Walmart cuts profit outlook on higher wages

New York

WALMART cut its annual profit forecast on Tuesday, saying the costs of raising wages for a half-million workers were weighing down its bottom line.

Walmart's investment in its online services as it vies to compete with e-commerce titans such as Amazon is also eating into profits, as is a stronger dollar, the company said.

Still, executives at Walmart, the country's largest retailer by sales, said that spending was necessary to win back customers with an improved shopping experience at its stores and a more competitive presence on the Web.

"We're pleased that the investments we've made are helping to improve our business. Even if it's not as fast as we would like…