N.M. Walmarts plan to stop selling guns
SANTA FE, N.M. -- Walmarts in New Mexico plan to stop selling guns later this month after a new state law expanded background checks to nearly all gun purchases, a company spokesman said.
The law that took effect this week requires background checks on private sales between neighbors or friends, with exceptions for relatives and sales of antique guns.
It also allows federally licensed gun sellers to offer to conduct checks for private sales. The sellers can charge up to $35 per background check.
Walmart and other gun sellers already perform federal background checks on their firearm sales.
The retailer is not equipped to conduct checks for private sales, Walmart spokesman Tiffany Wilson said. Employees and customers could be put in danger by people carrying in guns seeking checks for private sales, she said.
"Unlike a specialty sporting goods retailer where customers expect to see firearms of various types being handled, Walmart customers do not generally expect to see individuals walking through the store potentially carrying multiple firearms, which can lead to confusion and potentially putting both our customers and associates at risk," Wilson told KOAT-TV.
Liability concerns and the clerical work for each background check could create a "money-losing proposition" for Walmart, said Bill Roney, owner of the Outdoorsman of Santa Fe gun shop. Department stores are probably not the best places for private gun owners to take firearms for private checks, he said.
-- The Associated Press
Trump plans order aimed at Rx drugs
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump is promising an executive order that he says is intended to enable the U.S. government to pay lower prices for prescription drugs.
Trump said on Friday that his administration soon would announce a "favored-nations clause," where the amount paid by the government for a particular drug would not exceed the lowest amount paid by other nations or companies.
Prices in other countries are often lower because governments directly negotiate with manufacturers.
Trump mentioned his proposal when speaking with reporters before departing the White House for New Jersey, but he provided no other details.
-- The Associated Press
Arkansas Index up 1.91, ends at 416.72
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Friday at 416.72, up 1.91.
Major indexes lost some of their luster from a short day of trading on Wednesday, when the Dow was pushed to a record high and the S&P 500 nearly breached the 3,000 mark.
Eight of the 14 Arkansas stocks rose, led by Dillard's at 5.88% and Bank OZK at 1.81%. PAM Transportation fell 4.22%.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 07/06/2019