LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Although there is a good deal of economic
and political uncertainty in the world, we are not seeing it much in our business at this point.”
Doug Oberhelman,
chairman and CEO of Caterpillar Inc.
Article, 1D
Short-term Treasury bills’ rates fall
WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday’s auction to the lowest levels in two weeks.
The Treasury Department auctioned $29 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.02 percent, down from 0.03 percent last week. Another $27 billion in sixmonth bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.06 percent, down from 0.065 percent last week.
The three-month rate was the lowest since threemonth bills averaged 0.015 percent two weeks ago on Oct.
- The six-month rate was the lowest since the bills averaged 0.045 percent, also on Oct. 11.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,999.49 while a six-month bill sold for $9,996.97.
That would equal an annualized rate of 0.02 percent for the three-month bills and 0.061 percent for the six-month bills.
Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, edged up to 0.12 percent last week from 0.11 percent the previous week.
Exporting classes set for next week
The U.S. Export Assistance Center in Little Rock will begin Export University in two Arkansas cities next week.
Initial training on trade and finance will be held in Fort Smith on Nov. 2 and in Little Rock on Nov. 3.
In Fort Smith, the class will run from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce. In Little Rock, the class will be held at the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Both sessions are free.
Those interested can register by contacting the U.S. Export Assistance Center at (501) 324-5794 or visiting arkansasexport.com.
Export University is a series of export-themed courses designed to help Arkansas companies gain increasing skills and innovation in international sales.
The classes are sponsored by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and the Arkansas District Export Center.
Electrical fire shuts Fort Smith plant
Employees at Rheem Manufacturing Co.’s plant in Fort Smith were sent home Monday and the second and third shifts were canceled because of a small electrical fire, John Anthony, director of human resources, said in an e-mail.
No employees were injured, he said. The company intends to notify employees through the media when production resumes.
“We are currently investigating the cause of the small electrical fire in our facility and evaluating the cost to repair the damage,” Anthony said. “We do not anticipate a long outage.”
In late June, Rheem said it was moving 250 jobs at its Fort Smith operation to Mexico over the next three years. Before the announced layoffs, the plant employed 1,150 hourly workers who make residential gas furnaces and residential and commercial air-conditioning products.
The Fort Smith plant is Rheem’s air-conditioning division headquarters.
FedEx expects Dec. 12 to be busy
NEW YORK - FedEx expects to handle 9 percent more packages on its busiest day of the year - now projected for Dec. 12.
The world’s second-largest package delivery company thinks it could move 17 million packages that day, nearly double what it normally ships, as online Christmas shopping continues to rise and the company benefits from a partnership with the U.S. Postal Service.
Investors cheered the optimistic forecast, a month after FedEx Corp. said shoppers were pulling back on spending. FedEx shares rose $2.18, or 2.8 percent, to close at $81.52.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, FedEx Corp.
expects more than 260 million shipments. That’s a 12 percent increase from 2010. The Memphis company plans to add about 20,000 seasonal workers to handle the surge, up from 17,000 last year.
Insurer Cigna to buy HealthSpring
BLOOMFIELD, Conn. - Managed-care company Cigna said Monday it will pay about $3.8 billion to buy fellow health insurer HealthSpring in a deal that enhances Cigna’s Medicare Advantage business.
The Bloomfield, Conn., company will pay $55 per share in cash for HealthSpring, which is based in Nashville, Tenn.
Cigna said that price represents a 37 percent premium over the stock’s Friday closing price of $40.16.
Cigna said the boards of directors for both companies have approved the deal. It is expected to close in the first half of 2012.
Medicare Advantage plans are privately run versions of the government’s Medicare program. They are subsidized by the government and offer basic Medicare coverage topped with extras or premiums lower than standard Medicare rates.
HealthSpring has about 340,000 Medicare Advantage customers in 11 states.
Rebate program pushes natural gas
The Compressed Natural Gas Conversion Rebate Program is now open to individual vehicle owners in Arkansas, the state Energy Office said Monday.
The rebate program, announced in August, was originally only available to vehicle fleets but is now available for individual vehicle conversions. All Arkansas licensed vehicles are eligible for conversion. Fleets are still eligible for the rebate.
Through the program, rebates of 50 percent of the conversion cost or the incremental cost of purchasing new natural gas-powered vehicles will be given to vehicle owners or fleet operators. Rebate amounts vary, but cannot exceed $25,000. To ensure rebates are available for multiple fleets, no single entity may receive more than 20 percent of the total $2.2 million rebate fund.
Rebates are available on a first-come, first-served basis until December or until funds are depleted, the Arkansas Energy Office said.
The U.S. Department of Energy website says Arkansas has six natural gas fueling stations, but doesn’t specify locations.
Three have previously been reported to have opened in North Little Rock, Damascus and Fort Smith.
Business, Pages 22 on 10/25/2011