Wal-Mart's profits hit $3.1bn (£1.54bn) between May and July, from $2.08bn last year, but missed forecasts.
In contrast, Home Depot saw profits fall to $1.59bn from $1.86bn in the same period a year earlier, but beat expectations.
But both firms expect earnings to fall in the months ahead, amid fears that the US economy will continue to cool.
Rising costs
Following the results, Wal-Mart chief executive Lee Scott said earnings had been harmed by wider economic pressures.
"It is no secret that many customers are running out of money toward the end of the month," said Mr Scott.
In a bid to entice more customers, Wal-Mart has been reducing many items before the back-to-school period.
The combination of higher petrol prices and higher interest rates, that have pushed up mortgage payments, have both been factors squeezing customers, leaving them with less disposable income.
Higher costs have curbed people's appetite for home improvement, harming Home Depot and other such firms.
The company said sales from outlets open at least a year dropped by 5.2% for the quarter.
The results come as recent market turmoil has raised fears that a wider global contraction could be on the horizon.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/6946029.stm
3 comments:
So, Wal-Mart made roughly one billion dollars more in the period between May and July of this year than it did last year. And they are somehow worried?
I mean the most terrible corporate monster in the US, perhaps the world, is not hurting for money. What were their "projections"? 5 billion dollars?
They have bled counties dry in America's heartland, instructed workers on how to get on food stamps because they refuse to pay them a living wage, breakup attempts at unions, drive small businesses into the ground, destroy communities and let's not even go into how their abuses in other countries approach slavery, yet a billion dollars over what they made last year isn't enough for them.
I have completely boycotted this vile corrupter solidly for three months now (since discovering the depths of their villainy) and I encourage everyone else to do the same.
"And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and saw a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine." - Revelations 6:5-6
How much is your soul worth?
Not enough to make me starve to death because I can't afford to buy the Food Lion/Fresh Market/Whatever else groceries. I barely scrape by as is with only basic necessities. Unfortunately until I can afford NOT to I have no choice but to shop from the devil. I have to eat - I pick up most things I can at the dollar store and things of the sort - but there's no predictability in that so I do what I've got to do to make it through the day. Besides - if there's one thing that's gonna send me to hell to damn my soul to eternal torment shopping at Wal-Mart is pretty low on that list. I've done MUCH worse. In your favor though - my sister calls it hell and refuses to go there and Brad's Aunt Pam has been boycotting them for almost a year now. If/when I can I most certainally will but right now it's just not financially possible for me to stop shopping at the one place where I can actually afford to get the things I need. Some of the other grocery stores need a reality check to really change things anyway. If they'd stop raising prices to give us rediculous shit like talking shopping carts maybe it would be easier for those of us who would prefer not to add on to damnation by shopping with the devil to make a switch.
I am not judging anyone here. Everyone has different ethical thresholds for what they will allow to have an impact on them. And my use of biblical passages and hyperbole to convey my opinion is both in keeping with my normal argumentative style and the "flavor" of the blog - it wasn't long ago that I compared the military-industrial-complex to Molloch. And, that's not to say that I thought Frayed One was implying I am judging anyone, I don't think she was.
But having said all that, I am going to do an experiment tonight. I have one Bi-Los, one Super Wal-Mart (24 hour), one Super Target and one Harris Teeter (24 hour) near my home (and within a five mile radius of each other). I am going to do a point by point comparison of the 4 stores using what I am assuming will be common items for most people:
Bread (white)
Milk (2%)
Lunch Meat (Ham)
Lettuce (Iceberg)
Beans (Black Beans in the can)
Cereal (Corn Flakes)
Soft Drinks (2 liter of Coke)
Laundry Detergent (liquid)
Ketchup (Heinz)
Soap (um... Irish Spring)
Alright, for the items that I have not listed a specific brand, I will price the lowest generic product. What do I expect to find? I expect the results to be in this order from lowest to highest:
1. Super Wal-Mart
2. Bi-Lo
3. Super Target
4. Harris Teeter
I will post my results tonight when I return from my experiment.
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