There are updates this morning from four FTSE-100 heavyweights: the consumer goods giant Unilever, the oil group Shell and the telecoms groups Vodafone and BT.
(See "Infineon Faces Dark Future").. Other heavyweights in consumer electronics have issued recent warnings: Japan's Panasonic and Sony have each cut their outlook as they struggle with recession and a stronger yen.
The Dow is notoriously tilted toward consumer heavyweights but short on the kind of technology stocks that have catapulted the Nasdaq Composite Index to record highs in the past few sessions.
The Dow is notoriously slanted toward consumer heavyweights such as Coca-Cola ko, Gillette g, Johnson & Johnson jnj and Procter & Gamble pg, all of which are deeply entrenched in negative territory today.
Smosarski launched Stylist magazine in 2009, and it has won a clutch of industry awards, increased its circulation and become a heavyweight among women's consumer magazines.
Job: editor, Stylist Age: 35 Industry: publishing New entry Three years since its 2009 launch, Stylist is now firmly entrenched as a heavyweight among women's consumer magazines with a clutch of industry awards and a whopping 431,266 distribution in the first half of 2012.
The supply-chain has been fragmented and inefficient for years, particularity with the delivery of heavyweight goods to the consumer, which until now have been expensive and complex.
The company is facing important challenges — consumer electronics heavyweights such as Apple are now releasing smartwatches with promising fitness-tracking features.
The plan is not a final rule, but the vote on Thursday is a significant step forward on a controversial idea that has invited fierce opposition from consumer advocates, Silicon Valley heavyweights, and Democratic lawmakers.
Moves by heavyweights such as Amazon should push consumer giants to invest more in emerging brands to try to find the next big thing.
