bitcoin bonanza — prices surge over 100 thousand dollars as president elect trump picks a crypto friendly candidate to run the top us financial watchdog. and — more oil in the the pipeline — but not yet. oil producing nations agree to keep production cuts in place until april — amid uncertainty about the global economy — and the incoming trump administration welcome to business today. i am ben thompson.

it appears there's no stopping the rise of the worlds leading crypto—currency — bitcoin. it's broken new ground hitting all time highs of over 100 thousand dollars a token. feeding off the crypto positive pledges from president elect trump — bitcoin has surged more than 50 percent in value since the us election. this latest surge comes off the back of donald trump naming paul atkins, a veteran financial regulator — and crypto advocate — as his choice to lead and possibly overhaul the main financial watchdog — the us securities and exchange commission. 0ur north america business correspondent ritika gupta joins us now. this is a significant move, isn't it? it this is a significant move, isn't it? , ., isn't it? it is. heading through _ isn't it? it is. heading through the _ isn't it? it is. heading| through the $100,000 isn't it? it is. heading- through the $100,000 level is psychological but again, president elect trumpeting an eye on his promises to have a crypto friendly cabinet and now appointing paul atkins as the s e c. gary genter has been

lambasted by the crypto community for trying to crack down on the industry. and the new pic is well known in wall street and in the republican political circles. he is pro—crypto and kits with trump�*s stance on deregulation and has been critical of regulations. as you mentioned in the intro, 50% has rallied since the victory. he is replacing gary gansler. what is also interesting is the mainstream adoption of crypto by the investment world. we sought fidelity and blackrock among others at the beginning of the year. that investment appetite has also driven the prices higher. in november we just had the incoming ceo of a

firm saying they were preparing to enter spot crypto trading pending the trump administration. yesterday the federal reserve acknowledged the rise of bitcoin and likened it to gold, saying it isn't really competitive for the us dollar but a competitor for gold. dollar but a competitor for old. ~ ~ , . , dollar but a competitor for iold_ . ~' , ., , ., gold. we will keep an eye on that. i know— gold. we will keep an eye on that. i know you _ gold. we will keep an eye on that. i know you will - gold. we will keep an eye on that. i know you will be - that. i know you will be keeping an eye on this. give us an eye on what we can expect from the report tomorrow. it will be interesting. we have data survey showing that over thanksgiving week at the highest claims of the headline is going to be the payrolls in november. this is after the dismal 0ctober report that added 12,000 jobs. the economy is expecting 17 times that felt november, 215,000 jobs were to be added. that is a big rebound after 0ctober�*s numbers were impacted by two hurricanes and

a major labour strike. the narrative at the moment is that there are noises but even with there are noises but even with the occasional bend is the labour market is robust. thank ou. we labour market is robust. thank yom we will — labour market is robust. thank you. we will talk _ labour market is robust. thank you. we will talk about - labour market is robust. thank you. we will talk about that i you. we will talk about that another time. to the price of energy now —because the opec plus group of oil producing nations has delayed plans to raise crude output — in a bid to prop up prices. 0pec plus— which includes saudi arabia and the gulf states as well as russia — controls half the world's oil. it had been planning to end its current policy of holding back around 6 million barrels of oil a day from the market early in the new year. but it will now keep that policy in place until april next year —amid uncertainty about the world economy — and the incoming trump administration. we're nowjoined by callum macpherson, who's the head of commodities at investec. how significant is this decision? i how significant is this decision?— how significant is this decision? ~ , , decision? i think this is the least surprising _

decision? i think this is the least surprising thing - decision? i think this is the least surprising thing 0pec| least surprising thing 0pec might have agreed today. partly because it has been in the press earlier this week and also because they rolled it over a few times already. while it maintains the status quo for now and by delaying the increases that you mentioned that ought to perhaps prevent prices from falling further because they have been teetering around this area for some time, and it might head lower, but it'sjust some time, and it might head lower, but it's just a heads off that question. come april we will be asking again whether the demand growth has been not that strong, and with non—0pec plus supply growing at this 70 plus supply growing at this 70 plus oil price range it is aware that they can bring supply in again or go elsewhere

