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Quest Means Business
U.S. Treasury Yields Hit Highest Levels Since 2002; Israel Marks Three Years Since Hamas-Led Massacre; Russia Urged to Share Information Amid Global Concern. Fraternities Under Scrutiny Amid High-Profile Incidents; Christa Pike's Lawyers Says Botched Execution was "Foreseeable"; Report Examines Growing Role of Latinos in U.S. Economy; U.S. Gulf Coast Preparing for First Hurricane of the Season. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired October 07, 2026 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": The closing bell is ringing on Wall Street. Trading is coming to an end on the midweek
edition of trading. Bring us to a close, sir, as you can see, we are down on the Dow and on the triple stack, and with the gavel, it is a one and a
two and a one, two, three, four. Though not hugely -- interestingly, the Dow is the worst of them all. Over the course of the show, we will show you
the Dow 30, but those are the markets and these are the main events that we are talking about.
Bond yields continue to soar across the West. It puts governments and consumers alike in worse financial positions, the impact the big and the
small.
Israel marks the third anniversary of the October 7th attacks with memorials and commemorations, and there are also protests held across the
country.
And at Cornell University, gang rape allegations raising questions about the so-called Greek life fraternities, sororities. I will speak to a
professor who wrote the book on fraternities.
Good evening.
Live from London, Wednesday, October the 7th. I am Richard Qquest, and I mean business.
We begin tonight with the global bond selloff, which is gaining new momentum. And it has pushed U.S. Treasuries the yield to a new 24-year
high. The ten-year and the significance here, this underpins the cost of borrowing on many mortgages and deals rose above 5.3 percent at $1.39
billion Treasury auction has since steadied the market, and soaring yields have broad implications for the rising costs of debt at governments,
business and consumers.
And it all shows anticipating another rate increase by the federal reserve. The minutes of the last Fed meeting suggest one could come before the end
of the year. That's what people are believing at the moment.
Allison Morrow is with me from New York.
Allison, I want to go back to the chart that we just showed, which shows the three -- the bond yields and how they are affecting. And you see the
10-year, the 30-year, the two-year, and how they actually impact the real world.
Give me an idea. What impacts what as we see from that?
ALLISON MORROW, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR EDITOR: Well, thanks for starting with an easy one. If you only pay attention really to one part of the bond
market, pay attention to the ten-year yield. That is when prices of the ten-year Treasury go down as they are right now. The yield goes up.
What does that mean? Who cares? That means your mortgage is going to get more expensive if you are shopping for a home. Your credit card rate can go
up, your student loan borrowing rates can go up a lot -- a lot, a lot of stuff in the economy is priced off the 10-year yield, and that reflects
investors' expectations about inflation going forward.
So if we're seeing the 10-year yield going up, that's not great news for consumers who are already strained from, you know, years of inflation
already.
QUEST: Right. And we are also seeing, you know, I mean, it is also worth pointing out, as I understand it, the 10-year, the two-year and the lower
end, that's very much influenced by short term and the Fed and the FOMC and the overnight rates at the very short end of the market.
But the longer end, as we call it, the 10 to 30, that is influenced by economics. Good old-fashioned economics and state of the economy borrowing
and debt.
MORROW: Exactly. You said it better than I could have. When we see the bond market responding to deficits and high levels of government debt, this is
what happens. If you want a silver lining, I've seen a lot of people, a lot of economists talking today about the kind of contrarian view that this is
actually okay, and that we are kind of settling into a new normal.
It is turbulent and sending off all kinds of concerns, but a lot of economists say it is still rooted in economic fundamentals and to be
expected.
QUEST: Right. So, the last question, I am just going to go back into a script that I read earlier that -- right at the beginning, my first few
lines, Allison, said pushing U.S. Treasury yields to a new 24-year high.
So what? Why does it matter?
[16:05:10]
Did it matter 24 years ago? Why does it matter now? Big, big deal. So what?
MORROW: It is a great question. It matters if you have only been an adult, basically, for the last 20 years. You've been in this kind of Goldilocks
era of low interest rates. Mortgages were relatively cheap. Borrowing, consumer debt was very cheap and we are probably not going to be able to
hold on to that for much longer. In fact, it may be well, in the past.
We are entering into an era where economists tell me we just have to get used to higher levels of debt. So it may be no big deal if you're used to
pre-2002 interest rates.
