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Quest Means Business
Oil Prices Plunge on Hopes of U.S.-Iran Deal; Ted Turner CNN Founder and Philanthropist Dies at 87; Burger King Revamps The Whopper, Drops Creepy Mascot; Three People Evacuated from Hantavirus-Hit Cruise Ship; Hantavirus-Hit Cruise Ship Bound for Spain's Canary Islands; Pandora Confronted by Impacts of K-Shaped Economy; Novo Nordisk's Huge Influence on Danish City of Kalundborg. Aired 4p-5p ET
Aired May 06, 2026 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:26]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": The closing bell ringing on Wall Street, records on the S&P, records on the NASDAQ.
No Kid Hungry is ringing the closing bell, which is appropriate because we are talking food. Come on, a two, a one, two, three, four! I would say
that's a mediocre gavel. Sorry, sir, but I am not terribly impressed.
But we are on records and you can see strong, solid, solid green throughout the session. Those are the markets, the main events that we will chew over
continuing with the idea: Oil prices are falling more than seven percent as investors are clinging to hopes that the U.S. and Iran are getting ever
closer to a deal.
Novo Nordisk shares rise, stronger than expected sales on the weight loss pill, and were going to visit the town in Denmark that rises and falls with
Novo.
And the news will be the star, the words of our founder, Ted Turner, who died today at 87.
We are live from New York. It is Wednesday, it is May the 6th. I am Richard Quest, and I mean business.
Good evening.
Tonight we begin with oil prices falling sharply on the hopes of the deal between the U.S. and Iran. Now, the deal, or rather the hopes, I should
say, are not based on anything terribly concrete, which perhaps makes them more surprising. Iran says it is reviewing the latest proposal from the
U.S., the U.S. says it is scrapping its plan to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz. It cites progress of negotiations as the reason.
President Trump has downplayed recent fighting, and says Tehran wants a resolution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Were in a -- I call it a skirmish because that is what it is. It is a skirmish, and we are
doing unbelievably well, as we did in Venezuela, where it was rapid, over in one day and we are doing pretty much equally as well, I would say,
larger, but we are doing very well in Iran.
It is going very smoothly and we will see what happens. They want to make a deal. They want to negotiate.
Now, todays developments, that was enough to move the markets. You see Brent down 7.5 percent at $102.00 to $101.00 and the U.S. benchmark also
down by a similar amount.
And the U.S. markets are down -- in the green, I should say. David is with me. David Goldman is in New York, Kevin Liptak is at The White House.
David is going to do the economics and the business, Kevin will do the politics and the strategy.
Let us start -- I think we will start with you, Kevin, if we may, because I just want you to give me a brief overview. There is no -- I mean, it is all
talk. There is no real reason, but the reason and the overview is optimistic.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right, and you know, it is true that we have had optimistic moments before over the course of this
conflict, only to see them collapse entirely around the negotiating table. What we understand is happening now is the two sides continue to pass paper
back and forth. It is a one-page proposal, so not many words, not many sentences compose it.
It would pause the war. It actually end the war and then put this 30-day timeline in place to try and broker some of the fine print on all of the
sticking points that have caused the two sides to be unable to reach a deal until now.
And so what happens to Iran's nuclear program? What happens to the stockpile of highly enriched uranium? Which assets does the U.S. unfreeze?
Which sanctions does the U.S. lift? All of that left for this 30-day negotiating period that would begin once this deal is signed.
You know, President Trump, he was speaking about an hour ago, and he did seem to suggest that there had been movement over the last 24 hours. He
said that there were very positive talks. Clearly, his decision to end Project Freedom, you know, the initiative to try and get ships through the
Strait of Hormuz, I think, was made in part because it wasn't working, but also because he says the Pakistani mediators had requested it to allow some
of this diplomacy to proceed.
But at the same time, the President is warning that he remains, you know, very willing to restart the war again, if this deal doesn't pan out. He
says the bombing campaign could begin even more intensely if Iran doesn't come to a deal.
[16:05:10]
So I would say, yes, we are at a moment of optimism, but it is a place we have been before. I think clearly President Trump wants the war to end. It
is just a question of whether this be how it happens.
QUEST: David, having heard what Kevin has just said, is this market reaction justified?
DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: The market has moved on. The stock market has certainly moved on. I think that the oil market is very
optimistic right here. I think it is a little strange, don't you, that we haven't really hit the highs that we hit in 2022.
I mean, oil was above $120.00 a barrel at its peak in 2022. We never approached that this time around. And there are some fundamental changes
that we made to the -- that that are taking place in the economy that I think explains some of that.
