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Quest Means Business
Moderna Shares Soar As New Vaccine Offers Hope; Dow Set For Best Monthly Rise Since 1987; Biden Unveils Diverse Economic Team To Lead U.S. Recovery; Biden Receives First Daily Presidential Briefing; Expanding Its Data Empire: S&P To Buy IHS Markit; Medical Breakthroughs At Breathtaking Speed; Jobs Of The Future, People Are Investing In Themselves
Aired November 30, 2020 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:17]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Take a look at the markets as we have an hour left of trading on Wall Street, start of a new week and the
Dow is set for the best month in 33 years despite the one percent fall that's happening today. We can forgive this fall, even though it takes us
under 30,000 bearing in mind what we've seen over the rest of the month.
The market and the day so far. The experts are calling it amazing. Data from Moderna. The new vaccine is sending its share price rising. You'll
hear from the company's Chairman on the stellar performance.
President-elect reveals his full economic team. Janet Yellen, as we expected, is at the helm. And the biggest takeover of the year, it's in the
market, literally. S&P Global is going to market with IHS Markit, that is. We have all the details.
We are live from New York. It's Monday. It is November 30th. I'm Richard Quest, and I mean business.
We start tonight with the news that Moderna is asking U.S. regulators to approve its COVID vaccine for Emergency Use Authorization. And to prove and
meet the standard, they've now submitted a larger dataset. The numbers are supporting the company's earlier figure of 94.1 percent efficacy. They also
say, though, this latest data proves the vaccine is 100 percent effective at preventing severe cases.
Along with Pfizer, the two companies are on track to roll out vaccines within weeks. Tens of millions of doses are being positioned around the
United States for the next start of the phase which is distribution.
Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen joins us. This 100 percent effective against serious cases. This tells us that not only does
it prevent it, but for those cases that get through, the worst does not happen.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly what it is showing, Richard, and not only is it showing that, but it's showing this
data in a much larger dataset than the one that you and I discussed two weeks ago.
So, November 16th, they came out with one set of data. This set of data is about twice as big, and so that makes you feel more confident in the
numbers because it is so much larger. So, let's take a look at what this dataset shows.
It shows, as you mentioned, that the vaccine is 94.1 percent effective, and that it is 100 percent effective at preventing serious cases, severe cases
of COVID-19. In other words, when people took the vaccine and did get COVID, which was pretty unusual, they did not become severely ill.
Now, Moderna didn't just pull this data out of the clear blue sky. They did a study to show it and they took tens of thousands of people, they gave
some of them the vaccine and some of them a shot of saline, a placebo that does absolutely nothing. Those people then went back to their homes, they
lived their lives, some of them became infected with COVID and some of them didn't.
So, let's take a look at how all that played out. Eleven out of the 15,000 people who got the vaccine, the real vaccine, 11 out of the 15,000
developed COVID, just 11. But 185 of the people who got the placebo, in other words, the shot that did nothing, 185 of those people got COVID-19.
So, that is a huge, huge difference and that's where you get that 94.1 percent efficacy number -- Richard.
QUEST: Elizabeth Cohen joining us, thank you. Now, Moderna's chairman spoke to CNN's Alison Kosik earlier and explained all the work that went into the
vaccine and his hopes for what it can do, even before the end of the year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NOUBAR AFEYAN, CO-FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, MODERNA: Our goal all along was to demonstrate the most effective, the safest, and the most thoroughly vetted
vaccine we could possibly produce, and we put a lot of effort into it together with lots of collaborators and to be able to get the results that
we've seen today certainly is a feeling of both relief and excitement. Excitement about the impact.
So, I think that, you know, optimism is something you can judge in hindsight, but the excitement is twofold. One is the impact, and the second
is, you know, the messenger RNA is a technology that Moderna pioneered some 10 years ago, and 10 years of work, several billion dollars of investment,
have gone into putting us in a position to be relevant in this important time, and that, too, obviously, is a feeling that could cause emotions
given where we are.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, okay, what everybody wants to know, when will you get approval? When will the first vaccines be ready?
[15:05:10]
AFEYAN: The pathway available is the -- first, a request for Emergency Use Authorization, which we're making. We've announced today with the F.D.A. as
well working with EMA and the Europeans and everywhere else that we can. That Emergency Use Authorization, we expect may be forthcoming in all goes
well during December such that the first batch of vaccines will go out and the people who will receive those will be determined by guidelines set by
the C.D.C. as well as their equivalents in other countries.
