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Quest Means Business
Major U.S. Firms Embrace Biden's Vaccine Mandate; California Governor Faces Recall Election; Biden, Xi Hold "Respectful" Phone Call; Second Qatar Airways Passenger Flight Lands In Doha; Apple Ordered To Change How It Handles App Store Payments. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired September 10, 2021 - 15:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:06]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS HOST: It is a Friday, an hour to go of trading and the Dow has been lower every day this week. Today is no exception.
Again, I remind you, as I have all week that the losses have been small, a hundred here, a hundred there. We're treading water. We're looking for
direction. But of course, as the old saying goes, a hundred here, a hundred there and soon you're talking real money. But we're not that too concerned.
The markets as they are trading and the main events that are driving them. Corporate America has largely backed Joe Biden on his plan for vaccine
mandates and fired if you don't.
Xi Jinping tells President Biden serious difficulties remain in the U.S.- China relationship.
And a judge tells Apple, it can't force app developers to use App Store payments.
It's Friday, end of the week. We are still live in London on the 10th of September. I'm Richard Quest and I mean business.
Good evening, the chief executives of some of the biggest U.S. companies have voiced their support for President Biden's vaccine and testing
mandate. Now last night, we told you as breaking news, there was a new workplace requirement covering any business that employs more than a
hundred people.
Today, the Business Roundtable and that includes Apple's Tim Cook, JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, and Amazon's Andy Jassy welcomed the aggressive
measures. Even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is on the board, and that's noteworthy. It's often at odds with Democrats like the President.
The National Association of Manufacturers expressed some worry about disruptions in cost, even so, it said getting more Americans vaccinated is
an economic imperative. Today, the White House suggested the measures could be enforced in a matter of weeks.
Matt Egan is with me. Matt, when we spoke last night, it was breaking news. Now, we've had a chance to digest and understand. Republicans have come out
against it. Some Republican governors have, but business likes it.
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Richard, I think there's some CEOs that are actually relieved, because in the past, it was up to them. They had to
decide to mandate or not to mandate. Now, they can look in the eyes of their employees and their labor unions, and with a straight face say, "It's
out of our control. We don't have a choice here."
Also, business leaders, broadly, they believe in science. So, it's not surprising that they believe in vaccination, and it is no secret that delta
variant is not good for the economy, just ask the CEOs of airlines or restaurant owners.
But Richard, you know, I do think that CEOs, they want more information about exactly how this is going to get done. We heard that from the
National Association of Manufacturers and also from the Consumer Brands Association. That is the trade group that represents Molson Coors, and
Mondelez and Kellogg, and they put out a statement, I want to read you a key line from Geoff Freeman, the CEO of that trade group.
And he said: "President Biden's announcement prompts critical questions that require immediate clarification. As with other mandates, the devil is
in the details. Without additional clarification for the business community, employees, anxieties, and questions will multiply."
So what questions do they have? Well, I talked to an executive from the trade group today and she said, they want to know, what is going to be
considered proper documentation to show that someone actually has been vaccinated? And will the need for booster shots mean that the vaccinated
become unvaccinated at some point? And also, who is going to assume the responsibility and the cost for testing?
QUEST: Okay, so with all of that, the measure is there, in a sense that Biden -- the questions they're asking, if you like, detail, and yes, the
devil is in the detail, but as a matter of policy, bearing in mind in the U.S., for example, which is almost unique, you can be fired unlike other
European countries for not getting vaccinated. So, this is a big move forward.
EGAN: It is a big move forward. And you know, I do think that it underscores a lot of the concern about the direction that the pandemic is
going here in the United States, but also the direction of the economy.
I mean, we've heard from a bunch of different companies just in the last few days -- Microsoft and American Express -- they've delayed their office
reopening. We've seen that air travel has taken a hit. Restaurant reservations have slowed down.
And so, there is a realization both from the White House, but also from the business community, that something has to be done to increase vaccination
rates.
[15:05:01]
QUEST: Matthew Egan, thank you. Have a good weekend, sir.
The U.S. is set to push ahead with its plan for booster shots this month, that much we know. The World Health Organization is saying they could be
coming at the expense of people in the developing world who need a first shot, never mind a booster. The W.H.O.'s Africa Director describes boosters
in wealthy nations and says a reason why the continent is getting fewer vaccine doses than expected this year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MATSHIDISO MOETI, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, W.H.O. AFRICA: The introduction of the idea of booster doses by some countries that have already started to
give booster doses really means at the end, there has had to be a calculation, a projection that we will get 25 percent less doses than we
were anticipating before the end of the year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Africa can ill afford that sort of news. The health officials say only around three percent -- three percent, just bear that in mind. I'm in
the U.K. where it's nearly 85, though, I think it was 90 whatever -- 80, but more than 80 percent is fully vaccinated.
