments of biliousness where everybody wonders what's going wrong. But the truth is it comes back to the virus. And Anthony Fauci has said time and

again in the United States, the virus will do what it wants to do and whether -- however you want to view it. And that's why of course it must

continue to be vigilant.

All we can, masks as well. And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you're up to in the weekend ahead, I

hope it's profitable. We'll be back together on Monday.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. And we begin today with the national lead. President Trump tomorrow is making his return

to the campaign trail on attempt to preserve his presidency as he faces crises on multiple fronts.

END