Market action as investors wrap up another trading week. And well be getting the inside track on Global Economic challenges and the threat of protectionism words of warning from the imfs boss Christine Lagarde. All this and more with our economics correspondent andrew walker. And do you shop on the internet . Online shoppers in the uk spend more per household than consumers in any other country. We want to know what you buy online. Just use the hashtag bbcbizlive. Welcome to the programme. We start in france, where the shooting in paris has interrupted final campaigning in what was already being called the most unpredictable president ial election in living memory. Centrist favourite Emmanuel Macron and far right Marine Le Pen look likely to go through after sundays vote to a run off on may 7th. But they are closely followed by conservative Francois Fillon and far left candidate Jean Luc Melenchon who cant be ruled out. Socialist benoit hamon, though, is being given little chance of making the next round. Security is of course right back at the top of the agenda. But there are other huge issues for Financial Markets. Number one is the fate of the single currency. Le pen wants to abandon it and bring back the franc. Melenchon says it should be reformed and the independence of the European Central bank taken away. Macron and fillon are supporters of the euro and want to see its institutions strengthened. Then theres the eu itself. Le pen wants a referendum on frexit. So does melenchon unless, he says, europe agrees to his reforms. Macron and fillon want to stay in. Macron wants a stronger eu and fillon wants more control of frances borders. The other major issue for the Business WorldLabour Reform, and frances famous 35 hour working week. Melenchon wants to cut the working week even further, to just four days. At the other end of the spectrum, fillon wants to scrap the 35 hour limit altogether and make it easier to hire and fire. Douglas webber is a professor of Political Science at insead. He joins us from paris. I have to start by asking you, after last nights shooting, what is the mood light in paris this morning . think the mood is rather sombre and of course people are asking what impact ifany of course people are asking what impact if any Disc Attack Last Night will have on the Election Result on sunday. The Financial Markets are nervous, they really dont know which way this election is going to go and the different outcomes could have a very different impact on the euro, couldnt they . That is quite correct, you have described very neatly and very well the contrasting positions of the major candidates, two on the radical left and the radical right would certainly risk taking france out of the euro zone, out of the eu. Emmanuel macron is pro european and wants to strengthen european integration, Francois Fillon is somewhere between them and europe. What about the issue of Labour Reform that aaron mentioned . Two opposing views from the main candidates, melenchon wants to cut the working week, fillon looking to scrap the 35 hour limit. Here in the uk we are always hearing the french are more productive than we are. If france is so productive, why is the working week even an election issue . Well, france has a very high level of unemployment, around io , it is twice the size of countries such as the uk, the us and germany, and the candidates are competing about which policies could best bring down the high level of mass unemployment, about 3. 5 million, 2. 5 million french people have been out of work for more than a year, about 20 of young people, and the contrast between the candidates is strong, the two radical candidates want to ta ke the two radical candidates want to take france back to pre euro days, if youd like, stimulate the economy by increasing public spending, whereas Francois Fillon on the other side of the spectrum is offering a kind of french shock therapy. You might describe him perhaps as a french margaret thatcher. I am not sure if you would be able to change all that much because if you were to be elected then he would still have the Corruption Scandals around his neck and any attempt he would make to radically reform French Labour Law would certainly provide major protests a nd law would certainly provide major protests and strikes. 0k, douglas webber, thank you very much for your time this morning from paris. In other news, Online Shoppers in the uk spend more per household than consumers in any other country, a report says, amid a shift from stores to the internet. Uk households spent the equivalent of 5,900 using Payment Cards online in 2015 thats according to the uk cards association. This was higher than norways 5,400, and the us at 4,500, the australians at 4,000. Uber has extended its internal investigation into Sexual Harassment claims at the company. The investigation, led by former us attorney general eric holder, was sparked by charges of Sexual Harassment by a former female engineer as well as charges of a wider cultural problem across uber. The ride hailing app says an internal report is anticipated by the end of may. A fall in sales of barbie dolls has added to a slump at the worlds biggest toy maker mattel. It reported sales down more than 15 in the first three months of the year the biggest drop in seven years and much worse than expected. That is a fascinating story because in the first nine months