Bisi Adebayo examines the sales statistics for Black Friday in the US to find out how confident the US consumer is feeling in an economy squeezed by higher prices and tighter budgets. And as Chancellor Merz writes to the EU Commission to ask for a reprieve on a deadline to phase out petrol and diesel cars, we speak to an auto-industry expert to find out why the German car industry is finding it hard to turn electric. Photo by CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH/EPA/Shutterstock. Shoppers rest after browsing stores at the Dolphin Mall during Black Friday in Miami, Florida, USA.