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Quest Means Business

Economy Adds 517K Jobs In January, Crushing Expectations; Tech Shares Fall After Disappointing Earnings; New York Public Library: Past, Present And Future; MoviePass Founder On Plans For Relaunch; Italian Crime Boss Arrested, Hiding As A Pizza Chef; Blinken Cancels China Trip Over Suspected Spy Balloon. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired February 03, 2023 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:28]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: If you want to get ahead, read a book. So we are at the New York Public Library tonight with an hour left to

go for trading on Wall Street.

The market is down. We had jobs numbers, which the market liked and then decided it didn't, which explains the chart that you're seeing on the

screen at the moment.

It's all a bit peculiar, but those are the markets and these are the main events of the day.

The US jobs market bonanza. It is red hot, we need to understand for how long and why.

A very different picture in the world of tech, with Amazon, Apple, and Alphabet, all posting weak earnings.

And tonight, I sit down with the New York Public Library President. He wants to teach the whole world to read, preferably with books from his

library.

Live from the New York Public Library on Friday, it is February 3rd. We have slipped elegantly into February.

I am Richard Quest, and at the New York Public Library, I most certainly mean business.

Yes, a very good evening to you.

Part of our summer series, which then became winter series, and now anytime of the year, we like to be out and about and we are delighted and very

grateful that the New York Public Library have allowed us to interlope, yes, they put us in the lobby, a long way from the readers down there where

there's lots "shhh" but I'm told I can make as much noise as I like out here, which is just as well, the way we're going.

There are millions of books in these hallowed halls, and we will give you the history and show you some of the finest exhibits that they have to

show. All of that is later in the hour.

First, though 517,000 -- over half a million new jobs added. That was much more than the market had been expecting, and consequently initially gave a

real bump, yet, the unemployment rate itself is now at the 53-year low, which shows an extraordinarily strong labor market despite the Fed hiking

rates.

So we decided, since we are in a library, we would try and understand the economic data in terms of the books. What economic lessons can we learn?

Our stock markets hope the Fed will change course.

For example, "Don Quixote" tilting at windmills, or perhaps it's more like Dickens, you can never go wrong with Dickens, the best of times in the

labor market, the worst of times in the tech sector.

If you're reading is more Gabriel Garcia Marquez, in "A Hundred Years of Solitude," that you'll know the quote, "There is always something left to

love."

Even the labor market today where consumer spending, which is still going strong.

You can't go wrong with Leo Tolstoy in "War and Peace." All we can know is we know nothing, so he said, and with today's economic data, it proves him

right.

Finally, I think you have to look at Jane Austen to get to the real nub of it all. It is a truth universally acknowledged that an economy on the

precipice of a recession must be in want of jobs.

Hang on. Had she been reading the latest reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics? It's an idea blown out of the water.

Matthew Luzzetti is actually the Chief US Economist at Deutsche Bank. So you heard the quotes, where are we in this job market?

MATTHEW LUZZETTI, CHIEF US ECONOMIST, DEUTSCHE BANK: I think all we know is we know nothing, it is probably a great way to describe it. You know,

yesterday and coming out of the Federal Reserve meeting, I think we knew that the labor market was slowing. We knew that we still had a tight labor

market, but that growth was kind of on a downtrend and the labor market was coming into bear balance.

We got the data today. We learned that we have a completely different picture for the labor market, adding over half a million jobs and an

unemployment rate that's the lowest since 1969, wage growth picking up. It's a very different picture than what Chair Powell described on

Wednesday.

QUEST: Right. But how can we have such a robust market, labor job market when you have this 400-basis plus points of interest rate rise. At what

point is that medicine going to take its toll?

[15:05:02]

LUZZETTI: I think what we see is outside of the housing market, it has not taken its toll yet. We thought it had been. Jobs growth had been slowing,

but we've really seen a pickup here.

I think the labor market is two key things. We have very strong jobs demand, and we have a constrained labor supply. Those two things coming

together to create very strong job growth.

QUEST: But do you subscribe to the theory that you can't get inflation all the way down, unless you have higher unemployment? I did look this

morning. If you look at every recession, for the last three, every time there has been a recession, there has been rising unemployment.

We have not seen yet. We're not in a recession yet, but that would suggest we will see it later this year.

LUZZETTI: Absolutely. I think the labor market is telling us we are absolutely not in a recession today. When you have recessions, anytime the

unemployment rate rises by 0.5 percentage points, you have a recession, it typically rises more than that.

From an inflation perspective, I think what we've seen recently is we can bring some inflation rates down. Energy has fallen, of course, goods prices

are falling. But I really do think that price inflation all the way down to two percent, you're going to need to see this labor market loosening, which

will need the unemployment rate to rise.

