Business news in brief

This Monday, Nov. 17, 2014 photo shows a Home Depot store is shown in Hialeah, Fla. Home Depot reports quarterly financial results before the market opens Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015.
This Monday, Nov. 17, 2014 photo shows a Home Depot store is shown in Hialeah, Fla. Home Depot reports quarterly financial results before the market opens Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015.

NLR photo archivist didn't pay, suit says

Marvin Newman, a New Jersey resident who sold thousands of sports photographs to John Rogers of North Little Rock in July 2013, sued Rogers on Monday seeking return of the photographs.

Rogers had agreed to pay $400,000 for the photos and gave Newman 48 postdated checks for $83,333.33 each to be deposited over 48 months, the lawsuit said.

But Rogers failed to make payments and on May 19, 2014, Newman terminated the agreement and demanded the photos be returned, the lawsuit said. Rogers has not returned the photos, Newman said in the lawsuit.

Through John Conner and William Hogan in September and October 2013, Rogers got a $1.6 million loan from Citizens Bank of Batesville that Rogers said would be used to buy a collection of photos from Newman, the lawsuit said.

Conner of Jackson County and Hogan, a former Rogers business partner, each sued Rogers last month.

-- David Smith

J.B. Hunt second on logistics-firm list

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. maintained its position as the No. 2 logistics firm in North America in 2014, according to data compiled by Transport Topics.

The Lowell-based company was second on the trucking publication's list of top 50 logistics firms for the second straight year after earning an estimated $2.6 billion in revenue in 2013. UPS Supply Chain Solutions moved from fifth in 2013 to first in 2014 with an estimated $2.86 billion in revenue.

Companies on the Transport Topics top 50 list provide logistics services. The rankings are calculated based on the previous year's revenue.

Transport Topics also ranked the top freight forwarders, brokerage firms, warehousing firms, dedicated contract carriers and freight transportation firms Tuesday.

J.B. Hunt was the top-rated dedicated contract carrier in North America in 2014 and was ranked No. 12 among freight transportation firms after earning $5.5 billion in 2013 revenue. J.B. Hunt Integrated Capacity Solutions was 17th in freight brokerage firms after earning $63 million.

ArcBest of Fort Smith was the only other Arkansas-based company included on Transport Topics' rankings, finishing 28th among freight transportation firms after earning $2.3 billion in 2013 revenue.

-- Robbie Neiswanger

Cranford Co. ads win 9 gold awards

The Little Rock-based advertising firm Cranford Co. took nine top awards in a competition honoring the work of advertising and creative agencies in central Arkansas in 2014.

In addition to nine gold ADDY awards, Cranford Co. won 32 other silver and bronze honors for a wide range of projects, including poster campaigns, radio spots and digital advertising.

The Sells Agency, which won two gold ADDY awards, also won the best of show award in the competition for the view book and complete kit it crafted for Arkansas Tech University. The Thoma Thoma agency won four gold awards.

AdFed Little Rock presented the awards Thursday in a ceremony at the Arkansas Arts Center.

AdFed, a chapter of the American Advertising Federation, presented 90 awards. Others winning gold awards included Martin-Wilbourn Partners, Little Rock Soiree magazine, Soundscapes, The Design Group and Thrive.

All the entries that won gold and select silver-winning entries will be sent to the federation's District 10 competition, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. Gold award-winning entries will also compete in the federation's national ADDY contest later this year.

-- Glen Chase

JPMorgan to close 300 bank branches

NEW YORK -- JPMorgan Chase is planning to close 300 bank branches, or about 5 percent of its total, over the next two years, as more customers move to online and mobile banking and the bank looks to reduce its overall expenses.

The plans were announced as part of the bank's annual investor day conference Tuesday. The closures are part of a $1.4 billion cost-cutting plan the bank initiated this year.

JPMorgan executives said that because of the increasing use of online and mobile banking services, it plans to retool its existing branches away from everyday transactions with tellers to focus on advisory services.

A spokesman for JPMorgan said it was too early to know which bank branches would be closed. JPMorgan had 5,602 branches in 2014 and employed about 46,000 workers at those branches.

-- The Associated Press

Comcast quarterly profit rises to $1.93B

NEW YORK -- Comcast Corp.'s fourth-quarter net income edged up less than 1 percent as the company added more customers for its cable TV, high-speed Internet and phone services.

The nation's largest cable provider also raised its dividend and said it would repurchase $10 billion in stock.

Comcast is in the middle of a $45 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable that is undergoing a regulatory review. The company said it hopes to have that deal approved early this year.

Cable providers have been consolidating as more viewers shift to watching video on tablets, computers and smartphones rather than through traditional cable-TV stations.

For the three months that ended Dec. 31, net income rose to $1.93 billion, or 74 cents per share, up from $1.91 billion, or 72 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue rose nearly 5 percent to $17.73 billion from $16.93 billion. Analysts expected $17.67 billion.

Separately, Comcast said it would raise its dividend by 11 percent to 25 cents, with the first dividend payable on April 22 to shareholders of record as of April 1.

Comcast shares rose 96 cents to close Tuesday at $59.17.

-- The Associated Press

Home Depot's 4th quarter beats forecast

NEW YORK -- Shoppers liked what they saw at Home Depot during the Christmas holidays, helping the home improvement chain beat Wall Street expectations for its fourth-quarter results. The retailer also authorized the repurchase of $18 billion of stock, increased its quarterly dividend by 26 percent and released a better-than-expected outlook for the year.

Its shares rose 4 percent Tuesday.

The Atlanta-based company posted a fourth-quarter profit of $1.38 billion, or $1.05 per share, for the period that ended Feb. 1. Excluding a gain related to the sale of a portion of HD Supply, its profit was $1 per share. That's well above the 89 cents per share that analysts had expected, according to a survey by FactSet.

Revenue was $19.16 billion, also better than Wall Street's projection of $18.68 billion.

Chairman and chief executive Craig Menear said during a conference call that sales were helped by a strong customer response to its Christmas decor and gift center as well as its Black Friday deals.

Sales at stores open at least a year rose 7.9 percent in the quarter.

The shares climbed $4.47 to close at $116.75.

-- The Associated Press

Business on 02/25/2015

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