Please address the given questions:
Question 1. Are there any predictable performance cycles for Wal-mart? If so, what are the periods over which its cycle waxes and wanes? How sensitive do you think Wal-mart is to expansions (upswings) and contractions (downswings or recessions)? Explain. If it is not sensitive, then explain why it is stable as the economy moves up and down.
Question 2. How do you think Wal-mart will adjust to, or cope with, conditions summarized in the most recent issue of the Fed's Beige Book https://federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2009. Please be specific about the economic conditions that might affect Wal-mart. Does Wal-mart have strategies for coping with these conditions?