We can talk about the eight billion barrels of oil that we are sitting on - - oil tankers before the war. We can talk about the incredible lack of demand that we had for oil before the war. That is very, very different
than in 2022.
But don't you think that it is a little bit of just wanting to believe that Trump could end this war at any moment? I think that that's what's going on
here.
QUEST: Okay. But if that's the case, then the risk is on the upside if it doesn't pan out because --
GOLDMAN: Yes, indeed.
QUEST: Because let's assume this does go on, you know, then are we looking back at those 2022 levels?
GOLDMAN: Well, we kind of got there a little bit. There was that day at the last day of trading in April, where temporarily Brent hit $126.00 a barrel.
Now, it didn't end up there, but there was certainly some momentum where we thought that if this thing isn't going to end anytime soon, oil could start
to creep higher and gas prices, certainly in the United States, directionally are much higher.
And there are some other reasons for that as well, but we could be approaching $5.00 regardless of where this ends up.
QUEST: David, I will let you get back to your duties and I will continue with Kevin.
Kevin, listening to the President a second ago when we played him, it is going unbelievably well. It couldn't be better. It is all over.
I mean, who is he trying to convince?
LIPTAK: I think there are plenty of people who I think the President will want to demonstrate that this war has been a success. You know, for all of
the talk about how the U.S. has achieved all of its objectives, which is what we heard from Marco Rubio yesterday in The White House podium, it is
evident that when you compare that four-point list of justifications and objectives that The White House laid out at the beginning of the conflict
to the state of affairs right now, not all of that has been met, beginning with the nuclear program that they say they are going to put off for this
30-day negotiating period, but also the missiles.
You know, the President likes to say that the missile capabilities have been entirely destroyed, but American Intelligence has suggested that
perhaps as much as half of their capacity remains intact. So, too, their support for the proxy groups in the region. There is no indication yet that
they have given up on them.
The one objective that does seem definitively accomplished is destroying the Iranian Navy. And so, when the President says that, you know, I think
he is trying to find a way to declare victory here with the recognition that the war is enormously unpopular, that gas prices are high.
He also has this congressional deadline that even some Republicans are beginning to agitate about and he has his trip next week to China, during
which he had once hoped this war would be completely in the rear view mirror.
And so I think the President does have some sort of rhetorical gymnastics to conduct to make this all appear as if it is a rousing success, while
also saying that it is completely over.
QUEST: I am grateful, Kevin.
Kevin Liptak at The White House. Thank you, sir.
And so a sad, sad day here at CNN along, of course, with Ted Turner's family.
We are mourning the loss of a true legend. CNN founder, Ted Turnerm he died this morning at 87. He was surrounded by his family.
He was a businessman, a world renowned sailor, a philanthropist and environmentalist, a visionary, best known for being the one who ignored the
critics and launched the world's first 24-hour news network 46 years ago and he did it with a very long-term strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED TURNER, CNN FOUNDER: Barring satellite problems in the future, we won't be signing off until the world ends. We will be on -- we will cover it
live.
You know, that will be our last -- last event. We will play the national anthem one time, and that's all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[16:10:04]
QUEST: Brian Stelter, it is -- it is so easy to use the phrase visionary and all of these things, but the fact you and I are just sitting there
doing this, it speaks volumes all these years later to what he started.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, yes it does and it will be his legacy long after his body is buried, after it is laid to rest.
The family says, by the way, there will be a private memorial and in the future, a public memorial. And there are going to be thousands who are
going to want to participate or attend or tune in. I am thinking about the thousands of CNN alums, also, so many other channels that Turner either
launched or helped run, channels like Turner Classic Movies, TCM; also, brands like the Atlanta Braves, you know, that he brought back from the
dead.
I have my Braves hat right here today, Richard.
There are so many fields, so many industries that he changed. You know, think about the acres of land, the millions of acres of land he has
preserved. Think about the yacht -- the racing championships, so many stories, so many layers to Ted Turner's life that are going to be
remembered.
But when it comes to CNN, when it comes to this channel, he did change the world. He democratized news.
You know, some historians have even argued that CNN played a role in ending the Cold War. There are so many different examples of how Turner tried to
connect the world, later donating a billion to the United Nations.
He wanted to try to bring the world closer and more connected. And in an era before Twitter and Facebook and before all of these internet tools, he
did just that with cable and satellite television.
QUEST: Yes, I was thinking, I remember as a trainee journalist working for another organization, for the BBC in those days, but we would watch, and I
am sure in your day we would watch CNN as the only 24-hour international news network, and we would watch it religiously to see -- it was
everybody's news network.
STELTER: Yes. And it created a new habit, a new appetite among people, first in America and then around the world to watch news happen in real
time.
