this is business live from bbc news, with victoria fritz and maryam moshiri. china's huawei vows it's business as usual despite the arrest of one it's top executives at the us's request. live from london, that's our top story on friday the 7th of december. it isa it is a very exciting show. we're not sure what will happen next. and neither does the financial officer of huawei, who is due to be in a bail hearing in vancouver. lots more coming up on that story. we will be talking about opec, will they agree

a deal today? we have the markets as well. little bit of a boost, european stocks on a firmer end to the end of the week. we will get to grips with what is troubling global markets and asking if the euro could ever be the leading currency of the world. all that coming up with our economic correspondent. as australia passes a controversial law to make tech companies share encrypted m essa 9 es tech companies share encrypted messages with the police, we ask if it isa messages with the police, we ask if it is a good thing or should we be concerned with governments invading oui’ concerned with governments invading our privacy? hello and welcome to business live. the western canadian city of vancouver is set to be the focus of global attention

in a few hours time. that's where the chief financial officer of china's top technology firm huawei is expected to ask a court to grant her bail. meng wanzhou is the daughter of huawei's founder and president. she was was arrested on saturday at the request of us authorities, who are believed to want her extradited over alleged violation of sanctions against iran. the move has sparked outrage in china and rattled global markets, with investors fearing it signals a dangerous new phase in the trade war between the two economic superpowers. and now there are reports that japan's government is also considering a ban on huawei products. our asia business correspondent karishma vaswani is in singapore. what exactly was huawei's response to this in the letter? huawei issued

a letter to its suppliers saying it is business as usual, nothing to worry about in a rather stronger use of language actually, in comparison to what we have seen when the rest first happened when they have very little information from the us government. what they said in the letter, and i have a copy here, they said they believe it is unreasonable of the us government to use these sorts of approaches to exert pressure on a business entity. now, borrowing from president trump's vocabulary from the china trade war, they say these actions are against they say these actions are against the spirit of free economy and fair competition. where have we heard those words before? a stronger response from huawei with regards to the arrest of that cfo and the daughter of the founding father of the company. one analyst described huawei to me as the crown jewel of

chinese tech. if that is true, meng wanzhou is chinese tech. if that is true, meng wa nzhou is definitely chinese tech. if that is true, meng wanzhou is definitely its princess. what are canada saying about this because they have been accused of being political about it, accusations they are denying? they have been categorical, they say they arejust have been categorical, they say they are just following the rules and regulations. i don't think china necessarily sees it that way. lots of comments coming out of chinese commentators, chinese state media and opinion piece in the global times in fact, many viewing this as an attack, notjust aren't huawei but on china's ambitions on the global stage. i cannot overstate the symbolism and significance of this because on the day that the chinese president and president trump were sitting down over dinner to discuss apogee 20 how to solve the trade war, it has been revealed that that

was the same day meng wanzhou was arrested in vancouver. a lot of people in china are asking why has this happened at this sensitive juncture in the trade war. in the 90 day negotiation period and many people seeing it as an attack. 0k, karishma, thank you very much indeed. the price of oil is continuing to fall as the oil exporters group opec and it's allies, including russia, continue to ponder cuts to production at their meeting in vienna. any move would be announced later today but the question is how big it will be. brent crude, the main benchmark for oil prices, has lost almost a third of it's value since this years peak of $86 two months ago. the world's biggest producers — russia, the usa and saudi arabia — are all churning out a record number of barrels per day.

and saudi wants to see production cut by around a million barrels a day — but it needs to get non—opec member russia to play its part. but a slowing global economy is cutting demand. two weeks ago the oecd became the latest international body to cut it's growth forecast for next year, saying it expected just 3.5% growth. how difficult is this balancing act for opec? it has to do its best for oil producing nations and keep prices higher, but it has america piling on the pressure about ramping up piling on the pressure about ramping up production? if oil prices get very high, and that can only encourage the us shale industry, which is not what opec wants to do.

