$3 million obtained
for navigation study
Federal and local funds have been secured to pay for a $3 million navigation study along a south Arkansas portion of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.
The study will focus on an area known as Three Rivers, the confluence of the Mississippi, White and Arkansas rivers. Getting the funding has been a priority for the Arkansas Waterways Commission and work on the study is scheduled to begin in July.
About 12 million tons and nearly $4 billion worth of commodities are shipped annually along the McClellan-Kerr system, which includes the Three Rivers portion in Desha and Arkansas counties. A breach in the area could shut down the system for a year and have major economic consequences, waterways commission Executive Director Gene Higginbotham said.
Navigation miles 3 and 8 on the White River are the primary areas of concerns. The study will look at how the three waterways feed into one another and affect water levels of the other rivers and low-lying land nearby.
-- Chris Bahn
Conway bank aiming
for growth in Florida
Home BancShares has 60 Centennial Bank branches in Florida, but the Conway-based bank has the potential for much growth on the Atlantic Coast, John Allison, the bank's chairman, said Thursday at the company's annual meeting.
Last year, Home BancShares bought Broward Financial Holdings, which has about $170 million in assets.
Broward had two branches in Fort Lauderdale on Florida's southeastern coast.
"There are billions and billions of dollars in this marketplace," Allison said. "I'd like to build that [area] up over time. There is a great opportunity there."
Home BancShares bid on three banks this week, but hasn't learned if an offer was excepted. At least one of the offers was on a bank in Florida.
-- David Smith
State stocks fall off,
shaving index 6.50
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, slumped Friday, falling 6.50 to 396.60.
All 17 stocks declined Friday.
Acxiom shares fell 4.2 percent in light trading.
Home BancShares was off 3 percent in heavy trading.
Simmons First National lost 2.5 percent on average volume.
For the week, 12 stocks were down, four advanced and one was unchanged.
Bank of the Ozarks gained 5.4 percent for the week.
Dillard's fell 5.2 percent for the week.
Total volume of the index on Friday was 22.9 million shares. The average daily volume for the week was 25.8 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 04/18/2015