News in brief

Bourbon runs toward river after fire, leak

VERSAILLES, Ky. -- Bourbon that leaked from a fire that destroyed a Jim Beam barrel warehouse in Kentucky is making its way to the Ohio River.

State environmental officials said they're assessing the spill's effects on wildlife and are conducting fish-kill counts along the waterways near the Woodford County facility.

The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet said in a release on social media that an "alcohol plume" from the bourbon runoff in the Kentucky River is approximately 23 miles long.

The Energy and Environment Cabinet said the bourbon should dissipate quickly once it reaches the much larger body of water.

Officials estimate that about 45,000 barrels of bourbon were destroyed in the fire that started Tuesday. It was extinguished over the weekend.

-- The Associated Press

Survey: Amazon slips in medical gear push

Amazon.com Inc.'s push into distribution of health care supplies and equipment has lost momentum this year, according to a survey by UBS Group AG.

Hospital purchasing managers say they are buying fewer medical supplies from Amazon compared with last year, while increasing their purchases of office supplies from the online retailer, UBS analyst Kevin Caliendo wrote in a research note on Monday. One reason could be that respondents are seeing "less discounting" for medical supplies, but it's unclear whether Amazon discounts are less satisfactory or if wholesalers offered better deals in response to Amazon's push in the sector, he said.

UBS' survey found that while hospitals still expect to increase their supply purchases through Amazon over the next three years, the percentage of respondents in talks for sourcing agreements with Amazon has declined to 7% from 11% last year. The bank surveyed 100 purchasing managers.

At a conference last year, hospital supply-chain executives described Amazon's effort in the medical distribution space as still "in its infancy," with the biggest issues relating to procedures that allow hospitals to track and trace the products they buy from vendors.

-- Bloomberg News

State index closes with a loss of 1.95

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Monday at 414.77, down 1.95 points.

"U.S. stock closed lower on Monday on tempered expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at the end of July, losses in shares of Apple Inc., following an analyst downgrade, and Boeing Co., after a Saudi Arabian airline said it would not proceed with an order for its jets," said Chris Harkins, managing director at Raymond James & Associates in Little Rock.

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

Business on 07/09/2019

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