The Crushing Weight of GDP

Anyhow, there was a landing. But it was that anvil on The Business Press Maven's back.

Speaking of weight landing, a lot of print has hit the earth lately concerning things about Wal-Mart (WMT Quote) that don't matter much to investors. Don't be taken by these articles on the fired advertising executive scandal, complete with racy emails (and, really, are there any other kind?), which puts the entire focus on Wal-Mart's advertising efforts.

Also, do not, as an investor, seek answers to whether Wal-Mart's stock can get its groove back in articles like the big New Yorker opus that just hit the stands. Why? Well, much like the advertising articles, The New Yorker tome focuses on something that doesn't really matter much to Wal-Mart at this point -- their public relations effort.

Granted, the media loves tales about big public relations efforts, especially when war rooms are established and all those failed journalists are put to work for big money. But from an investor standpoint, keep an eye on what all these articles barely, if ever, even touch on: Wal-Mart's merchandising effort. In a word: it has been totally lacking. They have been beaten by Target (TGT Quote) and Kohl's (KSS Quote).

Let The New Yorker ask the question they do in their headline: "Can the company co-opt liberals?" But it doesn't matter if they hire 100 people or not a single person from the Edelman public relations firm. They need to update their merchandising to budge the stock. Can the company co-opt their old customers is the only question that matters to investors. And the only answer depends on the quality and innovation of their stale merchandising.