Joining us now is Patrick Soon-Shiong, the Executive Chairman of "The Los Angeles Times." He is also a surgeon, a bioscientist and founder of
ImmunityBio, researching treatments for COVID-19, cancer, and HIV.
Doctor, it is good to have you with us, sir. The reality is, there is so much we need to talk to you about. So, we'll take another fair clip, if we
may.
Let's start with this development. Africa needs vaccines. The wealthy nations are boosting the existing vaccinated people. Is that fair and
right?
DR. PATRICK SOON-SHIONG, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES.": Well, if you take a view from which I've had since the beginning of this
pandemic, I think we may have lost an opportunity, but it's probably not lost forever. It is the only reason you need a booster is because
antibodies wane and the virus mutates against the antibodies. At the end of the day, in order to get to the heart of this problem, you need T-cells
that will kill the infected cell to prevent transmission.
So, yes, you need a booster now, because I think unfortunately, what we've been saying for the longest time has been proven to be correct, that
antibodies alone are not sufficient, and all the vaccines are antibody based.
So the solution in my mind, and the good news is, we are now in South Africa and we are going to be in Africa in which there'll be a leapfrog I
hope, in which both antibodies and T-cells will be generated.
So, we are now in South Africa in the Phase 1, 2, 3 trial where we will be boosting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the Pfizer vaccine, and I think
and hope that's a solution for Africa.
QUEST: Do you support vaccine mandates with a health testing option? The sorts of thing that the President announced overnight?
SOON-SHIONG: I think you're sort of seeing the controversy at the F.D.A. level with his great concern about the science behind this action. And I
think, you know, obviously, I have no insight into the perturbations.
But the question is, what are you boosting? And what vaccine is using to boost? And what's the science behind the boost?
So the answer is obviously much longer than I can give you here on this call, but I can tell you that the idea in my mind we really need to go is
to generate an antibody boost with a T-cell boost. And what unfortunately is efficient is really potent, what we call CD8 killer T-cells in this
current vaccines.
QUEST: Besides your medical experience, of course, you and your company also owns "The Los Angeles Times." And at the moment, I mean, the big story
in California next week will be the recall of the Governor Gavin Newsom. How much of a landslide is this, do you think? The mere fact it's
happening, and what it says about the poisoned well of politics?
SOON-SHIONG: I think you said it exactly. I think it's not only a monumental waste of resources. I think it's costing us -- what -- $250
million for a completely unnecessary recall.
Governor Gavin Newsom has done a magnificent job in my mind and "The LA Times" has said so with regard to how he has handled the pandemic and how
he is handling the situation and the budget in California.
So unfortunately, it's a function of the dysfunction of our nation and the political times. So, I think you hit it on the head that the well has been
poisoned and good people like Governor Newsom, unfortunately, is facing the wrath of that.
QUEST: What do you see as your responsibility as the owner of a major newspaper? First of all, I mean, a good question to ask is why buy
newspapers anyway? I mean, I did -- I was on the subway this morning. I was on the tube here in London, there was not one person on the train with a
newspaper.
I finally managed to find an old copy of "The Evening Standard" to read going home tonight. I'm a dinosaur, Doctor. I read newspapers, nobody else
does.
[15:10:26]
SOON-SHIONG: Well, I think you need to take the paper out of the newspaper, right? So the idea is we consider now "The LA Times" a news media, which
clearly we still print and we won the largest -- we have the one of the largest printing presses in the nation still. But we need to expand into
the modern world of digitalization and media, video, podcast.
And with Kevin Merida now the Executive Editor, and he came from ESPN sports, et cetera, and the undefeated is unique. Think of this newspaper as
a news media. So, that's the opportunity for us and that's what we're going to be.
QUEST: But when you have Jeff Bezos at "The Post," and "The Times" -- that's "The New York Times" has got deep pockets, too, are you prepared to
spend the money necessary for full scale, full throttle news wall media?
SOON-SHIONG: We are doing that exactly. So, we created a thing called Nan Studio, which is the largest modernized LED screen, we created "LA Times"
Studio, which won Emmys in the first year, recreating the food kitchen, the test kitchen. We've bought podcasts. So, the answer is yes, we have to do
more to survive.