QUEST: Good to see you. Thank you. You've put it in perspective in terms of what these numbers mean. Good to see you, Allison.
MORROW: Good to see you!
QUEST: Now, last night in Paris on this program we discussed the impact that high government borrowing is having on the French economy and French
society. But it is not just France, as we told you.
In economies across Europe, the problem is getting worse. So let's look at the yields.
On the U.K., French and Italian debt yields have all risen steadily in recent weeks. The euro is hovering near a 17-month low against the dollar.
It is higher borrowing costs.
Joining me is Carsten Brzeski, the Global Head of Macro Research and Chief Eurozone Economist at ING.
Well, I say to you, sir, like I said to Allison, so what?
I mean, you know, I understand the individual consumer is badly hit. How are these higher yields hitting governments?
CARSTEN BRZESKI, GLOBAL HEAD OF MACRO RESEARCH AND CHIEF EUROZONE ECONOMIST, ING: Yes, Good evening, Richard. It is not only the consumers,
it is indeed governments because this shows us that this model of debt fueled growth is clearly coming to an end.
High interest rates simply mean that governments will have to implement some kind of austerity, and this means either expenditure cuts or even
higher taxes. Both bad news for the economies.
So also meaning that you mentioned Italy, you mentioned France, you mentioned the U.K. that in these economies growth will no longer come from
fiscal spending, but that the government will rather be, well, restrictive and slowing down economic growth.
QUEST: Now, we've got an interesting dynamic going on because at the short end, they are raising rates to tackle the inflation. Certainly, the ECB is
more advanced than most with two raises in rates and possibly more to come.
But what is in your view, driving this increase at the long end? We now know the implications. We know how it is going to hit people, but what is
driving the rate rises?
BRZESKI: It started off with the U.S. story, the anticipation by markets that the war in the Middle East is going to be a forever war. Higher oil
prices, higher energy prices also then repricing inflation expectations, and then consequently, expectations about future rate hikes.
At some point in time, we had financial markets actually expecting an additional three to four rate hikes by the European Central Bank. That was
the first step.
And we are now entering a territory where these higher interest rates will have clearly also triggered some kind of attention from markets on, hey,
where do we actually -- where does government debt stand in the European countries? And wasn't there something like a Eurozone debt crisis some 15
years ago?
So now, we see that there is a tension also on debt sustainability and then these higher interest rates can become a bit of a self-fulfilling, namely
pushing countries really, or governments into financing problems.
QUEST: So let's talk now -- let's stay in Europe. The ECB and the European community, the commission, they have many more tools than they did at their
disposal. There is a certain mutuality of debt. There is a variety of very large funds. The ECB is much more sophisticated these days.
So a repeat of the European debt crisis -- well, I am making a statement. I should probably have a question mark at the end of this.
A repeat of the debt crisis seems unlikely. Yes or no?
BRZESKI: It is unlikely. But never say never. I think that's all pretty obvious. But one thing is clear France is not Greece. France is much
bigger. France is much more better financed. France has a financial system that could also come to the rescue if there wasn't enough demand for French
government debt.
So this is clearly not the same situation that we had in 2010 and 2011, but when you compare it with 2010 and 2011, government debt ratios are
currently clearly higher than they were in 2010 and 2011.
And I think also the political landscape in Europe is much more fragmented than it was 15 years ago.
[16:10:18]
QUEST: So, Carsten, let's just sort of put the numbers to one side and let's go with the gut and how you feel about it.
When you look at this scenario, and you know, we've all been around a week or two, so we've seen similar and we've seen -- how concerning is it? Are
we looking at the makings of something much nastier and deeper in the months and years ahead?
BRZESKI: It is clearly concerning because it again, puts the growth model of Europe at a test, that is one thing. We also know from the past that,
you know, big financial market corrections, financial crises, were always led by very aggressive monetary policy tightening, so many policy rate
hikes by Central Banks. And as long as inflation is high, the ECB and the Fed might be forced to continue hiking interest rates.
So therefore this is concerning, but also, you know this, Richard, that this inflation pressure could go immediately away if the war in the Middle
East would be stopped ,and then Central Banks would not be forced to hike interest rates.
And then I think we should also -- we could see some relief in bond markets as well.
QUEST: I am grateful, Carsten. Thank you. Its late evening in Frankfurt. But you've given us good perspective. Thank you sir.
