Corporations Questions and Answers

Formula for Debt to Capital Ratio?



Answers:
You will need to look at a company's SEC file to obtain the information needed to calculate this ratio.

The formula is as follows:

LONG-TERM DEBT* divided by LONG TERM CAPITAL**

*Total debt includes adjectives short-term and long-term obligations.

**Total funds includes all adjectives stock, preferred stock and long-term debt.

Other Answers:
Lets get this weak question up for a vote!


Where is Entec gasoline?

Entec gasoline stations are part of what corporation? Where is its corporate headquarters?

Answers:
Entec gas stations are part of the pack of Entec Stations, Inc.

Their corporate headquarters is at:

2951 Zelda Rd
Montgomery, AL 36106-3721
Phone: 334-396-1663

Here are some key facts just about Entec:

Annual Sales: $9.3 million
Total Employees: 60
President: Raymond Demere


narrate me the history of walmart?



Answers:
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is not only the largest retailer within the world, it now also ranks as the largest corporation within the world. The retail giant dwarfs its nearest competition, generating three times the revenues of the world's number two retailer, France's Carrefour SA. Domestically, Wal-Mart have more than 1.2 million workers, making it the nation's largest nongovernmental employer. U.S. operations include 1,478 Wal-Mart discount stores (located surrounded by all 50 states); 1,471 Wal-Mart Supercenters, which are combined discount outlets and grocery stores (and which fashion Wal-Mart the country's top food retailer); 538 Sam's Clubs, the number two U.S. warehouse membership club tie up (trailing Costco Wholesale Corporation); and 64 Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets, smaller food and drug outlets also offering a selection of standard merchandise. International operations, which commenced within 1991, include Wal-Mart discount stores in Canada and Puerto Rico; Wal-Mart Supercenters within Argentina, Brazil, China, Germany, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the United Kingdom; and Sam's Clubs in Brazil, China, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. In Mexico, Wal-Mart also operate Bodegas discount stores, Suburbias specialty department stores, Superamas supermarkets, and Vips restaurants. In addition, the company runs Todo Dias supermarkets within Brazil, Neighborhood Markets supermarkets in China, ASDA combined grocery and apparel stores contained by the United Kingdom, and Amigo supermarkets in Puerto Rico. Wal-Mart also holds a 36 percent stake within The Seiyu, Ltd., a leading Japanese retailer. In adjectives, more than one-quarter of Wal-Mart's stores are located outside the United States, and international operations generate give or take a few 18.5 percent of total revenues. The heirs of founder Samuel Walton verbs to own about a 38 percent interest within the company.


Founder Walton--who at his death surrounded by 1992 was among the richest relatives in the United States--graduated from the University of Missouri within 1940 with a point in economics and become a management trainee near J.C. Penney Company. After two years he went into the army. Upon returning to civilian vivacity three years later, he used his money and a loan to open a Ben Franklin series store in Newport, Arkansas. In 1950 he lost his lease, moved to Bentonville, Arkansas, and open another store. By the late 1950s, Sam and his brother J.L. (Bud) Walton owned nine Ben Franklin franchises.

In the impulsive 1960s Sam Walton took what he had bookish from studying mass-merchandising techniques around the country and begin to make his easy target in the retail marketplace. He decided that small town populations would greeting, and make profitable, voluminous discount shopping stores. He approached the Ben Franklin franchise owners with his proposal to slash prices significantly and operate at a high-ranking volume, but they were not likely to let him downsize merchandise as low as he insisted it had to dance. The Walton brothers then settled to go into that souk themselves and opened their first Wal-Mart Discount City contained by Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. The brothers typically open their department-sized stores in towns beside populations of 5,000 to 25,000, and the stores tended to draw from a big radius. "We discovered people would drive to a perfect concept," Walton later recall in a 1989 article surrounded by Financial World.

Wal-Mart's "good concept" involved huge stores offering customers a wide hotchpotch of name-brand goods at cavernous discounts that were sector of an "everyday low prices" strategy. Walton was competent to keep prices low and still turn a profit through sale volume as well as an odd marketing strategy. Wal-Mart's advertising costs commonly amounted to one-third that of other discount chains; most competitors were putting on sale and running from 50 to 100 advertising circulars per year, but Wal-Mart kept its prices low and run only 12 promotions a year.

By the expiration of the 1960s the brothers had open 18 Wal-Mart stores, while still owning 15 Ben Franklin franchises throughout Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. These ventures become incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., in October 1969.

The 1970s held tons milestones for the company. Early in the decade, Walton implement his warehouse distribution strategy. The company built its own warehouses so it could buy contained by volume and store the merchandise, then proceeded to build stores throughout 200-square-mile areas around the distribution points. This practice cut Wal-Mart's costs and give it more control over operations; merchandise could be restocked as rapidly as it sold, and advertising be specific to smaller regions and cost less to distribute.

Wal-Mart go public in 1970, initially trading over the counter; within 1972 the company was planned on the New York Stock Exchange. By 1976 the Waltons had phased out their Ben Franklin stores so that the company could put adjectives of its expansion efforts into the Wal-Mart stores. In 1977 the company made its first significant acquirement when it bought 16 Mohr-Value stores in Missouri and Illinois. Also contained by 1977, based on background from the previous five years, Forbes ranked the nation's discount and miscellany stores, and Wal-Mart ranked first within return on equity, return on capital, sale growth, and earnings growth.

In 1978 Wal-Mart begin operating its own pharmacy, auto service center, and jewelry divisions, and acquired Hutchenson Shoe Company, a shoe-department lease operation. By 1979 here were 276 Wal-Mart stores within 11 states. Sales had gone from $44 million contained by 1970 to $1.25 billion in 1979. Wal-Mart become the fastest company to reach the $1 billion put pen to paper.


