Among the sector activity stories for Wednesday, July 2, from AP Financial News:

Shares of liquor companies were mixed Wednesday after UBS analysts cut their rating on shares of spirits producers Diageo PLC and Brown-Forman Inc. due to slower spending and higher commodity costs.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is appointing three top executives as new advisers on his national business council.

A division of London-based Diageo PLC, the world's largest alcoholic drinks producer, spent $460,000 in the first quarter lobbying on revisions to U.S. tax code to cut the tax on distilled spirits, according to a recent disclosure form.

Diageo PLC, the world's largest alcoholic drinks producer, said it will build a high capacity distillery on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Telecommunications, consumer goods, banking and the drinks business have quarterly earnings in common, as a flurry of companies, such as Deutsche Telekom, Unilever, UniCredit and Diageo all reported results Thursday.

When contemplating stock positions for the summer, investors are often advised to "sell in May and go away," as the saying goes.

Four bidders, led by Jim Beam bourbon maker Fortune Brands, have submitted binding offers for Sweden's Absolut vodka maker Vin & Sprit in a $6 billion-plus auction, sources close to the auction said.

With stagflation in the air, where's an investor to turn?  Morningstar's Christine Benz urges a close look at companies that pay dividends.

Diageo, the world's biggest alcoholic drinks group, said it expects to hit 2008 forecasts after double-digit growth in Johnnie Walker whisky sales helped it to a 15-percent rise in first-half earnings.

Americans may be drinking less, but they're drinking better.

For several years, rum distillers have been trying to ditch the product's image, which is so closely linked to pirates, palm trees, and cheap daiquiri drinks, in an attempt to capture their fair share of sales to cocktail-swilling trendsetters. 

The distilled spirits industry expects its U.S. revenues to increase 4.6 percent in 2008, down from last year's growth rate, a trade group said Friday, as the weaker economy forces people to tighten their budgets for going out.