QUEST: Doctor, I'm grateful you joined us. It's not many interviews that go from COVID to recalls to U.S. media, but I'm grateful, sir, the many
strands of your bow. Thank you, sir.
France's former Health Minister is under formal investigation over her handling of the COVID pandemic. Agnes Buzyn will be investigated over the
early weeks of the outbreak. She left her role in February of last year.
Cyril Vanier is in Paris. How much of this is politics? I know that there is nothing more that French love than to get their political opponents
investigated in some form of judicial mess.
CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there very well could be political consequences for this -- to this because, remember, Richard, that we are
less than 12 months away from a presidential election at this stage. However, this was not directly at least politically motivated.
Really, this legal action was triggered by the deep well of discontent that still exists in France on how the pandemic was handled, especially in the
early days, weeks, and months of the pandemic.
Agnes Buzyn, former health secretary, former Health Minister here in France was directly responsible for preparing the country for health disasters and
pandemics. And she was the Health Minister in the two and a half years that were running up to the pandemic.
She left her job in February of 2020. That is just before the first lockdown. And look, I think some of her public statements really have not
helped her case in the court of public opinion, because in January, she was saying there was a very low risk of the virus spreading. Then she left her
job in February to run unsuccessfully for Paris Mayor, and after that, confided in the French daily, "La Monde" that really, the whole thing had
been a farce, and they shouldn't even have held the election because of the tsunami of infections that France was facing at the time.
So there's a lot of, I think, resentments on her role in particular, but it's not just her. The offices of really all the senior figures of
government that handled this were rated last year. It was her, it was the current Health Minister. It was the former Prime Minister and all the top
health officials.
There were 14,000 petitions, Richard, sent to the Court of Justice of the Republic, the only court that is empowered to put an acting Minister on
trial, those 14,000 petitions that is a reflection of the level of anger that existed in this country on how the pandemic was handled.
QUEST: Cyril Vanier, thank you Have a good weekend, too, in Paris. I appreciate it.
Saturday, of course, tomorrow, the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.
After the break, we are going to reflect on the legacies of that day and we're not going to be maudlin, instead, let's look forward with hope,
spirit, and wishing for what's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:17:02]
QUEST: Wall Street held a moment of silence on the last day of trading before the anniversary of 9/11, which of course is tomorrow, on Saturday.
[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]
QUEST: The ceremony included traders who were on the floor of the exchange, all working near to Ground Zero, and it happened 20 years ago.
A stunning exhibit of photographs showing the destruction at Ground Zero has opened at the Imperial War Museum here in London. It features
photographs by the German filmmaker Wim Wenders. Nima Elbagir, Nick Paton Walsh, and I have had a chance to look and reflect on that awful day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The sense that the world stood still.
QUEST (voice over): To see it now, to think of what they did. Its -- I can't put it into words.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice over): I don't think we knew that it was going to shape the next two decades.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center.
QUEST (on camera): You can't overstate the very idea of hitting capitalism, right at its heart -- Wall Street, the World Trade Center, destroying those
Twin Towers, that was such symbols of what we stood for.
ELBAGIR (on camera): I remember what we did, I remember watching it for hours and hours with a group of friends. And it was an Arab-American friend
who said it first, "I hope this isn't us. I hope this isn't a Muslim or an Arab."
GEORGE W. BUSH, THEN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fugitive Saudi accused terrorist Osama bin Laden's group is at the top of their list of suspects.
QUEST (on camera): The view was "never again." Intelligence was vital. A completely new architecture of security would have to be introduced.
That architecture would include no fly lists.
It would include knowing who was flying, not just searching them, background checks.
ELBAGIR (on camera): It was a moment where Muslims and Arabs around the world and in America were immediately of it. I felt this, that every day,
every interaction with someone was a test. And if you're a good Muslim, then you understand why you need to be harassed, why you need to be
discriminated against by law enforcement, why you're the one who is going to be pulled out of the queue.
[09:20:10]
ELBAGIR: Islamophobia absolutely is a legacy of 9/11, but we are owed, being able to question people based on their religion or their ethnicity,
because if this horror that was inflicted upon us.
BUSH: The people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
PATON WALSH (on camera): To go to war against terrorism was the big Bush decision.
BUSH: Our war on terror begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there.