Wal-Mart sales growth continued into the 1980s. In 1983 the company open its first three Sam's Wholesale Clubs and began its expansion into bigger city market. Business at the 100,000-square-foot cash-and-carry discount membership warehouse proved to be good; the company have 148 such clubs by 1991, by which time the name have been shortened to Sam's Clubs.

The company continued to grow swiftly. In 1987 Wal-Mart acquired 18 Supersaver Wholesale Clubs, which become Sam's Clubs. The most significant event of that year, however, was the slit of a new Wal-Mart's merchandising concept--taken from one originate by a French entrepreneur--that Walton called Hypermart USA. Hypermart USA stores combined a grocery store, a broad merchandise market, and such service outlets as restaurants, bank, shoe shine kiosks, and videotape rental unit in a space that covered more nouns than six football fields. Prices be reduced as much as 40 percent below full retail level, and sale volume averaged $1 million per week, compared with $200,000 for a conventional-sized discount store.

Making customers get the impression at home in such a large-scale shopping facility required inventiveness. The Dallas store have phone hot lines installed in the aisles for customers need directions. Hypermart floors were made of a rubbery surface for alleviate in walking, and the stores offered electric shopping cart for the disabled. To entertain children, within was a "ball pit" or playroom chock-full with plastic balls--an notion taken from Swedish furniture retailer Ikea.


There were also wrinkles to work out. Costs for nouns conditioning and heating the gigantic spaces be higher than expected. Traffic congestion and constrained parking proved a drawback. Customers also complained that the grocery section be not as well-stocked or maintained as it needed to be to compete against proximate grocery stores. Wal-Mart began address these problems by, for example, redesigning the grocery section of the Arlington, Texas, store. In 1988 Wal-Mart also open five smaller "supercenters"--averaging around 150,000 square feet--featuring a large screening of merchandise and offering better-stocked grocery sections, in need the outside services such as restaurants or video stores. These stores, dubbed Wal-Mart Supercenters, proved much more successful than the Hypermart format, which was eventually forsaken. Hundreds of Supercenters were subsequently open during the 1990s.

Wal-Mart received some criticism during this period for its buying practices. One analyst, according to an article surrounded by the January 30, 1989, edition of Fortune, described the treatment sales representatives received at Wal-Mart: "Once you are ushered into one of the spartan little buyer's rooms, expect a steely eye across the table and be prepared to cut your price." Wal-Mart be known not lone for dictating the tone with its vendor, but often for singular dealing directly with the wholesaler, bypassing sales representatives. In 1987, 100,000 independent manufacturer representatives initiated a public information campaign to confrontation Wal-Mart's effort to remove them from the selling process, claiming that their obliteration jeopardized a manufacturer's right to choose how it sells its products.

During this time, however, Wal-Mart's revenues kept going up, and the company moved into foreign territory. Wal-Mart enjoy a 12-year streak of 35 percent annual profit growth through 1987. In 1988 the company operated surrounded by 24 states--concentrated in the Midwest and South--1,182 stores, 90 wholesale clubs, and two hypermarts. David D. Glass, who be named president and CEO surrounded by 1988 but who had be with the company since 1976, be a key player surrounded by Wal-Mart's expansion.

In a move motivated by good business sense and public relations hard work, Wal-Mart sent an open memorandum to U.S. manufacturers contained by March 1985 inviting them to take cut in a "Buy-American" program. The company offered to work beside them in producing products that could compete against import. "Our American suppliers must commit to improving their services and machinery, remain financially conservative and work to fill our requirements, and most importantly, strive to add to employee productivity," Walton told Nation's Business within April 1988. Product conversions--arranging to buy competitively priced U.S.-made goods within place of imports--were regularly highlighted at weekly managers' meetings. William R. Fields, executive vice-president of merchandise and sale, estimated that Wal-Mart cut imports by approximately 5 percent between 1985 and 1989. Nonetheless, analysts estimated that Wal-Mart still purchased between 25 and 30 percent of its stuff from overseas, about twice the percentage of competitor Kmart Corporation.


Wal-Mart also come under criticism for its impact on small retail businesses. Independent store owners habitually went out of business when Wal-Mart come to town, unable to compete next to the superstore's economies of degree. In fact, Iowa State University economist Kenneth Stone conducted a study on this phenomenon and told the New York Times Magazine (April 2, 1989): "If you step into towns in Illinois where on earth Wal-Mart has be for 8 or 10 years, the downtowns are just vision towns." He found that businesses suffering most were drug, hardware, five-and-dime, sporting produce, clothing, and fabric stores, while core appliance and furniture businesses picked up, as did restaurants and gasoline stations, because of increased traffic.

Nevertheless, Wal-Mart developed a record of community service. The company begin awarding $1,000 scholarships to large school students within each community Wal-Mart served. At matching time, the company's refusal to stock dozens of widely circulated adult and teen magazine, including Rolling Stone, had some critics claiming that Wal-Mart be willfully narrowing the choices of the buying public by bowing to pressure from conservative special interest groups.

In 1990--the year in which Wal-Mart become the number one retailer in the United States, endorsement both Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart--stores were added within California, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Utah. The company also opened 25 Sam's Clubs, of which four be 130,000-square-foot prototypes incorporating space for produce, meats, and baked stock. In mid-1990, the company acquired Western Merchandise, Inc., of Amarillo, Texas, a supplier of music, books, and video products to various of the Wal-Mart stores. Late in 1990 Wal-Mart acquire the McLane Company, Inc., a distributor of grocery and retail products based contained by Temple, Texas, for about $275 million. Early surrounded by 1991, in a $162 million transaction, The Wholesale Club, Inc. of Indianapolis merged near Sam's Clubs, adding 28 stores that be to be integrated with Sam's by year-end. In increase, Wal-Mart agreed to sell its nine convenience store-gas station outlets to Conoco Inc.