Thereafter, in the first quarter of next year, we expect to work towards full licensure of the vaccine such that a broader community can receive it
and we said publicly that we expect to produce some 500 billion to one billion doses during 2021, which we fully intend to use across the world to
have the biggest impact we can have.
KOSIK: I know you said it was up to the C.D.C. how many doses will go out, but how many is Moderna prepared to distribute, and what about those plans
to distribute the vaccine?
AFEYAN: So, the 20 million is our estimate for the amount we will produce. The C.D.C. will determine how they are distributed, meaning, who is in the
front of the line and as you know, Operation Warp Speed that's been set up in the U.S. to handle this for the American side as well as the equivalents
in Europe, et cetera, we're working with all of them.
So, the 20 million number is a December production estimate. The 500 million to a billion is Moderna's estimate for 2021.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: A steady stream of vaccine breakthroughs has pushed markets to new heights. Forget about today. That's a frolic of its own. But all three
indexes are hitting double-digit gains in November. The Dow on track for its best month since 1987. It passed 30,000 for the first time last week.
Rich Lesser is with me, the CEO of Boston Consulting Group. He joins me from New York via Skype. It is good to see you, Rich, as always.
We're going to break our discussion down into two areas. There's much to get with you because we want to talk about Joe Biden, the transition in
just a moment or three.
I want to focus, first of all, though, on these markets and the clear fact that it is the vaccine and the possibility of an element of normality
returning early, mid, late 2021. Do you think we're putting too much -- the market is overbuying the vaccine before it's actually got going? It's
pricing it in when we have a very difficult winter ahead.
RICH LESSER, CEO, BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP: Well, first, it's great to be with you, Richard. I would say the market always takes a long-term outlook
around earnings. I mean, it's pricing future earnings in, and I think there is a genuine optimism by sometime in the second half of next year that we
can be in a position where this is mostly in our rear view mirror, maybe not in every country around the world, but in the United States and a
number of other countries, and hopefully other parts of the world, not so long after that.
So that is a genuine cause for optimism, but you're right to point out the months ahead are going to be extremely difficult for near-term economic
pressures and for pressures on lives and livelihoods, and we are not through that yet, and that part, I don't think is captured in the current
stock market.
That's not what it's there, really, to price, but it is the world we all have to live in.
QUEST: But I was just having a bite of lunch here in the building where I am here at CNN Hudson Yards and I was looking out at all the other
skyscrapers nearby, and they're just all dark and empty.
I mean, the large financial groups are getting through and companies are making good, but it's nothing like -- I mean, we've just got no idea how
bad January could be.
LESSER: Look, I'm -- on this, I agree with you, Richard. I think there is such an urgent need to be looking at how we protect people. Of course, we
want to roll out the vaccines as fast as possible and it's such an encouraging sign, but we have to keep people safe and we have to protect
livelihoods in this very difficult period.
And I'm really hoping, even in a lame duck session, though I realize the odds feel long, or certainly as soon as we have the new administration in
place that we can -- that Congress can do its job to work with the administration to get support for people who may be losing positions or
feeling uncomfortable staying home when a family member is sick because they don't know if they'll have a job; for small businesses, and frankly
for state governments and budgets under enormous pressure, like we need stimulus to keep people safe, not just to protect the economy.
QUEST: You're a global company. If we look, how worried are you that haves and have notes with vaccines? You know, GAVI and all of these things have
made great strides about making sure that the developing world gets its vaccine, but the truth is, it's going to first responders and everybody
else in the northern hemisphere and the O.E.C.D. rich countries and at some point, others will follow.
[15:10:16]
LESSER: Look, in an ideal world, we would be able to distribute in a very equitable way, not just within countries, but across countries. I do feel
what GAVI has done, what the Gates Foundation working with the leading biopharma companies have done, we have made progress, encouraging progress
on this, but it will be a challenge, and I do think countries will go later in the process you wish could get access to vaccines sooner.
QUEST: We'll talk next when we come back after the break about the Biden administration, but I do want to ask you as we go to break, what do you
think -- here's a toughie -- what do you think is an equitable profit return for those pharmaceutical companies who have made -- now, I know
they've all said they're going to -- many countries have said vaccinate at the cost of the country and the companies involved have said do it at the
cost -- they're doing it basically at cost.
But if COVID is around for many years and vaccinations are required, at some point, pharma is going to want to make profits.
LESSER: So, can I just flip the coin a second? Like, the return on investment to society to have an innovative biopharma world that was able
in the space of less than a year to come out with a vaccine that will save trillions and trillions of dollars in the global economy. It's hard to
measure the value of that.