PATON WALSH: They immediately invaded Afghanistan, but then embarked on an open ended nation building campaign, which was ultimately, totally, and
utterly flawed. And then, of course, randomly afterwards, they seemed quite obsessed with Iraq.
They seem to feel that authoritarian societies were something extremely simple that they could suddenly walk in and give everybody a vote, and
they'd all be happy.
ELBAGIR: This idea of American exceptionalism and American moral superiority was taken for granted.
What 9/11 did and the wars and the drone strikes, without any accountability, the fact that Guantanamo Bay is still open, it eroded more
effectively, this idea of America's moral standing better than bin Laden or any of the Islamist extremist groups could have ever done in their
recruitment.
PATON WALSH: If bin Laden was alive, he would probably think he'd won because when he started out, jihadist extremism was a comparatively smaller
thing.
The war against terrorism has just led to yet more terrorism; Philippine franchises of ISIS, they're spreading in Africa. It's very difficult to
rewrite history. But I do wonder whether or not a smaller response by the United States to this would have been greater in their longer term benefit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Decades have been defined by the war on terror, but they've also been defined by the actions of many Americans who have responded over the
last 20 years with hope, spirit, and resilience.
Hope as frightened New Yorkers came to the aid of one another, a spirit that continues the National Day of Service. The nonprofit 9/11 Day wants to
mark this 20th Anniversary with 20 million acts of kindness.
Resilience, 19 children of firefighters who died on 9/11 graduated as firefighters themselves, following in their parents literal footsteps.
The population of New York indeed has grown 10 percent in the last 20 years, it's now one of the fastest growing major American cities -- hope,
resilience, and spirit. And that's why we have Catherine DeVrye, the author of "Hope Happens" who joins us now from Sydney. She has very kindly got up
in the middle of the night, or at least certainly very early in the morning.
Catherine, it's easy to be maudlin and to reflect. But if we take 9/11, and then look at all the crises and wars -- Iraq, the great financial crisis,
which for many of us out of jobs, and caused us crisis, and now the pandemic, but you argue, there has to be hope.
CATHERINE DEVRYE, AUTHOR, "HOPE HAPPENS":" I think there always has to be hope. Because when you've lost a loved one, you've lost a job, you've lost
your health or your wealth, or anything important, it is important to keep hope in your heart and look at the future as dim and dark as the past might
be.
QUEST: To say that, and your book talks about this. And in fact, if we look at the way in which you spread out hope with the various letters of H-O-P-
E, the concepts that you put within this, how do you continue in the face of adversity?
DEVRYE: One step at a time, and I wrote that book from experience because, Richard, on 9/11, we all know where we were on that tragic day. I happened
to be the keynote speaker at the World Airline Conference in Brisbane speaking to 1,600 delegates around the world about the topic was, you can't
control change, you can only control your attitude towards change.
And I was at Brisbane Airport waiting and waiting for my flight back, and a friend called to say her mother died of cancer that day. And to her, that
was a much bigger tragedy than thousands of strangers on the other side of the world, even though she is a very compassionate person.
And I remembered when my parents died of cancer when I was 21 years old, I was an only child, I had no family and I came to Australia with a backpack,
$200.00 and a one-way ticket for a three-month working holiday, and I thought my life was over.
[15:25:01]
DEVRYE: And I've kept a diary every night since then of inspirational sayings that got me through tough times. So, I started writing a letter to
my friend of inspirational sayings that I might have had posted on my fridge wall and my bathroom mirror. And it ultimately morphed into a little
book.
And they weren't -- it wasn't a deep, big book, it was a lot of just really short, pithy sayings that helped me cope, and I thought it would help her
cope at that time as well and I never expected it to be anything more than that.
QUEST: The human spirit has phenomenal ability to take what comes at us and fight back in some shape or form. What would you give me as a suitable --
as a suitable thought, a suitable saying, one of those things for the current pandemic? For those who are facing, basically, who knows what? I
mean, we have survived. We've moved to the other side. But there's still a long way to go, what would you say?
DEVRYE: I would say we have to look at it one step at a time. We have to focus on what we can change, and not waste a lot of energy, negative and
otherwise, on talking about so, oh, isn't this terrible? Why shouldn't they do that? They should do that, they should do that.
We have to focus what we can change as individuals, because too much energy is spent thinking about what of this, what of that, rather than looking at
what is at this point in time and looking at even one thing you can do positively to move forward in the pandemic and 9/11 that really feel very,
very similar in terms of the fear in the world.
