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Quest Means Business

IMF Warns Of Slower Growth, Sharper Inflation; Israel And Lebanon Hold First Direct Talks In Decades; Ukraine And Germany Sign Drone And Defense Agreements; Amazon To Buy SpaceX Satellite Service Partner Globalstar; Natural History Museum Tops U.K. Attractions With Record Visitors. Aired 4-4:45p ET

Aired April 14, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:20]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell is ringing on Wall Street. IONQ has got a lot to celebrate.

Tonight, the market, as you can see, is up quite sharply, I will show you the triple stack in just a moment or three and that will also give -- we

are almost at the best of the day, one, and a two, and a one, two, three, four. Trading is over.

You see the way the Dow is up. Look at the triple stack and that gives you an idea of exactly where the best gains were which actually were on the

NASDAQ, which is up a stonking two percent. Those indeed are the markets and these are the main events that we are talking about today.

The IMF says that conflict in the Middle East will hurt global growth and fuel inflation. The fund's chief economist will be on this program tonight.

Viktor Orban's defeat is poised to reshape Central Europe. Tonight on this program, the Polish Finance Minister on their reaction.

And the Natural History Museum -- the dinosaurs, they are now Britain's top tourist destination.

On our program tonight, you'll hear from the director saying it is going in a bold direction. Dr. Doug Gurr joins me on tonight's program. We are live

in London on Tuesday, April the 14th. I am Richard Quest and I mean business.

Good evening. Tonight, the IMF, the International Monetary Fund is warning of slower growth and sharper inflation. It is almost the perfect definition

of stagflation as the conflict in the Middle East goes on.

The IMF has downgraded global growth to 3.1 percent this year. It said it would have raised its projections had not there been a war, and that is the

significance. The numbers may not look that great in terms of change, but it is the reversal of trend that really is significant.

And inflation is expected to rise to 4.4 percent, bearing in mind, the target is two. The markets had a strong day. The S&P 500 continued higher,

recovering all its losses of the conflict. Now, you may wonder why. Well, it is simple, optimism for a negotiated end sometime in the near future,

which is pure optimism but doesn't seem to be based on any fact. Bearing in mind the first round of talks between the U.S. and Iran broke down.

Even so, there is still hope. The U.N. Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said he expects more discussions soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: The indication we have is that it is highly probable that these talks will restart.

Around the world and starkly in the Middle East, respect for international law is being trampled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now, the IMF says that action is urgent, so maybe even though we are going into the summer in the Northern Hemisphere, think of the warning as a

snowball running down the hill. The longer the conflict lasts, the faster the snowball runs, the more it picks up and the more pronounced the

effects.

Now, its economists lay out three scenarios. If the war is short lived with energy prices normalizing this year, then you've got 3.1 to 4.4. That, in a

sense is the best case scenario. Then you have the adverse scenario. If the war goes on later this year and you've got elevated energy prices, a posh

way of saying gas stays high, then you've got growth of 2.5 and inflation is 5.4 percent.

Now, `we hope we never see the severe scenario, which is where you've really got damage to energy infrastructure. Yes, there has been some, but

there could be a great deal more. Then you've got growth at two percent, inflation at six.

You can see how the difference is and those are fairly significant changes. Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas is the chief economist at the IMF. He is with me

now, Pierre, we obviously hope we don't see the worst case scenario. We obviously hope for the best case. But the truth is, at this point, you

can't tell me with a degree of certainty which it is going to be.

PIERRE-OLIVIER GOURINCHAS, CHIEF ECONOMIST, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND: That's exactly right, Richard. And this is why this time, instead of having

a baseline, we have what we call the reference forecast. These adverse scenario, and then the severe scenario. Just to illustrate that there is a

range of possibilities. The situation remains very fluid.

And right now, of course, any good news that happens brings us closer to the reference forecast, the 3.1 percent and 4.4 percent inflation.

[16:05:10]

But every bad news is taking us towards the adverse or the severe scenario.

QUEST: And the point I was making in the introduction is the numbers don't look dramatically different, 3.4 or 3.1 but it is the fact that it is a

complete reversal of trend. Things were getting better and now, the word stagflation is back on our lips.

GOURINCHAS: That's exactly right. We were seeing quite a bit of momentum entering into 2026. We were ready to upgrade our forecast to 3.4 percent

just a few days, a few weeks before the war erupted. There was a lot of momentum that the trade, the tariffs, the trade policy uncertainty. A lot

of that was in the rear view mirror.