Now, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, when we return, it has been three years since Hamas launched a horrific attack on Israeli border communities.
The historic day that changed so much.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: A somber day in Israel as the country marks three years since the deadliest single day in country's history. There were commemorations,
memorials, and yes, protests that were held across the country. It all began, or the day began with a moment of silence at 6:29 this morning.
That's when, three years ago, at that time, Hamas-led gunmen stormed Israeli communities along the Gaza border.
[16:15:10]
The gunmen killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 people hostage.
The head of one of the hardest hit communities says this is the first year that they've been able to hold events in the kibbutz since that attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZION REGEV, HEAD, KIBBUTZ KFAR AZA: It is a very emotional day. It is a very difficult day for our community, three years after October 7th, after
three years, all the ceremonies we are doing here in the kibbutz, actually three years, we are kind of refugees in Israel and this is the first time
we are doing all the things here in the kibbutz.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: In response to the attack in 2023, Israel, of course, launched its military campaign in Gaza that killed more than 74,000 people, according to
the Palestinian Health Authorities and the humanitarian crisis caused by that campaign has been crippling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHEHADA HAMAD, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN FROM BEIT HANOUN (through translator): These three years were hell. We have been wasted. Our children stopped
going to schools and studying. Our homes were destroyed.
Our children were murdered. Our women were widowed. Our children were orphaned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Jeremy is with me. Jeremy Diamond.
Jeremy, you covered this story from the very beginning, three years ago. You're with me now from Tel Aviv. I guess, I think tonight from you, I need
more of an assessment as to where we are.
I've been reading articles, for example, in "The New York Times" today about how Gaza is three years on. We had the FlyDubai incident only last
week. If you -- and we've got elections in Israel, of course, how could I forget that -- at the same time.
Pull it together for me, please.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, today in Israel is certainly a somber day. It began, as you mentioned, with that 6:29 A.M.
moment of silence that was observed by Israelis around the country, but in particular inside those kibbutz, those communities closest to the Gaza
border that suffered the most casualties, and where you also had many of those Israeli hostages who were taken from those communities.
Three years on, today not only saw memorial ceremonies, commemorations that featured many of the survivors and also former hostages who were held in
Gaza over the course of this conflict, but it also today marked the first time that this anniversary has taken place where there are no Israeli
hostages, living or dead, inside the Gaza Strip and that has certainly left more place today for talk about accountability for protests that took place
across the country, for a conversation about the need for a state commission of inquiry, something that the Israeli Prime Minister has so far
rejected.
And that is indeed, as you talk about those Israeli elections, that is indeed a key facet of the opposition's election campaign. Gadi Eisenkot,
the chief opposition candidate running against Prime Minister Netanyahu, has said that if he wins, if the elections go his and the opposition bloc's
way, the first thing he will do in office is establish that State Commission of Inquiry.
But as it relates to the broader picture, Richard, there is no question that you can draw a straight line from October 7th to the devastating war
in Gaza, to the war in Lebanon, and, of course, to the broader war between the United States and Israel and Iran, a conflict that is still unresolved
as of today that is having massive global ramifications on energy prices, on geopolitical stability in this region and it doesn't seem like three
years on, we are any closer to resolving the conflicts that emanated from that day.
QUEST: But, you know, that's the core point. We are no closer. And I don't know why I am surprised when you say that we are no closer to it. But this
election is entrenching positions, which it always does to some extent as we get closer and closer to voters making their decision. What's the mood
in Israel?
DIAMOND: Well, we know that currently, if the elections were held today, it is very likely that Netanyahu's current government would fall, that the
opposition leaders have a better chance of forming the next government. But how much change would that actually bring about?
Certainly, as it relates to accountability for the security failures that led up to October 7th, there would be major changes. There would be changes
in terms of Israeli policy in the West Bank, for example, as well.
But keep in mind that many of the opposition candidates have also been running on quite a hawkish platform as it relates to Iran.
[16:10:10]
So will the broader geopolitical picture in which Israel finds itself as a key player change that seems less likely. What is going to be different,
though, if the opposition wins, is certainly a different relationship with the United States, a different image, perhaps around the world. And, you
know, not the same kind of fighting for his survival that we often find Benjamin Netanyahu in and questions about how much political calculus is
influencing the national security decisions of this country.
QUEST: Jeremy, you've covered this, and you've seen things that no one should be expected to see at all and you've witnessed this shift in mood.
