Wal Mart Stores

Expanding its presence in the Baltimore region, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has bought a vacant Montgomery Ward store in Catonsville and plans to build a 127,000-square-foot store, according to a Baltimore County official."

We're trying to plug a few gaps in our electronic dictionary, and one editor has suggested that we make sure that Walmart  is on the list of objectionable words to be flagged, because the  Associated Press Stylebook  specifies Wal-Mart .  I pointed out that  Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , the listing in the stylebook, is the company's corporate name. But its online name is Walmart.com , and Walmart is now how it names individual stores. That, of course, would mean making judgments in context rather than relying reflexively on AP.  Another editor responded, quoting this exchange from the stylebook's online question-and-answer feature:  Q. Wal-Mart or Walmart?

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is preparing to announce plans for its third store in Maryland, to be located in Prince Frederick in Calvert County.A spokeswoman for the Bentonville, Ark.-based discount retailer said that the company doesn't plan to make an announcement about the Prince Frederick store until later this week, but BTR Realty Inc. of Linthicum said it has sold Wal-Mart a 4-acre tract for $2.3 million.Wal-Mart has already announced plans for stores in Hagerstown and in Easton. The highly acclaimed retailing company is known for wide selection of merchandise, low prices and excellent management.

Maryland's state retirement system said Thursday that it would once again vote against the election of Wal-Mart Stores' board because it isn't confident in the independence of the directors. The Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, which owns 1.2 million shares of the retail giant, has a policy of voting against all candidates if less than two-thirds of a company's board is independent. Six of Wal-Mart's 16 board members are either company officials or affiliated with the company in another way, according to the system's proxy advisor.

CHICAGO - Less than a month after voters in Inglewood, Calif., rejected Wal-Mart's effort to build a store there, Wal-Mart was dealt another setback yesterday when the Chicago City Council postponed a vote on zoning changes that would have allowed it to open its first two stores here. The setbacks in Chicago and Inglewood reflect the increasing difficulty Wal-Mart is facing as it tries to push in to more urban markets. Most of Wal-Mart's more than 3,500 stores in the United States are in rural and suburban areas.

CHARLES CATE, 68 Grew rich on Wal-Mart stock Charles R. Cate, a manager of one of the first Wal-Mart stores whose $1,000 purchase of company stock in the 1960s made him rich, died of cancer Monday in Springdale, Ark. He retired from the Bentonville, Ark.-based company in 1981 at age 43, after joining it as a teenager. He managed one of the original Wal-Mart stores during a 27-year career. Mr. Cate's fortune was estimated at $100 million.

Wal-Mart halts Mexico expansionWal-Mart Stores Inc., one of the first and most aggressive U.S. retailers in Mexico, has suspended its 1995 Mexican expansion plans because of the five-week, 40 percent slide in the value of the peso, a company spokesman said yesterday.Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., previously had planned to open 13 Sam's Club stores and 12 Wal-Mart Supercenters in Mexico in 1995, in conjunction with its Mexican partner, Cifra SA.

LOCALLY Digene Inc.Shares of the Gaithersburg maker of medical screening and diagnostic tests sank nearly 3.3 percent yesterday, wiping out all of their gains last week, after the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell $90 million in stock and debt securities. NATIONALLY Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The world's biggest retailer reiterated its projections for June sales, which are expected to increase from 2 percent to 4 percent, most likely at the low end of that range.

CHICAGO -- Chain store sales were mostly up last month, evidence that consumer interest in new retail goods has begun to re-emerge, analysts said yesterday.While many retailers cited hot weather as a catalyst for purchases, especially in the Midwest, analysts said the trend showed an improvement in consumers' attitudes toward the economy.Some stores posted better-than-expected results.Of nine major retailers, five turned in their best performance since at least the start of the year, said David Kelly, a consumer specialist at Data Resources Inc. in Lexington, Mass.

Wal-Mart to enter Far EastWal-Mart Stores Inc. will sell its products in the Far East through Japan's Ito-Yokado Co. Ltd. supermarkets and Yaohan International Co. Ltd.'s department stores, spokesmen for the Japanese firms said yesterday.An Ito-Yokado spokesman said Wal-Mart, the largest U.S. retailer, will be allowed to offer its low-priced products to Ito-Yokado for sale in Japan in return for supplying management know-how.Sandoz offers cheaper drugSandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp. yesterday introduced a new cholesterol-reducing drug that will sell for half the price of similar medications, putting pressure on competitors to cut their prices.

