Walmart

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. said yesterday it has promoted Lawrence Jackson, who was previously e.v.p. of its people division, to president and c.e.o. of its global procurement division. Jackson will continue to report to president and c.e.o. Lee Scott.

CHICAGO -- In a speech yesterday at the Newspaper Association of America's annual convention here, Wal-Mart Stores' c.e.o. Lee Scott unveiled the retailer's latest PR and business initiative, "Wal-Mart Jobs and Opportunity Zones," a nationwide plan to build more than 50 stores in neighborhoods with high crime or unemployment rates, on sites that are environmentally contaminated, or in vacant buildings or malls in need of revitalization, over the next two years.

NEW YORK -- Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores slipped one spot to No. 2 on this year's Fortune 500 list, edged out of the top spot by Exxon Mobil on Fortune magazine's annual ranking of America's largest corporations by revenue.

Wal-Mart's experimental supercenter in Aurora is the retailer's biggest, newest step becoming an environmental steward.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- In the latest example of post-Katrina progress, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. here is re-opening two supercenters in New Orleans just seven months after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast.

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- Price Chopper here is closing its 20,000-square-foot Sheridan Plaza store here on April 29, apparently because of the store's inability to stock the same range of products as larger Price Choppers.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The latest move to stop Wal-Mart from entering the banking business comes from within the supermarket industry. The National Grocers Association has submitted a statement to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), in preparation for testimony to be delivered on April 10 by Thomas F. Wenning, s.v.p. and general counsel of NGA.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. here said Friday it's changing its application for an in-house bank to comply with federal rules that require lenders to serve low and moderate-income clients. The announcement comes just weeks before April regulatory hearings on Wal-Mart's bank application, which has drawn broad opposition.