21.   Because the economy seems to be expanding quickly, steady-earning consumer companies lost their luster, while so-called cyclical stocks grew more attractive.

22.   Because the central bank left rates unchanged, investors snatched up shares of consumer product companies, which traditionally have steadfast earnings even when the economy slows.

23.   Big consumer electronics companies, including Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp., are using their might with retailers to gain precious shelf space.

24.   A disappointing earnings report from Walt Disney Co. sparked concern that even shares of steady-growing consumer products companies could be vulnerable to profit shortfalls in coming months.

25.   A number of mass-market consumer electronics companies, including Lucky Gold Star of Korea, are said to have sought Macintosh licenses from Apple.

26.   A. The four sectors that would rise to the top are consumer staples companies, manufacturers, raw-materials companies and energy companies.

27.   Across Europe, shares of banks, car makers, oil companies and consumer electronics companies pulled down share indexes in France, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands.

28.   All the largest consumer companies are far-flung enterprises working every corner of the world with lots of their own complicated details.

29.   Bowles tapped into one of the largest buying services, Autovantage, a division of CUC International, a membership-based consumer services company in Stamford, Conn.

30.   Brown agrees that, in effect, the only thing a consumer company needs to do to enter the market is to start shipping boxes based on Intel motherboards.