The recent rally ran out of steam this week, sputtering through a slumping Friday weighed down by retail woes, closing car dealerships and continuing worries about inflation. Disappointing sales at JC Penney (JCP) and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) and news that General Motors (GM) would shutter 20% of its dealerships quashed an early session climb. However, insurance companies got a boost after six large firms were made eligible for government help through the Trouble Assets Relief Program. The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday lost 62 points to close at 8268, a drop of 300 points for the week. For a complete rundown of Friday s trading session see our market story.

Winners

The Market Vectors Agribusiness fund (MOO) came up on the right side of a choppy five days for agricultural commodities, rising 3.3% for the week. Gold kept its value as a traditional safe haven, closing above $930 an ounce on Friday and leaving the Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX) up 1.7% for the week.

Losers

Another volatile week for financial stocks dealt the SPDR KBW Bank fund (KBE) another big swing, pushing shares down 12.7% for the week. Regional Bank HOLDRS (RKH) slid 12.4%. The SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services fund (XES) dropped 10.6% for the week, following a retreat in crude from the $60 level.

This Week s Industry News

Bids Heat up iShares Acquisition
Media reports from the United Kingdom said fresh bids came in higher than the $4.4 billion offer by CVC Capital Partners for iShares, the exchange-traded funds business of Barclays Global Investors. Private-equity firms Apax Partners, BC Partners and Hellman & Friedman are possible bidders, the reports say, with new offers pegged as high as $5.3 billion.

Launching Pad
Van Eck Global launched the Market Vectors Brazil Small Cap fund (BRF) that focuses on Brazilian companies that get strength from domestic consumption vs. large-cap mining and energy stocks. It invests in household durables, food products and specialty retail and has an annual expense ratio of 0.73%.

Barclays Global Investors' iShares group filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a pair of actively managed exchange-traded funds, one focused on stocks, and one focused on bonds. The iShares Active Equity Fund would invest at least 80% of its assets in large-cap U.S. stocks, and the Shares Active Fixed Income Fund would set up a proprietary model to do its asset allocation, the firm said.

Claymore Securities filed plans to launch three actively managed exchange-traded funds, run with a bottom-up approach by subadvisor Delta Global Advisors. Technical analysis could figure in stock selection for the proposed Claymore Delta Global Infrastructure ETF, Claymore Delta Global Hard Assets ETF and Claymore Delta Global Agribusiness ETF, the firm said.

Next Week s Notebook

Earnings and Conference Calls

Monday
AirMedia Group Inc., American Apparel, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Lowe's Companies, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals

Tuesday
Astro-Med, Dick's Sporting Goods, Dycom Industries, Hewlett-Packard, Home Depot, JA Solar Holdings, Medtronic, Phillips-Van Heusen, Solarfun Power Holdings TJX Compnaies, VOdaphone Group

Wednesday
Advance Auto Parts, AnnTaylor Stores, BJ's Wholesale Club, Computer Sciences, Deere & Co., Eaton Vance, Experian Group, Gymboree, Hot Topic, Intuit, Limited Brands, Melco Crown Entertainment, NetApp, NetEase.com, Target, Toll Brothers, Tween Brands, Westell Technologies

Thursday
Accelrys, Aeropostale, Autodesk, Barnes and Noble, Bon-Ton Stores, Cost Plus, Dress Barn, Excel Maritime Carriers, Foot Locker, Gamestop, Gap, Hormel Foods, Investec, Kirkland's, Lenovo Group,
New York & Co., Pacific Sunwear of California, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Ross Stores, Salesforce.com,
Stein Mart, Zumiez

Friday
British Airways, Campbell Soup

Economic Data

Monday
1:00 p.m. May NAHB Housing Index

Tuesday
7:45 a.m. ICSC Chain Store Sales
8:30 a.m. April Housing Starts
8:55 a.m. Redbook Retail Sales
4:30 p.m. May 15 API Oil Industry Report
5:00 p.m. ABC/Washington Post Consumer Confidence

Wednesday
7:00 a.m. Mortgage Applications Refinance Index
10:30 a.m. May 22 U.S. Energy Dept. Oil Inventories
2:00 p.m. April Federal Reserve FOMC Minutes

Thursday
8:30 a.m. Initial Jobless Claims
10:00 a.m. May Philadelphia Fed Business Index
10:00 a.m. April Conference Board Leading Indicators
10:00 a.m. DJ-BTMU Business Barometer
10:30 a.m. May 15 EIA Natural Gas Inventories

Friday
No major economic indicators.

Quick Take

A look at how the industry's most popular ETFs did on Friday.