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Non-Tech : Wal-Mart -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dennis who wrote (1012)	3/1/2000 11:18:00 AM
From: TechMkt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1166

Wednesday March 1, 8:13 am Eastern Time worldlyinvestor.com Region of the Day Wal-Mart Mexico: Fair Sale Price By Stefan Spath, Latin American Stocks Columnist The blue-chip growth story of Wal-Mart Mexico justifies its stock price premium. Mexican retailer Cifra (OTC:CFRVY - news) has enjoyed household status among Mexicans as well as worldly investors in the US for the last few years. And now it has just become a little more familiar, changing its name this week to Wal-Mart de Mexico -- or Walmex for short -- in recognition of its majority-owner Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT - news). But name aside, the company is not changing its blue-chip story. And that's a good thing. The company recently announced that its fourth-quarter profit soared 45% to US$144 million, and a strong Mexican economy should further bolster Walmex. The growth story of the company is no surprise to us; we wrote about the company both in December 1998 and October 1998 and told of its bargain-basement share price. Well, its share price has risen 16.5% since we last wrote about it and over 80% since we first wrote about the retailer. It's up 12% this year alone. It's not on sale anymore, but we still like Walmex. Wal-Mart Cachet Ever since Wal-Mart stores increased its ownership stake in two years ago, the Mexican retailer has become a household name with international investors. The attention comes not just from Walmex's presence throughout Mexico and its strong fundamentals; the Wal-Mart brand -- the largest retailer in the US -- soothes emerging market fears for many investors. This week's name change from Cifra to Walmex should deepen this strategic advantage. Walmex operates 458 stores and restaurants in Mexico, and controls chains including Sam's Club discount store, Aurrera supermarkets, Wal-Mart Supercenter and others. In addition, with its wide product mix and linkage to Wal-Mart, Walmex has been able to offer its customers a wider variety of goods from the US and Canada. This is an advantage that Cifra has over the competition, and it's a potent force behind the company's growing customer base. Economic Strength But, Walmex's strength is hardly isolated to its Wal-Mart connection. The macro-economic picture is also rosy. The unprecedented economic expansion and low inflation that the US market has been experiencing has kept rates down and trade with Mexico up. Sure enough, falling interest rates, lower inflation and a strong peso sent Walmex's profitability soaring in the fourth quarter as consumer demand rebounds. Its profit jumped by 45% on the back of increased sales. And the macroeconomic numbers support more upside. In fact, Mexican retail and wholesale sales rose in January 7.7% and 5.4% respectively from the year-earlier period.

To: Dennis who wrote (1012)	3/2/2000 10:45:00 AM
From: TechMkt	Respond to of 1166

Thursday March 2, 10:24 am Eastern Time Wal-Mart Feb. same-store sales climb 6.1 pct BENTONVILLE, Ark., March 2 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT - news), the world's largest retailer, on Thursday posted a 6.1 percent rise in February same-store sales. Net sales for the four week period ended Feb. 25 jumped 23 percent to about $13.2 billion from $10.7 billion in the same year-ago period. Sam's Clubs sales for the month were $1.8 billion, up 6.2 percent from the $1.69 billion in the similar prior year period. As of Feb. 29, Wal-Mart had 1,801 Wal-Mart stores, 721 Supercenters, and 463 Sam's Clubs in the United States.