Wal Mart

Asthma sufferers have long relied on inhalers for relief from wheezing or coughing attacks. But as of Dec. 31, Primatene Mist -- the only available over-the-counter asthma inhaler -- was taken off shelves because of its adverse effect on the environment. Other inhalers are available, but these require a doctor's prescription. Some people with asthma aren't happy about the change, but lung doctors and asthma specialists agree that Primatene Mist wasn't the best option for patients anyway.

SACRAMENTO --Adding weight to a growing backlash over alleged corruption in Mexico, the California Public Employees' Retirement System is withholding its support for the election of nineWal-Mart directors. The $228-billion CalPERS fund said it would not support the officers pending "a thorough and independent investigation into the bribery allegations" involving the company's largest foreign subsidiary, Wal-Mart de Mexico.

When it comes to retailing, big is not so beautiful anymore. Weak sales, online competition and changing consumer habits have big-box chains looking to downsize. Best Buy Co. is the latest merchant shedding space, in an initiative that stands out in both size and scope. The giant retailer, with 1,300 stores nationwide, is launching plans to wall off parts of its cavernous stores and sublease the space to smaller retailers, such as grocers, beauty supply stores, home furnishing outlets and others.

SACRAMENTO — The California State Teachers' Retirement System will cast its 5.3 million shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. against the reelection of the company's board after allegations of bribery in the retailer's Mexican operations. Citing "a breakdown of corporate governance and lack of oversight," Jack Ehnes, chief executive of CalSTRS, made the announcement Tuesday "CalSTRS believes former and current Wal-Mart executives and board members breached their fiduciary responsibilities," Ehnes said.

If you care about green, it's hard not to view these as the worst of times, marked by looming climate, water and energy crises, vanishing fisheries, mile-a-minute deforestation — the list is numbingly endless. In response, we have a largely apathetic public, an environmental lobby rendered toothless by said apathy, a political left and center paralyzed by fear that protecting the planet might hurt the economy, and a political right that's never been more virulently opposed to all things green as job-killing, business-bashing burdens and boondoggles.

Wal-Mart is recalling a single batch of the powdered infant formula Enfamil Newborn, sold in 12.5-ounce cans, as a precaution after a Missouri infant died of a rare bacterial infection. The 10-day-old Lebanon, Mo., baby died Sunday of Cronobacter sakazakii, which can come from powdered infant formula. The source of the infant's infection is still unclear, but Wal-Mart choose to remove the batch with the lot number ZP1K7G from its 3,000 stores nationwide as a precaution. The baby's family purchased the formula at Wal-Mart.

Can Wal-Mart Stores Inc. help you beat Angry Birds? Apparently it's trying. The retail giant inked a deal with Rovio, the Finnish tech company behind the hugely popular mobile game, to sell Angry Birds products sprinkled with game clues in its stores. The news coincides with the launch of Angry Birds Space, the latest iteration of the game, which takes the feud between birds and pigs into outer space and adds a zero gravity twist. Wal-Mart will carry apparel, food, mobile phones and plush toys studded with "golden eggsteroid" clues to open bonus levels in Angry Birds Space.

Wal-Mart may or may not have a policy of discriminating against women in pay and promotion, but establishing the truth will require a trial. The Supreme Court this week wrestled with whether it should clear the way for a class-action lawsuit brought by a handful of women on behalf of as many as 1.5 million others. The case for doing so is strong. The plaintiffs insist that Wal-Mart is "rife with gender stereotypes demeaning to female employees" and link that assertion to lower pay and the fact that "while women comprise over 80% of hourly supervisors, they hold only one-third of store management jobs.

Greeters decked out in blue vests are a familiar sight at Wal-Mart  store entrances nationwide. Now they are moving inside. In February, the nation's biggest retailer will pull greeters from the lobby and into the store so they can more actively help with customer service, Wal-Mart  spokeswoman Ashley Hardie said. Greeters have been around at the discount giant since 1980. Hardie said Wal-Mart  has expanded the duties of greeters over the years to include tagging return items and wiping down shopping carts.

Twenty-three Kmart stores in the Los Angeles area and three other markets are testing financial centers where consumers can cash checks and pay bills. Kmart joins Wal-Mart in offering basic services to consumers who have little if any access to traditional banks. "We're looking at how to better utilize the real estate in our stores and to better serve our customers," said Shannelle Armstrong, spokeswoman for Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears Holdings Corp., which owns Kmart. Ten of the Kmart stores are in the Los Angeles area, seven in Illinois, five in Puerto Rico and one in Wisconsin.

