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Quest Means Business

U.K., France and Canada Sanction Israeli West Bank Settlements; Netanyahu Faces New Political Crises Ahead Of Elections; Yemen's Houthis Attack Saudi Oil Facilities; Thieves Took Less Than Five Minutes to Steal Renoir Paintings; Nigeria's Dangote Signs Documents For Landmark IPO; Home- Swapping Site Offers Members Low-Cost Travel Options. Aired 4-4:45p ET

Aired September 08, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:08]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: You see there the Dow got the worst of it today. A lot of people worrying about elevated energy prices. We will

discuss that. All three indices though down. You see the Dow down better than one percent.

Those are the markets, and these are the main events.

Israel's government is under pressure at home and abroad as new sanctions from allies, and a bombshell report on the October 7th attacks throw the

Netanyahu government into crisis.

Oil prices are back near $100.00 a barrel after Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and then Renoir paintings worth millions have been stolen from a

museum in France. We speak to a company that helps track down that stolen art.

Live from New York. It is Tuesday, September 8th. I am Paula Newton in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

Tonight, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing new political crises at home and abroad. Just seven weeks out from national elections.

Now, the U.K. France and Canada say they will ban goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Nine other nations say they will introduce similar measures or work to support European restrictions. U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who

described himself as a proud British Jew, accused Israel of turning a blind eye to what he called ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED MILIBAND, U.K. FOREIGN MINISTER: The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank,

perpetrated by settler terrorists, and all too often the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this, and worse, members of it have made

statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians.

For a long time, the British government has rightly said settlements are illegal, but we have remained silent on the question of the legality of the

occupation as a whole, which in 2024, the International Court of Justice concluded was unlawful.

Today I announce that the official view of the British government is that the occupation is unlawful.

(GROUP answer "Hear! Hear!")

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Netanyahu is also facing backlash at home after a report that he was warned of the October 7th attacks. The Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" says

the president of the UAE told Netanyahu days before the attacks that Hamas was planning a major operation.

Israel's four opposition leaders issued a rare joint statement calling for an immediate and thorough investigation. The Prime Minister's Office,

meantime, strongly denied the report. It said "... no warning was given to the Prime Minister from the United Arab Emirates before October 7th. If

there was any relevant information, it was passed through intelligence channels between the two countries."

CNN's Jerusalem Bureau Chief Oren Liebermann joins us now. He has been following all of this today. And first to certainly, the actions of the

U.K., but also supported by those other countries.

The Netanyahu government was likely expecting this. And yet, what impact will it have now, especially given the fact that the Israeli government has

reacted.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are two different ways to look at the impact of this. The first is on the

trade and the economic side, and the second is on the political side.

On the trade and economic side, this likely doesn t have that big of an impact. According to the U.K.'s Trade Office, there is $8 billion in trade

between the U.K. and Israel every year, but only a tiny fraction of that likely relates to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

So from that perspective, there isn't really that big of an impact on economics and on trade. As a symbolic move, as a political move, it has

enormous impact. The U.K. has been for decades one of Israel's closest allies.

So for it to come out and simply say, not only are Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal, the occupation as a whole is illegal, and Israeli

settlers there, settler violence, the displacement of Palestinians, the seizure of land that amounts to ethnic cleansing in which the Israeli

government has been a part. That is an enormous statement, and it is not the U.K. acting alone.

It comes with, as you pointed out, Canada and other countries, Denmark, all of whom have said they will take similar actions at the national level or

support it at the European level, and that is a stark warning to Israel; one that Israel rejected, as we saw here. Israel took a number of immediate

steps in response, shutting down the U.K. Consulate in Jerusalem that largely serves the Palestinians, kicking the U.K. out of the International

Center that helps to run and manage Gaza, as well as shutting down the U.K.'s trading of Palestinian Authority Security Forces.

[16:05:13]

So Israel is taking steps here in response. It remains to be seen whether this escalates, whether the U.K. takes action against Israeli consular and

diplomatic offices in England. That will become clear here in the future here, but it is a significant step as the U.K. effectively says enough is

enough.