QUEST: We've had a reduction in the money supply. In fact, the money supply has been negative on one or two occasions. We've got a yield curve

that's inverted or have had. These are all recessionary signs.

LUZZETTI: Add them to several of the other ones that we see. The ISM manufacturing index, when you look at it across States, we're seeing kind

of a drop in the diffusion of growth across States.

There are a number of indicators right now, which are telling us we're not there, it is the labor market and consumer spending.

QUEST: You were one of the first to forecast a recession at the backend of '23. When do you believe it's going to become, because the GDP number

was revised upwards.

LUZZETTI: Yes, you have strong data today, certainly in the labor market, when I think the issue is that it is going to trigger a more hawkish

response from Federal Reserve, we expect that they're going to raise rates, at least through May/

I think we're seeing some of the market responses here through May, which is what they've been signaling but the market has not been listening to

them. I think after today's data and upcoming price data, you'll see the market listening more.

QUEST: We'll talk about all that later in the month. Are you a reader?

LUZZETTI: I try to, yes.

QUEST: Now when you read, do you read with Kindle or an e-reader? Or do you like --

LUZZETTI: Physical books.

QUEST: You like the --

LUZZETTI: The actual books, which is why it's nice to be here in the library.

QUEST: It's good to have you, sir.

LUZZETTI: Thanks so much for having me.

QUEST: Thank you very much for always being on the program. Thank you very much.

Now, yesterday, it was a fascinating day in the market. Tech earnings halted the rally. Look at what happened. Alphabet reported steep profits

decline and warned of higher competition. Amazon, which has been such a stellar warned forecast slower sales growth. Its shares are down heavily

today looking at the screen. Amazon, look at that, down eight, nearly nine percent. And yet Apple shares are up despite posting revenue decline.

Matt Egan is with me. Is this the moment of reckoning for all except Apple?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Richard. You know, I think it's interesting that the market is handling all of this news as well as it is.

I mean, we did hear a lot of disappointing numbers after the bell yesterday from these three tech leaders, but we do have to remember that these

companies have been off to a really strong start this year.

I mean, the NASDAQ before today was almost out of bear market territory, up something like 19 percent, almost 20 percent from the lows in December. I

think, it is no big surprise that some of these tech companies are having issues.

I mean, Apple, it is less of a demand problem and more of a supply issue. Namely, they weren't able to make as many iPhones in China as people

wanted, but obviously China is opening up. They have relaxed their COVID rules, and so that, of course, would help Apple meet some of its demand.

Alphabet and other tech and media companies, of course, are dealing with this advertising slowdown. A lot of companies are reluctant to spend on

advertising. And you know, Amazon is dealing with the issue that consumers are still grappling with high inflation.

But Richard, you know, if you had told me that those numbers were going to come out last night, and then this jobs number was going to be as

ridiculously strong as it was, I would have imagined that we would see even bigger losses for the stock market today.

QUEST: Right. But this conundrum that Matthew was just talking about. I mean -- and I was just mentioning, you may have heard, every recession has

also had a rise in unemployment.

So at some point, Matt Egan, if we get a recession later this year, there is going to have to be a rise in unemployment. I don't enjoy saying those

words.

EGAN: Right. I mean, otherwise it wouldn't be a recession. You know, what is interesting is that, after the Jobs Report came out today, I talked to

the top economist, Ethan Harris at Bank of America, and Bank of America like Deutsche Bank has been calling for a recession and Ethan Harris said

he doesn't think that the 2023 recession has necessarily been canceled.

[15:10:11]

He thinks that maybe it is going to be delayed, whereas Bank of America previously thought the first half of this year was going to be in

recession, he sort of opened up to the possibility that it's going to be the second half of this year, and Bank of America conceded that the chance

of a soft landing has increased here as well, because, Richard by all accounts, this jobs market is hanging in there much longer and much

stronger than almost anyone anticipated.

QUEST: Matt Egan, thank you, sir. Grateful for you being with us.

If I am sounding a little bit croaky today, I think it's the cold weather, along with a lot of stuff falling off, leaves, which has all taken a bit of

a toll on the old vocal cords.

But remember, Rome wasn't built in a day, and nor was this fine institution. In 1911, by the way. We will talk more about its long history.

First, a word from the CEO of Bank of America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN MOYNIHAN, CEO, BANK OF AMERICA: I have a bad habit of reading a lot of spy novels. So.

QUEST: Really?

