Retailers, consumer companies search for growth

(Reuters) - After years of operating in their comfort zones, retailers and consumer product makers are branching out to find faster pockets of growth. Some are beefing up through acquisitions, while others dive deeper into developing markets, where growth outpaces that of the mature markets of North America.




Meanwhile U.S. consumers face rising costs for everything from gasoline to milk which, along with a tough housing market, is curbing their spending and putting pressure on the manufacturers and retailers vying for shoppers' attention during the upcoming back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons.


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Norilsk says Norway regulator clears LionOre bid

(Reuters) - LionOre advised its investors last week to accept the
Norilsk bid, after Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata -- which made
prior bids -- elected not to match Norilsk's offer. Norilsk and
Xstrata have also entered a support agreement.




Norilsk also extended the expiration time for its all-cash
offer to June 28 from Monday. LionOre is the world's
10th-largest nickel producer.


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Blackstone may have to cut range for IPO

(Reuters) - Those investors expect this week's events to cut the price guidance anywhere from 2 percent to 6 percent.




The questions come a day after two U.S. senators proposed legislation that could boost the top tax rate for private equity firms that go public by more than 100 percent, to 35 percent from 15 percent.


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Business Books: Strain on U.S. grid to make blackouts common

(Reuters) - But unless the antiquated transmission grid is fixed,
expensive blackouts that bring modern life to a grinding halt
will become ever more common, according to "Lights Out" , a new book by Jason Makansi.




Before the 1980s, power generating companies were
responsible for the entire chain of supply, from securing fuel
to transmitting power to homes. Deregulation, meant to increase
competition, has busted that chain apart and left the wires and
substations that deliver electricity as a "neglected
stepchild," Makansi writes.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

AIRSHOW-EADS seeks to prove itself as a "normal company"

(Reuters) - The call from French and German executives came on the eve
of the Paris Air Show, where French President Nicolas Sarkozy is
expected to set out his vision for European aerospace amid
doubts over the future of a sensitive EADS shareholder pact.




EADS has been plagued by disagreements between French and
German shareholders, politicians and staff over output delays at
Airbus, which contributed to 10,000 job cuts and slowed down
Europe's largest industrial project, the A380 superjumbo.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S. Stocks Rally, S&P 500 Rises Most in Eight Weeks; GM, Alcoa Pace Gains

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rallied and the
Standard and Poor's 500 Index posted its best weekly gain
since April after bond yields fell from a five-year high
and the Federal Reserve said the economy is growing without
fueling inflation.

General Motors Corp., Alcoa Inc. and Intel Corp.
helped push the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average to
within 0.5 percent of records. Exxon Mobil Corp., the
world's largest oil company, led energy shares to the best
gain among 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 as crude
prices climbed to the highest since September.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Polish Bonds Fall for Second Week on Speculation Interest Rates Will Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Polish government bonds fell for a
second week on speculation the central bank may raise interest
rates to curb inflation.

Benchmark five- and 10-year bond yields hit nine-month highs
this week as faster-than-expected consumer price inflation put
pressure on the central bank to raise borrowing costs. Polish
bonds fell after former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan
said mid-week that he expects an increase in U.S. yields and
greater premiums on emerging-market debt.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Pound Gains for First Week in Three Amid Speculation U.K. Rates Will Climb

(Bloomberg) -- The pound gained for the first week
in three on speculation the Bank of England will need to keep
raising interest rates to slow the economy.

BOE Governor Mervyn King this week said the bank ``may need
to take further action'' to contain inflation, a week after it
boosted the main lending rate to a six-year high. Monetary Policy
Committee member Paul Tucker said in a speech yesterday a pickup
in money growth is an ``amber light'' for future inflation.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News