LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We do not believe we have the authority to operate solely for the Mississippi River basin.”
Monique Farmer,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman, on the
Corps’ plan to reduce the flow of the Missouri River Article, 1DMurphy to buy Shell land in Canada
Murphy Oil Company Ltd., a subsidiary of Murphy Oil Corp., has agreed to purchase land and take over as operator of Shell Canada Energy’s assets in the Seal Lake area of Alberta, Canada, the company announced Tuesday.
Murphy Oil did not say how much it paid for land.
The deal includes 148,531 net acres, an associated plant and equipment, the production of 2,200 barrels of oil equivalent a day and about 14 million barrels of “oil equivalent of proved and probable reserves,” according to a news release.
Once Murphy Oil acquires the land, the company will own 331,000 net acres in the area with the ability to produce more than 9,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day.
- Jessica Seaman
Social media in workplace class focus
Using social media in the workplace without legal entanglements is the focus of a class titled “Social Media and the Workplace: the Gift that Keeps on Giving,” that will be offered on Dec. 10 at the University of Arkansas Global Campus in Rogers.
The professional development class will be held from 4.30 to 6:30 p.m. in Suite 402, 3300 Market St. The class will available online. The cost is $49 and registration is available at http://globalcampus.edu/register.
Participants will learn about using caution when posting messages and to consider the consequences of acting on information found on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
The class is presented by the University of Arkansas Global Campus and the law firm Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon and Galcus, P.C., of Little Rock.
- John MagsamWal-Mart to offer sample service
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. today will officially launch a mail subscription service called “Goodies” that lets shoppers discover new foods through samples delivered directly to their homes.
For a monthly $7 fee that includes tax and shipping, customers get a box of five to eight hand-picked, samplesize food items, ranging from organic to ethnic products not currently on Wal-Mart’s shelves. The world’s largest retailer began testing the service three months ago.
Users can sign up for the service at www.goodies.co.
The monthly price is almost half of the total value of the items if they were purchased separately, Wal-Mart says. If customers like the products, they can purchase full-size versions on the Goodies website.
Subscribers can post reviews to earn loyalty points that can be redeemed for in-store items.
- Associated Press AMF Bowling files for debt relief
WILMINGTON, Del. - AMF Bowling Worldwide Inc., the world’s largest bowling-alley operator, on Tuesday filed for bankruptcy for the second time in 11 years with a plan it says will “significantly” cut debt and strengthen its balance sheet.
The company listed both assets and debt of $100 million to $500 million in Chapter 11 documents filed in U.S.
Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Va. Chapter 11 is the section of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code used by companies to reorganize.
The company, based in Mechanicsville, Va., runs about 300 bowling centers with more than 20 million visitors a year, according to its website. AMF filed for reorganization in July 2001 and exited with a confirmed Chapter 11 plan in February 2002 by giving unsecured creditors 7.5 percent of the new stock.
AMF started out as American Machine & Foundry Co. in 1900 in New Jersey, making equipment for the tobacco industry, according to Harvard Business School archives. The company introduced the first fully automated “Pinspotter” in 1946.
- Bloomberg NewsHong Kong pad sold for $60 million
HONG KONG - A luxury Hong Kong apartment in a Frank Gehry-designed building has sold for an eye-popping price of nearly $60 million, the property developer said Tuesday, the latest sign of the city’s overheated housing market.
Swire Properties Ltd. said it sold the 6,683 square foot apartment on the ninth floor of its Opus development for $58.7 million. It did not identify the buyer.
Local property agents said it was the highest price ever paid for an apartment in the southern Chinese financial center.
The Opus apartment is one of just twelve units in the building, which is perched on the side of Victoria Peak and affords commanding views of Hong Kong. Swire has already sold one other unit for $55.5 million and leased out another that comes with its own pool for $110,000 a month.
Gehry designed the building with external glass-enclosed columns which twist around the building to mimic the appearance of reeds swaying in the breeze.
- Associated Press
GE oil, gas seeks to expand in Mexico
General Electric Co. is interested in expanding its oil and natural gas operations in Mexico if an overhaul of the sector opens up fields to private developers.
“We’re definitely seeking all those opportunities that may arise if the oil sector opens up,” said Gabriela Hernandez, GE’s chief executive officer for Mexico, in an interview in Queretaro, Mexico.
Incoming Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto, who takes office Dec. 1, has said that overhauling the nation’s oil industry will be his “signature issue.” His transition team is evaluating legal changes to allow private and foreign oil producers to invest in exploration and development of Mexican fields. Energy changes should be approved in 2013, the co-head of the team, Luis Videgaray, said on Oct. 26.
GE’s oil and gas unit in Latin America is investing $194.5 million this year to revamp and boost capacity at its three existing plants in the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, according to Joao Geraldo Ferreira, the head of the regional subsidiary.
GE is joining companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s largest energy company by market value, and Repsol SA, the Spanish oil producer, in expressing interest in Mexico.
- Bloomberg News
Business, Pages 28 on 11/14/2012