Weeks after news about Wal Mart Stores Inc.'s alleged bribery and coverup in Mexico surfaced, rank-and-file workers at the world's largest retailer have taken their calls for change to the Internet. Venanzi Luna, a department manager at a Wal-Mart store in Pico Rivera, has created an online petition for fellow employees and customers at Change.org, a website that seeks to promote social change. The petition urges Wal-Mart to undertake "a thorough and independent investigation" into allegations of widespread bribery by company officials to gain approval for new stores in Mexico.

The California State Teachers' Retirement System is suing Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executives and board members, accusing them of using bribery and corruption to gain approval from Mexican government officials to build new stores. Late Thursday, the board of CalSTRS, the country's second-largest public pension fund, filed the so-called derivative lawsuit seeking changes in the corporate governance of the world's biggest retailer. "CalSTRS is seeking to remedy the damages sustained by Wal-Mart as a result of alleged gross misconduct by Wal-Mart's executive officers and directors," CalSTRS Chief Executive Jack Ehnes said.

Retail giantTarget Corp., which is already working on stores in Westwood and downtown Los Angeles, announced plans for another smaller-format urban shop at the Beverly Connection shopping center on West 3rd Street near the Beverly Center. California will have four of these urban stores, dubbed CityTargets, with three in Los Angeles and one in San Francisco. The Westwood store, at the Westwood Market Place near UCLA, will open first, in July, followed in October by the downtown Los Angeles store in the Fig at 7th mall.

Word that Wal-Mart is opening a Neighborhood Market in Panorama City is getting a markedly different reception than the criticism heaped on a similar grocery-only store that the retailing giant plans to open in downtown Los Angeles. Residents of the northeast San Fernando Valley have watched as the recession turned once-thriving commercial hubs into vacant storefronts. The Vannord Center, a 90,000-square-foot-center at the corner of busy Van Nuys Boulevard and Nordhoff Street, has been hit particularly hard with more than half of its 30 tenants closing their doors.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. could end up paying hundreds of millions of dollars in legal expenses and penalties to resolve allegations of widespread bribery by officials with its Mexican subsidiary, experts in foreign corruption law said. The world's largest retailer said it was in the midst of a "worldwide review of our anti-corruption program" and had increased efforts to prevent corruption in Mexico. The Bentonville, Ark., company is looking into allegations that it engaged in a multiyear bribery campaign to build its business.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it's a stickler for integrity, issuing a lengthy response to a New York Times article accusing the massive retailer of shutting down an investigation into alleged bribery in its Mexico operations. “In a large global enterprise such as Walmart, sometimes issues arise despite our best efforts and intentions,” the company said in a statement . The “issues” in question: The chain's possible violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act stemming from what one informant claimed was rampant bribery from Wal-Mart executives attempting to boost the company's growth in Mexico.

Wal-Mart wants you to eat more healthfully, really. The superstore, joined by First Lady Michelle Obama, on Thursday unveiled a plan that in part will reduce sodium and sugar in processed foods it sells and reduce prices on fresh produce. But will the company's changes really improve the eating habits of the 140 million Americans that pass through its doors weekly? Columnist Nicole Brochu at the South Florida Sun Sentinel says it's about time that companies such as Wal-Mart get the message that consumers want better food options.

Fields of dreams Re "Fewer hands in the field," June 19 Americans have put themselves in a quandary, first hiring illegal immigrants to do our labor for us, then wanting to expel them from our country after they settle in our neighborhoods and attend our schools. Most of these illegal immigrants are de facto Americans because they have rooted themselves here and are less familiar with their native countries. We must pay fair wages to laborers who pick berries, and we must support federal guest-worker programs.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced plans to open a grocery store in Panorama City, part of a big push by the nation's largest retailer into the highly competitive Southland grocery business. The 31,000-square-foot store will be located in the Vannord Center at 14530 Nordhoff St. in the vacant space once occupied by Valley Foods Warehouse, the company said Monday. "There is no doubt that Panorama City residents need more affordable grocery options," said Wal-Mart spokesman Steven Restivo.

--After a few years of restraint, teen spending is on the rise. Just in time for prom season, American teenagers reported double-digit increases in how much they're shelling out on fashion, beauty and entertainment, some of the sharpest jumps since 2004, according to a semiannual survey from Piper Jaffray. Teens from wealthy households said their fashion expenditures rose 17% in the last six months, while youngsters from families with more moderate incomes said their spending had risen 18%. Overall, about 39% of teen budgets are devoted to fashion, up from 38% last fall and 37% a year ago. --Discount giant Wal-Mart has picked 10 products as finalists for its Get on the Shelf contest.