Walmart

TEANECK, N.J. - The chinks in the armor are showing in Bentonville. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. said yesterday it is hunkering down, planning to sharply reduce its capital spending next year and instead work to drive higher returns at current locations.

WILTON, Conn. - Wal-Mart and Procter & Gamble have been identified as the "best of the best" in Cannondale Associates' 2006 PoweRanking Survey, an annual study that measures how adeptly leading manufacturers and retailers handle working trade relations.