Hint: "We," in all of its global manifestations, will see "us" through these times of uncertainty.

Timothy Calkins, a marketing professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, talks with Renee Montagne about how companies are reassuring consumers who don't have money to spend on their products.

Over the coming 12 months, Wal-Mart will, for the first time, add more store square footage internationally than in the U.S., Jonathan Birchall reports, in formats ranging from 5,000-square-foot "bodegas" in Mexico to a new Sam's Club discount warehouse in Shanghai, and its first wholesale joint venture store in India. Wal-Mart now has stores in 14 markets outside the U.S., with international sales accounting for about 30% of its overall revenues.

Postmaster General John E. Potter says the post office may need to cut back to five-day delivery for the first time in the agency's history because of rising costs and the global recession. The move, which would have to be approved by Congress and postal officials, could mean the elimination of mail on the system's slowest days, Saturdays or Tuesdays. Third-class advertising mail -- recently renamed "standard mail" -- has been one bright spot in the system, Dan Eggen reports, but that market has also dropped off because of the economy. Cutting a day could have a dramatic effect …

After scrolling dozens of newswires all day yesterday, I ventured into the city to view a taping of the sole source for news for so many others, "The Colbert Report," and sure enough learned about a looming shortage of chicken wings for Super Bowl Sunday. "Wing-Ageddon," as Colbert puts it, may be upon us but rest assured that "Velveeta-Ageddon" is not. There's plenty of it to go around this Sunday, and Kraft is doing its utmost to spread the word. "On Sunday, thousands of women across the country are expected to welcome friends …

It all started with a sour experience -- as so many good business ideas do -- and turned into lemonade. In 1997, Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings got hit with a $40 late fee for a VHS-tape rental of "Apollo 13." But DVDs were on the way, they proved easy to mail, and his rental-by-mail business was off the ground. Initially, the concept was not subscription-based. Hastings decided to try a free trail for prospective subscribers and got a 20% conversion rate to paid, which was good enough to keep going. Now Netflix gets up to 90% renewal. …

Starbucks will close 300 more underperforming company-operated stores worldwide -- about 200 in the U.S. -- in addition to the nearly 700 it announced last year. Up to 6,000 positions could be eliminated. At the same time, it says it will open 140 stores -- 60 fewer than its previous target of 200. Taking a cue from fast-food rivals, Bruce Horovitz reports, CEO Howard Schultz says the battered chain plans to roll out value breakfast deals in March that, for the first time, will bundle drinks and food at a discounted price. "We've heard those of you calling for more …

A new report created by the American Marketing Association in conjunction with Decision Strategies International presents four possible scenarios that marketers will likely face.