Because, I think your fear of those --
QUEST: Catherine, that fear can either -- and finally, that fear can either be corrosive and take us down, or it can be translated and transmitted, to
give us hope. Tell me how.
DEVRYE: It's different for every -- I wish I had a magic wand that I could just wave because it is different for everyone. But sometimes it's just
little words of encouragement, little acts of kindness that sort of give you hope, because it changes from day to day, I'm sure yourself, you might
realize that one day you're feeling okay, we're going to get this and the next day for whatever reason, you might slip into a bit of a slump.
And, you know, we've been in lockdown in Sydney for you know, four months nearly now. And you just -- you just have to look at what you can do every
day, be grateful for what you do have every day. Like last week, I had a whole bunch of issues with technical issues. I had an eye operation, I
hadn't had my hair done for a month.
And I thought to myself, thank goodness, I am not in Afghanistan. You'd have to look, there's always someone worse off than yourself. And that was
again, when my folks died when I was 21, I realized that there were always people much, much worse off than myself. And I think the more you can reach
out and help other people because hope really is -- I'm not talking about false hope, you sit there and go, oh, I hope everything will get better.
But hope, positive attitude, combined with positive action to look at what you can change, and again, don't waste energy on the stuff that you cannot
change.
QUEST: Catherine, very glad that you got up early this morning to join us and the hair looks just fine for us this morning. Very grateful. Thank you.
DEVRYE: Thank you.
QUEST: CNN -- thank you -- join us on CNN as we honor the victims of the 9/11 attacks. It's "9/11: 20 Years Later" on Saturday. Our coverage starts
at one o'clock in the afternoon in London. That's two, of course in Europe right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:31:51]
QUEST: I'm Richard Quest. A lot more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS on this Friday. I'll be joined by the CEO of the U.S. Tennis Association ahead of this
week's historic U.S. Open finals. And the chief executive tech giant Logitech on why he's planning a big expansion into China. All of that is
after I've updated you with the news headlines because this is CNN. And the facts always come first here.
The presidents of the U.S. and China had a 90-minute phone conversation on Thursday. The White House describes as respectful familiar, and candid. The
senior administration officials say they touched on cyber security trade. A mutual communications Chinese state media says, Xi Jinping said U.S.
policies hurt the two countries' common interests.
The second Qatar Airways flight from Kabul and as many days as now in Doha. Qatari officials says 158 passengers were on board and that included U.S.
German and Mauritian nationals. It comes one day after the first international passenger flight from Afghanistan since the U.S. withdrawal.
The State Department's as it is gravely concerned by reports of atrocities in northern Ethiopia. And it's calling on all sides in the widening
conflict that began in Tigray to respect human rights. The statement follows reports of civilians being massacred last week, as well as CNN's
own report on ethnic Tigrayans being targeted for torture and execution.
A U.S. judge has ordered Apple to change how it handles payments to the various app stores. Apple shares are sharply lower after the judge ruled
the company's policies violates California's unfair competition law. The ruling prohibits Apple from forcing developers to use its own in-app
payment. Apple is the world's most valuable company was taken to court by Epic Games, the makers of Fortnite, the world's most popular video games.
CNN's Clare Sebastian is here.
Now as I understand it, basically, the judge said that Apple isn't monopolistic but that those companies put -- in the App Store had a right
to direct people to their own different methods of payment.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, exactly, Richard. So, this is essentially a shift in what is now $100 billion sort of app
online market. A major change, potentially, to Apple's business model. She didn't say as you say that they were -- they were a monopoly but she talked
about incipient antitrust violations. And one of those is what's called the anti-steering clauses in the contracts that developers sign with the Apple
App.
So that essentially up until now has prohibited them from putting in links external links, or buttons that could take users outside the App Store to
pay for things like subscriptions or in-app purchases. The judge has ruled that Apple has to stop doing that the developers now are able to put in
those external links and buttons. And that could mean that the developers now have a way to avoid this very controversial 30 percent commission that
Apple charges on all in-app purchases and things like subscriptions in the app store.
[15:35:05]
SEBASTIAN: That has really been at the core of this trial that's gone on another -- well, it started in May for several weeks and has now been ruled
on after Epic Games took Apple to court last summer. So a big change for Apple. They are painting this though today as something of a victory.
They're saying in a statement today, the court has affirmed what we've known all along. The App Store is not in violation of antitrust or Apple
facing rigorous competition they say in every segment which we do business.
And we believe customers and developers choose us because our products and services are the best in the world. Epic though, Richard not happy and they
plan to appeal.