Wal-Mart's expansion continued, and by 1992 the company open about 150 hot Wal-Mart stores and 60 Sam's Clubs, bringing the total to 1,720 Wal-Mart stores and 208 Sam's Clubs. Some of these stores represented a change surrounded by policy for the company, opening in close proximity big cities with hulking populations. Another policy change be instituted by the company when it announced that it would no longer deal beside independent sales representatives.

In 1991 Wal-Mart introduced its spanking new store brand, Sam's American Choice, whose first products were beverages including colas and fruit juice. The beverages were made by Canada's largest private-label bottler, Cott Corp., but the colas be supplied from U.S. plants. Future plans called for the introduction of plentiful different types of products that would match the part of national brands, but at lower prices.


Also in 1991 Wal-Mart venture outside the United States for the first time when it entered into a unified venture beside Cifra, S.A. de C.V., Mexico's largest retailer. The venture developed a price-club store call Club Aurrera that required an annual membership of in the order of $25. Shoppers could choose from about 3,500 products range from fur coats to frozen vegetables. Within the year, the joint project operated three Club Aurreras, four Bodegas discount stores, and one Aurrera combination store.

Expansion contained by the United States also continued, and from 1992 to 1993, 161 Wal-Mart stores were open, while only one be closed. Another 48 Sam's Clubs and 51 Bud's Warehouse Outlets also were open. Expansions or relocations took place at 170 Wal-Mart stores and 40 Sam's Clubs. By 1993 the 2,138 stores included 34 Wal-Mart Supercenters and 256 Sam's Clubs.

Founder Sam Walton died on April 5, 1992, of bone cancer. A fairly smooth supervision transition at Wal-Mart ensued, because Walton have already hand-picked his successor, David Glass, who had served as CEO since 1988. S. Robson Walton, eldest son of the founder, be named chairman of the board.

In January 1993 Wal-Mart's reputation be shaken when a report on NBC-TV's Dateline news program reported on child laborers within Bangladesh producing merchandise for Wal-Mart stores. The program showed children working for five cents an hour in a country that lack child labor laws. The program further alleged that items made outside the United States be being sold lower than "Made in USA" signs as slice of the company's Buy American campaign instituted surrounded by 1985. Glass appeared on the program saying that he did not know of any "child exploitation" by the company, but did apologize in the region of some of the signs incorrectly promoting foreign-made products as domestic items.

In April 1993 Wal-Mart introduced another private label, call Great Value. The brand was initially used for a splash of 350 packaged food items for mart in its Supercenters. The proceeds from the company's other private sign, Sam's American Choice, were to be channeled into the Competitive Edge Scholarship Fund, which the company launch in 1993 contained by partnership with some vendor and colleges. In the same year, Wal-Mart spent $830.5 million to purchase 91 Pace Membership Warehouse clubs from Kmart, which have decided to shut down the Pace cuff. Wal-Mart subsequently converted the new unit into Sam's Clubs. The Sam's Club chain be thereby solidified--particularly in California, where on earth it gained 21 stores--soon after the emergence of a rival, PriceCostco Inc. The product of the October 1993 merger of Price Co. and Costco Wholesale Corp., PriceCostco--later renamed Costco Cos. and afterwards Costco Wholesale Corporation--would within a few years overtake the Sam's Club cuff as the nation's top warehouse membership club. Overall, Wal-Mart posted profits of $2.33 billion on revenues of $67.34 billion surrounded by 1993. The company workforce now exceeded partly a million people.


In the mid-1990s Wal-Mart continued to grow contained by the United States, but at a slower pace than previous years. Whereas the company have always posted double-digit, comparable-store sale increases, starting in fiscal 1994 these sale increases had fall to levels closer to the retail industry average--4 to 7 percent. Furthermore, overall lattice sales typically have risen 25 percent or more per year in the 1980s and rash 1990s. For fiscal years 1996, 1997, and 1998, however, net sale increased 13 percent, 12 percent, and 12 percent, respectively. The company was launch to reach the edges of expansion in its domestic bazaar. This was reflect in the scale back of the Wal-Mart discount store cuff, which reached a crest of 1,995 units within 1996 before anyone reduced to 1,921 units by 1998. The company staked its domestic adjectives on the Wal-Mart Supercenter chain, which be expanded from 34 units contained by 1993 to 441 units within 1998. Most of the new Supercenters--377 within total--were converted Wal-Mart discount stores, as the company sought the additional per-store revenue that could be gleaned from selling groceries. Meanwhile, the Sam's Club secure was struggling and be not as profitable as the company overall. As it attempted to turn this unit around, Wal-Mart curtailed its expansion contained by the United States; there be only 17 more Sam's Clubs within 1998 than there be in 1995.

Another vehicle for company growth be aggressive international expansion. Following its earlier move into Mexico, Wal-Mart enter into the other NAFTA market contained by 1994 when it purchased 122 Woolco stores in Canada from Woolworth Corporation surrounded by a $335 million deal. Over the subsequent few years Wal-Mart entered Argentina, Brazil, and China through integrated ventures. By 1997 Wal-Mart have set up several joint venture with its Mexican partner, Cifra. That year, these collective ventures be merged together and then merged into Cifra. Wal-Mart next took a controlling, 51 percent stake in Cifra for $1.2 billion. The company thereby held a majority stake within the largest retailer in Mexico, whose 402 stores included 27 Wal-Mart Supercenters, 28 Sam's Clubs, and 347 unit consisting of several chains, including Bodegas discount stores, Superamas grocery stores, and Vips restaurants.