of last year barbie sales went up because they brought out a whole new range. We will be doing more on this story at the end of the programme so keep an eye on that. President donald trump is chipping away at a Campaign Promise to tackle unfair trade with china. His latest a federal investigation into whether dependence on cheap foreign steel is a threat to National Security. Mariko 0i is in singapore. What more can you tell us . Cheap steel from china has been blamed for many things, including winding down the market price as well as the loss ofjobs in the uk, for example, but President Trump has actually invoked a law from more than 50 years ago which allows the Us Government to restrict imports if it threatens National Security, and his argument is that steel is too crucial to the us economy and military that the country cannot be too dependent on foreign countries. As you said, this is one of many election promises that he wants to put America First but it does send a mixed signal to Beijing Becausejust last week when the two president s, President Trump and president shi, met, President Trump avoided labelling china as a currency manipulator, despite his repeated pledge that he would do so during the election campaign, so those of us the election campaign, so those of us who brought tensions might not be rising might have to think again. There we go, thank you. I wanted to ask what she bought online, if she shops online. Lets stay with the markets. That is the dow from yesterday but mostly that is the dow from yesterday but m ostly o n that is the dow from yesterday but mostly on a positive note, shrugging off the us trade report into cheap imported steel, but investors with their eyes on geopolitical concerns, quite a few of them, in several corners of the world. If we look at europe, we expected it would open more muted so no surprises there. The French Election is a focus, dominating a lot of the european markets. The euro remaining on edge, thatis markets. The euro remaining on edge, that is quite volatile, so again all eyes on the first round of president ial elections on sunday in france. What does the us have in store . France. What does the us have in store . Here is similar insane. Here is samira hussain. A few companies will be reporting earnings on friday, including General Electric, honeywell and schlumberger the worlds number one Oilfield Services provider. Now, although the price of oil is back up, the company was hurt in the last quarter because of the cost associated with reactivating idled rigs and equipment. And the stabilising of oil prices will help honeywell long term, but earnings for this quarter will suffer because of some weakness in manufacturing. Investors in General Electric will be looking for the company to cut costs and lift profits in order to hit targets that they set out last month. Finally, happening in washington, will Finance Leaders will be gathering for the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary fund and the world bank. Trade protectionist policies will likely be a major team. Joining us is jane sydenham, investment director, rathbones investment management. Thank you for coming in, lets look at the market in context of the french president ial elections. The euro could be vulnerable, couldnt it . It could, Stock Markets have been relatively stable, where we have seen a bit of reaction has been bond markets, said the yield on french government bonds have risen, so french government bonds have risen, so people are a bit nervous. So the Return On Investment has gone 7 the Return On Investment has gone es. The Return On Investment has gone up . Yes. But if we saw a second round run off between melenchon and le pen, the markets would be worried because the implication is possibly an exit from the eurozone. At the moment the polls are saying around 1196 moment the polls are saying around 11 probability of that and you think, well, that seems rather low, but go back to last year, the same poll said 30 probability of donald trump winning at the same kind of stage. Is 1396 trump winning at the same kind of stage. Is 13 probability. One thing we have learned is that we do not listen to the polls any more lets talk about tesla, voluntary Global Recall of the xand x and model xand models, x and model s, they say only 2 of ca is x and model s, they say only 2 of cars are struggling with this problem but they are recalling them all voluntarily. Yes, they seem to be aware of Customer Service, recalling 53,000 cards is quite a task and you can argue it is the way to handle Customer Service when you think about what happened with United Airlines recently, they will preserve their brand value by doing that. Even some of the big recall is previously from car companies, like toyota, some of them have mishandled the recall is and they have been dented. Some of them have been quite slow and have waited until problems have arisen. Tesla are trying to be on the front foot, get out there and do this. We will have the bag at the end of the programme, have a think about what you spend online still to come, riding the economic cycle. The imf says Global Growth is finally moving up a gear well find out what issues will be on the agenda as the worlds Finance Leaders meet in washington. You are with business live from bbc news. Tomorrow marks the 10th Global Annual record store day, the event that celebrates the culture of independent record shops. Hundreds of Record Stores around the uk will be Holding Parties and in store performances. There are now over 380 independent record shops in the uk. And vinyl sales are worth £65. 