:00:00. > :00:00.Those are the latest headlines from BBC World News.
:00:07. > :00:07.Now for the latest financial news with
:00:08. > :00:21.Could Bitcoin become a victim of the fight against terrorism?
:00:22. > :00:24.One of these men will be Argentina's new president,
:00:25. > :00:40.but can either restore confidence in its crippled economy?
:00:41. > :00:45.Also in the programme, a beef over foreign ownership
:00:46. > :00:46.as regulators scupper Australia's biggest ever land sale.
:00:47. > :01:06.We start with the virtual currency bitcoin, we are asking
:01:07. > :01:09.whether it could become a victim of the fight against terrorism.
:01:10. > :01:11.Later today EU interior and justice ministers will meet to
:01:12. > :01:14.discuss how to combat the militant group IS and the way it's financed.
:01:15. > :01:16.According to reports, they are planning a crackdown
:01:17. > :01:18.on virtual currencies and anonymous payment methods, the
:01:19. > :01:22.Users can buy bitcoins at exchanges using their local currency.
:01:23. > :01:24.Once purchased, the bitcoins can then be transferred
:01:25. > :01:27.online to other users quickly and anonymously without verification
:01:28. > :01:30.That has made them attractive to users ranging
:01:31. > :01:34.from drug dealers to those trying to get around those money controls we
:01:35. > :01:52.It's feared they could also be used to finance terrorism.
:01:53. > :01:54.Dr Garrick Hileman is an alternative currency expert at the London School
:01:55. > :01:59.of Economics and he joins us via Skype from San Francisco.
:02:00. > :02:08.Welcome to the programme. I just want to see if we can get an
:02:09. > :02:14.understanding... Do we have any idea if groups like ISIS use big coin or
:02:15. > :02:26.other virtual currencies to fund their activities -- BitCoin. There
:02:27. > :02:31.is very little evidence of that and one of the big barriers is that you
:02:32. > :02:34.can spend them in very many places today. I'm glad you said that
:02:35. > :02:42.because I was thinking the same thing. I can't imagine these
:02:43. > :02:47.so-called ISIS people using them to buy over the shoulder rocket
:02:48. > :02:51.launchers. Cash is king and that is probably something we have to put
:02:52. > :02:56.controls on or keep an eye on. Absolutely. The big difference
:02:57. > :03:03.between cash and BitCoin is that cash is pervasive. People like get
:03:04. > :03:12.by and large. It is also minted by the state, so it is much easier for
:03:13. > :03:24.governments to police that. I don't think anyone argues that Bitcoin
:03:25. > :03:29.could provide a means for terrorist financing and it is worth at least
:03:30. > :03:34.thinking about. Indeed. Am I correct in saying that Europe is not only
:03:35. > :03:38.looking at Bitcoin, and many other virtual currencies, but any other
:03:39. > :03:45.form of anonymous payments even down to prepaid credit cards and gold
:03:46. > :03:49.we're even hearing? Indeed. It is smart to look at Bitcoin and other
:03:50. > :03:57.virtual currencies in the context of other, arguably more anonymous
:03:58. > :04:04.payment instruments. The UK recently put out a study on money laundering
:04:05. > :04:09.and virtual currency came up scoring the lowest in terms of risk profile
:04:10. > :04:15.of any other means of payment. I think it is encouraging to see the
:04:16. > :04:21.European Union is taking a holistic approach here. Thank you. Can you
:04:22. > :04:23.tell whoever set up your Skype that it is the best quality I have ever
:04:24. > :04:26.seen? We are also in Argentina,
:04:27. > :04:29.where voters go to the polls on The election brings to an end 12
:04:30. > :04:34.years of rule by the Kirchner family and whoever takes over inherits an
:04:35. > :04:36.enormous task, namely getting South America's number two economy back
:04:37. > :04:39.on track, amid soaring inflation, rising poverty and almost zero
:04:40. > :04:42.investor confidence. It's now down This is Daniel Scioli,
:04:43. > :04:49.a former powerboat racer who's standing for the left wing ruling
:04:50. > :04:51.party and backed by outgoing Here's his rival, the mayor
:04:52. > :05:01.of Buenos Aires, conservative He's a businessman who has pledged
:05:02. > :05:04.to restore business confidence That is seriously lacking
:05:05. > :05:11.at the moment, here's why. According to official figures
:05:12. > :05:13.inflation is running That sounds high
:05:14. > :05:17.but the government's been widely accused of cheating
:05:18. > :05:19.the data to underplay the problem. In fact, economists think
:05:20. > :05:22.prices are rising at twice that That is crippling
:05:23. > :05:29.ordinary Argentinians. Then there's the currency,
:05:30. > :05:31.officially the peso is trading But nobody believes that,
:05:32. > :05:41.in fact to change money on the black market a dollar will
:05:42. > :05:44.cost you more than 15 pesos. Economists say whoever wins
:05:45. > :05:46.the election will have to devalue the currency, possibly by 50%,
:05:47. > :05:49.to restore credibility. The BBC's Daniel Gallas reports
:05:50. > :06:04.from Buenos Aires. In one of the poorest neighbourhoods