Now, in some cases, that might have been for the worse. You know, there have been arguments from media scholars saying that being able to watch a
story develop, watching the raw material come in, that there can be downsides to that and that's certainly true.
But now that's an expected ability, you know, around the world for billions of people, to be able to watch it as it happens. And, you know, whether it
is something really great that happens in the world or something really terrible, you can still see the ratings spike for CNN and all of its
rivals.
People still come to these sources for the best of humanity and the worst of humanity, and that is going to be Ted's legacy for forever, I think or
as he said, you know, till the end of the world.
QUEST: Brian, I am grateful. Thank you.
Tom Johnson is with me, former President of CNN. Tom was with me on the phone.
Sir, an honor, An honor, sir. You were there through those early days and you were there and helped build this into what it is today. What was it
like in those days?
TOM JOHNSON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF CNN (via phone): It was just spectacular.
When Ted Turner hired me in 1990, I asked him, what is it you expect of the next president of CNN? He said, I expect that we will make it into the
finest news network on the planet. I said, what else, Ted? He said, that's it, pal.
So I mean, that was what he wanted. He wanted CNN to be the absolute best. I told him that my news policy, primarily coming out of "The Los Angeles
Times," where our CEO wants to be accurate. He said his news policy was to be fair.
And we concluded those are the two that we want to make certain that CNN is fair and accurate, and I should tell you, Ted believed it to his bones.
QUEST: You know, I remember a story I heard that when talking about Gulf War I. And, in those days it was quite difficult sometimes to make payroll,
and, you know, the money was -- I am sure you remember those days when it was a question of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
But Ted supposedly said when he walked down to the newsroom, spend as much as you need, not a penny more, not a penny less. But that was the ethos. Do
the job and do it right. Is that true?
JOHNSON: It is his exact words. When Ted Turner, then the news executive and I went up to see Ted Turner to tell him that we had information that
there would definitely be a war between the United States, the coalition and Saddam Hussein. I had said, Ted, in order for us to own the story, to
be the best that you wanted us to be, it is going to cost us probably $30 million over budget. What am I authorized to spend?
[16:15:10]
He looked back at me, and I will never forget his exact words. You spend whatever you think it takes, pal. So with that, we went out to try to lease
as many transponders, put in place as many portable uplinks, put staff into the surrounding countries, beef up the staffing significantly.
But that was the cause of Ted. We spent whatever it took. And frankly, we were able to build so many new affiliates around the world, both within the
U.S. and around the world, and developed more advertising. It turned out, we made much more than losing $30 million. I think we made far more than
that.
QUEST: He used to wander down to the newsroom in his dressing gown is the old stories. He was -- he was -- he didn't interfere, but he was very much
engaged, if you see the difference.
JOHNSON: Right. And he kept a portable bed, a pull-out bed in his office both at Techwood and when he came down to the CNN Center and yes, he would
get up during the night and come down to the Hard News Cafe or come into the newsroom sometimes with a female acquaintance of his and say hello to
the newsroom staff, introduce whomever he might be with at that time.
But Ted was a very, very human guy. And I should tell you, the only time he really ever gave me an order emphatically, was one afternoon, I had had
calls from the presidential press secretary, Marlin Fitzwater, from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell and then a call from
President George Bush, Herbert Walker Bush, all three warned us to get out of Baghdad now, because the war was about to begin.
In fact, Colin Powell said, Tom, you are compromising my mission because Bush said, you've talked to both Colin and to Marlin and I just want to
urge you to get your people out.
I called Ted, and before I could tell him what I thought the alternatives were, he said in the loudest voice, Tom, those who want to stay in Baghdad,
like Peter Arnett, can stay. Those who want to come out can come out.
Unfortunately for the few that wanted to come out, the Saddam Hussein International Airport in Baghdad had been closed. So all of the staff that
we had there did stay. I've never identified, nor will I ever identify the few that wanted to come out. But they've all been honored for their
bravery.
And one of them wanted to come out, said Tom, here, I've been given all these honors for my courage when you know that I wanted to get out first.
But then, Ted said, and you will not overturn me, pal? Not that I plan to.
But the decision was those who want to stay, stay. Those who want to come out, come out and we stayed.
QUEST: Tom, I am honored to have you with us tonight. Thank you. Tom Johnson, former president of CNN. Thank you, sir.
Because the news never stops, around the world, around the clock. This is CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:21:05]
QUEST: The parent company of Burger King says its same store sales. That's the metric that all the food industry uses rose more than three percent in
the Q1. Shares of the Restaurant Brands International still were down. Some of that had to do with muted growth at one of the subsidiaries, Tim
Horton's stores, the company also warned that the rising cost of beef is eating into margins.
