Business news in brief

Doubletree lease change on agenda in LR

The Little Rock Board of Directors is expected to decide at its Tuesday meeting whether to approve the Advertising and Promotions Commission's recommendation to allow a change in leaseholders for the Doubletree Hotel downtown, which is owned by the city.

The current leaseholder, TB Little Rock, wants to transfer the Doubletree's 99-year lease to FAC-W Markham LLC, said Gretchen Hall, director of the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau. The commission was involved in the deal because it and the visitors bureau manage the lease on behalf of the city.

Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed, but Hall said the new lease owner is expected to complete $5.6 million worth of improvements at the Doubletree so it can remain under the hotel chain's flag. Most of the renovations will take place over the next 18 months, which coincides with the renovation of Robinson Auditorium.

"When we reopen Robinson, we should then, in turn, have a nicely renovated Doubletree next to it," Hall said.

-- Cyd King

Windstream shifts on new spinoff shares

Windstream Holdings Inc. now plans to give about 80 percent of the shares from its real estate investment trust to stockholders, the Little Rock telecommunications company said Thursday.

Windstream, in providing an update on its spinoff company, said it would retain 20 percent of the shares, which it will sell to retire debt. The company initially planned to give all the new shares to its stockholders.

"This refined structure allows Windstream to reach our leverage goals faster to strengthen our competitive position, which we believe is appropriate and prudent given the fast changing telecom industry and rapidly evolving customer needs," President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Thomas said in a statement.

Windstream earlier this year announced plans to create a real estate investment trust, a separate company, that would have ownership of Windstream's network of copper and fiber optic lines.

The company said the spinoff would reduce its debt by about $4 billion and that it would still control its network assets through a long-term $650 million lease.

Windstream also will hold a special meeting of stockholders Feb. 20 to approve a 1-for-6 reverse stock split and an amendment to turn Windstream Corp., a subsidiary of the holding company, into a limited liability company.

-- Jessica Seaman

At 3.80%, 30-year rate hits a low for year

WASHINGTON -- Average U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell this week, with the benchmark 30-year loan rate reaching a new low for the year.

The rates' historically low levels could be a boon to potential homebuyers. Mortgage company Freddie Mac said the nationwide average for a 30-year mortgage dropped to 3.80 percent this week from 3.93 percent last week. It is now at its lowest level since May 2013.

At the beginning of the year, the 30-year rate stood at 4.53 percent.

The average for a 15-year mortgage, a popular choice for refinancing, declined to 3.09 percent from 3.20 percent last week.

Mortgage rates often follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which also has fallen to its lowest levels since May 2013. It traded at 2.14 percent Wednesday, down from 2.17 percent a week earlier.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., surveys lenders across the country between Monday and Wednesday each week. The average doesn't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fee for a 30-year mortgage rose to 0.6 point from 0.5 point last week. The fee for a 15-year mortgage also increased to 0.6 point from 0.5 point.

-- The Associated Press

Saudis deny oil-output decision political

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's oil chief said in comments published Thursday that there are no links between the kingdom's decision to oppose production cuts and political objectives -- an apparent response to accusations last week from Shiite powerhouse Iran.

Petroleum Minister Ali Naimi was quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency as saying that there are "incorrect information and analyses ... linking petroleum decisions with political objectives."

"These erroneous analyses will undoubtedly be exposed and proven wrong," he said, adding that eventually "others will see that what we are doing will yield the best results for the kingdom."

Last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the sharp fall in global oil prices was the result of "treachery," a remark interpreted as a reference to Saudi Arabia.

The Sunni kingdom's rivals are concerned that Saudi Arabia, which is capable of withstanding revenue losses, is forcing lower oil prices to damage their economies.

-- The Associated Press

Gas below $2.50 for first time since '09

U.S. drivers are paying less than $2.50 a gallon at the pump for the first time in more than five years.

Retail gasoline prices slipped to an average $2.47 a gallon Wednesday, data from the Heathrow, Fla.-based motoring group AAA showed. That's down from this year's peak of $3.69 in April, and the first time the average has dipped below $2.50 since October 2009.

In Arkansas, the average price Thursday was $2.34, down from $2.98 a year ago.

AAA projects the national average will drop to between $2.25 and $2.40 a gallon by New Year's Day, making for the cheapest holiday gasoline since 2008, Michael Green, a Washington-based spokesman for the motoring group, said in an email.

Tumbling crude prices and rising refinery activity have sent pump prices tumbling. OPEC declined to reduce its output quota at a meeting last month, letting prices drop to a level that may slow U.S. production that's surged to the highest level in more than three decades. U.S. refineries operated at the highest level in more than nine years earlier this month, government data show.

-- Bloomberg News

Business on 12/19/2014

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