In December 1997 Wal-Mart entered Europe for the first time when it acquire the 21-unit Wertkauf hypermarket chain surrounded by Germany for an estimated $880 million. The Wertkauf format was similar to that of the Wal-Mart Supercenter. The profitable Wertkauf cuff had annual sale of about $1.4 billion and be the eighth largest hypermarket operator surrounded by Germany. Also in December 1997 Wal-Mart bought out its minority partner surrounded by its Brazilian joint activity, which by that time ran five Wal-Mart Supercenters and three Sam's Clubs. By untimely 1998 the company also operated nine Wal-Mart Supercenters and five Sam's Clubs surrounded by Puerto Rico. Later that year Wal-Mart announced plans to triple its retail base surrounded by China by the end of 1999, aiming for a total of nine stores at that time. Moreover, within July 1998 the company announced that it had purchased a majority stake contained by four stores and six additional nouns sites in Korea, extending its expansion surrounded by Asia. Around this same time, however, a Wal-Mart expansion into the troubled nation of Indonesia under a franchise agreement has-been.

During fiscal 1997 Wal-Mart's international operations be profitable for the first time. By 1998 international sales have reached $7.5 billion, an star-studded figure given that the company have begun its foreign expansion single in 1991; still this amount represented just 6.4 percent of overall sale. Although growth in sale at home were slowing down, Wal-Mart manage to exceed the $100 billion mark within overall revenues for the first time during fiscal 1997 and that year also gained further prestige through its inspection as one of the 30 companies on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a replacement for the troubled Woolworth. The firm also became the largest nongovernmental employer contained by the United States, with 680,000 domestic workers.

As another possible outlet for shoring up its top position surrounded by retailing in the United States and for increasing sale amid its nearing the saturation point for its Supercenters, Wal-Mart in unpaid 1998 began trialling a new format, the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. In an attempt to compete directly near traditional supermarkets and with convenience stores, this latest concept consisted of a 40,000-square-foot store offering produce, deli foods, fresh meats, other grocery items, and a constrained selection of common merchandise. The new store also feature a drive-through pharmacy. The company hoped that the Neighborhood Market would allow it to penetrate market unable to support the huge 100,000-square-foot Supercenters, such as vastly small towns and certain section within metropolitan areas.

By 1999 Wal-Mart be the world's largest retailer (and the largest nongovernmental employer in the world, near 1.14 million employees) and was also the ascendant retailer in both Mexico and Canada. But it be Europe that was at the forefront of the corporation's international expansion contained by the late 1990s. In December 1998 Wal-Mart bolstered its German operation through the purchase of 74 Interspar hypermarkets from SPAR Handels AG. Then in July 1999 the company enter the U.K. market for the first time by acquire ASDA Group plc for about $10.8 billion. Ranking as the third largest supermarket worker in the United Kingdom, ASDA operate 229 stores at the time of its acquisition and generate about $13.2 billion surrounded by annual revenues. Its stores were run within a fashion similar to that of Wal-Mart Supercenters: they be large-format units offering food, apparel, and broad merchandise at everyday low prices, with an beat on private-label brands and an avoidance of promotions. The stores acquired surrounded by the United Kingdom continued to operate under the ASDA label, whereas the German units be eventually rebadged as Wal-Mart Supercenters.

In January 2000 H. Lee Scott, Jr., a 20-year company veteran, was promoted from chief operating officer to president and CEO. Scott succeeded Glass, who remained on the board of directors as chairman of the executive committee. The unknown leader have played an important role within reversing the declining results at Wal-Mart's domestic operation. One key to the turnaround be the adoption of a more aggressive approach to controlling bloated inventories at the stores and warehouses. Making better use of technology lead both to significant decreases within inventory levels and to superior performance contained by keeping store shelves better stocked. Also during 2000 Wal-Mart spent $587 million to purchase another 6 percent of Cifra, which was subsequently renamed Wal-Mart de México S.A. de C.V. Wal-Mart held a stake of approximately 62 percent contained by this subsidiary.

During 2001 Wal-Mart became the largest food retailer contained by the United States as its grocery sales reach $56 billion. This milestone was reach in immense measure through the aggressive rollout of the Wal-Mart Supercenter format. By untimely 2002 there be about 1,050 Supercenters contained by the United States, while the number of Wal-Mart discount stores had decline to fewer than 1,650. In fiscal 2002 alone, 178 Supercenters be opened, whereas near was a lattice reduction surrounded by discount units of 89 (121 have been converted to Supercenters, one be closed, and 33 were opened). At equal time, the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets format had grown to include 31 stores, providing a further dais for the ever rising grocery revenue.

Despite some setbacks in its attempt to break into the very difficult German retail flea market, Wal-Mart kept up its steady international expansion. In 2001 the first Wal-Mart Supercenter in Puerto Rico open for business. Then in December 2002 the firm remunerated approximately $242 million for Supermercados Amigo, Inc., the leading supermarket cuff in Puerto Rico, beside 37 outlets. Next on the expansion roster was Japan. In May 2002 Wal-Mart acquire a 6.1 percent interest in The Seiyu, Ltd. for nearly $51 million. Seiyu operated roughly speaking 400 stores in Japan of diverse formats but mainly of the food-and-clothing choice. It ranked as Japan's fifth largest supermarket tie up. In December 2002 Wal-Mart spent another $459 million to expand its stake in Seiyu to 35 percent, and it also have the right to increase it to nearly 67 percent by 2007. By 2003 Wal-Mart had more than 330,000 workers outside the United States, and its international operation produced $40.7 billion in sale that year, representing a 15 percent increase over the preceding year as well as going on for 17 percent of total revenues. International operating profits for 2003 jumped nearly 56 percent, hitting $2.03 billion. In May 2003 Wal-Mart, seeking to focus solely on retailing, sold its McLane wholesale distribution subsidiary to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for $1.5 billion.

