Industry

CHICAGO - Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. announced today that in spite of some improvement in last weekend's sales, it still expects December sales at its U.S. stores open at least a year to attain the lower end of its forecast for a 3 percent to 5 percent increase, according to Reuters.

SAN DIEGO - Negotiations in the Southern California grocery worker strike and lockout broke off Friday night after a 12-hour session, local newspapers report. Federal mediation chief Peter Hurtgen said the talks had been "recessed indefinitely," a term not used before during the strike, which began Oct. 11.

CHARLESTON, W. Va. - About 3,000 Kroger employees from West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky are expected to vote here today on a contract that could end a two-month strike.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. - Costco has reported a 10 percent rise in first-quarter profit, helped by the labor disputes in Southern California, which led to increased numbers of shoppers at its warehouse clubs, the company announced in an earnings conference call yesterday.

TOKYO - NCR Corp. announced today that a MaxValu supermarket in Kashiwa, near Tokyo, has become the first store in Japan to install its NCR FastLane self-checkout solution.

NEW YORK - Retail Merchandiser's third Dollar Store and Value Retailing Summit will be held March 9 and 10, 2004 at the Venetian Hotel and Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas.

NEW YORK - SureBeam Corp. today named Peterson & Co. LLP as its new auditing firm. The company, which fired its previous auditor more than three months ago in a dispute about bookkeeping practices, was recently delisted from Nasdaq because it had failed to file quarterly earnings reports, Reuters reports.

SEATTLE - The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has announced that there are now 100 Alaska salmon products carrying the MSC eco-label distinguishing Alaska salmon as a sustainable and well-managed seafood choice.