Return to Transcripts main page

Quest Means Business

Israel And Hamas Reach Ceasefire Agreement; EU's Vaccine Passports Expected to Come into Effect July 1st; U.S. Treasury Calls for Tax Scrutiny of Crypto Assets; BBC Apologizes for Diana Interview Failures. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired May 20, 2021 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:15:00]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS HOST: Breaking news here on CNN, a reminder of the top headlines after 11 days of violence in the Middle East, we have the

first glimpse of diplomatic breakthroughs. Israel's security cabinet has voted to agree on a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza. The cabinet met for more

than three hours tonight in Tel Aviv, and a statement from the Prime Minister's office reads in part that it unanimously voted quote, "to accept

the Egyptian initiative for a mutual, unconditional ceasefire that will go into effect at an hour to be agreed upon later."

In the last few moments, Hamas has confirmed to CNN it has reached this mutual ceasefire deal with Israel, and that it expects it to begin in four

-- three hours from now -- four hours from now, around 2:00 in the morning. Which is as you can see is three hours from now. However, our reporters on

the ground are still hearing explosions. To remind you, Hamas-run health ministry says 230 people have been killed there over the last week and a

half, at least 12 people in Israel have been killed by Palestinian militant fire from Gaza which we will follow closely in all its exchanges throughout

the program.

Other news, the EU says it has reached agreement on vaccine passports and will put them into effects starting on July the 1st. It's known as the

digital COVID certificate and is the key to the block's plans to allow travel this Summer. EU officials are calling it an incentive to trust and

new legal safeguards. Cyril Vanier, he joins me from London. Now, so they've agreed it, which basically at one level means the 27 political have

agreed it. But do we have any nuts-and-bolts details about it?

CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do have some, Richard. It's going to be a paper or a digital format. I know the name is Digital COVID Certificate,

but actually, it could be paper as well as digital. Whether it's paper or digital, it will carry a QR code, and that should be readable by the border

authorities of whatever country, whatever border you cross within the European Union. They should all have a harmonized piece of tech that allows

them to read this QR code, which frankly isn't that hard since most telephones right, Richard, can read a QR code.

And that will carry the information that either you have been vaccinated or you had tested negative for COVID or you have had COVID and have recovered.

And if you are -- if you fall in one of those three categories, then you will be able to travel freely throughout the block --

QUEST: Right --

VANIER: Which Europeans consider to be a fundamental right within the European Union, Richard.

QUEST: Well, more than they consider it to be, I mean, hey, yes, absolutely. The issue is going to be, though, getting the authenticity and

integrity into the system so that my vaccination which I had in, I know, some obscure part of the union, I can put the details in and the system

recognizes that as being legitimate.

VANIER: And I think, Richard, that's why the paper formats are still going to be allowed. I am sure that there are going to be places, maybe some

authorities, some systems that won't be quite ready on July 1st, and I think those will probably just have the paper format. There's also a six-

week grace period to phase in these systems Look, the European Union is, you know, is accustomed to having to integrate 27 different systems and we

know how messy that can get, so they have --

QUEST: Yes --

VANIER: Placed a fairly low bar by saying you can have multiple formats for this, and that they're going to have this grace period --

QUEST: Sure --

VANIER: And I think there's going to be some tolerance, Richard, for this system.

QUEST: So, let's look at -- let's look at non-EUs. At the moment, the only ones who can go there are people who can't actually get there, maybe

Singapore, Australia and the like. But will there be proper provision here for the United States, the United Kingdom, other non-EU nations?

[16:20:00]

VANIER: Great question. We don't have confirmation on that yet. We know the European Council is in favor of allowing non-EU nationals, so that would

mean Brits, that would Americans to come in provided they had been vaccinated, and they essentially want them to be able to access this EU

COVID passport system. But for the moment, that hasn't got the green light from everyone. We know that some influential countries such as France, such

as Germany are in favor of that, but individual member states are going to have to sign off on that.

One thing they're going to look at, Richard, is reciprocity. Because if they are going to waive the quarantine requirements for non-EU travelers

coming in, for instance for Americans and Brits, they're going to want to know more than likely that they're nationals -- French, Spanish, Italian,

Croatians, what have you, are able to go to those countries, number one, and able to go without quarantining provided they've been tested or

vaccinated, I should say, which at the moment is not the case.