Israel's clear stated goal here from its far-right ministers in particular in expanding settlements, is to destroy the possibility of a future

Palestinian State, and that is where the U.K. has drawn its line.

NEWTON: Yes. In fact, in a statements it said that that's where these countries are drawing the line, saying that they still believed in that

two-state solution and would not back away from that.

Oren, on this "Haaretz" report that Netanyahu was warned, I am wondering what you make of it and certainly the timing is interesting, just a few

weeks before those elections.

LIEBERMANN: It is a bombshell of a report, and it is absolutely making waves here in Israel. It is worth pointing out here that Netanyahu's office

called it an absolute lie while his spokespeople have said this is an attempt to shift the election.

The report itself is significant that just about a week-and-a-half before the Hamas-led attack on October 7th, the UAE's ruler, Mohamed Bin Zayed,

directly called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and in a 45-minute phone call, warned him that Hamas was planning a major operation of some sort

without too many details that might destabilize the region.

According to the "Haaretz" report, Netanyahu reacted relatively calmly, believing he had both Gaza and Hamas under control and that the real risk

was in the West Bank or on some other front and this report adds to a body of reporting that Netanyahu either didn't respond or took hours to

essentially wake up to the fact of what was happening on October 7th, before immediately coming out and trying to begin to govern and to begin to

respond.

Well, Israel's major opposition leaders came together and in a rare joint statement called for a, "immediate and thorough investigation" into what

they described as Netanyahu's "failures and malfunctioning."

Paula, it is worth pointing out that there is one very quick way to find the truth of what happened here, and that would be an independent state

commission of inquiry in Israel, except Netanyahu has refused to launch one of those for nearly three years now.

NEWTON: Yes, and that is interesting, given the fact that we are having elections in Israel, but as you said, that commission of inquiry still has

not been launched.

Oren Liebermann for us. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

And some news just in to CNN, an Iranian tanker was hit by a projectile just off of Kharg Island. That's according to local media. Now, Iran is

blaming the U.S. for the attack. But U.S. Central Command has not confirmed the strike.

Now, on the opposite side of the gulf, reports of new attacks from Houthi rebels are pushing oil prices close to $100 a barrel. The Iran-backed

Houthis in Yemen launched strikes on Saudi Arabia, targeting oil facilities and other infrastructure. The Houthis say the attack was in response to

Saudi aggression. Saudi Arabia is vowing to retaliate.

As a result, Brent crude is moving ever closer towards $100.00 a barrel. You see it there, it is up again today. Meantime, West Texas Intermediate

is also higher. The rising oil prices are threatening to push prices up right across global supply chains.

David Goldman joins me now.

This is something that you've warned us about for months now and also something that obviously the Fed will be watching closely, given the fact

that we do get an inflation report later this week and they are wondering whether or not they need to raise rates given inflation.

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, well, were edging closer to $100.00 as you said and that is a number the Fed definitely wants to

look at, $98.74, didn't quite hit it today, but we are at the highest that we've been since July 23rd, that was the last time that we hit $100.00 of

oil. That was 47 days ago. Geez, I can't remember what it was doing yesterday, let alone, 47 days ago. It does feel like a long time that we've

been below $100.00.

In fact, we were really approaching, you know, $70.00 during this time frame and you've really seen oil bounce around. But what they are -- what

investors are concerned about today is exactly what you mentioned, which is that, you know, there are all these Yemeni strikes on Saudi infrastructure.

Now, remember, the U.S. blockade of Iran and Iranian oil has prevented Iranian oil from getting out and selling to its number one customer, which

is China. So China Is now going to Saudi Arabia and if these attacks prevent Saudi Arabia from getting some of that oil out to another big

customer that wants oil, that could be a big problem.

[16:10:01]

So this is what is going on today. You talked about inflation. And this is something that the Fed is definitely going to watch because you can see it

is not just oil, which you and I don t pay for, but we do pay for the stuff that oil creates.

