The daily business briefing: December 7, 2017

Walmart changes its name to reflect its online push, Bitcoin's meteoric rise accelerates, and more

The Walmart logo is displayed on a cart in Chicago
(Image credit: Getty Images)

1. Walmart changes its name to reflect its e-commerce focus

Walmart said Wednesday that it is changing its legal name from Wal-Mart Stores to simply Walmart to better reflect its increasing focus on e-commerce. "While our legal name is used in a limited number of places, we felt it was best to have a name that was consistent with the idea that you can shop us however you like as a customer," Doug McMillon, Walmart's president and CEO, said in a statement. "As time goes on, customers will increasingly just think of and see one Walmart." The company's big-box stores made it the world's largest brick-and-mortar retailer, but it is making a push to better compete with Amazon by focusing on its offerings online.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.