last quarter

The world's largest retailer announced Tuesday it made nearly $3.5 billion in profit last quarter. That's up slightly from the same period last year.

Sales at Wal-Mart's U.S. stores, however, were slightly lower -- as they have been for the 18 months or so because of the poor economy.

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AP - The economy likely expanded at a greater rate last quarter as Americans loosened a tight grip on their wallets.

But the expected pickup in growth wasn't strong enough to make a noticeable dent in high unemployment.

Goldman Sachs announced Thursday that its quarterly earnings nearly quadrupled from a year ago. The Wall Street bank said it made about $3 billion in the third quarter.

Goldman has emerged as one of the winners from the financial crisis. Not so for Citigroup, which told shareholders Thursday that it lost more than $3 billion last quarter.