Diesel is at a record high today, $5.90 approaching $6.00. It is approaching $8.00 in California. By the way, $4.15 for gas, not quite a

record high, but certainly much more expensive than it was right before the war when it was $2.98. It is up 60 percent, diesel, and that obviously goes

into lots of things that appear on trucks and are, you know, all the food and all the goods that we get. That's translated into that cost.

It is really a lot of money. It is adding up to $101 billion for U.S. consumers during the course of the war. You can see the breakdown here. Gas

alone, $55 billion. That adds up, Paula. That's $771.00 per household in the United States. We are talking about $422.00 per household for gasoline

and diesel as well, and this is something that when we are talking about CPI later this week, when we are talking about the Fed next week, these are

things that are going to factor into that.

NEWTON: Yes, and the timeline all flying in the face of the fact that the President still expects, he says very soon that oil will be back down. Gas

will be at $3.00 a gallon again. We have yet to see any of that come to fruition, especially as we've seen more escalation in the oil producing

areas.

David Goldman, as always, thank you so much.

Now, all of this led to a very rough start for the week on Wall Street. The Dow fell about 630 points. The S&P 500 closed more than a half a percent

lower and the NASDAQ also finished in the red. Now, as we were just discussing with David, investors are of course looking ahead to next week's

Fed meeting, rising oil prices could push inflation ever higher, possibly encouraging the Central Bank to raise rates.

Another major concern for investors are U.S. Treasury yields. The yield on the benchmark ten-year bond rose to 4.8 percent today. The rising national

debt also becoming more and more of an issue for traders and it is important to remember that. Remember, higher yields also mean higher

interest rates for consumers, whether it is a car loan, a mortgage or whatever.

Ken Rogoff is the former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. He is now an Economics Professor at Harvard, and he is joining us now

from Cambridge.

Good to see you again, Ken. We've got the Iran War. We just highlighted it.

KEN ROGOFF, FORMER CHIEF ECONOMIST AT THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND: Good to see you.

NEWTON: Right? The bond market, escalating trade wars, I am wondering at this point what you see as the greatest risk for the American economy and I

am talking about the real economy now, not just markets.

ROGOFF: Well, I mean, I don t know where to start, but obviously the Iran War is unsettled and its unsettling Wall Street because it doesn't seem to

be ending. You talked about the next Fed meeting. Well, everyone was saying, of course inflation is going to come down next year. It is baked in

a cake because the war will be over and prices were going up because of the war, and now they're going to be going down and you know that that's not

clear at all.

And the high bond yield, I think, is the new normal. It was also the old normal and there were people forever saying, no, this is just going to go

away. Don t worry about it and I think markets are adjusting to the fact that no matter what the Fed does, the longer term interest rates, which the

market sets, are probably not going to come down anytime soon.

And as you said, that's your home mortgage, that's your car loan, that's your credit card loans.

NEWTON: Yes, I've been watching the 30-year mortgage so closely here in the United States for the last several months, and there is no relief here and

the housing market is essentially stalled. If we turn to energy, what is your best case scenario for prices? I mean, the U.S. says Iran will soon

come to the negotiating table. Is it really not going to change until then? Because, you know, the Trump administration says, look, we are brokering

deals to get oil wherever we can, including Venezuela.

ROGOFF: Well, Venezuela is a long ways off to come online. So they are trying to affect expectations, but of course, you know, the question is

what is next? And frankly, you can call it either way. I mean, there are people who think Iran is going to give in, but if they don t, I don t know

if the U.S. can completely defang their ability to counter-strike to destabilize the region.

So, yes, there are pressures on Iran, but the big question is, will they -- when will they escalate? And that is still there, I think that's hanging

not only over the Middle East, but over Ukraine, over what might happen in Asia. It is a big, big question of just how much control the United States

actually has over containing problems in these areas.