MOYNIHAN: It is escapism for me if I want to read books about business, I do that, too For convenience, I'll read them off of my Kindle app, and on

occasion, I'll read the paperback.

QUEST: I seat on the subway or the tube in London and I'm the only person who is reading a newspaper.

MOYNIHAN: Well because it makes up the story that wasn't the story you're looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL WINTERS, CEO, STANDARD CHARTERED: And I'm reading a book that I would recommend to anybody in the world. It's called "Crossing Continents." It's

the unabridged version of the history of Standard Chartered Bank, which is a fascinating bank.

I only read digital.

QUEST: Oh no.

WINTERS: I don't use paper. No paper,

QUEST: No crinkle of the page?

WINTERS: No paper.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: The CEO of Standard Chartered admitting he doesn't like the crinkle of the page. He only reads digitally.

The building I'm in is so much more than just a library with lots of books. It is an institution in its own right. It has been here for more than 125

years and the inscription over the front, "The City of New York has erected this building to be maintained forever as a free library for the use of the

people." I couldn't have put it better myself.

[15:15:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST (voice over): It is as practical as it is iconic, the New York Public Library at the very heart of Midtown Manhattan, guarded by two lions,

Patience and Fortitude, named by the city's mayor during the Great Depression.

The public library opened to a crowd of more than 50,000 in May, 1911. Its founders were philanthropists. They believed if New York was to be a world

class city, they need a library to match.

These reading rooms have housed great minds like Betty Friedan, Tom Wolfe, (INAUDIBLE) and Norman Mailer.

Each years some 18 million visitors come here, lured in by 75 miles of shelves and all those books, millions of them.

The library's collections are important. It houses an original copy of the Bill of Rights and Gutenberg Bible. It has even found its place in pop

culture.

(CLIP FROM "BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S.")

HOLLY GOLIGHTLY, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: What is this place anyway?

PAUL VARJAK, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: You said you wanted to sit down, it is the public library.

QUEST (voice over): Visited by Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

(CLIP FROM "SEX AND THE CITY.")

CARRIE BRADSHAW, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: He's not coming. Oh my God.

QUEST (voice over): Also the scene of that ill-fated wedding, "Sex and the City."

Now the New York Public Library network boasts 92 locations across the city, converting everything from courthouses to a chocolate factory, all in

to branches, and there is a mission, they seek to fulfill -- free education for all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST (on camera): The library has more than 56 million items, but it's not enough. It's just been awarded and acquired the Joan Didion Archives, which

will add even greater to this collection.

I sat down with the President, Tony Marx the President of the Public Library. It was in the Treasurer's Room, which is just over there. Now

these are, if you will, the crown jewels, the best of the best. And Tony Marx is determined, the public shall see them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TONY MARX, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY: People are reading more books than ever, but they are not reading as much as they

could or should.

The amount of time people are spending on screen on things that are not, shall we say stimulating their creativity or their compassion, perhaps

doing the opposite has exploded. That's our competition.

QUEST: I'll admit it barely through the front door and I feel intimidated. Well, you certainly get intimidate them if you want to. But I

feel intimidated that I don't know enough authors, that I haven't read enough books, that I'm going to be caught out at the first whiff of

literature, and that there will always be somebody else who will know more.

MARX: Richard, you know, I grew up in New York, Uptown past Harlem. I never walked in this building. I thought it was way too intimidating. I

used the Central Branch Library across the street, which we've just spent $200 million on to improve.

Yes, this building is intimidating. Our purpose at this point is to take that intimidation away. This Treasures Exhibit that we're sitting in as

part of that.

We had these amazing things from history.

Yes, so that's the original portrait, the original portrait of Franklin from Life and it is the basis of the hundred dollar bill, and we love Ben.

He was also the founder of the first lending library in the Americas.

QUEST: And how appropriate you've got it next to Adam Smith, the Wealth of Nations.

MARX: Absolutely.

We've got Adam Smith and you know, you can look at Adam Smith or if you would rather, you can look at Karl Marx or Toussaint Louverture or any of

it. It's all part of our history. That's the power of it.

QUEST: Yes, but how do you reconcile hugely important weighty tombs of great significance, isn't this a sort of a cheap shot?

MARX: No, we all love Winnie the Pooh, and you know, it's absolutely our pleasure at the Library to have the original Milne toys in our

collection. They thrill kids, they bring kids in, and then the kids will notice the other things in the exhibit as they get older.

And then they're going to go upstairs and say, I want to research that. It can all start with Winnie the Pooh, why not?

QUEST: What do people use it for? And please don't say to read a book. I get that. But what are people in the digital age, what are people coming

here for? Unless you're researching a specific subject that you need a book somewhere up there?

