Costco Wholesale Corp.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. -- Rising sales could not stem a tide of charges that drained profits from membership wholesale club Costco Wholesale Corp., as it took hits for the second quarter and half-year due, to the impact of a new consumer electronics return policy, and tax consequences from its recent stock option review.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Americans' satisfaction with the goods and services they buy reached an all-time high in the fourth quarter of 2006, according to a report by the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart's Sam's Club division said it hopes to broaden its business with a new emphasis on mothers, an executive told analysts at a Citigroup Inc. retail conference in Orlando, Fla. this week.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. -- Affluent consumers can afford to be more selective about shopping, but their habits reveal that the lure of a good deal can consistently influence their selectivity can still some interesting patterns, according to a study just released by the Nielsen Company here.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. - Costco Wholesale Corp.'s installation of a solar-powered energy system at its Lake Elsinore, Calif. warehouse - its second such installation - is a preamble to the retailer's more expansive plans to use green technology.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. - Costco Wholesale Corp.'s installation of a solar-powered energy system at its Lake Elsinore, Calif. warehouse - its second such installation - is a preamble to the retailer's more expansive plans to use green technology.

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