And I also think it's fair to say it shouldn't be excessive returns, but we want industry incented to pursue innovation that can provide life-saving
medicines in very short time when something unexpected hits.
To say that that shouldn't generate a return, you then really wonder if we'll get enough investment that we need for the future. So I realize it's
a complex balancing act. I don't have a specific number for you, but we shouldn't undervalue the benefits that we're all receiving societally that
this innovation capacity exists right now.
QUEST: Rich, hold your nose, we're jumping into politics after the break. The new administration, and we'll get to grips with your thoughts on the
new economic picks in a moment because Joe Biden today made history with his picks for his new economic team.
A familiar face, the first female Treasury Secretary after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:15:03]
QUEST: President-elect Biden has unveiled his new economic team and pledged that they will help America recover from the virus from day one.
Janet Yellen, who made history as the first female Fed chair, is now set to make history again if confirmed by the Senate. Tapped to be the first
female Treasury Secretary.
Biden's team breaks other barriers, including Neera Tanden as the first woman of color to lead the O.M.B. and Cecilia Rouse, the first African-
American chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. You see the whole team there.
Rich Lesser, the CEO of Boston Consulting is with me. So, your initial gut thoughts when you look at that team. Obviously, Janet Yellen is a very
welcome addition to any top tier.
LESSER: I think the business community will react positively to this team. It brings a diversity of perspectives in. It brings a lot of experience at
a time there's massive uncertainty in the economic outlook, and I think it will be viewed as a team that will be capable of hopefully working across
the boundaries with a potentially divided Congress in reaching solutions to move us forward.
Proof is always in the pudding, but I think this will be greeted in a positive way.
QUEST: But what does the business community want? For instance, Joe Biden has made it clear, corporate taxes are going to go up. Believing that the
Trump 2017 corporate tax cut was too far. Is it a generally held view that that is okay by business?
LESSER: I think business looks at the broader agenda of what needs to get done and is really hoping we can be in a period where we can reach some
bipartisan compromise on really tough problems that the country has been facing, and that includes taxes, which may mean some compromise there.
I'm not saying that would be a broadly held view, but I think that there be an openness to see some compromise on that, but on infrastructure, on
immigration, on climate, we've got a host of hard topics and I think they're looking to see some path to work through some of those in a
bipartisan way.
QUEST: Right, but during the Trump years, when controversial issues like immigration came up, out of a lot of self-interest, corporations were
highly critical. So, one imagines they will be highly supportive of any moves that Biden makes to restore the immigration programs like the L-1s
and the H1-Bs.
LESSER: That's my assumption, too. I think we all feel talent has been the life blood of this country for ages, and that we want to attract top talent
from around the world. U.S. has always been a magnet for top talent, and we've gotten away from that and the faster we can get back to that, the
better off the country will be.
But of course, there are broader immigration issues to work through. That's not the only one. That's where we need a bipartisan spirit to work some
hard things through.
QUEST: Well, there's not been that for the last 25 years and it's -- that will be optimistic. But finally, let's talk about climate control --
climate change because again, you know, in the abstract of Donald Trump removing from Paris, business railed against, but the prospect of going
back into Paris with the extra costs involved is business going to go along with that?
LESSER: I think -- if you say how do we really make progress here? What we've seen in the last four years is the private sector has shown that one
can make progress on climate in the business sector. But absent some government support, it will not be enough progress to address the
challenges the world faces, and there's four ways the governments can make a difference.
They can price carbon. They can support innovation and investment. They can set standards on both inputs and outcomes, and they can protect the climate
champions. Often, on cross-border trading issues where places that aren't as focused on carbon can get business if there isn't some support from the
government.
Three of those four, everything but the regulatory part requires both Congress and the administration to work together. And I think business is
hoping it can be that so that the only solution is not a regulatory one. That there are other ways to try to make progress fast, but in ways that
promotes markets, promotes innovation, promotes keeping the economy moving forward.
QUEST: Rich, good to see you, sir. We will talk more as the new administration gets ever closer. Thank you. I appreciate it.
U.S. Airports on Sunday were the busiest since early in the pandemic. The T.S.A. says it screened more than 1.1 million travelers headed home from
Thanksgiving. The nation's -- the U.S. top infectious disease expert says all that holiday activity could soon lead to a spike in cases.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: What we expect, unfortunately, as we go for the next couple of
weeks into December that we might see a surge superimposed upon that surge that we're already in.