There was a lot of momentum with the tech A.I. investment boom. There was also fiscal support in some countries, a lot of resilience on the private

sector part and easy financial conditions.

A lot of these things could be reversed going forward.

QUEST: How much is baked in? Because I think that's what is very difficult to appreciate. And assuming it all ended tomorrow, there would obviously be

time for ships to sail. Gas and oil to arrive.

How much of the scenario now, as you and I are speaking?

GOURINCHAS: Well, when I talk to my teams, here is what they tell me. If everything were to stop tonight and starting tomorrow, we move towards

reopening the strait, rebuilding the damaged facilities, et cetera, we would still be looking at an oil shortfall for the year, the entire year of

2026. That would be on the same order of magnitude as the oil shock in the 1970s, the 1974 oil shock. So this is the size of the shock.

Now, of course, the world economy is different now than it was in the 1970s. It is much more energy efficient. It is much less reliant on oil.

But this is to give you a sense of the shock right now. And this is what anchors our reference forecast.

QUEST: Okay. So what would you like countries to do? Because of, you know, certainly in many cases they are reducing duties on fuels to give relief to

trucking industries, farmers and the like. But that will merely worsen budget deficits. And I think you and I on many occasions have discussed

fiscal headroom, to use the posh phrase, is not there.

GOURINCHAS: No, it is not there and that is one of the big difference compared to earlier crises. A lot of countries don't have a lot of fiscal

space in front of them, and so they have to be very careful. These measures, of course, they're understandable. People want to get help.

People want to get help when they go and fill up their gas tank or when you think about transportation or manufacturing.

But the money is just not there. So, it doesn't mean do nothing. It means whatever you do, it needs to be targeted. It needs to be temporary and you

need to finance it. You need to reprioritize expenses and you need to raise new revenues if you need to.

QUEST: Oh, hang on, that's raising taxes, which of course is exactly the opposite of what most -- because that's also contractual in terms for

economies, if you raise taxes, it will slow things down.

I accept there are no easy solutions here, but does it tell you that -- I heard today that Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary basically

saying wait and see to the Fed. Rate cuts are on hold, which of course, it is not going to be something his boss will agree with, but seems to be the

orthodox view now, no rate cuts.

That's right. When we are looking at -- we were talking earlier about fiscal policy, but if we turn to monetary policy, it is a negative supply

shock. Theres nothing that Central Banks can do, even the Federal Reserve, to affect the price of oil that's coming from the Gulf. That's not going to

change the price of oil, the price of gas.

So the general prescription is as long as inflation expectations remain well anchored, as long as there is no broad transmission of this energy

price shock into broader inflation then Central Banks can just sit tight, wait and see how things develop. And this is certainly our recommendation

right now.

QUEST: Right. But just to your answer there, what would give you reason to believe that there won't be a transmission of that increase? This is not

like tariffs in a sense. This is much more rigorous and much more vigorous.

And one would expect higher oil prices to transmit themselves into broader price rises.

GOURINCHAS: Well, there will certainly be an impact on headline inflation. This is why we are predicting 4.4 percent this year --

QUEST: Right.

GOURINCHAS: -- relative to what we were predicting before. But at the same time, what you want to look for is signs that this is spreading into the

broader economy, that it is leading to increases in wages, increase in prices, and it feeds into itself if you want.

And I think this is what Central Banks have to be watching out carefully for and act and lean against that. Now, we are not there yet. We are not

seeing any movements in expected inflation, for instance.

[16:10:07]

And Central Banks have a lot of credibility. The previous episode, the previous inflation surge, we've seen a disinflation with inflation

expectations remaining well anchored that reflects the credibility of the major Central Banks, the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and others

and that credibility is very important right now.

It means they can decide to wait, but they must communicate that they're ready to act very forcefully if needed.

QUEST: I am grateful to you, Pierre-Olivier, thank you for joining us tonight and putting it so succinctly.

Thank you, sir. I am grateful.

Now, stay in the Middle East, and Israel and Lebanon have agreed to hold further negotiations after today's meeting according to the United States,

it was diplomats from Israel and Lebanon, and they were in Washington. These are the highest level direct talks in decades.

The Hezbollah militant group, backed by Iran, was not represented. Violence was ongoing during the discussions, and the Lebanese Health Ministry said

at least 35 people were killed over the last 24 hours.

