Add to your list of dumb business moves two announced by area companies in the past week:

Giant Food, the region's largest grocer, said it would eliminate fish counters at 50 stores -- ones with fresh fish arranged neatly on ice, with someone behind the counter. Instead, the fish will be packaged and offered in refrigerated cases, next to the chicken and pork chops.

What we have here are the latest examples of what happens when you subject retail organizations to the incessant demands of Wall Street to produce not just good long-term value for shareholders but an unbroken string of double-digit earnings growth. It's also what happens when you put financial people, rather than merchants, in charge of a store.