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Quest Means Business

Trump: Ending Trade Talks With Canada Over Digital Services Tax; Supreme Court Limits Judges' Power To Block Executive Orders; The Past, Present And Future of Canary Wharf; Vatican-Backed Group Calls For Global Financial Reform; Protest Erupt In Venice Over Jeff Bezos-Lauren Sanchez Wedding; BOE Governor Says He Expects British Growth To Moderate. Aired 4- 5p ET

Aired June 27, 2025 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:01]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell about to ring on Wall Street. Do we have records? The magic numbers tonight

are 6,144 on the S&P; 20,173 for the NASDAQ. When they finally hit the gavel, we will show you. Let's have a look and see. Sixty-one. Yes

definitely on the S&P and absolutely for the NASDAQ.

So despite all sorts of turmoil, markets, war, trade tariffs -- you name it. We had records on the S&P and the NASDAQ.

Those are the markets and the main events that we are talking about today. No deal. The U.S. is walking away from the trade talks with Canada over the

Canadian digital services tax.

The U.S. Supreme Court is delivering a monumental rule ruling limiting lower courts ability to rein in the President.

And here at Canary Wharf, the big Canary Wharf, transformation is underway. The chief executive will tell us how he is reimagining office space in the

era of remote work. Back to work. Go to work, CBD, you name it all.

Tonight we are live from Canary Wharf in London. On Friday, the first of our Summer Friday programs. It is June the 27th. I am Richard Quest in

Canary Wharf. Like everywhere else, I mean business.

Now, just look at that. Extraordinary. There we are. Here at Canary Wharf. The beauty of it all. New development, the way it has all just risen over

the last few years, surrounded by, well, HSBC, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley -- onwards and upwards. Revolute. We will be talking about them all

over the course of the program.

The beating heart of Europe's financial capital here in London and Canary Wharf is a test case, if you will, for the transformation of Central

Business Districts, CBD from commercial to residential.

On tonight's program, we will discuss that transformation with the Canary Wharf chief executive. I will also be joined by the former World Bank chief

economist, Joseph Stiglitz, and the former Commerce Bank chief economist, Peter Dixon.

But we begin with new market records for the NASDAQ and the S&P 500. And this on a day that was quite troublesome all around. It marks a sharp

turnaround for the stocks after Donald Trump's tariff announcements in April caused turmoil.

Today's rally came despite Mr. Trump's announcement that he is ending trade talks with Canada. The U.S. President blamed the Canadian digital services

tax.

Just this morning, the White House said it had reached an agreement with China over rare earths minerals, and Mr. Trump said he expects more deals

will follow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: At a certain point over the next week and a half or so, or maybe before were going to

send out a letter, we talked to many of the countries and we are just going to tell them what they have to pay to do business in the United States and

it is going to go very quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Anna is with me. Thank you for coming down on a Friday evening.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Is it a dream? I feel like we've traveled to a different country. It is so shiny and clean.

QUEST: It is lovely, isn't it? It is absolutely gorgeous. And Friday evening, it is absolutely bustling. I thought it was going to be, you know,

it just shows my -- anyway, we will talk about prejudices involved with the chief executive.

Look, there is a train. I was hoping we were going to see a train at some point in going behind us, the docklands.

Let's talk about today's markets. They managed to rally and they stayed above, even though we had --

STEWART: We saw this big dip when this Canadian announcement happened from Donald Trump. It took everyone by surprise. We started the day with

actually quite good news in terms of trade deals. Both this easing of tensions with China and the U.S., a formalization that rare earth metals

will be able to go to the U.S., and in return, the U.S. might lift some export controls.

Then we had the Treasury Secretary saying, potentially there is an extension to that deadline for the so-called Liberation Day tariffs. All

was looking good. Stocks are rallying and then the President announces no more trade talks with Canada. In seven days, there will be new tariff

levels announced and it is all to do with the digital services tax.

QUEST: Right. But why on a random Friday in June, do that?

STEWART: When a load of countries have a digital services tax and this one has been implemented for over a year now. Well, potentially there was some

disappointment. The G7 did make some agreement that they wouldn't tax some U.S. companies recently.

[16:05:10]

In return, the so-called revenge tax clause was taken out of the tax bill. And on Monday, Richard, Monday is the deadline for a retroactive payment on

this digital services tax, $2 million.

