Reuters reports that Wal-Mart's early March sales are up 4 to 6 percent per store. The reason? Tax refund checks...
Unfortunately those tax refund checks are not stimulating business investment and job creation. Wal-Mart reports that the lion's share of those tax refunds go to consumer electronics: TVs, DVD players, etc. Those items are made in China and other Asian countries, and in turn their investors buy U.S. government debt to keep the whole scheme going.
Other products doing well at Wal-Mart include consumables (think soap, toothpaste, laundry detergent), food, lawn and garden goods, Easter merchandise (candy for the kids), and men's clothing.
Some patrons are taking part or all of their tax refund checks as money orders. (Wal-Mart will do that, too.) It's hard to say where those money orders will end up, but the most likely explanation is that consumers opting for money orders didn't want to spend the whole check at Wal-Mart.