The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week: July 3

Wal-Mart's Logo Logic

The folks at Wal-Mart(WMT Quote) appear to be feeling a little nostalgic.

How else could you explain the company's decision to remake its logo, especially when you get a gander of the design it selected?

Wal-Mart's new logo will officially roll out this fall, but fans of the giant retailer can get a peek at the company's logos -- past, present and future -- on its Web site. The current emblem, with blue, gray and red borders, will be replaced by a snappy orange-and-white version.

At first glance, Wal-Mart's newest flag looks slightly similar to the logo the company used between 1962 and 1964. In both, the hyphen between Wal and Mart is mercifully missing, but the new one has a six-point, starlike design that accompanies it.

Comparisons are inevitable, but Wal-Mart's brass may not like the company that it's keeping. At least one commentator noted that the logo is eerily similar to that of trendier rival Target(TGT Quote), a red-and-white bull's-eye.

Remember how well the concentric circles worked to help a brand that could have been dowdy?

But even Target's trendy logo has done little to invigorate iits share price. That's something Wal-Mart's shareholders should take note of.

Over the past 12 months, Target's shares have dropped more than 20%, while those of Wal-Mart have appreciated by almost 20%.

Maybe that's what Wal-Mart meant by its old "Watch for Falling Prices" campaign.

Dumb-o-meter score: 88. Maybe Wal-Mart should add its stock ticker to the logo.