MARX: We have special collections for those researchers. Absolutely. People come to the library because they want to work together. We're not

cavemen. We want to be in the company of other people in inspiring spaces and the Library ensures you can do that in person but also online. That's

part of our responsibility as well.

[15:20:11]

QUEST: Have you got the resources you need? Because you're publicly funded, and of course, philanthropically funded. What's the gap between

what you've got and what you'd like?

MARX: Well, we are aspiring to provide every piece of access to everyone on the planet ultimately, with a focus here in New York.

QUEST: Why? So let me just stop you.

MARX: Because we're the biggest library on the planet, and no one else can and that's what we need at this point. We need everyone's thinking and

creativity, if we're going to solve the problems we've got.

QUEST: Right, but why are you worried about on the planet versus the people in New York, who are -- who me by the way -- as a taxpayer who pay

for this place?

MARX: Well, the taxpayers pay for the circulating branches, and that is people are visiting those in record numbers.

QUEST: Really?

MARX: Borrowing books using -- they have no place else to use computers or -- and some folks have no place else with heat or air conditioning, let

alone great librarians, amazing collections.

In terms of online, we can make everything available to New Yorkers, but because of our scale, and our access to resources, we can always use more,

we're always looking for more. We can build it so that if it works for New Yorkers, it can work for a kid in Soweto or, you know, a housewife in

Canada -- anybody.

QUEST: So what are you reading at the moment?

MARX: These days, mostly, I read e-mails and memos given what I do for a living. But --

QUEST: You see, what I find difficult is to carve out the time.

MARX: I thought if I have a free evening, which doesn't happen as often as I would like, if I'm traveling, there is nothing better than a great

book, just for the company of it and for opening your mind.

You know, I'm going to go to Cairo in a couple of weeks, and I'm going to read Stacy Schiff's "Cleopatra" while I'm doing it, because, of course, why

wouldn't I do that? Books change how we think in a way that nothing else does, whether you read them online or in print.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: That is the President of the New York Public Library, talking to me in the Treasures Room just over there.

Bookstores themselves, book shops, I prefer to say, they are making a bit of a comeback. According to the "Times," 300 opened in the United States in

the last two years. The thought have been that booksellers were in retreat, after all, sales declined nearly 30 percent in 2020.

But however, they not only survived the pandemic, many are actually thriving. Strand Books, dearly beloved here in New York. It's been going

nearly a hundred years and it's hosted the literary great -- artists, musicians, celebrities, dare I say -- we have a celebrity of our own the

owner, Nancy Bass Wyden is the owner of Strand Bookstore. Thank you.

NANCY BASS WYDEN, OWNER, STRAND BOOKSTORE: I am no celebrity. Thank you for promoting books for me.

QUEST: But your shop is.

WYDEN: Yes, thank you.

QUEST: And I now wonder how -- what would you say has been the turning point that people are now going back to reading real books.

WYDEN: People are so hungry for community and they want to be -- have a tactile experience. They see bookstores as kind of their home, as a

community center.

People want to be transported into a book. They want to expand their minds, their kids expand their minds. I think they find bookstores are magic.

QUEST: But we've thought, because Amazon started by selling books.

WYDEN: Right.

QUEST: And the thought was that that was going to kill off the bookstore, and then Amazon itself eventually decided to try it. We have

obviously the big booksellers. So death of the bookstore is greatly exaggerated.

WYDEN: Yes, it is. I think, you know, as you travel around the world, too, it is becoming so marginalized with stores and things and independent

bookstores really speak to bibliophiles and people that love learning, and there are -- I think people love independence, things you want, you know,

so of course, they are everywhere, right?

QUEST: Right. But how would you prevent the shop becoming a shrine to elitism? So that everybody feels like, well, I don't really know what I

want. And I like a good page turner, I want a good body sweeper, not some great, you know, do you know what I mean?

WYDEN: Right. I think you know, you have a welcoming atmosphere. I think that it's the booksellers they just love, you can tell the people what they

recommend. I think that you have just an inviting atmosphere where there's books of every interest in all different levels.

QUEST: Well, the summer books -- the summer book list is still some way off, but Delaney, just pop in these books here and tell me which ones it is

you've got and which ones you think we should be reading.

[15:25:03]

WYDEN: Well, this is the bestseller at the Strand right now, "101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think" and right now, people feel very

ungrounded. There is great advice in there.

I think it's just so wonderful I as far -- I'm a memoir junkie. "I'm Glad My Mom Died" is about the "iCarly" star, and she -- with an overbearing mom

and now she --

QUEST: Now before we get to the next one --

WYDEN: Okay.