QUEST: But it just feels like, you know, knee jerk, we are back to where we were.

STEWART: It is nothing new. The digital services tax has been there. Perhaps there was some hope Canada might lift it and it didn't, but it does

seem very sudden and to completely end trade talks is quite an extraordinary move.

QUEST: So let's talk about this deal with China. Is it -- I mean, any deal with China is significant. The deal that they've done so far was pretty

nothingy. Is this the -- this isn't the biggie, is it?

STEWART: This isn't the biggie. This is something that has been signed. There is a text, not that we have actually been able to see it, but there

is a text. Rare earth metals can go to the U.S., in return, the U.S. will hopefully lift some export controls for China. It all sounds pretty good.

What it doesn't do is anything about those tariff levels. So come mid- August, there is still that deadline where 145 percent tariffs from the U.S. on Chinese goods could still be implemented because this isn't

actually a trade deal.

QUEST: Anna Stewart, this is maybe the last time I will see you before events.

STEWART: Of my own deadline.

QUEST: Your own deadline. I wish you well, my dear.

STEWART: Thank you very much.

QUEST: Thank you. All right, we carry on to the major U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limits the power of judges, U.S. judges, federal judges, to be

more precise, to get in the way of the President.

The justices ruled six to three. It was a classic six to three that lower courts went too far when they issued nationwide injunctions against a key

Trump policy.

In this case, it was about his order ending birthright citizenship. The ruling does not address birthright citizenship or the policy's legality.

Still, the President says the court gave a huge boost to his agenda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Thanks to this decision, we can now promptly file to proceed with these numerous policies and those that have been wrongly enjoined on a

nationwide basis, including birthright citizenship, ending sanctuary city funding, suspending refugee resettlement, freezing unnecessary funding,

stopping federal taxpayers from paying for transgender surgeries, and numerous other priorities of the American people.

We have so many of them. I have a whole list.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Kevin is with me. Kevin Liptak at the White House.

Really, there are two things. I mean, I read the judgment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, she was quite clear the way her justification for this, but

all of the other judges all weighed in. Everybody wanted to get involved in this, but it doesn't -- I mean, where does this leave the President?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, I think it leaves him with a lot more power. Certainly, he thinks he has a lot more power and

that was on display in the Briefing Room earlier today.

You heard him kind of tick through all of these areas that he has tried to make moves on in the early months of his presidency, but had been put on

hold by various judges. He plans to go back to all of those areas now that this ruling is in effect, and try and get them unblocked, and I really

think, you know, if the President has used his executive authority in really some very new ways, he has issued more executive orders than any

President has in recent memory.

He has also been blocked by courts more than any recent president in memory. This, I think, really takes off some of the shackles. He can now do

things, at least locally, that he wasn't able to do previously. And, you know, you've heard the President repeatedly over the course of the last

several months railing against judges for overstepping their remit.

This court ruling really kind of lends some vindication to those attacks. And certainly the President was celebrating today.

QUEST: The idea now that there is -- there will be no nationwide injunction, no wholesale injunction. But there are a variety of other ways

that this can be done. And this is a very significant victory for the President in a sense, isn't it?

LIPTAK: Yes, one of the ways that plaintiffs could continue to try and get some broad relief from the courts is through class action lawsuits. That's

something that the justices actually specified in their ruling today. So it is not as if, you know, these orders will be able to go into effect

immediately.

There are other ways for large groups to bring their challenges against the President. But to be sure, all of these things that the President has been

doing and you heard him list them all out are now, I think, sort of -- the grease is on. They are able to go into effect in the way that they weren't

able to previously.

[16:10:15]

And it is a victory for the President's agenda. You know, he came into office with a plan to try and get these into effect. The birthright

citizenship issue was more of a vehicle to try and get this ruling in place rather than anything that the President specifically wanted to do on that

various issue.

It will be -- it will be heard before the court eventually. There is some skepticism about whether or not the justices will actually uphold it, but

in this particular case, it was essentially a venue for the President to get this quite consequential ruling on his executive orders off of the

justices.

QUEST: Kevin, thank you, sir. Have a good weekend. I am grateful for you, as always.

Now, there was a dissent judgment that was given by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who wrote: "Eventually executive power will become completely

uncontainable and our beloved constitutional republic will be no more."