[16:15:15]

NEWTON: You know, given everything that we've laid out, the markets actually have been relatively calm. What do you think this means for Kevin

Warsh, who has promised to really take it to inflation, that inflation has been too high for too long, and yet even the inflation indication that we

are going to get later this week is looking in the rear-view mirror.

Do you expect him to raise rates in the September meeting? And should he?

ROGOFF: It is a knife edge call. Kevin Warsh is an inflation hawk. I don t think there is any question you will see that over the long course of

things. But next week it is a very delicate election. People say the Fed should be completely nonpolitical. It should make an independent,

technocratic judgment.

I think they don t understand that even though Central Banks are independent, they have to fight for that every day and never more so than

in the Trump administration. So I think after his speech that he gave recently, I was there in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Warsh has set him up to

kind of go with the inflation number. If the inflation numbers above what people are expecting, he is going to hike. If it is below, he is not.

There is a gray area in between where I think its a 50/50 call. I think he is slightly more likely to stand put than to hike, but it is very hard to

say.

NEWTON: Yes, and he has to hang on to his credibility if he doesn't hike. So we will see what the inflation. He says he is data dependent. We will

see what the inflation indicators show us later in the week.

Ken good to see you. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

ROGOFF: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now, when we return, another smash and grab art theft in France, as it takes less than five minutes -- think about that -- for thieves to steal

four paintings. we find out what happens to such valuable items once they are stolen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: So thieves have once again stolen priceless items from an art museum in France. The thieves took less than five minutes to steal four

Renoir paintings, but dropped two as they made their escape.

Melissa Bell has that report.

[16:20:02]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Thieves have stolen four paintings, abandoning two as they fled from France's

Renoir Museum in the latest heist to hit the art world.

A large hole can be seen in this wired fence surrounding the museum. The impressionist painter's Madame Colonna-Romano worth $2.3 million, and Jeune

femme au puits Worth $230,000.00 were stolen on Tuesday, according to local officials in the French Riviera town of Cagnes-sur-Mer, where the museum is

located.

The thieves were forced to abandon Portrait de Madame Stephen Pichon, and Coco lisant as they fled, according to the town's mayor.

He also said the museum's alarm system went off at 5:48 local time, and the police had arrived at the scene five minutes later.

MAYOR BRYAN MASSON, CAGNES-SUR-MER (through translator): They were equipped with, if I may say so, an electric knife or a metal saw, whatever you want

to call it. They cut through the bolts, holding the frames of Renoir's paintings in place.

The arrival of the municipal police, along with the sirens from the museum and the police, caused the burglars to rush off. They stole only four of

the 12 works in the Renoir museum. They fled by running through the gardens and, it seemed, dropped two works along the way.

BELL (on camera): In a statement, the Mayor's Office said that the museum had been targeted "by several individuals" who were clearly organized,

equipped and well-informed, adding that the museums security system had been triggered as soon as they entered the museum's gardens.

The latest heist comes nearly a year after The Louvre was targeted in an audacious raid. Video footage captured thieves in yellow vests on the

second floor of The Louvre after they had forced open a window. They managed to grab nine priceless items and fled back down a truck mounted

ladder, all in just four minutes.

Police recovered the angle grinder and a torch that were used to force open the window.

BELL (voice over): One piece, the Crown of the Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III was dropped and found very quickly, but the eight other pieces

remain missing.

French Senator Nathalie Goulet doesn't think the French people understand the magnitude of the problem facing museums.

NATHALIE GOULET, FRENCH SENATOR: Well, I think we opened the Pandora's box. I mean, with The Louvre, which was so easy, with a kind of impunity and

nobody was caught almost. I think it is like an open door to a new tried for other museums.

BELL (voice over): Now calls are growing for authorities to help better protect the country's museums, to prevent increasingly organized and

determined criminals once again striking at the heart of French culture.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: A Nigerian oil refinery has signed the papers to go public. The CEO of Dangote Group says its set to be the largest IPO in Africa's history. We

will have that next.