Burger King was the company's bright spot with the strong growth and both inside and outside the U.S.
Now, that's no accident. Look at this. Look at this. Oh my goodness, gracious me, I am going to take it out. But no, I have no intention of
becoming a YouTube moment in trying to eat it. There we go.
It is the famous Whopper. It has got a different bun. It has got lots of more ingredients. If I pull it apart, you can see -- I know they put
pickles on it. I don't like pickles. Next time, no pickles please. But anyway, the onions. You have a look yourself. Make your own judgment on
that.
Burger King also announced that their mascot, which some found a little creepy, is no more. The restaurant now says the customer is king, and it
seized upon the missteps of its competition.
Remember McDonald's CEO when his video went viral for a rather tepid bite out of a burger? Well, the head of Burger King's U.S. and Canadian
locations showed him how it was done and went full throttle by digging in with gusto.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not bad, right?
TOM CURTIS, PRESIDENT, BURGER KING, U.S. AND CANADA: Only one thing missing, a napkin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Tom is with me. Tom Curtis, president of Burger King in the U.S. and Canada. You knew what you were doing when you took that bite out of that
burger. Yes, but it looked very good. And the way in which you have refreshed the menu is now starting to show results, isn't it?
CURTIS: Yes, it is. You know, I've had a lot of experience taking bites like that, so I've gotten pretty good at it over the years. And next time
if you just tell me no pickles, we will get you to take a bite as well.
But Whopper elevation was really just the first step and it showed in our results this quarter. There are going to be many more steps to come and
more new menu elevation and elevation of the brand.
We've been working at it for four years, investing hundreds of millions of dollars back into the U.S. business, refreshing the restaurants, improving
operations, improving our franchise base and that's why this quarter was so strong.
QUEST: Sure.
CURTIS: And that's why this promotion has hit so well.
QUEST: When we look at the current problems of supply chain, affordability, just -- I mean, you're going to pay more for your meat because of food
stocks is going to go up. It may not be the same -- vegetables are going to cost more because of fertilizers not being as available.
So are you preparing yourself for an inflation whack?
CURTIS: Well, we've been really experiencing an inflation whack in our costs for quite some time. As you can see there with your beef graph and
what we have asked our owners, and we've done this in our restaurants as well, is to hold on prices because this is a time where the consumer needs
us most, and we've got to provide the best value.
Value is super important to consumers right now, and so our restaurant owners have agreed not to raise prices even through this beef inflation.
The consumers rewarding us, rewarding us in first quarter for that effort.
QUEST: What is it consumers want? Besides the obvious in terms of, you know, a good meal at a fair price and a clean establishment. I get all of
that.
But they want healthy options, many of your customers are now on the anti- weight drugs of one sort or another.
[16:25:10]
Does that take a bite, if you will, out of your business? What is the one thing that they are looking for?
CURTIS: Well, what consumers are looking for is sometimes a smaller package, a smaller burger, smaller meal choices. And all of our innovation,
everything that we do on the burger, on the Whopper also shows up in our Whopper Jr.
So if they want interesting flavor and variety, they can still get it. They can just get it in a smaller package.
But your other question, I think your question around what are consumers looking for, they are listening for brand -- they are looking for brands
that will listen.
So many brands now have delegated the consumer relationship to chat bots, to e-mail, to call centers all over the world. And one thing we've heard
loud and clear is by listening to your guests directly and having a one-on- one relationship with them, they will reward you properly for that as well.
And we've seen -- we've been in a listening campaign now for about ten weeks.
QUEST: Can --
CURTIS: Go ahead.
QUEST: Can you do that? Can you do that with the cost basis? Because you know, the chatbot, the A.I. receptionist, all of those things are portrayed
as being safe. Look, I've never met an FAQ online that I've actually found useful in terms of, you know, pushing one, push two, push three. You always
end up wanting to speak to a representative.
But you get my point. It is cost base and it is a way of saving money.
CURTIS: Absolutely is a way of saving money. But if you can have that direct relationship with your guest, have your people, have your
restaurants, have your owners, have your president actually talk to people, then they will reward you with traffic. And traffic is the true panacea for
all ills in this business.
QUEST: How often are you the secret consumer? You just turn up at -- you know, they don't know who you are. You may have to put a wig and a funny
face on and you just buy to see what happens. How often do you do that?
CURTIS: I try to do it once a week or so, and despite what is going on in the last few months with the Burger Bite and all of that, I can still live
in relative anonymity, but I do it at least once a week. And more importantly, right now, frankly, is talking to people every single day,
seven days a week. I will take at least five or 10 calls a day, and that's important.