The Israeli ambassador to the United States says there were positive takeaways, and both countries are united in their opposition to Iranian

influence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YECHIEL "MICHAEL" LEITER, ISRAEL'S AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: We discovered today that were on the same side of the equation, and that's the

most positive thing we could have come away with. We are both united in liberating Lebanon from an occupation power dominated by Iran called

Hezbollah.

Lebanon is under the occupation, and we are suffering from their constant barrage of missiles and terror attacks trying to cross our border.

QUEST: Jeremy is with me in Tel Aviv.

Jeremy, that all sounds very good, and I am sure he is right that both the Lebanese want Hezbollah out if they could, which is no easy task.

But they also don't want Israel bombing the bejeebees out of the infrastructure and killing the people in Lebanon and I don't know how you

square that circle.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Richard and that is why the Lebanese government went into these negotiations with one

key demand, and that was for a ceasefire to be agreed to, for Israel to cease carrying out strikes inside of Lebanese territory, which they have

continued to do all throughout the beginning of these negotiations, as has Hezbollah, in terms of firing rockets on Northern Israel, which we saw them

do in the very first moments after these negotiations began in Washington.

But the positive news that we've seen out of these negotiations from the United States is that talks will continue and that indicates to us that

this notion of a ceasefire isn't so much of a stumbling block, that it is going to prevent negotiations from going forward. Because keep in mind, the

Lebanese government had indicated that it would not negotiate under fire.

But now, we just got a statement from the Lebanese ambassador to Washington who is in these negotiations. She said, she called for a ceasefire and for

the return of displaced persons to their homes, as well as practical measures to support the Lebanese people. But what she didn't say was that

Israel's refusal to agree to a ceasefire is leading to a breakdown of these negotiations altogether.

And from the Israeli perspective, look, they have clearly scaled back their strikes in Lebanon over the course of the last few days. We are still

seeing strikes in Southern Lebanon, but we haven't seen any airstrikes in the Lebanese capital of Beirut since late last week.

And so they are moving forward now with the ability to continue to carry out strikes, it would seem, whether there is some kind of behind-the-scenes

agreement here about how much more Israel should scale back its strikes, that remains to be seen -- Richard.

QUEST: I am grateful to you, Jeremy.

Jeremy is in Tel Aviv. Thank you.

On top of the IMF's global warning of growth, Viktor Orban's defeat marks a new chapter for Hungary and the E.U. There is plenty to talk about. We will

have Poland's Finance Minister who will be joining me after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:16:39]

QUEST: Germany and Ukraine say they plan to work more closely together on drone production as part of a strategic partnership. The German Chancellor,

Friedrich Merz praised Ukraine's defense industry for its innovation in response to the war with Russia.

Germany has increased its defense spending and is now Kyiv's largest source of military aid. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy says defense cooperation

brings Ukraine one step closer to the E.U. and possibly NATO.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It is important that Ukraine's path towards membership in the European Union is

clear and unblocked.

We don't need E.U. light nor NATO light to be honest, just as I believe that both Europe and NATO countries need Ukraine as a strong and proper

partner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Ukraine can hope for smoother relations with the E.U., probably following the weekend's elections in Hungary.

Now, of course, the losing party, the Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, he had vetoed major E.U. loans for Kyiv and a new round of Russian sanctions. He

was a constant thorn in the side of the E.U.

His likely successor, Peter Magyar, is expected to be more accommodating. Not long ago, of course, Poland also voted out a right-wing government, the

Law and Justice Party.

In 2023, they were ousted. Donald Tusk returned as a centrist prime minister, and he has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its fight

against Russia, which is why I am delighted to have the Polish Finance Minister, Andrzej Domanski, who joins me now from the IMF and World Bank

meetings in Washington, D.C.

Minister, thank you.

I am assuming that you think many of the difficult policies, the obstructionist views that were put forward by Hungary will now be more

accommodating.

ANDRZEJ DOMANSKI, POLISH FINANCE MINISTER: Yes, of course, I am delighted to hear the results of the election in Hungary. Definitely, Hungarian

people have chosen Europe and it will be for sure way easier for us to cooperate with new Hungarian government.

QUEST: The Hungarian government has got a difficult path in a sense, because there is still quite a bit of opposition in Hungary to the war and

he can't be seen to just sort of roll over and take what Brussels says. You obviously will be at the table. What will be your argument?

