LITTLE ROCK — Economists to speak at conference in LR
Michael Dueker, head economist for North America with Russell Investments, will present his outlook on the national economy at the annual Arkansas Economic Forecast Conference on Nov. 10.
Dueker will speak on “The National Economy: Clawing Its Way Back to ... Mediocrity.”
Among others scheduled to speak at the conference, which will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Little Rock, are Michael Pakko, chief economist and state economic forecaster for the Institute for Economic Advancement at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; Phillip Baldwin, chief executive officer for Southern Bancorp in Arkadelphia; Randy Zook, president of the ArkansasState Chamber of Commerce; and Richard Plotkin of the Arkansas State Bank Department.
The conference costs $50 per person. More information and registration is available at www.aiea.
ualr.edu.
Fraud damages cut in cemetery’s case
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that a one-time cemetery owner in Hensley in Pulaski County should not be awarded $1 million in punitive damages.
A jury ordered in May 2009 that New Jerseybased Kennedy Funding Inc. pay Virgil Shelton, 85, who owned Rest in Peace Memorial Gardens, $1.7 million for breach of contract and fraud.
The appeals court upheld the breach of contract finding, and its $675,000 in compensatory damages.
But it said U.S. District Judge Bill Wilson Jr. erred by allowing the jury to hear the fraud allegations.
Little Rock attorney David L. Williams, who represents Kennedy Funding, said his clients are happy with the ruling because “no business likes to be accused of fraud.” But he said Kennedy had hoped the appeals court would toss out the breach of contract, too.
An attorney for Shelton could not be reached.
State index jumps 5.54; 16 stocks rise
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, jumped 5.54 to 181.25 Friday.
All but one stock rose Friday.
Deltic Timber climbed 6.7 percent in average trading.
Acxiom gained 5.2 percent in light trading.
For the week, 13 stocks advanced and four declined.
USA Truck rose 5.4 percent for the week.
Windstream was up 5 percent for the week.
Volume was 25.8 million shares, compared with average volume of 29.7 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 31 on 09/25/2010