News in brief

Correction: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will release its fiscal 2015 second-quarter earnings and revenue report at 6 a.m. Aug. 14. The day of the release was incorrect in a headline below.

Murphy subsidiary to sell U.K. stations

Murphy Oil Corp.'s subsidiary, Murco Petroleum Ltd., has agreed to sell its 60 retail gasoline stations in the United Kingdom to Motor Fuel Group, the El Dorado-based company said Monday.

The cost of the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of September, has not been disclosed by the company.

Reuters news service, citing people familiar with the deal, reported that the sale is valued at just under $335 million.

The sale is part of Murphy Oil's efforts to shed its U.K. refining and retail assets. The company announced last month the sale of its Milford Haven refinery and terminal assets in Wales to Klesch Refinery Ltd.

The company's Chief Executive Officer Roger Jenkins said earlier this year that the company expects to be able to transfer about $550 million back to the United States after it sells its assets in the U.K.

-- Jessica Seaman

Wal-Mart to release revenue report today

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will release its earnings and revenue report for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2015 at 6 a.m. Thursday. Results will be released through the Internet and with a prerecorded call with company executives that morning.

A poll of 28 analysts conducted by Yahoo Finance shows estimated earnings per share for the quarter that ended July 14 to be between $1.17 and $1.24, with an average of $1.21. Earnings per share for the same quarter the previous year were $1.24. A poll of 21 analysts found estimated revenue for the quarter to be between $117.87 billion and $120.3 billion. Revenue a year ago was $116.94 billion.

The quarterly earnings call can be accessed by dialing (877) 523-5612 and using the access code 9256278 (WALMART), followed by the # symbol.

-- Cyd King

Arkansas Index loses 1.89 on news abroad

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 1.89 to 350.13 Tuesday.

"U.S. stocks took a pause after a two-day recovery as investors reacted to economic and geopolitical events around the globe," said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Delta Trust Investments Inc. in Little Rock.

Acxiom fell by 1.9 percent in light trading and was the weakest component, Williams said.

On the upside, Bear State Financial rose 1.8 percent on extremely low volume, he said.

Total volume of the index was 15.8 million shares.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business on 08/13/2014

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