However, I mean, you know, they talk it nice, but let's not be fooled. The gloves were off. Writing for the majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett said:

"We observe only this, Justice Jackson decrees an imperial executive while embracing an imperial judiciary." She then went on to say that Justice

Jackson's arguments held nothing whatsoever.

President Trump's power has been enhanced, whichever way you look at it. Our legal analyst, Joey Jackson, is with me.

It is fascinating. I mean, the justices really -- they all went for each other in one way or another. There was no holds barred on this one.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: No, there wasn't at all, Richard. And I think the implications of this are far reaching. So just backing up, we

know that in the United States you have an executive branch of government, and they enforce the law. However, Congress passes the law, but the

judiciary, right, that's the justices interpret what that law is. Now, what ends up happening is, is that we have these appellate courts. There are 13

in the United States, and they are segmented into different regions of the country.

So what has been happening is, is if something gets determined in New York, for example, in the Second Circuit, an individual judge can apply an

injunction that is freezing, stopping executive power everywhere in the country.

So the question then became, well, is that appropriate for someone in New York to be giving indications to California, Michigan, et cetera as to what

they should do? And the feeling by some and apparently, Justice Barrett, right, and now the Supreme Court is that it is an overreach with respect to

the judiciary that the federal government, in terms of the executive and the President, has the authority to impose his policies and any kind of

appeal should be limited locally to that jurisdiction.

I think ultimately, though, this could be very dangerous.

QUEST: Joey, if we look at the rulings that we got today, whether it was the pornography one or LGBT one or this one -- this six-three, six-three,

six-three throughout the term. Now, look, I am not suggesting that the justices in the majority are there to do Donald Trump's business because

they are espousing a conservative point of view.

But for the liberals on the court and liberals in the country, there is no hope that they are going to get anything through unless it is of the most

extreme occasion when they can knock off two of the majority.

JACKSON: Yes, you know, I think, Richard, that's very compelling. You mentioned six-three, six-three, six-three. Why is that relevant? Because we

know in the United States Supreme Court, you have nine justices, a simple majority, five-four would be needed to make a ruling. But you have really a

-- it is bulletproof with respect to the President and Republicans, remember, the three justices that he appointed.

And so at the end of the day, the issue is and you say you're not suggesting they're just supporting the President. I mean, what does it look

like if not that? Yes, people have their ideologies. People have their ability to reason. But when you have six-three, six-three, six-three

decisions that you noted, what does it look like? It looks like politics. And it looks like the President, particularly this president who really

wants an activist executive who wants to be able to detain people whenever he wants, who wants to be able to eliminate due process, round up citizens,

end birthright citizenship, and when I say round up citizens, I meant that was not me misspeaking because there have been instances in attempting to

implement immigration policies that citizens have been rounded up and detained. That's problematic.

[16:15:10]

So when you have an executive like this that has been given such a broad degree of power, it really is troubling. And then you have this, now you

have a further segmentation of the population. It is just really troubling.

QUEST: Joey Jackson, thank you for joining me.

Now, I am here in Canary Wharf. When we come back, we will be speaking to the chief executive of Canary Wharf and we are looking at the history of

this great place. It stretches back hundreds of years.

QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, our first Summer Friday, and we are in the heart of London.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: And a warm welcome back on a gorgeous Friday evening here in London. I am here at Canary Wharf, a modern day hub for finance in London with a

history that stretches back quite literally centuries.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST (voice over): The hustle and bustle of commerce, it has long been the soundtrack here at Canary Wharf. Once the Powerful West India Docks, this

area in the east end of London during the British Empire became one of the world's busiest ports, trading sugar, rum, spices and other goods.

The trade at the so-called Waterhouse of the World came to a crashing halt during World War Two. Bombing raids brought London's ports to a standstill.

Advancements in shipping technology in the following decades sealed the Wharf's fate over many years. Industrial action didn't help either.

The 1980s brought a vision of rebirth for Canary Wharf. Under the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the government drummed up tax incentives,

relaxed regulations, brought in a new train line to lure businesses to the area. Financial institutions soon followed, and some of London's tallest

skyscrapers were built to accommodate them.

It wasn't straightforward, though. Canary Wharf had taken on a huge amount of debt and at one point went bankrupt.

