LITTLE ROCK — Entergy in Louisiana
to join power group
The Louisiana Public Service Commission on Wednesday approved Entergy Louisiana and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana joining a regional transmission organization that controls the electricity grid in 13 Midwest states.
The Louisiana commission is the first state regulatory agency that has voted to allow an Entergy Corp. subsidiary to join the Carmel, Ind.-based Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator.
Entergy Arkansas has a request pending with the Arkansas Public Service Commission to join Midwest.
The Arkansas commission will hold hearings on the issue on Wednesday.
Each of Entergy’s six utility companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas has filed for similar approval with its regulator to join Midwest.
4 Arkansas firms win global trade awards
Four agriculture and manufacturing companies received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Global Trade on Wednesday, according to a news release.
Gov. Mike Beebe presented the awards to the companies during a luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion.
The companies honored were: Riceland Foods Inc. of Stuttgart; Coleman Dairy of Little Rock;
Trump Tours Inc. of Bentonville; and Keith Smith Co. of Hot Springs. Trump organizes farm tours for international visitors, and Keith Smith Co. produces chicks and eggs.
Companies were chosen for the award based on their most recent percentage of export sales, the growth of their export sales in the past three years, their goals and commitments internationally and the number of jobs saved or created due to the company’s export performance, according to the release.
Arkansas Index rises 1.49 as 8 end higher
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, climbed 1.49 to 222.97 Wednesday.
“U.S. stocks ended mostly higher after trading lower most of the day with the early weakness attributed to continued concerns of a Greek exit from the Eurozone,” said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock. “The Arkansas Index moved higher as eight stocks advanced, seven declined and one remained unchanged.”
J.B. Hunt Transport Services climbed 2 percent in heavy trading.
USA Truck traded at a 12-month low of $5.51 before closing down 1.6 percent in light trading.
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 27 on 05/24/2012