DOMANSKI: Well, our arguments are clear. We need to support Ukraine. We need to -- we just cannot allow Putin to win this war. And, there are 90

billion euro of special loans that must be available to Ukraine as soon as possible. And Orban was blocking this loan.

I do hope that we will be able to start this loan really quickly.

QUEST: Right. If we look at your own economy, it was chugging along quite nicely. Things were -- certainly, had good growth and unemployment was

coming down, inflation has been relatively muted. And now, you suddenly have this war and higher oil prices and gasoline prices and the whole of

Europe's energy is once again under threat.

[16:20:17]

And that creates particular problems for Poland.

DOMANSKI: Well, our economy is doing really well. We have the lowest unemployment in the European Union and according to the recent IMF,

International Monetary Fund forecast, we will be also the fastest growing large European economy this year, despite the fact that we have some

challenges because of the situation in the Middle East. Prices of oil went up substantially; also, prices on the petrol stations, we started a special

program. We decided to lower VAT tax on fuel to make it easier for Polish citizens.

QUEST: Can i just go back to this idea of the electorate ousting the party of -- heading in one particular view and going for the other party?

Your party has now been in government for several years. How difficult has it been to unwind many of the things that law and justice put in place

constitutionally, the sort of thing that Magyar is going to find difficult to do in Hungary.

GOURINCHAS: Law and Justice was destroying Polish state for eight years. Orban was in power for 16 years, so I expect it might be even more

difficult for the new Hungarian government to make substantial changes. But I keep my fingers crossed.

I know that there are really focused on changes, but from our experience, it won't be easy.

QUEST: I am grateful for you joining us, sir. We will talk more, hopefully, next time we will be face-to-face. Thank you for joining us tonight.

GOURINCHAS: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

QUEST: The Polish Finance Minister, thank you.

Russian universities are now luring students to the battlefield to fight against Ukraine. Our investigation into Russia's recruitment drive shows

that this goes way beyond patriotic propaganda and financial incentives, as our Clare Sebastian reports, students are being deceived and sometimes

coerced into joining the military.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is not a war-themed computer game. It is a recruitment video designed to convince students to

join Russia's drone forces.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

SEBASTIAN (voice over): "You were told you were wasting time on video games," says this clip. "But there is a place where your experience is

especially valuable."

The videos, which began appearing on university websites and social media pages around the start of the year, all advertised military contracts in

Russia's newly formed Unmanned Systems Forces.

Here you see a gamer on the left, a drone operator on the right. One university captioned it, "choose the right skin."

SEBASTIAN (on camera): But behind the flashy P.R., there is a darker side to this. Few students will speak out publicly, but some of those we have

reached have told us anonymously that the pressure on them is rising.

SEBASTIAN (voice over): "Everything changed this year," wrote one student. "All the top people in the university are now calling on students to go to

war." Students at risk of failure are a common target, hardly consistent with an effort to form an elite brigade.

In this video sent to CNN by one student, a woman tells the group --

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE speaking in foreign language.)

SEBASTIAN (voice over): "If I were you, I would consider an option to join the drone forces. It will be as if you're missing credits never existed."

Another student told us on a single day in February, his university "... almost expelled a third of our group and forced them to sign a contract on

the spot to keep their place."

Through videos, posters and in-person meetings, sometimes with soldiers serving in Ukraine, students are being promised an easier war experience, a

one-year fixed term, an opportunity to serve far from the frontline, huge payouts and high tech skills.

And yet --

ARTEM KIYGA, RUSSIAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER: Everything is a lie. This is simple contact with the Russian Army without a deadline, without special

term.

SEBASTIAN (voice over): This is the small print, Russia's 2022 decree on mobilization, which was never canceled, states, every military contract

remains in force until that decree is revoked. No exceptions.

And no guarantees, experts and anti-war activists say that the drone unit is where they will end up.

GRIGORY SVERDLIN, FOUNDER, IDITE LESOM: As soon as the person signs a contract, he is literally a slave of Ministry of Defense, and he can be

sent to whatever unit Ministry of Defense will need.

[16:25:10]

SEBASTIAN (voice over): It is not clear yet how many students have been recruited so far. The Russian Ministry of Defense has not responded to

CNN's request for comment, but none of the students we spoke to are buying it.

"I don't find this nonsense convincing," wrote one. "I am deeply opposed to the military propaganda."