You know, and when I give that message, I don't want to frighten people except to say, it is not too late at all for us to do something about this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:20:21]
QUEST: Now, Christmas, of course, is just around the corner, and there's even more concern about spreading the virus further, particularly since
this time round, many of the warnings were ignored.
CNN's Ryan Young has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hospitals on the brink as health experts are predicting a worsening surge after the Thanksgiving
Holiday.
DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: If your family traveled, you have to assume that you were exposed and became
infected and you really need to get tested in the next week and you need to avoid anyone in your family with co-morbidities or over 65.
YOUNG (voice over): The United States has reported more than 100,000 new coronavirus cases for each of the last 27 days. Many health officials fear
the holiday travel and gatherings will cause even higher spikes.
ADMIRAL BRETT GIROIR, H.H.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY: We are at a risky time because of the travel and again, it's not just the travel, but it is
exposing people who have not been sort of in their own pods.
And remember, you can be asymptomatic and still spread the virus and that's what's so dangerous.
YOUNG (voice over): A record more than 93,000 Americans are hospitalized with the coronavirus and 16 states across the country treating a record
number of coronavirus patients.
DR. MEGAN RANNEY, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Without a comprehensive national strategy, it is going to be so difficult for us to adequately take care of
all the patients that are in the hospital right now, much less the ones that we anticipate seeing come to us over the next two to three weeks after
this Thanksgiving surge.
YOUNG (voice over): Dr. Anthony Fauci warning the trajectory could require more drastic mitigation measures.
FAUCI: We don't want to lock down completely, but we might have to if this -- and I'm talking locally. I'm not talking about nationally.
YOUNG (voice over): In the NFL, six more Baltimore Ravens pulled because of COVID or exposure to it, putting the now twice postponed game against the
Pittsburgh Steelers in jeopardy. The Denver Broncos played on Sunday despite all four of their quarterbacks being quarantined after one of them
tested positive.
And in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announcing that some schools will begin to reopen on December 7th after shutting them down November 19th
when average positivity rates in the city hit three percent.
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: We will begin with elementary schools, K to 5 and our pre-K, 3-K public school centers.
YOUNG (voice over): This, coming after the New York City Sheriff's Office shut down a club on Saturday that hosted nearly 400 people.
FAUCI: Close the bars and keep the schools open is what we really say. The default position should be to try as best as possible within reason to keep
the children in school or to get them back to school. The best way to ensure the safety of the children in school is to get the community level
of spread low.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: In Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the impact of the pandemic is to be felt for years to come. Some countries are starting to
see their virus numbers improve.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London where there's finally a little bit of good news. Coronavirus infection rates fell by a
third, by about 30 percent during a month-long nationwide lockdown here in England. That's according to a study carried out by Imperial College London
and Ipsos MORI, a survey of about 100,000 people, and it found that the R number has fallen to below one.
That means the epidemic here is shrinking and that's great news for the Prime Minister, who is busy trying to sell his strategy to Parliament this
week. That nationwide lockdown is expiring on December 2nd and it should be replaced with a three-tier regional restriction system, but there's been a
lot of opposition to this, a lot of disgruntlement particularly from the Prime Minister's own party.
He has written a letter to the lawmakers to try to convince them that this is the best strategy and that the measures will be reviewed before
Christmastime but has it been enough to persuade them? Has it been enough to convince them? We find out tomorrow when Parliament votes on this.
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Melissa Bell in Paris. The German Chancellor has warned that the coronavirus pandemic is a once in a
century event whose consequences will be felt for years to come. Angela Merkel had been speaking earlier to her Cabinet, explaining how bad the
second wave had been in Germany.
What she said was that there had been as many infections in the month of November, that is, 500,000 as there had been between March and October all
those months in between. That's how bad the second wave has been. We know that the partial lockdown that's in place in Germany is to stay in place
well into the New Year, no doubt according to announcements that were made last week.
Here in France, meanwhile, there's been the beginning of the lifting of some restrictions with a very difficult feel on the streets of France since
this weekend. Some nonessential shops have been allowed to open. However, restrictions on people's movements will stay in place here in France until
December 15th. That partial lockdown remaining until the target of no more than 5,000 new cases a day has been met.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[15:25:10]
QUEST: As we come back, everybody's talking about vaccines and treatments. The CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb joins us afterwards to talk about the
various ways forward and what needs to be done next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's a lot more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment.
The biggest takeover deal of the year has been announced. It's all about the data which you and I talk about every evening. And shoppers broke
records on Black Friday, despite the pandemic. The Chief Executive of DeBeers on diamonds. As we continue tonight on CNN, on this network, the
facts and the news always come first.
