and something to be thankfulfor! thanksgiving food prices ease on last year, with americans also wondering if inflation will prove to be the gift that keeps on giving. welcome to business today. we start here in the uk. the sale of one of the crown jewels of daily life here, the royal mail, looks close to completion. czech billionaire daniel kretinsky�*s ep group could snap it up in the next two weeks, according to sources close to the deal. mr kretinsky has agreed to make extra concessions in order to clinch the takeover. that's being reported by the bbc�*s business editor simonjack, whojoins

me now live. what have you learnt, simon, about how close this impending deal is? it needs to be signed off under the auspices of the national security and investment act. when you have any critical infrastructure, and this certainly qualifies as that, but i am told this is a very close to happening. when daniel kretinsky, already the biggest shareholder in royal mail, at his stake to 27.5%, there was a review ten of his alleged links, for example, to russia. he does own a pipeline that does transport gas to the eu, he just owns the pipeline, but thatis he just owns the pipeline, but that is very close to being signed off. the other thing, he made a series of promises not to change the brand. it has been around since the reign of henry viii, keep its uk tax headquarters here, and no compulsory redundancies until 2025. what i understand moved

this closer to the finish line is a series of extra concessions that may involve extending the term of some of those guarantees, so it is not a done dealjust yet but he is closing in on it.— a done dealjust yet but he is closing in on it. you say he is closin: closing in on it. you say he is closing in _ closing in on it. you say he is closing in on _ closing in on it. you say he is closing in on it, _ closing in on it. you say he is closing in on it, daniel- closing in on it, daniel kretinsky is a key figure in this deal. who is he? he made his fortune _ this deal. who is he? he made his fortune in _ this deal. who is he? he made his fortune in the _ this deal. who is he? he made his fortune in the oil _ this deal. who is he? he made his fortune in the oil and - this deal. who is he? he made his fortune in the oil and gas . his fortune in the oil and gas sector across europe. he owns a percentage of west ham football club, sainsbury�*s, he is a very cool club, sainsbury�*s, he is a very cool, calm operator, with a clinical eye for a deal, and he made a fortune in oil and gas and is looking to deploy that. i think what he is going to do with royal mail is a some changes to the way the service works. there is a regulatory review on how often letters have to be delivered. second class letters may be delivered every other day rather than everyday, but he says he is committed to whatever the royal

mail is required by the regulator to do, and he is going to go big on these lockers. across europe, has been a big flood of this, a locker where you pick up your online deliveries, so he wants to recreate and tap into the huge expansion in parcel deliveries while at the same time addressed the fact that the royal mail is losing money because they has been a massive plummeting in the number of letters sent. he will keep it looking the same, sounding the same, but a slight shift in business emphasis. expect to hear something on this in the next week or two.— hear something on this in the next week or two. very briefly, are the union _ next week or two. very briefly, are the union workers - next week or two. very briefly, are the union workers on - next week or two. very briefly, l are the union workers on board? they were very wary of him at first and some are still are, and there is some disquiet in union ranks, but i spoke to the communication workers union, and they said they had honest and they said they had honest and constructive meetings with him over the last two days and those meetings were going to continue, so some positive noises from the unions. thank

ou. now to the world of fashion. the boss of the japanese brand, uniqlo, has been telling the bbc about his ambition to become the world's biggest clothing retailer. tadashi yanai is already the richest person injapan, with a net worth just over m5 billion. his company, uniqlo's parent company, is called fast retailing, but he doesn't want to be associated with fast fashion, as he's been telling mariko oi. iamat i am at one of uniqlo's latest stores in the heart of tokyo. this year, fast retailing, which owns uniqlo, has achieved its goal of generating and annual revenue of y3 trillion. begin becoming the worlds biggest retailer, it needs to double that. but the owner has a bigger target, a revenue of y10 a bigger target, a revenue of yio trillion. can he achieve that as the company's president before passing the button to his successor? translation: i would like to achieve it and i