QUEST: Right. Now, down -- Apple is down 3-1/4 percent. Why such a dramatic reaction when there had already been an agreement between the parties, that
the -- this ruling pretty much follows along?
SEBASTIAN: Well, look, I mean, I think this could have wide reaching ramifications. We don't know yet if Apple are going to try to stop the
audit from going into effect i 90 days. They said that they're exploring all options this afternoon. But look, this is a huge part of Apple's
business. Services has been growing in importance compared to hardware in recent years. They do increasingly rely on the App Store for revenue.
So, I think this is something potentially of a shock to some investors, given the relative sizes of these two companies. And the fact that Apple --
Epic was able to make these changes that -- as I said epic doesn't think this goes far enough. The CEO Tim Sweeney has tweeted today. Today's ruling
isn't a win for developers or for consumers. Epic is fighting for fair competition among in-app payment methods and app stores for a billion
consumers.
He says he doesn't believe that this puts other payment methods on a par with Apple's own proprietary payment methods. And until that point, he
won't return Fortnite to the App Store. That will be a blow for the many, many users of that very popular game.
QUEST: Clare Sebastian in New York. Have a good weekend. Because QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. It's Friday, Novak Djokovic might soon make tennis history.
But if that's news to you, it's perfectly normal because this year, the big story is on the women's side. In a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Now earlier in the program, I showed you the evening newspaper that I picked up on this tube here at the subway, and rather than on top of the
evening standard, radical news, fairy tale of New York and up blasts weigh rival threat to the U.S. Open at the age of 18. It is the most exciting
headline out of the U.S. Open so far.
[15:40:09]
QUEST: Two unseeded teenagers making it to the women's final. Emma Raducanu from the U.K. faces off Canada's Leyla Fernandez. It happens on Saturday.
It's going to be the first U.S. Open final between two teams since 1999. And yes, in the men's final, by the way, Novak Djokovic is going to be
closer to a grand -- calendar Grand Slam. The first time that's happened in more than five decades.
So the men are making news. But by far the most exciting bit of perhaps at the moment just is with the women because in 1999 Serena Williams defeated
Martina Hingis. Williams actually had to miss out this time because of a leg injury. This year the competition has also been marked by COVID-19 and
also had to manage the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Stacey Allaster is the U.S. Open tournament director. Joins me now via Skype. We've talked before
Stacy, every year, come on, this one.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: This one is different. It feels different on both sides.
STACEY ALLASTER, U.S. OPEN TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR (via Skype): You know, everyone has said to me, this has been the most exciting U.S. Open in
history, I would say in a very long time. And there is so much magic happening here. I think fans are just so thrilled to be back on site at the
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Arthur Ashe. The athletes have said there is nothing like playing on a 24-seat 24,000 seat stadium
with really energetic fans and the athletes have delivered. And the fans have just loved it.
QUEST: Do you think that there is more ease within tennis over the issue now of mental health and the way the industry? I mean, following on from
the French and the Olympics and what we have seen, is there -- within the - - within tennis itself, is there a feeling that something is being done?
ALLASTER: Absolutely. Richard, you know, the WETA has had a long time program around athlete care and including mental health. At the U.S. Open,
we'd launched the U.S. Open Mental Health Initiative. And really, it came off the reality that the pandemic has had a dramatic impact on all
athletes. 35 percent of professional athletes in general, are suffering from mental health and just sort of this subculture that we work in with
the dimensions of sport.
So, we added a licensed mental health provider to our healthcare team. We had Mardy Fish, an American athlete who publicly struggled with anxiety
here on our courts, as an ambassador. The addition of quiet rooms and recovery rooms place for them to go and decompress. And really looked at
the overarching when an athlete has a health condition, including mental health are we going to make those adjustments for them?
QUEST: The one interesting thing besides a corker of final in both regards, but the other reason is the number of people who are -- who are playing
tennis. Now I have to say I'm not one of them and you really don't want me anywhere near.
ALLASTER: We're going to change that, Richard.
QUEST: Well --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: You've been promising that for a few years. Maybe there is no post pandemic. But more people are playing. I mean, there's a social distancing
(INAUDIBLE) You can't get too close because of the net in the middle. But why do you think tennis has taken on a popularity?
ALLASTER: Well, I do think here in the United States with four million new players in 2020. And you could see this arc of increased participation from
the U.S. Open into Q -- into Q4 last year. It is a very safe sport. It is a low cost. And we had this two-week U.S. Open last year as a marketing
platform to inspire Americans to come out and play our sport. We had people who hadn't played in many years who came back and new ones.