I learn more there than I learn anywhere else. I learn in any spreadsheet or any deck.
QUEST: Come on -- give me, give me something, give me something of what is going on with the menu. Tease me. Tell me what's going on the menu that you
haven't said.
CURTIS: Okay, I will give you something and I will get in trouble for it.
QUEST: Yes. No you won't.
CURTIS: One of the things I've heard loud and clear in the listening campaign is to do something about your chicken nuggets. And so that's been
under research since we started hearing it, and I can assure you at some point we are going to elevate our nuggets and consumers will love them.
And we will have that done in the next year or so and I am going to get in trouble for saying that.
QUEST: That's your problem, not mine.
Good to see you, Tom. Thank you very much and remember, next time no pickles.
CURTIS: No pickles.
QUEST: I think pickles come under the cruel and unusual punishment under the Constitution Clause. Good to see you, sir. Very grateful.
CURTIS: Good to see you as well.
QUEST: It is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. When we come back in just a moment, there is a very, very nasty incident going on. Of course, you'll be well
aware of it. The cruise ship hit by the hantavirus outbreak.
Now, it is underway for Spain's Canary Islands, where the plan is to let the passengers disembark and return home. But this is getting wider and
more serious. I will explain after the break.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:32:03]
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. Together we're going to have a lot more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
We're going to be talking about -- I'll speak to the CEO of the jewelry giant Pandora about the latest earnings and hopes for tariff refund. And
Anna Cooban is going to take us to the Danish city that's been shaped by Novo Nordisk and rattled by recent difficulties. Only after the headlines
where we have first because here the news always comes first.
The U.S. and Iran are closing in on a one-page memo that could end the war. According to sources, the Trump administration officials say the White
House received some positive feedback from Pakistani mediators. Iran's state run media says Tehran is reviewing the latest U.S. proposal.
Primary elections in the U.S. state of Indiana show that President Donald Trump still holds sway over his conservative base. The Republican allies of
Mr. Trump beat five of seven incumbent state senators who were targeted by the president for resisting his efforts to redraw congressional districts.
Ted Turner, the maverick businessman and founder of CNN, died today at the age of 87. Ted revolutionized television by creating the first, well, he
created this, CNN. His business has also included sports teams and several other cable channels. After selling them, Turner devoted himself to
philanthropy and environmental causes.
Allow me now to update you on the outbreak of the deadly hantavirus that's taking place aboard a cruise ship. The MV Hondius is now heading for
Spain's Canary Islands after being anchored off Cape Verde for the last few days. The Spanish government says the vessel will be allowed to dock and
unload passengers on the island of Tenerife.
However, the leader of the Canary Islands says he's opposed to that idea and wants to speak to Spain's prime minister. Three people who are
suspected of having the virus were taken off the ship this morning. Authorities are racing to trace anyone who may have come in contact with
infected passengers.
CNN's Will Ripley reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Off the coast of West Africa, a cruise ship under quarantine. Three more passengers
medically evacuated, including the ship's doctor, all tied to a deadly outbreak of hantavirus, a rare typically rodent borne disease with no
specific treatment or cure.
The open decks of the MV Hondius deserted. Dining rooms empty. Passengers told to stay in their cabins.
JAKE ROSMARIN, TRAVEL BLOGGER, PHOTOGRAPHER: Hi, I'm jake, and I'm spending the next 35 days crossing the Atlantic, visiting some of the most remote
islands in the world.
RIPLEY (voice-over): This is how the journey began for Jake Rosmarin, a Boston photographer, one of around 150 people on board.
[16:35:0]
ROSMARIN: People with families, with lives, with people waiting for us at home.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Health officials are now retracing the ship's route, trying to figure out where and when passengers became infected.
Their 35-day expedition began from the edge of Antarctica, visiting some of the most remote islands in the south Atlantic.
MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, WHO DIRECTOR, EPIDEMIC AND PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS: On those islands, there are birds. Some islands have a lot of rodents. Others
don't.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Hantavirus is usually picked up by breathing in particles from rodent droppings or urine. Symptoms often start like the
flu, but can quickly cause severe breathing problems, organ failure and death. The incubation period one to eight weeks. Lab tests have yet to
confirm it, but investigators think this may be a rare South American strain that sometimes spreads not just from rodents but between people.
KERKHOVE: Among the really close contacts, the husband and wife, people who've shared cabins, et cetera.
RIPLEY (voice-over): This small boat medically evacuated a handful of infected passengers. Investigators say the outbreak began in early April.
The first victim, a Dutch passenger, died on board April 11th. His wife died around two weeks later in a hospital in South Africa. A third
passenger, a German national, died on board on May 2nd. A British passenger remains in intensive care.