"Among my classmates, no one is considering signing a contract, even those in a very difficult financial situation," wrote another.

Russian losses in Ukraine have been mounting in recent months. Its system of enticing soldiers with huge salaries and bonuses under increasing

strain.

KATERYNA STEPANENKO, RUSSIA TEAM LEAD, INSTITUTE FOR STUDY OF WAR: Theres a lot of estimates in terms of the recruitment getting more expensive for the

Kremlin, which is why coercion is becoming more prominent.

SEBASTIAN (voice over): "The main battle for peace is inside you," claims this recruitment video. Russia's internal battle for manpower is

escalating.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Now, the Russian Defense Ministry didn't respond to our request for comment.

The former NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson, is accusing the British government of being complacent on defense. He is a former Labour Defense

Minister and he carried out the government's strategic defense review. He says the Treasury, which is the funding part, is guilty of vandalism,

choosing to put money into an ever expanding welfare budget instead.

Britain's first major defense problems recently, the RAF Akrotiri Base in Cyprus was hit last month by an Iranian drone, and President Trump recently

mocked Britain's aircraft carriers as toys, one of them isn't working.

Max Foster is with me for more on this.

This strategic defense review seems to be going on for ages.

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

QUEST: And is anything going to come from it?

FOSTER: Well, it was due to be delivered in June. It hasn't been and this is clearly what has triggered this response, because there is some debate

in government about how it is going to be paid for, too much being spent on welfare, according to Robertson, so it is a political intervention.

He is a government advisor as well. So, it is a pretty damning comment.

QUEST: But there seems to be -- I was just talking with people over dinner and there seems to be an acceptance that Britain has got it wrong in recent

years, obviously, or maybe a decade or two in where the money has gone and what we have spent it on.

FOSTER: Yes, and they have choices, don't they? And the view is that welfare is something that you can cut back on. They are not doing that. And

they are also making Britain completely vulnerable.

So he said in the speech, we are underprepared, we are underinsured, we are under attack. We are not safe. Britain's national security and safety is in

peril.

And he talks about a corrosive complacency in Britain's political leadership. Particularly, they are looking at Russia and when it could

potentially attack.

He is saying, you know, potentially it could be in three years and we won't be ready.

QUEST: So what do we expect is going to come out of this strategic defense review? I mean, is it going to say buy more ships? Because the Navy has

certainly been one of those areas. I mean -- or is it just going to be a vast document that will be gathering dust?

FOSTER: Well, it is interesting because I was speaking to someone in defense the other day, and what they are talking about is hybrid warfare,

using more drones. It is much more technology, which does require investment and takes time.

They have accepted that, you know, hiring many more members of the military isn't necessarily what they want and also will be very expensive.

So they are looking at technology, but this is what he is saying. It is not feeding through. You've got to invest now and we've got three years. He is

setting this timeline of three years where we are very vulnerable to Russia.

And it also speaks to a lot of what Trump has been saying actually, about European defense capability.

QUEST: Final question, this business with the Akrotiri Base, there was an attack. Britain wasn't able to respond or didn't respond, a ship then broke

down.

On this program -- on your program, you talked about it. It was all very embarrassing.

FOSTER: It is embarrassing, but what the government was saying, I mean, they were saying that these things happen, which is true. But if you don't

have enough ships and don't have enough kits, then it probably emerges more quickly than it would if you had a whole fleet.

So, there is a huge -- I mean, that's been a huge concern, of course, but a lot of it was political because there was a delay in sending anything at

all.

QUEST: I am very grateful. Thank you.

FOSTER: Thanks for having me.

QUEST: A British badge of honor has come under question, free entry to National Museums. Now, apparently, if you don't have a British I.D., you

might have to pay to get in the front door. We will discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:32:37]

QUEST: Amazon is buying the satellite provider Globalstar and the price tag is $11.5 billion. Both companies are celebrating, not surprisingly. Look at

that, particularly Globalstar, that's up 10 percent. Amazon was also up quite sharply, up nearly 4 percent.

The acquisition boosts Amazon's satellite capabilities, its ventures, its ambitions. It's all part of Amazon's race against SpaceX, which of course

is way ahead at the moment with its Starlink network.

CNN's Clare Duffy brings us up to date.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH CORRESPONDENT: This $11.5 billion deal is all about Amazon trying to put itself in a better position to compete with Elon

Musk's SpaceX, especially as SpaceX prepares for an IPO later this year.

