Frugality Returns To Corporate America

Several retail analysts pointed out that Walmart’s WMT earnings and those of Home Depot HD were helped by rigid cost controls. This is not the first time during the earnings season which has drawn to a close that big public firms kept expenses lower than in past years. It is a sign that the huge retailers do not think much of their prospects for the balance of the year. Walmart’s expected earnings improvement during the last part of 2010 is almost all based on expansion of its international unit. The second quarter of the year was supposed to be the first in many quarters when company earnings improved through growth on the top line. Instead, it was cost discipline that helped make many companies more money. Microsoft MSFT, and some other megacaps, did have sales improvements but they also continued to either lay-off workers or keep their employment rolls static. To read the rest, head over to 247WallStreet.com