QUEST: Right, but on that point, just the -- I mean, the reciprocity argument is a strong one, but it's certainly not the case as you say, not

the case at the moment. And if the EU doesn't have the same epidemiological numbers as these other places, I can see that reciprocity would not be

granted.

VANIER: Yes, and that's a great point. But that's where politics come into it. I think -- you know, watch this space, but I strongly suspect, Richard,

that the EU is not going to allow for a situation where they're allowing in Americans and Brits and their nationals can't go there without quarantining

--

QUEST: Yes --

VANIER: You know. And I understand the logic from the virus standpoint and from where COVID is in these respective countries, but then there's

politics that enter into play, and I do think the EU are going to pull their weight especially with respect to Americans who have shot the door to

Europeans for so long now.

QUEST: Which is still shut. Thank you, sir, I appreciate it. Cyril Vanier in London. Now, bitcoin appears to be shaking off concerns about a U.S.

treasury crackdown, the price is on its way up again. This is despite the U.S. Treasury saying more scrutiny needs to prevent tax evasion. You've got

bitcoin, Ethereum, dogecoin, they're all up, sizable numbers in the case of dogecoin in the last 24 hours. And that's just a snapshot of the turbulent

week.

The co-founder of Ethereum says there's probably -- quick to bubble. He spoke to Matt Egan before the big selloff. Matt is with me now. If there's

a bubble, do people like the CEO, do they welcome it or is it actually a hindrance to putting in place a stable and reliable, non-volatile currency?

MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR WRITER: Yes, Richard, that's a good question. On the one hand, no one wants to see the asset price go straight

up because that's just not sustainable. So the idea of having pullbacks, the sort of wash-out the weaker hands isn't terrible. But to your point,

extreme volatility does not give anyone confidence here. So, I spoke to the Vitalik Buterin and he is one of the most influential people in the crypto

space. Back in 2013 he wrote the white paper that laid out the vision for Ethereum.

If you're not familiar with Ethereum, it is a blockchain-based platform that developers can build apps on top of. It's kind of like the Android or

IOS of the crypto space. Fast-forward, eight years, and Ethereum is so popular that it actually made Buterin a billionaire. So, I asked him

whether or not he's concerned about a crypto bubble and what it was like to find out that he became a crypto billionaire. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VITALIK BUTERIN, CO-FOUNDER, ETHEREUM: It was definitely like one of the many signs that I saw around the same time that, you know, crypto isn't

just a toy anymore, it's a significant part of this new world that's being created. And you know, that just means that we -- you know, we have to

level up and we have to, like, really continue working hard at turning crypto into something that could be good and valuable for humanity.

EGAN: Let's talk about Elon Musk. Because he's able to send out tweets, even just an appearance on "SNL" can move entire cryptocurrencies.

MICHAEL CHE, COMEDIAN: What is it, man?

(LAUGHTER)

ELON MUSK, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, TESLA & SPACE X: I keep telling you, it's a cryptocurrency you can trade for conventional money.

CHE: Oh, so it's a hustle.

MUSK: Yes, it's a hustle.

BUTERIN: But you know, Elon Musk tweeting is something that the crypto space has only been introduced to for the first time like orderly in the

last year and this year. So, you know, and I think it's reasonable to expect a bit of craziness, but I do think that the markets will learn. You

know, Elon is not going to have this influence forever.

EGAN: So, are we in a crypto bubble right now?

[16:25:00]

BUTERIN: Again, I would say yes, but again, that obviously does not come with a prediction of like when the bubble is going to end, because that's

the story(ph) we had to predict.

EGAN: So, you said in a 2016 interview, that part of the reason why you got into crypto was to screw the big guy. What did you mean by that?

BUTERIN: The reason why crypto is so interesting is because it allows large groups of people to like to cooperate and do things on the same platform,

but without there being like one individual or one single company or even one single government kind of in the middle. And you know, we have

basically sort of sleep-walked into a world where Facebook sees all your data, Twitter, you know, can choose whose data is on the platform, who goes

off. To all of these things, like I'd say decentralize system again potentially presents an alternative.

