LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Europe is in recession and China is slowing. ... But the American consumer is unmoved. In fact, they are downright optimistic.”
Chris Rupkey,
chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in New York Article, 1DState auctioning unclaimed property
Arkansas State Auditor Charlie Daniels launched a week-long eBay auction of unclaimed property Friday morning.
The listed items for auction this month include assorted stamps and coins, jewelry and silver bars. Deputy Auditor Janet Harris said the state collects an average of $6,000 to $7,000 per auction. This is the fourth auction of the year.
“The money remains in trust for the original owner so when they come back to us, if we can ever find them or if they ever come forward, we can simply write them a check for the proceeds,” Harris said. “If they don’t come forward to claim the proceeds, the money is transferred into general state revenue.”
The money is transferred after three years, but the owner’s right to claim is never extinguished, she said.
Unclaimed property is found in abandoned safe-deposit boxes and reported to the auditor’s office by Arkansas banks and financial institutions. All items for sale have been abandoned at least eight years, and Harris said most items are 15 to 20 years old.
Interested bidders can visit myworld.ebay.com/ ar.unclaimedproperty. And those looking to claim property can visit www.auditor.ar.gov or call (800) 252-4643.
Alibaba shareholders OK buyout offer
HONG KONG - Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group’s $2.5 billion bid to take its Hong Kong-listed unit private was cleared Friday by minority shareholders, easing the way for Chief Executive Officer Jack Ma to gain more control over his company’s destiny.
The approval comes less than a week after Alibaba Group said it was buying back roughly half of struggling U.S. Internet company Yahoo’s stake for $7.1 billion, as the Chinese company starts to extricate itself from a relationship that has grown strained over the years.
About 95 percent of Alibaba.com minority shareholders voted at a special meeting to approve Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s offer to buy back the 27 percent of Alibaba.com Ltd. that it doesn’t own for $1.74 a share. That’s the same price at which the company went public in 2007.
The offer could cost up to $2.5 billion.
Alibaba.com, a business-to-business website, has said going private will allow it to restructure and make long-term strategic decisions as growth slows after years of rapid expansion without pressure from shareholders worried about the depressed stock price.
The company plans to improve the quality of its site to attract more manufacturers, wholesalers and trading companies paying to use it.
Weekly oil, gas rig count down by 3
HOUSTON - The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. is down three this week to 1,983.
Houston-based oil field services company Baker Hughes Inc. reported Friday that 1,383 rigs were exploring for oil and 594 were looking for gas. Six were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago this week, Baker Hughes reported 1,847 rigs.
Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Colorado gained five rigs, North Dakota four, Alaska two and California one.
Texas declined by eight rigs, Pennsylvania by four, New Mexico and Oklahoma two each and Wyoming one.
Arkansas, Louisiana and West Virginia were unchanged.
The rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.
German consumer confidence steady
BERLIN - German consumers remain cautiously confident in Europe’s largest economy despite uncertainty in the wider 17-nation eurozone, a study shows.
The GfK institute’s forward-looking survey released Friday shows consumer confidence at 5.7 points for June, the same level as in May.
The survey shows that a drop in income expectations was offset by a rise in optimism about the future and willingness to buy.
GfK said “despite recessionary trends in Europe and rising uncertainty as a consequence of the debt crisis, Germans feel that the national economy is continuing its upswing.”
Germany’s economy grew by 0.5 percent in the first quarter.
The study comes a day after a survey of business confidence showed its largest drop since August amid concerns over Europe’s economy.
P&G: New detergent lids to deter kids
DALLAS - Procter & Gamble said it will change the design of packaging for its miniature laundry detergent product to deter children from eating the brightly colored packets that look like candy.
Procter & Gamble spokesman Paul Fox said the Cincinnati-based company plans to create a new double latch lid on tubs of Tide Pods “in the next couple of weeks.”
Doctors say children sometimes swallow the pods thinking they are edible. Nearly 250 cases have been reported to poison control centers this year - a fraction of the thousands of poisoning calls received every year. No deaths have been reported.
Fox said to reduce the risk of poisoning, household cleaners and laundry detergents should be kept out of children’s reach.
Royal Caribbean to ply China market
BEIJING - Royal Caribbean Cruises is sending what it says will be Asia’s two biggest cruise liners to serve China’s growing tourism market.
The 3,114-passenger Voyager of the Seas was due to arrive IRE REPORTS e this weekend en route to Shanghai, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said Friday. Its sister ship Mariner of the Seas will be sent to China next year. The two ships will carry Chinese cruise passengers on routes to Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea.
The ships, with 15 guest decks, are equipped with ice rinks, a 9-hole miniature golf course, three swimming pools each, a rock-climbing wall, restaurants and shops. Royal Caribbean said it has hired chefs in China to create menus for Chinese passengers.
The outfitting of the two ships bound for China is part of a $300 million investment program for Royal Caribbean’s fleet, Goldstein said.
Business, Pages 28 on 05/26/2012