believe i need to achieve it. in order to do that, we need to imagine how different a yio trillion firm is 28 y3 trillion firm is. we want to change people's perception about clothing. it people's perception about clothinu. u, people's perception about clothinu. ., clothing. it can continue to evolve- — clothing. it can continue to evolve- i — clothing. it can continue to evolve. i want _ clothing. it can continue to evolve. i want to _ clothing. it can continue to evolve. i want to ask - clothing. it can continue to evolve. i want to ask yourl evolve. i want to ask your views on today's fast fashion industry, especially chinese retailers. what do you think is the future of this industry? i don't think there is a future for fast don't think there is a future forfast fashion. they don't think there is a future for fast fashion. they are producing clothes without any careful considerations, which you can only wear for one season. that is a waste of the planet's resources. you can wear uniqlo clothes for many seasons. they shirt or the sweater i am wearing today. i have no idea how old they are. i want to ask you about china because their challenges has been affecting your performance there as well. what is your strategy? will you need to change your strategy or outlook

there? i change your strategy or outlook there? ., �* ~' ., there? i don't think we need to revise our— there? i don't think we need to revise our strategy _ there? i don't think we need to revise our strategy for - there? i don't think we need to revise our strategy for china. i revise our strategy for china. there are 1.4 billion people and we only have 900—1000 stores. i think we can increase that to 3000 stores. i stores. i think we can increase that to 3000 stores.— that to 3000 stores. i want to ask ou that to 3000 stores. i want to ask you about _ that to 3000 stores. i want to ask you about supply - that to 3000 stores. i want to ask you about supply chains . ask you about supply chains because uniqlo has been trying to build supply chains that consumers can trust. is this because of a controversy over whether uniqlo uses cotton from shanejohn? you did not confirm or deny that back in 2021. can you clarify?— you clarify? no, we are not usin: you clarify? no, we are not using cotton _ you clarify? no, we are not using cotton from - you clarify? no, we are not using cotton from there. i using cotton from there. actually, it gets too political if i say any more. let's stop here. , u ,, if i say any more. let's stop here. .. ,,, here. uniqlo's success is artl here. uniqlo's success is partly due _ here. uniqlo's success is partly due to _ here. uniqlo's success is partly due to its - here. uniqlo's success is partly due to its focus i here. uniqlo's success is| partly due to its focus on clothes that are essential to customers day to day lives. for example, the collection to keep

you warm in the winter has been a lasting head. for hot weather, it also sells the breathable line of clothing. both were developed in partnership with a company that specialises in synthetic fibre, but increasingly retailers like uniqlo are coming under pressure to disclose where they source their materials from as customers want to know where and how their clothing is made. now, here's a question. are you getting paid enough for the work that you do? cost of living pressures are at the forefront of most people's minds but the good news is that looking at wages across the board and around the world, average wages are now growing faster than inflation. and long—term pay inequality is falling for most of us. that's all according to the latest report from the international labor organisation. let's delve into it more with the economist and wage specialist at the international labour orgnisation, rosalia vazquez—alvarez. there is a real global wage

growth but it seems, looking into your report, that it is really only in the emerging countries.— really only in the emerging countries. good afternoon. thank you _ countries. good afternoon. thank you very _ countries. good afternoon. thank you very much - countries. good afternoon. thank you very much for i countries. good afternoon. i thank you very much for your interest in the report. what we find is that... actually, let me say first that global wage growth, during 2022, the last year we measured, was actually negative across the country is, and for the first time since then we see positive growth, but it is true that such positive growth has actually happened in 2023 in emerging economies, whereas in advanced economies, whereas in advanced economies it was negative, and in 2024, the first two quarters, we find it is positive both in emerging economies and in advanced economies. 50 economies and in advanced economies-— economies and in advanced economies. so a little bit in advanced — economies. so a little bit in advanced and _ economies. so a little bit in advanced and a _ economies. so a little bit in advanced and a lot - economies. so a little bit in advanced and a lot in - economies. so a little bit in - advanced and a lot in emerging. minimum wage policies have been responsive, but there is still a drag amongst those lowest paid in terms of purchasing power. paid in terms of purchasing ower. ~ .,