Friday outside of Tehran, Iran's state media citing an unnamed source says the weapons used were made in Israel. Israel has not responded to that
accusation. However, Tehran has vowed to retaliate.
China is defending a government spokesman who tweeted a doctored photo of an Australian soldier threatening an African child with a knife. That tweet
has heightened a row between the two countries. Australia's Prime Minister demanded an apology. China is rejecting those calls.
He U.S. State of Arizona has certified its results in the presidential election and of course confirmed a victory for Joe Biden as had been
expected. Donald Trump has been challenging the results there, making unsubstantiated claims of fraud.
Arizona officials say the election was the most secure in recent history.
Today, Moderna announced it was applying for F.D.A. authorization, Emergency Use Authorization. It published a new and wider set of data on
its vaccine and the result showed 100 percent of people who received the vaccine avoided a severe case of the disease even those few who caught it.
[15:30:00]
QUEST: The results come from clinical trials, you'll be aware that the first step to get a vaccine safely to market.
After step one, a vaccine is usually made by texting it -- testing it on volunteers. The results of test one decide whether to move on.
Pfizer and Moderna both reported very high levels of efficacy so they're using that data to apply for emergency use authorization. Usually, you'd
wait for that to start manufacturing doses but there's no time for that at the moment.
So, with government support and government seed money and help and research, all the manufacturers have been producing at scale for some time
now.
It will save precious time ahead of the looming hurdle which is the distribution and the logistics which, of course, are mind bogglingly
different and difficult in different parts of the world.
Giovanni Caforio is the CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb. The company's blood thinner is being used to treat COVID-19 patients. He joins me. Good to see
you, sir. Thank you.
And you don't have a vaccine per se in the race here, but I guess when you look at the way in which these vaccines are being pushed forward, do you
think -- you're happy with the way things are going?
GIOVANNI CAFORIO, CEO BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB: Thank you, Richard, and thanks for having me.
Well, I'm a believer in science and so I was always optimistic that science would help us address the challenges with COVID.
If you think about the last six months, the progress that has been made is just extraordinary and we have seen very promising results from a number of
vaccines. So I'm really optimistic that we will continue to make rapid progress and vaccines will be available to the people that need it.
I think it's a really good example of the power of collaboration between different companies in the industry, regulators and governments around the
world and our ability to speed innovation in a way that is absolutely unprecedented.
QUEST: Do you think -- look, the Chinese have been out there already with their vaccine. The Russians have been -- with Sputnik, have been
vaccinating for some time now.
Are you comfortable with these other countries' vaccines and what you believe is the safety standards and the efficacies of those other vaccines?
CAFORIO: Well, let me say, from my perspective, what I know is that companies are working very fast. At the same time they are working with
regulators and there is a very clear focus on safety at the same time as we look for efficacy.
QUEST: Right.
CAFORIO: So FDA and the European regulators approve new vaccines, I'm comfortable they will have gone through the right development process.
QUEST: And what about your own company, the various medications, the blood thinners and the like? Because one of the crucial parts, I know, having had
COVID is these clots, these blood clots, which simply riddle the body.
And if we talk about the long haulers, of which I was one to a lesser extent, but the ability to have blood thinning and anti-coagulant
medications is crucial. That's where you come in.
CAFORIO: Yes, absolutely. We're a leading company in cardiovascular medicine. Eliquis is the product that is used most commonly around the
world to prevent stroke in patients with a condition called atrial fibrillation.
But we did learn soon after COVID started impacting many patients that stroke and the risk of stroke was one of the key concerns. And so we are
doing clinical trials with our anti-coagulant, Eliquis, to investigate the role it has in preventing those very, very serious events.
And it's an example of how we're leveraging our science and innovation to assist in this area.
QUEST: Forgive the simplicity of the way I'm going to put this, but you'll know what I mean.
When something like COVID comes along, do you send an all staff email saying hey, everybody look at everything you have researched, everything
we've worked on, everything that's worked or hasn't worked, I want you to all have another look to see if we can give it -- find if it's useful for
COVID?
CAFORIO: Well, BMS is a science-based company, we believe in innovation. So at the beginning of the year, we did that.
We, in fact, identified a thousand compounds in our discovery library and we made them available to researchers around the world. We looked at
existing medicines like Eliquis and Orencia and initiated clinical trials to look at the potential use.
And importantly, our focus was always on advancing the important research that we are doing to treat cancer and other diseases because we didn't want
to stop that either.
