NEWS IN BRIEF

FedEx set to ship wine to Arkansans

FedEx today will begin accepting packages for the direct shipment of wine from out-of-state wineries to the homes of Arkansans who visit the wineries and make a purchase, the Memphis-based shipper said Wednesday.

FedEx will update its website today to reflect the change, said Scott Fiedler, a FedEx spokesman.

A year-old Arkansas law allows the direct shipment from a winery to the buyer’s home of up to a case of wine once every quarter.

For the shipment to take place, however, the buyer must be at the winery at the time of the sale and the winery must register with the state and collect excise and sales taxes.

The new law doesn’t allow direct shipment to Arkansas addresses for sales done online, by phone or mail order.

Susan Rosenberg, a spokesman for United Parcel Service, said the Atlanta-based shipper will begin allowing shipments from wineries to Arkansas later this month.

  • David Smith

Arkansas Best takes new name, ArcBest

As of today, Arkansas Best Corp. has changed its name to ArcBest, a move the company said will reinforce its identity as a logistics and transportation services provider.

As part of the rebranding, ArcBest also has changed its stock trading symbol to ARCB. The Fort Smith company had been traded on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol ABFS.

ArcBest is the parent company of ABF Freight, ABF Logistics, Panther Premium Logistics and FleetNet America. Another subsidiary, Data-Tronics Corp., will no longer be known as ArcBest Technologies.

Outstanding stock certificates are not affected by the change, the company said.

  • Chris Bahn

Despite gains for 10, state index dips 0.33

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 0.33 to 335.53 Wednesday.

“U.S. stocks moved higher after the Federal Reserve pared monthly asset buying by $10 billion and said further reductions are likely,” said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock. “The Arkansas Index moved lower as 10 stocks advanced and seven declined.”

Shares of ArcBest of Fort Smith, formerly called Arkansas Best Corp., rose 3.7 percent.

Harrison-based USA Truck fell 7 percent, while Murphy Oil of El Dorado slipped 1.7 percent.

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

Business, Pages 25 on 05/01/2014

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