:06:05. > :06:07.in Buenos Aires, this small community centre is full of women
:06:08. > :06:12.and children. They are here to claim social benefits from the
:06:13. > :06:15.government. Each woman is entitled to about $70 monthly for each of
:06:16. > :06:20.their children they can keep in school and with vaccination up to
:06:21. > :06:25.date. Everywhere there are pictures of President Cristina Kirchner who
:06:26. > :06:29.implemented the social programme. This community leader says most
:06:30. > :06:32.people here are behind Cristina Kirchner's preferred candidate,
:06:33. > :06:39.Daniel Scioli, because they believe he will expand her social
:06:40. > :06:43.programmes. TRANSLATION: Before Cristina Kirchner, picture cheese to
:06:44. > :06:48.take care of us. They give us medication, food, clothes for our
:06:49. > :06:54.children. After she came to power the state started taking care of us
:06:55. > :06:58.everything changed. But across town in Congress we hear a different
:06:59. > :07:03.story. This MP is a familiar name in the Argentinian economy and an
:07:04. > :07:12.inflation index is named after her. She says that prices rose so much
:07:13. > :07:16.under the current government that the statistics were changed to mask
:07:17. > :07:22.inflation. She released her own figures which show inflation is
:07:23. > :07:27.twice as high as the real one. She thinks Mauricio Macri can make
:07:28. > :07:34.Argentina flourish again by ending currency controls. We have had four
:07:35. > :07:40.years where we are not growing. We are in Ground Zero. Part of the
:07:41. > :07:44.problem in Argentina is that the government controls how many dollars
:07:45. > :07:48.each businessperson can buy and there simply aren't enough to go
:07:49. > :07:52.around for everyone. At this upmarket street in Buenos Aires, big
:07:53. > :07:57.fashion brands like Louis Vuitton and Armani have had to close their
:07:58. > :08:00.shops and some businesses have left Argentina altogether. Currency
:08:01. > :08:04.controls are pushing up shops and driving investors away. Both
:08:05. > :08:08.candidates have signalled a move to open up the economy but so far
:08:09. > :08:12.neither have laid out a detailed plan of how this will be done. For
:08:13. > :08:16.whoever wins the election next month, the challenge will remain the
:08:17. > :08:19.same to secure the social gains made for the poor in the past decade
:08:20. > :08:26.while convincing foreign companies to invest again in Argentina.
:08:27. > :08:28.To Asia now and regulators in Australia have scuppered
:08:29. > :08:31.a vast land sale that would have been the country's biggest ever.
:08:32. > :08:37.Sharanjit Leyl is following the story for us in Singapore.
:08:38. > :08:45.As an Australian, I think when we are talking big we're talking about
:08:46. > :08:55.a cattle ranch as big as South Korea! That's right. It is bigger
:08:56. > :09:02.than Ireland. Yet it constitutes just over 1%' APPLAUSE landmass. It
:09:03. > :09:07.has nearly 200,000 cattle. The Chinese bidders had tried to buy
:09:08. > :09:12.this. It is about $250 million worth, but it was blocked by
:09:13. > :09:24.regulators and this was because of national interest, apparently --
:09:25. > :09:28.Australia's landmass. It could potentially strained relationships
:09:29. > :09:31.between China and Australia. China is Australia's largest trading
:09:32. > :09:34.partner and according to the investment review Board in
:09:35. > :09:38.Australia, the decision was because of the proximity of the land to a
:09:39. > :09:46.weapons testing site. The federal Treasurer Scott Morrison said the
:09:47. > :09:50.acquisition of this huge cattle station would be contrary to
:09:51. > :09:54.Australian interests. It is interesting that this is under the
:09:55. > :09:59.new government of Malcolm Turnbull and it is on the fine line that
:10:00. > :10:03.Australia often balances between investment and concerns regarding
:10:04. > :10:05.foreign ownership. But the Prime Minister has rebuffed any suggestion
:10:06. > :10:12.that this might result in a backlash from China. Australia's national
:10:13. > :10:14.interests. They would be yelling that the Chinese are coming!
:10:15. > :10:16.In other news: The Dutch government is expected to raise
:10:17. > :10:18.around four billion euros this Friday with the flotation
:10:19. > :10:23.It's the biggest initial public offering of a European bank
:10:24. > :10:25.since the financial crisis - and investor interest has been strong.
:10:26. > :10:29.ABN was bailed out in 2008 at a cost of 22 billion euros.
:10:30. > :10:30.Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem has admitted
:10:31. > :10:39.the Dutch taxpayer is unlikely to get the full amount back.
:10:40. > :10:45.A quick look at the markets. This is what the Asian markets are doing at
:10:46. > :10:48.the moment and I will be back to take a look at some of the
:10:49. > :10:59.newspapers from around the world shortly.
:11:00. > :11:00.The influential Justice committee of MP's
:11:01. > :11:04.in the UK has recommended that the government scrap the controversial