Attention, Wal-Mart sh . . .oh, never mind

You know its' really bad when . . .

Wal-Mart Stores Inc's U.S. customers, increasingly worried about their own financial security, are waiting until they get their paychecks to buy even the most basic necessities, the retailer's U.S. division head said on Tuesday.

Personal financial security, a recent poll revealed, was the No 1 concern for 80 percent of Wal-Mart shoppers, up from 65 percent a few months ago, said Eduardo Castro-Wright, president and chief executive of the Wal-Mart's U.S. operations.

And, in a "disturbing" trend, Castro-Wright said Wal-Mart for the first time is seeing a paycheck-related spike in sales of baby formula, suggesting consumers are rushing to buy such necessities as soon as they have the cash.

Not the economy -- the panic. But panic breeds panic, so we'll eventually have the economy we think we already have. And somebody just told me that Kmart is bringing back the layaway, which sort of went away when people started using credit cards instead.