[16:20:13]

The challenges have continued: COVID-19 pandemic, remote working. It turned a flood of commuters into a trickle. It pushed office vacancies to all-time

highs that have still not recovered.

Canary Wharf's future hangs on its ability to adapt once more. This time, it is betting on retail, entertainment, and luxury real estate to ensure

prosperity.

These waterways have run deep over centuries. They have got some way to go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: And here is what that reinvention looks like today.

Last year, the visitor numbers were at an all-time high, 72 million people came and visited.

Now there was a 97 percent occupancy rate for the shops. New stores, leisure spaces are opening up all round the places. Shobi Khan is the CEO

of the Canary Wharf Group, he joins me now.

Good evening, sir.

SHOBI KHAN, CEO, CANARY WHARF GROUP: Welcome.

QUEST: Thank you. Thank you for hosting us. Thank you for letting us come here tonight and interlope into your -- into it.

This is really quite extraordinary, the size and scale. But how is this different from the original Canary Wharf when it opened in the 90s?

KHAN: We've become a true mixed-use neighborhood now. Canary Wharf has evolved into a place for both for commerce, culture, and community. Look at

the dock here.

QUEST: This is new.

KHAN: Brand new, opened in October. Our friend, Mark Carney helped us open it in October. You can swim in here. You can go paddleboarding. You can go

kayaking. And we have buskers playing at lunchtime now. It is amazing environment.

QUEST: Okay, but it is still finance, isn't it? You know, I mean you've got all these great towers. Where's the residential stuff?

KHAN: So right over my shoulder, that's Newfoundland. That's our signature rental product, 636 units that only opened in July of 21.

QUEST: Right.

KHAN: We've got over 3,000 people that live on Canary Wharf and within one mile, 150,000 people. So we've become a true neighborhood now and because

of the Elizabeth Line now, only 30 percent of our residents live and work here. So we've become a true neighborhood.

QUEST: What about the idea that it is just for rich people who want to work in finance? And I mean, you're going to point out that this is social

housing and this, that and the other, but it is still rich people who want to live and work in finance.

KHAN: No, only 55 percent of our --

QUEST: Oh, you've got it.

KHAN: Fifty-five percent of our occupants are only financed. Right over there is a government hub.

QUEST: Right.

KHAN: We've got accounting firms. We've got life science as a new industry. We've created wet labs here. we are building Europe's largest wet lab

facility.

QUEST: So what do you -- what does it do next in a sense? Because you -- what is interesting is that many of the banks who were going to move out

have stayed in. Many of them are taking extra space. But how do you as a group, expand?

KHAN: We've got 130 acres here. We can build another seven million square feet, and so right now we've got another five rental towers that are being

opened.

And what's next, in October, Troubadour is coming here and opening "Hunger Games" as a play here, a world premiere. We will have culture. We will have

over a thousand people coming to see the play every night.

Over our shoulder, that's going to be our fourth hotel that opens with a restaurant on the rooftop and a live music on the ground floor.

QUEST: If we take the fortunes of the financial industry, how tied are you to that in a sense? If markets are bad, if the financial industry is in

difficulties, that clearly has an effect.

KHAN: We are fortunate that we only have 55 percent financials, and we have the blue chip of financials -- JPMorgan, Citibank, Morgan Stanley, right,

Soc-Gen, you know, the quality customers that I think have stood the test of time over cycles.

QUEST: What would you like to see as the next development investment? The next thing that you think -- you know, that you feel it needs?

KHAN: Well, we've got our life science community that we've started. We've created 40,000 square feet wet labs that we've leased up, the best wet labs

in London. And now were embarking on Europe's largest wet lab building. That's going to be right next to the Elizabeth Line Station here. So that's

the next growth area for us.

QUEST: Now, the reason we are here, I need to sort of just make clear, the reason we are here is because when you came on the program back in

December, I think it was.

KHAN: Yes.

QUEST: You sort of made us an offer. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: I will tell you what, here is the deal. In the summer, when it is nice, invite us over there. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS from Canary Wharf.

KHAN: Done. Done. We will play a game of paddle as well.

QUEST: Well, that's up for negotiation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Well, the paddle?

KHAN: Well done.

QUEST: Bly (ph) has brought us the paddles. Thank you very much.

[16:25:10]

So we will -- I have no idea how to play thing, but I am sure --

KHAN: We've got nine courts there. I am happy to play with you anytime. I play every Friday with all our customers, you're invited anytime.

