1st all-online degree to be offered at UA
The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville is offering an online Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, the first start-to-finish online degree the school has offered.
"An online course of study makes it possible for working professionals, entrepreneurs and students who have family, work or other responsibilities that prevent them from studying on campus to complete a degree from Walton College -- a nationally ranked, internationally accredited college of business," Eli Jones, dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business, said in a Tuesday news release.
The program will be offered in the fall. The degree in general business from the Walton College will allow students across the state to begin and complete all four years of coursework online.
-- John Magsam
Ex-Wal-Mart exec to join teen retailer
Five Below Inc. named Walmart.com's former U.S. chief executive, Joel Anderson, as the teen discount retailer's president Tuesday. Five Below is a publicly held chain of discount stores in several states. Products cost no more than $5.
Anderson will be in charge of the company's merchandising, stores and marketing.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced Anderson's departure Monday, along with the promotion of Fernando Madeira to lead the retailer's domestic and Latin America teams for Walmart.com. Madeira had been the president of Wal-Mart's Latin American e-commerce division. His new responsibilities also will entail other "growth areas," for Wal-Mart, the company said.
Anderson had been chief executive of Walmart.com in the United States since 2011. He'll join Five Below in July.
The news comes after Wal-Mart's annual shareholders meeting, where executives reiterated the company's commitment to bolstering its e-commerce efforts.
-- Cyd King
Index falls by 3.26, bucking U.S. trend
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 3.26 to 351.16 Tuesday.
"The U.S. stock market finished marginally higher and the Dow Jones industrial average hit the 10th record close this year as investors responded to better than expected economic data," said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Delta Trust Investments Inc. in Little Rock. "Arkansas stocks bucked the national trend with declining issues overpowering advancers by more than 4 to 1."
Williams said America's Car-Mart shares rose just over 1 percent, and Windstream shares set another 52-week high before closing lower on the day.
"Tyson Foods fell for the second day, losing 3.81 percent on heavy volume," he said.
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 06/11/2014