"All those gold problems go away with Bitcoin"

That's Bitcoin analyst Jason Deane, who we spoke to this week about the rising price of the cryptocurrency and what it means, both for those already invested in Bitcoin, but also for more traditional "safe haven" commodities such as gold. 

It's "Merry Christmas" from Jeff Bezos to Amazon warehouse staff in the U.S. and UK – he's announced a bonus for all full- and part-time staff, which he says will cost him $500 million. It's got to be good news for staff over the Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend, which is now one of the busiest on the delivery calendar. 

And the figures have already started to come in, with Black Friday sales often starting on the Thanksgiving Thursday, and so many transactions being made online – at least in part due to the pandemic. Despite sales that are on track to break records, some UK retailers have decided it's not worth it and they'd rather keep prices steady (and reasonable) year round. 

Finally, our graph today looks at the 3 million first-time residence permits awarded in the EU in 2019 – and the growth in employment-related visas is by far the most significant. Scroll down to take a look. 

Happy reading, 

Patrick Atack

Digital business correspondent 

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After a months-long investigation, China will impose anti-dumping tariffs on Australian wine as a temporary measure, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Australian wine was being sold in China at artificially low prices, hurting the domestic wine industry, the statement alleged. The Australian authorities have denied the claim. 

Several UK high street stores such as Next, M&S, Wilko and B&M have joined French firms in eschewing the now-traditional "Black Friday" sales, which has spread around the world from U.S. retailers, which started offering flash sales after Thanksgiving. But for the UK chains, it's not the moral case being made by their French counterparts that's led to cancelled sales – they just say their prices are low enough all year round, and that benefits customers more.

The planned merger between Spanish banks Banco Sabadell and BBVA has been called off, putting Sabadell's international assets in a precarious position. The group said it would now look for "strategic alternatives [for] the group's international assets, including TSB." The UK lender TSB said it had "good momentum" in a separate statement.

Dyson, the Singapore-based firm known for vacuum cleaners and hand dryers, said it will invest more than $3.5 billion in new technologies over the next five years. The company said the money would go towards engineers and scientists working on software, machine learning and robotics in bases in the UK, the Philippines, and Singapore.

Perhaps taking a lead from European Commissioner Margarethe Vestager, UK minister for culture, media and sport Oliver Dowden has announced plans for new legislation to prevent online giants such Google and Facebook dominating their marketplaces. "There is growing consensus in the UK and abroad that the concentration of power among a small number of tech companies is curtailing growth," he said.

Amazon will spend $500 million on festive bonuses for its staff in the UK and U.S. for "serving customers' essential needs" during the pandemic, company founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said. Full-time warehouse staff with get $300 each, with part-time colleagues getting $150.

Black Friday sales have already started in the U.S. and online figures look on track to smash last year's total by 40 percent, and reach $10 billion. Chess boards have been a surprisingly popular item so far, thanks to the hit Netflix show The Queen's Gambit. But another key trend has been the rise in first-time online shoppers, indicating people are unwilling to risk traveling to physical stores amid rising COVID-19 cases.

The Danish energy firm Orsted said it has completed construction on the Netherlands' largest wind farm. The 752 megawatt site off the coast of Borssele in the south of the country consists of 94 turbines and will power approximately 1 million Dutch homes when operational.

The European Central Bank signaled a review into banks that do not disclose information on their exposure to climate-related risk, as it released a damning report, which said: "As of yet, virtually none of the institutions in the scope of the assessment would meet a minimum level of disclosures." About 3 percent of top eurozone banks meet the requirements, the central bank said.

The number of Spanish hotels on the property market rose by 19 percent from the start of the pandemic to October, according to online property tool Idealista. The Balearic Islands have been worst hit, as tourism is so key in the region, and hotel listing soared 84 percent over that period.

In Italy, too, hoteliers are selling up as the tourist drought continues due to COVID-19, and it appears the mainstay of the Italian hotel industry – small, family-owned hotels – may be under threat. French group Covivio recently bought seven Italian hotels for $685m. But the state-backed investment bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti has formed a $2.3 billion fund to buy properties from owners who want to sell, to preserve local ownership.
 

WATCH: Companies in the financial sector are inviting employees working from home to wear VR headsets and immerse themselves in virtual meetings, training and conferences to bolster team spirit and recreate office culture.

As featured in this newsletter earlier this week, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin recently hit historic highs. To help explain what it means – and how it relates to traditional safe-havens such as gold – CGTN Europe spoke to Jason Deane, a Bitcoin analyst at Quantum Economics.

What is behind this volatility? 

This is what we call in trading terms, a correction. And it wasn't entirely unexpected.

There are two reasons, really. The first is technical … the Relative Strength Index basically indicated [Bitcoin has] been overbought for the time being.

But technical indicators aside, there is also another reason to do with that elusive all-time high Bitcoin was just a few dollars off. If the market does fail to break through with enough momentum, it can be seen as a sell signal. 

What do you see happening next? 

I suspect we're probably in for some choppy trading in the short term or the market establishes equilibrium and finds some new levels. But the fundamentals for Bitcoin are very strong. The trend is absolutely undeniable.

You have said Bitcoin is 'Gold 2.0' – can you tell us more?

Traditionally, when you hedge against inflation, you buy gold. But it's not as easy to do as you think. You've got to ensure it's genuine. Counterfeiting is a big problem in the gold industry. 

You've got to find somewhere to sell it to you and then go to store it somehow, which is another problem. And then how do you sell it? 

All those problems go away with Bitcoin, but you end up with the same result in terms of store value.