[16:26:14]

NEWTON: Now, before the break, we told you about those Renoir paintings worth millions that were stolen from a French Museum. The speed in which

these art heists can be carried out is causing alarm, and for good reason. It also shows that there is a thriving market for stolen art, and it raises

the question of what do thieves do with such high value artworks once they have stolen them? And who is buying them?

The Art Loss Register runs the world's largest private database of stolen art, antiques and collectibles. It currently lists more than 700,000 items.

The Chairman of the Art Loss Register, Julian Radcliffe, joins us now.

And I have to ask you right off the bat, why do you believe we've had so many audacious attempts to steal this priceless art? Because it has been

surprisingly successful.

JULIAN RADCLIFFE, CHAIRMAN, ART LOSS REGISTER: The reason is that the defenses are weak, and when the criminals look at the risk reward ratio,

they see high value items which are easy to steal compared to trying to steal from a bank or a jewelry shop, which are better defended.

They don t think through how they are going to monetize the art, and in many cases, these criminal groups are very rich and they are not in a great

hurry to sell the items.

NEWTON: So they take the chance, and that goes against kind of what I assumed, as if somebody might have ordered some of these priceless

paintings or collectibles or jewelry to be stolen. But you're saying, no, they understand there is a market for this and that they try and get away

with it, and then they are patient.

RADCLIFFE: That is correct. There is no collector who wants to have stolen items in their collection because they want to increase the value of the

collection by exhibiting it, publishing it, even if they don t say who the owner is and allowing it to be known about so that the items become more

valuable as they are exhibited.

And we, in 2,000 recoveries have never found a collector who deliberately collected stolen items.

NEWTON: So how do these criminals get their payback? Because clearly that's why they are in the business. They are getting a payback somehow, some way.

RADCLIFFE: They can sometimes negotiate a plea bargain when they are arrested for a crime and the prosecutor goes for a reduced sentence with

the judge if they return stolen items. We've been involved in several cases like that. They may try and negotiate a ransom with the insurers or the

original owners, and clearly, we don t want to pay significant amounts of money to criminals, but it may be better to get the items back then than

allow the items to be dispersed and eventually have to get them back in the market years later, in a much more complicated way.

They may also be able to raise loans in the underworld market, and they sometimes use these stolen items as a form of currency. But in many cases,

they sit on these items for long periods of time because they are not under financial pressure.

NEWTON: Right, so not just currency, but actual collateral against a loan that tends to indicate that these people do not believe that they are going

to get caught.

[16:30:01]

What do you believe will stop some of these heists from happening beyond the increased security that you told us? I mean, it seems to me that there

is a payoff here and that sometimes perhaps items go missing or get stolen without anyone even realizing that they are gone in some cases.

RADCLIFFE: There is a lot of theft from museums, which sadly is undertaken by museum staff. And those losses aren't reported. They tend not to be the

most valuable items, obviously, but that is a major area of loss for museums, is sadly from contractors or museum staff. But the criminals who

take these items often hold them for long periods of time. We've been negotiating on some cases with a group of criminals or their successors for

over 20 years.

In some cases, we got back some of the items, but in many cases we haven't got back all of them. And sadly, there is -- there are a number which

deteriorate because they're not looked after and need a lot of restoration if they are recovered.

NEWTON: Interesting. And that belies the concept that some of us believe that these are sophisticated criminals. And in many cases, as you point

out, they're not. Has the issue of cryptocurrency just being able to perhaps hide some of these transactions in the blockchain, have you seen

any of that kind of activity in these heists?

RADCLIFFE: Some of the ransom type demands have required payment in crypto, which we've resisted because then there is no chance of tracing the cash or

the money. But what we are working on is not to pay in cash, but to make payments in some other way. For example, we've just had a case where a

criminal did not want to go back to his own country because he feared retribution from another gang and one of our people was able to intercede

on his behalf and get him safe passage.

As a result of that, we won some goodwill which might enable us to recover an item. In other cases, we've been able to suggest medical treatment or

educational fees for the children of people, and some criminals have been more responsive to that than they've been to anything else. But it's a very

long and slow process. And the really big problem is that a country like Serbia has no extradition to the West so the criminals feel quite safe

there.

