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"FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times.support@ft.comFri, 9 May 2008 15:57 BSTFri, 09 May 2008 17:42:34 BSTNewspapers15http://news.ft.com/cms/d1f3ce1a-6bbe-11da-bb53-0000779e2340.gifhttp://www.ft.com/companies/retailing(PICS-1.1 "http://www.classify.org/safesurf/" L gen true for "http://www.ft.com/" r (SS~~000 1))http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ab158d10-1dd2-11dd-983a-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ab158d10-1dd2-11dd-983a-000077b07658.htmlCircuit City said it would open its books to Blockbuster ahead of a possible bid that would be backed by Carl Icahn, the billionaire investorFri, 9 May 2008 15:57 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4161d480-1d93-11dd-983a-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4161d480-1d93-11dd-983a-000077b07658.htmlThe music and entertainment retailer reported a 13.8% rise in like-for-like sales at stores in the UK and Ireland and said it expected pre-tax profitd at the top end of market forecastsFri, 9 May 2008 12:12 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a34eef12-1da1-11dd-983a-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a34eef12-1da1-11dd-983a-000077b07658.htmlSir Tom Hunter, the Scottish entrepreneur, is taking legal action in an effort to block Dobbie's proposed £150m offer, aiming to block plans by Tesco to tighten its grip on the garden retailerFri, 9 May 2008 10:29 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fc2fcb02-1d37-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fc2fcb02-1d37-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlFlurry of excitement that Enterprise becoming a Reit marks a sea change in the UK's £20bn-a-year pub industryThu, 8 May 2008 23:17 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/897e2bb8-1d36-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/897e2bb8-1d36-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlBest Buy of the US and the UK's Carphone Warehouse promised to unleash a far-reaching shake-up of the European consumer electronics landscape with a new joint ventureThu, 8 May 2008 20:48 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/926b816a-1d10-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/926b816a-1d10-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlUS shoppers continued to veer towards cheaper stores and essential goods and away from discretionary items in April, but brought some relief for retailers after a poor start to the yearThu, 8 May 2008 20:27 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a6aadb96-1d1d-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a6aadb96-1d1d-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlGiulio Tremonti, the new finance minister in Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right government, is opposed to the prime minister's rejection of a takeover bid by Air France-KLMThu, 8 May 2008 18:04 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/da3690a4-1d31-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/da3690a4-1d31-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlThe singer's endorsement of two leading ticketing companies marks a breakthrough for a practice that some concert promoters condemn as scalping or toutingFri, 9 May 2008 02:06 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/33b1114e-1d38-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/33b1114e-1d38-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlEnterprise Inns Reit strategy may prompt a flurry of copycat moves, but investors are cautious about property Thu, 8 May 2008 23:01 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c4990b56-1d30-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c4990b56-1d30-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlCarphone Warehouse's deal with Best Buy prompted some to predict Carphone would quit the retail sector, while others said the company's rivals could bid for its telecoms business. But Chief executive Charles Dunstone is rejecting both ideasThu, 8 May 2008 22:36 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/75403b68-1d32-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/75403b68-1d32-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlBest Buy's yellow ticket logo will take on brands such as Germany's MediaMarkt, France's Fnac and Currys and Comet in the UK, at a time when the established retailers are struggling with depressed margins and worries over consumer spendingThu, 8 May 2008 21:16 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/28306c5c-1cca-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/28306c5c-1cca-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlShoppers were not spending in the group's stores until they 'absolutely had to', the clothing retailer said, but sales had picked up over recent days and full-year profits would be in line with market forecastsThu, 8 May 2008 15:48 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e0e476b4-1ccd-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e0e476b4-1ccd-11dd-82ae-000077b07658.htmlBest Buy and the UK's Carphone Warehouse are setting up a joint venture to sell consumer electronics goods in Europe, with the US group taking a 50% stake in Carphone's European and US retail interests for £1.1bnThu, 8 May 2008 12:59 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1db26672-1c2a-11dd-8bfc-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1db26672-1c2a-11dd-8bfc-000077b07658.htmlMore than 57 per cent of shareholders at the annual meeting of the German travel-and-shipping group voted against a motion by activist investor John Fredriksen to unseat the company's chairmanWed, 7 May 2008 23:44 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/82fa2e0e-1c82-11dd-8bfc-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/82fa2e0e-1c82-11dd-8bfc-000077b07658.htmlBest Buy of the US and the UK's Carphone Warehouse are to establish a joint venture to sell consumer electronics goods in EuropeWed, 7 May 2008 23:33 BST