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| Wal-Mart says climate 'difficult' | Wal-Mart says climate 'difficult' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The Chief Executive of Wal-Mart, Mike Duke, says the sales environment "continues to be difficult". | The Chief Executive of Wal-Mart, Mike Duke, says the sales environment "continues to be difficult". |
| The world's largest supermarket, which owns Asda in the UK, saw sales slip 0.4% in the third quarter at stores open for more than a year. | The world's largest supermarket, which owns Asda in the UK, saw sales slip 0.4% in the third quarter at stores open for more than a year. |
| This comes despite the retailer lowering prices as customers battle rising unemployment. The US jobless rate is now at 10.2% | This comes despite the retailer lowering prices as customers battle rising unemployment. The US jobless rate is now at 10.2% |
| However, profit rose more than expected, up 3.2% to $3.24bn (£1.9bn) | However, profit rose more than expected, up 3.2% to $3.24bn (£1.9bn) |
| Mr Duke also said that customer traffic was up throughout the company and that the firm "gained market share, especially in the United States, the United Kingdom and Mexico". | Mr Duke also said that customer traffic was up throughout the company and that the firm "gained market share, especially in the United States, the United Kingdom and Mexico". |
| Wal-Mart has pledged to slash prices in the run up to Christmas, taking on rivals such as Amazon.com and Target. | |
| The company says its customers have not yet seen the benefits from the US economy coming out of recession. |