QUOTE OF THE DAY “We’re still trying to stuff these bigger ships up these tiny ditches. Everywhere you look in the port, we’re expanding.” Captain Mike Morris, Houston Pilots presiding officer, on Houston Ship Channel traffic Article, 1DEntergy to get rehearing in rate case
The Arkansas Public Service Commission on Monday agreed to give Entergy Arkansas a rehearing on its request for a rate increase.
Entergy Arkansas was denied a request for a $145 million rate increase by the commission in December. The commission allowed the utility an increase of $81 million.
The commission will allow Entergy Arkansas to introduce additional evidence and testimony in the case, including a regulatory research report, January investment reports by major investment firms and reports by Moody’s Investors Service.
Entergy Arkansas filed the request for rehearing Jan.
29.
Bankers net $950,000 in share sales
George Gleason, chairman and chief executive officer of Bank of the Ozarks, and his wife, Linda, a director for the bank, earned more than $950,000 on the exercise of company stock last week, according to filings with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Gleasons exercised options to buy 22,344 shares of company stock at $18.83 on Wednesday and Friday. They sold 12,344 shares for $62.77 and 10,000 shares for $60.
The Gleasons still own more than 3.1 million shares of Bank of the Ozarks stock valued at more than $185 million. They are the second-largest holders of the bank’s stock.
- David Smith
Tyson exec sells stock for $769,361
Ken Kimbro, executive vice president of Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc., sold shares worth $769,361, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Kimbro sold 20,025 shares he directly owned for $38.42 per share. He still owns 4,449 shares of Tyson stock.
In December, Kimbro sold shares worth $1.4 million.
Tyson’s stock closed at $38.86 on Monday, down 5 cents or 0.13 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange.
In the past year, the stock has traded as low as $21.79 and as high as $39.32.
EU bailout inspectors return to Greece
ATHENS, Greece - Greece and its international debt inspectors on Monday resumed talks on the austerity measures the country must make to keep receiving rescue loans. The government insisted a deal is “very close.”
The officials from the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund - together known as the troika - met in Athens with Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras and other government officials.
The officials entered the Finance Ministry using a side door amid jeers from dozens of demonstrators who gathered outside the building.
The troika is pressing for sweeping changes in market practices and labor rules. The negotiations are seen as key to talks expected later this year on how to make Greece’s national debt sustainable.
EBay tells Icahn it won’t spin off Paypal
NEW YORK - EBay and activist shareholder Carl Icahn are continuing their war of words over PayPal.
The billionaire has been pressuring the e-commerce company to spin off the online payment business. But eBay has said it’s not interested in separating its fastest-growing segment.
On Monday, Icahn said in a letter to shareholders that the “complete disregard for accountability at eBay is the most blatant we have ever seen” and called out two directors and the chief executive officer specifically for what he called “lapses in corporate government.”
EBay said it continues to think stockholders are best served by keeping PayPal as part of the company.
PayPal, which eBay bought for $1.3 billion in late 2002, is now growing faster than the company’s core marketplaces business. In the fourth quarter, payments revenue of $1.84 billion accounted for about 41 percent of total revenue for the period. Recently, PayPal has been expanding into physical stores from serving solely as an online payments service.
In January, eBay said Icahn had taken a less than 1 percent stake in the company and said he was seeking a nonbinding shareholder resolution to spin off PayPal.
- The Associated Press
Chesapeake Energy debates selling unit
OKLAHOMA CITY - Chesapeake Energy Corp. is considering selling or possibly spinning off its oilfield services unit to help maximize shareholder value.
Chesapeake Energy, based in Oklahoma City, is mainly focused on discovering and developing natural gas and oil assets onshore in the U.S. It says it ranks as the second-largest producer of natural gas and the 11th-largest producer of oil and natural gas liquids in the U.S.
Its oilfield services business offers drilling, hydraulic fracturing, oilfield rentals, rig relocation, and fluid handling and disposal. The division had 2013 revenue of about $2.2 billion.
The business, led by Chief Executive Officer Jerry Winchester, owned or leased 115 land drilling rigs and nine hydraulic fracturing fleets.
The oilfield services operations are conducted through subsidiary Chesapeake Outfield Operating LLC.
Chesapeake Energy shares rose 72 cents to close Monday at $27.29.
- The Associated Press
IBM boosts investment in cloud services
IBM is expanding its cloud services to lure customers to the SoftLayer Technologies business that it’s counting on to help reverse seven quarters of falling sales.
IBM is making it easier for developers to build and adjust applications in the cloud, where information is delivered online instead of stored on local servers, said Danny Sabbah, chief technology officer of IBM’s Next Generation Platform. The company plans to spend more than $1 billion on cloud software development through 2015.
The move increases IBM’s bet on SoftLayer after acquiring the company for $2 billion last year and committing $1.2 billion in January to add 15 new data centers. As customers rely on cloud data storage rather than buying their own servers, a slump in hardware demand has contributed to IBM’s declining revenue.
Business, Pages 22 on 02/25/2014