paid in terms of purchasing ower. ~ . ., , ., power. what we found is that throu . h power. what we found is that through the _ power. what we found is that through the cost _ power. what we found is that through the cost of— power. what we found is that through the cost of living - through the cost of living crisis, there were a lot of countries that actually adjusted the minimum wage much more so than before the cost of living crisis, but the adjustment was not sufficient to make up for the cost of living, so this means that at the low end of income distribution, these households hold a higher percentage of minimum wage earners, they cannot actually make up for the cost of living. not only because they are on minimum wage, but because they also face a higher cost of living. these households, their propensity to spend is much higher on those goods that increase in price by more, such as food, housing and energy, which means even if we were to increase their wages by the cost of living, it would not be sufficient. it cost of living, it would not be sufficient-— sufficient. it would not be enough- _ sufficient. it would not be enough. one _ sufficient. it would not be enough. one solution - sufficient. it would not be enough. one solution you sufficient. it would not be - enough. one solution you talk about is formalising the informal economy because there are so many people in it. very interesting, but how would you do that and why would you do

that? iii do that and why would you do that? ., . ., . ., , that? in low-income countries and middle — that? in low-income countries and middle income _ that? in low-income countries and middle income countries, | that? in low-income countries. and middle income countries, it can be 50%, 90%, and you can promote productivity among small size enterprises, trying to increase the proportion of individuals who are actually underneath the formal employment rules, which would allow us to have a better way of increasing the physical space for these economies, because if you actually increase protection, you also increase protection, you also increase the physical space because these people will start to pay taxes and contribute towards the budget. to to pay taxes and contribute towards the budget.- to pay taxes and contribute towards the budget. to get them towards the budget. to get them to -a towards the budget. to get them to pay taxes- _ towards the budget. to get them to pay taxes- in _ towards the budget. to get them to pay taxes. in that _ towards the budget. to get them to pay taxes. in that way, - towards the budget. to get them to pay taxes. in that way, it - to pay taxes. in that way, it is beneficial to the government.- is beneficial to the government. is beneficial to the covernment. �* ., , government. and the economy. thank you _ government. and the economy. thank you very _ government. and the economy. thank you very much _ government. and the economy. thank you very much for - government. and the economy. thank you very much forjoiningj thank you very much forjoining us. americans at home and abroad will be tucking into their thanksgiving dinners later today without the steep rises in food prices consumers have had to cope with in previous years. a key measure of consumer inflation ticked up to 2.3%

in the year to october, a bit higher than expected, but still close to the federal reserve's 2% target. michelle fleury has more. the good news, the average cost of a thanksgiving digging then it has dropped 5%, with walmart and i'll be offering even lower prices. it harks back to pre—biden pricing. but these low prices don't tell the whole story. while food prices have risen, blaming president biden alone is too simple. global supply chain issues, the war in ukraine and rising energy costs also play a role. there is also greed, where companies raise prices to boost profits. despite donald trump's promise to lower grocery costs, economists warned his policies could worsen inflation. for

example, his latest threat to impose sweeping tariffs on mexico, china and canada could make food experts even more expensive. however, these price cuts remind us, while presidents often bear the blame for rising prices, it is companies that determine what consumers pay. don't forget, plenty more on the bbc business news website, including more on the latest uk net migration figure, which, for the 12 months tojune 2024, was 728,000, according to the office for national statistics. that's a fall from the 12 months tojune 2023. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello from the bbc sport centre. the first day of the first test between new zealand and england was pretty evenly matched , the black caps scoring over 300 but the tourists took 8 wickets by the close in christchurch. england won the toss and decided to bowl first and made an early breakthrough , with opener devon conway caught and bowled by gus

atkinson in the second over. but kane williamson dug in and helped carry new zealand past the 200 mark, he was eventually out for 93. england had the best of the final session. shoaib bashirfinishing the day with figures of 4 for 69. new zealand reaching 319—8 i think bowling against the wind was really, really tough. i felt like the wind sort of took away my line from me a little bit, so i knew i had to work stronger in my bowling action to compensate for that wind. but overall i really enjoyed bowling. i have never bowled in new zealand before. i played that two day warm up game and that was about it so i really, really enjoyed it. a really nice, positive start for the _ a really nice, positive start for the team and the contributions and little partnerships throughout were really — partnerships throughout were really important to getting to where — really important to getting to where we are today, but we keep

looking _ where we are today, but we keep looking forward and it is about what _ looking forward and it is about what we —