[15:35:00]
QUEST: Do you fear that for the long haul -- we know COVID is with us.
It will, like the flu, morph into 2021's version, 2022's version, 2023's version. And you're going to be looking at a repeated vaccination plan
forevermore?
CAFORIO: Well, I think what we've learned this year is that we can move at incredible speed.
And so now the focus going forward is preventing future pandemics and continuing to address those challenges, but at the same time as I think
about our priorities, what I'm thinking about is how can we use what we have learned this year to accelerate the search for therapies for cancer,
for cardiovascular diseases, other diseases.
QUEST: Right.
CAFORIO: As a leading company in innovation, research and development, that's what we at Bristol-Myers Squibb could be doing.
QUEST: How far do you think that's been put back? Because one of the big concerns in the healthcare networks, of course, is that patients suffering
from these other dreadful diseases either haven't been able to get treatment or their treatment has been delayed.
Do you think we will quickly be able to get back to a regimen of treating all these other diseases?
CAFORIO: Well, absolutely. And in fact, our focus from the very first day was to continue to serve patients that are using our medicines. So we use
technology to continue to distribute medicines globally and we're able to serve every patient.
QUEST: Right.
CAFORIO: We're also concerned with clinical trials and we were able to continue to enroll patients in clinical trials and advance our science.
We received approval for four new medicines this year during the pandemic because we were able to continue to advance all of our programs.
What we are seeing in clinical practice today is that many hospitals and institutions around the world are actually seeing patients again and we've
seen over time a normalization of those trends.
That's particularly important for a company like ours because of our medicines, because of the launch of new treatments. And our desire to
continue to advance was an extraordinarily exciting pipeline at Bristol Myers Squibb.
QUEST: Giovanni, it is good to have you on the program. Thank you, sir. I appreciate your time. Thank you.
Now with the pandemic wiping out millions of jobs across multiple sectors, it can be daunting to think big when you or your family might be in peril.
There is hope. We spoke to the company that wants to get you back to work, LinkedIn.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(THINK BIG)
ALI MATAR, HEAD OF EMEA EMERGING MARKETS, LINKEDIN: The biggest idea that I've experienced, that I've seen over the last few months is the
acceleration of digitalization.
And that's something we're seeing across segments, across different industries be it in the government, semi-government, private sector, be it
in retail or be it in healthcare. And I think that's what's going to drive the workforce moving forward.
We see members focusing on really gaining skills that allow them to go into those future jobs. Specifically around artificial intelligence, (inaudible)
reality, 3-D printing in addition to the digital skills and things related to financial forecasting which is what we're seeing as the five top in-
demand skills.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: I was looking at the recent World Economic Forum jobs report and chaired the summit, in fact. And they
talk about job destruction of 85 million over five years but recreating nearly 100 million in five years.
So where does the recreation come from and the skills that are needed to get people back into the job?
MATAR: Every time we think of the future of work, it's coming from two main places; digitalization, technology. Things related to digital marketer,
data analyst, insight analyst.
In the past, we were probably focusing on people who knows technology, purely technology, like the coder, the programming. Today we look at
business analyst, someone who's able to generate the insights but able to explain it from a business point of view.
And definitely, as per LinkedIn, what we see in the coming five years, the technology sector can trigger up to 150 million new jobs.
DEFTERIOS: There's this worry about job destruction outpacing job creation but you don't think it's a lasting phenomenon, we can snap back?
MATAR: We've seen the majority of the people who got new jobs or what we call the jobs of the future were people who worked in traditional jobs in
the past. So they managed to reskill themselves.
They managed to jump on opportunities where they had to go through different learning curves but then they made sure they landed jobs of the
future because they invested in themselves.
What you're seeing at LinkedIn, for example, if you compare August 2019 with August 2020, you will see that the consumption of content related to
learning has tripled, which is exactly talking to that point.
[15:40:00]
People are investing in themselves and that is very much evident everywhere.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Big thinking. For all the challenges of the pandemic, consumer spending could be record breaking on this Cyber Monday.
And after a summer slump, even luxury items like diamonds are back in demand.
The CEO of De Beers is with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: For many people in 2020, retail therapy is just that. Consumers in the U.S. spent $9 billion online on the day after Thanksgiving, up more
than 20% year over year according to one research group.
And analysts say Cyber Monday, which is today, is expected to also be record-breaking.
De Beers has been selling its customers for decades that "A diamond is forever." Now their slogan is getting put to the test.