QUEST: What about that thing up there?

KHAN: Stay tuned, but we might have a little zipline for you next week.

QUEST: The idea of ziplining across Canary Wharf. You keep the paddle.

Thank you very much for having us, sir.

KHAN: Thank you. Thank you.

QUEST: Very kind of you.

KHAN: Thank you for coming.

QUEST: Coming up, as we do, in just a moment, a group of economists are warning that global debt could spike to all sorts of high levels. We will

be talking to the Commission's chair, Joseph Stiglitz, in just a minute.

Its QUEST MEANS BUSINESS from the city -- oh, not the city, look at that. Look at that -- Freudian slip.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Hello, I am Richard Quest, a good Friday to you. Summer Friday.

There is a lot more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS as we continue together.

I will be speaking to the economist, Joseph Stiglitz about what he says could cause a development crisis.

And the Jeff Bezos-Lauren Sanchez wedding is expected to bring in $1 billion to Venice.

We will get to all of that only after the news headlines, because, as you'd expect, this is CNN, and here, even at Canary Wharf, the news always comes

first.

The U.S. Supreme Court has curbed the power of U.S. federal judges to block President Trump's executive orders. Now the President is calling it a

monumental victory. He is vowing to press ahead with a raft of controversial policies now they are no longer at risk of nationwide

injunctions.

[16:30:05]

The ruling limits the ability of lower level judges to stop decisions across the country. A dissenting justice says no right is safe in this new

legal era.

President Trump says he's ended trade talks with Canada over the decision came after Canada announced the digital services tax. He calls it a direct

and blatant attack on the United States. He says a new tariff rate for Canada will be announced within the next seven days.

The defense has made its closing arguments in the Sean Diddy Coombs sex trafficking trial. Combs defense attorney has argued that prosecutors

exaggerated their case and showed no evidence of a criminal enterprise. The jury is expected to begin deliberations on Monday.

Returning to our top story tonight, the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 have both closed at record levels. The markets are soaring despite the trade

tensions, despite the war in the release, despite Gaza-Ukraine. And yet economists are warning about growing debt levels and burdens, especially

for developing countries and poorer countries.

The Chair Joseph Stiglitz says there is growing consensus of the current debt system that serves the finance -- financial markets, not people.

And he goes on to say, this threatens to condemn entire nations to a lost decade or worse. Now is the time for responsible action.

Professor Stiglitz, of course, is a Nobel Prize winning economist, professor at Columbia. Joe joins me now. Professor Stiglitz now.

Good to see you as always, sir. Why --

JOSEPH STIGLITZ, PROFESSOR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Nice to be here. Wish I could be there in person.

QUEST: -- of the debt crisis now? Yes, well, next time. But what's the urgency? This debt has been around a long time, interest rates are coming

down. Why do you get so -- did you believe it's crucial and critical now?

STIGLITZ: Well, the debts have been accumulating. The interest rates are not coming down for developing countries. They remain very, very high,

higher than their growth rate. The debt is not sustainable. Many countries are spending far more in servicing their debt that are spent in education

and health, and it means that they can't make the investments for their future growth.

So, it's in a downward spiral. And if we knew what happened back in the '80s when Latin America, when they had that downward spiral, it was a lost

decade, this may be even worse.

QUEST: So, we know there are only a limited range of options, everything from debt relief to debt write off. That there really isn't much in between

in that respect. So, what are you favoring?

STIGLITZ: Well, I think there needs to be a whole combination of things, debt write offs. Many countries just -- were lent more money than they can

repay. You know, these were voluntary transactions, and the lender is as much responsible as the borrower. In fact, the lender typically has more

experience in risk management than the borrower.

So, there needs to be debt write off. Interest rates need to be lowered, and there needs to be more assistance in every form.

So, in terms of the debt market, there are many things that could be done right now. Here in New York, we have a verse system where they get -- the

creditors get rewarded at nine percent interest until there's a settlement. So, there -- they have an incentive not to settle.

QUEST: There is a bigger -- there is a relevant or a related issue, which, of course, is the U.S. own debt burden, which is -- I mean, some would say,

manageable at the moment, but as long as the U.S. is itself a scofflaw of debt, it's very difficult to see how much else comes. When do you expect

the U.S. debt crisis to happen?