Everyone else stuck on board undergoing medical checks, a situation Kent and Rebecca Frasure know all too well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't know how long you have to stay in the hospital.
RIPLEY (voice-over): I met them back in 2020. They were quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan.
What's the hardest part?
REBECCA FRASURE, DIAMOND PRINCESS PASSENGER: I'd say the unknown.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Rebecca, one of the first Americans to test positive for COVID.
There she is. She's standing in the window right now. Rebecca, here we are. Hi.
(Voice-over): She spent weeks in a Tokyo hospital. Kent was quarantined in their cabin.
What would be your advice for passengers stuck on this ship right now?
KENT FRASURE, DIAMOND PRINCESS PASSENGER: If you start thinking about what's happening around you, it is so difficult to stay away from a mindset
where you're getting depressed and just like really fearful, what's going to happen? You have to try to stay as upbeat as you can.
RIPLEY (voice-over): They know how difficult staying upbeat can be for everyone on the MV Hondius facing fear and uncertainty on a floating
quarantine zone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: The U.K. Health Security Agency says it is aware of two people who have returned to the United Kingdom on their own, having been on board the
ship, the MV Hondius. The agency says the two individuals have been advised to self-isolate. Neither of them is reporting any symptoms currently, and
the health officials say the risk to the general public is considered very low.
Pau Mosquera joins me now.
How likely is a battle between the Tenerife authorities and the central government over when this ship arrives? And if so, who's got -- who wins?
Who's more senior?
PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for certain, Richard, that this battle, these tensions will continue over the next days. But we have to put
all this situation into perspective. Let me explain. In the case of the Port of Granadilla, the Abona, which is the port where all the passengers
and the crew will disembark depends on the Port Authority of Tenerife.
And as the rest of the port authorities of Spain, it is attached to the Ministry of Transport, which has the headquarters here in Madrid, and also
the specialists of the external health service that will attend to all those passengers are also linked to the Ministry of Health.
So with this information, Richard, everything makes us believe that the government of the Canary Islands will respect this decision -- Richard.
QUEST: It's -- these things always create huge amounts of fear, whether justified or not, because of this. And that's what they're going to be
facing. So how far are the authorities going in reassuring people that, you know, essentially, they're not going to take any chances with public safety
and public health?
MOSQUERA: Well, from the Spanish government, Richard, they do accept that this situation has created a little bit of concern and nervousness. But
over the day, they have been trying to send a message of calm, reassuring all the population that nothing is going to happen. And in any case, the
risk of contagion is very, very low. So what they have decided to do on Saturday, which is the day that most likely the cruise ship will get to
this port, they have prepared a sanitary circuit that is going to be very controlled so they will avoid any exposure from the passengers and crew
members with the local population.
[16:40:06]
And they also have reassured that those that will be helping the passengers to be transferred to the airport are also not going to get into any risks
at all -- Richard.
QUEST: Right. I'm grateful. Thank you, sir. Thank you for joining us.
In a moment, Pandora is seeing a drop in its U.S. sales. It's the jewelry brand that's feeling the pressure from tariffs, silver prices, and now the
Iran war. The chief executive will be with me or is with me to talk about why, how, what and get your money back from your tariffs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:43:11]
QUEST: Pandora's first quarter sales beat expectations because of strong growth in Latin America and Asia. The jewelry brand shares 14 percent. Look
at that. My word. That's worthy of that. In Copenhagen, the Q1 revenue fell from a year ago, as did sales in North America. The company says its
affordable luxury model is feeling the effects of the K-shaped economy, with customers in the U.S. pulling back because of rising costs.
The chief executive told CNBC this morning it has applied for a tariff refund. The chief executive is Berta de Pablos-Barbier, and she joins me
now from London.
So, you know, as Margaret Thatcher famously once said, I want my money back. Is that what you told them?
BERTA DE PABLOS-BARBIER, CEO, PANDORA: Well, Richard, nice being with you today. So, yes, you were announcing our quarter one results. We are pretty
satisfied with this quarter. We have stable results and we have absorbed 440 basis points of headwinds at us. And you name some of them. But we
managed to cover about 70 percent of those. So, yes, pretty, pretty satisfied.
As regards to the tariffs, yes, we are not the only ones to doing this. We are expecting to get some refund. So we put a claim. We don't know yet what
is going to be happen. But yes, this is where we are today.
QUEST: If you get a refund, this is the big question. Do you pass on any of that to consumers, to wholesalers, to retailers? Because, you know, the
chain moves on, pardon the pun. What will you do?
DE PABLOS-BARBIER: Well, when we get there, we will see. So first let's count the cash first and let's decide what we do.
