Are the "highly competitive" LIRs "for profit" or "non profit" ?

Most, but not all, would be 'for profit'. The main exceptions would be national A&R networks (such as HEAnet).

Do you anticipate ARIN following RIPE and getting into the TLD business ?

I presume you're referring to RIPE CENTR, a forum for European TLDs to work together and present a common front when necessary? I couldn't really comment on ARIN's intentions in this area.

Also, do companies come to RIPE or the LIRs to obtain address blocks to avoid other registries ?

Hardly. RIPE's policy and procedures, as documented in ripe-159 (http://www.ripe.net/docs/ripe-159.html), have been in operation for quite a while now. Peer pressure helps to ensure that they are adhered to, as does RIPE NCC's practice of auditing the assignments made by LIRs. Not so long ago, many companies based in Europe had resort to other registries for IP addresses. Now, however, close collaboration between the regional registries ensures the fairly close alignment of policy and procedures globally. Mike