| Foreign Giants Window Shop for Supermarkets
The long-awaited entry of a global retail giant into the Russian market appeared to inch closer as a senior executive for Wal-Mart hinted of an expansion into Russia and reports surfaced that the U.S. firm was planning talks with X5, Russia's biggest food retailer. "So far, we are currently studying the market, but the decision on how to enter it has not yet been made," Wal-Mart vice president Mike Bratcher told a Moscow conference Thursday, Interfax reported. Kommersant reported Jan. 29 that officials from X5 and Wal-Mart were due to hold talks in the United States last week. Wal-Mart could not be reached to confirm these reports. The food retail market, though it accounts for less than 2 percent of GDP, has seen annual growth of more than 25 percent since 2001. At a time when Russian portfolio investors are getting tired of the instability in the country's core oil market, the consumer sector's steady growth has been a welcome source of relief.
Ex-Robinson nursing home administrator convicted of manslaughter
An Allegheny County jury today convicted a former Robinson nursing home administrator of manslaughter in the October 2001 death of an elderly resident with Alzheimer's disease. The jury convicted Martha Bell, the former head of the now-defunct Ronald Reagan Atrium I Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, as well as the home and its parent corporation, the Alzheimer's Disease Alliance of Western Pennsylvania. They were charged in connection with the death of Mabel Taylor, 88, who was found dead in a courtyard there after wandering unattended from her room. The jury had deliberated since Wednesday afternoon. Bell, 60, of West Mifflin, will remain free on bail until she is sentenced Monday by Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman. .
Charting out retirement
"Leading-edge" boomers -- who turned 60 last year -- are dreaming about retirement, but don't expect to see the Forever Young Generation on the shuffleboard courts or in the bingo halls anytime soon. The midlife transition that boomers envision looks very different from that of their parents, who picked up gold watches and headed for Florida. .
Stockland Buys Retirement Villages for A$329 Million (Update2)
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Stockland, Australia's biggest housing developer, acquired its first retirement village owner as the nation's share of elderly people is forecast to more than double over the next four decades. Stockland agreed to pay A$329 million ($257 million) for Australian Retirement Communities, which runs 17 senior citizens villages in Victoria and Queensland states. The purchase will be funded through a share sale, Sydney-based Stockland said in a statement today. It is Chief Executive Officer Matthew Quinn's second takeover this week, after buying U.K. property manager and developer Halladale Group Plc, as he taps new avenues of growth following a three-year housing slump in Australia. The proportion of the population aged 65 years and over will rise to about 28 percent by 2051 from 13 percent in 2004, according to government data.
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