NEW YORK (Fortune) - Here's three to think about as we work our way through the week ...

WAL-MART: Lots of moving parts here, (aren't there always?) First the Beast of Bentonville is striking back in Maryland after the state legislature passed a law last month mandating that the company spend 8 percent of its payroll on healthcare. A trade group backed by Wal-Mart is filing a lawsuit claiming that the law violates federal statutes. Knew that was coming... Also the company plans to open another 1,500 stores in the U.S. in the next few years in addition to the 3,800 plus it already has! (see correction) WMT (Research) opened up a record 69 in January. Wow!... Also company is upgrading at least 1,800 of its stores, according to the Wall Street Journal, to include wood paneling, low displays so you can see into the next aisle (horrors!), and get this, buffed concrete! That's upscale? I'm told it is!... Stock hasn't gone anywhere for six years, just getting cheaper. At some point I say this baby will move again....

TIME WARNER: The stock market is nothing if not a voting machine. Unsentimental, uncaring, show-me-the-money-baby. And yesterday the market voted on Carl Icahn and Lazard's report and plan to boost TWX's stock price (Research). And the verdict? Thumbs down! The stock was off over 1.1 percent, as opposed to 0.83 percent for the S&P 500. Why? Nothing really that new if you ask me. Break the company up, cut costs, blah, blah. Also Bid 'em Bruce (Bruce Wasserstein of Lazard, that is) was so contrarian. Every move Parsons has done was wrong, he claimed, with AOL, with Warner Music, not buying the MGM business. That's a little disingenuous. We've been hearing this for months. The real problem is TWX never should have merged with AOL on the terms that it did. That and it is very difficult to figure out how to distribute copyrighted material in a digital world. After all that though at some point I do think the stock goes up. There are too many forces at work here. Maybe that's wishful thinking, as I'm an owner...

PFIZER: For years drug stocks like Merck and PFE (Research) were an investors best friend. People have to have drugs and you can price 'em however you want. Well all that ended with a thud this decade. Calls for lower prices, key drugs going off patent, and huge problems with COX-2 inhibitors like Celebrex and Bextra have taken their toll. So how to boost a slumping drug stock? Do like Time Warner and GM. Sell stuff! Pfizer now says it's looking to off load its over the counter, non-prescription business. Big business here folks, like Visine, Listerine, (the 'ines!), plus Benadryl and Sudafed. Could be worth around $10 billion. (Excuse me Mr. P&G. Would you be interested?) This could boost PFE a bit, but it is not a panacea. Tis not the right season for big drug stocks.

Loose Change: ...Question of the day: Will Sly Stone show up at the Grammy's tonight? I'd be PSYCHED!....What are the worst album names of all time? "Smell the Glove." "Dream Police." "Sheik Yer Bouti." Send me your favs!

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Email Andy Serwer at serwer@fortunemail.com

Correction: An earlier version of this story listed an incorrect number of Wal-Mart stores(return to story).