This satellite connectivity business is still new but is really growing quickly. But the ability to provide people cell service, text message

service, internet service through a satellite rather than by connecting to a traditional ground tower has become really popular with consumers who

live in rural areas or who like to travel to rural areas, who like to hike. It has also become very important in emergency services.

And when you look at a company like SpaceX, it has also given Elon Musk significant influence over global conflicts. We've seen these sort of back-

and-forths about whether SpaceX should turn on satellites in places like Ukraine during its war with Russia.

Now, this is going to allow Amazon to grow its satellite business called Leo. It's going to continue to remain a much smaller player than SpaceX.

But the company's goal is to have thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit by the end of this year.

Globalstar, this company that Amazon is acquiring, also brings a partnership with Apple, where it provides emergency satellite connectivity

for iPhones. Amazon says that will continue and even expand into watches in the coming years.

Amazon is paying handsomely for this. They are paying $90 a share for Globalstar, 30 percent premium on where the shares closed at the time deal

talks were reported. And I think that gives you a sense of just how much potential they see in this business. Amazon is talking about this giving

consumers more choice. You know, they're looking for a competitor to SpaceX.

I think the question is just how quickly they can scale up this business. Can they become a real viable competitor to SpaceX? And will we see more

acquisitions like this in this space as companies look to compete with Elon Musk?

Back to you.

[16:35:06]

QUEST: Thank you, Clare.

Now, there's a growing debate in Britain over something that's become a point of pride. Free entry to national museums. I remember when that policy

was introduced. It's helped boost museum attendance and tourism over the last 25 years. The U.K. government now says it's exploring an entry fee for

international tourists to free up funds for the arts.

The British Charity Art Fund says most people would prefer charging a broad based tourist tax instead. Try telling that to the industry. That revenue

could be used to make sure museum entry remains free for everyone.

Now, free admission is arguably one of the core reasons why places like the national museum, Natural History Museum, has been so successful. Last year,

it was the U.K.'s top attraction. Seven million visitors, a million more than the other one down the road.

The Natural History Museum director, Doug Gurr, is with me. He's also chair of the U.K.'s Competition Markets Authority.

Let's talk about the museum. Seven million. But what's fascinating is you were up 13 percent year-on-year.

DOUG GURR, DIRECTOR, LONDON'S NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM: Yes, it was a fabulous year. We're absolutely thrilled. I think it was 7.1 million, if I

may, Richard, which I believe is the highest number, the greatest number of visits to any U.K. museum ever. So we're thrilled with that.

QUEST: You're putting in place at the moment 150th anniversary, a massive plan. You're moving things around, you're expanding certain areas. What's

the goal here?

GURR: Yes, so the, so the challenge for our museum has always been that the collection has outgrown the space. And over time, that collection has

squeezed out public galleries. So what we said -- sort of, 2031 it's our 150th anniversary in South Kensington. And so starting in 2024, we said one

new space every year. Gardens in '24, fixing up our broken planet gallery last year. We're opening this year a stunning space. It's absolutely

gorgeous, hasn't been seen by the general public since 1946. So new space every year, get it out.

QUEST: But what's the core goal here? I mean, because the research element of the museum, which is world beating, is crucial. But at the same time,

everyone wants to come and see the dinosaurs.

GURR: Yes, totally. And as you rightly say, look, we -- people tend to know us as a visitor attraction. We're a dinosaur museum. We love that. But we -

- our collection was always put there for dual purposes to, for public engagement, to inform, to educate, to inspire, and for scientific research.

And that's as true today as it was in 1753 when we started. And what's the purpose? For us, it's about inspiring people to care about nature and

caring enough to want to do something about it. That's why we care about the visitor numbers because every time somebody comes in, that's a chance

to capture that person, get them excited about nature, get them to want to look after it.

QUEST: The no charging was unbelievably successful. I mean, you and I remember when the whole debate took place. Now you've got this debate on

charging foreigners to come and visit. I've got my bus pass. Where do you stand on that?

GURR: Well, look, we think it's -- look, it's a fair question to ask. Of course you should ask these questions. It's quite -- it is quite a

complicated issue. You know, there's a question of who do you charge operationally? How do you recognize if you were going to do it? And also

what impact does it have not just on the visitor numbers, but also on things like, you know, what does it do for the way -- the other ways we

make money?

