:00:00. > :00:21.But with the unstoppable rise of online shopping -
:00:22. > :00:25.is the annual retail rush - still such a big deal?
:00:26. > :00:28.Plus - battle of the ex-Prime Ministers.
:00:29. > :00:30.High unemployment - stagnant growth and creaking public
:00:31. > :00:33.finances - the challenges mount up for France's next President -
:00:34. > :00:54.despite their efforts, Japan can't beat deflation.
:00:55. > :00:58.We are talking retail - because depending on where you live
:00:59. > :01:01.in the world you have probably been bombarded with adverts and e-mails
:01:02. > :01:03.offering "massive discounts" and "unmissable deals".
:01:04. > :01:06.There's no escaping that today is not just Friday -
:01:07. > :01:14.In the US - it's the day after the Thanksgiving holiday -
:01:15. > :01:17.and it traditionally marked the beginning of the Christmas
:01:18. > :01:22.It was the time stores went 'into the black' for the year -
:01:23. > :01:25.And it's still a huge day for retailers.
:01:26. > :01:28.Over 137 million Americans are expected to go in search
:01:29. > :01:37.That would be a million and a half more than last year.
:01:38. > :01:39.The big change though is the internet.
:01:40. > :01:45.As many Americans shopped online as actually went to stores last year
:01:46. > :01:47.and online sales were up 40% in 2015.
:01:48. > :01:50.Expect that trend to continue this year.
:01:51. > :01:54.Here in the UK some 14 million people are expected to shop.
:01:55. > :01:57.But again many will be doing it in their pyjamas.
:01:58. > :02:01.According to one prediction - British shoppers are expected
:02:02. > :02:05.to spend over ?2 billion but over a billion of that -
:02:06. > :02:17.Actual traffic on the high street may even be down.
:02:18. > :02:21.Walmart's UK unit Asda has not taken part since chaos in stores in 2014.
:02:22. > :02:27.But big names like Next, Primark and Ikea are also sitting it
:02:28. > :02:32.Other retailers are offering discounts over longer periods.
:02:33. > :02:35.And consumer groups have warned that many deals online are not
:02:36. > :02:38.all they seem to be - last year prices were actually
:02:39. > :02:43.cheaper before and after Black Friday.
:02:44. > :02:46.So is Black Friday literally less of a big deal these days?
:02:47. > :04:01.Here's a look back at some of the crazy scenes of the past.
:04:02. > :04:05.The boss of fashion chain Jigsaw - Peter Ruis - is among those
:04:06. > :04:12.He says it's a bad deal for shoppers and retailers.
:04:13. > :04:22.We believe that Black Friday is a deception. We hate the idea that all
:04:23. > :04:25.of these retailers create these discounts that are not really
:04:26. > :04:31.discounts. In my industry it is often something that is a cheap
:04:32. > :04:37.fabric that has been discounted 20% but it was never will worse 20% more
:04:38. > :04:44.in the first place. Or it is previous season stock. It makes us
:04:45. > :04:51.look like we are peddling cheap objects in a market rather than
:04:52. > :05:01.something we spend years creating. In fashion, most Black Friday
:05:02. > :05:06.purchases are returned. It is a double whammy. A loss of profit, a
:05:07. > :05:12.loss of margin and that product sits around in supply chains. Many of you
:05:13. > :05:18.have been in touch with me already with your thoughts. The conversation
:05:19. > :05:21.on Twitter. One woman tells us that she is working today in retail
:05:22. > :05:26.starting at seven o'clock. She is not looking forward to it, hoping
:05:27. > :05:31.for calm. Lee says that in a few years we will look back at this and
:05:32. > :05:36.be embarrassed that we got sucked into this. Ian says that working in
:05:37. > :05:40.retail for Black Friday that the company he works for is not
:05:41. > :05:42.participating so he will have a normal day. Let's turn to France
:05:43. > :05:48.now. The race to be the
:05:49. > :05:49.conservative candidate for President will be
:05:50. > :05:51.decided on Sunday. It's between Francois Fillon -
:05:52. > :05:55.on the right - and Alain Juppe- on the left - both
:05:56. > :05:57.former prime ministers - after ex-president Nicholas Sarkozy
:05:58. > :05:59.was knocked out last weekend. The two faced off last night in a TV
:06:00. > :06:03.debate where polls indicate Monsieur Fillon came
:06:04. > :06:07.out slightly ahead. France is facing high unemployment -
:06:08. > :06:10.around 10% - weak economic growth They will all be key issues
:06:11. > :06:19.in an election where far right leader Marine Le Pen is expected
:06:20. > :06:25.to mount a serious challenge. Professor Douglas Webber
:06:26. > :06:42.is Professor of Political Science Thank you for joining us on the
:06:43. > :06:45.programme. I don't know if you are able to watch the television debate
:06:46. > :06:53.last night that give us your thoughts on the economic ideas of
:06:54. > :06:57.both candidates. There is a difference of emphasis at least
:06:58. > :07:01.between the two candidates and their economic policy proposals. They go
:07:02. > :07:05.roughly in the same direction, they both want to cut the French deficit,
:07:06. > :07:08.they want to cut the number of civil servants, they want to make it
:07:09. > :07:27.easier for employers to fire employees. And they also want to...