How do you assess it?
DIAMOND: It is a difficult question, Richard. I mean, the last three years that I have been here covering this conflict, you know, we have witnessed,
you know, more than 74,000 people killed in Gaza. I was in the communities in Israel in the days and weeks after October 7th, and we still see the
trauma today, from that day that is still reverberating, that is influencing people's choices about who they're going to vote for in the
election, their views about the possibility of peace in this region.
And, you know, one of the things I often think about, Richard, is that oftentimes in history, we see massive moments of crisis sometimes bring
about a change, sometimes bring about opportunity to take a different path. And over the last three years, certainly those moments have surfaced and
we've seen potential opportunities to head in a different direction.
And while there is a door that is open to that other direction, so far, it doesn't seem like anyone in power is willing to walk through it.
QUEST: Jeremy, I am grateful. Thank you for the assessment tonight.
Russia's health regulator says there is no risk of an epidemic following that mysterious death of a worker at the plague research center in Siberia.
It also says preventative measures in the area are now winding down. It comes amid global concerns about transparency from Russia.
World leaders are continuing to urge the country to share information about the woman's death, which the Russian Health authorities say was due to
pneumonia of unknown origin. The WHO, that's the World Health Organization, says without more details, it can't properly assess potential risks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The WHO has offered technical support related to plague and
lab biosafety and biosecurity.
As we don't yet have the full picture of this event, we are not able to conduct a full risk assessment.
Timely, complete and transparent information sharing under the International Health Regulations is essential to clarify conflicting
reports and enable an accurate assessment of potential public health risks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Jennifer Hansler is with me from Washington. It doesn't get more damning than that. We can't assess the risk, the transparency isn't there.
I mean, you know, from the U.S. point of view, Russia seems to be hoping it is all just going to go away and we are all going to forget about it and go
home.
JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Well Richard, from the U.S. side, we are also hearing similar frustrations, at least from here in
the State Department. Secretary of State Marco Rubio alluded to those frustrations when talking to reporters yesterday in Iceland, saying it was
the obligation of Russia to share more information with the world so that they would be able to react accordingly and appropriately.
We have also seen the U.S. escalate its pressure on Moscow for answers, issuing a demarche that is a formal diplomatic communique often sent in
protest, demanding answers for what exactly transpired in this anti-plague lab in Siberia.
Now, President Donald Trump has said he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin today around his birthday, and also pressed for answers on
what is going on here. He did say he does not believe that this is a bioweapon situation and he pointed to the fact that Russia says that it is
under control.
However, Rubio said yesterday that it would be reckless to speculate on what exactly has transpired here, that it could be smaller than what they
expect, bigger than what to expect. They just do not know at this point.
Now, a State Department official told us that they have been in contact with the Russian government since at least last Friday, but the information
that Moscow has shared thus far is limited.
We also know from the European side that they are looking for answers as well. There was a meeting of the European Commission's Global Health
Security Committee today where they did discuss that death in Siberia, and they said they were briefed by the WHO Europe on the limited information
that they had thus far.
[16:2508 ]
Another concern we are hearing from officials is whether or not the answers that Russia gives will actually be the full accounting -- Richard.
QUEST: All right, Jennifer, I am grateful. You will keep watching and reporting back to us when we have more. Thank you.
It is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS from London tonight. It is known as the Greek life, the fraternities and sororities at the U.S. college campuses now very
much under scrutiny. Allegations of rape at Cornell University have raised concerns -- more than concerns -- an expert on the troubled history of the
Greek system, in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: A very good evening to you! I am Richard Quest. We, together, will do a lot more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment when the allegations of gang
rape at Cornell University have put the Greek life under scrutiny. A professor will join me who wrote a book on the history of fraternities.
No hurricanes have developed in the Atlantic Ocean so far this year. That might be about to change, but we do need to understand the forecast as to
why -- what is going on.
And we will only get to all of those stories after the headlines because, yes, this is CNN, and here on this network, the news always comes first.
Israel is marking the third anniversary of the October 7th attacks with memorials for the victims and protests against the current government. One
of the ceremonies was held at the NOVA festival site, where Hamas-led gunmen killed more than 370 people and abducted 44 hostages.
There were also calls for accountability of the Israeli government for the worst security failure in the nation's history.