america has become the largest crude oil producer in the last few months. it isa oil producer in the last few months. it is a balancing act and they have lots of internal problems within opec. the libyan oil minister has already gone home, the iranians are suffering badly from sanctions. they would like a much higher oil price. the saudis are trying to balance all of these conflicting interests. the saudis are trying to balance all of these conflicting interestsm sounds like a family at christmas, these warring factions, a lot of infighting going on. how relevant is opec with the likes of the us and russia equalling saudi in terms of output? this was the key to an agreement in 2016 when opec agreed to coordinate with russia for the first time. it was a geographical change because they have not been great friends. between them, russia, saudi and a few other countries,

more than a third of the global oil market, so it is important. what is your prediction in terms of production cuts and what the saudis are going to get out of everyone else? it is one of the most contentious meetings we have seen. the russians are reluctant to cut. they will probably make some gesture but they haven't been terribly keen on cutting themselves. it is hard to say what will happen. the iranian oil minister described the talks as very difficult. and the saudi energy minister said he was not confident about an agreement. so it is all to play for. we have, at this stage, and big audience in the uk come across europe and in india, for example. they are not big oil exporters in the same way as russia for example. you have lived in kazakhstan, you have lived in russia, what is it like to live in a

country like that when they are as reliant as they are on the petrochemical dollar? saudi arabia is the epitome of a country relying on oil. they are not diversify it despite their ambitions. russia, on oil. they are not diversify it despite theirambitions. russia, oil is hugely important for russia, it produces 11 million barrels a day, a huge amount, more than 10% of the global oil market. the head of the oil company, the national oil company, he has huge, political power within russia. nick coleman, thank you very much indeed. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news.

budget fashion chain primark has warned trading has been challenging in the run—up to christmas, though it says it still expects an increase in profits this year. however shares in it's parent company ab foods have fallen in london this morning. the statement will be seen as a warning to brick and mortar retailers ahead of the holiday season. one of australia's top legal bodies has criticised a new law that allows the security agencies access to encrypted communications as having unintended consequences and overreach. big tech companies such as apple, google and facebook say the law which was rushed through parliament on thursday weakens data security and privacy. but the government say warrants are required and it will help tackle militant threats and organised crime. fiat—chrysler automobiles is reportedly planning to open an assembly plant in detroit. according to us media, the plant would start producing itsjeep sports utility vehicles in 2020, and create up to 400 jobs. the us—italian car—maker has not confirmed the plans. china's main equity market indexes ended flat in thin trade. trading volumes down by about a third. investors remain cautious after the arrest of a senior huawei executive sparked a global sell—off.

after the furious selling of the past two days, there was some optimism after a report said the federal reserve could slow down its pace of interest rate hikes next year, providing some much—needed relief to under—pressure dealers. the general mood across trading floors is of unease, just days after the euphoria of donald trump's tariffs ceasefire deal with china's xi jinping at the g20 that put the row off for 90 days while they try to resolve the crisis. let's hear about what is ahead on wall street today. if you tuned into any market commentary this week, you will know that for all the strength of the us economy, some investors have already begun to fret about the timing of the next recession. well, friday should provide everyone with a timely reminder

that for now anyway, the good times are still rolling. that's because the unemployment report for november is released, an hour before the markets open. it's expected to show that the us economy added another 250,000 jobs in the past month. that's right, a quarter of a million newjobs in one month. and the unemployment rate is likely to register at the very low rate of 3.7%. with such strong jobs growth, it might be hard to believe that investors really do worry about recession, but stock markets reflect investor forecasts of the future, not their satisfaction with the present. and many of them clearly now suspect the only way is down. joining us is richard hunter, head of markets at interactive investor. it has been one of those weeks, how are people in the city taking it, what is the talk on the streets, so to speak? we are getting used to it for the ftse 100 to speak? we are getting used to it for the ftse100 even after the 1.2%

p0p: for the ftse100 even after the 1.2% pop, we were down 3.5% yesterday and down 12% in the year today, which is a significant decline. much of that has been around brexit and the fact many institutional international investors are seeing the uk as an investors are seeing the uk as an investor bill at the moment. that could be one index and a set of stocks to watch next day in terms of recovery because it has been so battened down this year. it is ironic because we talk about the fa ct ironic because we talk about the fact the ftse100 is so internationally focused. in terms of the us, the question now is it looks like we'll get a hike in december. only a few weeks ago the expectation was three or four rate hikes, now that has gone down to one. we will see an indication of how the us economy is doing. what do you think it would take for the fed to stop

hiking interest rates? how much does thejobs hiking interest rates? how much does the jobs market really need to cool? the expectation is about 200,000 new jobs. it was 250 last month. if we get a bad print today it will set alarm bells. ithink get a bad print today it will set alarm bells. i think the fed might have given a clue if it was going to bea have given a clue if it was going to be a particularly weak number. but there is concern is around the housing market and the general slowing down of the us economy. obviously it comes out on a monthly basis but it will be of particular focus today. richard, you will be back to talk through the papers. will the euro ever replace the us dollar as currency of choice? we will be discussing that and the other big stories. the amount of cardboard packaging

