"We continue to improve operating performance and with the acquisition of Goodbean we are leading the consolidation process in our market, " he said.

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Health care is finally maturing as an industry, and part of that maturation process is consolidation.

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But even dire straits have not kept steel firms in other parts of the world from obstructing the long-overdue process of consolidation.

ECONOMIST: European steel

In the typical process of electronic consolidation, they say, positioning will be built in at the circuit board level.

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In all this consolidation, the compression of the product development process, what are the risks?

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Budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski said the budget had to be seen in a context of "fiscal consolidation" and said he hoped the 2012 process would be smoother than the previous year's negotiations.

BBC: MEPs reject 'across the board' budget cuts

The recent round of consolidation in the financial industry has given them another excuse to step up this process: merger partners need to prune holdings so that banks' combined stakes do not exceed 5% of a company's stock, the legal limit.

ECONOMIST: Japanese shares