Excerpt: The company ... has reached such enormous size that it has been compared to General Motors in the 1950s and Standard Oil in the early decades of the 20th century. As such, its influence in the U.S. economy is being reevaluated by politicians, economists and the media.... [A] recent economic study in Los Angeles said that the benefits of Wal-Mart's low-cost merchandise offset the economic damage done to workers in stores that could go out of business because of Wal-Mart's presence.  MORE >>