The Russian Health officials insist there is no risk of an epidemic in connection to the mysterious death in Siberia, when a 28-year-old lab
technician at a plague research center died last week of what they describe as pneumonia of an unknown origin.
Russia's health watchdog says it found no dangerous pathogens among people it tested, and that preventive measures in the region are now winding down.
But the World Health Organization wants to do its own public risk assessment.
[16:30:31]
A woman who became a symbol of Spain's housing crisis has died at the age of 87. Maria del Carmen Abascal was evicted last month from her home of 70
years after her rent was raised by more than 300 percent. Now that eviction sparked a wave of nationwide protests. Ultimately that's led Spain's prime
minister to call a snap election.
Outrage is growing over Cornell University's response to the alleged gang rape that took place back in 2024. University officials say two of the men
named in the accuser's civil lawsuit are still enrolled and attending classes. Now, faculty, the university professors held a webinar on Tuesday
night where they voiced their concerns to the school's administration. Some professors say they are struggling to teach classes with the accused men.
And so to where it all is alleged to have taken place, one of the fraternities on the campus. Fraternities as such have been around for
centuries. It's known as the Greek life or the Greek society, and it exists on almost every college campus in America. I remember when I first went to
Vanderbilt as an exchange student in 1983, '84, I was amazed by these very large Palladium mansions where these different fraternities and sororities
held their -- well, they held court and people vied to join the Greek life.
It seemed to me at the time, and I'll talk more about it at the end, it was a sort of less inclusive and more exclusive and designed to exclude. But
there that's another issue. So Greek life has been having serious problems over many years. It's involving the hazing for those joining, sexual
assault and binge drinking.
Nick Syrett is with me, the author of "The Company He Keeps." It is a history of white college fraternities. He's also a professor of gender and
women's studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
What I really want to focus here is this idea that you have these societies, sororities and fraternities, you often join the one that your
parents or grandparents or brothers or siblings were in, and they are a law unto themselves even though the university professes to regulate them.
NICK SYRETT, AUTHOR, "THE COMPANY HE KEEPS": Yes, that's right. They are regulated on college campuses, but they are often able to get away with
various things because the fraternity and sororities own the houses in which the students live.
QUEST: And they're actually living in those houses. And the other thing about it is, of course, alumni, alumnus. They have huge power in a sense
because they come to the university at the alumni weekend, they remember their days and they are in many cases the ones who are putting pressure on
the universities, not to censure, punish or otherwise exclude the fraternities. Explain.
SYRETT: Sure. So, first of all, it's worth noting that the alumni actually usually own the houses in which the fraternities and sororities are living.
They own them as local alumni corporations, and then the current students rent back from those alumni corporations. It's also the case that when a
university administration talk about regulating-slash-banning-slash- excluding fraternities from campus, they get a lot of pushback from alumni.
And most studies have shown that alumni who've been involved in the Greek system are both more involved in as alumni in their colleges and
universities, and that they are more generous as donors. And so universities often listen to these alumni and do not regulate as much as
they could.
QUEST: Why did it -- why did the whole thing get started in the first place?
[16:35:04]
SYRETT: So they began in the 1820s on college campuses. And this was a moment when schools were quite small. They were designed to train men for
the ministry, and they were exceedingly regulated. So all students arose at the same moment and had the same schedule throughout their day. And mostly
what they did was they had Greek and Latin recitation and a variety of other classes that were not all that intellectually stimulating.
And so fraternities were, by definition, clubs that were against the rules. So if you joined one, it was a secret society and you were breaking the
rules and enlivening your experience in a way that was unlike the rest of what was going on on college campuses.
QUEST: Right. The problem is for the entire history of these things, there have been an element of controversy, whether because they unofficially
excluded Jews or they were racially segregated, or they were misogynistic, or they were for particular the old tri-delta, you had to look a certain
way. Now, I'm not saying any of those things exist now, but there's been controversy around Greek system since pretty much the day it started and it
is the weight of money that in many cases has kept it going.
SYRETT: Yes, that's true. And in fact, some of those things still do happen. So it was not unofficial exclusion of Jews or people of color.
Those were written into the constitutions of the fraternities themselves, and they only were removed from those constitutions in the middle of the
20th century, thanks to the Civil Rights Movement when universities were told, in essence, no more federal funding for you if your --
QUEST: Right.
SYRETT: If some of the organizations on your campus are still racially exclusive. So you're correct that there's been controversy from the get-go.