Overall fiscal 2003 revenues of $244.52 billion made Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. the world's largest corporation. Its triumph of becoming the first nonmanufacturing company to top the Fortune 500 was fitting as the company increasingly have become a symbol of both the positive and negative aspects of the U.S. discount of the early 2000s. In an October 6, 2003 article titled "Is Wal-Mart Too Powerful?," Business Week suggested a few ways in which to panorama the power of Wal-Mart, such as: its drive to keep costs and prices down anyone at least in part responsible for the low rate of inflation in the in arrears 20th and early 21st centuries; its cost-cutting focus also individual a contributing factor in the shifting of factory outside the United States; and its 2002 imports from China of $12 billion representing 10 percent of total U.S. import from that country. Furthermore, Wal-Mart had other taken a hard flash on labor costs, particularly by resisting pains to unionize its workforce. Two consequences of this were the company's extraordinarily glorious turnover rate of 44 percent per year for its hourly workers and the fact that surrounded by 2001 the average Wal-Mart sales clerk made smaller number than the federal poverty level. As another path of looking at the power of Wal-Mart, Fortune in a March 3, 2003 issue estimated that the company's share of the U.S. gross national product (GNP) within 2002 was 2.3 percent. This approached the level reached by General Motors Corporation (3 percent contained by 1955) and U.S. Steel Corp. (2.8 percent in 1917) when these firms be at their respective peaks. Fortune estimated that Wal-Mart's share of the nation's discount would become the biggest ever by around 2006, assuming the continuation of its then current growth rate.

As it continued to be dogged by detractors unwilling its business practices, Wal-Mart launched a PR impolite in 2003 to counter the relentless criticism it face. But the retail giant had to contend near much more than just the attacks of newspapers and social critics; it was facing a volley of potentially damaging lawsuits. These included a host of class-action lawsuits involving member of staff claims that they were asked to work past its sell-by date the clock and to not take programmed breaks. A sex discrimination lawsuit that potentially could involve 1.5 million current and former feminine employees alleged that Wal-Mart busy in a stencil of discrimination against women surrounded by pay and promotion. In combination, in the fall over of 2003 a federal investigation was launch into the company's use of a cleaning contractor that employed illegal immigrant.

Notwithstanding these legal battle, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. was placing no brakes on its drive to become ever larger. During 2004 the company planned to unambiguous at least 220 modern Supercenters, while its discount store chain would be reduced by a web of about 90 unit. This would mean that for the first time in that would be more Supercenters than Wal-Mart discount stores in the United States. The Neighborhood Market tie up was planned to grow by between 25 and 30 units, and Sam's Club would attach about 15 stores. The international store count would in the same way increase, by about 100 unit. It seemed clear that Wal-Mart intended to aggressively keep its position as the largest retailer of all time.


moniker of INNOVATIVE FOOD HOLDINGS website?



Answers:
They do not have a Web site.

Here is their address:

Innovative Food Holdings, Inc
1923 Trade Ctr Way Ste 1
Naples, FL 34109-6220

Phone: 239-596-0204


What are some tips on working across cultures?



Answers:
sorry juby I'm not quite sure what you stingy?? add to your interrogate and i will see if i can answer it!

ok now i gain it ..well when i first come to france i didnt know what to expect because the french are not very much like in england so i have to go next to an open mind i tried to seize involved with the french ways as much as possible close to learning ther dialect trying different foods some of ther customs are very different to english ones but i surface ive made a lot of freinds within france and i never thought that would be possible but you have to show your interested surrounded by the things they like to do..and you will become official working with them socialising ...you can read books on different cultures but for me the best instrument is if you actually involve yourself next to them more. you can learn an prosperity of knowledge that passageway!

Other Answers:
I don't fully understand the cross-examine. Working with different cultures.......?

As they say when contained by Rome do as the romans do.Try to blend in because some things that are not impolite to you could be very horrible to someone else.Good Luck. Make sure you have a dutiful translation service so that all your documentation can be bi-lingual.

Also it help to have access to a character from the other culture who you are able to communicate freely next to - this would be invaluable. Being openminded, willing to swot, willing to explain, likely to be misunderstood and to misunderstand others sometimes.

Trying to learn as much as possible in the region of the other cultures you are interacting with is also a great perception.
Source(s):
I love to learn around different cultures and find others fascinating for the most cog.




GTS,HUDSON OH FREIGHT brokerage?



Answers:
What is your question? Try asking again, but be more specific roughly what you want to know.


Is an executive's compensation too excessive?

Some argues that today's executives get salaried too much. However, they get recompense for their performance. Moreover, they suffer more risks and responsibilities than other employees. Therefore, their salary isn't too excessive.

Answers:
I've worked directly with CEO's of a little firms and, in my personal assessment, an executive's compensation is not too exessive (obviously, there will be exceptions).

A typical CEO (if my experience is typical) spends most of his wake hours "on the job." Not lone does he/she work at the office, but must attend social events, serve surrounded by various positions surrounded by community, entertain clients, travel, etc. The CEO's that I worked beside had highly little family vivacity and, even when they were near family, be frequently on the phone dealing with business matter. This is on top of the added risks and responsibilities of the position as ably as the increasing liability for things that happen in his business. Most individuals are not willing to put out what it take to be a CEO, even if they do have the business skills (I know I wasn't). Therefore, I believe the compensation of most CEO's is fully appropriate.