[16:45:04]
But basically Pandora is an affordable brand. And what is important for us is that we're offering the right pricing for the products to the consumer
with the right quality. You were talking about some of the headwinds that we've been having. The biggest one actually is not tariffs. It's actually
the price of silver. And this is what is driving today the challenges that we may have on our profitability.
We already announced how we were going to be addressing those. Just three months ago, we announced that we were going to be transitioning from silver
to platinum plated so that our consumers could continue to get the Pandora products they like with high design, great quality, but at the prices that
they can afford when they come to Pandora.
QUEST: I mean, everybody would prefer to have the real thing or silver per se. But I guess if it's -- if it becomes so expensive that it starts, then
you have to find alternatives. What is the best seller in terms of items?
DE PABLOS-BARBIER: Yes. So you'll be surprised, Richard, because what consumers told us actually is that platinum is a precious metal. And it
actually for everyday use is better than silver. Some consumers just simply don't like that when they wear their silver jewelry, it tarnish, they
cannot take it to the sea or to the shower for that matters. Whereas with platinum plated, they can actually do it. So we are offering something that
is better for the consumer.
QUEST: And what about diamond, lab grown diamonds? It's still very much, you know, they are becoming more desirable. They are becoming more popular.
Certainly both on an environmental and on a social aspect becoming a great deal more acceptable.
DE PABLOS-BARBIER: Yes, absolutely. I mean, lab grown diamonds in the U.S. last year accounted for 60 percent of the total volumes of diamonds sold in
the U.S. So they are already bigger than mined diamonds for the American consumers. And interestingly enough, when couples were asked about why did
they buy lab grown diamond, they specifically said that it was for some of the environmental reasons.
So, yes, it is important for consumers. And that's why for us, it was very important today to add a five C to our diamonds to talk about the carbon
footprint.
QUEST: So, you know, in terms of the jewelry, I guess selling to men is always very tricky when it comes to jewelry as such. I noticed, for
example, that I'm a great lover of wearing cufflinks, but you don't seem to have a range of those. So that's where you, you'd have one cuff, one extra
customer if you start going down the cufflink. But I guess if you look to expand the customer base, because obviously you want to expand the customer
base, you want to expand the amount that individuals spend.
Are men -- I don't just mean men buying for others, but men buying for themselves. Is that a market that is worthy of digging deeper?
DE PABLOS-BARBIER: Well, all markets are worth of digging deeper and all men are welcome to Pandora. We already have jewelry that can be worn by
men. All our bracelets, whether they are in leather or in silver or in platinum plate or in gold, can be worn by men. So we already have an
assortment that is catered for that.
You are absolutely right. We don't have cufflinks yet. I'll keep that in mind.
QUEST: I noticed you said yet and you'll keep it in mind. I look forward to it. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you very much.
DE PABLOS-BARBIER: We'll see.
QUEST: Maybe I'm just old fashioned. Although, you know, the problem is, the problem is there's not --
DE PABLOS-BARBIER: I don't know.
QUEST: There's not actually that much jewelry that men can wear on a daily basis. You know, the -- but anyway, that's a story for another day. I'm
glad you came in to talk to us.
DE PABLOS-BARBIER: You can get bracelets, necklace, everything. I can give you plenty of ideas of jewelry that you can wear from Pandora.
QUEST: Something tells me that next time I'm in London, we need to be discussing dressing me up. All right. Thank you, ma'am.
DE PABLOS-BARBIER: Definitely.
QUEST: Good to see you. Thank you very much indeed.
Now, there were steel towns. There were coal towns. There were motor towns. Basically a town where one industry dominates. GLP-1 town. Doesn't have
quite the same ring. But that's exactly what's happening to Denmark -- in Denmark, where Novo Nordisk runs the show.
Anna Cooban has been there in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:51:53]
QUEST: Novo Nordisk, the shares rose 2 percent after it reported much stronger sales of its Wegovy weight loss pill than expected. Novo is also
hiking its guidance for 2026 over the year. It's particularly good news for the Danish city of Kalundborg. It owes much of its fortune to the company's
success. The modern-day version of the classic industrial town.
Now, decades ago, it was the auto industry. You had towns like Dearborn and Flint in Michigan./ In Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Bethlehem. They were known
as steel towns. And in my one time home of Yorkshire, where it was the confectionery company Rowntree's that dominated the local economy.
Rowntree's of York. Everything, the paternalistic company was absolute.
Now today it's Novo Nordisk. It's woven into the fabric of Kalundborg.
Anna Cooban has been there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sailing season is getting underway in Kalundborg.
I can't even drive a car. But now I'm driving a boat.
