Welcome to the 66th 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 to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart.

This week, I'll be examining Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and the reputation the world's largest retailer has. Wal-Mart's roots from the backyard of a small Arkansas town into the world's largest company in less then five decades is nothing short of amazing -- like it or not.

But, with such rapid growth, how has the company's reputation fared during this journey? Harris Interactive's latest "Reputations of the Most Visible Companies" (PDF download) sheds a little light on this area. Although Wal-Mart is currently experiencing a decent period of sales and profit (due to customers flocking to low prices), the company still has a tarnished image in much of the world. Is it deserved? You be that judge.

Welcome to the 65th 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 to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart.

This week, I'll be taking a look at product quality in relation to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT. As you may have read by now, Adidas AG, the second-largest maker of sporting goods globally, has said that a house brand of shoes sold at Wal-Mart may injure those that wear them. Now that's quite a statement about product quality, yes?

Adidas specifically said that Wal-Mart's Athletic Works shoes should not be worn or used by runners, as they may cause injury. I've never heard of a shoe or sporting goods manufacturer state that a particular type of show would injure a runner, but there you have it. These Athletic Works shows are "not suitable to run in," according to Adidas. How was this claim determined -- and what about other Wal-Mart products that may have inferior quality? Read on.

Welcome to the 64th 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 to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart.

This week, I'll be examining how Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has an effect on the American economy that's easily contrasted against the inability of the U.S. government these days to control inflation.

It seems odd that a single nongovernment entity could be responsible for single-handedly controlling prices in such a way that could be interpreted as controlling inflation, but that's just what a recent Forbes article claimed. Is it true? Let's find out.

Welcome to the 63rd 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 to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart.

This week, I'll be examining the just-completed annual shareholder's meeting that took place for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) yesterday. After I covered last year's meeting live, this year's meeting seemed to be quite different from all aspects.

Mostly, the timing of the recession (yes, I said it) this year has helped bolster Wal-Mart's most recent sales figures and gave it reason to give itself much self-congratulatory praises. Wal-Mart, despite recent efforts to cater to anyone other than the bargain-seeking shopper, went back to its one core strength this year: offering the lowest prices on everything it can.

Welcome to the 62nd 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 to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart.

This week, I'll be examining the extended warranty practices practiced by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT). In the mood to see how consistent the retailer's extended warranties were, I visited no less than three Wal-Mart locations this week to determine what kind of policy existed in the one product category where extended warranties really count: consumer electronics.

Welcome to the 61st 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 to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart.

After examining two big sets of related shareholder resolutions for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.'s (NYSE: WMT) annual shareholder meeting coming up in June in the past few weeks, we'll depart this week from that path.

I'll be examining one of Wal-Mart's newest websites, what it means and what (on earth) it'll have in terms of an impact on Wal-Mart customers. And, I'll ask one large question: why doesn't the world's largest retailer use its stores as a freely available advertising venue to let its customers know what it has available online? Let's examine, shall we?

Welcome to the 60th 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 to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart.

In this Wal-Mart Weekly, I'll continue my column from last week and take a look at another of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.'s (NYSE: WMT) annual shareholder meeting proposals.

Last year, I covered Wal-Mart's annual shareholder's meeting live from the show floor last year, where all 11 shareholder proposals were easily and soundly defeated. Will it be the same this year? We'll find out in about three weeks. Last week I covered something very pertinent to the season -- political contributions. This week, it'll be something more close to the heart of many individual -- and institutional -- shareholders: executive compensation.

Welcome to the 59th 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 to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart.

In this week's Wal-Mart Weekly, I'll begin a multi-part column that takes a look inside some of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.'s (NYSE: WMT) annual shareholder meeting proposals. As many of you may know, Wal-Mart's annual shareholder's meeting happens in early June, about a month from now.

I covered it live from the show floor last year, where all 11 shareholder proposals were easily and soundly defeated. Nothing new here, as Wal-Mart's board has a habit of glossing past many proposals that would give its shareholders a glimpse into its internal operations.

So, let's start off by looking at a shareholder proposal that asks for more public visibility into Wal-Mart's political donations. This is a great question for the retailer, and one would think that if Wal-Mart has nothing to hide, it would open the transparency book to answer this proposal. We'll only know in a month when the meeting actually happens, but we'll consider what the retailer could do in this column. Visit this link to get a rundown on Wal-Mart's SEC Form 14A for its upcoming shareholder's meeting, and then join me after the break.