Other Answers:
If you've risen to the position of CEO or president of a corporation you've earn the job and benefits that progress with it. The race that occupy these positions are "on" 24/7 so you can't look at the compensation as you would someone else's 40 hour 50 week compensation. That being said who is to right to be heard what is excessive? You, me or anyone of us are worth what the market will suffer. Setting an arbitrary maximum on the compensation someone may receive is as ridiculous as setting a minimum compensation. A job should foot what it's worth, and who has the right to have hard feelings about a CEO or any of us the best deal we can take home? Only the socialist who believes he has a right to someone else's money would believe in that should be a maximum compensation.


Why is Ford doing defectively. List top 3 reason?

byt that I mean profits falling, employment shrinking, stock plummet.

Answers:
1) In May 2005 several bond rating agencies downgraded the bonds of Ford Motor Company to below investment status also called "junk bonds"
2) Ford concluded 2005 with 18.6% of the US souk, down from 19.6% a year earlier.
3) North American operation are bleeding money. Through the first three quarters of 2005, North America lost $1.44 billion.

Other Answers:
Competition, competition, competition.

Because foreign cars are made better, last longer and ppl want the best for their money 1) Pension obligation. Ford, like GM, have extensive pension and benefit obligation, which reduce vehicle profitability.
2) competition from Japan and Korea. Car maker in both of those countries enjoy lower production costs and make vehicle that are either better quality, lower priced, or within many cases both.
3) slow product strengthen process. Case in point, Ford Taurus. While the initial design be very innovative and popular, the chief body design remain identical from 1986 to 1996, while competing vehicle from Toyota, Honda and Nissan updated their designs in that extent at least twice.





I have need of the Address of Tai-Lite Inc surrounded by Taiwan. The Company is a trading outfit?



Answers:
i've searched for tai-lite on the website of our(taiwan's) ministry of econimic affairs, but couldn't find such a company. are you sure the designation is correct? if you can give me more details, i can try to serve.


what law apply and courts hear claims roughly directors and officer missmanagement?



Answers:
In the United States, claims under corporate tenet for mismanagement by directors and officers are usually brought (a) below the laws of the state of incorporation of that corporation and surrounded by the state or federal court for that state or (b) under federal securities law and in the federal courts within the state (i) where the corporation is incorporated, (ii) where on earth the stock of the corporation is traded or (iii) where at most minuscule one of the shareholders is resident.

Other Answers:
G00GLE it


Is Oneida Ltd, the silverware company, expected to verbs thru minus going thru bankruptsy?



Answers:
It appears so. Read this report from the company Web site:

"Oneida Ltd. Reports Improved Operating Income for Third Quarter and Nine Months Ended October 29, 2005

ONEIDA, N.Y., Dec. 9, 2005 -- Oneida Ltd. (OTCBB:ONEI) today announced operating and financial results for the third quarter and nine month period done October 29, 2005. Operating income for the third quarter was $3.0 million, compared to an operating loss of $(16.8) million during the corresponding time of year last year. The operating results included goodwill impairment losses attributed to the Company's United Kingdom operation of $4.2 million and $15.5 million for the three month period ending October 29, 2005 and October 30, 2004, respectively. The operating income overhaul also reflects the favorable impact of the Company's comprehensive running restructuring program. Oneida's operational restructuring hard work are focused on reducing the Company's cost structure and transitioning from fixed-cost manufacturing to variable-cost sourcing throughout its product splash portfolio, thereby maximizing the Company's competitiveness contained by today's global bazaar. Net loss for the third quarter ended October 29, 2005 be $(6.0) million, equal to $(0.13) per share, compared to year-ago net loss of $(23.8) million, or $(0.57) per share.


Commenting on the Company's results, Terry G. Westbrook, President and Chief Executive Officer of Oneida, said, "Our results demonstrate that the functioning restructuring initiatives we've undertaken enjoy taken hold and are contributing strongly to continuing improvements in our concert. We have strong brands that connect next to the consumer, the right business model for the demands of the market, and we are in a minute focused on growing our revenue base, building our brands and strengthening our match sheet for future growth."

Total revenues for the third quarter be $89.3 million, compared to $102.2 million in the third quarter of the previous fiscal year. Approximately $7.9 million of the revenue decline be attributed to the Company's foodservice division, where sale to equipment & supply distributors, chain restaurants and airlines be down from prior year levels. Other factor were the discontinuance of positive marginally profitable product lines, several large customers opt to dual source a portion of their tabletop product requirements, and the direct import strategy of unmistaken large volume customers surrounded by the Company's commodity flatware and dinnerware market segment. The Consumer division's revenues be down approximately $3.2 million from the prior year, attributed to the August 2004 sale of Encore Promotions, Inc. and the closure of 23 unprofitable Oneida outlet stores during the previous twelve months, moderately offset by an increase contained by the sale of dinnerware products to the retail sector. International division revenues be down approximately $1.6 million from the prior year, primarily in the United Kingdom.

Gross margins enhanced from $26.5 million (25.9% of revenues) during the three month period terminated October 30, 2004, to $32.3 million (36.2% of revenues) during the quarter ended October 29, 2005. The Company's continued gross border improvement be achieved as a result of the March 22, 2005 Dutch auction of the Sherrill, N.Y. manufacturing facility resulting contained by the complete outsourcing of the Company's manufacturing operation. Other positive activities be product line rationalization, running down of LIFO valued inventory levels, and a let-up in the write-down of archaic inventory.

Operating income was favorably impacted by the closure of unprofitable Oneida outlet stores; reduction in personnel, member of staff benefits, general & administrative expenses, and logistics costs. During the quarter the Company polite its calculation of the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts, and reviewed its accrual for incentive compensation base on current projections, resulting in a favorable profits adjustment of $1.2 million.