we throw away has risen by a million tonnes in the last five years as the boom in online shopping and the war on plastic waste has driven huge demand for the material. paper and cardboard are the most widely recycled materials in the uk but should businesses me doing more to reduce the amount of packaging they use, and in the run up to christmas should consumers and households be playing their part? these are the sorts of things you'll get your online christmas deliveries sent in. they make millions them here. it is important because cardboard is pretty efficient, 84% of the cardboard gets reused. it is good news if the retailers get it right. but so many stories of retailers sending the tiny items in

huge boxes. why is it still going on and is anything going to change? claire bailey is a retail expert. retailers have to get this right, but also there are so many occasions when things arrived damaged, they arrived badly labelled so getting it right is important? of course, nobody wants to receive a tiny item ina huge nobody wants to receive a tiny item in a huge box but i think they would rather receive the item on time and not at all. it could be be item has been misdescribed on the system. instead of being 15 millimetres, paper 15 centimetres and that makes the box requirements appear to be bigger. an operator in normal time would think, it is the wrong box but when you are running round at christmas, you don't get the chance. also they could have run out of the right size so they make the choice to send you it in a big box rather than let you down. i think retailers have the onus on themselves to make

sure they are doing the right size of box to avoid wastage. there is the carbon footprint of shipping fresh air, vans running round the country with nothing in other than a tiny thing. they are getting better. nice to see you. they are getting better and that is the message, they are trying to come up with a device that will measure the item and create a bespoke box for it. 30 million tonnes of cardboard we will get through this year, much of it down to online shopping. we are looking at huawei and the developments there. we will learn a little bit more. if you do one more

on that story there is more on our website and we have annexed bert and the chinese reaction. it has been another big week of economic news. the tensions between the us and china have been blowing hot and cold. markets have taken a beating. dharshini david is our economics correspondent. it has been one of those weeks, how have you coped? it has been super busy but it will be one of those weeks we look back on and goat this is the week the markets woke up and realise the global growth party is over. it may be a false alarm but it does feel like there has been a shift this week. we had richard talking about what has been happening in the markets around the globe. the last time we saw the uk market is falling on this scale was the 24th of june

market is falling on this scale was the 24th ofjune in 2016. that was uk, but this is about the global growth picture. the headlines have been all about trade growth, but we are at that point in the cycle when interest rates are biting in the us. all the tax trump cuts will ease. many economists will say we knew things would slow down. i was talking to want earlier who said we are now pencilling in a one in three chance of an outright recession in the us. if you look at the bond markets, the returns on various bonds, it is a pattern that sometimes signals a recession on the cards. those tea leaves are not a lwa ys cards. those tea leaves are not always right. as we know with these market things, but it is a warning we re market things, but it is a warning were taking heed of right now. let's talk about trade tensions. they are compounding the issue in terms of

markets. we have us and china. we thought we had reached some trade truce, too good to be true? don't get too excited, too soon, is the message. we were sat on monday going great, call of the hounds, we are looking at a truce. but it does look like it is going to be short lived. he was the first person to step up and suggest it would be the case, president trump. he is a tariff man. he is like an antihero.|j president trump. he is a tariff man. he is like an antihero. i am here to rescue you from trade liberalisation from around the globe. and this latest arrest puts spanner in the works. that in particular were worried traders. let's talk about another story in the news. the euro asa another story in the news. the euro as a global reserve currency? that is the plan, can it be a reality? this is something the european

commission has been talking about for a while. let's go back 20 years, but we're far too young to do that! the federal reserve then was concerned about the europa and how it divides with the dollar for prime position as being the currency, banks like to keep in their reserves for trade transactions, for a rainy day and everything like that, hasn't happened. the us dollar still makes up happened. the us dollar still makes up 60%. why is that? what do you wa nt up 60%. why is that? what do you want from a reserve currency? he wa nted want from a reserve currency? he wanted to be reliable and widely accepted and represents an economy thatis accepted and represents an economy that is strong and stable and has no fault lines. we have the financial crisis come along just after the euro came into play and that exposed the fault lines in the project, the way economies are in different directions. italy are saying, we don't know what to do with our budget plans. it adds up to a currency that doesn't inspire