Racket sales increased 143 percent and that's just incredible. Ball sales, people can't get balls, tennis balls right now here in our country. So, you
know, this pandemic has been difficult on many people, certainly for our sport. We have been able to benefit from it and optimize the interest of
our consumers here in the U.S.
QUEST: Stacey, I know that you will be neutral in the women's final.
ALLASTER: Don't tell anyone I'm Canadian, right, Richard?
QUEST: I am not neutral tomorrow. I'm (INAUDIBLE)
ALLASTER: No, yes.
[15:45:07]
QUEST: No. The Brits --the Brit, I'm going to be rooting for the Brit and I'll leave you to the Canadians and have to sort that out.
(CROSSTALK)
ALLASTER: No. I have to be neutral, I have to be neutral. But it's --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Of course you do.
ALLASTER: It's a, you know, it's a fairy tale here. And, you know, everyone said, could you imagine if we had the two teenagers in the final and I just
did not allow myself to think it. You know, Sabalenka, number two player in the world. Zachary, Emma and Leyla, man, have they fought their way to this
opportunity. Amazing.
QUEST: Thank you. We'll talk about later. Thank you.
ALLASTER: Thank you, Richard.
QUEST: Now, President Biden and Xi Jinping spoke on the phone to try to break an impasse in U.S.-China trade relations. Logitech's chief executive,
the CEO Bracken Darrell will be his plans to invest more in China. Is the George Soros or the BlackRock? As he stands on this investment idea. In a
moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: The Dow is on its way for another loss. It will be the fifth consecutive day of being in the red. And you know how I've been saying that
it doesn't really matter because the losses aren't big. Well ignore me because as you can see, they are now accelerating and the reason -- and
just forgive me, I'm just calling it up on my own computer here to tell you. Apple is now 3-1/4 percent. And that is working down the Dow quite a
large amount.
The big losses at Apple, United Healthcare off two percent. Boeing is down 1-1/2 and that's why you're seeing such an ugly sort of end to the week.
And it's not just the Dow, all three are low. Not surprising if the NASDAQ as well, with all tech stocks are going down. And indeed tech is the lowest
of the session. Joe Biden's spoke on the phone on Thursday to Xi Jinping. It's only the second time the two presidents have spoken.
The White House as president (INAUDIBLE) the White House has revealed that Joe Biden raised the issues of the origins of the COVID pandemic. It is the
world's two largest economies last talked in February. They're trying to break a long standing on Passover trade dispute. Meetings between the lower
level officials have been rancorous and harsh. President Biden apparently requested the call.
Bracken Darrell is with me. The CEO of Logitech. He plans to invest more heavily in the Chinese market. Look, you have to know, I mean, that's where
technology is manufactured.
[15:50:04]
QUEST: That's where a lot of the R&D is. Do you fear being caught in the middle of this U.S.-China cold war that exists?
BRACKEN DARRELL, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, LOGITECH: We actually have manufacturing inside of China and outside of China. So we're in both
places. And we're very accustomed moving our manufacturing around from time to time, and we certainly have. So, you know, we're perfectly comfortable
living in a world where different governments have different objectives and conflicts and we're a Swiss company, so we're used to being quite Swiss
aAnd we'll continue to be for as long as we -- as we need to be.
QUEST: One of the -- one of the things that's interesting is that the way in which -- the way in which you have now gone for sustainability of E-
waste, and the way in which you're now determined to do something, when I saw some interesting statistics, about nine percent or seven percent of --
seven kilos a year of E-waste from each of us. What can you do about that?
DARRELL: You know, we're focused on what we can really control, Richard. And the thing that we can control the most is all the carbon that we
create, that goes into the atmosphere, from the components that are made to go into our products, all the way through transportation. And then when you
use one of our mouse or keyboards or webcams. And so what we've done there is we've really worked to redesign our products.
We're taking carbon output out of each of those products. We're moving to renewable electricity all over the world. 90 percent of all the places that
we operate in are now on renewable electricity. And then the last thing is we're investing in reforestation. And so, we're investing in planting
trees. When you put all that together, we're going to be carbon neutral this year. And by 2030 we'll be climate positive.
QUEST: And when we've spoken before during the pandemic, one of the major issues has been the growth in your business, obviously, with people at
home, working from home, and the sheer amount, the sheer new business. Are you seeing a tapering off from that? Or do you think we're just at the
beginning of another pardon the pun, or another or another wave?
