Wal-Mart's Japanese unit sees large loss for 2006

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has operations across the globe through its own brand and the ownership stake it has in other brands and companies, like Asda in Europe. How do those areas -- outside the U.S. -- perform on an annual basis? As Wal-Mart scurries for every last penny saved here in the U.S. while newly energized competitors stomp on its sales, can international markets and the resultant sales save a little piece of glory for the world's largest retailer?

If you were to look at Wal-Mart's Japanese operations, a pretty picture would not really be painted here. Seiyu -- Wal-Mart's Japanese unit -- indicated yesterday that it would fall deeper into the red for 2006 than it first estimated. Read: Seiyu will have a much larger loss than originally forecast.

Should Wal-Mart just get out of Japan like it did in Germany and South Korea? Perhaps -- because Seiyu will mark its fifth straight year of losses despite investments of more than $1 billion by Wal-Mart, which owns 53% of the Japanese retailer.