Walmart

NEW YORK - In a speech to the National Retail Federation on Sunday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. chief executive Lee Scott said that the U.S. health care system is in "crisis" and called on the U.S. government to help retailers contend, Reuters reports.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores here said today its December sales at stores open at least a year rose 4.3 percent, near the high end of its estimate, helped by a late surge in Christmas shopping.

PRAGUE - According to a U.S. lawyer, many Czechs and others who were illegal workers at Wal-Mart stores in the United States are joining a lawsuit against the world's largest retailer, seeking millions of dollars in compensation, AP reports.

PARIS - Carrefour has sold its seven Chilean hypermarkets to Chilean retail group Distribution y Servicios (D&S) for euro 100 million ($126.6 million) because of competition and a lack of options for expansion, according to published reports.

Today's intense business climate raises the profiles of both strong and weak competitors. Here's a look at how some food retailers fared last year.

If the top-level issues that confront grocery c.e.o.'s daily have one thing in common, it's their unrelenting demands on executive vision and creativity.

As upscale products continue to flow into mainstream supermarkets, the perimeter reaps the benefits.

Improved quality, line extensions, product innovation, and high margins crown private label as the dairy aisle's royalty.