In a surprise move, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) replaced H. Lee Scott as chief executive with Mike Duke, the president of Wal-Mart International.

The timing of the move is curious. Wal-Mart seems to be the only retailer showing signs of strength during the economic downturn as cash-strapped middle-class shoppers flock to the chain, lured by its low prices. I count myself among this group. Moreover, shares of the world's largest retailer are up 6.6% this year, making them the only component in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to post a gain.

Of course, Wal-Mart is spinning this like a dreidel at Hanukkah. Rob Walton, the chairman of the board of directors, said in a press release that "Lee Scott has made an extraordinary contribution to Wal-Mart during his almost thirty years of service as an associate, and as our president and CEO for the last nine year [...] Lee has earned the respect and affection of our associates around the world, and of the Walton family."

Alright Mr. Walton, if this is true, why would you want to replace him? Perhaps Scott and the Waltons had some sort of dispute. Maybe it was over strategy. Maybe it was over something else. I found it odd that the announcement had no verbiage about Scott wanting "to spend more time with his family" or wishing him luck to "pursue other interests." Scott, though, maybe has decided it was time to call it a career.

Wal-Mart deserves credit for not rushing Scott, 59, out the door. Effective February 1, he will become chairman of the executive committee. The 58-year-old Duke won kudos from investors for guiding Wal-Mart's international business. Eduardo Castro-Wright, the head of Wal-Mart's U.S. operations, becomes vice chairman.

The new Wal-Mart will continue to be as big of a juggernaut as it has been in the past.

If you lined up 1,000 economists, politicians and activists and asked them whether Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s (NYSE: WMT) success during the current economic downturn was good for the country, you would get 1,000 different answers. The issue surrounding the world's largest retailer are that murky.

Wal-Mart's business model is about as basic as it gets -- -buy low and sell high (but still lower than many of its competitors). Founder Sam Walton was famous for demanding the "Wal-Mart discount" from suppliers eager to do business with the retailing behmoth. Their profit margins were not his problem. After flirting briefly and disastrously with attracting wealthier consumers, Chief Executive H. Lee Scott decided to get back to what the company knows best -- selling stuff cheaper than anyone else. That strategy has paid off.

The company is the only member of the Dow Jones industrial average whose shares have risen this year, according to Bloomberg News. The results it reported today would be the envy of most companies struggling in the faltering economy. Net income rose 9.8% to $3.14 billion, or 80 cents per share. Revenue soared 7.5% to $97.6 billion. The results handily beat Wall Street expectations.

Welcome to the 46th installment of The Wal-Mart Weekly, a column dedicated to bringing you insight, wit, facts, results, opinions and just a bit of everything else when it comes down to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart.

In the last edition of The Wal-Mart Weekly, I took a look at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT)'s consumer experience regarding the "processing" of customers efficiently. Wal-Mart churns out a world-leading amount of retail sales every month. Still, my experience with the way it handles customers -- from inventory levels to paying for merchandise -- still needs a lot of work.

This week, I'll be turning out a two-part series on a large even that occurred in St. Louis, Missouri last week. Wal-Mart's CEO, H. Lee Scott, delivered quite a note to about 7,000 of his U.S. managers last week. The meeting referred to Wal-Mart as the "Company of the Future." Was it lip service or a milestone of change in Scott's upcoming tenure?

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has gained a powerful ally in its quest to be known as the greenest company on the planet. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is trumpeting the company's efforts and practices in the area of ecological sustainability. Clinton's three-day 'Clinton Global Initiative' will end today with a panel on economic growth in the face of decreasing resources and climate change.

Clinton has toured the world as a private citizen touting green strategies and corporate sustainability, so it's no surprise that he's recognized Wal-Mart in this manner. His comments during the Clinton Global Initiative were witnessed by Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott as well. Clinton stated that Wal-Mart alone could set a template on how to reduce waste and increase sustainability to developing countries. That's quite an endorsement.

But, not so fast. Democrats in the U.S. constantly chide the world's largest retailer for its labor practices and health insurance costs, and one of the biggest former Democratic leaders sings its praises? Why sure -- this has nothing to do with labor on the surface. Clinton did say that if the retailer can generate wealth and jobs while reducing its carbon footprint, other companies will follow. I'm not sure how 'being green' will generate jobs (and good ones at that).

Clinton then made several references to the amount of energy saved by Wal-Mart customers buying and using compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) among highlighting other moves by the company in recent years to minimize the impact it has on the world's environment. On that note, later today I'll be looking at Wal-Mart's recent moves into sustainability and operating in the 'green' in detail, so stay tuned for another edition of The Wal-Mart Weekly this afternoon.

Although the stock price of Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) has floundered for years with little deviation from the $50 area, the retailer's CEO has been bagging some large paychecks even as WMT shareholders have received bupkus from their investments. It's true that investors should be looking for longer-term returns instead of three-month returns, but it's been half a decade since WMT has moved in a significant way.

Would Sam Walton be proud of the performance of the current CEO, Lee Scott? This question was postulated over at Forbes.com, and it makes a pretty good point. With returns of -3.4% annually since Scott has been at the helm, does that kind of performance merit a $60 million payout for Scott since he's been at the helm? That's $8 million a year.

All the PR hogwash from boards that overpay under-performing leaders based on "competitive market rates" is laughable. Shouldn't a CEO's performance be relative to the performance of the company being led? After all, if you base pay on industry metrics, who's to say that those being looked at for a baseline are performing at the top of their game? Nothing says that -- and it's all relative. The shareholders who have a stake in under-performance should demand that executive pay be tied to that, not meaningless competitive metrics in the CEO world where the comparison could be on another leader's shining performance. Hey, you and I don't get paid that way. Why should CEOs?

As Zac Bissonnette wrote earlier, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) CEO Lee Scott seemed to vent his frustration with Wal-Mart's inability to enter the New York City market by stating "I don't care if we ever enter New York." Wow -- for a high-visibility CEO to lose his cool like that may end up in his being hammered in the press and even by his board.

It's amazing what a little candor can do these days. Scott could have said, "It's unfortunate that the shoppers and leaders of such a fine city have not accepted Wal-Mart into their community," but to actually slam one of the world's most respected cities just goes to show what arrogance Wal-Mart's leadership must have right now in the face of extreme frustration from slowing sales and constant bashing in the press.

Scott seems to be secretly under fire from his recent $22 million bonus for "meeting financial targets" to Wal-Mart's fledgling share price to the huge image problem the world's largest retailer has in its biggest market right now. Will 2007 see the end of Scott as Wal-Mart's CEO? Shareholders need to be holding Wal-Mart management accountable -- for something -- even as he gets publicly flustered and basically insults the people of NYC. Way to go, Lee.

When a highly-visible Illinois senator calls on you to offer alternative fuels alongside traditional gasoline, you know the fight has just begun. Wal-Mart, which sells gas alongside many of its stores across the country, could do well to start having alternative fuels made available alongside standard gas. This would go along with many of its newer green initiatives.

With "flexible fuel" vehicles growing -- but not near the amount of standard gas-powered vehicles -- Wal-Mart would most likely install E85 pumps in Wal-Mart locations where they would we utilized fully right off the bat in order to judge demand and build a case for installing more. But, until automobile manufacturers begin making more flexible fuel vehicles for the common soccer mom down to the all-day delivery driver, will the impact be significant at all?

Don't get me wrong: this is a great start here if many of the national retail companies Obama writes to would start the game off correctly. But, there is more help needed than that -- the average consumer needs to demand this type of alternative fuel technology from the carmakers where they all buy cars. What would be the question you would ask if buying a new car?