Stephan's Friday Picks

• Cheaper beer, cigarettes gain favour as inflation pinches shoppers (WSJ)
• How bacon and Costco fish shape America's view of inflation (NYT)
• Suburbanites fight over new dinner services in Mercedes vans (WSJ)
• As inflation soars, European consumer goods M&A slows (Reuters)
• From the archives (1994): Wal-mart entering Canada (NYT)