QUEST: Tell me, I'm the sort of person that will start all of them. How do I finish them?

WYDEN: They're all page turners, every one of them.

QUEST: But I've got three books on the go at the moment, and I feel guilty about opening another one. And in fact, I've made a resolution, I'm

not starting a new book until I finished those that I've got on the go.

WYDEN: I think you're being too rigid. I think you just read you know, it's enjoyable, right? And you read you can come back to books and you can have

a big stack by the bedside, but whatever lures you.

This is a great fiction -- it has always been a hot seller and it is increasing.

QUEST: Oh, I like the look of this.

WYDEN: It is about relationships, ego, it takes place in New York in the 20s, and it is two books in one. There is a narration that kind of all

comes together, and that is -- it is just fabulous.

And then you know, we sell used books at the store, used and rare books. So I always like to, you know, go back to some old classics. Everybody is

traveling right now. Mark Twain, the innocence --

QUEST: It is really hard to read Mark Twain in the original.

WYDEN: Not at all. He's so funny. It's ironic. It's honest. It's going back in the 1867 when he traveled from New York to Europe to the Biblical Lands.

QUEST: Wow. Do you ever read online a book?

WYDEN: Never. I never do.

QUEST: You're a real crinkle of the page.

WYDEN: I am. This is my religion. Yes.

QUEST: Thank you very much.

WYDEN: Thank you for this.

QUEST: Really very, very kind of you. If I was to read one of those, which one would it be?

WYDEN: Oh.

QUEST: Just one?

WYDEN: I think this would be kind of fun, but you can have any one of them. What would you like?

QUEST: Now, that's awful.

WYDEN: I have a bag for you. You need --

QUEST: All right, I have to think about it. In my Profitable Moment, I will decide.

WYDEN: You know what? I'm going to give you all of them.

QUEST: No, no. You just made my problem worse. Now, I've got more books to read.

WYDEN: We will send you some.

QUEST: Thank you. Thank you very much.

Well, it doesn't get better than that, does it?

Lots of books for me to be reading. I'm going to Johannesburg tomorrow and then I wanted to buy, so plenty there to keep me busy on the plane.

When we come back, it is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight. We're going to talk about The Pentagon -- if the Chinese spy balloon at The Pentagon says is

flying over the United States. The rocky relationship is already pretty bad between the US and China, and now, it is -- pardon the pun -- it is been

inflated by hot air.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:56]

QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS from the New York Public Library in just a moment. I will tell you and we'll discuss

the raw over the Chinese balloon that is currently making its way over U.S. air space, what's happening there and how nasty that's going to get.

And unlimited movie tickets. We will bring you the details. We'll also have the man who founded the company and what he's doing now. We'll have that

for you in just a moment. It's all after I've given you the news headlines because this is CNN, and on this network, the news always comes first.

Tens of millions of Americans are facing the coldest temperatures in years. Dangerous wind chills as frigid as minus 50 are set to blast the Northeast

with nearly 25 million people under wind chill warnings or advisories.

An Italian mobster has been found working as a pizza chef. After 16 years on the run. Edgardo Greco was arrested by anti-mafia police in France where

he was working at an Italian restaurant. He'd been convicted in absentia in 1991 for a double homicide.

The legendary Spanish fashion designer Paco Rabanne has died, best known for his work in the 1960s of using materials like metal and plastic to

create a space age aesthetic. Rabanne dress some of the biggest stars of the era, including Jane Birkin, Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Fonda. He was 88.

U.S. Secretary of State has canceled a visit to China after the Pentagon said it discovered a suspected Chinese spy balloon that's now flying over

parts of the Northern U.S. states. Antony Blinken was expected to meet President Xi Jinping to help smooth over relations. But instead of getting

better, there seems to be getting a great deal worse. Marc Stewart has stayed up late for us tonight. He is in Hong Kong, you're either staying up

late or getting up early.

Whichever it is, it is appreciated, Marc. The Chinese say that this is an accident, that it's a metrological balloon that it's gone wrong. And it

shouldn't be where it's supposed to be or not as the case may be. Does -- Is anyone believing it?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This theory of a weather balloon going rogue if you will, Richard? No. In fact, as we heard during a Pentagon

press conference earlier today in the United States, it was immediately quashed, and it was very firm that this explanation that something just

went off course is not being believed at least by the Department of Defense. In fact, if I look at the statement that was sent late Friday from

Beijing, Beijing referred to this as a force majeure.