And felt like you don't need to have a kind of one sort of point of control in the middle, this sort of one big guy that has an outsized power in the

whole system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EGAN: Clearly, that point about decentralization is what makes crypto so appealing to many people, but Richard, it's also what gets governments very

concerned about cryptocurrencies.

QUEST: And that is something we will continue to talk about in detail. Thank you, Matt Egan. As we continue tonight, the breaking news, Israel and

Hamas have agreed the terms of a ceasefire in the Middle East. It is yet to come into force, we believe it's going to come into force in the next three

hours. We'll be live in Jerusalem with the very latest. This is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: After 11 days of violence, Israel and Hamas have confirmed that a ceasefire agreement has been reached. A senior Hamas leader is telling us

it will commence at 2:00 a.m. local time. And as you can see, it's half past 11:00 there at the moment, so we're talking about 2 and a half hours

from now. An official announcement from the Israeli Prime Minister's office describes the time of effect at an hour to be agreed upon, which suggest an

element of disagreement.

[16:30:00]

A short time ago the Israeli Defense Minister, Benny Gantz tweeted, I would like to pay tribute to the security forces and the IDF, led by the Chief of

Staff who have during the last 11 days, brought military achievements unprecedented in their power, precision and strategic significance in the

struggle against terror organizations in the Gaza strip.

Hadas Gold is with me in Jerusalem. Hadas, are you able to shed any light on the Hamas saying to Iran, and Israel saying it's an honor to be agreed

an hour later or at some point?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think one thing to maybe keep in mind is something else that Benny Gantz, the Minister of Defense tweeted,

he said that the defense establishment continues in its readiness to protect Israeli citizens and the security forces and the idea of are still

deployed in the field in all formations in various sectors in defense and in attack. The reality on the ground, he says, will determine the

continuation of operations, perhaps that is, maybe potentially why we're seeing the difference between the Israeli Prime Minister's Office not

giving a specific time, whereas we're hearing from Hamas that they have agreed to the 2 a.m. ceasefire, because there is still activity on the

ground, they're still within -- since this ceasefire was announced there have been red alert sirens, rockets going off from Gaza into Israel. And

there is the fear that there could be a something else that would happen in the hours leading up till that 2 a.m. deadline, and whether Israel will

potentially find itself wanting to respond to anything that could come out of Gaza from Hamas, or the Palestinian Islamic jihad.

We are also hearing just in the last few minutes from Hamas' political office, they are confirming that they will abide by the ceasefire agreement

reached with Israel. But one thing we don't know yet is the exact details of what it is in the ceasefire agreement, because earlier we were hearing

from Hamas that they had some demands in order to have a ceasefire. This is -- they wanted what they call the Israeli Aggression at Al-Aqsa Mosque and

the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to cease and they wanted an end of aggression against Gaza and a mechanism for rebuilding Gaza.

We don't know whether those elements are part of the ceasefire. We don't know whether the Israeli demands towards Hamas were part of the ceasefire.

All we have right now is that the ceasefire has been agreed upon, we know from the Hamas side that at least will be at 2 a.m. The Israeli side has

not yet confirmed the hour only saying it will be at a later hour. And what we know is that there is still activity going on the ground and that there

is the possibility that we will see a flurry potentially, of more activity before that 2 a.m. hour. And this is a very tenuous next few hours here

that things could change very quickly.

QUEST: Hadas, if it does, you'll be there to tell us about it. And you'll come back to us immediately. Thank you, Hadas Gold in Jerusalem.

A short while ago, we're talking to Aaron David Miller, former State Department, Middle East Negotiator and senior fellow at Carnegie Endowment

and our CNN Global Affairs Analyst. He's with me now from Ohio. Hopefully, you're going to hear me, sir.

AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: OK, can you hear me?

QUEST: Loud and clear, which is an excellent way to start.

MILLER: Excellent.

QUEST: So let's -- for the purpose of this question, assume the ceasefire does go into effect whether of the first goal the second goal, whatever,

but it does go into effect. What then? I mean, it's not just enough to have a ceasefire. You are the one, sir, you are the one on Quest Means Business

the other day you told me that these was the fail to deal with the really underlying significant issue.