For the first nine months of the fiscal year ending January 2006, Oneida's operating income be $9.6 million, on total revenues of $258.8 million, compared to an operating loss of $(62.9) million on total revenues of $314.8 million during the first three quarters of the prior fiscal year. Net loss be $(16.1) million for the nine month period done October 29, 2005, versus net loss of $(17.8) million during the corresponding interval last year. The prior year's web loss included non-recurring income items, totaling $62.1 million, attributed to the net effect of eliminate the Company's post-retirement medical liabilities, termination of the Company's long-term disability plan and freezing two of the Company's domestic defined benefit allowance plans. Additionally, non-recurring expense items, totaling $52.2 were record for impairment losses on goodwill and closure of the Sherrill, NY factory. Interest expense increased by $9.3 million to $24.2 million for the nine month period completed October 29, 2005 due to the higher powerful interest rate and amortization of deferred financing costs associated with its restructured debt.

Net change flow provided by operating activities be $1.0 million during the nine month period done October 29, 2005, versus net lolly used by operating activities of $(40.0) million during the corresponding time of year last year. Liquidity underneath the Company's U.S. revolving credit agreement and available cash balance was $20.0 million at October 29, 2005, which decrease from $22.2 million at January 29, 2005 and increased from $12.2 million at October 30, 2004, respectively."


How do I set up a nonprofit corp.?



Answers:
Forming a nonprofit corporation is much like creating a regular corporation, except that nonprofits enjoy to take the extra steps of applying for tax-exempt status near the IRS and their state tax division. Here is what you obligation to do:

Choose an available business name that meet the requirements of state law.

File formal paperwork, usually call "articles of incorporation," and pay a small file fee (typically beneath $100).

Apply for your federal and state tax exemptions.

Create corporate "bylaws," which set out the operating rules for your nonprofit corporation.

Appoint the initial directors. (In some states you must choose your initial directors up to that time you file your articles, because you must account their names surrounded by the document.)

Hold the first meeting of the board of directors.
Obtain license and permits that may be required for your corporation.

Choose a Business Name:

Before you form your nonprofit corporation, you want to decide on a christen that complies with the rules of your state's corporate file office. The information packet you receive from the file office should contain your state's rules, but the following guidelines commonly apply:

--The given name of your nonprofit cannot be the same as the heading of another corporation on file beside the corporations division.
--The name must closing with a corporate designator, such as "Corporation," "Incorporated," "Limited," or "Corp.," "Inc.," or "Ltd." (This is required within only almost half of the states.)
--The signature cannot contain certain words prohibited by the state, such as Bank, Cooperative, Federal, National, United States, or Reserve.

Your state's corporations division can put in the picture you how to find out whether your proposed name is available for your use. Often, for a small allowance, you can reserve the name for a short time of time until you file your articles of incorporation.

Contact Your State's Corporations Division:

Your state's corporate file division, usually part of the secretary or department of state's bureau, will often distribute you a packet of nonprofit materials that will be immensely helpful to you surrounded by forming your nonprofit. This packet may include sample or fill-in-the blank articles of incorporation, your state's nonprofit corporation law, a filing payment schedule, and forms and instructions for checking the availability of your proposed business term. Contact your state's corporate filing bureau to obtain this packet.

In complement to confirming that another corporation in your state isn't already using your proposed cross, you must make sure your designation won't violate a trademark owned by another company (in your state or out of state). To do this, you'll need to conduct a trademark scrabble. For information about trademark ruling and name conflicts, see Naming Your Business.

Once you've found a decriminalized and available name, you aren't usually required to directory or reserve the name beside your state -- when you file your articles of incorporation, your nonprofit's term will be automatically registered.

Prepare and File Your Articles of Incorporation:

After you've decided on your business nickname, you must prepare and file "articles of incorporation" next to the corporate filing bureau. This document goes by a different cross in a handful of states; your state may instead use the occupancy "articles of organization," "certificate of incorporation," "certificate of formation," or "charter."

Your state's corporate file office will usually provide you beside nonprofit articles of incorporation -- either a fill-in-the-blank form or a preview on which you can base your articles. Although preparing this document isn't difficult, you do want to include specific language to ensure that you'll receive tax-exempt status. Your state's nonprofit formation packet, if available, may include the required information. If not, or if you want help insight the requirements, consult a good court self-help guide such as How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation, by Anthony Mancuso (Nolo), to make sure your articles comply next to your state's nonprofit law.

Apply for Your Federal 501(c)(3) Tax Exemption:

After the corporate file office returns a copy of your file articles, you can submit your federal 501(c)(3) tax exemption application to the IRS. (The IRS requires you to submit a copy of your file articles with your application.) This is a critical step contained by the formation of your nonprofit organization since most of the unadulterated benefits of being a nonprofit flow from 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

To apply for your exemption, you must complete IRS Form 8718, User Fee for Exempt Organization Determination Letter Request, and IRS Package 1023, Application for Recognition of Exemption. For instructions on innards out these forms, read IRS Publication 557, Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization. (You can obtain adjectives of these items for free by calling 8OO-TAX-FORM, or you can download them from the IRS website at www.irs.gov.) If you need a bit of sustain deciphering the IRS-speak, consider downloading Nolo's plain-English eGuide, Nonprofit Corporations: Qualify for Federal Income Tax Exemption.

Read the Tax Exemption Application Before Filing Your Articles:

While you can't in truth file your exemption application until the corporate file office have approved your articles of incorporation, before you profile your articles, take a couple of hours to swot up what it takes to qualify for the tariff exemption. If you file your articles and after discover a problem as you begin working through the excise exemption application, you could be stuck paying taxes while you work through these issues -- or even learn too delayed that your group isn't eligible for an exemption.

