Obama Economy: Wal-Mart Sales Suck

From the Chicago Tribune: Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc fell 2.1 percent on Friday after Bloomberg quoted a mid-level executive's email as saying the world's largest retailer had the worst sales start to any month in seven years in February.
Wal-Mart executives blamed the poor sales performance on increased payroll taxes as well as delayed tax returns, Bloomberg said.
Higher payroll taxes this year are seen as a potential problem for Wal-Mart and other discount retailers that try to attract lower-income customers who have less disposable income.
"In case you haven't seen a sales report these days, February (month-to-date) sales are a total disaster," Jerry Murray, a Wal-Mart vice president who works on finance in the U.S. logistics division, said in a Feb. 12 email to other executives, Bloomberg reported. "The worst start to a month I have seen in my (about) 7 years with the company."
The weak February sales start came after a disappointing January, according to an email from Cameron Geiger, senior vice president of Wal-Mart U.S. Replenishment. Geiger's email was also quoted by Bloomberg. The replenishment department works on moving products from distribution centers to stores.
"Have you ever had one of those weeks where your best- prepared plans weren't good enough to accomplish everything you set out to do?" Geiger asked in a Feb. 1 email to company executives. "Well, we just had one of those weeks here at Walmart U.S. Where are all the customers? And where's their money?"  http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-walmart-shares-tumble-on-leaked-memo-citing-sales-weakness-20130215,0,2509701.story
I realize there a bunch of QL-Mart haters out there and they will blame Wal-Mart for their woes.
Bu the reality is that if these numbers are true, that numbers at Wal-Mart are down significantly, then it shows that the U.S. economy is not doing well at all and the blame is at President Obama's feet.