:00:05. > :00:15.bombing in Tel Aviv. Those are the latest headlines. Time now for the
:00:15. > :00:19.
:00:19. > :00:23.Hello everybody. Welcome to the programme. Your chance to catch up
:00:23. > :00:28.on the latest in the world of business and money. The headlines:
:00:28. > :00:32.Deadlock in Brussels. Talks on the but s,
:00:32. > :00:37.but Angela Merkel warns they will need another summit next year to do
:00:37. > :00:43.suspends suspends its chief financial
:00:43. > :00:48.officer amid allegations of bribery. Plus Ready, steady, shock! US
:00:48. > :00:58.retailers gear up for their biggest day of the year. Will Black Friday
:00:58. > :01:01.
:01:01. > :01:07.be much cause for Thanksgiving? -- We will catch up with other stories
:01:07. > :01:16.shortly, but first to putt is how Angela Merkel describes the
:01:16. > :01:20.positions Europe's leaders last night. -- too far apart. They will
:01:20. > :01:25.reconvene at lunchtime today, but Mrs Merkel is now warning that a
:01:25. > :01:28.second summit will more than likely be needed early next year. The
:01:28. > :01:33.splits are on predictable lines with France defending its farm
:01:33. > :01:38.subsidies and poorer countries in resisting cuts to infrastructure
:01:38. > :01:43.spending. Britain is leading the calls from rich nations to rain in
:01:43. > :01:49.the EU spending at a time of much austerity at home. Lots to talk
:01:49. > :01:55.about. I am joined by a Bill, thank you for joining us. In a nutshell,
:01:55. > :02:02.what we are seeing is the very reason we have still got the
:02:02. > :02:07.eurozone crisis. Last night's no agreement news is another example
:02:07. > :02:11.of how it has all become about politics. The good news is we don't
:02:11. > :02:16.have open warfare between the UK and the rest of Europe, which would
:02:16. > :02:19.have caused an enormous market credibility problem for the euro.
:02:19. > :02:24.But what we do have is more interminable discussion about
:02:24. > :02:28.what's going to happen next in Europe. We need to step back and
:02:28. > :02:33.say, what does this mean for Europe that there is lack of agreement,
:02:33. > :02:36.that the French are pushing to keep the inefficiencies of the Common
:02:36. > :02:43.Agricultural Policy going, and the weaker nations are pushing for more
:02:43. > :02:49.infrastructure. That is a valid point, you look at the numbers...
:02:49. > :02:52.The agricultural spend out of the budget is 30 %? This is the whole
:02:52. > :02:59.point, this common agricultural spending is basically keeping
:02:59. > :03:05.inefficient farmers in Business, building thousands of airports for
:03:05. > :03:09.nobody to use in Spain, or the best littleme
:03:09. > :03:15.little cocky Peninsular in some benighted island, it does not add
:03:15. > :03:20.to growth. What we have got here is in Europe they are contemplating
:03:20. > :03:23.its navel while ther at all. It is now going to be next
:03:23. > :03:29.year, growth prospects in Asia is going to dominate and especially
:03:29. > :03:33.the US, Europe is making itself irrelevant with these kinds of
:03:33. > :03:37.squabbles. Okay, one trillion Euro- budget is in question, they have
:03:37. > :03:41.got to do it and it's important, but in the grand scheme of things
:03:41. > :03:45.we have still got a massive crisis. We have got regional elections in
:03:45. > :03:51.Spain which some say could be a problem for the country and the
:03:51. > :03:56.economy as a whole. Cyprus may be getting a bail-out today. And we
:03:56. > :04:02.have Greece on the sidelines still! This is the fascinating thing about
:04:02. > :04:08.Europe. We have got Greece getting sold guaranteed from Europe, that
:04:08. > :04:12.will delay the next bail-out. I guarantee I will be sitting here
:04:12. > :04:16.next year talking about the next stage of the Greek crisis. You're
:04:16. > :04:21.right about Cyprus. Europe is showing resilience to keep the
:04:21. > :04:25.whole thing going. We call it kicking the can down the long and
:04:26. > :04:32.winding road. But the problem is the rest of the world is now moving
:04:32. > :04:37.on. The great recession of 2012 will be replaced by growth
:04:37. > :04:41.everywhere else except for Europe. Bill, I could talk to you for much
:04:41. > :04:46.longer but I have got to move on. The focus next year, Asia and the
:04:46. > :04:50.US? The US particularly. Thank you for joining us. Let's move on
:04:50. > :04:55.because today is the day after Thanksgiving and for many Americans
:04:55. > :04:59.it means one thing, what could that be? Shopping. Is traditionally
:05:00. > :05:03.known as Black Friday, a chance for retailers to haul back any losses
:05:03. > :05:08.and move back into the black. Many of the big shots open at midnight
:05:08. > :05:13.or even earlier with big discounts -- big shots. The holiday season
:05:13. > :05:21.can account for between one-third and one-half of total revenues for
:05:21. > :05:25.retailers. Our consumers willing to spend, though? -- are the consumers.