for an arrangement.— for an arrangement. people watching — for an arrangement. people watching might _ for an arrangement. people watching might wonder - for an arrangement. peoplej watching might wonder how for an arrangement. people - watching might wonder how the price of oil can be affected by the incoming trump administration. join the dots for us. administration. join the dots for us. ~ ~' ,, for us. well, i think where us su -l for us. well, i think where us suwly is _ for us. well, i think where us supply is concerned _ for us. well, i think where us supply is concerned it - for us. well, i think where us supply is concerned it is - for us. well, i think where us| supply is concerned it is under biden growing and it would have grown under harris, and it will grown under harris, and it will grow under trump. i don't think the trunk presidency changes much on that side. there is the question of international politics and whether trump's approach to iran and russia will impact. it will be hard to say what that will mean for oil markets. , ., . ., ., markets. given what we can read around the _ markets. given what we can read around the statements, - markets. given what we can read around the statements, what - markets. given what we can read around the statements, what is l around the statements, what is more important for 0pec+ members right now? market share and dominating supply of global oil or the place at which it can be sold?— oil or the place at which it can be sold? ~ can be sold? revenue. market share multiplied _ can be sold? revenue. market share multiplied by— can be sold? revenue. market share multiplied by price. -

can be sold? revenue. market share multiplied by price. the| share multiplied by price. the challenge for them is: if they maintain prices at levels encouraging non—0pec+ to grow faster than demand is flowing then at some point they have to keep accepting reduced market share in order to maintain that price. ultimately that will come to a point where it isn't sustainable.— sustainable. thank you very much. to trade now — because european commission president ursula von der leyen is pushing for a huge trade deal with south america to be signed —saying �*the finish line is in sight�*. she has arrived at a summit of the market in uruguay to try and seal the agreement —

javier milei warned experts... in relation to the president of argentina, javier milei, it is expected, to some extent, that he will have a disagreement. however, he has made very clear that if this disagreement does not happen this time, he might either leave mercosur or ask for a change of rules so argentina can do better trade agreements with the united states and with china. (sot) china. 2024 is drawing to a close and when it comes to elections it has been a history—making year. there have beeen more general elections this year across the globe than in any other year impacting more than half the world's population. and there is more to come. this week it is ghana's turn — with the west african country going to the polls on saturday to elect a new president and parliament. daniel dadzie has the details.

this year has been a year of elections. every single day, i will be fighting for you. more than 50 countries worldwide have headed to the polls. well, now it's ghana's turn. a country that has been seen as a reliable democracy in west africa at a time when neighbouring countries have overturned their governments. so here's what's at stake. first, ghana's once booming economy is struggling. young people face high unemployment, inflation is up and debt keeps growing. but ghana is not alone. in kenya, similar debt issues led to protests and higher taxes, part of a larger debt crisis facing many developing nations. this economic frustration has young ghanaians often choosing between staying or migrating,

but they say this election gives them a chance to insist on policies which could make it easierfor them at home. then there's the environment. illegal mining, known as galamsey, is devastating ghana's forests and rivers. these forests also don't just matter to ghana. these are rivers often used by the local community as sources of drinking water. they help absorb carbon emissions, making them critical in the fight against climate change. for ghana, climate change is real and immediate. young ghanaians arejoining a global movement, demanding leaders protect the land and the climate. and it all ties back to governance. recent concerns about corruption and weak institutions have ghanaians worried, with recent coups in neighbouring countries. ghana's stability matters for the entire region. a strong democratic ghana helps support security and democracy across west africa. where everyone is feeling the pinch, the economy will be top of mind for voters.

this election isn'tjust about ghana's future, it's about tackling issues locally in ghana that actually resonate globally. so issues like excessive debt, climate change and democracy. the world will be watching closely as ghana makes its choice. in other news. the boss of vodafone has insisted its merger with rival three — which has finally been approved by the uk regulator — will not result in higher prices. the £16.5 billion tie—up will create the uk's biggest mobile network, with 27 million customers. vodafone's chief executive margherita della valle, said the deal would be "self—funded", which meant "no extra costs for customers". shell and equinor have announced they plan to form a new company by combining their oil and gas assets in the uk north sea. the energy firms said the offshore deal — which is subject to regulatory approval — would see the creation of the north sea's biggest oil and gas producer. and the amount of guinness pubs can buy

in the build up to christmas has been limited by its maker diageo after "exceptional demand" over the past three weeks. it is understood the firm is working at 100% production capacity, but has still placed limits on orders in great britain. the drink has been rising in popularity with women and young people. stay with us here on bbc news. 0n on our website we have this story: one in five shop purchases are now made in cash. in the pandemic there was a push for credit cards and plastic and there was concern about the death of cash. it seems that the trend has now reversed. many people suggested could be because it is easier to budget if you have cash in your pocket and know what you're spending and then you don't get a hefty bill at the end of the month. more on that story at bbc, slash business. that is business today.

hello. welcome back. i bring you some breaking news coming into is from new york. the police have released new pictures of what they call the person wanted for questioning in what appears to have been that targeted assassination yesterday, the killing of the chief executive and ceo of one of america's largest insurance who was killed in a targeted attack outside a midtown hotel by a masked man who fatally shot him in the back and the leg. more than 2a hours later the attacker is still on the loose. the attacker