Wal-Mart Stores on Thursday reported profit and sales that were just below Wall Street expectations as the giant retailer struggled with a number of issues that impacted its U.S. sales, from the payroll tax increase to an unseasonably cold spring to delayed tax returns.

Wal-Mart Stores has identified two internal candidates to succeed CEO Mike Duke, Bloomberg News reported.

According to multiple reports on Thursday, congressmen Henry Waxman (D-Rep., Calif.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Rep. Md.) have said that Wal-Mart Stores CEO Mike Duke and other senior-level officials at the retailer were informed about allegations of bribery in the retailer’s operations in Mexico in 2005.

Wal-Mart Stores’ ongoing investigation into bribery allegations was thrust into the spotlight again on Monday after the New York Times ran a lengthy piece detailing how an elaborate series of payments accelerated construction of a controversial store in Mexico City.

In a Tuesday night address at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. president and CEO Mike Duke didn’t shy away from discussing the fiscal cliff, saying that the current debate is having a negative impact on consumer spending.

Wal-Mart Stores announced a series of initiatives to make the company's supply chain in the United States, China and around the world more sustainable.

Wal-Mart Stores CEO Mike Duke on Friday called integrity the company’s “bedrock” value during a presentation at the chain’s annual shareholders meeting in Fayetteville, Ark.

Wal-Mart Stores is expected to face scrutiny from shareholders at its annual meeting on Friday in the wake of allegations of bribery in Mexico.

New York City Pension Funds is urging shareholders to vote against the re-election of Wal-Mart Stores CEO Mike Duke and four other board members out of concerns about the chain’s bribery investigation in Mexico, the Associated Press reported.

Two U.S. lawmakers are launching an investigation into allegations of bribery at Wal-Mart Stores’ Mexican affiliate.

A report by the Associated Press said that Wal-Mart Stores Inc., CEO Mike Duke was compensated with an $18.1 million pay package in 2011, down 3% from the prior year.