CEO Lee Scott

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N> reported a higher quarterly profit as the world's biggest retailer clamped down on inventory and controlled expenses, but forecast earnings for the current period that could miss current Wall Street estimates. Profit for the third quarter ended October 31 rose to $3.23 billion, or 84 cents per share, from $3.14 billion, or 80 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 81 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Wal-Mart had forecast earnings per share from continuing operations of 78 cents to 82 cents. Sales rose 1.1 percent to $98.67 ... Read Full Story

Wal-Mart Stores says it will keep its stores open 24 hours and take new crowd-control measures Thanksgiving weekend after a temporary employee was trampled to death in a Black Friday rush last year. The world's largest retailer says day-after-Thanksgiving sales will begin at 5 a.m. Nov. 27, but most U.S. stores will be open 24 hours to prevent a mad dash. The announcement doesn't affect most of Wal-Mart's Supercenters, which are already open 24 hours. Federal safety regulators cited Wal-Mart for inadequate crowd management after the Nov. 28, 2008, death of a temporary employee at a Long Island, N.Y., store. A crowd of shoppers ... Read Full Story

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, reports its third-quarter earnings on Thursday before the market opens. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period. OVERVIEW: Wal-Mart has been one of few bright spots in retailing this year, benefiting from shoppers focusing on necessities during the recession. Wal-Mart has performed better than competitors like Target Corp. The company, which has ridden low prices to dominate the U.S. retail scene, is stepping up its game further in price cutting — both in the stores and online — as the official start of the holiday shopping season approaches. It's ... Read Full Story

Lee Scott, former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. CEO and president, has joined the private equity firm Solamere Capital as an operating partner and a member of its investment committee. Scott will help evaluate investment opportunities and take a key role in aiding growth at Solamere's portfolio companies, according to a release Solamere issued Monday. The equity firm is based in Lexington, Mass. Scott, who retired from the helm of Wal-Mart in February 2009, remains chairman of the low-price retailer's board's executive committee. Scott joined Wal-Mart in 1979 as an assistant director in the logistics division and rose through the ranks, becoming president and CEO in ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As unemployment in the United States edges above 10 percent, anxious investors will look to earnings reports from major retailers for signs of life in the beaten-up consumer. Comments from Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N>, the world's largest retailer, as well as from a host of smaller stores, will be of vital importance to investors trying to judge the recovery's pace. "The best way of gaining an insight into the consumer is from hearing from the companies that sell to them," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York. Stocks are up 50 percent since the ... Read Full Story