Fishing tourney an economic star
The 2018 Forrest Wood Cup professional fishing tournament held in Hot Springs and on Lake Ouachita was one of four sporting events named 2018 Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism by Sports Destination Management, a trade publication for sports event planners and tournament directors.
Named for the Flippin native who founded Ranger Boats, the tournament is the championship event of the Fishing League Worldwide tournament system and features 56 top anglers from the fishing league tour and other qualifiers. The tournament won in the small-market category.
Other winners were the 2018 NCAA Final Four in San Antonio, the 2018 NFL draft in Dallas and the PGA Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
The tournament took place Aug. 10-12, drew more than 66,000 fans and had a $24.4 million economic impact, according to the publication.
The 2019 Forrest Wood Cup also will be held in Hot Springs, the first city to host back-to-back championships in Fishing League Worldwide tour history.
The 2018 tournament was "a great event put on by a class organization," said Steve Arrison, chief executive officer of Visit Hot Springs.
-- Noel Oman
Toxin-safety group applauds Walmart
Walmart Inc. received the third-highest grade among the 40 retailers that a consumer advocacy group grades each year in an effort to protect customers from toxic products and packaging.
The Bentonville retailer earned an A- on the third annual "report card" prepared by Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, a nonprofit that works with retailers to reduce hazardous chemicals in the marketplace. The group gave Apple an A+ and Target Corp. an A.
Walmart received an overall score of 93.75 out of 135 possible points in areas such as having a written policy to reduce toxic chemicals in its supply chain; establishing management responsibilities in implementing the policy; and requiring suppliers to report chemical ingredients in products.
The group lauded Walmart for plans announced this year to phase out the sale of paint strippers containing harmful chemicals in its North and Central American stores and online.
-- Serenah McKay
Index loses 3.09 as 9 stocks slump
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed at 4.09.86 Friday, down 3.09
Six stocks rose and nine fell.
Murphy Oil Corp. fell 5 percent. P.A.M. Transportation fell 3.8 percent. America's Car-Mart fell 3.5 percent.
USA Truck rose 1 percent.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 11/24/2018