That's the French term meaning that something went wrong out of their control. But also, of note in the statement is the fact that the Chinese

government is expressing regret about what happened. I don't know if we can go as far as call it an apology. But even this acknowledgement of regret,

this moment of contrition is very significant, because that's not something that we typically would hear from the Chinese government, especially in

something as sensitive as diplomacy or national security.

So, while China is expressing this front, the Department of Defense and Washington for that matter isn't necessarily buying it.

QUEST: So, here's the problem. If it's a spy balloon, as suggested and spied over parts of Canada, then surely the Chinese authorities must have

realized that the Americans would see it as soon as the thing got anywhere close to the United States.

[15:35:02]

So, isn't there some credence that it's not sort of as obvious as popping over to have a quick look from a balloon?

STEWART: Well, if we listen to the response from the Department of Defense today, it was very pointed. And indeed, they called it a surveillance

balloon. But let's talk about for a moment, this looming visit or what was supposed to be a looming visit by Antony Blinken because a big point of

that visit was to establish diplomatic lines, if something like this were to happen where Secretary Blinken could immediately call his counterpart in

China to find out what the real deal was, so to speak.

Well, that's not happening. And this kind of relationship still needs to be built. And that's why this is so damaging. And that's why there's so much

skepticism.

QUEST: Marc Stewart, thank you, sir. Coming up in just a moment. An unexpected comeback story. MoviePass is returning a blast from the past.

We'll have the original founder of MoviePass who's written a book which is fascinating because it talks about the trials and tribulations. And he and

I have one thing in common. Can you guess what it is?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TARANG AMIN, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, ELF BEAUTY: Well, I'm actually currently rereading a book I read many years ago. It's endurance by Alfred Lansing.

It's a story of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition. My wife and I recently visited Antarctica. So, it kind of spurred that interest again in

that incredible story of adventure and survival.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: There is a great misunderstood sea creature that is now in peril. It is the grey nurse shark. Now sharks you tend to think I was being nasty,

and I'll give you a nasty bite. But the grey nurse shark was once considered endangered for dangerous now it's not just dangerous. It's

critically endangered in its own right. On Call to Earth, with a teenage shark conservationist dedicated to protecting the species.

Australian Shalise Leesfield is on a mission called Blue Hope spot champion. It's part of Rolex's perpetual pilot initiative.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[15:40:07]

SHALISE LEESFIELD, OCEAN CONSERVATIONIST (voice over): I know there is a huge stigma around how, you know, scary they can look but I promise you

they are the sweetest animals ever. They're so docile and they're curious and they're like the Labradors of the sea.

Unfortunately, the grey nurse sharks, the East Coast population at Fish Rock are critically endangered. So, bringing as much awareness to these

greener sharks as possible is just my mission.

(on camera): My name is Shalise Leesfield. I'm 16 years old and I'm an ocean and shark conservationist. Fish Rock is actually home to one of the

largest ocean cabins in the southern hemisphere which is the 125-meter-long cave that runs straight through the rock.

(voice over): And diving there is just such an adrenaline rush. I love to call Fish Rock a beacon of hope for these sharks, because it's their home,

it's where they aggregate, it's where they eat, and they raise their young pups. It's just such a crucial place for them and to not have protection

for such like an important habitat for them is just devastating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- going possible sharks in the dark of the cave and then you can -- you can direct her where she wants to go (INAUDIBLE)

LEESFIELD: Unfortunately, from about the 50s to the 70s, they did have that reputation of being men eaters and very scary animals. So, if you kill

them, you made the coastline safer and you were a hero. So of course, that cut their numbers right down and earn them that critically endangered

title. The numbers still haven't caught back up. They take -- when they reach six to eight years old, that's when they reach sexual maturity.

And that's when they can breed and build their numbers back up. But unfortunately, they are very slow breeders because they only have one to

two pups or baby sharks every two years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy?

LEESFIELD: Happy. Oh incredible. Yes, it's just bustling with black. Like it is a real aquarium -- right there, what you're fighting for.

(voice over): The way that fish rock is at the moment, but it isn't ideal. So of course, there is always room for more protection. We're thinking

maybe a 1500 meters zone around the island where it's just like, no fishing and just for the sharks. Being really young, it most definitely was a

challenge. But it's just the mentality of not caring about how old you are or where you come from.

Just using your voice to speak up for just what you love for me, which was the ocean.

