Nov 24 “Black Friday”, the day after Thanksgiving, is traditionally the start of the busiest shopping season in America. This year is no different. Shoppers on Friday November 24th were expected to race to the malls to snap up this season’s hottest gifts. The day is “black” not because of the misery of queues and crowds, but because it marks the moment when retailers are supposed to move from the red (indicating losses) to the black (indicating profits). But retailers in America are already in a festive mood: the month before Christmas is forecast to be an especially lucrative period.

　　In the next few weeks consumer spending will increase by 7% in America, compared with last year, according to a consumer survey by Deloitte, a consultancy. Shoppers are cheerful about the economy though not as a result of bigger spending power (the recent cut in the price of petrol has not had much impact on spending habits yet). Investors are picking up on consumers’ increased confidence. Since the beginning of September, the S&P Retail Index has far outperformed the S&P 500.