Simmons First Trust to buy Talbot Capital
Simmons First Trust Co., a subsidiary of Simmons First National Corp., has agreed to buy Talbot Capital Management of Pine Bluff, the businesses said Friday.
Talbot Capital has more than $45 million in managed assets for individuals, endowment funds, foundations and profit-sharing plans.
Terms of the proposed transaction were not released.
George Talbot Jr., who founded the firm in 1989, will join Simmons Trust as a senior portfolio manager.
Simmons First Trust manages more than $2 billion in assets.
Simmons First National has bank branches in Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas and total assets of $4.8 billion.
-- David Smith
Factory output dips 0.4 percent in August
WASHINGTON -- U.S. manufacturing output declined in August for the first time in seven months, reflecting a sharp fall in production at auto plants that was due mainly to seasonal adjustment problems.
Output at manufacturing plants fell 0.4 percent in August after a 0.7 percent rise in July, the Federal Reserve reported Monday. Total industrial production was down 0.1 percent in August, also the first setback for the overall figure since January. Output was up in mining and utility production, but these gains were not enough to offset the decline in manufacturing.
Output of motor vehicles and parts dropped 7.6 percent after a 9.3 percent increase in July. The reversal was not viewed as worrisome. The July figure was increased because many plants did not shut down as they normally do to retool for new models. That made August look weaker.
Economists had been looking for a weaker figure for factory output in August as auto activity returned to more normal levels. The fact that there were fewer plant shutdowns in July made output look stronger after the government adjusted the figure for normal seasonal variations. And that seasonal adjustment then made the August figures look weaker.
-- The Associated Press
Atlantis resort to get $1.4 billion add-on
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Developers say they will build a $1.4 billion expanse of lavish suites and residences next to the famed Atlantis resort on Dubai's man-made palm-shaped island.
Investment Corp. of Dubai and Kerzner International Holdings, which will manage the 800-room hotel, announced the plans for The Royal Atlantis Resort and Residences on Monday.
The Investment Corp. of Dubai is an investment arm of the Dubai government and has a 46 percent stake in Kerzner. Another state-owned Dubai firm, Istithmar World, owns an additional 25 percent in Kerzner.
Kerzner said the resort will also include 250 luxury residences. The architecture will be modern and feature sky-high gardens and private infinity pools overlooking the island.
Tourism is a major source of revenue for Dubai, which is preparing to host the World Expo in 2020.
-- The Associated Press
Nucor to buy $770 million Kentucky mill
Nucor Corp., the largest U.S. steelmaker by sales, agreed to buy a Kentucky mill from ArcelorMittal and Gerdau SA for about $770 million to increase its output of flat-rolled products.
The acquisition of Gallatin Steel Co. will increase Nucor's annual flat-rolled capacity by 16 percent to about 13 million tons, Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor said Monday in a statement. The deal will add immediately to cash flow and will be funded with available cash and loans, according to Nucor. The shares rose as much as 2.9 percent.
Nucor Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Ferriola said in July that the company, in considering potential acquisitions, is looking to expand its geographical reach, customer base and product portfolio.
"This acquisition appears to fit the bill," Matt Murphy, an analyst at UBS AG in Toronto, said Monday in a note.
The deal is set to be Nucor's biggest since before the financial crisis and the largest transaction in the U.S. steel industry since Russia's OAO Severstal agreed in July to sell two plants for $2.33 billion. Brazil's Cia. Siderurgica Nacional SA said last month it was looking to acquire Gallatin after failing to buy ThyssenKrupp AG plants in Alabama and Rio de Janeiro last year.
The Gallatin deal is "continues the trend of industry consolidation in the flat-rolled steel industry," Anthony Rizzuto, an analyst at Cowen & Co. in New York, said in a note.
-- Bloomberg News
RadioShack chief financial officer resigns
RadioShack Corp. Chief Financial Officer John Feray resigned after less than a year on the job, prompting the struggling electronics retailer to bring back Holly Etlin as interim CFO.
Etlin, a 57-year-old managing director at advisory firm AlixPartners, previously was the Fort Worth-based RadioShack's interim CFO from July 2013 until February, according to a statement Monday. Feray stepped down Friday for personal reasons, the retailer said.
RadioShack, after posting another quarter of losses and plunging sales, said last week that it's working with creditors and other parties to get more capital in a bid to avoid bankruptcy. The retailer brought Etlin in because the Securities and Exchange Commission requires public companies to have a CFO, said Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Securities.
"They aren't going to be a public company for long," Pachter said. "If they don't get financing in the very near term, they're going to be compelled to file for bankruptcy."
The retailer is in advanced discussions about ways to shore up its balance sheet, including debt restructuring, a plan to consolidate stores and other measures, it said in a statement Thursday.
RadioShack posted a second-quarter net loss last week of $137.4 million, or $1.35 a share, compared with a deficit of $52.2 million, or 51 cents, a year ago.
-- Bloomberg News
Business on 09/16/2014