STIGLITZ: Good question. Let me link the two, though, even more forcefully than you did, there's a certain amount of capital in the global economy,

and when the U.S. grabs for itself more of that borrowing by running unbelievable deficits going forward, that means the interest rates globally

will go up, and that means the problems that we've identified in our report, in our Jubilee report, are going to get even worse.

[16:35:34]

We can manage our way through it. It's going to slow our growth, it's go -- there -- it's going to have consequences. We will be able to manage our way

through it, even though it will be bad, very bad for our economy.

But these other countries aren't in that kind of a position. So, we're actually by our deficit harming them.

QUEST: You rightly remind me, this entire report comes about because of the jubilee of the within the Catholic Church. Do you believe the new pope,

Pope Leo, you know, he comes from a different order, but he still seems to be extremely concerned that the developing world, obviously is not

forgotten, and I think that reports like yours really shine the spotlight, which is exactly what it was designed to do.

STIGLITZ: Exactly. Pope Francis asked us to form a group of experts around the world to look at the debt, and I would say debt and development crisis,

to come up with concrete proposals of what can be done about it, what is the role of governments. And the new pope seems very committed. We had our

meeting at the Vatican last Friday, and the reception was very, very positive.

QUEST: Joseph Stiglitz, I'm grateful thank you for joining us. I appreciate it.

Some news just in to CNN, President Trump is praising the peace accord signed by Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The U.S. and Qatar

were key mediators. The treaty was signed by the parties in Washington this afternoon, ending the conflict in the eastern DRC that's left thousands

dead and millions of people displaced. President Trump says the region has opened a new chapter of hope.

Now, we continue in a moment, the celebrity wedding that is in Venice will be familiar. It's Mr. Bezos and Ms. Sanchez. The celebrations are going on

right now. We'll get you there in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:40:50]

QUEST: The Cote d'Ivoire, the Ivory Coast is the world's largest producer of cocoa beans. For decades, the West African country has exported its raw

cocoa, allowing the more lucrative chocolate making business to take place elsewhere.

Now, a new generation of entrepreneurs is working to change that as we take a look on this week's CONNECTING AFRICA.

(CONNECTING AFRICA)

QUEST: Coco. Now, the British economy grew at a brisk point seven percent in Q1. The Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey says, don't get used to

it. And what will happen with interest rates anyway, particularly at a time when the government seems to be in all sorts of bother over things like

entitlements. We'll look at the numbers and talk about it after the break.

QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, it's a glorious Friday night in London, and we are in Canary Wharf, where it is golden hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:47:02]

QUEST: So glad to be doing out and about on a Friday night, summer Fridays. We've got a whole season of them planned in London and, of course, back in

New York.

Now, Italy's tourism ministry says Venice could make a billion bucks by hosting the wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez. It's a three day

celebration. It could boost tourism by -- I mean, the numbers are just extraordinary, three quarters, 70 percent.

Now, of course, some aren't happy about it. Locals have been protesting. We talked about it last night, and the event itself, the wedding is $55

million.

But even so, today was the nuptials. Wedding bells ringing, if they haven't already, and dozens of the celebrities are there to attend the lavish

ceremony.

Melissa Bell is with me from Venice. I've got sort of a body of water behind me. I think you've got one as well. You can't see mine. I think

yours is a little more Venice Venetian, but how's the wedding? Do we know? Have they done the deed? Are they married?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We believe they are, Richard. Mine is a little more Venetian, a bit more full of mosquitoes at this particular

hour, the humidity in this city. You're in Canary Wharf, you're faring much better.

Behind me, just you can make out San Giorgio Maggiore, that is where the happy couple, we believe, have tried the knot. Lot of speculation about

whether they hadn't actually tied the knot before they ever left the United States.

Certainly, we've been speaking Richard to authorities here in Venice. They hadn't planned the sort of civil wedding that we've seen with George

Clooney and his wife a good 10 years ago.

Still, inside the at least ceremonial part of the wedding, we believe, has taken place on that private island, and a gala dinner to follow. We've seen

the celebrities arriving earlier by vaporetto all decked out.

But of course, we, the press and the paparazzi have been kept well away. It isn't just the protesters they wanted to keep away from these ceremonies,

series of ceremonies of the three days. It is also the paparazzi. With many of the guests we understand, really respecting the non-disclosure

agreements that we believe they've signed, we've seen very little of what goes on inside the parties that have been taking place here since

yesterday, Richard.