:05:25. > :05:30.Holiday in America, a make-or-break time for retailers, each offering
:05:30. > :05:34.bigger and better discounts to persuade customers to spend. For
:05:34. > :05:39.many retailers the holiday season is the most profitable time of year.
:05:39. > :05:45.A chance to make up for lost sales during what has been a difficult 12
:05:45. > :05:49.months. But convincing Americans to get out and spend won't easy with a
:05:49. > :05:54.weak economy, retailers are having to work much harder to get
:05:54. > :06:00.customers through their doors. And four big retailers that means
:06:00. > :06:04.cashing in while they can. Black Friday is equivalent to a full week
:06:04. > :06:11.for much of the year. It is a huge day. It's by far the biggest
:06:11. > :06:16.shopping day of the year here. The traffic builds enormously in the
:06:16. > :06:23.toy business between Black Friday and Christmas Day. So you start
:06:23. > :06:27.having days that are equal two weeks the rest of the year. In fact
:06:27. > :06:33.147 million Americans are expected to shock this holiday weekend. That
:06:33. > :06:37.is down from last year's 152 million. -- shop. None the less
:06:37. > :06:41.sales are expected to grow 4.1 %, the biggest rise since the
:06:41. > :06:46.recession. So have the consumers finally shaken off their worries
:06:46. > :06:52.about the economy? Times are a little better than last year.
:06:52. > :06:58.Definitely spending more. Not a lot but a little bit. We look for staff
:06:58. > :07:02.and if it seems like a good deal we go for it. -- stuff. I want to keep
:07:02. > :07:07.the kids happy and that sort of thing. I am going to spend more to
:07:07. > :07:11.make everybody happy. That will make the retailers happy. They have
:07:11. > :07:16.been forced to cut prices to keep hold of customers and that's hit
:07:16. > :07:20.profits. Retail has been tricky this year. It is not that the
:07:20. > :07:23.consumer isn't spending but they are doing it in fits and spurts and
:07:23. > :07:28.they have been distracted by economic issues, political issues,
:07:28. > :07:34.and even that will disasters. The consumer has found lots of reasons
:07:34. > :07:37.to spend but then stop. -- even natural disasters. Come the new
:07:37. > :07:42.year they may have even less to spend. The looming threats of tax
:07:42. > :07:46.rises and spending cuts combined with a post-holiday Hanover means
:07:46. > :07:52.that consumers will likely feel less well-off -- hangover. Even
:07:52. > :07:57.more reason for retailers to cash in now. Let's stay with big retail
:07:57. > :08:04.because Wal-Mart has suspended a number of its executives in India
:08:04. > :08:11.pending a bribery investigation. I know this news is really very fresh
:08:11. > :08:16.and it is just out, what's going on? We have only really got it from
:08:16. > :08:26.various reports at the moment but essentially the chief financial
:08:26. > :08:30.
:08:30. > :08:35.officer and much of the legal team That is as the bribery law
:08:35. > :08:39.corruption investigation goes on. There were also accusations in
:08:39. > :08:43.Brazil and China and Mexico. According to Indian press quoting
:08:43. > :08:48.sources, investigations are looking into whether bribes were paid to
:08:48. > :08:53.government officials in India. A spokesperson has said everyone
:08:53. > :08:57.involved is innocent until proven guilty. Indian authorities also
:08:57. > :09:01.separately investigating possible foreign exchange rules violations
:09:01. > :09:07.that could have occurred when Wal- Mart invested $100 million in the
:09:07. > :09:11.domestic unit, which is owned by its wholesale joint venture partner.
:09:11. > :09:16.We have been talking a lot in recent weeks about India's attempts
:09:16. > :09:21.to reform its retail sector. But this development could scupper all
:09:21. > :09:24.of that. Indian opposition parties and many others are opposed to
:09:24. > :09:29.allowing international retail giants like Wal-Mart into the
:09:29. > :09:33.retail sector. They say allowing them in would make it tough for