So our view is very, very simple. We think -- we think it should be looked at. We welcome that. We're looking forward to working with the government

on this. But we wouldn't rush to a decision.

QUEST: Oh, this is something. That's a very diplomatic answer, if I may say so, sir.

GURR: Of course it is. But actually it's one of those situations where it's actually not quite -- it's not a simple issue. It's more complex than it

first appears. And so rather than giving you a, you know, a sort of seat of the pants answer today, let's do the work. Let's do this.

One thing I can absolutely guarantee, though, for every visitor from the U.S. or wherever else this is definitely going to be free this year. So if

you want to come, come this summer.

QUEST: Get in there.

GURR: And we get above that 7.1 million.

QUEST: What's your target for next year?

GURR: We -- more. More. Add more.

QUEST: More. More.

GURR: How about that? Let's leave it at that. More.

QUEST: You do wear two hats. I don't know how you find time, but you do. As head of the U.K. Competition Commission, looking at mergers, acquisitions.

Don't worry. No questions about anything that might be relevant. Don't worry. Even I'm not that foolish. But on the question of competition,

transatlantic competition.

GURR: Yes.

QUEST: We had your opposite number on the program recently from Brussels.

GURR: Yes.

QUEST: The U.S. is getting more angry, or at least the Trump administration, I should say, is getting more angry when foreign regulatory

authorities try to look at purely U.S. deals. You're entitled to, but they don't like it.

GURR: Yes. So I'd say, look, we work incredibly closely with our U.S. counterparts and with U.S. businesses. And I think they absolutely

recognize that we have a legitimate perspective. And our legitimate perspective is to look after the interests of U.K. citizens and U.K.

businesses. And if a global deal touches U.K. citizens or U.K. businesses, we'll look at it.

[16:40:03]

And I have to say our experience has been pretty positive. You know, we engage really closely. We've got a fantastic new regime on digital markets.

It's working really well. And we work very closely with big U.S. companies.

QUEST: I'm very grateful.

GURR: So no issues so far.

QUEST: Thank you very much indeed. And please can we come and have a summer Friday at your museum?

GURR: I would be --

QUEST: With the dinosaurs.

GURR: -- absolutely thrilled to welcome you. Seven million and one, Richard. How about that?

QUEST: I'll make a donation.

GURR: Even better.

QUEST: Thank you very much indeed for joining us. Thank you.

Before we leave you tonight, Finland's -- Finland's President Alexander Stubb is known to bond with world leaders over golf. In Canada he traded in

his clubs for a pair of skates. This, I mean, bearing in mind, you know, they almost come out of the womb and onto the ice in Finland, and it's

pretty much the same in parts of Canada where they do the same. So there you have Alexander Stubb, President Stubb, and Prime Minister Carney on the

ice in Ottawa.

The two leaders played hockey with members of the Ottawa Charge. The official reason for the visit is to deepen cooperation on trade, defense

and the Arctic. Mark Carney said they also wanted to work on his backhand. I mean, talk about putting your political life at risk here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX STUBB, FINNISH PRESIDENT: Mark and I, we message each other pretty much every day. Sometimes it's about hockey, sometimes it's about the Blue

Jays. But most of the time it's about NATO or Ukraine or Iran.

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: I hope somebody got that.

STUBB: We did, we did. And it's really good to be here. And we're going to have a good day in many ways. We have bilaterals and we have dinner

tonight.

CARNEY: Yes.

STUBB: We'll solve most of the world's problems.

CARNEY: Work, work, work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: There you have two leaders. Just think about it. How many politicians can you think, first of all, who would be competent enough to

get on ice on a pair of skis and wave a hockey stick around, and then do it in front of the public? Mark Carney and Alex Stubb, President Stubb. Well,

been on the program many times.

Now, markets are up. Have a quick look at this. It's going to love you and leave you as we show you the renewed peace deal, negotiations involving the

Middle East, combined with lower producer prices. The Dow was up 6 percent -- 0.6 percent. I'm so sorry. It's been a long day, 0.6 percent. You got

all excited. Then the S&P is up. Look, why don't I just leave you to look at the numbers on your own?

Take a look at the Dow 30 and it's Amazon that's got doing the business buying Globalstar I told you about. Nvidia is the same. Tech leading the

way across the markets.

And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for this evening. I'm Richard Quest in London. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable.

"MARKETPLACE ASIA" is next.

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[16:45:35]

(MARKETPLACE ASIA)

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