International
Walmart reports Q2 sales surge, partly due to inflation
AFP
Walmart reported a jump in quarterly revenues Tuesday partly driven by inflation as the retail giant signaled it expects its US sales growth to moderate over the next six months.
The big-box retailer, which had cut its profit forecast three weeks ago due to shifting consumer behavior, said pricing pressures on consumers boosted sales of groceries, while denting demand for other items such as apparel, electronics and home products.
Revenues for its second fiscal quarter ending July 31 were $152.9 billion, up 8.4 percent from the year-ago period.
Profits rose 20.4 percent to $5.1 billion, with some of the increase connected to the accounting for an asset sale in Brazil.
Walmart’s US comparable store sales rose 6.5 percent from one year ago, but the company expects about three percent growth in the second half of 2022.
Higher gasoline prices, along with elevated prices for grocery-item staples have been prompting more consumers to “trade down” to lower-priced goods.
On the positive side, gas prices have gradually fallen during the summer, mitigating this effect somewhat.
“We’re pleased to see more customers choosing Walmart during this inflationary period, and we’re working hard to support them as they prioritize their spending,” Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon said in a news release.
McMillon said the company made “good progress” to manage supply chain costs “and that work is ongoing.”
Shares of Walmart rose 3.7 percent to $137.48 in Tuesday pre-market trading.
International
Six killed, including baby, in armed attack near tourist beach in Ecuador
Six people, including a baby girl about two years old, were killed on Sunday in an armed attack near a tourist beach in southwestern Ecuador, police said. The shooting, carried out with rifles, also left three people wounded.
The incident took place in the coastal town of Puerto López, in the province of Manabí, a popular tourist destination known for whale watching. The attack occurred amid a surge of violence over the weekend that left at least nine people dead nationwide, according to local media reports.
“There are six fatalities and three injured,” Colonel William Acurio, the local police commander, told reporters on Sunday. He confirmed that one of the victims was a baby “approximately two years old.”
Authorities have not released further details about the motive behind the attack or whether arrests have been made.
International
Man accused of killing nine in Paramaribo dies by suicide in police custody
The man who killed nine people, including five children, on Saturday night in Paramaribo died by suicide while in custody, Suriname police confirmed in a statement on Monday.
The suspect, identified by the initials D.A., 43, “hanged himself inside a holding cell at the Keizerstraat police station” in the capital, Paramaribo, according to the official report.
Police said the man sustained leg injuries during his arrest and was taken to a hospital before being transferred to the detention facility on Sunday night. Authorities did not provide further details on the circumstances surrounding his death.
International
Winter storm disrupts holiday travel, forcing 1,500 flight cancellations in the U.S.
Airlines canceled around 1,500 flights across the United States during the peak Christmas travel season after warnings of a severe winter storm and forecasts of heavy snowfall in the Midwest and Northeast. An additional 5,900 flights were delayed due to adverse weather conditions.
More than 40 million Americans were under snowstorm warnings or weather advisories one day after Christmas. Meanwhile, another 30 million people faced flood or storm alerts in California, where an atmospheric river triggered intense rainfall.
New York City was bracing for up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) of snow overnight, which would mark its heaviest snowfall in four years. Cold weather was expected to persist through the weekend in the nation’s largest city. According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, airports in the New York area recorded about 850 flight cancellations.
Six killed, including baby, in armed attack near tourist beach in Ecuador
Man accused of killing nine in Paramaribo dies by suicide in police custody
Winter storm disrupts holiday travel, forcing 1,500 flight cancellations in the U.S.
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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