Five years ago, we chastised the Maryland General Assembly for attempting to single out one retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , with a law requiring the company to spend more on health benefits. That mandate was eventually struck down by the federal courts. Well, here those Maryland politicians go again. Baltimore City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke this week introduced a measure to require the city's largest retailers to pay their employees a "living wage," (currently about $10 an hour)

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, has seen sales at its U.S. Walmart stores fall for the first time, as price-cutting competitors lure away bargain-hunters. The 0.5 percent sales decline reported Thursday covered the three months ending Jan. 31. It was the first year-over-year quarterly decline since Wal-Mart went public in 1969. And it was a remarkable stumble for an institution revered and reviled for its relentless expansion and economic power. Overall, Wal-Mart's overseas growth and a concerted cost-cutting campaign pushed profit up 22 percent in the fourth quarter.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has revamped its plans in Crofton and now wants to build the Baltimore region's fifth Supercenter, adding a supermarket to the retail chain's traditional shopping component - after repeatedly denying an interest in offering low-cost groceries. A revised proposal recently submitted to Anne Arundel County shows a store of about 121,000 square feet - about 22,000 square feet smaller than the one first offered - but adding about 29,000 square feet for groceries. In late January, the retailer, which opened a Supercenter in Aberdeen in 2005, announced plans to open three more in the region.

Maryland: Biotechnology Iomai vaccine helps with diarrhea Iomai Corp. said yesterday that one of its needle-free vaccine patches lessened the symptoms of traveler's diarrhea. In a mid-stage clinical trial, 27 people were given Iomai's vaccine and another 20 received a placebo. Then they were exposed to "high levels" of enterotoxigenic E. Coli, a common cause of traveler's diarrhea. Those who received the vaccine experienced less severe diarrhea and were less likely to require intravenous fluids than those who did not. The Gaithersburg company plans to launch late-stage clinical trials for the patch, which adheres to the skin, next year.

Baltimore-area supermarkets are bracing for new competition and could face pressure to lower prices after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said this week it would open three grocery stores in the region. The addition of so many stores at once means area shoppers could see some grocery costs fall across the region, retail consultants said, as existing supermarkets adapt to the world's largest retailer and its low-pricing power. The mammoth stores -- called supercenters -- essentially combine supermarkets with traditional Wal-Marts in buildings that are two to three times the size of normal grocers.

CHARLES CATE, 68 Grew rich on Wal-Mart stock Charles R. Cate, a manager of one of the first Wal-Mart stores whose $1,000 purchase of company stock in the 1960s made him rich, died of cancer Monday in Springdale, Ark. He retired from the Bentonville, Ark.-based company in 1981 at age 43, after joining it as a teenager. He managed one of the original Wal-Mart stores during a 27-year career. Mr. Cate's fortune was estimated at $100 million.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, has seen sales at its U.S. Walmart stores fall for the first time, as price-cutting competitors lure away bargain-hunters. The 0.5 percent sales decline reported Thursday covered the three months ending Jan. 31. It was the first year-over-year quarterly decline since Wal-Mart went public in 1969. And it was a remarkable stumble for an institution revered and reviled for its relentless expansion and economic power. Overall, Wal-Mart's overseas growth and a concerted cost-cutting campaign pushed profit up 22 percent in the fourth quarter.

Lorene Bonde has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. as part of a project of the National Future Farmers of America Foundation. A senior at South Carroll High School and member of the school's FFA chapter, she plans to pursue a degree in ornamental floriculture at Delaware Valley College. Wal-Mart gave out more than 1,300 scholarships through the FFA program. Awards are based on a student's academic record, FFA and other school activities, agricultural experience and education, career plans and financial need.

A day after announcing it was building a Supercenter in Cockeysville, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said yesterday that it is opening two more of its megastores in the Baltimore area. The world's largest retailer said it plans to open the new stores at 3601 Washington Blvd. in Arbutus and at 407 George Claus Blvd. in Glen Burnie. The stores are expected to open in the fall. On Tuesday, Wal-Mart said it would close its Hunt Valley Town Center store this fall to make room for a new Supercenter at 10400 York Road.

NEW YORK -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said yesterday that it will reduce the amount of new spending on stores by about 75 percent next year, sending its shares to their highest level in 19 months. Capital expenses will increase by as much as 4 percent next year, with the United States "approximately flat," down from the 15 percent to 20 percent forecast globally this year, the Bentonville, Ark., company said yesterday in a statement. Some analysts and investors say Wal-Mart expanded too fast as sales growth slowed.