(FORTUNE Magazine) – SELLING/COVER STORY 46 HOW SAM WALTON DOES IT Having built a multibillion-dollar fortune, America's most successful merchant can now do what he likes. That's why he's out there every day barnstorming the country in his twin-prop Cessna, visiting as many of the 1,650 Wal-Marts and 200 Sam's Clubs as he can. Here is an inside, folksy look at some of those bare-bones trips: no backup pilot, no secretary, no assistant, no limousines. by John Huey

U.S.S.R. 62 LET'S DO BUSINESS The Soviet Union is open for deals as never before. Boris Yeltsin is barreling toward a market economy, and Mikhail Gorbachev has no more reasons not to follow. There's turmoil in the wake of the failed coup. But as one top executive puts it: ''If U.S. companies wait until all the problems are solved, % somebody else will get the business.'' by Paul Hofheinz

MONEY & MARKETS 71 WHO'S HURT BY SALOMON'S GREED? Big shortsellers, yes. Small investors, no. In fact, Salomon's attempt to corner the $2.4 trillion Treasury market may have helped hold interest rates down. One benefit from this most recent Wall Street scandal: The Treasury market may be modernized at last. by Anne B. Fisher

75 WHAT'S WRONG WITH TOKYO'S MARKET Roaring profits and rapid growth masked a dangerous lack of sophistication in Japan's financial markets. Radical reforms and better market surveillance are what's needed. by John J. Curran

REAL ESTATE 84 GOOD DEALS IN A ROTTEN MARKET Call it ''Invasion of the Building Snatchers.'' In an industry long on inventory and short on credit, entrepreneurs both big and small are scooping up choice property for a song. by Shawn Tully

99 TIME TO BUY THAT HOUSE? In most places it is. Mortgage rates are down, and prices are rising slowly. by Susan Caminiti

TECHNOLOGY 103 WHY NOT FARM OUT YOUR COMPUTING? Hiring another company to do your data processing can save real bucks. Some say it's the biggest trend since the PC. by David Kirkpatrick

115 THE CHAMP OF CHEAP CLONES Or, how a small-town boy parlayed a road trip with a rockabilly band into a $600-million-a-year computer company. by Andrew Kupfer

CORPORATE PERFORMANCE 122 COMPANIES TO WATCH Bindley Western Industries, a pharmaceuticals wholesaler that sells to drugstore chains, is a paragon of productivity. by Shelley Neumeier

Also: HealthInfusion, Alias Research, and O.I. Analytical.

ENTREPRENEURS 125 & LOOK WHO LIKES FRANCHISING NOW Corporate refugees with money and experience are spending big on hot concepts like child care and faster fast food. by Susan Caminiti

INNOVATION 132 PRODUCTS TO WATCH A mouse for kids, a flatter TV, a superdry rum, and a new kind of athlete's foot. by Alison Sprout

MANAGING 134 NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE As paradigms shift, meeting new challenges may require throwing out old rules. by John Huey

DEPARTMENTS 4 EDITOR'S DESK 6 INDEX 8 NEWS/TRENDS The world's most dangerous countries for business, the state income tax contagion, log cabins get popular (and pricey), Mexico's economy, why fashion designers see plaid, and more.

15 FORTUNE FORECAST A yellow light for auto sales. Also: Should you buy or lease a car? by Joseph Spiers

25 PERSONAL INVESTING What to do with your money during a political crisis? Probably nothing. by Andrew Evan Serwer

Also: Getting ready for Christmas, tips from the best financial newsletters, and Portfolio Talk with John Kaweske of the Financial funds.

39 LETTERS TO FORTUNE

210 BOOKS & IDEAS A fresh view of affirmative action from a black Yale law professor. by Walter Guzzardi

Also: A well-known historian critiques the multicultural movement. by Alan Farnham

214 FORTUNE PEOPLE A better idea from a former Ford Motor CEO, how to open up jobs in the construction industry, and more. by Laurie Kretchmar

215 KEEPING UP The voluntary human extinction movement, an ideological attack on a kingly beast, helping crime victims, and other matters. by Daniel Seligman

( ABOVE: Sam Walton, photographed by Steven Pumphrey at the opening of a Sam's Club in Marion,Illinois.

COVER: Walton on the way to another Wal-Mart in his Cessna, photo by Steven Pumphrey.