The controversy itself has just changed over time.
QUEST: Right. Now let's put aside this appalling allegation. This is not what we're talking about. My next question does not relate to this. It's a
general question. In your view, sir, and please feel free to plead the Fifth or say it's not for you to say. In your view, does the Greek system
do more harm than good?
SYRETT: Yes. I could say more, but I think -- I'm sympathetic to the idea that young people want to join organizations where they can be friends with
one another, and there is loyalty there. But in the aggregate, given the controversy, the hazing, the binge drinking and the sexual assault that we
see, that outweighs any benefit that students should be able to find through friendship with people on college campuses outside of the bounds of
fraternities.
QUEST: Right. I'm grateful, sir. Thank you, Professor. We will talk more. I appreciate you taking time tonight. Thank you.
And so to the situation of Christa Pike, now a lawyer for the Tennessee woman who survived the botched prison execution, says the whole incident
was foreseeable. Christa Pike's attorney was talking after a court hearing to preserve evidence from last week's execution attempt. Pike was given two
injections of pentobarbital, which were meant to kill her. The attorney -- her attorney says the state of Tennessee ignored warnings about the
execution method.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDY SPIVEY, ATTORNEY FOR CHRISTA PIKE: What happened to Christa is exactly what the state was warned would happen. And there are so many
questions that need to be answered, not by Christa but by the state of Tennessee. But one of those questions has to be how much suffering is
enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Ryan Young is with me outside the courthouse in Nashville.
Ryan, good evening to you. Look, on this --
Good evening.
QUEST: Not surprisingly, the judge ruled that, you know, basically the vast majority of evidence that still exists must be preserved. Some things don't
exist. They were either thrown away or taken away. But apparently Christa Pike is still, you know, shackled in handcuffs, although I don't understand
why since she's not going anywhere.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's where a lot of people are -- may beg to differ here, Richard, because apparently,
according to the state, they believe she's tried to escape before, so they don't want to put anybody in jeopardy. That's according to the state here.
So that's why they're going to keep her shackled. But let's not forget, her arm is also apparently the size of a balloon because of the effects of the
medicine that they put into her to try to kill her, try to execute her, even though it didn't work.
And they're still shocked that she's even awake and talking because they were planning to take her off life support. And then all of a sudden, she
sat up and started talking, Richard.
QUEST: Do we know -- I mean, it's too soon to say I guess, but do we know her condition in terms of longer term damage? I remember right at the
beginning her lawyers and doctors said that it was going to be a long road ahead. Have we got more details?
[16:40:01]
YOUNG: Right. I think that's the part that we're all sort of astounded by. And there's a little bit of a law thing here called HIPAA that they want to
make sure they don't give too much of what her condition is. But when they talked about all the swelling and the effects of this and the fact that she
was delirious when she woke up, you can understand they're being very careful how they move forward. They did talk about her being in pain still.
Take a listen to one of her lawyers talk about where she is right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPIVEY: I was not in the room when she woke up, so I don't want to speculate too much. What our understanding was the first thing she said
was, where am I and who are you? There's still a lot of cognitive confusion. And so I will say that. She has wanted to know what's happened
and she's asked about several people. She's asked about her team. She's asked about -- she's asked about the victim's family. Like she is, I think
she is angry and confused about everything right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: And Richard, before we get too far with all this, I want to say something. There are people in the state who are angry that she survived.
They want something done to her because they believe she's on death row too long. One of those people who showed up here to court, we had a
conversation, I want you to listen to the sound bite so you can hear how strongly this woman hopes that she gets put to death still.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE NEWELL, TENNESSEE RESIDENT: And we have paid enough for Christa Pike. We've paid enough and our state could not even pay to bring May
Martinez here. She had to raise a GoFundMe. Yet we have paid for Christa Pike and now we're paying for attorneys. And now we're paying for hospital
bills. It's -- and now they're talking about lawsuits. It's disgusting. And the worst part is that Colleen has been forgotten.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: So I wanted you to hear that for yourselves because so many people have been asking questions, especially from across the pond, about how
people view this.
QUEST: Sure.
YOUNG: There are a number of people who hope she still gets put to death sometime in the near future. Of course, the governor here has suspended all
death penalty cases in terms of moving forward for the rest of the year, but that is a real feeling there. And let's not forget, a woman running for
governor has also said she hopes they bring back the electric chair so they can get it done that way.