After the IRS reviews your application, it will send you a dispatch indicating that it has approved your nonprofit status, or it might ask you for more information just about your organization. The IRS can also deny your application outright. If this happen, see a lawyer who specializes within nonprofits.

Apply for a State Tax Exemption (If Necessary:

In a few states (California, Montana, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania), you must complete a separate application to get a state due exemption. In other states, as long as you file nonprofit articles of incorporation and get your federal 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, your state tax exemption will be automatically granted. In still others, to seize your state exemption you must send within a copy of the IRS determination letter that granted your federal exemption. Contact your state due agency to find out what steps you must take.

Draft Corporate Bylaws:

Next you must create bylaws, the internal rules that govern your nonprofit corporation. Bylaws contain rules and procedures for holding meeting, voting on issues, and electing directors and officer. To create bylaws, you can either follow the instructions surrounded by a self-help resource or hire a lawyer surrounded by your state to draft them for you. Typically, the bylaws are adopted by the corporation's directors at their first board congregation.

Appoint Directors:

Directors, who meet and get decisions collectively as the board of directors, own the authority (and responsibility) to manage and run the nonprofit corporation. Many states allow nonprofits to hold just one director, but other states require at most minuscule three.

Hold a Directors' Meeting:

The purpose of the first meeting of the board of directors is to conduct the initial business of the corporation and bring care of other formalities, such as CD the receipt of federal and state excise exemptions.

The directors should first adopt the bylaws and elect officers -- state statute usually requires a president, secretary, and treasurer, and sometimes a vice president as well. Then, the directors should authorize the recently elected officers to filch actions obligatory to start the business of the nonprofit -- for example, setting up bank accounts and admit members.

After the conference is completed, minutes of the meeting should be created and file in your corporate documentation book. For more information, see Protecting Your Nonprofit Corporation's Tax-Exempt Status.

Obtain Licenses and Permits:

Many businesses, whether operating as for-profit or nonprofit corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships, are required to buy state or local licenses and permit before commencing business. So, while you may not be subject to the munificent of red tape that entangle profit-making enterprises, you should check beside your state department of consumer affairs (or similar state licensing agency) for information concerning state license requirements for your type of organization. For instance, a local business license (sometimes call your "tax registration certificate") may be required for your activities, and if you deal in anything to consumers, you'll need a sale tax contract.

Other Answers:
Lets get this outmoded question up for a vote!


accounting entry required if I made a sale next to a bequest coupon?



Answers:
Yes you are required to make an entry.

When you originally sold or give out the gift coupon - you would enjoy recorded (or should own recorded) a liability. (This is based on the assumption that the instrument you are referring to is a endowment card - not a coupon advertised contained by the paper - although a liability estimate should hold been made for this).

If you did this, this is how the entry should look similar to:
Gift Coupon $50 (debit)
Revenue $50 (credit)

Other Answers:
Apart from letting you know the basic purpose of accounting, it also let you know why you can say....

"Accounting is Super Power"

http://www.futureaccountant.com/accounting-process/study-notes/


http://www.futureaccountant.com/
http://www.schoolingkids.com/


In which nation does Sony produce and marketplace its products?



Answers:
Sony is world wide.
the corporate headquarters is within Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0001, Japan

See link below for more info:


How to create an LLC near owners surrounded by 2 different states?



Answers:
I would agree with both of the above answers surrounded by that (1) generally, it is best for most small businesses to incorporate using the LLC statute of the jurisdiction where on earth the bulk of the business is, but (2) you can create an LLC in another jurisdiction (Delawaware, for instance) and appoint an agent for service of process, but operate the business surrounded by another jurisdiction (California for instance).

Therefore, lets say-so you have 2 business partner, one from California and one from Oregon, but the bulk of the operations are contained by California. You could

(1) form a California LLC;
(2) form a Delaware LLC but also file a qualification to do business surrounded by California; or
(3) form an Oregon LLC, but also file a qualification to do business surrounded by California.

Generally, (1) makes the most sense because within cases (2) and (3) you will (A) have to create an additional file and pay an spare fee and (B) you don't avoid California LLC duty since most states tax adjectives LLCs who operate in their state, regardless of state of formation. And, yes, be aware that most states enjoy an LLC level toll despite the fact that LLCs are treated as partnership for US federal tax purposes.

You may concentration that many partnership and corporations form in Delaware (hence the first answer). Generally, Delaware is a favored jurisdiction for sophisticated businesses next to outside or passive investors or complicated arrangements because Delaware have a dedicated court to corporate matter (the Chancery court) and hence a deeper and more predictable body of corporate law. In integration it has one of the most relaxed and economically defined bodies of fiduciary law surrounded by the country, so general partner, board members and executive officer have greater predictability as to when they will or will not be found contained by violation of their duties of perfectionism and loyalty. But this really should only come into play contained by areas where the unsystematic of you being sued by someone you own a duty to (passive shareholder or member) comes into play. 2 equal partners -- I would not verbs about it.

Other Answers:
you can incorporate within Delaware, where you use an agent who lives surrounded by Delaware to file for you...
A LLC is a local or State allowed controlled liability company and two residents from two different states should choose with state to operate from that have the most sales, operating assets, workforce and incorporate in that state and register near the Secretary of State and declare that state your levy home or primary domicile. A two party LLC is treated as a partnership for Federal income duty purposes and each partner will report it's appropriate income base on capital contributions and/or income split arrangement surrounded by your written partnership agreement. Partners can be from different states. Distant and communication is only gloomy.
Source(s):
IRS.GOV/SBSE/DIVISION
You just enjoy to have the registered agent surrounded by the state you want to incorporate in. You guys can live where on earth ever you like.


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