RLX Editing by Maureen Bavdek and Gunna Dickson Stocks

"There are a lot of young people who have learned what it'slike when you are living on the edge and the bad times come." Consumers may not be as inclined to splurge or accumulatedebt after having lived through such a difficult economicperiod, he said. That could spell more bad news for retailers who arealready slowing growth plans, closing underperforming locationsand laying off workers as consumer spending diminishes. "Although consumers will continue redeeming gift cards andtaking advantage of some post-holiday sales throughout January,slow first-quarter shopping levels will have the industryscrambling," Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak, said in astatement. TACKLING TOUGH ISSUES Scott said business leaders should not use the downturn asan excuse to avoid tackling tough issues, like the soaring costof health care or pushing for alternative sources of energy.

"There is no conflict between delivering value toshareholders and helping solve bigger societal problems," hesaid.Making reference to a "problem-solving vacuum" inWashington, he pushed for government and business leaders towork together to solve these problems. The speech echoed comments Scott made a year ago, when hesaid Wal-Mart would use its heft as the world's largestretailer to push for changes in health care, energy consumptionand sourcing. Under Scott, the retailer has vowed to one day create zerowaste and use only renewable energy. Wal-Mart shares rose 25 cents to $51.85, outperforming a 2percent decline for the Standard & Poor's Retail Index .RLX (Editing by Maureen Bavdek and Gunna Dickson) Stocks. After you've scoured the waiver wire , found nothing worth your time, and then failed to pull off the trade that may have rescued your team, what's left for you to do Well, it's times like these where you have to suck it up and look within. Even the best fantasy owners with rosters loaded with talent can run into unlucky stretches of bad matchups for their players, ridiculous performances by opponents, or facing the highest scoring team every week.

Regardless, it's up to you to do everything in your power to put the best team up against your opponent, and like it or not, sometimes it starts with pitting your own players against each other.Here's a look at three positions with two players facing off, with only one earning the right to take a place in your starting lineup: Tony Romo , QB, DAL ( GB) vs Brett Favre, QB, MIN (vs. DET) Romo threw his first pick in four weeks against the Philadephia Eagles, and connected with Miles Austin for his ninth touchdown during that span. That's pretty impressive for a guy that many were starting to write off early in the season as Dallas was struggling a bit offensively. It gets bette r with a friendly matchup against the Green Bay Packers, a team his fantasy opponent this week, Brett Favre , destroyed twice this season. Green Bay doesn't get consistent pressure on the quarterback and doesn't have the speed or talent to keep up with Romo's downfield shots, as well as the emerging Miles Austin.

Favre, on the other hand, has been completely on fire ever since week three, and doesn't look like he'll be slowing down. There's the "late-season fade" story to worry about, as well as the possibility that the Vikings depend a bit more on Adrian Peterson going forward. I'll buy the latter over the former, as Favre looks too sharp and determined to falter like he did last season Facing theDetroit Lions doesn't hurt , either. Verdict: I love both players and both matchups this week, so no matter which way you go, you're going to get a winner. This article is about picking the better player for the week, though, so we're going with Romo.