You'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb to not have known that oil prices went up. But if that indeed has a severe impact on economic growth, you'd still have to say that Wal-Mart is a defensive play. It sells the cheap food and consumables that consumers have to replenish.

235

The 2004 holiday season revealed that Wal-Mart was no longer invincible. The 2005 holiday season did not erase that impression.

196

To me, this is part of the ongoing propaganda static that (an investor) has to become accustomed to when dealing with Wal-Mart.

195

December's barely passable sales made it evident that Wal- Mart must make changes in its U.S. division with even greater zeal.

191

Some investors say Wal-Mart has become mature. We believe Wal-Mart became stale. We anticipate that a new air of freshness will be evident soon. That's what we expect from Castro-Wright's leadership.

178

For the majority of shoppers, times are as good as you're going to expect. I think there's going to be a degree of celebratory spending.

169

Here we're dealing with a minority of shoppers who are in distress, overextended with credit and facing bankruptcy.

151

Wal-Mart performed well in November when the chips were down. It demonstrated that a fundamental transformation has occurred over the last year and appears poised for a successful holiday season.

124