Wal-Mart--recession fighter

The world's largest retailer has some good news for Americans wishing to spend their tax rebate checks--and jump start a sluggish economy.

From Reuters:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc unveiled plans on Tuesday to entice U.S. shoppers to spend their tax rebates in its discount stores, offering to cash the checks for free and saying it has cut prices on staple items such as cereal and lunch meat.

While other retailers are requiring consumers to spend some or all of their rebate checks in their stores to be eligible to receive special deals or discounts, Wal-Mart said no purchase was necessary to cash the checks at its stores.

"If you want to cash the check at Wal-Mart and go spend it at a competitor, that's fine with us," said Eduardo Castro-Wright, head of Wal-Mart's U.S. operations, speaking at a Lehman Bros. retail conference broadcast over the Internet.

He said Wal-Mart hoped that once customers cashed their checks at its stores, they would shop there as well.

In the first paragraph, I said Wal-Mart wants to reinvigorate a sluggish economy. According to the Commerce Department, for the second quarter in a row, the economy grew at 0.6 percent--not great, but not a recession. And no one wants a recession.

H/T to Tristan Roy of Edelman for the story.

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