NEWTON: Interesting. They have safe harbor there.

Julian Radcliffe, we have to leave it there. But you have given us a little over five minutes, enough for about 10 Hollywood scripts. And I think

that's being conservative. We have learned a lot, and certainly we'll keep all of this in mind. And hopefully this will not be a trend that continues.

Julian Radcliffe, for us, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

RADCLIFFE: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now, the company behind Africa's largest oil refinery is one step closer to going public in Nigeria. Dangote Group's refinery business signed

IPO documents on Monday. It plans to sell more than four billion ordinary shares aimed at raising funds to expand its refinery capacity. It is set to

be the continent's largest ever share sale.

Eleni Giokos spoke to Dangote CEO about this landmark moment for African businesses.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALIKO DANGOTE, CEO, DANGOTE GROUP: This is going to be the biggest IPO ever in the history of Africa. And I hope are different. It should be massively

oversubscribed. The demand is very, very overwhelming.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's pretty phenomenal. But many people always asking the question, why not do a primary listing in London or New

York?

DANGOTE: The IPO is going to open. I think each and ever, you know, African has an opportunity to have a stake in this great refinery. After we have

gone to 1.4 million in the next two and a half years, we will now list in, you know, in the U.S. and I believe a lot of other people to enjoy because

by that time, we are going to be the biggest refinery ever in the history of the world with a massive petrochemical complex. And I think it is going

to be something that people will definitely rush by.

GIOKOS: It is quite a moment for you, Aliko, I have to say, because it values your company, your refinery and petrochemical plants in Lagos at

about $50 billion. I mean, what does that mean in terms of profitability every single year? And can you keep it up if something changes on the oil

price front? How are you weighing up the economics of it all? Because you want to expand and you want to be producing 1.4 million barrels of oil per

day, and not just 700.

[16:35:08]

DANGOTE: Yes. Well, you know, at least when we get there we'll be now major suppliers of jet fuel to the world market, not only Europe will be the

biggest in terms of gas, oil, which means diesel to the world market.

GIOKOS: Yes. Let's talk about Kenya. I mean, you know, there's news and reports out there that you're going to be breaking ground on the refinery

there at the end of this month. That's going to cost $15 billion. If I remember correctly, the last time you and I spoke you said you probably

wouldn't build a refinery again because of the headaches that you had in Nigeria.

What has changed your mind? Because clearly you've got the formula right and it's working in your favor.

DANGOTE: I told you that, look, I will never, ever attempt to build a refinery again. But right now, to tell you the truth, I now understand how

it is. We have the best team in the world to deliver. We have a team that are very, very solid, who are used to delivering this. This is something

that we've taken it now as our own patent. I don't believe, and I repeat, I don't believe there's any company today on earth that can deliver 700,000

barrels refinery per day. And we now have the techniques. We know how to do it. And we will deliver on schedule a course.

GIOKOS: We know that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz isn't what it should be. We've got diesel prices reaching record highs in the United

States. Frankly, as you mentioned, we're seeing, you know, still issues in the supply chain, frankly, worldwide. You have benefited from what we're

seeing in terms of the crisis in the Middle East. I know you've been getting a lot of calls from investors and interest.

What has that been like of late? Do you still get the calls? Are you, for example, speaking to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company? What's happening

in terms of potential partnerships?

DANGOTE: Yes. Potential partnerships is always there. You know, there are quite a lot of people without mentioning names that are talking to us. They

really want to partner with us. We have quite a lot. But, you know, we are not trying to gather people to know who are and make these investments. We

always want to now go and invest. We want to de-risk that investment by putting all of our own resources to make sure that we deliver, so that

nobody will be thinking about risk. But internationally, whether their interest, massive interest. There are quite a lot of people that, yes, they

have a lot of interest.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now, if travel costs are keeping you from taking a vacation, having a nice home could actually offer a solution. The home swapping company

Kindred helps people exchange homes for less than the typical cost of lodging. When someone on Kindred lets guests use their home, they earn

credits and those credits can be applied to staying at another home on Kindred.

