Frontier Airlines, which inaugurated three flights per week between Little Rock and Denver on Thursday, announced it will begin flying between the two cities four days a week starting April 9.
The ultra-low-fare carrier added service at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field with flights on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. That schedule will change to Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday on April 9.
The airline announced last July it would re-enter the Little Rock market after a four-year absence.
"We think the bookings are going to be strong enough to warrant the increase in service," Bob Westgate, a senior route planning executive for Frontier, said after a ceremony to mark the start of service at Clinton National on Thursday afternoon. "It was based on community response.
"We put the service out there. We announced it. It slowly built up. It's been out there for some time and based on the initial response, we decided to expand the service on April 9."
Frontier is offering introductory $49 one-way fares through midnight Wednesday at flyfrontier.com for flights booked at least seven days in advance. Like other budget airlines, Frontier charges fees for checked baggage, carry-on bags and other services.
-- Noel Oman
30-year mortgage edges up to 4.43%
WASHINGTON -- Long-term U.S. mortgage rates crept higher this week, marking the eighth-straight week that it cost more to borrow to buy a home.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac -- the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. -- said Thursday that the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 4.43 percent this week from 4.40 percent last week. The new average for the benchmark rate is the highest since January 2014. The 30-year rate stood at 4.10 percent a year ago.
The rate on 15-year, fixed-rate loans advanced to 3.90 percent from 3.85 percent last week.
Mortgage rates rose steadily in January and February, as interest rates generally increased in response to higher levels of government debt and expectations of rising inflation. In addition to discouraging potential home buyers, rising rates also may prompt potential sellers to hold on to their homes, which are financed through lower interest rates.
Mortgage rates closely track the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes, which have climbed to 2.85 percent as of Thursday from 2.46 percent at the start of the year.
-- The Associated Press
Quarterly sales jump at Best Buy, Kohl's
NEW YORK -- Best Buy and Kohl's reported surging sales during the quarter that includes the Christmas shopping season, a sign of success as retailers learn to steady themselves -- and work with -- online companies.
At Best Buy, sales at established stores rose 9 percent. That's a big turnaround in a key measure from a year earlier, when they dipped 0.9 percent. The consumer electronics retailer also topped Wall Street's profit and revenue expectations, and gave an upbeat outlook.
Meanwhile, Kohl's enjoyed a 6 percent increase in sales at established stores, its largest such gain since 2001. Business was helped by more customers both coming into the stores and shopping online. Its profit also was better than expected as it offered fewer discounts.
-- The Associated Press
Wells Fargo said to be under scrutiny
Wells Fargo & Co. faces an investigation by Wall Street's top regulator into whether it inappropriately sold clients in-house investment services that may not have been in their best interests, said a person with knowledge of the matter.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is concerned that the bank might have made customer referrals that violated securities laws, said the person, who asked not to be named because the agency's involvement in the probe isn't public.
SEC spokesman Judith Burns and Wells Fargo spokesman Ancel Martinez declined to comment.
Wells Fargo disclosed in a Thursday regulatory filing that it is "assessing whether there have been inappropriate referrals or recommendations, including with respect to rollovers for 401(k) plan participants, certain alternative investments, or referrals of brokerage customers to the company's investment and fiduciary-services business."
The SEC has previously sanctioned banks for improperly selling customers in-house investment products. In 2015, JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to pay $267 million to settle allegations that it didn't tell customers that it reaped profits by putting their money into mutual funds and hedge funds that generated fees for the company.
-- Bloomberg News
Exxon to pull out of Russian partnership
MOSCOW -- Exxon Mobil will end a joint venture with Russia's state-controlled Rosneft because of U.S. and European sanctions against Moscow.
Exxon revealed in a regulatory filing that it decided to end the partnership late last year after the U.S. expanded sanctions against Russia. The company plans to begin unwinding the joint venture this year.
The retreat will result in an after-tax loss of about $200 million. Exxon reported a 2017 profit of $19.7 billion.
But ending the partnership with Rosneft appeared to dash Exxon's hopes of drilling in the potentially oil-rich Russian Arctic, and it erases some of the legacy of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the one-time Exxon chairman and CEO.
Tillerson signed a deal with Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, in 2011 with hopes of drilling in the difficult terrain of Russia's Arctic waters. The partnership would combine Exxon's technological expertise with Rosneft's access to the area.
The deal came under strain, however, after the U.S. sanctioned Russia in 2014 over the invasion of Ukraine and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The sanctions did not affect existing energy deals, but they prohibited any business with Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, an influential oligarch in Russia with whom Tillerson reportedly has had close personal ties.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 03/02/2018