MARTIN HOGH SORENSEN, KALUNDBORG RESIDENT: Yes, yes. That's nice.
COOBAN: And you just take over if this is not going well.
SORENSEN: If you turn the other way, then the boat will, in a while, turn a little.
COOBAN (voice-over): In this small city in Denmark, you either work for Novo Nordisk or you know somebody who does. Martin Sorensen spent 25 years
there. His friend Anne Louise Eliason manning the sails 27 years.
SORENSEN: It is a changing because we have a lot of international workers now. So, and that of course influence the picture, just the daily life in
town.
COOBAN (voice-over): In Kalundborg past meets future. On one side of town, a medieval church. On the other, an enormous factory pumps out weight loss
drugs for the world. According to Novo, their operation sits on a site larger than Monaco.
KASPER BODKER MEJLVANG, EXECUTIVE VP OF GLOBAL MANUFACTURING, NOVO NORDISK: I started my career here in Kalundborg some 20 years ago, and it is just
mind blowing the transformation the site has gone through.
COOBAN (voice-over): I've been given exclusive access inside the factory.
So I'm about to go into a room where they make vast quantities of semaglutide, which is the key ingredient for weight loss drugs and diabetes
drugs. And basically it's medicine that has to be shipped all around the world. So it's a highly sanitized environment.
(Voice-over): These injectable pens will be sent to the United States to serve its huge appetite for weight loss medications. It's Novo's biggest
market, but also home to its largest competitor, Eli Lilly. Globally as well, competition is rising.
So in places like India and China, already you've got pharmaceutical companies making generics.
MEJLVANG: Yes.
COOBAN: How do you feel about that? What does it mean for this factory that we're standing in right now?
MEJLVANG: Based on the investments here, we can make huge volumes to supply to the whole world, to the demand of millions of people.
COOBAN (voice-over): Back in town, it's time for a coffee break. Shaun Gamble, originally from New Zealand, used to work for Novo before opening
his cafe on the harbor.
SHAUN GAMBLE, CAFE OWNER: I was working in what they call the warehouse and just packing all the finished products onto pallets, onto trucks and
sending them around the world.
COOBAN: Recently Novo has hit somewhat of a rocky patch. In September, it announced thousands of layoffs globally, though mostly across Denmark.
GAMBLE: The mood changed when you're talking with people. I mean, I also knew a few people who were laid off, buildings still going on. So I think
we're hoping the momentum carries on again. It was just a little glitch.
COOBAN (voice-over): I asked the mayor if Kalundborg depends too much on Novo Nordisk.
MARTIN DAMM, KALUNDBORG MAYOR: We are dependent on Novo Nordisk, but not only Novo Nordisk. Many years ago, we have just one company in Kalundborg
and when it was broke, the whole city went down. So today we have more companies.
COOBAN (voice-over): Novo is hoping its new Wegovy weight loss pill, released in the U.S. in January, can give it a boost. And Novo's chief
executive says the company is making those pills on American soil.
MIKE DOUSTDAR, CEO, NOVO NORDISK: If you think about this Wegovy pill from the creations of the raw material all the way to tableting of the product
to packaging it and of course, to shipping it, it's all made in the U.S., in North Carolina, by Americans, for Americans.
COOBAN (voice-over): Still an ocean away in Kalundborg, this city of fewer than 17,000 people remains a perhaps unlikely engine of the global weight
loss rocket ship. And as residents are hoping for smooth waters ahead.
How does it feel that this town is one of the centers of this weight loss drug revolution, and that now it's getting international attention? How
does that feel?
SORENSEN: Of course a little proud. Yes, yes, yes.
COOBAN (voice-over): Anna Cooban, CNN, Kalundborg.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Wonderful. We'll take a "Profitable Moment" after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: It's a "Profitable Moment." There's one story we told you tonight from Tom Johnson about Ted Turner. At the beginning of Gulf War I, when
asked about how much to spend on the war to cover it, he said, spend what you need to do it properly. Not a penny more, not a penny less. That is the
genius of people like Ted Turner.
In an era where today everything is, how cheaply can you do it? Do you really have to spend that? Oh, I'm sure we don't need to spend all that
money. Well, what about trying -- you get the idea. The people like Ted Turner said, look, what's it going to take to do the job properly? Go ahead
and do it. And don't stint. That's the refreshing way that truly great men and women lead from the front. They're not worried about a penny here or a
penny there. They're making sure that the job gets done. Like us on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for this Wednesday night, mid-week edition? I'm Richard Quest in New York. What a treat and a pleasure for the two of
us to be together tonight. As always, whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it is profitable. Please make time tomorrow.
END
