Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart: The world's largest retailer reported Thursday that its first-quarter profit edged up just slightly, and the company struggled with a sales slump in its namesake business during the three-month period. The discounter also offered a quarterly profit outlook that came below Wall Street's projections. Its stock fell on the news, according to CTV. "Frankly, we had a more difficult quarter than expected," said Wal-Mart's President and CEO Mike Duke in a pre-recorded call and NEW YORK -- The first few months of the year were tough for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Wal-Mart blamed a litany of factors affecting its budget-conscious customers, including a payroll tax increase, delayed tax refunds, job worries and bad weather. It is the latest in a string of big-name, consumer companies from McDonald's to Macy's, to cite such hurdles in the first quarter of the year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.