Welcome to the 58th 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 to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart.

This week's Wal-Mart Weekly looks at the moves the world's largest retailer is making to actually slow its growth. When one thinks of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) -- or any other retailer -- the term growth always seems to come to mind. That's what Wall Street's short-sighted investors fret about every day, although by its nature this kind of focus keeps most public companies trying to plan for the future while appeasing the market makers.

How about actually trying to slow down growth? There is a lot to be said for "disciplined growth" and growing at a rate that fits the general retail landscape and economy of the countries in which you're operating. Would -- gasp -- Wal-Mart ever want to temper its growth and actually slow things down a bit? Perhaps.

Welcome to the 57th 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.

This week's Wal-Mart Weekly looks at the lighter, good-natured side of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT). Isn't that refreshing? All too often, the world's largest retailer is bashed up one side and down the other for its actions. There are things, though, that the retailer should be lauded on to balance the consistent negativity it generally receives from standard media channels.

Remember -- although some commenters/readers just don't get it -- the purpose of this column is to give Wal-Mart a fair shake. I call them as I see them from a consumer's standpoint, not from an agenda standpoint. So with that, let's talk about some good that muscles its way out from all the bad when it comes to Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is purging bottles made from the controversial material bisphenol A (BPA) from its shelves starting in 2009, according to company officials. Well, baby bottles, that is. But there's more: baby bottles, sippy cups, food containers, water bottles and pacifiers containing BPA are immediately being pulled from Wal-Mart's Canadian stores.

Although Wal-Mart has sold non-BPA baby bottles for years alongside BPA-containing bottles, this is the first move the retailer has made to strike BPA from its shelves in its entirety. This comes after a report from the U.S. National Toxicology Program that indicated BPA could cause behavioral changes in infants and children. In addition, BPA was indicated as possibly causing the onset of early puberty in females.

So, why isn't Wal-Mart jettisoning BPA from its U.S. stores now? Probably to give time to its vendors to change their packaging material over the course of the remainder of 2008. Of course, the American Chemistry Council trade group is lashing back by stating that recent reports are "unnecessarily confusing and frightening the public." Regardless, other retailers are seeing huge increases in customer demand for non-BPA children's products like glass alternatives and others. Even though the FDA seems to think BPA is safe, the American consumer needs more expediency than a federal review can provide, yes?

Welcome to the 56th 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.

This week's Wal-Mart Weekly will be focusing in one a rather high-stakes claim Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is now advertising into the mainstream media. The claim? The retailer saves the average American family $2,500 per year. To coin a phrase, them's fightin' words, yes?

Either Wal-Mart likes abuse from the media or it has substantiated facts to back up such a claim. In fact, there's so many variables that could conclude (or disprove) the retailer's claim that it could boggle all our minds collectively. So with that, let's start boggling.

Welcome to the 55th 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 this week's Wal-Mart Weekly, I'll be looking at the entry (although indirect) of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) into the consumer banking industry. While it may seem a stretch to think that Wal-Mart's new debit card program is anything but a way to help consumers, it could be positioning the retailer as a new banking partner for many consumers as well as adding handsomely to the retailer's bottom line.

Welcome to the 54th 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 this week's Wal-Mart Weekly, I'll be looking at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) merchandising of some of its consumer electronics products. Namely: the personal computer.

Last week, I reported on some of the awesome steps the world's largest retailer has taken to merchandise its flat-screen televisions. In fact, the TV area in a few local Wal-Mart locations reminded me of a specialty consumer electronics retailer rather than a big-box discount retailer. But TVs were only the start -- the chain needs to get with the program when it comes to other consumer electronics items. Here's how.

Welcome to the 53rd 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 this week's Wal-Mart Weekly, I'll be looking at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) positioning in the consumer electronics category. Wal-Mart has always served customers looking for the latest television sets to iPods to home theater systems, but generally has not focused in on the 'ministore' concept for merchandising these products.

When visiting a local Wal-Mart Supercenter this week, I was rather stunned to find a Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) type of appearance in Wal-Mart's consumer electronics department. In fact, the new planogram and merchandising arrangement reminded me of -- Best Buy itself.