6 million, up over 5000 , over the last ten years, representing 14 of total spend on physicalformat albums in the uk. Lets get more withjon tolley, who runs banquet records. That is quite a turnaround what do you think has prompted it . Might immediately is it is just a reply to how much mp3s and streaming is our big disposable, and if you really love something you want to own it and keep it and have it for ever, make itan and keep it and have it for ever, make it an emotional experience. Have we reached a balance between the Digital Music and physical music, so downloading and buying albums . I dont think they are in competition with each other, i download and stream but also want to buy cds and records, there is another space in the market for all another space in the market for all a bit but we are seeing that vinyl is on the up for the reasons i mentioned. Iam being i am being told in my ear that you have some records in your hand. What are they, and what is your favourite . I have my favourites here, and all time favourite of mine that i only got on the cd when it first came out. It is rereleased with special coloured vinyl. Here is the cute, acoustic kits, acoustic versions of the classics you have heard from the cure. And toto, africa, a continent shaped disc. know you said it was not in competition, but which is most affordable . This is not comparable. That is my point. It is notjust about price, it is not about the cheapest option. You cannot compare a beautiful piece of art, like a record, with a stream or mp3. A new vinyl album would be £16 or £18. We will have to leave it there. Thank you very much for your time. Hello i didnt think i was in vision, there. Youre watching business live our top story. France prepares for the closest election in living memory, posing major risks for the euro and the eu itself. More on this injust a moment. A quick look at how markets are faring. It is all about france and the president ial elections. You can see the ftse is up, as is the market in france. We are waiting to see what will happen. Far left, far right, that is my prediction. It is going to shake up my prediction. It is going to shake up the markets. Like trump. There you go. And now lets get the inside track. This week, the imf Spring Meetings in washington have us clues about the Global Economic outlook. The imfs boss Christine Lagarde warned about protectionism and trade wars. Of course the French Economy is in the headlines as voters head to the polls at the weekend, but there a political headwinds around the world. Lets get more with our economics correspondent andrew walker. Thanks forjoining us. What did the imf tell us . In terms of their general assessment of the shape of the global economy, the tone is a lot more positive than i have heard for several years, perhaps going back to the financial crisis. It wasnt long ago that Christine Lagarde, the imf managing director, coined the phrase the new mediocre. She was worried we were in for a period of protracted sluggish performance, with little prospect of improvement of living standards. The tone has changed quite differently. The report earlier this week was called gaining momentum. There was a Question Mark on the end of that title, i have to admit. But they do think something has possibly changed in the last six months or so. The Chief Economist was saying that maybe we are at a turning point. There are risks, of course. But do we even ca re there are risks, of course. But do we even care about the imf . They are constantly changing. They say one thing, they said brexit will be the worst thing for the uk, the uk economy is going to come out. Then they go, actually, it is doing better than we thought. On the uk economy, they described two different scenarios. 0ne economy, they described two different scenarios. One was recession, one was a significant slowdown. I think they would argue that what we saw was slightly slower performance. In the forecast, we are one of the Fastest Growing economies in the g20 . One of the Fastest Growing economies in the 620 . Yes, but slower than the imf was forecasting a year ago. What do we do with these forecasts . I dont understand, why should we care about them . Do dont understand, why should we care about them . Do institutions. Well, ina way, about them . Do institutions. Well, in a way, it is a fair question. The fa ct in a way, it is a fair question. The fact is, we do need to have some idea of what we are expecting in the coming years. Is the imf any worse than anybody else . I would say absolutely not. And protectionism, right . That is the big worry. We are not seen that, even though we thought with trump. The Trump Administration has certainly been making a lot of noise is. In terms of concrete action, the things that people like the imf were concerned about have not happened. What we had last night, and you have already been talking about this review of steel, the way in which it might bear on security issues, clearly there is the possibility of the end of out of measures to restrict steel imports. I think the imf would be worried about that. So far, all they are doing, all President Trump has called f