QUEST: Yes. And by the way, I'll just finish up by saying in court, the district attorney or the prosecutors would not give any commitments on what
would be next.
Thank you, Ryan. I'm grateful for bringing both sides of the argument to us tonight.
YOUNG: Thank you.
QUEST: As we continue a new report, growing role Latinos play in U.S. economic growth. So what does it mean when we talk about the U.S. Latino
economy.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS TONIGHT. Good evening to you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:45:28]
QUEST: Now there's a new report which is measuring the growing role that Latinos are playing in the driving the U.S. economic growth. It's the
Latino Donor Collaborative, which estimates their total economic activity this year will amount to -- now you better -- $5 trillion. It will make the
U.S. Latino economy the fourth largest in the world on its own behind Germany, China and the U.S. as a whole. The report notes the growing
spending power of Latinos it's projected to reach $3.2 trillion, up 15 percent.
Sol Trujillo is the co-founder and chairman of the Latino Donor Collaborative, chairing the Trujillo Group Investments. He's with me from
the conference, the Latino Business Conference in L.A..
Sol, look, we -- I guess we know the power of the Latino economic power, but it doesn't -- it's not a monolithic bloc. It doesn't vote in one way.
It doesn't spend in one way. So how do you -- how do you harness it in a sense?
SOL TRUJILLO, CO-FOUNDER AND CHAIR, LATINO DONOR COLLABORATIVE: Well, it's like everything else, Richard. And I've -- as you know, I've operated
businesses all around the world. It's that people like to be identified and talked to. So the best example in the U.S. right now, an iconic brand
called Budweiser focused on the Anglo American cohort as it has for 100 years.
Now, all of a sudden, the working class, you know, the younger cohort that also drinks beer just like the Anglo American cohort did, they are now
Latino. And so a company called Modelo Beer passed Budweiser. 20 years ago we had the Japanese car makers passed the American car makers because they
focused on this growing cohort and they did the math of what birth rates look like and the base.
QUEST: Right.
TRUJILLO: So it's about -- it's not about being monolithic and it's not about everybody is a little bit different. It's like saying everybody from
all parts of Britain are different. And the answer is there's a lot of commonality. So if you address the commonalities --
QUEST: So --
TRUJILLO: And have in culture, you can make a difference in terms of sales and growth.
QUEST: And -- but the tricky part is not to do tokenism. The tricky part is not to do stereotypes. And I'm guessing you have to really understand what
it is that that sector of the Latino economic community you're going for. Otherwise, you're rather like your parents disco dancing.
TRUJILLO: Yes. Well, I think you said it mostly correct. People like to be talked to. Right? The rule of marketing for 2,000 years is have a product
or a service and talk to the person that you want to buy it. And that's how you, you know, ultimately close the sale. In the U.S. take for example
commercials. Very infrequently now, less than 5 percent of invested capital on advertising is focused on this cohort, even though -- and I don't mean
Spanish language. I mean their cohort, just like there's Anglo Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans.
QUEST: Right.
TRUJILLO: This cohort has been the most neglected and it's the fastest growing. And now there's almost 70 million people growing to 80 million by
the end of the decade, not because of immigration, but because of organic birth rates, et cetera.
QUEST: Wow.
TRUJILLO: So it's bigger than most countries. And the income growth is higher now, faster than any other growth country in the world.
QUEST: Right.
TRUJILLO: And it's -- and it's consumptive. It's the third largest consuming cohort in the world. So if I'm sitting over there in London and
I'm Unilever, I should be paying attention because a big percentage of my sales and profits come there. Clearly, Toyota understands it with how they
focus sitting over in Japan in terms of growing in this country. And there's a lot of other brands, Loreal and others, that are now
understanding that they're outgrowing the traditional players and the traditional players still have to catch up. This is all business, as you
say.
QUEST: All right. It's all business, and we'll talk more about it. I'm grateful, Sir. We need to have you more on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS so we can
understand this particular aspect of the growing economy. Thank you for joining me tonight.
TRUJILLO: Yes.
[16:50:00]
QUEST: It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm in London. Tonight, the first Atlantic hurricane of the season is on the verge of forming. It's in the
Gulf of Mexico. The forecast after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Oil companies are taking precautions along the U.S. Gulf Coast ahead of what's forecast to become the first Atlantic hurricane of the season.