(on camera): As the younger generations, we are the ones that will be inheriting the Earth and the ocean as well. So just not caring about you

know who you are and where you come from and your age and not letting that restrict you, just using your voice to speak up for what you love and what

you're going to be inheriting. Just makes it all work that when you, you know, see that snaggletooth green of the gray nurse shark.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Please let us know what you're doing to help the environment #CalltoEarth.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:46:06]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENEDETTO VIGNA, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, FERRARI: Now, you know, I don't like so much electronic to read on -- to use electronic iPad or whatever,

or Kindle. I like to use still the paper because I like to underline.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: That crinkle of the page, it will out supreme. Now with lots of books in this place. We're not moving. Our next guest has written a book.

But he's also the man of course, who was behind MoviePass. Those of us of a certain age will remember MoviePass which was the subscription-based movie

ticketing site. Originally, it didn't work and we can go into some of the reasons why.

But for Stacy Spikes who's having a second go at doing it. He believes that there are lessons to be learned. The black founder of the book Stacy is

with me. Good to see you, sir. Thank you.

STACY SPIKES, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MOVIEPASS: Nice to see you.

QUEST: Why are you having another go at it?

SPIKES: Because we need it. The movie industry is thriving for it. And we want to bring it back to be able to help people go to movies more.

QUEST: MoviePass version one. Was it -- was it a good idea badly executed or could it ever never have worked?

SPIKES: It was a great idea. So much so that 50 percent of theaters now have a subscription service. But when we sold it, the buyers had a bad idea

that $10.00 would work and it did.

QUEST: I suppose, you know, I remember, there's a particular one in Britain called free flights for American from Hoover, which is one of the most

famous of how to get it wrong. You are offering unlimited movies. Could that ever work? And would you ever do it again?

SPIKES: Not the way it was before. No. There's a better way to do it.

QUEST: Right. But you've complained in the book about the way you were treated to a certain extent. Being thrown off, the founder shouldn't be

thrown off in quite the way you said it.

SPIKES: Yes. Sometimes they should if they're really doing something wrong. But my biggest complaint was $10.00 was a price point that wasn't going to

be able to work. So, that's a different story.

QUEST: What did you learn because not only did MoviePass, but also made movies. So, what have you learned about that as an industry?

SPIKES: I love it.

QUEST: Why?

SPIKES: Because it's the best form of storytelling that human beings have ever made.

QUEST: Excuse me. Excuse me. You're in the library, careful saying that.

SPIKES: It starts with the book. Our own screenplay, it's written first, then you go do the other fight. Yes, it's beautiful.

QUEST: And what are the mistakes that we make do you think? I mean, you've called the book, Black Founder. And to a large extent, it's about being an

outsider. And to a large extent, it's sort of the lessons you learned. How would you encapsulate that?

SPIKES: I think one of the biggest lessons that I tried to bring home in the book was that we need to include more people as founders. So that was

it.

QUEST: I need to pause you there, sir. Back to Antony Blinken who was speaking just a few moments ago.

ANTONY BLINKEN, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: Jen, if you allow me, I just like to briefly address the presence of the Chinese surveillance

balloon in U.S. airspace. I spoke this morning with Director of the CCP central Foreign Affairs Office Wang Yi, to convey that, in light of China's

unacceptable action, I am postponing my planned travel this weekend to China.

As you know, President Biden and President Xi agreed during their meetings in Bali in November that I would travel to Beijing to follow up on their

discussions. We've been working across the U.S. government to prepare for a substantive set of discussions on issues that matter to the -- American

people and to people around the world and we've been engaging for some time with our counterparts in Beijing to prepare for these meetings.

[15:50:07]

Yesterday, the Department of Defense announced that we had detected and we're tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that remains over the

continental United States. We continue to track and monitor the balloon closely. We're confident this is a Chinese surveillance balloon. Once we

detected the balloon, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information.

We communicated with the PRC government directly through multiple channels about this issue. Members of my team consulted with our partners and other

agencies. And in Congress, we also engaged our close allies and partners to inform them of the presence of the surveillance balloon in our airspace. We

concluded that conditions were not conducive for a constructive visit at this time.

And my call today with Director Wang Yi, I made clear that the presence of this surveillance balloon in U.S. airspace is a clear violation of U.S.

sovereignty and international law. That it's an irresponsible act and that the PRC is decision to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is

detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have. I told Director Wang that the United States remains committed to diplomatic

engagement with China, and that I plan to visit Beijing when conditions allow.

In the meantime, the United States will continue to maintain open lines of communication with China, including to address this ongoing incident.

Indeed, that's why we need direct and regular communications in the first place. And that's why it's critical that such lines remain open at all

times, to help avoid miscalculation, and conflict. One final but important note, the world expects the United States and China to manage our

relationship responsibly.