:07:28. > :07:32.Too, um, sorry. Mr Fillon wants to go further and faster than Mr Juppe.
:07:33. > :07:36.It is correct to say that he wants to prescribe shock therapy for
:07:37. > :07:43.France. We have seen that it is difficult to initiate reform in
:07:44. > :07:46.France. The current president had a struggle pushing through labour
:07:47. > :07:51.reform for example. The problem is that whoever gets the job, will they
:07:52. > :07:56.be able to push through such shock reforms if that is the mandate they
:07:57. > :08:02.get in on? That is the big question. 20 years ago when he was Prime
:08:03. > :08:05.Minister, Juppe tried to introduce a lot of major reforms in France and
:08:06. > :08:13.failed because of opposition. The same happened to one of his
:08:14. > :08:17.successes in 2005. In the past, or at least, the only reforms that have
:08:18. > :08:22.been in France have been piecemeal gradual limited reforms that have
:08:23. > :08:29.been discussed with trained unions rather than imposed unilaterally by
:08:30. > :08:36.the government. Mr Fillon was the Prime Minister under Nicolas Sarkozy
:08:37. > :08:40.in 2007 to 2004. He was by parcel of the reform process. We might find
:08:41. > :08:47.that after the second round in the primary on Sunday when he starts his
:08:48. > :08:52.campaign for the presidency himself he may strike a more moderate tone.
:08:53. > :08:59.But the idea of prescribing a shock therapy affects labour law right now
:09:00. > :09:04.but it is popular among right-wing voters. At the moment it is a useful
:09:05. > :09:07.sort of thing for Mr Fillon to emphasise. Thank you very much for
:09:08. > :09:09.your time. Let's go to Asia now -
:09:10. > :09:12.and there's no relief for Japan in its failing battle
:09:13. > :09:14.against deflation. Sharanjit Leyl is following
:09:15. > :09:25.the story for us in Singapore. Nice to see you. A little bit more
:09:26. > :09:32.about the latest inflation numbers out of Japan. Consumer prices are
:09:33. > :09:37.falling in October. No big surprise there for a nation that we know has
:09:38. > :09:40.been battling deflation for more than a decade. What is interesting
:09:41. > :09:44.about the numbers is that this is the eighth straight month of decline
:09:45. > :09:49.making it the longest string of falls in five years. Essentially it
:09:50. > :09:54.showed that call prices it excluding fresh food fell from last year and
:09:55. > :09:58.this data comes several weeks after the central bank push back the
:09:59. > :10:03.timeline for heeding its 2% inflation target. We know that the
:10:04. > :10:09.central bank's target is a key part of the Prime Minister's did to pump
:10:10. > :10:12.up the world's number three economy. He is doing this through stimulus
:10:13. > :10:20.measures, like printing money, what he calls his own version of
:10:21. > :10:24.economics. It has set off something of a stock market rally that has
:10:25. > :10:28.spurred some hopes for the once soaring economy but it does not
:10:29. > :10:33.appear to be enough growth still fragile and inflation is still well
:10:34. > :10:43.below the central bank's target. Thank you very much. I will see when
:10:44. > :10:47.a couple of minutes when we review the papers. Goodbye for now.