QUOTE OF THE DAY “Assuming that the weather returns to
seasonal norms, output will rise rapidly in the coming months.” Paul Dales, a Capital Economics economist Article, 1D
Two natural-gas retailers will get rebates
A total of $800,000 in rebates will be provided for two gas stations in the state so they can install equipment to sell compressed natural gas, the Arkansas Energy Office, a division of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, said Monday in a news release.
The rebates are part of the Gaseous Fuels Rebate Program, according to the release.
The Kum & Go, 1220 E. Robinson Ave. in Springdale, and Love’s Travel Stop and Country Store, 800 Martin Luther King Drive in West Memphis, will each receive a $400,000 rebate once the equipment is in place and compressed natural gas is available to the public, according to the news release.
Attorneys general decry cigarette sales
First it was a handful of U.S. senators, now it’s a group of more than two dozen attorneys general encouraging retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to quit sending a mixed message and stop selling tobacco products in their stores that have pharmacies.
It all started last month when CVS Caremark, the country’s largest drugstore chain in overall sales, announced it would quit selling cigarettes and related products. That leaves Wal-Mart, Rite Aid, Walgreen, Kroger and Safeway among the largest pharmacy retailers that still sell tobacco products. On Sunday, the attorneys general sent letters to the retailers asking that they follow CVS’ example. That company’s chief executive officer, Larry Merlo, said then that the sale of tobacco products was “inconsistent with our purpose.”
The group of attorneys general, led by Eric Schneiderman of New York and Mike DeWine of Ohio, represents 28 states and territories, including New Hampshire, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Utah, Puerto Rico and Guam.
Wal-Mart tackling video game trade-ins
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is hoping to nab a slice of the $2 billion pre-owned video game industry with a program that will let enthusiasts trade their used video games for e-cards for Wal-Mart and Sam’s Clubs that they can spend in the stores or online. The program starts March 26 at more than 3,100 stores nationwide.
Based on Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation3 gaming sales, the average customer buys 10 video games over the life of each console. Wal-Mart believes most families have not used eight of the 10 games they own in the past year, making all those unused video games potential items for resale.
Trade-in value will vary from just a few dollars to $35 or more with most games going for about $35, said Duncan MacNaughton, chief merchandising and marketing officer for Wal-Mart. Games must be undamaged and in their original packaging.
“This is a new category for us and something our customers have been asking for,” MacNaughton said. It follows the path of Wal-Mart’s iPhone and tablet trade-in programs.
Accepted trade-ins will be sent to a central facility for refurbishing then repackaged for resale in stores, beginning this summer.
- Cyd King
LR children’s hospital promotes Green
Arkansas Children’s Hospital has promoted Angela Green to vice president of performance improvement, Dr.
Jay Deshpande, the hospital’s senior vice president and chief medical officer, said Monday.
“We’re delighted to recognize and promote Dr. Green in her new role, allowing us to take advantage of her expertise and leadership in innovation and improving outcomes through evidenced-based practice,” Deshpande said in a release. “She will be instrumental in chartering the course for organizational quality and safety programs.”
Green, who joined the hospital in 1998, holds the John Boyd Family endowed chairmanship in pediatric nursing.
As a nationally recognized leader in pediatric nursing, she also served as associate editor of the Journal of Pediatric Nursing from 2010-13. She was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation executive nurse fellow for 2013.
UA, Riceland Foods to study soy-oil uses
Riceland Foods of Stuttgart and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture plan to jointly search for commercial applications of a special soy oil that could fight diseases such as cancer, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes related to obesity.
The technology involves developing soy oil rich in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Such oils appear to have the “hardness” properties that may allow them to serve as a substitute for hydrogenated oil. Physicians generally recommend that people limit their hydrogenated-oil consumption.
The research project will also evaluate CLA-rich soy oil products as potential substitutes in salad oils, shortenings and margarine.
“Although we have conducted preliminary quality studies on salad oil and margarine prepared from CLA-rich soy oil, we need to see how the scale of production affects quality,” Andrew Proctor, a food science professor in the university’s Division of Agriculture who will lead the research, said in a release.
The release said the division researchers and Riceland will develop and evaluate margarine and shortening containing CLA-rich oils to compare with conventionally prepared versions of those products and then evaluate consumer acceptance.
- Glen Chase
GM recalls 1.2 million SUVs over air bags
DETROIT - General Motors is recalling nearly 1.2 million SUVs for defective side air bags.
GM also announced smaller recalls for separate problems Monday of commercial vans and Cadillac sedans amounting to about 364,000 vehicles.
The new recall comes as GM is facing multiple investigations over its handling of a recall of more than 1.6 million small cars for defective ignition switches.
The company said it expects to spend approximately $300 million in the first quarter to repair the vehicles in the new recalls as well as the vehicles in the ignition recall.
The company said Monday it’s recalling the SUVs, including the Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia, because their side air bags might not deploy.
Business, Pages 24 on 03/18/2014