MILLER: They do. And this is the fourth round. I mean, I don't want to trivialize it because people have died. But this is a wash, rinse and

repeat cycle 2008/'9, 2012, 2014 and now the same rhetoric we're hearing from the Israelis about the extent of destruction with respect to Hamas'

rocket production facilities, tunnels structures, command and control. They've taken out well over 100 Hamas operatives all may be true, but the

problem is, it's not to quote Joe Biden, but as far as Hamas is concerned, it's build back better and better. And that's exactly what they're going to

do.

So unless some sort of framework can be established, and I think the chances it's happening, Richard, is slimming on of a disarmament procedure

in exchange for opening up Gaza and essentially allowing its 2 million people access to consistent infrastructure and more prosperity than they've

enjoyed for the last 30, 50, 60 years. I think we're going right back to the same spot, maybe a year. This one was like, do the math 2014 to 2021,

you had a seven year respite, but it's inevitable we're going to be back to another shooting one.

[16:35:06]

QUEST: OK, so assuming that is the case, then we're really looking at just the pause. We're looking at unless something more significant happens,

which it's almost impossible to have anything significant happen post ceasefire, as long as the Israeli political situation is so uncertain. In

other words, will there be a fifth election, and although it's Hamas not the Palestinian Authority, the elections for the delayed, postponed

elections for the Palestinian Authority hasn't taken place?

MILLER: Look, the only way you're going to fix the Israel Hamas problem is if you address the broader issue, or the underlying problems that have

undermine any hope of a conflict ending solution between the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, I mean, Mahmoud Abbas is now in the

16th year of four year term, he's probably the best peace partner the Israelis will never have. But it's the core issues that need to be

addressed. Jerusalem border, security refugees, and the odds of doing that with Mahmoud Abbas on one side and Benjamin Netanyahu on the other, and

let's be clear, I'm just reporting here, the Prime Minister of Israel, the current one has no intention of entering into a negotiation with any

Palestinian leader to produce that any settlement that remotely comes close to meeting the core needs of a Palestinian. So I just -- I've been saying

from the get go, the real point in seeing tragedy here is, after all, the death, all the destruction, all the chaos, we're going to find ourselves no

closer to a conflict ending solution and the Biden administration priorities.

QUEST: No, well, hang on. We may be no -- so let's be cynical here, let's look at the cynicism of the situation rather than the peace of the

situation. As we come out of this particular war scope, whatever you want to call it, lives were lost. As we come out of it. Each side has gained

something Israel, Hamas. Israel has gained knowing back Hamas, even though may rebuild bigger and better, but it has taken it back several years. And

Hamas re-established itself as being a force that can rally the Palestinian people.

MILLER: That's true and rally the Palestinian people around probably the most volatile and emotional issue of all of the issues that affect the

Israeli Palestinian conundrum, Jerusalem. You remember President Trump he basically said he had taken Jerusalem off the table. Well, Jerusalem has

become the table. So you're -- you still end up in a position, Richard, where the core issues even on an interim basis, I suggest that Biden having

given Mr. Netanyahu a green light for the first week or so of this, and blinking yellow, which ultimately, I think, created enough pressure on the

Israelis to stop, may now have currency in the bank and leverage to press the Israelis and of course, the Palestinians as well. And critically

important issues and housing demolitions, reverse the evictions at Sheikh Jarrah, stop high profile building activities in Jerusalem. All of these

things would at least begin to re-instill some measure of confidence. So that maybe, just maybe you could create an environment that is conducive to

negotiation. But Richard even that, because it involves Jerusalem was going to be very difficult to achieve.

QUEST: You don't believe that's going to happen for one minute, do you?

MILLER: I don't. And I have not given a hope. I have two kids. I'm not going to tell them never, I'm not in Palestinian. I'm not Israeli. But I've

given up most of my illusions, the ones I had when I was working, because, you know, hope over experience really serves no one. Let's be real about we

can -- what we can friend and mate, what we diagnose the right problem, we can come up with a solution, maybe.

QUEST: All right, it's good to talk to you as always, I'm very grateful. Thank you.

MILLER: You too.

QUEST: Since the Washington and the White House that says Joe Biden will issue a statement, once it's confirmed the ceasefire.

