By Andrew S. Winston,br /Author of a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470393742?ie=UTF8tag=antiquestocka-20linkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=0470393742″Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage/aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=antiquestocka-20l=as2o=1a=0470393742″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” /br /br /”Do you think this green thing will take a back seat now that money is tight?”br /br /I now hear this question more than any other. Times are uncertain, so who really knows what corporate priorities will be over the next year or two? But at the risk of being dead wrong very soon, I’ll venture some opinions. First, if there’s a deep, prolonged recession, the green movement slows down because everything slows down. Of course some parts of the economy will lose momentum slower than others (the growth of renewable energy, for example, will likely continue but perhaps at a slower pace of growth, much like China’s recent 9 percent GDP rise was oddly …

Earlier this week, Wal-Mart's (WMT) outgoing CEO Lee Scott spoke at the National Retail Federation's Annual Convention. His speech can be seen here. This was the last time Scott will speak in public as the leader of the company.

After his prepared remarks, Scott sat down for a Question & Answer session with NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. Mr. Scott was asked about various topics ranging from government spending, retail trends, and the economy. What Scott had to say about the economy and consumer spending is worth reading.

On the economy:

     Hopes that by next Christmas it isn't any worse     If things get better, they will only be modestly better     Doesn't see anything that points to things turning around quickly   ...

Wal-Mart (WMT) releases earnings before the bell Tuesday and there really is only one thing I want to know.

First the “skinny” as they say. First Call estimates are $0.77 EPS and $92.75 Billion in revenues. Next quarter’s expectations are $0.68 EPS and $92.25 Billion, and fiscal January 2008 estimates are $3.16 EPS and $378.3 Billion revenues. July same store sales were released last week so much of the actual sales and assumed earnings data should already be reflected in the price of shares.