QUEST: So, I mean, we're a business show hard, hard hearted, hardnosed business. And Venice says it's going to do extremely well. Never mind the

5500 million of the wedding itself, but people are going to be coming from far and wide. I'm not sure I fully buy this, bearing in mind it is already

one of the most popular destinations in Europe.

BELL: Exactly. It is already crumbling under the weight of the Tories sinking into the sea, indeed. But that figure that you cited a moment ago

from the tourism minister, quite extraordinary. What she was talking about was the idea that the sort of media image projection that this wedding has

provided to the world would bring in, ultimately, to the city, over the course the next year, more than a billion dollars. It seems astonishing.

Certainly in real terms right now, they say that it is $30-50 million that it would bring in over the course this weekend. That's not a bad amount.

[16:50:06]

But again, back to those protesters. They're protesting exactly that. The fact that this kind of Venice is a backdrop as a postcard image is exactly

encouraging people to come and encouraging the further disification (ph) of a city already in which ordinary Venetians can barely afford to live,

Richard, and that's been at the heart of the protest that we've seen.

QUEST: I shall let you go and put some anti-mosquito spray on.

BELL: It's what I need.

QUEST: Cover up. Thank you, Melissa Bell, love it. I'll send you some. Thank you, Melissa.

The sun is shining. The temperatures are up here, there and everywhere. In the Great British summer, it's in full swing, and we're so glad to be with

you, enjoying it one way or another.

Britain's National Tourism Authority is basically expecting more than 43 million visitors. It's a five percent annual increase. It expects just huge

numbers spending to go along with it.

The problem is, according to the CEO of British Airways, the U.K. needs to diversify its tourists attractions. It's relying too much on Shakespeare

and royalty. He believes there's a lot more to see outside the usual hotspots.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DOYLE, CEO, BRITISH AIRWAYS: I think there is a growing commitment to making sure we have the infrastructure in place for aviation, but we need

to make sure at Heathrow is that we build it efficiently and we build it on time. And for us, that means we need to change the way it's regulated.

But I think we have to look at the opportunity of -- on tourism in Britain, and understand we need to be competitive.

QUEST: You raise a good point here, because Britain seems to have taken a lot of it for granted over many years, this idea of they will always come.

DOYLE: I think your point is very well made. And I think if you look at inbound tourism numbers, they have been plateauing in the U.K., but they've

been growing in Spain, in France and Italy in a much greater pelt.

QUEST: And what needs to happen then do you think to shift that change for the U.K.?

DOYLE: I think one that we need to have a new story to tell about all of the exciting things we do in Britain, and not repeat the old kind of brand

attributes, because a lot of people have seen and done that.

I think we need to diversify as well where people travel to across the U.K. regions, because at a minute, is very concentrated in a couple of hot

spots.

And number three, we need to look at the collective effect of all of these hidden costs that make it uncompetitive, whether that's APD, visa costs or

even the cost of accessing rail transport when you come here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Sean Doyle, British Airways. Investors are getting more optimistic about the British economy. Are they justified? Yet, the FTSE's trading at

near records. We've seen that.

And the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, says the U.K. economy has turned a corner, pointing to its 0.7 percent growth in Q1.

Even the Bank of England governor, well, he says, not so fast. According to the Daily Telegraph, Andrew Bailey told the British Chamber of Commerce,

growth will moderate.

With me is Peter Dixon, the former chief U.K. economist at Commerzbank, good to see you. Thank you for coming out on a Friday night.

PETER DIXON, FORMER CHIEF U.K. ECONOMIST, COMMERZBANK: It's a pleasure.

QUEST: Isn't it lovely here?

DIXON: Wonderful, yes.

QUEST: So what are you expecting in the U.K.?

DIXON: Well, if you look at just at the growth figures, I think the governor is right. We shouldn't get used to that very strong Q1 figure.

We've already seen signs that the economy has moderated. Some of those factors, pushing up Q1 of reversed in Q2.

And basically, I think we have to get used to the fact that the U.K. economy just doesn't grow as quickly today as it did, maybe, say, 20 years

ago.

QUEST: Is that structural? Is that cyclical? Is that just life?