Kylie Atwood is with me. What's his statement going to say? I mean, I know you don't know, we don't know what the statements go to say. But at the end

of the day, he put pressure on, he ratcheted up -- the President, U.S. President ratcheted up the pressure on Netanyahu. We won't say he buckled

but it certainly had an effect and now what?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's certainly turned up the pressure in his statements over the last few days when it

came to the Israelis. You know, we went from seeing President Biden and those who worked for him, you know, reiterating that the Israelis have the

right to defend themselves, too. Yesterday, President Biden calling on a Prime Minister Netanyahu to seek down the path of de-escalation towards a

ceasefire. And he said that should be done today.

[16:40:12]

Now, that was just yesterday. And he didn't reiterate, the White House didn't reiterate, in the readout of that conversation that Israel has the

right to defend itself. It doesn't mean, this administration doesn't believe that, of course, that is a core tenant of President Biden's but in

the circumstance in which the White House found themselves, they felt like they needed to be a bit more frank with the Israelis over the fact that

President Biden wanted this violence to end.

Now, we should know that this all came together very quickly. There is an example that demonstrates that Secretary of State Tony Blinken, you know,

was just asked about the early reports that there was a ceasefire coming up about an hour ago, and he hadn't even heard the news. So this is all

happening, really in real time after President Biden had a phone call with Egyptian President Sisi earlier today. And so there were a lot of moving

parts. And I think that that does demonstrate that even though we weren't seeing everything, you know, as reporter being read out, there was a lot of

diplomacy happening behind closed doors towards this.

QUEST: Kylie, thank you very much, at the state department. In a moment, the BBC admits to wrongdoing and how it landed a bombshell interview with

the late Princess of Wales. Now it's apologizing over deceitful tactics, in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: The BBC is apologizing for the tactics the corporation used to get a 1995 interview with Diana, Princess of Wales. It was the interview that

shocked the British royal families' public image. 26 years ago, when Diana sat across from the journalist, panorama journalist Martin Bashir, and she

calmly made one stunning claim after another, detailing the problems in her marriage to Prince Charles.

Now, an independent inquiry says the BBC covered up the subterfuge used by Bashir to secure that career defining interview. Royal Correspondent Max

Foster is with me.

Max, I've read large parts of the Dyson report. And there's really two bits are on that. The first bit is Bashir getting and getting the graphics

department to mock up these bank statements to gain Earl Spencer's trust. But within a year of that interview, the BBC knew there was something

dramatically wrong with the way he'd finagle it.

[16:45:24]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, so the criticisms from Lord Dyson are really at three levels, describing the deceitful tactics that

Bashir used in securing that interview, but then going up a level with the BBC. So the BBC did follow up with investigations, but they were woefully

inadequate, according to Lord Dyson, and also the findings of those investigations were covered up. So when journalists were asking questions,

the BBC weren't telling the truth about what they knew. And that is the really dark side of this. The current director general has said, this is a

very dark day for the BBC. And it's getting a huge amount of bad press here. Because of course, Richard, I mean, you and I were working there at

the time at the very heart of what the BBC stands for as a public service broadcaster is truth and fairness and it's undermine that reputation and

their own media editor today saying a bit of trust has been lost in the BBC today. We're expecting some statements to come from the royal family as

well tonight, and I can tell you, Richard, they're going to be pretty powerful. They feel there's a direct link really between this interview and

Diana's death two years later, Earl Spencer even spoken about that today.

QUEST: Right but the BBC has written not only to Earl Spencer, but to Princes Harry, and to William and to the Prince of Wales, to Prince

Charles, I can only imagine how those letters must have read. But on the bigger issue, I mean, when I read what Bashir who unfortunately is not

enjoying good health, so to that extent, he's left his job as religious editor. When I read what Bashir did, what did anybody ever think it was a

good idea, to mockup documents to show somebody? I mean, beggar's belief. FOSTER: Yeah. And it was all compounded by the fact that he lied to his bosses, according to Lord Dyson, about these documents accepted that they

were there initially, and he had forced them, but he didn't show them to anyone, eventually, having been asked several times about that from various

different bosses, he finally admitted to it. But then even after that, having confirmed the lie, they kept on relying on what he was saying and

not following up. But one of the key criticisms is that they didn't speak to Earl Spencer, during any of these investigations. So on every level,

really, they failed. And even though it happened 25 years ago, you know, the BBC the blame on the BBC today really is it, you might have been 25

years ago, but you're only admitting to it now. So it's a current story. And it's still very relevant. They're saying their guidelines in place at

the BBC, the producer guidelines were broken. So there's nothing wrong with them. But clearly, there's a problem with the way people are, had adhere to

them at the time and potentially could do so again.