And indeed, addressing many of today's global challenges. Challenges that affect the lives of our people, and people around the world demands that we

find a way to work together as well. The United States will continue to act in a way that reflects that responsibility. We look to our PRC counterparts

to do the same. Now, the Foreign Minister and I just signed an important agreement that will guide our country's cooperation on science and

technology in the years ahead.

The agreement builds on one that we signed in 1992 which helped foster three decades of consequential collaboration. Our universities conducted

joint research on cancer and climate.

QUEST: So, there you have a Secretary of State Antony Blinken talking about the balloon. We'll get more analysis on that as we move forward. Before we

went to Mr. Blinken talking about the balloon that going over America. I was with Stacey Spikes who's the author of Black founder, and also the

MoviePass. Now, sir, now, sir, what do we got in common?

SPIKES: I have no idea.

QUEST: Sorry?

SPIKES: I have no idea.

QUEST: You say in your book that you write with a fountain pen?

SPIKES: Yes. Yes.

QUEST: So, you too have inky sticky fingers when it leaks. And it goes into the top and it's all over the place. And you look like a schoolboy that's

got -- is that right?

SPIKES: Yes. It's right. Correct.

QUEST: And you also send thank you notes. I haven't quite --

SPIKES: Yes. I tried to be really good about that.

QUEST: Really?

SPIKES: Yes.

QUEST: Still?

SPIKES: Yes.

QUEST: You don't just stash them off and say (INAUDIBLE)

SPIKES: No.

QUEST: What's the one moral from your book?

SPIKES: Never give up.

QUEST: Never give up now. Thank you, sir.

SPIKES: Search it.

QUEST: Well, thanks very much. Never give up is what he says. Have you ever given up?

SPIKES: Not that I know of.

QUEST: Even at the worst moment in MoviePass, you didn't think -- come on. I'm out of here.

SPIKES: I thought it. But it kept going.

QUEST: Why?

SPIKES: Why not?

QUEST: So, what will make this a success second time round?

SPIKES: I think we're in a different place. And that we learned a lot from what didn't work. And sometimes you have to do that to get it right. You

have to build it wrong to build it right.

QUEST: Even with all the pain. Thank you, sir.

SPIKES: Yes.

QUEST: You get your pen out. And if you can assign that for me. I'm very grateful. Thank you for coming and talking to --

(CROSSTALK)

SPIKES: Thank you.

QUEST: We have been at the New York Public Library. I'm going to show you what the markets are doing at the moment and how they have traded towards

the end of the week because bearing in mind the jobs numbers that we had and what's been happening there. We're now down 155 points. But I think --

I think the significance of that number is that it's holding. We haven't gone further.

So you end up with the green at the beginning of the day where you get a bit of bullishness on the back of the job number. You get reflection later

in the day and the Dow 30 and the triple stack reflect out exactly the way the day has gone. Particularly the triple stack which as you can see you

because it's those stocks that gain so much earlier in the week.

[15:55:05]

Those stocks are down 1-1/2 percent down now. Though the NASDAQ is off 1- 1/2 percent. Finally, the Dow 30 will show us in turn exactly how the day progressed, which stocks most of all. Apple puts on because of its numbers,

manages to improve. Home Depot's at the bottom end that's on its own. Otherwise, it's bit of a mishmash of market as to who and what won the day.

We will take a profitable moment from the New York Public Library after the break.

It has been a real treat and a pleasure of being here. But the only problem once again, so many books, so little time to read them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Profitable moment. So, we are at the New York Public Library. And I really wanted to be here tonight. Just such a magnificent place. The mood,

the kindness, the welcome that we have had all parts of are out and about series. Reading books is fashionable once again. But nobody can quite tell

me the trick how to finish a book. It reminds me of Mark Twain who said -- well, buddy, I've always easy enough to stop smoking. It's staying stopped.

That's the problem.

And the same with reading a book. Starting a book is relatively easy. But how do I manage to finish them? I got at least four on the go. Five, if you

now include the one from the nice lady from strand books. But I really wanted to be here tonight even with a croaky voice because I've got a

little mission that I have to do. Remember this book. I wrote it. Yes. It's all about MH370. Now, I know they've got a copy of it digitally. But have

they got a real live hardback copy?

I figure if I sneak into one of the galleries when no one's looking and just slip it in. No one will notice and you won't tell anybody. And then I

can honestly say my book is in the New York Public Library. Because I already know where it is and know than else but you get the idea. And that

is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for this Friday night. I'm Richard Quest at the New York Public Library.

[16:00:00]

I'll be in Cape Town, South Africa next week. Please join us from there. Otherwise, whatever you're up to in the hours ahead I hope it's profitable.

I'll see you next week in Cape Town.

END