News in brief

Walmart to best Apple in Net sales

A report by research firm eMarketer Retail said Walmart Inc. will overtake Apple to become the nation's third-largest online retailer by year's end. The researchers said the retailer will capture 4 percent of all U.S. online retail spending, totaling $20.91 billion.

Apple had a 3.8 percent share of U.S. retail e-commerce sales in 2017, compared to Walmart's 3.3 percent, the report said. For 2018, eMarketer expects Apple to fall to the No. 4 spot with a 3.9 percent share.

Walmart has one of the fastest-growing e-commerce businesses, according to the report, with online sales projected to grow 39.4 percent this year. That includes sales on Walmart and Sam's Club's websites and at Jet.com.

Principal analyst Andrew Lipsman said in the report, published Nov. 13, that Walmart is making smart additions to its e-commerce portfolio. Most importantly, he said, "Walmart has caught its stride with a fast-growing online grocery business."

The researchers expect No. 1 Amazon will go from a 43.1 percent share of U.S. e-commerce last year to 48 percent, taking in more than $252 billion. No. 2 eBay is expected to drop from 7.6 percent to 7.2 percent.

-- Serenah McKay

Agencies to share oversight niche

U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have agreed to share regulatory oversight of meat and poultry products derived from animal cells, ending months of negotiations between the food inspection agencies.

Under the agreement, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will oversee cell production matters, including cell collection, cell banks, cell growth, etc., and for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to oversee the production and labeling of food products made from the animal meat cells.

The agencies issued joint statements on the framework Friday.

Until last week's decision, it was not clear on who will regulate the developing technology. Historically, the USDA has overseen exclusively meat and poultry products while the FDA has overseen dairy, fish and other food items. Confusion on what to do with cell-cultured products has led to conflict among industry stakeholders in favor of one regulator over the other.

The public has until Dec. 26 to submit comments on the matter to the agencies.

-- Nathan Owens

State index edges up .07 to 426.19

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed at 426.19 Monday, up .07.

Nine stocks fell, four rose and two were unchanged.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business on 11/20/2018

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