Sales of rough diamonds are up 12% in the latest cycle despite an obviously difficult time in the luxury market.
De Beers chief executive, Bruce Cleaver, is with me from London.
A difficult -- a difficult time to be selling something that is clearly a premium product.
But I guess I can argue this both ways with you, Bruce. I can say people don't want to spend the money or I could say people sort of want to treat
themselves. Which is it proving to be?
BRUCE CLEAVER, CEO, DE BEERS: Well, so far, Richard, I'm pleased to say it's proving to be the latter. So having been through a very difficult time
as De Beers in the diamond industry in Q2, we've seen really quite strong bounce back both in China as you would have expected, more of a V-shaped
recovery but actually in the U.S. right now, things are going maybe a little better than we had hoped.
And I think there is a really compelling reason for this, of course.
People have come through COVID and I think we've found our research shows that what we've found is that things that are really meaningful to them,
like relationships are things they want to go and celebrate when they get out of lockdown.
So even if they come out of lockdown potentially with a little less disposable income, the signs are very good they're going to spend them on
things that actually are meaningful to them and that attach to important moments in their lives.
So far, actually, we've had a very good time in the last quarter. I'm very hopeful for this selling season over Christmas.
QUEST: That's going to be the core, isn't it? Because if you have a bad Q2, a Q3 bounce back is really pent-up demand. It's Q4 now, Christmas and
Hanukkah and the holiday season, this is going to be the test.
CLEAVER: Yes, it is. And of course all of our marketing efforts are going into this period from now.
[15:45:00]
CLEAVER: But there's some instructive data from China. Because, obviously, as you know, they got out of the lockdown probably in May and we saw record
demand for diamond jewelry in May, June and July. And then it sort of tailed off but still at levels that are equal to or probably above same
time last year.
So what that indicates to us is that coming out of COVID, consumers have no less desire for this amazing product than they did before.
Our job, obviously, is to try and help them spend their money with us and buy things that are meaningful and can be things that they can think about
and look at and remember the meaning of throughout the rest of their lives.
QUEST: I was looking -- I was reading the various information. Is there evidence that the artificial, the sort of factory-grown diamond has --
which is a starting to be a growing part of your business -- but is the gulf between the bit that comes out of the ground that's been there for a
billion years and the bit that's just sort of been made up the road [ph] in the factory, you're never going to be able to bridge that gap.
CLEAVER: Well, De Beers is a natural diamond business, we always will be. We invest extremely heavily in it because it's a business that we believe
will be here today, tomorrow and in the future.
We have, as you say, a very small lab-grown business but that's really to give consumers what they tell us they think lab-grown is which is a
completely different category. Made in a machine, fun, fashion, lighthearted.
But those have nothing like the beauty and the mystery of a natural diamond. Every natural diamond that people buy has made some amazing
contribution if it comes from De Beers to the growth of a country.
And so for us, there is really no comparison between the two. And as I say, these two markets are separate. Lab grown for us is a legitimate category
but it's not the same as this incredible precious product that was made a billion years ago by the miracle of nature and will be with us forever.
QUEST: Are diamonds still being made underground? And I know that sounds like such a naive question but if you think that it's a natural process
that was done by pressures within the earth's core on rocks and the like, is that process still going on so that in X thousand or hundreds years,
people will find diamonds that started to be created today?
CLEAVER: It's simply not going on at anything like the scale and the timeframes that it used to be.
So whilst there are some kinds of explosions from time to time -- and our data would suggest that it's very unlikely that there will be anything like
the numbers that we can find them today.
And so that's why, of course, they are so important, so rare, so precious, and each natural diamond is unique, no two ones are the same. But that's
what is so magical about the product for us.
QUEST: We'll talk more. I look forward to talking to you, Bruce, after the New Year.
Please let's have a chat about how the fourth quarter went, it'll be fascinating because it puts it into a bigger political picture for us as to
what's happening in the economy.
I appreciate your time, sir. Thank you.
CLEAVER: Thank you.
QUEST: Now this merger could be the year's biggest.
S&P Global wants to buy IHS Markit in a deal worth tens of millions of dollars.
We'll have the details on what the companies do and why should IHS Market be worth 44 billion?
After the break.
[15:50:00]
QUEST: Breaking news in the business world. Arcadia fashion group has collapsed into administration in the U.K. The company's brand include Top
Shop, Top Man, Burton and Dorothy Perkins.
13,000 jobs are at risk according to the administrators, DeLoitte. Arcadia Group is chaired by the British billionaire, Sir Phillip Green.