QUEST: The producer guidelines that book that ruled our lives, Max, for so many years, when we were at the cooperation. Max, and it is it is

fashionable, and it is vogue, to predict the demise of the BBC, which, of course, I think personally would be a dreadful thing, bearing in mind its

quality and range of services. However, this has a read at a time when the charter and the Prime Minister is looking up for renewal and all these

sorts of things. This is very dangerous territory for the BBC.

FOSTER: It is because it's trying to justify its position. And its position is as a public service broadcaster at the center of that is the newsroom

and the core values that come out of that. And this has been undermined at this point. And as you can imagine, Richard, there are certain publications

in the U.K., laying into the BBC today as they always do. But this is something that's very difficult to defend. And the BBC has accepted this

report and all its findings. And as I say the director generals described it as a very dark day. So this trust is very difficult to build up, but

very easy to lose. And I think that that's what is concerning many people within the BBC today. So I've spoken to a friend's of mine in the BBC, and

they're more horrified than anyone else because, as you know, they do -- those producer guidelines are taken extremely seriously by people across

the organization. This was a road reporter as the former direction. Director General described him today and they are furious, but you have to

accept that it's happened as well. Now go through that process of building up trust again.

[16:50:04]

QUEST: Max Foster, thank you. The next BBC charter renewal takes place in 2027. It was also narrated in 2017. But of course the issues remain over

the funding of the public service broadcaster.

Now, the numbers on Wall Street, well, it was one of the strange days but we will share a broker losing streak so the numbers were up, but we'll

certainly show you those numbers after that because quest means business. Good to have you us tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Oatly is the nondairy brown with a host of celebrity investors and how to date remember on the NASDAQ.

Here's a virtual ringing for the Swedish company of the opening bell to market IPO, it counts Oprah and Natalie Portman among its early investors.

I'll be happy tonight, the shares are up 21%, you know my views on that. How can you price a stock and get it so wrong? If you tried to observe and

that's not the most egregious but we'll leave that argument for another day.

It was a strong day for the markets overall, the Dow closed higher for the first time this week. It was a couple of peaks and troughs. You look at the

10 o'clock, 11 o'clock in the morning peak the lunchtime and then a trough and then, we are above three o'clock we did look like things were going to

get better but that fade it off. But investors are increasingly optimistic on a recovery, jobless numbers at the lowest point of the pandemic and the

Dow 30.

Look, it's tech stocks powering it at Apple, Salesforce, Microsoft and the like at the other end, Caterpillar old stocks, Verizon, JP Morgan. But the

losses are clearly lower than the gains as you can see. We will have our profitable moment after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:57:02]

QUEST: Tonight's a profitable moment. So a little bit by little life gets back to normal. We've been talking about it no masks, in New York travel

vaccine passports, certificates in the E.U., more flights and the like, a little bit of -- and for each one of us, there will be a moment that little

bit of more normal. For me today was because I'm no longer wearing a mask and things feel more normal in New York. For the first time in a year, I

decided to wear a proper pair of proper brogues, the sorts of shoes that I will be wearing every single day before the pandemic. But in pandemic times

when I wasn't going to the stock exchange, I'm not in the full studio, I didn't I was broadcasting from home, that wasn't really the same necessity.

But it's got me thinking about how quickly things will get back to normal. And in terms you heard, Richard Edelman earlier in the program, about

hybrid working, what will or will not be allowed.

I got a prediction for you tonight. Things will get back to normal quicker than we expected. And more of us will be back in the office full time than

perhaps who would desire. The speed with which I've gone back to suits for both top and bottom, fully dressed and brogue shoes suggests that, at least

in my case, once normality arrives, we gravitate back to that which we know.

Look, I'm ready to be proven wrong, but I don't think I will be. I think a normality is going to arrive quicker than most of us think. Well, we'll

find out, issues to pinch there after a year.

And that's Quest Means Business for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Wherever you're up to in the Azad (ph) I hope it is profitable. The closing

bell rang the bell was up, we know that Jake Tapper is next. This is CNN.

END