DIXON: I think it's structural to a large extent. I mean, obviously we all know that productivity in the U.K. has did as it has done everywhere.

QUEST: Right. There's always been a productivity gap here, and it's always been larger than elsewhere.

DIXON: Yes, but now it's not just the gap. It's the problem. It's actually the rate of growth. So, the rate that the extent to which the gap is

closing, is actually slowed as well.

QUEST: So where -- for example, the Prime Minister of Exchequer has got himself into a really nasty mess over entitlements at the moment where he's

having to backtrack on many of his promises, but the government does seem to want to reform both entitlements and the economy. They're just having a

very great difficulty doing it.

DIXON: Well, their inheritance a year ago was a pretty poor one, and it's they're never going to do all this very quickly. It's going to take not

even one parliamentary term. It'll probably take two. And look at the opinion polls, it may not get to. So --

QUEST: All of it extraordinary bearing the size of the majority.

DIXON: It would. But, you know, we can't rule up anything up these days.

QUEST: Absolutely.

DIXON: But you know, I think the problems facing the U.K. are, as you said, they are structural, and they've been allowed to fester for many, many

years, and it's going to take a long time to fix them, if they can indeed be fixed.

QUEST: Is the U.K. over its Brexit hump? Now, there will obviously be a lost production, a loss of economic activity that will never come back, but

the new deals that have been put in place. What's your feeling on this?

DIXON: I think we've made a lot of progress. But obviously Keir Starmer wants to have no stronger relationship with Europe, and I think he's -- but

I think he can do a lot more.

I think the U.K. pretty much needs to do an awful lot more to get closer to the pre-Brexit arrangements, quite frankly.

[16:55:06]

QUEST: And if we look at, for example, now we're hearing in the towers of finance, the market in London. It's fascinating because if you take Forex

bonds, Europe, they are all these other things are really very, very strong still, equity is not so. The London market is having -- I know that the CEO

of the stock exchange will be calling me before tomorrow to beat me up on it.

But the truth is, the market here and the listings are not as good as they could be.

DIXON: Well, that's very true. I mean, there are a number of reasons for that. Of course, it's not just Brexit, but the simple fact of the matter is

that there's a lot more competition from not just from European markets, but from markets elsewhere in the world. Previously, you know, you get

commodity producers wanting to list in the U.K., neither go to Asia. The markets are getting deeper, wider, and there's a lot more liquidity out

there than just in Europe. So, the competition is that much stronger.

QUEST: If you had to sort of say, the robustness and strength of the U.K. economy at the moment. How would you sum it up?

DIXON: I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10.

QUEST: Really?

DIXON: Yes, it used to be eight. Now it's -- but it's improved compared to where it was maybe two, three years ago.

QUEST: So, we've gone from eight down to maybe five, and we're moving back up.

DIXON: That's about it.

QUEST: Good to see you. Thank you for coming. Thank you very much indeed. Peter Dixon, former chief economist at Commerzbank.

And we will take a profitable moment after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight's profitable moment, delighted to be doing our first summer Friday, and delighted that it's coming from Canary Wharf here in London.

This is a real -- look, I remember when this thing was being built as a financial center. I then remember covering its bankruptcy in the 1990s and

its resurgence and now in the post, if you will, pandemic era, this shift from CBD on to residential mixed use.

Of course, Canary Wharf is always going to be, to a large extent, financially based, but to see the way it's developed is quite reassuring.

And as for our summer Fridays, why do we do them? We do them because it's that time of the year when we just want to relax a little bit more. Friday

is an opportunity just to kick back, whether you've been at work or not, whether you've been into the office or not. It's a chance for you and me to

enjoy and just be do something different, and that's why it's a real pleasure.

So, over the course of the next summer, of course of the summer, we will be here. We'll be at the Frick, we'll be all over the places in New York. We

will be celebrating the fact that we can breathe, relax and enjoy ourselves, because that's crucially important, and that's what I'm going to

be doing for the next two weeks. It's been a long couple of months. You'll be pleased to know it'll be someone else here on Monday, because I'm having

two weeks off going to Europe.

[17:00:04]

If you see me on the way, give me a wave, because that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for this Friday night. I'm Richard Quest at Canary Wharf. Whatever

you're up to in the hours ahead. I hope it's profitable. I'll see you in two weeks.

END