solved Assigned Questions: 1. How do the retailing strategies of Sears

Assigned Questions:
1. How do the retailing strategies of Sears and Wal-Mart differ?
2. Wal-Mart’s average return on equity for the 1997 fiscal year was 19.7%[$3,525/($18,503+17,143)/2] while Sears’ average return on equity over roughly the same period was 22.0% [$1,188/($5,862+$4,945)/2]. Don Edwards was puzzled by these numbers because of Wal-Mart’s reputation as a premier retailer and Sears’ financial difficulties not long ago. What is driving the performance of these two companies during fiscal 1997?
3. What ratios are most important in assessing current and predicting future value creation for Sears? For Wal-mart?
4. How useful are financial ratios in evaluating the current performance of each of the two companies? 
5. How useful are financial ratios in comparing the relative performance of these two companies?