Now, the catch is for members only. That's what the platform is for. To join, you must make your home available to guests and it must be safe,

functional and tastefully furnished.

I wonder if that's in the eye of the beholder.

Justine Palefsky is the co-founder and CEO of Kindred, and she joins us now.

Look, this is a fascinating concept, but could you explain exactly how this works? Because when I went on the Web site, I was a little bit confused

because you are actually handing over some money, just not market value for what it would cost to stay in that city.

JUSTINE PALEFSKY, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, KINDRED: Yes. So the way it works is that members apply to join with their own real primary residence. And once

approved, you can meet and match with other Kindred members all over the world. As you mentioned before, you're exchanging nights instead of cash.

So guests and host members don't pay one another at all. By hosting someone in your home, you earn nights that you can use to stay at someone else's

home.

Now, members do pay for the cost of cleaning at the home they're going to and pay a small service fee to Kindred for our services that include

coordinating professional cleaning, comprehensive support services, 24/7 concierge support, all of that. But the fees end up netting out to a stay

on Kindred cost around a 10th of the price of what a stay at a vacation rental or a hotel in a comparable place would cost. So it quite literally

means that you can take 10 trips for the price of one.

NEWTON: So you're saying about 10 percent of a cost, I mean, is what you're saying. So the money that I'd hand over would normally, if I wanted to make

a trip to here in New York, let's say, a hotel for a week might cost me $3,000. You're saying it might only cost me $300? Am I getting that right?

PALEFSKY: Yes, exactly. Yes, exactly. Including, you know, those are the cleaning fees and our service fees.

[16:40:01]

And this is why Kindred has really exploded in growth over the past four years since we've launched because affordability is a huge concern for

every consumer right now. It is no secret that the cost of living have increased. The cost of travel on average is up about 9 percent year over

year. And airfare is around 25 percent higher this summer than it was last summer.

So when you have extraordinary costs in some parts of the world right now, people are either looking to cut back on travel or find creative ways to

travel more affordably and still be able to live that kind of lifestyle that they want without breaking the bank.

NEWTON: Now, you say forthrightly that this idea is built on community and trust, and that might make some people queasy, right? Like how do you put

their mind at ease? It is literally a case that I leave my home and I'm swapping with someone else. In terms of checking out who these people are,

I mean, how do you put -- how do you make this work?

PALEFSKY: Yes. So what's really important about this network is that it is a strict give to get community. So everybody on Kindred has skin in the

game. They all have homes. Over 90 percent of our members are joining with their sole primary residence. And everybody who is a guest is also a host.

So you have that shared understanding and that empathy of doing something vulnerable yourself.

Users create really comprehensive household profiles. They link to their social media and we encourage members to hop on a video chat and get to

know each other before confirming a stay. And interestingly, over the past year, we've launched Kindred Circles, which is an ecosystem of

subcommunities within the broader kindred ecosystem to make it even easier for members to find others with whom they already have some shared basis of

trust.

So as an example, our Women Travelers Circle launched in July. It had over 10,000 members within the first four or so weeks because there are a lot of

women out there who feel safer home swapping if they're doing it within a tight knit community of other women.

NEWTON: Justine, this is a business we will continue to follow. I've learned a lot. It's fascinating. And we'll see where your growth takes you.

Really appreciate your time.

PALEFSKY: Thank you.

NEWTON: All right. We have another story just in to CNN. An update on what we had told you earlier in the show from the Gulf State media, says a

second Iranian vessel has now come under attack. This one is off the coast of Jask. Earlier this hour, we reported a tanker attack off the coast of

Kharg Island. The crews of both attacked oil tankers are being taken by lifeboats to the coast. Iran is blaming the U.S. for the attack, but U.S.

Central Command has not confirmed the strike.

We will, of course, keep you updated on that story. That's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. "CONNECTING AFRICA" is next.

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