DARRELL: You know, we've -- we -- our view of the businesses, you know, we reported last, you know, our earnings last quarter with another strong
growth quarter. Our view is we've really raised the water level for the whole business. And we just got a much larger install base, more places
people are working. More rooms are video enabled, more people are playing games, you know, and more people are streaming and creating content than
ever.
And we don't think it's going to go backwards. All that is here to stay, you know, hybrid work means need two places to work, not one. And so this
role is just a new standard scale for us.
QUEST: And that really shows the significance of waste, doesn't it? Because, first of all, if we're all going to be using more and we're going
to be discarding the old and we're turning to people like you, you have no choice. Otherwise, you're bigger part of the problem and the solution.
DARRELL: Yes. And we want to be, you know, we -- the purpose of our company is to enable all people fulfill their passions in a way that's good for the
planet. Doesn't say in a way that's less bad for the planet. So with that purpose, we are absolutely driven towards being climate positive and we
will be by 2030. That means we're going to be taking more carbon out of the air that we put into it.
And this year we're will be net even. So, yes, absolutely. We have to be. Every company needs to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
QUEST: Got to talk to you, sir. Always grateful to talk to talk to you. Thank you.
DARRELL: Thank you.
QUEST: Now we're talking there about E-waste and just look at what I'm using. I'm using a tablet, I've got my phone, I've got a whole variety of
other thing. Well, as it was -- our last guest was just saying, getting rid of E-waste is one of the world's fastest growing forms of rubbish.
Everybody has the problem. Anna Stewart is now showing us a plant in Dubai, aiming at recycling e waste, trash into treasure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: This is it. The end of the road but old electronics.
Well, not quite.
LYES YAHIAOUI, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ENVIROSERVE: So this is an example E-waste. All these are microwaves, laptops, phones, everything goes on
here. This is the start of the process.
STEWART: A new lease of life to unwanted devices, cables, phones, printers go in all chopped up. Outcomes all sorts of materials like new ready to be
used in manufacturing once more.
YAHIAOUI: These materials are coming from this pone. And the really big goal to make a new phone like this.
STEWART: Enviroserve collects E-waste for more than 10 countries across the Middle East and Africa. Once in the Dubai facility, devices needing a quick
fix get repaired. Anything broken has their batteries removed, gets torn apart, and it's separated based on what they're made of.
[15:55:09]
STEWART: We each produce an average of seven kilograms of electronic waste per year. That's the equivalent to almost four laptops per person on the
planet every year. And it's expected to double by 2050. Getting rid of all this stuff isn't easy. First is the health risk of being exposed to toxic
materials. And if you chuck it in landfill, then all these valuable items just go to waste.
YAHIAOUI: The E-waste going to the landfill is not solution. It's just parked, idling for the future for when nobody knows.
STEWART: Enviroserve is determined to provide an alternative. For now, they are currently operating at only seven percent capacity. But eventually they
hope to process 39,000 tons of E- waste every year.
YAHIAOUI: We are not at full capacity, definitely not. But we are ready for the future. So we can do more and more.
STEWART: Around the world, less than 20 percent of electronic waste is properly recycled, according to the global E-waste monitor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And currently only $10 billion U.S. of, you know, raw materials are being recovered from E-waste. And nearly 50 billion are not
recovered at all. So there is a big opportunity out there.
STEWART: Electronic waste, an example of how one man's trash is another man's treasure. Anna Stewart, CNN.
QUEST: And we will take a profitable moment after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's profitable moment. Tomorrow, we quite rightly commemorate and remember those who died in 9/11 and all that followed. But I asked you
also to give respect and thought for the human spirit, dignity, the optimism, the ambition, the hopes, the dreams, the resilience. You choose
the adjective yourself. What out -- of all the people who've put it to one side and moved forward.
Whether it be 9/11 or the great financial crisis, or the millions who've died around the world in this pandemic or lost jobs. As we heard tonight on
the program, our human spirit endures. With the prospect of hope, the battle of resilience, the understanding of adaptability. Well, we just keep
going. Why do we keep going? Because we have to. We built that way. So yes, whilst we certainly mourn those who we lost in such awful circumstances
across the board that has also give thought and celebrate ourselves for the way we just keep going.
And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest with hope because whatever you're up to in the weekend ahead, I hope it's profitable.
The closing bell on Wall Street (INAUDIBLE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
