Wal-Mart revising its money services
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is making changes to its money-services business, including plans to lower transfer fees and add a digital transfer program for customers.
Wal-Mart said new fees for Walmart2Walmart, a store-to-store money-transfer service introduced three years ago, could now save customers between 20 percent and 90 percent on cash transfers compared with Western Union. The retailer said customers already have saved nearly $500 million in fees through the use of the service the past three years.
Bluebird2Walmart, a new service from Wal-Mart and American Express, will be available for customers beginning next month. The program will allow account holders of Bluebird -- a checking and debit alternative -- to digitally send money for cash pickup at Wal-Mart locations.
Account holders can access the new service by visiting Bluebird.com or by using the Bluebird app. The cost of the service is consistent with the new Walmart2Walmart prices, according to the retailer.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
Ouachita Electric's solar use ranked 4th
Ouachita Electric Cooperative Corp. ranks fourth among utilities nationally with the highest annual watts-per-customer use of solar energy, according to the Smart Electric Power Alliance.
Ouachita Electric, based in Camden, had 1,282 megawatts of solar energy per customer connected to the electric grid last year. The cooperative said it provides electric service to about 9,400 meters in Ouachita, Calhoun, Dallas, Bradley, and Nevada counties in south Arkansas.
Leading the list was the City of Palo Alto Utilities in Palo Alto, Calif., with 2,753 megawatts per customer of solar energy added to the grid. More than 410 utilities nationwide were included in the survey.
Ouachita Electric announced in 2015 the construction of a 12-megawatt solar field on a 100-acre site in the Highland Industrial Park in East Camden. The solar field began operations in early 2016.
-- David Smith
Nasdaq hits a high but state index slips
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dipped 0.83 to 349.34 Thursday.
"The Nasdaq exchange set a record high Wednesday as stocks advanced with technology issues outperforming the broad market as several large companies in the sector reported earnings," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 19 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 04/28/2017