With big chains such as Sears joining Wal-Mart and Kmart in opening on Thanksgiving, swarms of shoppers hit stores in numbers normally not seen until Friday, the traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season. Black Friday came early this year for many bargain hunters as several major retailers opened their doors on a day usually reserved for sleeping in and crowding around the turkey.RADII Shoes With big chains such as Sears joining Wal-Mart and Kmart in opening on Thanksgiving, swarms of shoppers hit stores in numbers normally not seen until Friday, the traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season. In Baldwin Park, a line of cars had to wait up to 10 minutes to turn into the packed parking lot of the Wal-Mart Supercenter. Managers at the West Covina Sears store reported a line of 50 people waiting to be let in at 7 a.m. And at the Kmart in Temple City, a throng of women rummaged through a large box of $9.99 blankets as another shopper juggled a coffee mug with an armful of board games. Angel Cerna, 40, picked up a 40-inch Sony television for $529 and a surround-sound system for $179 at the Sears store. It was too good a deal to pass up," the West Covina resident said. "And I have a hunch I'm still getting a better deal than on Black Friday, because it's not as crowded today."air jordans The UPS truck driver had been on the hunt for a television for months when his girlfriend showed him the Sears ad. He said he usually sleeps in until 11 a.m. on Thanksgiving, but this year, he rolled out of bed at 8:30 a.m. and skipped breakfast. With consumers still skittish about spending, this year's shopping season is likely to be driven by deals, analysts said. "Will it be a promotional season? That's the way of the world," retail analyst Dana Telsey said in a conference call with reporters. "Consumers … are used to seeing that percentage-off sign." Alexis Moon, 37, said she normally lazes around with her family before preparing for the afternoon feast. But by 9:30 a.m., the real estate agent stood clutching a Kmart flyer, her cart filled with a large photo frame, a pair of jeans and a doodle pad and scooter for her 2-year-old son, Marcus. Most of the items were half off. "This was a good price, so we figured, why not go out and get part of the shopping done?" she said. Moon's husband, Tony, 38, a mortgage broker, wasn't so enthusiastic. "It would be nice to sleep, though." Radii Shoes I men The Kmart store opened at 6 a.m. as it has for years on Thanksgiving, featuring one-day-only deals such as a 37-inch Panasonic TV that was slashed $150 to $399.99. The store expected about 5,000 customers to pass through by the 9 p.m. closing time. By comparison, Kmart is planning for a rush of 8,000 shoppers on Friday. "This is what we work all year for," store manager Steve Patterson said. "The customers we haven't seen in a while, these are the days they're coming in. They're getting a jump on buying because it's an easier shopping day." Employees didn't seem to mind working on Thanksgiving Day. Nick Meastas, 22, an electronics salesman at the Sears store in West Covina, said he was getting paid overtime for Thanksgiving and also planned to work Friday. Most years, he'd be asleep until the afternoon, but this time, he and his brother, who works for a Sears in San Bernardino, left their mother at home preparing the turkey. "I'm okay with it," Meastas said. "I've been running back and forth, and there hasn't been a time yet today when there wasn't a customer to talk to." Radii Shoes III men

Sinn Fein seen winning vacant seat Radii Shoes III women * Opposition says it will renegotiate budget strategy By Padraic Halpin DONEGAL, Ireland, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Ireland's government is likely to see its majority cut to two when the results of an election for a vacant parliamentary seat are released on Friday. But despite the expected rebuke from voters unhappy about cutbacks to qualify for an IMF/EU bailout, the government has said it is confident about being able to pass a budget due on Dec. 7. Failure to pass the 2011 budget would deepen the country's crisis and destabilise the euro zone. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said in a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Dublin on Thursday he was confident the budget would go through. "I am quite satisfied from my discussions both with the parties in government and the various public representatives in Dail Eireann (parliament) that there is a majority for this budget and that it will pass," he said. The Fianna Fail-led government, which agreed this week to accept an IMF/EU bailout, expected to be be about 85 billion euros ($113.6 billion), is predicted by opinion polls to lose the Donegal seat to the nationalist anti-European Sinn Fein. That result, due on Friday afternoon, would leave it a majority of just two -- both independents who have said they might vote against the budget. Fianna Fail's junior coalition partners, the Green Party, said this week they would pull out after a vote on the budget, forcing an election early next year. The main opposition centre-right Fine Gael party has not said how it will vote on the budget. SENIOR BONDHOLDERSRadii Shoes IV men The government unveiled a four-year plan of 15 billion euros in tax rises and spending cuts on Wednesday, but this has done nothing to reassure investors who are still waiting to find out details of the bailout, and jittery about Irish bank debt exposure. Fine Gael, which is likely to lead the next government, said it would not be bound by the terms of the four-year plan, although it has said it would stick with the main target of 15 billion euros in cuts. Fine Gael also said it would be prepared to make senior bondholders -- who rank on a par with depositors in banks -- to shoulder some of the burden of cleaning up the banking sector.Radii Shoes V men Despite government assurances to the contrary, speculation persists that senior debt of Irish banks, which has so far been protected, may be restructured as part of negotiations with the IMF and the EU for the bailout for Ireland and its banks. A European Commission spokesman said on Thursday the bailout talks, which are taking place in Dublin, would be wrapped up by the beginning of December. Markets expect an announcement on Sunday so that investors will have time to digest the terms of the deal before trading begins on Monday. The harsh measures, including a cut to the minimum wage, have fuelled complaints from Irish people that taxpayers are being punished to bail out bankers and property developers. (Writing by Carmel Crimmins; additional reporting by Lorraine Turner and Jodie Ginsberg; editing by Myra MacDonald) cheap jordans