this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. that black friday feeling: retailers brace for a multi—billion dollar shopping onslaught. but are consumers really getting a good deal? plus ghosn gone: nissan sacks its chairman after almost two decades in the driving seat. but what's up the road for the car giant, its partners, and its former boss? and on the markets trading very muted with wall street closed for thanksgiving and a bank holiday injapan. elsewhere in asia shares slipping on those now familiar concerns about trade tensions and weak global growth. progress in brexit negotiations doing little to cheer investors. we start with the retail business, because it's the day after thanksgiving, and that means it's black friday.

us stores are braced for their busiest period of the year — and expect record sales thanks to a strong economy. but but the phenomenon is now truly global, with black friday promotions across europe and as far afield as brazil. let's show you some of the numbers involved. us retailers are expected to take almost $6 billion today. and these days cyber monday, when many stores offer further discounts online, is even bigger. sales are expected to be up almost a fifth on monday to a record $7.8 billion. the us national retail federation is estimating that half the entire us population — 164 million people — will shop over the five—day weekend. here in the uk 2.4 billion pounds — over 3 billion dollars — will be spent in stores and online in the uk today, according to the centre for retail research. but the weak state of the uk economy

means that will be down on last year. there are also warnings that some black friday deals might not be what they seem. research by price comparison site idealo in the uk found nine out of 10 black friday products were cheaper at other times of the year. as a shopping event, all this is now dwarfed by singles' day, the online sale run by china's e—commerce giant alibaba on the 11th of november. this year consumers spent $30.8 billion in one day — up 27% on the year before. for many retailers though — black friday is still about getting people into stores. what retailers are hoping is that they know that they have experienced a very strong they know that they have experienced a very strong consumer in they know that they have experienced a very strong consumer in 2018. they are hoping to lure the shoppers in

by offering those 40% promotional discounts and then wally shopper is in the stall, hopefully they will ideas must have merchandise and the info to open their wallets for them. patrick munden is global head of retail at wunderman commerce. we were just talking and you said you effectively have a walrond that you effectively have a walrond that you have opened up, because you're running the e—commerce platforms we re running the e—commerce platforms were allotted the big retailers. how crucial is this period? it is massively crucial. as the biggest period of yearfor massively crucial. as the biggest period of year for most of our clients. we work with some of the biggest retailers around the world. we help run the online operations for those retailers. so there were 24 for those retailers. so there were 2a hours for the last year. a huge number of people are coming online in clicking on buying. sales are up a lot of retailers that we have been working with. how problematic does this appear to be for retailers,

because we have huge amounts of traffic, and they will also be under threat from cybercriminals, as well. gchq were saying themselves as morning that there is a serious threat posed. certainly. traffic is up. threat posed. certainly. traffic is uge threat posed. certainly. traffic is up. huge bikes. fourtimes a threat posed. certainly. traffic is up. huge bikes. four times a usual day. retailers are to watch out that they also had to think about how they also had to think about how they can work with companies to make sure that they have huge teams that support them and make sure that everything is nice and smooth and that the deals go through for the consumer, because it is all about the customer. we talk about the deals, now. there are some concerns as this is just a scam and is the mention in the introduction, at nine in ten black friday deals are not deals at all, but are cheaper at other times of the year. our people being conned? certainly not. i walk down 0xford being conned? certainly not. i walk down oxford street this morning and the amount of sciences said 50% off the amount of sciences said 50% off the whole store, and online we are working with the retailers that are 40 or 50% across every single

product. very differently deals out there. people have to be careful about doing their research and going online, having a look to see, and seeing if the deal is sure or not. it less of a bit of desperation, doesn't it? 50% off everything? the retailers doesn't it? 5096 off everything? the retailers are saying goes on in the signal to consumers let's get you shopping. coming up to christmas, they want to get people in and get people to purchase items themselves. black friday tends to be purchasing items for — they had been saving up for themselves, trade, then think about products for love ones for christmas. we have delivered there, but thank you for coming in and taking us through all of that. thank you. let's go to japan now where carlos ghosn has been sacked as chairman of nissan after nearly two decades at the helm of the car giant, following his arrest for alleged financial misconduct. he has been accused by nissan of under—reporting the amount he was being paid by over $40 million over five years

and making personal use of company assets. our business editor simon jack looks at what happens next. carlos ghosn is, all was, one of the world's most powerful and influential business leaders. as well as his now former role as chairman of nissan, it is also chairman of nissan, it is also chairman of nissan, it is also chairman of renault, mitsubishi motors, and chairman and chief executive of an alliance of all three do collectively made 10 million cars last year. so far renault have not dismissed and, at installing another executive an interim basis. mitsubishi motors are considering their position. the future of the whole alliance has been questioned after the downfall of its main architect. behind carlos ghosn‘s personal drama lies a powerplay within a group. it is no secret that senior executives at nissan felt that carlos ghosn and renault, which owns a 43% stake in the company, were exerting too much control over a group of which nissan

