LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I think the television business has turned out to be much more powerful as an advertising medium than people were thinking five years ago.” Jonathan Taplin, University of Southern California professor Article, 1D
7 from state elected to cotton council
MEMPHIS - John Fricke of Pine Bluff was re-elected as a vice president of the National Cotton Council for 2013 at the council’s annual meeting held last weekend.
Fricke, a cotton crusher, was one of seven Arkansas cotton industry members elected to council leadership positions. Re-elected as board advisers were former council chairmen Allen B. Helms Jr. of Clarkedale and Larry McClendon of Marianna. Also, Stewart Weaver of Edmonson was re-elected as a director of Cotton Council International, the council’s export promotion arm. Tyronza grower Herrick F. Norcross III was elected Arkansas chairman of American Cotton Producers.
Norcross was also elected chairman of the council’s Arkansas unit, and Thad Freeland of Tillar was elected vice chairman and Nathan Reed of Marianna unit secretary.
The Memphis-based council includes representatives from 17 cotton-producing states to promote policies for cotton growers and ancillary industries.
U.S. oil output at highest since ’92
A surge in U.S. oil production has pushed the country’s output to the highest level since 1992.
The U.S. pumped 7.06 million barrels a day in the week ended Friday, up 1 percent from the previous week and extending last year’s 19 percent gain, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.
Improvements in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, have spurred drilling in Arkansas and in states such as Texas, North Dakota and Oklahoma.
Production by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries fell to the lowest level in a year in January, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said Wednesday in its monthly report.
Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest producer, reduced output in December because customers asked for less, Ibrahim al-Muhanna, an adviser to Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, said Jan. 14.
“Increasing amounts of North American oil production puts pressure on OPEC to find other markets for their oil,” said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates LLC in Houston. “It changes the political dynamics between the U.S. and OPEC.”
OPEC pumped 30.34 million barrels a day in January, down 100,000 barrels from December, the International Energy Agency said. The agency said Saudi Arabia produced 9.25 million barrels a day, up from 9.15 million in December.
Ex-Sam’s Club exec joins Claire’s
Linda Hefner Filler, until recently executive vice president and chief merchandising officer for Sam’s Club, has been appointed president of Claire’s Stores Inc.’s North America division effective March 1, the company said in a news release.
Claire’s Stores is based in Hoffman Estates, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. It is a specialty retailer of fashionable jewelry and accessories for young women, teens and children.
Hefner Filler will be responsible for operations and strategic initiatives at the approximately 1,500 Claire’s stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Before her Sam’s Club role, Hefner Filler was vice president and general manager of Wal-Mart’s home division.
She also has served in executive roles at Sara Lee Corp.
and at Kraft Foods Group Inc.
Time Warner in talks on magazine unit
Time Warner Inc., the media business that spans television, film and publishing, is considering the sale of all or part of its Time Inc. magazine division, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Time Warner is in talks with a buyer, said the person, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. According to a report in Fortune, which is owned by Time Inc., the buyer may acquire most of the company’s magazines, including People and Real Simple, after they’re rolled into an independent entity. Time Warner would keep control of Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune in this scenario, Fortune said.
The move would let Time Warner offload at least part of its worst-performing major division, helping insulate the company from an industrywide slump in advertising sales. Time Inc., the largest U.S. magazine publisher, has struggled to shift from print to the Internet, where ads command lower rates than with traditional magazine campaigns.
Time Inc., led by Chief Executive Officer Laura Lang, said last month that it would eliminate 500 positions, or 6 percent of its work force, as newsstand sales and advertising continued to decline. The company’s publishing revenue fell 6.6 percent last year to $3.44 billion.
- Bloomberg NewsSale set for fabled songwriters’ hub
NEW YORK - Manhattan’s Brill Building, where songwriters such as Burt Bacharach and Neil Diamond penned pop hits, is being sold for about $200 million to Allied Partners, according to a person briefed on the transaction.
The real estate investment firm, based in New York, is scheduled to complete the purchase of the office building at 1619 Broadway from an Invesco Ltd. fund by the end of June, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the agreement is private. New York-based Stonehenge Management is Invesco’s partner in the building.
The property, three blocks north of Times Square, has housed Colony Records for about four decades and was a bastion of American popular songwriting during the early 1960s. The building was named for a clothing store that once occupied part of the 175,000-square-foot property.
Colony planned to close its record store in the building as a shift to digital music sales led to a decline in revenue, The New York Times reported on Aug. 23. The building at 49th Street and Broadway is in an area popular with tourists and filled with retailers and restaurants.
Karen Newman, a spokesman for Allied Partners, declined to comment on the Brill Building. Bill Hensel, a spokesman for Atlanta-based Invesco, and Jessica Proud, a spokesman for Stonehenge at public relations firm Nicholas & Lence Communications LLC, didn’t immediately respond to telephone calls and e-mails.
- Bloomberg News
Business, Pages 26 on 02/14/2013