Set to be the biggest M&A deal of the year, S&P Global plans to buy IHS Markit for $44 billion in stock. Both are up, IHS Markit, more than the
other.
It'll be a deal led by S&P, who'll take more than 60 percent so the head of S&P will be the CEO of the new joint company.
Paul La Monica joins me.
This is interesting. $44 billion is a lot of money for two companies that don't actually make much but trade off an enormous amount of information,
other people's information.
PAULLA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes, exactly. Information, Richard, is clearly the currency for many companies to be able to figure out just
what the economic trends are going to be like and what market trends are going to be like.
And these are two companies that combined will have a treasure trove of data about individual stocks, about economic trends. And that is something
that I think is going to be interesting to see how this deal goes through.
Because you have a lot of consolidation in the financial services and data industry writ large (ph)]. You have one of the biggest rivals of S&P,
Refinitiv, potentially getting bought by the London Stock Exchange.
That's a deal that -- LSC announced that last year and it still hasn't closed, it's probably going to close sometime in 2021. There have been some
anti-trust issues that have held that deal up.
So it'll be interesting to see whether or not S&P will be able to buy IHS Markit without any regulatory hiccups.
QUEST: So S&P obviously does the indexes, it does a lot of detailed analysis. IHS does one thing, Markit looks at derivatives and the pricing
of derivatives and the information.
But what I don't understand is why is there such a premium? Surely, information is information. Why are these companies so valuable?
LA MONICA: Yes. When you look, if you are the CEO of a company and you are deciding whether or not to buy a rival, you obviously want the most up-to-
date financial information as possible.
If you are a trader or an economist at a big Wall Street firm or hedge fund, you rely on the most accurate and up to date data to make the picks
that you're going to be betting the farm, so to speak, on.
So these are companies where data is the currency for all financial traders right now. And you look at who their big rivals are -- Bloomberg, who's
made a name for itself as a company not just the famous Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City.
But his company, Bloomberg, obviously it is something that people on Wall Street rely on in order to make trades. And that's what I think S&P is
trying to build with this IHS Markit deal.
A firm to rival Bloomberg and FactSet and some of the others out there that have all of these big financial pieces of data just at their fingertips, be
it a website or a proprietary terminal.
QUEST: Look at the markets. Before we go, just want to get your take on what's happening with the markets.
The Dow is -- it's retreated, we're down one percent but it's not a lot. S&P, similarly. Nasdaq. Again, the Nasdaq is the first to rise, and the
Nasdaq is the last to fall.
LA MONICA: Yes. It's fascinating, Richard, that every time we think, oh, we're finally getting the quote, unquote, economy, the industrials, the
value stocks to take the lead, you have this bit of a pullback with the Dow and S&P 500 today and who's there to take the market lead once again? It's
tech, those big thank [ph] stocks, investors just don't want to give them up.
[15:55:00]
QUEST: 2021, I won't hold you to this. I've just got a feeling that 2021 that we're going to have a gang -- it's going to be a gangbusters year. And
it really is just a question of at what point the market goes up like a rocket after we see the worst of the pandemic.
I may be wrong, I may be wrong. Most of it may have been priced in, I don't know.
LA MONICA: That's my biggest concern, Richard, is that when you look at the Nasdaq, for example, it's up more than 34 percent this year. This has been
a fantastic year despite how brutally awful much of 2020 has been outside of the stock market.
A lot of the tech stocks, I think, have already priced this in. So the comparisons are going to be tougher in 2021.
I'd be a little wary of saying we have another record bull year in 2021.
QUEST: La Monica has just poured, water, cold, of the freezing variety, all over my theory but he is the guru and he's probably right.
A "Profitable Moment" after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment." You heard us talking about the best market or best month since for 33 years, since 1987.
Well, I remember 1987, I remember that January. And I also remember what happened later in the year when of course the market fell more than 25
percent on Black Monday.
Now I'm not saying it's going to be Black Monday all over again.
But as probably the only person working on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS that does remember 1987, to hear a comparison of this November to that January and
then put the two things together and work it backwards -- well, it does mean Paul La Monica may have a valid point that everything's been priced in
now.
And whilst there may not be a fall on the horizon, I would suggest just a bit of careful movements ahead.
And 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.
"THE LEAD" is coming up next. The market is down.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Trapper and we begin today with the 2020 lead.
A key milestone for the Biden presidency today. President Elect Joe Biden and Vice President Elect Kamala Harris today are receiving their first
presidential daily brief.
END
