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.

France's Pernod Ricard won a hotly contested auction on Monday to buy the maker of Sweden's Absolut vodka for 5.63 billion euro ($8.87 billion), beating favourite Jim Beam bourbon-maker Fortune Brands.

Foster's Group, Australia's biggest alcoholic drinks company, posted its slowest growth in first-half net profit in several years on Tuesday, as U.S. wine sales slumped and the strong Aussie dollar crimped earnings.

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.

Partly because of the deteriorating economy, more companies than usual are participating in the annual blizzard of holiday promotions, but skeptics still warn about advertising overkill and the risks of marginal or tacky campaigns.

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.

French wines and spirits group Pernod Ricard reported a stronger-than-expected 9.1 percent rise in underlying second-quarter sales and raised its profit guidance, sending its shares sharply higher.