Forecasters say that Tropical Storm Isaias, which is basically meaning Isiah, will strengthen into a hurricane and then approach the northern Gulf
Coast this week, flooding, strong winds and all the usual hurricane stuff will be coming along.
The Atlantic season has been unusually quiet, and that's unfortunately because of other reasons. El Nino has been stronger.
Allison Chinchar in Atlanta. Allison is with me.
Yes. I mean, I say with -- talk about giveth and taketh, I say it's been not as great on the hurricanes, but that's only because El Nino is worse.
What -- tell me what's happening at the moment.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. So we did just get the brand new update that came in right at the top of the hour, the 5:00 update. One of
the concerns we've been keeping a close eye on are all of the oil and natural gas wells that are here in the Gulf region. So every single one of
these orange dots you see on the map represents one of those wells. And so when you look at the forecast track of the storm, you'll notice,
particularly on the western side of that track, you do have quite a few of those wells in the track.
But the question really becomes, OK, is it going to go in that track? Will it shift east? Will it shift west? A lot of that really depends on what
this storm does in the next 24 hours. So the newest update just came in. We have now seen an increase. The storm has strengthened. We now have
sustained winds of 65 miles per hour, gusting up to 75 miles per hour. So the sustained winds still tropical storm strength. But the -- or the
forecast or the gusty winds, excuse me, are up to hurricane force. Again forward movement is about east northeast at about eight miles per hour.
Here is the brand new track that just came in to kind of show you where we anticipate this storm going. It will continue east northeast before finally
making a very sharp turn to the north and moving due north, making landfall right here along the Gulf Coast, likely in this pink shaded area late in
the day on Friday. And those pink areas you see on the map are where we have the hurricane watches in anticipation of when this storm is expected
to make landfall and the impacts that it is going to have.
Now, exactly where it makes landfall is still kind of up in the air. And there is some model discrepancy with that.
[16:55:00]
The blue lines you see here are more of the traditional models. The red lines are more of the A.I. model. So there is a very clear difference in
what the models are expecting out of this storm.
QUEST: Oh, good grief. So A.I. -- right. So A.I. is giving a different -- has got it further to the east. I guess over time we will learn whether
A.I. is more accurate than traditional. Why aren't we getting -- why has it been so quiet for hurricanes?
CHINCHAR: I'm sorry. Say that again?
QUEST: Why have we had so few hurricanes.?
CHINCHAR: So we've had so few hurricanes in the Atlantic because this is typically what happens in El Nino. We have a very, very active Pacific and
a not-so active Atlantic. And one thing to note is it's usually because you have a lot of wind shear out there, and wind shear basically rips apart
hurricanes.
Now, the reason I mentioned that is because this storm is going to be headed into an area of wind shear. For example, if this storm were much,
much slower than it is anticipated going, the wind shear would likely take over and the whole storm would essentially fall apart. But it is moving
relatively quickly on its trek up to the Gulf Coast, and because of that, it will be able to maintain its strength as it continues to slide up to the
north.
And that's what has us so worried, because, again, if it maintains its strength, it could be a very high end category two, possibly even category
three, which would be a major hurricane when it actually does make landfall right there along the Gulf Coast.
QUEST: I'm grateful. You'll be watching a busy days ahead for you. Thank you.
We will have a "Profitable Moment" after the break. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment."
Forty years ago, when I was a student at Vanderbilt University, I was also a columnist for the then -- for the newspaper on campus, "The Vanderbilt
Hustler." And I wrote in an editorial about the Greek system because as a student from Britain coming to the United States, I'd noticed this Greek
system where social life revolved around sororities and fraternities. And for those geeks or otherwise who were not members, because you were
involved in the student radio or television, like myself or the newspaper, or you were doing something else on campus, there was a certain feeling of
the cool kids and those not.
There was a feeling that life revolved around the Greek system, and if you weren't part of it, then maybe you were excluded. And I remember writing
this editorial 40 years ago that the whole thing felt more exclusionary than inclusionary. As soon as I published it, of course, I got absolutely
excoriated by those who were part of the Greek system and nearly ran off a rail off the campus.
But I maintain the point. Is it a good system to have where you have these societies where social life essentially revolves around and you're either
in or you're out, or maybe some would say, that's a reflection of life. I don't know.
But that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in London. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable. I'll see
you on Friday.
END