was so control over a group of which nissan was so do most cars. the removal of carlos ghosn allowed a restructure ofan carlos ghosn allowed a restructure of an alliance that is too important, many feel, dizzy fall apart. it may prove to be the most lasting legacy for a fall in business giant who remains in custody. let's get the latest on that story — mariko 0i has been following this in our singapore studio. what do you make of all of this? he has now hired a top shot lawyer. what do you make of all of this? he has now hired a top shot lawyerm is very interesting that yesterday we found out who he is going to be represented by as a lawyer. he is their next prosecutor who used to go after chief executives who were accused of quite similar financial misconduct. but now he is representing carlos ghosn. as you can imagine, this has started a lot of speculation, especially social media, as to what this means, what this says this case. but he met with

his lawyer yesterday afternoon. but when the lawyer came out, there were many reporters waiting to learn to make some kind of a statement, but he did not say anything. so so far we have not heard from carlos ghosn, who was accused of financial misconduct. he remains in police custody. his attention has been extended to ten days, until the end of this month. but injapan, one can be held without charge for 23 days, after 23 days. so this can still get extended even further. really interesting. thank you. 23 days. now let's brief you on some other business stories. black friday could provide "prime pickings" for cyber—crime — britain's intelligence unit gchq is warning. it's advising online shoppers to install the latest software and app updates, choose strong and separate passwords for accounts, and type in a shop's website address rather than clicking on links in emails. chinese e—commerce sites have removed products by italian luxury brand dolce & gabbana amid a growing consumer backlash. a d&g advertising campaign showing

a chinese woman struggling to eat spaghetti and pizza with chopsticks was widely criticized online as racist and insulting. the company was forced to cancel a fashion show in shanghai on wednesday after celebrities boycotted it in protest. and now what's trending in the business news this morning. on business insider thanksgiving has suddenly become one of america's favorite days to shop online. it says black friday now starts on thursday with people are taking to their smartphones to start their shopping early — online sales soared to more than $3 billion yesterday. cnbc counts the cost of thursday's festivities — thanksgiving's $165 tab may not leave you feeling thankful. each american spends on average $97 on eating and hosting, and around $67 on travel. and on bloomberg

carlos ghosn‘s new prison schedule: eat, sleep and exercise. it describes how the executive was taken from his private jet to a tiny cell in the same facility where the cult members behind the 1995 tokyo sarin attack were held. and don't forget let is know what you are spotting online. use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. you can also get me on twitter. let's have a quick look at the markets. it is what is going on. trading very muted with wall street closed for thanksgiving — and a bank holiday injapan. elsewhere in asia shares slipping on those now familiar concerns about trade tensions and weak global growth. progress in brexit negotiations doing little to cheer investors. up next, newsbriefing. we'll take you through the stories

making headlines in the global news media today. see you soon. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, says he's had "constructive" talks with the united arab emirates about the fate of a british academic who's been jailed for spying. the uae has faced strong criticism after matthew hedges was sentenced to life imprisonment at a court hearing on wednesday. keith doyle reports. it has been two days since matthew hedges was given a life sentence for spying in the united arab emirates. he was arrested six months ago while researching for his phd thesis. the foreign secretary demanded his release, insisting he is innocent.

but the uae has been defined, saying he was properly tried and convicted. however, a further statement from the uae yesterday indicated a change of tone. it said... the foreign secretary described it as an olive branch and last night match had two matthew hedges' wife had a meeting with jeremy hunt, who matthew hedges' wife had a meeting withjeremy hunt, who she had earlier been critical. he has assured me that they are doing everything in their power to get matt free and back home to me. this is not as though they can when alone andi is not as though they can when alone and i think the foreign office and the british public, who are now standing upfor the british public, who are now standing up for one of their citizens. -- and 18. after the meeting, the foreign secretary tweeted that he had a constructive phone conversation with this counterpart in the uae. he said... —— and a tank. —— and i thank. the

uae embassy is expected to get presentation from the british ambassador. there will be further developments today. matthew hedges and his family have there are. and that they lead his freedom. keith doyle, bbc news. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: theresa may has hailed a draft agreement on post—brexit relations with the eu as "right for the whole of the uk." but spain's prime minister has repeated his threat to try and stop the eu withdrawal deal, saying spain and the uk were still far from agreement over gibraltar. president trump has said any disorder on the us—mexico border could result in the closure of the entire area. his warning comes as around 3,000 migrants reach the frontier. now it's time to look at the stories that are making headlines

in around the world. and guess what? we begin with brexit. the leading british cheerleader for leaving the eu, the sun, is not happy with theresa may's draft brexit deal. it tells readers the uk is getting "diddly squat" — that's sun—speak for not very much. the irish times looks into one of the reasons why the brexit deal is so complex. it says the british government is seeking help from its irish counterpart to find a way to resolve the problem of the irish border. in france, le figaro reports that the government there is concerned about home—grown protests. it says the executive has been shaken by the popularity of the "yellow jackets," the protestors against fuel price rises and other grievances who are converging on paris this weekend. to the middle east next, and the saudi arabia—based arab news is giving us a big message. crown prince mohammed bin salman is back. he's not in disgrace despite the killing ofjamal khashoggi and is now off on a regional tour. and finally, a story to mark black friday — the start of the christmas shopping season.

spare a thought for the people who are fulfilling your online orders. staff at several amazon depots are planning demonstrations and strikes today in protest at their working conditions in the vast grey warehouses where they package up your presents. a present we have here. with me is david buik, who's a market commentator