confidence in investors. this is something the european commission has before. the trade patterns, 80% for energy imports coming into the eu are priced in dollars. it has a long way to go before it can fight back and take on the greenback in that way. thank you very much as always. in a moment we'll take a look through the business pages but first here's a quick reminder of how to get in touch with us. stay up—to—date with the business news as it happens on the bbc‘s business live page. there is analysis from editors around the globe. we want to hear from you, analysis from editors around the globe. we want to hearfrom you, get involved on the bbc‘s business live page. on twitter we are at bbc business and you can find us on facebook. business live, on tv and online. what you need to know, when you need to know. richard hunter is

back. we will talk about data encryption and we have been asking people their thoughts. do you think it is legitimate? the idea of cause is police and security services can get into encrypted messages. a p pa re ntly get into encrypted messages. apparently the likes of what sap has something called end to end encryption, as i understand it. —— what's up. so only the sender and recipient can understand the message and it cannot be unscrambled. security services say it needs to be unscrambled. but the additional costs will be technology companies. australia, it is difficult to see how it would work unilaterally. it has been rushed through this law as well. very interesting development.

we have had lots of tweets. owen said they want companies to build back doors to their encryption. i cannot see companies not challenging this in court. jerome sinclair a lwa ys this in court. jerome sinclair always assumed data is habitable. someone will always work out how to do it no matter what levels of security. ross says, anything is good if it helps the police catch criminals. the police are saying it is about catching criminals. so if you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.|j you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about. i find it surprising that the security service couldn't have access to this information anyway. but it is a tricky one at the moment and it needs to become adopted by a few other countries before it can be a powerful thing. what about the story in the guardian? luxembourg will be the first country to make all public transport free. lots of people wondering if they can do this in their country of origin. let's be

honest, in london, please! a p pa re ntly honest, in london, please! apparently oxenberg city have some of the worst traffic congestion in the world. maybe not big numbers in terms of relative terms, 100,000 people live there, 400,000 commuting. very interesting, or transport. london? somehow, i don't think it will happen. richard hunter, lovely to see you. that is it from business live, plenty more business news throughout the day. have a lovely weekend and happy friday from us. good morning. we are going to see

some potentially disruptive weather, more so towards the northern half of the uk with gales and severe gales developing through this morning and into the afternoon. heavy rain expected and there is likely to be transport disruption but your local radio station will keep you up—to—date. you can see from the satellite imagery, this cloud here, this is the centre of the deep area of low pressure. the white lines just to the south of that are close together so that is where you will have the strongest winds across scotla nd have the strongest winds across scotland and northern ireland. elsewhere, heavy rain moving south and east. they will be replaced with sunny spells and showers this afternoon. focus on those winds about lunchtime. gusting 60, 70, perhaps up to 80 mph around south ayrshire and the western isles. quite widely across scotland, 50 to 60 mph gusts. heavy rain continuing across the north and west of scotla nd across the north and west of scotland into this afternoon. hill

snow expected here throughout the day. elsewhere, lots of sunshine but there will be showers and plunder as well. they will rattle through quickly on the stiff breeze. temperatures will be dropping down into the afternoon. getting colder as the day goes on. seven or 10 celsius later. the weekend will remain windy for many, showers around on saturday. more settled on sunday but it will turn chilly. this is saturday, still windy conditions. some sunshine during the morning on saturday but quickly some rain moving through through northern ireland into western scotland, wales on the south—west. showers to the south—east. temperatures are about nine to 13 celsius. it is in the south—west of the uk where we will see strengthening winds through saturday night. look at the isobars, close together. as we get those strong winds, high pressure starts to building from the west and the wind starts to turn into a northerly

wind. it will turn colder during sunday. any rain or showers quickly move away and it is a settled day on sunday. plenty of sunshine, particularly through the afternoon. you will notice the feel in how we will turn colder, temperatures between seven and 11 celsius. a lot going on over the next 36 hours, stay tuned to the forecast. goodbye. you're watching bbc news at nine with me, annita mcveigh, the headlines... singing from the same hymn sheet — the prime minister sends 30 government ministers out across the country to sell her brexit deal ahead of next week's vote. a bbc investigation finds black and arab academics at the uk's top universities earn a quarter less than white colleagues. back online — mobile operator 02 says its data networks have been restored after a day of disruption for millions of smartphone users.

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